Quarantine moorings, SS “Rohilla”, Nagasaki Harbour, Wednesday, 5:30 p.m., 27/4/98.
Nothing has occurred worth the recording since last writing. I wrote a letter to Andy on Monday & sent it ashore yesterday morning, & it would go away in the “Doric”. She sailed out past us last evening at 6:30 for Yokohama & San Francisco, so his is the first of my letters via America. I also wrote one to Mary yesterday & sent it ashore this morning. When it leaves I am not sure, tho’ the P&O SS Canton came in this morning & goes away tonight sometime, so possibly it may go via her. I did not go either for sail or ashore yesterday but had a quiet day on deck. This forenoon, a few of us had a sail about the harbour & this afternoon some of us rowed to the Quarantine Station, took picnic tea & went so far up the hill to an old discarded fort, gathered sticks, boiled water, & had tea. This just at 4, & returned to the ship, only about ¼ hour’s row, at 5:30. On the hill, we look down on the steamer’s deck. We are quite close to shore, very deep anchorage in this beautiful harbour. We are all looking forward to Friday when we hope to get a clear bill of health, when we steam close in to Nagasaki & discharge what cargo [3:69] she has for there, & if some to take in, which is not likely, then away for Kobe as speedily as possible. All of us will be delighted as we steam onwards. I think so far we have made the best of the circumstance. Some are very cross but as there is absolutely no alternative, we’ve just to grind [sic] & bear it.
It has continued a lovely day. I told Mary this morning just before I closed her letter that it was a fine sunshiny morning. The doctor, quite a young man, “Fifer”, tells me his mother was a Marjoribanks & connected with the Berwickshire family, but he knows nothing much of them. He graduated at Edinbro’. All the engineers are Scotsmen & very nice fellows they seem. We live very well, good fish at every meal & the meat fairly good – certainly better than Indian fresh meat. Vegetables, too, are home like. I shall have a fair experience of this steamer before I leave her, seeing I come back to Hong Kong in her. I was thinking on Monday that you would get my first Hong Kong letters that morning or may be the Sunday morning, & you ought to get a weekly letter for 4 or 5 successive weeks. I will post at Hong Kong before I leave & tell you, as far forward as it be possible, my movements. I will close this for the present & see what tomorrow fetches by way of recording in my journal.
[3:70]