the top till some one came to join me. I
found, however, that Mr Grimes had only sent me up there, as he said,
to give me something to do. He knew at the same time that he was
without necessity separating me from my brother. Still, I gained an
advantage even from his ill nature, as I was thus somewhat accustomed to
go aloft before the ship was in the open sea, and exposed to rough
weather. I stood, therefore, in the fore-top watching what was going on
below me on deck. Many of the first-class passengers were walking the
poop. They were mostly going out as settlers to Cape Colony and Natal,
while a few merchants, planters, and clerks were proceeding on to the
Mauritius. The second-class passengers were nearly all emigrants to the
first-mentioned places. They were mostly small shopkeepers, farmers,
servants who had saved up a little money, and others who had belonged to
a superior class, but were broken down, and all of whom had paid for
their passages. They were a very independent set of people, apparently,
and not at all inclined to submit to discipline. They were wonderfully
varied in the style of their costume, and it struck me that all were
aiming to be considered as belonging to a rank superior to what I
suspect they had in general held. They were scattered about, sitting on
the bulwarks or holding on by the main rigging, watching the vessels and
the shores of the river, which few of them were destined ever to see
again. There were fathers and mothers, with their young children, and
single men, shopmen, and farmers, and artisans going out to seek their
fortunes alone, and a few unmarried women, mostly connected with the
married couples. There were even some old men, whom I should have
supposed would have been content to spend their latter days at home;
but, strange as it may seem, they were urged on by the same desire which
animated many of their younger companions--to make money--to do what
they had failed to do at home. As I watched the motley collection of
people from my high perch, I observed that some were laughing and joking
as if nothing important was taking place. Others were thoughtful, as if
conscious that they were taking an important step in life, while others
looked very sad, evidently feeling that they were quitting for ever the
home of their birth. The little children were playing about,
unconscious that they were going to sea, and running a great risk of
tumbling down the hatchways, whi