four in the morning
When the heat of the day had passed off , we strolled out , paid a few visits , or rambled over the island ; keeping as much aloof from the barracks as possible , where the manner of living was so very uncongenial to our notions . The officers began their day about noon , when they sat down to breakfast ; after that , they separated to their different quarters , to read the novels , with which the presses of England and France inundated these islands , to the great deterioration of morals . These books , which they read lounging on their backs , or laid beside them and fell asleep over , occupied the hottest part of the day ; the remainder , till the hour of dinner arrived , was consumed in visiting and gossiping , or in riding to procure an appetite for dinner . Till four in the morning , their time was wholly devoted to smoking and drinking ; their beds received them in a state of intoxication more or less ; parade , at nine o'clock , forced them out with a burning brain and parched tongue ; they rushed into the sea , and found some refreshment in the cool water , which enabled them to stand upright in front of their men ; the formal duty over , they retired again to their beds , where they lay till noon , and then to breakfast . Such were their days ; can it be wondered at that our islands are fatal to the constitution of Europeans , when this is their manner of life in a climate always disposed to take advantage of any excess ? The men too readily followed the example of their officers , and died off in the same rapid manner ; one of the most regular employments of the morning was to dig graves for the victims of the night . Four or five of these receptacles was thought a moderate number .