This, Mr Chips the carpenter, with the aid of his mates, quickly accomplished; and then the boat, with its ghastly contents now happily concealed from view, was drawn up half out of the water, suspended from one of the davits, and holes bored in the bottom. When all was ready, the `assembly' was sounded, and we all stood bareheaded along the deck, drawn up as at `divisions,' while the chaplain read a brief funeral service; and, on the conclusion of this, the painter that held up the boat being severed, the coffin-craft sank slowly below the surface to the fathomless abysses of one of the deepest parts of the Atlantic--for I heard the navigating officer tell Mr Osborne that soundings had been got here showing a depth of over four miles. The funeral finished, the hands were piped down; and then, our yards being squared again, we bore away once more for the Azores, reaching Saint Michael's a few days later, in company with the rest of the squadron. This island, like the majority of the Azores, is of volcanic origin; and, looking at it from the sea, even when near in, it is not a very picturesque object, the conical hills and extinct craters giving it a monotonous, if mountainous, aspect. We anchored off Ponta Delgado, about three-quarters of a mile off shore, in twenty-five fathom water, and, as we stopped there a couple of days, we were allowed short leave, each watch in turn, to land and see the sights. These, beyond the flowers, which were beautiful from the effects of the volcanic soil, did not amount to much; and as the inhabitants are all Portuguese, whom we did not tackle to much, the ladies all wearing long cloaks with cowl-like hoods, the same as monks, which prevented us from seeing their faces, I can't say we enjoyed our visit to the town as greatly as we thought we would when we put off from the ship. We obtained one acquisition here to our company however, which pleased all hands. This was a little black wiry monkey that originally came from the Spanish Main, I believe, being landed at Ponta Delgado by some passing ship; and which Doctor Mopson brought on board, from "motives of humanity," as he said, having seen its Portugee owner ill-treating it, and, besides, on account of his being "long desirous of dissecting this specimen of the simian family," as I heard him tell that brute Lieutenant Robinson, who I saw enjoyed the prospect of seeing the poor little thing cut up. The doctor, though, had only spoken in joke, he being a most good- hearted chap who would not have hurt a fly, except inadvertently, should he happen to have to treat the animal professionally; so, instead of being dissected, `Jocko,' as he was christened, was made free of the ship, and presently became a prime favourite with all on board. He was certainly a clever little chap, performing all sorts of tricks, and being up to all sorts of mischief.