"When things are at the worst, they mend," is a common saying, and a
true one; and so it was with our passengers. Though rough, dirty and
uncomfortable, they enjoyed the Jew's dinner or table d'hote, though it
consisted merely of a baked leg of mutton at the top, with a baked
shoulder at bottom and a dish of small potatoes in the middle--nothing
else whatever--neither pie, pudding, or cheese; but they had given
themselves a good wash, and a change of linen, and a bottle of Barclay
and Perkins at dinner had now restored them to good humour.
They found that the company at the table was much better than the
dishes, and that they had all gone through the same miserable landing at
the Fort, and some of them had even suffered considerably by falling
down in the mud; so, as we draw comfort out of other men's misfortunes,
and it is better to laugh than weep, our newly-arrived emigrants began
to think the place was not so bad after all. They were, at any rate,
great travellers, and were determined to make light of troubles and
inconveniences, as all travellers do.
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