pon a slide projecting from
the stern of the vessel ready for immersion. The captain read the Burial
Service, all on board standing uncovered. At the words "Dust to dust,"
etc., the body was allowed to slide into the sea--where it immediately
disappeared. The mother was too ill to be present, and the father's
grief was severe, as it might well be, to witness his child laid in so
lonely a resting place in mid-ocean without sign or mark. The following
evening a similar scene was enacted when the body of the other little
sister was committed to the deep, and the father had to be taken away
before the service was completed.

No ceremonies I ever beheld impressed and affected me so much as the
burial of the little twins at sea.

While in the Tropics we had occasional calms, sometimes lasting for two
or three days; the sea was like molten glass, and the sun burnt like a
furnace. On such occasions we were permitted to row about within a
reasonable distance of the ship, so that if a breeze suddenly sprang up
we might not be left behind. Once this very nearly occurred, when we had
rowed a long way off, after what was supposed to be a whale spouting. We
suddenly felt a gentle breath of air, and noticed the glassy surface
giving place to a slight disturbance. We were a mile off the ship, but
could distinctly hear the summons from aboard, and noticed the sails
filling. We rowed with all our strength, stripped to the waist, and
succeeded in getting up when the ship was well under weigh. It was a
stiff piece of work, and the captain was so concerned and annoyed at our
disobedience of his orders that he refused to allow us to boat again
during the voyage. We suffered sorely for our escapade, for not knowing
the strength of a tropical sun, we exposed ourselves so that the skin
was burned and peeled off, and we were in misery for several days, while
our arms and necks were swathed in cotton wool and oil.

After leaving the tropics we had a pleasant voyage and fair winds until
we rounded the Cape, where we encountered some rough weather, and at 56 deg.
S.L., it being then almost winter in those latitudes, we passed many
icebergs of more or less extent. Few of them appeared to be more than
ten or fifteen feet above water, but the greater portion of such blocks
are submerged, and considerable caution had to be observed night and day
to steer clear of them. They were usually observable at first from the
large number of birds resting on th