and wore their warm sacques down to their feet, made of the gayest
calico I ever saw--large figures or broad stripes of red, yellow and
green. The boys were distinguished by red fez caps, and the girls wore
a colored handkerchief as a turban. They covered the deck with beds
and thick comforters, and on these they constantly sat or reclined.
When it was absolutely necessary a negress would reluctantly rise and
perform some required act of service. They had their own food, which
seemed to consist of dark-looking bread, dried fish, black coffee
and a kind of confectionery which looked like congealed soapsuds with
raisins and almonds in it. Most of their waking hours were employed in
devouring oranges and smoking cigarettes.

We had rough weather for several days, and the ship rolled a good
deal. The captain made us comfortable in a snug corner on the
officers' private deck, where, under the shelter of the bridge, we
could enjoy the view. One amusement was to watch the officer of the
deck eat his dinner seated on a hatchway just in front of the wheel,
and waited on by a most obsequious seaman. The sailor, cap under his
arm, would present a plate of something: if the officer ate it the
man would retire behind him, and with the man at the wheel watch the
disappearance of the contents. If the officer left any or refused a
dish, the sailor would go down to the kitchen for the next course,
first slipping what was left or rejected behind the wheel, and after
presenting the next course to the officer would retire and devour with
great gusto the secreted dish; the helmsman sometimes taking a sly
bite when the officer was particularly engaged.

The Dardanelles were reached very early in the morning. The night
before I had declared my intention to go on deck at daylight and
view the Hellespont, but when I awoke and found it blowing a gale, I