he sand
spit to the spot which had been selected for the last resting-place of
the dead. Arrived there, the two coffins were at once deposited in
their respective graves, when the new captain, standing between the two
holes, somewhat hurriedly completed the ritual--for the light was fading
fast; whereupon, after bestowing a final parting glance at the rough,
uncouth box which concealed our beloved chief's body, we all turned
slowly and reluctantly away to retrace our steps back to the apology for
a camp which was to shelter us for the night, leaving a fresh party of
workers to fill in the graves.

In neither arm of the British fighting service do men unduly dwell upon
the loss of fallen comrades, for it is quite justly held that the man
who yields up his life in the service of his country has done a glorious
thing, whether he falls in a pitched battle deciding the fate of an
empire, or in some such obscure and scarcely chronicled event as the
attack upon a slave factory. He is, where such is possible, laid in his
last resting-place with all the honourable observance that circumstances
permit, and his memory is cherished in the hearts of his comrades; but
whether his fame pass with the echo of the last volley fired over his
grave, or outlives the brass of the tablet which records his name and
deeds, there is no room for grief. Wherefore, when we got back to camp
and had made the best possible arrangements for the coming night, there
was little reference in our conversation to the tragic events of the
past twenty-four hours; Mr Perry took up the reins of government, and
matters proceeded precisely as they would have done had Captain Harrison
been still alive and among us.

Our "camp" was, naturally, an exceedingly primitive affair; our living
and sleeping quarters consisting simply of sails cut from the yards and
stretched over such supports as could be contrived by inserting the
lower ends of spars or planks in the sand and lashing their upper ends
together. These structures we dignified with the name of "tents." The
exigencies of the situation did not permit of the observance of such
nice distinctions of rank in the matter of accommodation as exist under
ordinary conditions, it therefore came about that we of the midshipmen's
berth were lodged for the night in the same tent as the ward-room
officers, and consequently we heard much of the conversation that passed
between them, particularly at dinner. This meal--co