Our cabins we had (in accordance with the usages of emigrant ships) furnished ourselves, and they were roomy and comfortable, but I will not readily forget the horror with which I woke up during the first night at sea, with an indescribable feeling that I was being crawled over by some loathsome things.  In a half-wakeful fit, I put out my hand, to find it rest upon a huge rat, which was seated on my chest.  I started up in my bunk, when, as I did so, it appeared that a large family of rats had been holding high carnival upon me and my possessions; fully a dozen must have been in bed with me.  I had no light, nor could I procure one, so I dressed and went on deck until morning.  As a boy I was fond of carpentering, and was considerably expert in that way.  My father thinking some tools would be useful to me, provided me with a small chest of serviceable ones (not the ordinary amateur’s gimcracks), and this chest I had with me in my cabin.  On examination I discovered several holes beneath the berth, where no doubt the previous night’s visitors had entered.  I set to work, and with the aid of some deal boxes given me by the steward, I had all securely closed up by breakfast, where the others enjoyed a hearty laugh at my experience of the night.  The captain said there were doubtless hundreds of rats on board, and seemed to regard the fact with complacency rather than otherwise.  Sailors consider that the presence of rats is a guarantee of the seaworthiness of the ship, and they will never voluntarily take passage in a vessel that is not sound.

The captain’s supposition proved true enough, and it was not unusual of an evening to see these friendly rodents taking an airing on the ropes and rigging, and upon the hand-rails around the poop deck, and while so diverting themselves, I have endeavoured to shake them overboard, but always in vain; they were thoroughbred sailors, knew exactly when and where to jump, and flopping on the deck at my feet would disappear, with a twist of their tails amidships.

I do not think that the sailors approved of the rats being destroyed, and rather preferred their society than otherwise.

We soon settled down to our sea life, and the groans of sickness and the screaming of children from between decks ceased in time.  Our own party of nine had the poop to ourselves, and were very comfortable; we soon got to like the life, and generally arranged some way of spending each day agreeably.  We had a fair library, chess, backgammon, whist, etc., and when we got into the Tropics and had occasional calms, we went out in the captain’s gig; then further south we had shooting matches at Cape pigeons and albatrosses, and in all our amusements the captain and Lapworth took part.