Thursday 1 December 1836

Thursday Dec^r. 1. To-day we are by reckoning 1460 miles from Cape Chatham;
but we have not had a glimpse of the sun since the 27^th. Poor M^r Fisher
had another epileptic fit, the second public one since he came on board.
He cut himself very severely over the right eye brow by his fall, & in
fact his escape appears to have been a very narrow one. This is a most
melancholy affection, & from the state of constant excitement in which he
is kept by the brutality of the Governors’s conduct & proceedings it may
turn out serious. I hope sincerely he will be able to weather the voyage.
He passed the evening in our cabin & was a good deal more cheerful
than we expected. His view & expressed opinions of the Capt. are altogether
in unison with & quite as strong as our own.