They had on neat jackets, and large
long pieces of cloth wrapped round their bodies; both the cloths and
jackets were white, with a border of blue stripes. On their heads
they wore tightly fitting white caps, with a long flap hanging down
as far as their shoulders. These caps, too, had a blue border. The
complexion of the natives was a dark brown or coffee colour.
Late in the evening, a native woman came on board with her two
children. She had paid second-class fare, and was shown a small
dark berth not far from the first cabin places. Her younger child
had, unfortunately, a bad cough, which prevented some rich English
lady, who had likewise a child with her, from sleeping. Perhaps the
exaggerated tenderness which this lady manifested for her little son
caused her to believe that the cough might be catching; but, be that
as it may, the first thing she did on the following morning, was to
beg that the captain would transfer mother and children to the deck,
which the noble-hearted humane captain immediately did, neither the
lady nor himself caring in the least whether the poor mother had or
had not, even a warm coverlid to protect her sick child from the
night cold and the frequent heavy showers.
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