Rollo on the Atlantic Part 9

"I should think it was very strange," said Jennie.

"Certainly," said the surgeon, "and it is the same on board ship. There are certain parts of the ship, such as the cabins, the state rooms, and the quarter decks, which are appropriated to the pa.s.sengers; and there are certain other parts, such as the forecastle, the bows, and the rigging, which are the domains of the seamen. It is true, that sometimes a pa.s.senger may go into these places without impropriety, as, for example, when he has some business there, or when he is specially invited; just as there may be circ.u.mstances which would render it proper for a gentleman to go into the kitchen, or into the garret, at a house where he is visiting. But those are exceptions to the general rules, and boys especially, both when visiting in houses and when they are pa.s.sengers on board ships, should be very careful to keep in proper places."

"I am glad I did not go climbing up the rigging," said Rollo.

"Yes," replied the surgeon. "Once I knew a pa.s.senger go climbing up the shrouds on board an East Indiaman, and when he had got half way up to the main top, and began to be afraid to proceed, the sailors ran up after him, and, under pretence of helping him, they tied him there, hand and foot, with spun yarn."

"Ha!" said Rollo. "And what did he do?

"He begged them to let him down, but they would not. They said it was customary, whenever a landsman came up into the rigging, for him to pay for his footing by a treat to the sailors; and that they would let him down if he would give them a dollar for a treat."

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE Pa.s.sENGER ON THE RIGGING.]

"And did he give it to them," asked Rollo.

"Yes, he said he would," replied the surgeon "if they would untie one of his hands, so that he could get the dollar out of his pocket. So they untied one of his hands, and he gave them the dollar. Then they untied his other hand and his feet, and so let him go down."

"Why did not he call the captain?" asked Rollo.

"O, the captain would not have paid any attention to such a case,"

replied the surgeon. "If he had been on deck at the time he would have looked the other way, and would have pretended not to see what was going on; but he would really have been pleased. He would have considered the pa.s.senger as justly punished for climbing about where he had no business to go."

Rollo was greatly interested in this narrative. He thought what a narrow escape he had had in deciding that he would not attempt to climb up the shrouds, and he secretly determined that he would be very careful, not only while he was on board the steamer, but also on all other occasions, not to violate the proprieties of life by obtruding himself into places where he ought not to go.

The surgeon now went away, leaving Rollo and Jane on the settee together.

"I wish," said Rollo, "that I had asked him what he meant by heaving the log."

"No," said Jane, "you must not ask any questions."

"Yes," replied Rollo, "I may ask _him_ questions. He said that I might ask any questions that I pleased of him."

"Well," said Jane, "then you must ask him the nest time you see him."

"I will," said Rollo. "And now let us go down into our state room and find Maria, and get ready to go to dinner."

"Well," said Jane, "only let me go first alone. I want to see if I cannot find my way to the state room alone."

Rollo acceded to this proposal, and he accordingly remained on the settee himself while Jane went down. Jane looked up toward him when she turned to go down the steep flight of stairs which led from the promenade deck, with a smile upon her countenance, which seemed to say, "You see I am right so far," and then, descending the steps,--holding on carefully all the time by the green rope,--she soon disappeared from view. Rollo waited a proper time, and then followed Jane. He found her safe upon the couch in her state room, with Maria seated by her side.

In a very few minutes after Rollo came into the state room eight bells struck, and so they all went out to dinner. At first, Jennie said that she did not wish to go. She did not wish for any dinner. In fact, Rollo perceived, in looking at her, that she was beginning to be a little pale. Maria told her, however, that she had better go and take some dinner.

"The rule at sea," said Maria, "always is, to go to the table if you possibly can."

So they all went out into the dining saloon through the long and narrow pa.s.sages that have been already described. They were obliged to put their hands up to the sides of the pa.s.sage ways, first to one side and then to the other, to support themselves, on account of the rolling of the ship, for there now began to be considerable motion. When they reached the saloon they staggered into their places, and there sat rocking gently to and fro on the long swell of the sea, and prepared to eat their dinner.

The dinner was very much like a dinner in a fine hotel on land, except that, as every thing was in motion, it required some care to prevent the gla.s.ses and plates from sliding about and spilling what they contained.

Besides the ledges along the sides of the tables, there were also two running up and down in the middle of it, part.i.tioning off the s.p.a.ce where the various dishes were placed, in the centre, from the s.p.a.ce along the sides where the plates, and knives, and forks, and tumblers of the several guests were laid. This arrangement served, in some measure, to keep every thing in its place; but notwithstanding this, there was a good deal of sliding and jingling among the gla.s.ses whenever an unusual sea came rolling along. In one case, a tumbler, which the person whom it belonged to had not properly secured, came sliding down toward him, while his hands were busy taking care of his soup plate; and when it came to the ledge which formed the edge of the table, the bottom of it was stopped, but the top went over, and poured all the water into the gentleman's lap. Upon this all the pa.s.sengers around the place laughed very heartily.

"There, Rollo," said Jane, "you had better be careful, and not let your tumbler get upset."

"Why, it is nothing but water," replied Rollo. "It won't do any harm. I would as lief have a little water spilled on me as not."

"I should not care about the water so much," replied Jennie; "but I would not as lief have every body laughing at me as not."

This was a very important distinction, and Rollo concluded that it was, after all, better to be careful. He watched the movements of the other pa.s.sengers when the seas came, and observed the precautions which they took to guard against such accidents, and by imitating these he soon became quite adroit. The dinner took a good deal of time, as there were many courses, all served with great regularity. First, there was soup; then fish of various kinds; then all sorts of roasted meats, such as beef, mutton, chickens, and ducks, with a great variety of vegetables.

Then came puddings, pies, jellies, ice creams, and preserves; and, finally, a dessert of nuts, raisins, apples, almonds, and oranges. In fact, it was a very sumptuous dinner, and what was very remarkable, when at last it was ended, and the party rose from the table to go back to the cabin, Jennie said that she had a better appet.i.te at the end of the dinner than she had had at the beginning.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

CHAPTER VII.

INCIDENTS.

By the time that Rollo and Jennie had been two days at sea, they had become accustomed to their novel position, and they began to feel quite at home on board the ship. They formed acquaintance with several of the pa.s.sengers, and they went to and fro about the cabins and decks, and visited their friends in their state rooms quite freely, sometimes alone and sometimes together. The sky was clear, and the water was comparatively smooth. It is true that there was a long swell upon the surface of the sea, which produced a continual, though gentle, rocking of the ship, that made many of the pa.s.sengers sick and uncomfortable.

Rollo and Jane, however, felt for the most part quite well. Sometimes, for a short period, one or the other of them looked pale, and seemed dispirited. At such times they would lie down upon the couch in their state room, or upon a sofa in one of the saloons, and remain quietly there an hour at a time. Jennie usually in such cases was accustomed to lie on the couch in her state room, on account of the seclusion of it; while Rollo, on the other hand, seemed to prefer the saloon. He, being a boy, did not care so much about the seclusion. On the contrary, it amused him to see the people going to and fro, and to watch the reflections of their forms in the mirrors about him. Sometimes, also, it would happen that there were two or more of the pa.s.sengers seated near him and engaged in conversation, that it entertained him to hear; especially when it related, as it often did, to adventures and incidents that they had met with at sea on former voyages. It was necessary, however, that persons thus conversing should be seated very near, in order that Rollo should hear them; for the ship kept up a continual creaking in all its joints, from the rolling of the sea, which made it very difficult to hear what was said across the cabin.

The mirrors, however, and the reflections in them, produced the most singular illusions, and were a source of continual interest to Rollo's mind, as he lay upon the sofa surrounded by them. There were so many of these mirrors that the saloon, and all that pertained to it, were reflected a great many times, and thus produced the most wonderful effects. Long pa.s.sages were seen running off in all directions, and cabin beyond cabin, in an endless perspective. So bright and distinct, too, were the reflections, that it was difficult to tell whether what you were looking at was real, or only an imaged reflection of it.

Sometimes Rollo would see, apparently at a great distance, a man walking along among carved columns in some remote pa.s.sage way, and then, in an instant, the man would pa.s.s directly by his sofa. He had been near all the time, and it was only some third or fourth reflection of him that Rollo had seen.

On the afternoon of the second day of Rollo's voyage, just before eight bells, which would be the time for dinner, as Rollo was lying on a sofa in the saloon, feeling very miserably, and extremely disinclined to speak or to move, two young men came along, talking in a loud and somewhat noisy manner. They stopped opposite to him, and one of them began punching Rollo with the curved head of his cane, saying,--

"Well, Rollo, what's the matter with you? Sick? O, get up, boy, and drive about. Don't lie moping here like a landlubber. Get up, and go and eat some dinner. It is almost eight bells."

Rollo wished very much that these visitors would leave him alone. He made very little reply to them, only saying that he did not wish for any dinner. In fact, he felt sure that, if he were to go to the table, he could not eat any thing.

The men, after laughing at him, and punching him, and teasing him a little longer, went away.

A few minutes after this, Maria and Jennie came into the saloon. They were ready to go to dinner, and so they came into the saloon to wait there till the gong should sound. When they saw Rollo lying upon the sofa, they went up to him, but did not speak. Rollo opened his eyes and looked at them. Maria smiled, but still did not speak. Rollo smiled in return, though somewhat faintly, and then shut his eyes again. Then Maria led Jennie away, gently.

"You see," said Maria to Jennie, when they had gone out of Rollo's hearing, "he feels a little sick, and when persons feel seasick they do not like to talk. I am going to get him a bowl of broth."

"Well," said Jennie, "let me go and ask him if he would like some."

"No," said Maria. "If you were to ask him, he would say no. He would think that he could not eat it; and yet, if I bring it to him, without saying any thing about it, when he tastes it perhaps he will like it.

In fact, when people are sick, it is always better not to ask them too much about what they would like. It is better to consider what we think they would like, and bring it to them, without saying any thing about it beforehand."

So saying, Maria rang the saloon bell. The chambermaid came in answer to the summons. Maria then sent the chambermaid to the dining saloon to bring a bowl of chicken broth to her. The chambermaid went out, and presently returned, bringing the broth, just as the gong was sounding for dinner. Maria carried the broth to Rollo.

When she offered it to him, Rollo thought at first that he should not be able to take but two or three spoonfuls of it, but on tasting it he found that he liked it very much. He ate it all, and, as he lay down again upon his sofa, he said that he felt a great deal better.

Maria then told him that he might lie still there as long as he pleased; adding, that she and Jennie were going to dinner. Maria and Jennie then went away, leaving Rollo alone again.

Rollo felt so much better for the broth that he had taken, that pretty soon he rose from his rec.u.mbent position, and began to sit up.