Having made a voyage in a foreign ship from Bengal to the Cape, it may be serviceable to some of my readers to receive a hint or two regarding the usage he is likely to experience, should he entertain a disposition to avail himself of that channel of conveyance. The detail need not be prolix; for it may justly be asserted, in few words, that foreign vessels are rarely sea-worthy; they are badly equipped, and worse manned; their decks are low; their accommodations dark, dismal, and offensive; their water execrable; their provisions scarce and bad; their commanders ignorant, avaricious, mean, proud, tyrannical, and deceitful! That some exceptions may exist, cannot be denied; but I never heard of one who did not, more or less, merit the above stigma. Look to the Company’s ships, and see the reverse! The truth is, that in them we find most of those good points that are established in the Royal navy, added to much desire in their commanders to be on a friendly footing with the passengers; while, I believe, there is no doubt that, in the end, their terms are more moderate than those of any foreigners. If the circumstances of a passenger should enable him to hire a cabin, his comfort will be increased inconceivably, even though he should have barely room enough to swing a cot, or to put up a standing bed. But, that he may not deceive himself in respect to the accommodation he is to derive from such a retirement, it would be proper for him to pay a visit to the vessel while lying in the river, probably at Gravesend, or the Hope, and there to ascertain the exact dimensions he is to occupy. It is an object, if he uses a swinging cot, that the breadth of the cabin should be such as to allow of its being triced up between the beams during the daytime; thereby to have it out of the way, and to give more space in the cabin. When suspended, it should be lengthwise; so that, as the ship rolls, or lays down on either side, the cot should swing even. When hung athwart-ships, unless the cabin be very broad, it would be perpetually knocking against the bulk-head (or partition), and the ship’s side. Hence it is advisable, wherever the space may admit, to make a standing bed-place fore and aft, furnishing it with rails, to keep the occupant from rolling out; for, if it be made athwart-ships, and the vessel be working against an adverse wind, he must, whenever the ship goes about, change the position of his pillow, from head to foot alternately.