This was not the only point on which, that eminent artist won renown. He expounded his views on certain questions of seamanship to the captain with such a wealth of professional phraseology that the worthy officer, who was not in the habit of consorting much with his theatrical passengers, looked upon him with especial favour, asked him constantly into his deckhouse, and ventilated at length--almost, as Byran thought, at too great length--his original theories concerning currents and wind storms. When, moreover, Mr. Duval had corrected the third officer, who was a Yorkshireman, about the exact position of a tobacconist's shop in Boar-lane, Leeds, and had demonstrated that a Scotch professor of St. Andrew's University, who was looked upon as a miracle of learning, was little better than an idiot, he was generally allowed to be a man of universal genius, and respected accordingly. As for the officers of the ship, they took the greatest fancy to him. He was unanimously elected an honorary member of their mess, and the deliciously titillating and highly-spiced dishes which, at a late hour of the night, he prepared in the purser's cabin, the effervescent cooling drinks which he manufactured to go with them, and the romantic little Spanish love songs which he sung afterwards to the accompaniment of a guitar, formed the theme of conversation for many a future voyage. Mr. Skrymshire, the low comedian, who had been seen in the exercise of his profession by several of the passengers, both in London and Liverpool, and from whom a fund of amusement was expected, did not quite come up to popular anticipation, as he passed the principal part of the voyage moaning in his berth in the agonies of illness, and requesting, as a personal favour, that he might be thrown overboard. It was not until the ship had passed Sandy Hook that he put in an appearance on deck; and she was safe at anchor in the quarantine ground--where, in consequence of her late arrival, she was compelled to remain during the night--before he cracked his first joke. All the party were up on deck very early the next morning, looking with admiring eyes at the beauties of Staten Island, and with wonder at the steamers and ferry-boats darting in and out. Acting upon the private hint given to her by Bryan Duval the night before, Miss Montressor had paid a little special attention to her toilette, and looked very pretty and fascinating.