drove him mad, the insanity developing
itself on the return voyage. The captain had to be imprisoned in his own
state-room, where he committed suicide in a terrible manner by tearing
his throat open with the point of a candlestick or sconce. The second
mate, who was as coarse a brute as a common sailor could be, took
command, and as he at once got drunk, and kept so, the passengers rose,
confined him, and gave the command to the third, who was very young.

"Thus woman is the cause of fearful deeds."

However, I freely admit that this incident resulted from a long voyage,
for we were thirty-five days in going from port to port. In only a week,
with three or four days' preliminary sea-sickness, there is hardly time
for "flirtation and its consequences." Nor was it so much a stormy trip
as one with long sunny calms. Then we hauled up Gulf-weed with little
crabs--saw Portuguese men-of-war or sea-anemones sailing along like
Cleopatra's barges with purple sails, or counted flying-fish. Apropos of
this last I have something to say. During my last trip I once devoted an
afternoon to closely observing these bird-like creatures, and very
distinctly saw two cases in which the fish turned and flew against the
wind or tacked--a fact which has been denied.

One day I saw a few rudder-fish playing about the stern. They weigh
perhaps some six or seven pounds; so, standing on velvet cushions in the
cabin, I fished out of the stern-window. Then came a bite, and in a
second I had my fish flapping about on the carpet under the table, to the
great amazement of the steward, who had probably never had a live fish
jump so promptly before into his hands. And we had it for dinner. One
day a ship made to us a signal of distress, and sent a boat, saying that
they were completely out of fuel; also that their passengers consisted
entirely of the celebrated Ravel troupe of acrobats and actors. It would
have been an experience to have crossed in that packet with their chief,
Gabriel!

Gabriel Ravel--it is one of my brother's published tales--was a good
boxer as well as a marvellous acrobat, and he could _look_ like what he
pleased. One morning a muscular and vain New York swell saw in a
gymnasium one whom he supposed to be a very verdant New Jersey rustic
gaping about. The swell exhibited with great pride his skill on the
parallel bars, horizontal pole, _et cetera_, and seeing the countryman
absolutely dumbfounded with astonishment