something to endure the disagreeableness of the next four months.
Now for a bit of description of our residence. The large hold of the ship, where the goods generally are stored, is divided in about the middle by a deal partition. The apartment towards the forecastle, or front of the ship, is allotted to the male steerage passengers; the other, towards the cabins in the poop, or the back part of the ship, to the females. There are two rows of berths, one above the other, round each compartment. The berths are three feet by six feet, just affording room for two persons to lie down. They are separated from each other by a slight, low deal board, about ten inches high, so that when we are all in bed, our bodies, rising higher than these boards which separate us, it seems as if we were ranged side by side in one immense bed all round the place. We sleep on straw mattresses, with a double blanket and a rug. We live at present on nothing but beef and soup and biscuit, but there is plenty of that. We are divided into messes—eight persons to a mess. One of the eight acts as captain for the rest for a week, and then another for another week. The captain's job is to get the provisions for the rest from the ship's steward,
