understand its true spirit,—never contradict, and, if you can, help it onward. When going on deck about 6 o'clock that evening, I was alarmed to see our gallant captain in red velvet slippers. A few minutes later the chief officer burst on my affrighted gaze in red velvet slippers too. On my way hurriedly to the saloon I encountered the third officer similarly shod. When I recovered from these successive shocks, I carried out my mission of alarming the rest of the passengers, who were in the saloon enjoying themselves peacefully, and reported what I had seen. The old coasters, even including the silent ones, agreed with me that we were as good as lost so far as this world went; and the deaf gentleman went hurriedly on deck, we think "to take the sun,"—it was a way he had at any time of day, because "he had been studying about how to fix points for the Government—and wished to keep himself in practice."
My fellow new-comers were perplexed; and one of them, a man who always made a point of resisting education, and who thought nothing of calling some of our instructor's best information "Tommy Rot!" said, "I don't see what can happen; we're right out at sea, and it's as calm as a millpond."
"Don't you, my young friend? don't you?" sadly said an old Coaster. "Well, I'll just tell you there's precious little that can't happen, for we're among the shoals of St. Ann."
The new-comers went on deck "just to look round;" and as there was nothing to be seen but a superb specimen of damp darkness, they returned to the saloon, one of them bearing an old chart sheet which he had borrowed from the authorities. Now that chart was not reassuring; the thing
