about midnight
It is well that the Lord can see deep down into the hearts of men , for He has to judge them ; it is well that the majority of mankind can not , because , if they could , the world would be altogether too sorrowful to live in ; and we do not think the angels can either , else they would not be happy -- if they could and were they would not be angels any longer -- they would be devils . Study it out on a slate . We turned in feeling comfortably dismal , and almost wishing that we had gone down with the _ Dunbar _ . The intoxicated shearers and the dude kept their concert up till a late hour that night -- or , rather , a very early hour next morning ; and at about midnight they were reinforced by the commercial traveller and Moses , the jeweller , who had been visiting acquaintances aft . This push was encouraged by voices from various bunks , and enthusiastically barracked for by a sandy-complexioned , red-headed comedian with twinkling grey eyes , who occupied the berth immediately above our own . They stood with their backs to the bunks , and their feet braced against the deck , or lurched round , and took friendly pulls from whisky flasks , and chyacked each other , and laughed , and blowed , and lied like -- like Australian bushmen ; and occasionally they broke out into snatches of song -- and as often broke down . Few Englishmen know more than the first verse , or two lines , of even their most popular song , and , where elevated enough to think they can sing , they repeat the first verse over and over again , with the wrong words , and with a sort of `` Ta-ra-ra-rum-ti-tooral , ta-ra-ra-ra-ra-rum-ti , ta-ra-ra-rum-tum-ti-rum-rum-tum-ti-dee-e-e , '' by way of variation .