We ran to the eastward for some days for the purpose of getting a favorable wind and then headed northward for our port. The weather continued rough and disagreeable. The anti-scorbutic notions of the commander-in-chief—although we were not a sailing vessel liable to be out of port for any considerable length of time, but a steamer whose necessity for coal would require short runs, caused to be put on board of us before leaving Cape Town, twelve of the large, wide horned cape-bullocks, and a number of the cape-sheep with tails as wide as a dinner plate. The stalls of the larger cattle were on the forecastle and on the quarter-deck, tied up to the halyard racks. When the ship rolled heavily, the noise of these poor animals endeavoring to conform to her movement, or disturbed by the men in getting at the ropes which their large horns covered, and their continued tramping over the heads of those below deck, was of course increasing the comfort of shipboard hugely. Then during a rough night although cleats had been nailed on the deck to steady them, some steer would tumble down and dislocate his thigh, requiring the butcher’s axe to despatch him next morning. On the port side of the “quarter-deck,” y’clepted, I believe, in the time of Drake, the “king’s walk,” the impromptu bleating of the sheep from a fold made by lashing oars from the breach of one gun to another, was quite mellifluous. If the necessity had arisen of fighting the ship, overboard would have to go the beef-cattle: if the ship had been required to salute a superior command met on the sea, the orders would have been given, perhaps, as follows: “Starboard (look out for the bull) fire!” “Port (you’ll get kicked) fire!” “Starboard (don’t hurt those sheep) fire!” &c. The efficiency of the ship for war purposes was seriously impaired, if not destroyed, during their presence. Two days from port, the anti-scurvy idea still predominant, punch made with ship’s whiskey and lime juice, was served out to the crew, but many an old shell-back as he took his tot, looked as if he would have preferred the ardent minus the other ingredients.