a rather black,
white-man stood and watched me out of the engine room. He looked
interested, and I spoke to him later. He said he "did a bit" himself in
unmistakeable West Country accent, and he took me to his cabin to show
me his art work. Though not very high up in the working part of this
show--boiler maker or artificer, I think, he had a very nice cabin. His
art work was decorative. He applied various cigar and tobacco labels
with gum to Eastern wine jars of unmistakeably Greek design, also
Masonic, and P. & O. symbols, with crosses, and rising suns in red and
gold; the interspaces of these geometric designs he filled up with blue
and gold enamel paint; and the general effect was very bright. It was
odd though to see a vase of historic shape done over with such brand new
labels. He had done this work for some years in spare time, so he had
acquired considerable proficiency.

I would fain be able to describe some of the human interest, on such a
vessel as this; there is enough for many novelists to study for many a
day. Of each class at home we know individuals, soldiers and civilians,
and their women folk, and they are interesting as others or more so; but
when you see them like this on board their ship in their numbers, going
East to their various duties, the interest becomes quite a big thing.
There is the girl going to her future husband in a native regiment, not
to return for years, and there is a couple sitting beside us to-night in
the smoking-room--a white-haired Colonel and his young protege, a
budding soldier--they talk of mother at home, and cousins and aunts.
Then there's The-most-beautiful-girl-in-the-ship, but she is not
typical, and I think she goes farther East than India: she has chummed
already with the best set-up man on board, so that's as it should
be--and what an occasion it is for chumming! I'd like to know what is
the average number of engagements made and broken on these P. & O.'s per
voyage. R. tells me of one made in his last trip home; I forget on what
line. The passengers were eleven young men and one lady, and she
favoured one of them, so there were ten disappointed suitors. They found
He and She could sing a little, so one of the ten played accompaniments,
and the others encouraged the devoted pair to sing tender ditties, which
they did and for all they were worth. He sang, "I want you, my Honey,"
and put his back into it, as R. says, very slangily I think, and the
suitors thought they