Who could tell whether I housed on the port or
starboard side of steerage No. 2 and 3? And it was only there that
my superiority became practical; everywhere else I was incognito,
moving among my inferiors with simplicity, not so much as a swagger
to indicate that I was a gentleman after all, and had broken meat to
tea. Still, I was like one with a patent of nobility in a drawer at
home; and when I felt out of spirits I could go down and refresh
myself with a look of that brass plate.
For all these advantages I paid but two guineas. Six guineas is the
steerage fare; eight that by the second cabin; and when you remember
that the steerage passenger must supply bedding and dishes, and, in
five cases out of ten, either brings some dainties with him, or
privately pays the steward for extra rations, the difference in price
becomes almost nominal. Air comparatively fit to breathe, food
comparatively varied, and the satisfaction of being still privately a
gentleman, may thus be had almost for the asking. Two of my fellow-
passengers in the second cabin had already made the passage by the
cheaper fare, and declared it was an experiment not to be repeated.
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