l, and the
engineer is really ill. It is depressing to speculate what would
become of us if anything went wrong in the engine-room department, and
if we should be reduced to sail-power alone in this region of
calmness. At last even I know what it is to be too hot, and am quite
knocked up with my short experience.

[Illustration: How the Journal was written]

_Saturday, March 24th_.--Another flat calm. The after-forecastle,
having been battened down and fumigated for the last seventy-two
hours, was to-day opened, and its contents brought up on deck, some to
be thrown overboard, and others to be washed with carbolic acid. I
never saw such quantities of things as were turned out; they covered
the whole deck, and it seemed as if their cubic capacity must be far
greater than that of the place in which they had been stowed. Besides
the beds and tables of eight men, there were forty-eight birds, four
monkeys, two cockatoos, and a tortoise, besides Japanese cabinets and
boxes of clothes, books, china, coral, shells, and all sorts of
imaginable and unimaginable things. One poor tortoise had been killed
and bleached white by the chlorine gas.

_Sunday, March 25th_.--Hotter than ever. It was quite impossible to
have service either on deck or below. We always observe Sunday by
showing a little extra attention to dress, and, as far as the
gentlemen are concerned, a little more care in the matter of shaving.
On other days I fear our toilets would hardly pass muster in civilised
society. Tom set the example of leaving off collars, coats, and
waistcoats; so shirts and trousers are now the order of the day. The
children wear grass-cloth pinafores and very little else, no shoes or
stockings, Manilla or Chinese slippers being worn by those who dislike
bare feet. I find my Tahitian and Hawaiian dresses invaluable: they
are really cool, loose, and comfortable, and I scarcely ever wear
anything else.

We passed a large steamer about 7.30 a.m., and in the afternoon
altered our course to speak the 'Middlesex,' of London, bound to the
Channel for orders. We had quite a long conversation with the captain,
and parted with mutual good wishes for a pleasant voyage. It was a
lovely moonlight night, but very hot, though we found a delightful
sleeping-place beneath the awning on deck.

_Monday, March 26th_.--The sun appeared to rise even fiercer and
hotter than ever this morning. I have been very anxious for the last
few days about Baby, who ha