Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/142



comfort in  travelling,  then  submit  with  resignation  to all  ordinary  impositions. Resign yourself  at  the  out- set to the  carrier  as  his  victim,  as  the  arbiter,  for  the time, of  your  fate. Do not  expect  land  luxuries  at sea ;  man  is  a  terrestrial  and  not  an  aqueous  animal. Not the  least  in  the  catalogue  of  annoyances,  fretful- ness, and  complainings,  the  passengers  bring  upon  them- selves. Go into  the  hot,  fetid  air  of  the  second  cabin and steerage,  then  be  ashamed  to  nurse  your  discom- forts in your  upper  room. The smell  of  oil  from  the machinery, and  filth  from  various  quarters  is  nauseat- ing, it is  true;  but  I  have  suffered  more  from  the disgusting behavior  of  passengers  than  from  filthy ships and  discourteous  emplo^^es. Nor do  I  mean  to say  that  Californians  are  especially  bad  travellers;  as a  rule  they  were,  even  in  early  times,  orderly,  quiet, and well-behaved  ;  and  when  time  had  tempered  their spirits, hilarity  and  good  humor  prevailed. Other- wise how should  1500  men,  women,  and  children have been  able  to  exist,  crowded  into  close  quarters for nearly  a  month,  and  much  of  the  time  under  a tropical  sun  ?

Every sensible  man  then  setting  out  for  California well knew  that  he  should  have  to  rough  it;  or,  if  he did  not  know  it  at  the  start  he  soon  found  it  out,  and he soon  saw  that  he  might  as  well  begin  to  make  the best of  discomforts  on  ship  board  as  any  where  else. Those so  thinking  yielded  gracefully  to  what  they  saw was inevitable,  and  found  that  after  all  happiness  does not depend  so  much  on  having  things  a  little  better than our  neighbor,  and  that  a  little  comfort,  with  a heart  disposed  to  be  contented,  carries  with  it  much happiness. Besides, all  were  certain  of  fortune,  or  at least  felicity,  the  moment  they  reached  San  Francisco; and so,  in  place  of  brooding  over  present  privations, they rather  dreamed  of  future  plenty.

There were  notable  exceptions  to  these  systematic impositions, even  on  the  Atlantic  side ;  while  on  the Pacific, the  rule  was  reversed. I have  often  been  told