he tables up
the side of the saloon and down the middle. A tap on a gong and away
they all streamed to the entrances to the saloon, to port and starboard
service tables at the kitchen, where they pretended to get courses of
dinner, and then went and stood at their tables whilst the two pursers
and head steward went round the whole of them, patiently asking each
separately his duties: "What have you to do?" and each man answered as
well as he could, and corrections were made. This inspection took fully
an hour, then they went through the coffee, cream, and sugar and tea
drill. All this dinner and fire drill is very thorough, I must admit,
and the management of a big crowd of people on a ship begins to impress
me--but the tea--is horrid!

[Illustration]

We are now going north-east towards Marseilles. The sun shines, and it
blows a gentle half gale. The sea is blue where it isn't white, and the
wind is strong enough to keep us lying steadily over to starboard decks
of course all wet, with rainbows at the bow, and bursting spray over all
occasionally--people rather subdued, only a small muster at breakfast.

Place aux dames! I forgot to mention that a very beautiful French lady
came on board at Gibraltar; she looked like one of Van Beers' pictures
as she came down the quay steps in a most exquisite dress, dreamlike
petticoats, and open-work stockings on Diana's extremities, and she had
a little parasol, and held her skirts high--a Frenchwoman hates mud--and
the rain poured, in sheets! She gave a brave farewell to her friends and
fiance, and came on board with an air, notwithstanding the drenching
rain. She was beautiful--hair like night, eyes brown, and features most
perfectly Greek, and white as marble with a rose reflected on it! A
doctor beside me whispered "anaemic," the red-haired ass! She leaves us
at Marseilles, and will never travel by sea again. G. befriended her and
interpreted for her; she was so helpless and alone in a cabin meant for
three, with a pile of boxes miles bigger than the regulation size. With
feminine courage she fought sea-sickness, fainted in the barber's chair,
but appeared at dinner in another most exquisite toilet, and then--even
in the paroxysm of sickness, preserved perfect grace of movement of hand
and eye and draperies! What heroic courage! But enough of the tea rose
in our bean field; let us get to more material things, and to
Marseilles, and the coals rattling down the iron shoot benea