belonging to the P. and 0 . line, and we soon found
ourselves floating down the Gulf of Suez, passing on
our right the Ataka mountain, clothed in the soft
light of a rising sun. By the following day we had
entered the Red Sea, and in the afternoon sighted
the “ Two Brothers,” small rocky islands. The heat
now increased perceptibly, and, as usual at starting,
time hung heavily upon us, but the frigid exterior
of my fellow passengers soon thawed, one after the
other trying to make himself agreeable, which generally
ends in kindly companionship for the rest of the
voyage.
A Dutch courtship between a young naval officer
and the daughter of an Admiral on their way
to Batavia created much merriment amongst even
the most sober of us, being little accustomed in our
colder climate to the exhibition of affection and of love
tokens under the public eye, still we thought it a
charming way of enjoying the long hours at sea, and
should have had no objection to being similarly engaged.
One fine evening, however, their amusement
very nearly came to an untimely termination. Standing
on the stage of the gangway-ladder, the young
couple were leaning against its outer railing, when
suddenly the lady, intently listening to the sweet voice
of her devoted swain, slipped with both her feet into
the vacant space beyond, and in another instant would
have found her grave in the deep sea, had not her
companion been at hand to snatch her from her
apparent doom, not, however, without some danger to
himself. The reader may be sure that this spot, at all
times unsafe, was eschewed ever after; and we could
notice an additional amount of tenderness between
the two, in fact so important an adventure furnished
us with a theme of conversation for some time to
come.
The heat now kept increasing, thermometer 85° in the
shade, the punkahs going all day, at first with languor,
until strong reprimands, if not occasional kicks, made
the poor boys, dressed in a white habit and party-
coloured turban, pull them more vigorously. Lemonade
and soda water were in constant request, whilst
smoking was seldom agreeable until the cool of the
evening, after the sun had set, with its magnificent
display of golden and crimson reflections. The nimblefooted
lascars seemed at this period of our voyage the
only active beings on board, all others crawled along,
taking care to keep under the double awning ; the
former are excellent fair-weather sailors, but I have
frequently been told that they are great cowards in a
gale of wind. Woe to the poor passengers if the ship
meet with a storm in the Red Sea ; all ports are at