ngland is one thing; Christmas in a
gale in the China Sea another, and so distinct a thing as scarcely to be
confounded with the former. But let us see if we can tell our friends
something about it. Considering the shortcomings we had to put up
with--bare tables, hungry bellies, and the lively movements of our ship,
consequent on a rising malevolent sea--I think we managed to enjoy a
fair amount of fun, whether it was genuine or not is another point, nor
would I like to vouch for its being altogether devoid of irony. "Father
Christmas" paid us his customary visit anyway, in his mantle of
snow--fancy snow within fifteen degrees of the line!--which merry,
rubicund, and very ancient man was ably personated by a gigantic marine,
the necessary barrel-like proportions being conveyed by a feather
pillow.

"A hungry man is an angry one;" so runs the legend, but, if true, and I
have every reason to believe that it is, it held not on the lower deck
of the "Iron Duke" this day, for _no_ man was angry, and _every_ man
_was_ hungry, not counting some who had their heads down the lee
scuppers. Altogether the day passed very smoothly inboard, though
outside a storm was hurrying on us with gigantic strides.

December 26th.--The overcast sky of last night was indeed a precursor of
what was to follow. About midnight the wind freshened into a full gale,
the first we have encountered since leaving England. It gave us a proper
shaking down into our places. The sea became wild and mountainous, the
wind shrieking and vicious, and as to hold our course we had to stem its
full fury, it was found impossible to keep the ship head on except at a
much greater consumption of coal than we were prepared to use. Crash!
What's gone? The jib-boom and all its appurtenances. The wrecked spar
falling athwart the ram remained there for hours, proving a most
difficult obstacle to clear away in such a whirl as was going on in the
neighbourhood of our bows.

But there were no signs of the gale moderating, and the admiral deeming,
I suppose, the present state of things far from satisfactory determined
on putting back to Manilla. The ship was brought around, or "wore" as
nautical men term it, an evolution which, though not of difficult
accomplishment, at a certain moment in its progress leaves the vessel
completely helpless in the trough of the sea, a fact you all know far
better than myself, I only touch upon it to hint what the result must be
to such a cumbe