of a chest of drawers close by, and crouched there, wet and
shivering, handing me up a most miscellaneous assortment of goods to
take care of in my little dry nest.

Some of our fellow-passengers were very good-natured, and devoted
themselves to cheering and enlivening us by getting up concerts,
little burlesques and other amusements; and very grateful we were
for their efforts: they say that "anything is fun in the country,"
but on board ship a little wit goes a very long way indeed, for all
are only too ready and anxious to be amused. The whole dramatic
strength of the company was called into force for the performance of
"The Rivals," which was given a week or so before the end of the
voyage. It went off wonderfully well; but I confess I enjoyed the
preparations more than the play itself: the ingenuity displayed was
very amusing at the time. You on shore cannot imagine how difficult
it was to find a snuff-box for "Sir Anthony Absolute," or with what
joy and admiration we welcomed a clever substitute for it in the
shape of a match-box covered with the lead out of a tea-chest most
ingeniously modelled into an embossed wreath round the lid, with a
bunch of leaves and buds in the centre, the whole being brightly
burnished: at the performance the effect of this little "property"
was really excellent. Then, at the last moment, poor "Bob Acres"
had to give in, and acknowledge that he could not speak for
coughing; he had been suffering from bronchitis for some days past,
but had gallantly striven to make himself heard at rehearsals; so on
the day of the play F--- had the part forced on him. There was no
time to learn his "words," so he wrote out all of them in large
letters on slips of paper and fastened them on the beams. This
device was invisible to the audience, but he was obliged to go
through his scenes with his head as high up as if he had on a