, so that thereafter
it gave no further trouble or anxiety.

But for this the vessel would certainly have been lost, unless they had
succeeded in beaching her before the final catastrophe, on some part of
the neighbouring coast; in which case they would have run the chance of
being taken by the pirates who at that time infested the China seas.

Delivered from this threatened danger, the good ship sped merrily on her
course; most of the crystallised groups grew closer together--in some
instances, however, they burst asunder! Musical tendencies also
developed, though in some cases the sublime gave place to the
ridiculous, and music actually, once or twice, became a nuisance. As
the end of the voyage drew near, the hearty captain grew heartier, the
bosom-friends drew closer; the shy passengers opened up; the congenial
passengers began to grieve over the thought of parting; charades were
acted; concerts were given: the mean-spirited passenger became a little
less vile; the fore-cabin passenger from Edinburgh observed to her
friend that the "goin's on a'boord were wonderfu';" to which the
fore-cabin passenger from London replied that "they certainly was;"
flying-fish and porpoises, and sharks and albatrosses, and tropical
heat, ceased to furnish topics of interest, and men and women were
thrown back on their mental resources, which were, among other things,
largely wid pleasantly--sometimes even hotly!--exercised on religious
discussion. In short the little community, thus temporarily thrown
together, became an epitome of human life. As calm and storm alternated
outside the iron palace, so, inside, there was mingled joy and sorrow.
Friendships were formed and cemented. Love and folly, and hate and
pride, and all the passions, were represented--ay, and Death was also
there.

In the silent night, when nothing was heard save that ceaseless music of
the screw, the destroying angel came--so silently that only a few were
aware of his dread presence--and took away the youth whose sole
occupation seemed to have been the watching of the ever-increasing
distance from that home which he was destined never again to see. It
was inexpressibly sad to those left behind when his coffin was committed
to the deep amid the solemn silence that once again ensued on the
stoppage of the engines, while the low voice of a pastor prayed for
those who wept his departure; but it was not sad for him who had been
taken--he had reached the "better