with the little group of male passengers on the
quarter-deck, restored to his sweetest temper;
and set them his customary example, after dinner,
of smoking a cigar.

"If this fine weather lasts, gentlemen," he
said, "we shall make out very well with our
meals up here; and we shall have our two small
extra cabin passengers christened on dry land in a
week's time, if their mothers approve of it.
How do you feel in your mind, sir, about your
good lady?"

Mr. Smallchild (to whom the inquiry was
addressed) had his points of external personal
resemblance to Simon Heavysides. He was
neither so tall, nor so lean certainly—but he,
too, had a Roman nose, and light hair, and
watery blue eyes. With careful reference to his
peculiar habits at sea, he had been placed
conveniently close to the bulwark, and had been
raised on a heap of old sails and cushions, so
that he could easily get his head over the ship's
side when occasion required. The food and
drink which assisted in " restoring his tissue,"
when he was not asleep and not "squaring
accounts with the sea," lay close to his hand. It
was then a little after three o'clock; and the
snore with which Mr. Smallchild answered the
captain's inquiry showed that he had got round
again, with the regularity of clockwork, to the
period of the day when he recruited himself with
sleep.

"What an insensible blockhead that man is!"
said Mr. Sims, the middle-aged passenger; looking
across the deck contemptuously at Mr.
Smallchild.

"If the sea had the same effect on you
that it has on him," retorted the invalid
passenger, Mr. Purling, "you would be just as
insensible yourself."

Mr. Purling (who was a man of sentiment)
disagreed with Mr. Sims (who was a man of
business), on every conceivable subject, all
through the voyage. Before, however, they
could continue the dispute about Mr. Smallchild,
the doctor surprised them by appearing from the
cabin.

"Any news from below, Jolly?" asked the
captain, anxiously.

"None whatever," answered the doctor.
"I've come to idle the afternoon away up here,
along with the rest of you."

As events turned out, Mr. Jolly idled away
an hour and a half exactly. At the end of that
time, Mrs. Drabble the stewardess appeared
with a face of mystery, and whispered nervously
to the doctor:

"Please to step below directly, sir."

"Which of them is it?" asked Mr. Jolly.

"Both of them," answered Mrs. Drabble,
emphatically.

The doctor looked grave; the stewardess
looked frightened. The two immediately
disappeared together.

"I suppose, gentlemen," said Captain Gillop,
addressing Mr. Purling, Mr. Sims, and the first
mate, who had just joined the party, "I
suppose it's only fit and proper, in the turn things
have taken, to shake up Mr. Smallchild? And
I don't doubt but what we ought to have the
other husband handy, as a sort of polite attention
under the circumstances. Pass the word
forward, there, for Simon Heavysides. Mr.
Smallchild, sir! rouse up! Here's your good
lady—Hang me, gentlemen, if I know exactly
how to put it to him."

"Yes. Thank you," said Mr. Smallchild,
opening his eyes drowsily. "Biscuit and cold
bacon, as usual—when I'm ready. I'm not
ready yet. Thank you. Good afternoon." Mr.
Smallchild closed his eyes again, and became, in
the doctor's phrase, "totally comatose."

Before Captain Gillop could hit on any new
plan for rousing this imperturbable passenger,
Simon Heavysides once more approached the
quarter-deck.

"I spoke a little sharp to you, just now, my
man," said the captain, "being worried in my
mind by what's going on on board this vessel.
But I'll make it up to you, never fear. Here's
your wife in, what they call, an interesting situation.
It's only right you should be within easy
hail of her. I look upon you, Heavysides, as a
steerage-passenger in difficulties; and I freely
give you leave to stop here along with us till
it's all over."

"You are very good, sir," said Simon; "and
I am indeed thankful to you and to these
gentlemen. But, please to remember, I have seven
children already in the steerage—and there's
nobody left to mind 'em but me. My wife has
got over it uncommonly well, sir, on seven
previous occasions—and I don't doubt but what
she'll conduct herself in a similar manner on the
eighth. It will be a satisfaction to her mind,
Captain Gillop and gentlemen, if she knows I'm
out of the way, and minding the children. For
which reason, I respectfully take my leave."
With those words, Simon made his bow, and
returned to his family.

"Well, gentlemen, these two husbands take
it easy enough, at any rate!" said the captain.
"One of them is used to it, to be sure; and the
other is—"

Here a banging of cabin doors below, and a
hurrying of footsteps, startled the speaker and his
audience into momentary silence and attention.

"Ease her with the helm, Williamson!" said
Captain Gillop, addressing the man who was
steering the vessel. "In my opinion, gentlemen,
the less the ship pitches the better, in the
turn things are taking now."

The afternoon wore on into evening, and
evening into night. Mr. Smallchild performed
the daily ceremonies of his nautical existence as
punctually as usual. He was aroused to a
sense of Mrs. Smallchild's situation when
he took his biscuit and bacon; lost the sense
again when the time came round for "squaring
his accounts;" recovered it in the interval
which ensued before he went to sleep; lost it
again, as a matter of course, when his eyes
closed once more—and so on through the evening
and early night. Simon Heavysides received
messages occasionally (through the captain's