noon on Friday
He has an interesting face . I think I am glad we are going to be fellow-passengers . '' The two days that remained to him in town , Arthur spent in making his preparations for departure ; getting money , buying , after the manner of young Englishmen starting on a voyage to foreign parts , a large and fearfully sharp hunting-knife , as though Madeira were the home of wild beasts , and laying in a stock of various other articles of a useless description , such as impenetrable sun-helmets and leather coats . The boat was to sail at noon on Friday , and on the Thursday evening he left Paddington by the mail that reaches Dartmouth about midnight . On the pier , he and one or two other fellow-passengers found a boat waiting to take them to the great vessel , that , painted a dull grey , lay still and solemn in the harbour as they were rowed up to her , very different from the active , living thing that she was destined to become within the next twenty-four hours . The tide ebbing past her iron sides , the fresh , strong smell of the sea , the tall masts pointing skywards like gigantic fingers , the chime of the bell upon the bridge , the sleepy steward , and the stuffy cabin , were all a pleasant variation from the every-day monotony of existence , and contributed towards the conclusion that life was still partially worth living , even when it could not be lived with Angela . Indeed , so much are we the creatures of circumstance , and so liable to be influenced by surroundings , that Arthur , who , a few hours before , had been plunged into the depths of depression , turned into his narrow berth , after a tremendous struggle with the sheets -- which stewards arrange on a principle incomprehensible to landlubbers , and probably only partially understood by themselves -- with considerable satisfaction and a pleasurable sense of excitement .