Diary: James P. Stabler, 1827 (Volume 1)

to the test of hearing about my travels &c till my return (simple creater as twas to think you would be silly eno' to count the days of absence of a being so "little worth") — when to a roll over against the side of my birth told me, I had sure eno' been dreaming — some of you may take the trouble of interpreting it if you choose — but I think whatever construction you may place upon it, this book will afford prima facia evidence — (at least to use a Hackneyd phase of my friend Ogden a "documentary" one) that it was not more than half a dream:— A Briggin sight but cannot discover her marks.– A large ship also in sight this afternoon but being distant and foggy cannot make out more than that she answerd our signals so far as to hoist hers. Supposed to be the "Manchester" which was to sail the 1st inst from Liverpool — A few

evenings ago I had for a short time a fine view of a "Moon light night at sea" — The land shews nothing like it — It is also singular as well as curious to me to perceive the difference in the length of the day & night in this high northern latitude – as you will at once perceive that the Sun rises about 3/4 past 3 AM and sets a little before nine oclock, in the Latitude of Liverpool — The Morning & Evening twilights appear to meet within an hour of each other – it being only dark for that length of time — The aurora Borealis also to be seen in great style —

Ex om: —

1st day 8th.

This day the packet by which this was to be sent, sails from Lpool and there is now no chance of our using the opp^y – we are some hundred & fifty miles from land and have the 300 miles to make up the channel.— The 16th

packet is now the earliest that will take intelligence of our progress thus far — I have written several letters to you since we started but the ships did not pass near en^o to send them on board and in stead of to the flames* I have regularly (after keeping them till out of date) committed them to the care of neptune. Some propitious billow may role them against our western beach perhaps – but more likely by far that they will be pickled than preserved. This morning brings us another rainy, misty, dull, foggy, wet, drizzly, english-scotchy fied atmosphere on deck — our course rather better being at nine oclock SE by E. about four knots p-h^r nothing like a floating castle in sight this morning — The Sun just peepd forth and we tried the longitude upon a supposed Latitude found it 11 1/2 & Lat 49° 23 taken at 12 [shorthand for o'clock?]

The day is so far respectid that the cards do not make *{[shorthand]}

their appeance — the chop board is so far at leisure as to afford me an incline plane in my lap to write on — The deck is made a promenade but not enough Sun shine for a week or two past (except once) to unfurl the awning — For the sake of variety I introduced a dream & for the same reason, backed by the want of something better to do that will mitigate the tedium of our unstable prison house, If I don't get tired before I commence it, I will devote a page to giving you some idea of the kind of beings which go to make up our little community — we are a little world as it were by ourselves, – shut out from the rest of mankind and composed of emigrants from many a distant climes — No doubt you will feel en^o curiosity to read it - particulary when informed that except the little unpleasant sparring given way to, on the 4th inst, (the particulars of which I have not given fully)

we have not with stand^g the variety of tongues - complexious views and national & local prejudices and predilections, we have mantained the utmost harmony, which is a favour I have been most sincerely thankful for, particularly when contrasting our present with what might have been our situation, had feelings of an opposite character been permitted to interrupt the social hoard. A mutiny or quarrel at sea being by the undersigned considerd as one of the most direful of Civil Wars. — But, from the episode, to the "lights & shadows" of our maratime wayfaring —

— The first among those with whom a degree of intimacy has been contracted and real esteem felt, stands my radical friend the Captain – a real jolly old blade – full of life and good humour – a native of Massachusetts but naturalized to the world. He appears to be about as well calculated for his