_Water._—Fresh water is served out by the third mate to every messman once a day. Each adult is allowed three pints per day and the same allowance is given to the cook for the tea, coffee, soup, etc., for each person on board.
_Hours._—The hour appointed for passengers going to bed is 10 p.m. When the bell strikes the purser comes round and sees that all lights are put out except those allowed to burn all night. Parties not going to bed at that hour must either go on deck or remain below in darkness, and they are not allowed to make any noise that would disturb those in bed.
Each passenger is expected to turn out of bed at 6 a.m. The doctor generally comes round in the morning to see that all are up, more especially in the hot weather.
_Provisions._—Provisions are served out to each mess by the purser in rotation. He commences with the messes in the second cabin. He first serves out tea, coffee and sugar to mess No. 4, and goes over the whole messes by rotation with the same articles. The flour, oatmeal and rice are then served out in the same order and so on with the other articles until he has given out all the provisions. He then serves the intermediate, following the same order as the second cabin.
_Cooking._—The ship has two galleys, two cooks and four assistants. The provisions used in the first cabin, house on deck and second cabin ’tween decks are cooked in the starboard galley; and those used by the third cabin or intermediate passengers and crew in the larboard galley. They also cook anything extra as ham for breakfast.
Loaves, oatmeal cakes, puddings, etc., must be taken up to the galley before a certain hour in the forenoon. Between meal times hot water is sometimes exchanged for cold water to old and delicate passengers.
_Breakfast, Dinner, Supper._—The hour for breakfast is 8 o’clock, dinner at 1 and tea at 6. As all the messes cannot dine at once, they take it week about in rotation: for example, if messes 1, 3 and 5 mess first this week, they will be last in the week following.
The stewards in the cabins grind the coffee for their respective messes. The messmen in the intermediate grind their own coffee in the mill in the galley and carry water from the cook to infuse the coffee for their own mess. The stewards and intermediate messmen bring the dinners from the galley to their respective messes.