The company at our table consisted not only of the passengers, of
whom there were three besides myself, but of the cooks and waiters
of the first-class places, as well as of the butcher; or, in a word,
of every one of the attendants who chose to take "pot-luck" with us.
As for any etiquette in the article of costume, that was entirely
out of the question. Sometimes one of the company would appear
without either coat or jacket; the butcher was generally oblivious
of his shoes and stockings; and it was really necessary to be
endowed with a ravenous appetite to be enabled to eat anything with
such a set.
The bill of fare was certainly adapted to the crew and their
costume, but decidedly not to the passengers, who had to pay
thirteen dollars (2 pounds 12s.) a day each for provisions.
The table-cloth was full of stains, and, in lieu of a napkin, each
guest was at liberty to use his handkerchief. The knives and forks
had white and black horn handles, with notched blades, and broken
prongs. On the first day we had no spoons at all; on the second we
had one between us, and this one was placed on the table in solitary
grandeur during the entire voyage. There were only two glasses, and
those of the most ordinary description, which circulated from mouth
to mouth; as I was a female, instead of my turn of the glasses, I
had, as a peculiar mark of distinction, an old tea-cup with the
handle knocked off.
The head cook, who did the honours, pleaded in excuse for all this
discomfort, that they happened this voyage to be short of servants.
This struck me as really a little too naive, for when I paid my
money I paid for what I ought to have then, and not for what I might
have another time.
As I said before, the provisions were execrable; the remnants of the
first cabin were sent to us poor wretches. Two or three different
things would very often be side by side in the most friendly and
brotherly manner upon one dish, even although their character was
widely different; that was looked upon as a matter of no import,
which was also the case as to whether the things came to table hot
or cold.
On one occasion, during tea, the head cook was in unusually good
humour, and remarked, "I spare no possible pains to provide for you.
I hope you want for nothing." Two of the passengers, Englishmen,
replied, "No, that's true!" The third, who was a Portuguese, did
not understand the importance of the assertion. As a native of
Germany, not possessing the patriotic feeling of an English subject
in the matter, I should have replied very differently had I not been
a women, and if, by so replying, I could have effected a change for
the better.
The only light we had was from a piece of tallow candle, that often
went out by eight o'clock. We were then under the necessity of
sitting in the dark or going to bed.
In the morning the cabin served as a barber's shop, and in the
afternoon as a dormitory, where the cooks and servants, who were
half dead with sleep, used to come and slumber on the benches.
In order to render us still more comfortable, one of the officers
pitched upon our cabin as quarters for two young puppies, who did
nothing but keep up one continued howl; he would not have dared to
put them in the sailors' cabin, because the latter would have kicked
them out without farther ceremony.
My description will, in all probability, be considered exaggerated,
especially as there is an old opinion that the English are, above
all other people, justly celebrated for their comfort and
cleanliness. I can, however, assure my readers that I have spoken
nothing but the truth; and I will even add that, although I have
made many voyages on board steam-ships, and always paid second fare,
never did I pay so high a price for such wretched and detestable
treatment. In all my life I was never so cheated. The only
circumstance on board the ship to which I can refer with pleasure
was the conduct of the officers, who were, without exception,
obliging and polite.
I was very much struck with the remarkable degree of patience
exhibited by my fellow-passengers. I should like to know what an
Englishman, who has always got the words "comfort" and "comfortable"
at the top of his tongue, would say, if he were treated in this
manner on board a steamer belonging to any other nation?
For the first few days of our voyage we saw no land, and it was not
until the 28th of August that we caught sight of the rocky coast of
Cochin China. During the whole of the 29th we steered close along
the coast, but could see no signs of either human beings or
habitations, the only objects visible being richly wooded mountain-
ranges; in the evening, however, we beheld several fires, which
might have been mistaken for the signals from lighthouses, and
proved that the country was not quite uninhabited.
During the following day we only saw a large solitary rock called
"The Shoe." It struck me as being exactly like the head of a
shepherd's dog.
On the 2nd of September we neared Malacca. Skirting the coast are
tolerably high, well-wooded mountain-ranges, infested, according to
all accounts, by numerous tigers, that render all travelling very
dangerous.
