Sunday 4 September 1836

Sunday the 4th The weather is still fine, and the wind favorable; but the change from heat to cold is, to me, anything but agreeable. On Friday last we passed the tropic of Capricorn and the thermometer is now 67°. This would not seem to indicate such an absence of heat as to be unpleasant to an Englishman, nevertheless I have felt it desirable to put flannel and other warm clothing into requisition. Harriet remains in excellent health and as she does not allow an hour to pass unemployed, she is in tolerably good spirits. It cannot be matter of surprize if she finds herself sometimes sighing after absent friends, more especially as she has failed to discern one among the passengers with whom she is likely to form a close intimacy. Her time is spent in needlework, and mine between reading to her, renewing my acquaintance with figures, and amusing myself with my goats. —  We are both looking forward to our arrival at the Cape with feelings of anticipation a little similar to those experienced by a schoolboy before the holydays. It is however uncertain whether our holydays are to be spent at Simon’s Bay or Cape Town.