say about the rigging; if this was not all it should have been, the fault lay entirely with the plaguy considerations of our budget.  On the foremast we had two squaresails; there ought to have been four.  On the jib-boom there were two staysails; there was room enough for three, but the money would not run to it.  In the Trades we tried to make up for the deficiency by rigging a studding-sail alongside the foresail and a sky-sail above the topsail.  I will not assert that these improvised sails contributed to improve the vessel’s appearance, but they got her along, and that is a great deal more important.  We made very fair progress southward during these September days, and before the month was half over we had come a good way into the tropical belt.  No particularly tropical heat was felt, at any rate by us men; and as a rule the heat is not severely felt on board ship in open sea so long as the vessel is moving.  On a sailing-ship, lying becalmed with the sun in the zenith, it might be warmer than one would wish; but in case of calms we had the engine to help us, so that there was always a little breeze —­ that is, on deck.  Down below it was worse; sometimes “hoggishly mild,” as Beck used to put it.  Our otherwise comfortable cabins had one fault; there were no portholes in the ship’s side, and therefore we could not get a draught; but most of us managed without shifting our quarters.  Of the two saloons, the fore-saloon was decidedly preferable in warm weather; in a cold climate probably the reverse would be the case.  We were able to secure a thorough draught of air forward through the alleyway leading to the forecastle; it was difficult to get a good circulation aft, where they also had the warm proximity of the engine.  The engineers, of course, had the hottest place, but the ever-inventive Sundbeck devised a means of improving the ventilation of the engine-room, so that even there they were not so badly off under the circumstances.

One often hears it asked, Which is to be preferred, severe heat or severe cold?  It is not easy to give a definite answer; neither of the two is pleasant, and it must remain a matter of taste which is least so.  On board ship no doubt most people will vote for heat, as, even if the days are rather distressing, one has the glorious nights to make up for them.  A bitterly cold day is poorly compensated for by an even colder night.

One decided advantage of a warm climate for men who have to be frequently in and out of their clothes and their bunks is the simplicity of costume which it allows.  When you wear hardly anything it takes a very short time to dress.