o receive letters from home. Their
wives were bearing their separation as well as could be expected, and
gave them very minute accounts of all their doings. Julia was living at
Halliburton, and Lucy had been paying a long visit to the admiral and
Mrs Deborah, both of whom were somewhat ailing. The admiral could
rarely do more than take a few turns on the esplanade, sitting down
between each on one of the benches facing the sea, to watch the vessels
as they ran in and out of the harbour.

The officers of the two ships were received with much hospitality by the
inhabitants of Sydney. They were made honorary members of a club equal
to any in London, and balls, dinner-parties, and picnics were got up for
their entertainment. Indeed, after their long absence from civilised
life, they very naturally thought Sydney a magnificent city, as indeed
it is; rising as it does gradually from its superb harbour, and thus
exhibiting to advantage its fine public buildings and substantial
residences; in the suburbs were seen a number of beautiful villas, many
of considerable size, while cabs, omnibuses, and other public
conveyances, and handsome private equipages, abounded. Indeed,
carriages were kept by families who would not have dreamed of
maintaining them at home.

Not a few of the officers made up their minds to return and settle in
the country. The midshipmen, for a wonder, did not lose their hearts--
possibly on account of the small encouragement they received from the
young ladies, who literally and metaphorically looked down upon them,
being as a rule much taller than they were, and well able to distinguish
between the various ranks in the service. Indeed, some little
disappointment was felt when it was discovered that the two commanders
were married men.

The ships, having filled up their coal bunks, shaped a course for the
Sandwich Islands. As it was important to husband their coal, the
greater portion of the passage was performed under sail. Numerous
islands were seen, several of them being regular coral islands, with
lagoons in the centre, not more than a couple of miles in circumference,
and some even much smaller, and rising within a few feet out of the
water. About six weeks after leaving Sydney, Oahu, in which Honolulu,
the capital of the Sandwich Islands, is situated, was sighted. The
ships ran on and came to an anchor in the outer roads, opposite the
city, which is very conspicuous from the sea, and has a