ction
and decidedly formidable character, four six-chambered revolving rifles,
and the same number of revolver pistols, also a small but excellent
chest of carpenter's tools, a medicine-chest, etcetera.

But when these and our boat were all stowed away, there still remained
more room than I expected in our midship compartment, and the little
craft floated with her load-line nearly a foot above the water's edge.
I proposed ballasting her down to her proper depth with sand-bags, but
Bob seemed anxious to test her sail-carrying powers light as she was,
urging that though we should start well down in the water, she would
lift as our provisions grew short; and it was desirable to know by
experiment beforehand how far we could lighten her with safety.

Our sails had arrived, and we proceeded to bend these forthwith, and set
them; as the weather being fine, with light air, a very favourable
opportunity offered for stretching them gently and uniformly. We were
as pleased with these sails as we were with the hull of our little
craft. They were perfect masterpieces of the sailmaker's art, the jibs
being angulated, and the mainsail, square-headed gaff-topsail, and
trysail being made with gored cloths.

This latter arrangement was an extravagant one as to the amount of cloth
used in the making of each sail, but we were more than repaid for it by
the perfection of _set_ in the sails, which stood as flat as boards.
Our storm-sails were made of stout canvas, and the fine-weather ones of
American cotton canvas, a most beautiful material, extremely light, yet
so close woven that not a breath of the faintest breeze was lost, and
they were white as snow.

Our standing rigging was of wire, this being lighter, and offering less
windage than hemp-rigging of the same strength; but, in order to
counteract its rigidity and give play to the spars, we adopted the
expedient of connecting the deadeyes to the chain-plates by a bolt and
shackle arrangement, interposing a thick india-rubber washer between the
shackle and the bolt-head. This plan answered most admirably, and I
would strongly recommend it to all users of wire-rigging. I am
confident that, in a fresh breeze and a chopping sea, we gained fully a
knot per hour in speed by it.

Whilst our sails were stretching, Bob and I occupied our time in looking
about us for a few things which we thought we could better obtain in
London than anywhere else. Amongst these were a couple of air
m