ght fair hair and blue eyes. Upon
conversation with her, however, one sees that her face has lost much of
the delicate plumpness which it probably owned in youth. She has had one
child, born only to die. Her cheeks are thin, and her eyes have a tinge
of sadness, which speak of physical pain or mental grief. This thinness
of face makes the eyes appear larger and the brow broader than they
really are. Her hands are white and painfully thin. They must have been
plump and pretty once. Her lips are red with perpetual fever.

Captain Frere seems to have absorbed all his wife's vitality. (Who
quotes the story of Lucius Claudius Hermippus, who lived to a great age
by being constantly breathed on by young girls? I suppose Burton--who
quotes everything.) In proportion as she has lost her vigour and youth,
he has gained strength and heartiness. Though he is at least forty years
of age, he does not look more than thirty. His face is ruddy, his eyes
bright, his voice firm and ringing. He must be a man of considerable
strength and--I should say--of more than ordinary animal courage and
animal appetite. There is not a nerve in his body which does not twang
like a piano wire. In appearance, he is tall, broad, and bluff, with
red whiskers and reddish hair slightly touched with grey. His manner
is loud, coarse, and imperious; his talk of dogs, horses, and convicts.
What a strangely-mated pair!

March 30th.--A letter from Van Diemen's Land. "There is a row in the
pantry," said Frere, with his accustomed slang. It seems that the
Comptroller-General of Convicts has appointed a Mr. Pounce to go down
and make a report on the state of Norfolk Island. I am to go down
with him, and shall receive instructions to that effect from the
Comptroller-General. I have informed Frere of this, and he has written
to Pounce to come and stay on his way down. There has been nothing but
convict discipline talked since. Frere is great upon this point, and
wearies me with his explanations of convict tricks and wickedness. He
is celebrated for his knowledge of such matters. Detestable wisdom! His
servants hate him, but they obey him without a murmur. I have observed
that habitual criminals--like all savage beasts--cower before the
man who has once mastered them. I should not be surprised if the Van
Diemen's Land Government selected Frere as their "disciplinarian". I
hope they won't and yet I hope they will.

April 4th.--Nothing worth recording until to-day. Eati