ed and comfortably housed at the far
end of Africa; and having secured the landing and final storage
of all the telescopes and other matters, as far as I can see,
without the slightest injury, I lose no time in reporting to
you our good success _so far_. M----[1] and the children are,
thank God, quite well; though, for fear you should think her
too good a sailor, I ought to add that she continued sea-sick,
at intervals, during the whole passage. We were nine weeks and
two days at sea, during which period we experienced only one
day of contrary wind. We had a brisk breeze 'right aft' all the
way from the Bay of Biscay (which we never entered) to the
'calm latitudes;' that is to say, to the space about five or
six degrees broad near the equator, where the trade-winds
cease, and where it is no unusual thing for a ship to lie
becalmed for a month or six weeks, frying under a vertical sun.
Such, however, was not our fate. We were detained only three or
four days by the calms usual in that zone, but never _quite_
still, or driven out of our course; and immediately on crossing
'the line' got a good breeze (the south-east trade-wind), which
carried us round Trinidad; then exchanged it for a north-west
wind, which, with the exception of one day's squall from the
south-east, carried us straight into Table Bay. On the night of
the 14th we were told to prepare to see the Table Mountain.
Next morning (_N.B._, we had not seen land before since leaving
England), at dawn, the welcome word land' was heard; and there
stood this magnificent hill, with all its attendant
mountain-range down to the farthest point of South Africa, full
in view, with a clear blue ghost-like outline; and that night
we cast anchor within the Bay. Next morning early we landed,
under escort of Dr. Stewart, M----'s brother, and you may
imagine the meeting. We took up our quarters at a most
comfortable lodging-house (Miss Robe's), and I proceeded,
without loss of time, to unship the instruments. This was no
trifling operation, as they filled (with the rest of our
luggage) fifteen large boats; and, owing to the difficulty of
getting them up from the hold of the ship, required several
days to complete the landing. During the whole time (and indeed
up to this moment) not a single south-e