Some Betted On The "Run," And
Others On The Time Of Reaching Port; In Short, Every Expedient Was
Resorted To By Which Time Could Be Killed.
We had about twenty English passengers; the rest were Canadians,
Americans, Jews, Germans, Dutch, French, Californians, Spaniards, and
Bavarians.
Strict equality was preserved in this heterogeneous assembly.
An Irish pork-merchant was seated at dinner next a Jew, who regarded the
pig in toto as an abomination - a lady, a scion of a ducal family, found
herself next to a French cook going out to a San Franciscan eating-house -
an officer, going out to high command at Halifax, was seated next a rough
Californian, who wore "nuggets" of gold for buttons; and there were
contrasts even stronger than these. The most conspicuous of our fellow-
voyagers was the editor of an American paper, who was writing a series of
clever but scurrilous articles on England, from materials gleaned in a
three weeks' tour!
Some of the Americans were very fond of practical jokes, but these were
rather of a stupid description. There was a Spanish gentleman who used to
promenade the deck with a dignity worthy of the Cid Rodrigo, addressing
everybody he met with the question, "Parlez-vous Français, Monsieur?"
and at the end of the voyage his stock of English only amounted to "Dice?
Sixpence." One day at dinner this gentleman requested a French-speaking
Californian to tell him how to ask for du pain in English. "My donkeys,"
was the prompt reply, and the joke was winked down the table, while the
Spaniard was hammering away at "My donkeys" till he got the pronunciation
perfect.
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