We had plenty of port wine and Lisbon, which, with uninterrupted good humour, made the hours glide rapidly away.

Mr Ernest Rowland was young, sleekish, and confident.

I lit the three Christingles, / I lit them one by one, / On the merry, merry Christmas Eve, / When all the work was done. / I lit the three Christingles, / And they burned with a joyous ray, / But the faces that bent above them / Were fuller of light than they.

The ship was manned with a small crew.