hundred men, and on the other days, while
preparing, about half the number.

How the men were paid:—The method of
paying the people (which we had to do every
evening) was as follows: In the morning
when they came they were formed into four
lines, and the captain and I took each of us
a basket filled with small paper tickets, with
the ship's name written on them. We then
passed through the lines, giving each man a
ticket, and if this ticket was not produced
in the evening he lost his pay. They were
then all set to work, and overlooked by the
captain, mate, and myself. The engineers,
having left everything to us, a few days after
my arrival had returned to Dinapore. The
men had an hour at noon for their dinner,
and at dusk assembled to be paid. The captain
then took his chair close by the vessel, with a
large basket of copper coin before him. I
sat opposite, holding my basket ready to take
tickets, and we had a guard about us to keep
off the pressure of the crowd. The first man
being let into the circle came to me, and
having given me his ticket, went over to the
captain, who handed him six pice—about
twopence halfpenny in English money. In
this manner all in turn received their pay.
We generally found it more than an hour's
work to pay all, and sometimes after working
later than usual, on launching days, when the
number of men was doubled, the rush of
the people attempting to get first within the
circle was tremendous. Guard, captain, and
ticket-taker were then frequently capsized,
and rolled into a heap.

Our comforts:—We were very badly off for
provisions up the Ganges (I speak
gastronomically) for the natives either could not or
would not supply us. We occasionally purchased
a pig, fattened him up for a week or so, and
then killed and corned him for our future use.
We also made churpatties from flour, and ate
them instead of bread, of which we could get
none. We occasionally got a fowl or two,
and shot game, which abounded, when we got
a leisure hour. The weather being cold, and
the nights frosty, we did not greatly care
about it. The country in our neighbourhood
was flat, with large cotton plantations close to
us; in fact, we had to cut through one of them.

By way of evening amusement we shot the
jackalls and hyænas, that after a launch, came
in great numbers from the adjacent jungles,
to lick up the grease left on the ways. On
Christmas Day our work was nearly over, and
we hoped to get the ship afloat by the New
Year. On that day we had a visit from the
officers and passengers of one of the flats on
their way down to Calcutta; and, during the
whole of the time of our stay, we were
frequently visited by passengers passing up
and down the river in boats, who wondered
duly at the undertaking. Our friend, Prince
Bucter Pondee, generally paid us a visit once
a week, always coming on his elephant,
attended by a princely suite. He was a stout,
powerful man—a proper man to ride an
elephant—and very good-natured. He made a
picturesque addition to our busy group.

We did not end our work on New Year's
Day. I think it was on the twenty-eighth
of January that all was prepared for the
last launch; the Megna was then distant
about two hundred feet from the water in
the creek. The ground being in that part
of her course particularly soft and muddy,
it was not able to support the weight of
the vessel; so we cut, and laid down a
great quantity of green bamboos as level
as possible, to help to support the ways up.
The anchors were then laid down on the
opposite side of the creek, as during the
whole progress of launching. We had gradually
brought the vessel to a suitable position,
by slightly curving the ways, for if we had
launched in a straight line, the vessel's stern
would have looked right down the creek;
and consequently we should not have been
able to have laid our anchors down in the
solid ground, our small anchors would have
come home in the mud of the river, without
starting her an inch, and all our labour would
have been lost. At about three P. M. on the
above-mentioned day we launched the Megna
once more into the river Ganges without
any trouble, and then tracked her down the
stream about a quarter of a mile below the
creek, and secured her alongside the shore in
safety for the night. During the next week we
were busily engaged in collecting the
materials, and stowing them away in native boats,
ready for starting. On the morning of the
first of February Prince Bucter Pondee came
on board to pay his farewell visit. At noon,
all being ready, we cast off from the bank of
the river, and with three native boats in tow,
put on the engines at full speed for Dinapore,
on the way to Calcutta, heartily saluted by
the cheers of our late workmen and of all the
natives who had come to see us off. So
Government was spared the trouble of laying
up the steamer for a year, till the next
flood; and in three months the launching of
the Megna was completed by the force of
Saxon heads and Indian hands.

MORAL.—When any man—young man, or
old man—gets his ship, no matter what ship,
grounded—as we all have ships that run
aground sometimes, especially when we
attempt short cuts—let him not wait for the
next flood, like a lazy fellow, but set himself
to work at once, and persevere until he hauls
her back by his own strength of wit and will
into deep water.

         Now ready, price 5s. 6d., neatly bound in Cloth,
                           THE SIXTH VOLUME
                                           OF
                         HOUSEHOLD WORDS.
  Containing the numbers issued between September 11th
      1852, and February 26th, 1853; including the extra
      Christmas number, entitled, "A ROUND OF STORIES BY
      THE CHRISTMAS FIRE."