The merchant vessel : a sailor boy's voyages around the world . is body, and he becomeschilled through, and faint and weary. This is cattle-tending. For one month in the year thepoor souls were allowed to leave the station (taking turns) andgo down to some of the outposts of colonial civilization, thereto recruit their energies by the absorption of unlimited quan-tities of liquor, and a general spree. But Bill said that manyof them got so used to the life on the plains as not evento desire this annual jollification. They remained in quietstupor at their huts, or followed their stock. Some, he
The merchant vessel : a sailor boy's voyages around the world . is body, and he becomeschilled through, and faint and weary. This is cattle-tending. For one month in the year thepoor souls were allowed to leave the station (taking turns) andgo down to some of the outposts of colonial civilization, thereto recruit their energies by the absorption of unlimited quan-tities of liquor, and a general spree. But Bill said that manyof them got so used to the life on the plains as not evento desire this annual jollification. They remained in quietstupor at their huts, or followed their stock. Some, he said,had supplies of books at the huts. But they had not roomfor many, and the few were read and re-read, until almostlearned by heart. Take it altogether, I was no longer surprised that onewho had passed two or three years of such a life should bealmost speechless. It was only a cause for wonder that thefew ideas with which he entered upon his hermit life had not en-tirely died out, and left him in a state for irredeemable stupidity. > I—I r o w2:w >. PAID OFF. 271 The breeze so long waited for came at last, and we gladly-squared the yards, and set the studdingsails to expedite thesel on her way. Our passage to Whampoa was a long one,lasting nearly sixty days. Luckily, we had an abundant supplyof water and provisions, else we should have been compelled touse the first fair wind to make a port in order to refit We were favored with a fine breeze across the China Sea,and that portion of the trip was passed pleasantly enough. Afterthe usual bending cables, and getting anchors off the bows, pre-paratory to running into port, was completed, we made the land,and were shortly boarded by a Chinese pilot, who took us upto the anchorage at Whampoa. Here we immediately com-menced discharging our cargo of rice into large Chinese boats,which took it on shore. One week sufficed for this, and then George and I werefree—our agreement on shipping having been that we should bedischarg
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