Page:The Clipper Ship Era.djvu/49

 Rh favorably for about two centuries when this mandate was issued, and had enriched many a deserving mariner. It was estimated that an Indiaman's captain received in one way or another from £6000 to £10,000 per annum, and there is a record of one ship that made what was known as a double voyage—that is, from London to India, China, and return—a twenty-two months' cruise—whose commander made profits amounting to the tidy sum of £30,000.

The mates and petty officers were also well provided for, having forty and one half tons of space allotted among them to do with as they pleased, and all hands were supplied with wines, spirits, and beer in quantities which if stated might seem like an attempt to impose upon the reader's credulity.

A more showy if less substantial honor was conferred by the distinctive dress of the company's servants. The captains were arrayed in a picturesque uniform consisting of a blue coat with black velvet lapels, cuffs and collar, bright gold embroidery, and yellow gilt buttons engraved with the Company's crest, waistcoat and breeches of deep buff, black stock, or neck-cloth, cocked hat and side-arms. The chief, second, third, and fourth officers wore uniforms of a similar though less gorgeous character, and all were particularly requested "not on any account to appear in boots, black breeches, and stockings" and "to appear in full dress when attending the Court of Directors."

The charter of the East India Company provided that its ships should fly the long coach-whip pennant of the Royal Navy. During the last quarter