about nine o'clock
But the handsome rogue cheated me with such grace and exquisite courtesy , that I would scarcely have had him act otherwise than he did . I hear a good deal of the `` plain blunt honesty '' of the English . I dare say there is some truth in it , but for my own part I would rather be cheated by a friendly fellow who gives you a cheery word and a bright look than receive exact value for my money from the `` plain blunt '' boor who seldom has the common politeness to wish you a good-day . We got under way at about nine o'clock -- the morning was bright , and the air , for Naples , was almost cool . The water rippling against the sides of our little vessel had a gurgling , chatty murmur , as though it were talking vivaciously of all the pleasant things it experienced between the rising and the setting of the sun ; of the corals and trailing sea-weed that grew in its blue depths , of the lithe glittering fish that darted hither and thither between its little waves , of the delicate shells in which dwelt still more delicate inhabitants , fantastic small creatures as fine as filmy lace , that peeped from the white and pink doors of their transparent habitations , and looked as enjoyingly on the shimmering blue-green of their ever-moving element as we look on the vast dome of our sky , bespangled thickly with stars . Of all these things , and many more as strange and sweet , the gossiping water babbled unceasingly ; it had even something to say to me concerning woman and woman 's love . It told me gleefully how many fair female bodies it had seen sunk in the cold embrace of the conquering sea , bodies , dainty and soft as the sylphs of a poet 's dream , yet which , despite their exquisite beauty , had been flung to and fro in cruel sport by the raging billows , and tossed among pebbles for the monsters of the deep to feed upon .