they took their meals almost always thus in common : a convivial and noisy atmosphere , with catherine presiding and all talking across the table heedless of etiquette , the junior officers squeezed in at the lower half in order of their promptness in arrival rather than their rank ; and afterwards they gave the loyal toast standing on deck , followed with coffee and cigars in the company of their dragons , who were dosed with a posset against coughing , for what little relief it gave them , in the cooler hours of the evening .