usicians. There were two stoke-holds, one fore and one
abaft the funnel, and four boilers in each, and four furnaces in each
boiler, and three stokers in each stoke-hold, also three trimmers in
each stoke-hold. There was the same method of working in both
stoke-holds, and a constant and continual round of firing kept up day
and night. When going down on watch I have a piece of waste in each hand
to protect them from the hot handrails; I commence work by cleaning the
small tubes of four furnaces, then clean out the four furnaces, rake out
the ashes from the pit and fill them and the clinkers into iron buckets,
which the sailors haul up and empty over the ship's side. And while I am
engaged in this work my two mates are doing my firing for me--which is
in this way: one man fires every other fire of the sixteen fires, then
goes round again and fires those he missed the first round, then his
mate takes the shovel from his hands and fires every other fire, then
fires those he missed the first round; the third man does likewise, and
so it is constant firing all through. And having towering hot boilers
both sides of us and roaring furnaces behind and in front, the sweat
pours from us continually, and we are glad to pop into the engine room
after firing to get a draught of somewhat cooler air. I happened to have
the middle watch--12 midnight to 4 a.m.--which is the worst of the
watches, for when I came off at four the hands on deck were always doing
something to make a noise, and there is little chance of getting a
sleep, and hammocks must be stowed away before eight; then breakfast,
and the brass band strikes up for half an hour; but if there had been
dog-watches all of us would share in the middle watch--as follows:--

Brown Morning Watch 4 to 8 a.m.
Jones Forenoon " 8 to 12 noon.
Robinson Afternoon " 12 to 4 p.m.
Brown First Dog " 4 to 6 p.m.
Jones Second Dog " 6 to 8 p.m.
Robinson First " 8 to 12 midnight.
Brown Middle " 12 to 4 a.m.
Jones Morning " 4 to 8 a.m. = 24 hours.

A few hours after leaving Southampton all hands are mustered and
apportioned to man the seventeen boats hanging from the davits, eight on
each side, and the captain's gig under the stern; after this ceremony we
get an allowance of grog. The fires are now beginning to be dirty,
having clinkers seven