The Orofenans


To our shame we had a very pleasant supper that night off the
grilled fish, which was excellent, and some tinned meat. I say to
our shame, in a sense, for on our companions the sharks were
supping and by rights we should have been sunk in woe. I suppose
that the sense of our own escape intoxicated us. Also,
notwithstanding his joviality, none of us had cared much for the
captain, and his policy had been to keep us somewhat apart from
the crew, of whom therefore we knew but little. It is true that
Bastin held services on Sundays, for such as would attend, and
Bickley had doctored a few of them for minor ailments, but there,
except for a little casual conversation, our intercourse began
and ended.

Now the sad fact is that it is hard to be overwhelmed with
grief for those with whom we are not intimate. We were very sorry
and that is all that can be said, except that Bastin, being High
Church, announced in a matter-of-fact way that he meant to put up
some petitions for the welfare of their souls. To this Bickley
retorted that from what he had seen of their bodies he was sure
they needed them.

Yes, it was a pleasant supper, not made less so by a bottle of
champagne which Bickley and I shared. Bastin stuck to his tea,
not because he did not like champagne, but because, as he
explained, having now come in contact with the heathen it would
never do for him to set them an example in the use of spirituous
liquors.