te of
Captain Huntly's character very much coincided with my own, and that,
like me, he is impressed with the man's undecided manner and sluggish
appearance. Like me, too, he has formed a very favourable opinion of
Robert Curtis, the mate, a man of about thirty years of age, of great
muscular power, with a frame and a will that seem ever ready for action.

Whilst we were still talking of him, Curtis himself came on deck, and as
I watched his movements I could not help being struck with his physical
development; his erect and easy carriage, his fearless glance and
slightly contracted brow all betokened a man of energy, thoroughly
endowed with the calmness and courage that are indispensable to the
true sailor. He seems a kind-hearted fellow, too, and is always ready
to assist and amuse young Letourneur, who evidently enjoys his company.
After he had scanned the weather and examined the trim of the sails, he
joined our party and proceeded to give us some information about those
of our fellow-passengers with whom at present we have made but slight
acquaintance.

Mr. Kear, the American, who is accompanied by his wife, has made a large
fortune in the petroleum springs in the United States. He is a man of
about fifty, a most uninteresting companion, being overwhelmed with
a sense of his own wealth and importance, and consequently supremely
indifferent to all around him. His hands are always in his pockets,
and the chink of money seems to follow him wherever he goes. Vain and
conceited, a fool as well as an egotist, he struts about like a peacock
showing its plumage, and to borrow the words of the physiognomist
Gratiolet, "il se flaire, il se savoure, il se goute." Why he should
have taken his passage on board a mere merchant vessel instead of
enjoying the luxuries of a Transatlantic steamer, I am altogether at a
loss to explain.

The wife is an insignificant, insipid woman, of about forty years of
age. She never reads, never talks, and I believe I am not wrong in
saying, never thinks. She seems to look without seeing, and listen
without hearing, and her sole occupation consists in giving her orders
to her companion, Miss Herbey, a young English girl of about twenty.

Miss Herbey is extremely pretty. Her complexion is fair and her eyes
deep blue, whilst her pleasing countenance is altogether free from
that insignificance of feature which is not unfrequently alleged to be
characteristic of English beauty. Her mouth would be