Sunday 18 September 1836

Sept. 18th 1836
Dearest Brother,
We are now within 400 miles of the Cape of Good Hope, the
passengers are all expectation – we have a fair wind though it
does not blow very hard. I have just been sitting on the roundhouse,
where we have been shooting Albatrosses and Cape Pigeons
– they are very plentiful as well Cape-hens, Cape Chickens, and
Mother Cary’s chickens – nearly all of them strange names – we
have also caught several. I caught a Cape Pigeon with a fishing
line, having a piece of fat pork on the hook. Mr Slater shewed me
how to skin & stuff it – which I have done, and shall send him
to you the first opportunity. My Journal has slipped down into
the hold, but there is not much that has happened to put down
for they all say the voyage so far has been very monotonous with
the exception of a few squalls and those not so great as I should
have expected. I received the pens by Mr Brown when we were
off Deal as well as the two letters, by the by did you receive that
note of mine which I sent the day before, if you have not it is of
no consequence – You ask me to describe my chum Mr Williams
– well then – he is middle sized – wears a black wig – has red
eye lashes – he is very kind to me indeed as well as to everybody
else – in the next cabin is Mr Thomas though a very goodnatured
man, is nevertheless very hot-tempered; though I have never felt
his wrath he does not appear to be liked very well by the Mediterranean
Passengers (as the steerage folks call us). Mr Everard and
family come next. Mr Everard is a very nice quiet man,- but his
wife just the contrary – the next is Mr and Mrs Lewis they are
very quiet, but Mrs Lewis does not appear to be very respectable
– the next is a Mr Ward and Mr Deacon – Mr Ward is a very
goodnatured, humorous man of about 30 years of age rather
corpulent – he is a lawyer – Mr Deacon is a rather old man very
changeable and fidgetty – Mr Nantes and Mr Skipper are the
next. Mr Nantes is a quiet young man – Mr Skipper is a person
I don’t know very much about on account of his taking his meals
in the 1 st Cabin.