Travel Diaries and Journals

last night had a debate with the Capt. on the motion of the earth round the Sun. The Capt. accounting for the Seasons by the elevation & depression of the poles. intend commencing a long letter home today to post at the Cape if there is a chance of it reaching home sooner than from India. [Monday scored through] Friday March 5th. 1858 [underscored] Robinson has had a relapse & is getting worse. the weather is very squally & cloudy. they blow very violently for a few minutes & then the rain comes down in torrents. [Thursday scored through] [Friday scored through] March 6th. 1858 Saturday{underscored] It has continued to blow all night squalls coming on every 10 minutes. The fore & main top laid sheets have both been torn by the violence of the wind. Poor Robinson is still getting worse medicine has no effect upon him he is quite delirious now & has fallen comatose died at 1/2 past 6

[Saturday scored through]Sunday March 7th 1858. I slept little all night partly from the storminess of the weather (for it blew hard all night & the ship rolled & pitched a good deal) & also for thinking on poor Robinson. he was the healthiest looking man on board. I did all I could to save him poor fellow but it was beyond my power he wanted me continually beside him poor fellow. this ought to teach us an example to be always ready for we know not at what day or hour we may be called on. We buried him today, day at 10-30 am. Sewn up in a hammock with the Union Jack over him the Capt. read the funeral service. 4 stout sailors raised the body & consigned it to the boiling & raging deep. A heavy splash & all was over. O' Lord grant that these warnings may not be lost upon us. we are daily shown that this is not

below. I find to be one of the number who left Edin. for the Crimea in the Golden Fleece. (the 4th regt.) some three or four years ago. he took ill going up country & has been invalided to the Cape The weather is beautiful & much cooler now. We have got into the South East trade winds now. & the ship goes spanking along quite gaily. We expect to reach the Cape (DV) in 3 or 4 weeks The Capt. promised me a copy of the log which I must make use of Sunday. March 14th 1858. Is always Sunday everywhere although there be very little to mark it the detachment of artillery are mustered on deck along with those of the invalids who are able to be on deck. We had no service today as [D scored through] Lt. Dadson is laid up

with his knee joint & I do not know the English Church service sufficiently well to undertake it. Read 14 chapters in Genesis this morning. The day is beautiful & clear & the sun rather hot during the day the wind is still keeping fair & the Capt. fully expects to run down to the Cape in 24 days. Tuesday Mch: 9 till Friday Mch: 26th 1858 During this time we have been grad- ually making our way down to the Cape of Good Hope. No further serious illness has occurred on board with the exception of one of the soldiers who was knocked down by sun stroke. he has however recovered & is now quite well. We have had on the whole fine weather occasional squalls & one night it blew very hard but it cleared before morning & we have since had fine weather. Our

Bay.The latter 24 hours we sailed close along the land & had a fine view of the Country of the Kaffirs. Numerous fires were burning in different parts of the heights & towards night on the 1st. of April the Capt. & I were walking on the poop when what appeared to be a light house appeared on the starboard bow. The Capt. on the first thoughtwe had passes Table Bay & immediately hove the ship to. No sooner was this done however than we discovered it was merely a fire the Kaffirs had kindled on the side of the hill & which very much resembled a lighthouse. We lay there all night just off a place called Hants Bay & at daylight on the 2nd. of April we made our way for Table Bay with a fine light breeze & came to Anchor at 2oclock. the first thing we did on coming at anchor was to get into a boat Lt. Dadson R.A. & I &