And that, of course, was a mistake. The smoothly ordered life of the
_Oronta's_ saloon passengers was very much that of a first-class
seaside hotel, say in Bournemouth. So far from sprawling upon the
snowy deck of a forecastle-head, to watch the phosphorescent lights in
the water under our ship's bow, saloon passengers on board the
_Oronta_ were not expected ever to intrude upon the forward deck--the
ship had no forecastle-head--which was reserved for the uses of the
crew. Also, in the conventional black and white of society's evening
uniform for men, I suppose one does not exactly sprawl on decks, even
where these are spotless, as they never are on board a steamship.

The pleasant race of sailor men, of shell-backs, such as those who
swung the yards and tallied on to the halliards of the _Ariadne_, may
or may not have become extinct, and given place to a breed of sea-going
mechanics, who protect their feet by means of rubber boots when
washing decks down in the morning. In any case, I met none of the old
salted variety among the _Oronta's_ multitudinous crew. For me there
was here no sitting on painted spars, or tarry hatch-covers, or rusty
anchor-stocks, and listening to long, rambling 'yarns,' or 'cuffers,'
in idle dog-watches or restful night-watches, when the southern Trades
blew steadily, and the braces hung untouched upon their pins for a
week on end. No, in the second dog-watch here, one took a solemn
constitutional preparatory to dressing for dinner; and in the first
night-watch one smoked and listened willy-nilly to polite small talk,
and (from the ship's orchestra) the latest and most criminal products
of New York's musical genius. I never heard or saw the process of
relieving wheel or look-out aboard the _Oronta_, and long before the
beginning of the middle watch I had usually switched off for the night
the electric reading-lamp over my pillow.

The fact is, of course, that I had never had any kind of training for
such a life as that in which I now found myself. I will not pretend to
regret that, for, to be frank, it is a vapid, foolish, empty life
enough. But there it was; one could not well evade it, and I had had
no previous experience of anything at all like it. The most popular
breakfast-hour was something after nine. Beef-tea, ices, and suchlike
aids to indigestion were partaken of a couple of hours later. Luncheon
was a substantial dinner. The four o'clock tea was quite a meal for
most passengers