Be damned if I know what for... it's not like we have a Post Office and with so few people in the colony, the writing of letters is hardly necessary. You can probably shout and get your message there just as well. Still, we need someone to sort the mails from England when they arrive and old Tom seems as good a man as any. I have offered him 30 pounds a year as a consideration for this onerous duty, but with a bit of luck he may do it as a favour.
In point of fact, when we first arrived here in the Colony I gave him a number of instructions and he refused them saying, "I work for the Company, not you!" So if I happen to forget the 30 pounds then I suppose he can have his way and won't have to work for me still, will he?
He has been operating the Government Storehouse down by the river for some months and does a sterling job at ensuring that all things are spit spot and in their place. Just the chap to ensure that the mails get through.
A bit of a lady's man, I think... the eloquence and feeling with which he proposed the toast to "the ladies" at the Proclamation Day luncheon back in December suggested a warmth towards the fair sex - although, if memory serves, the toast was "Mrs Hindmarsh and the ladies", so he may have been hiding his true feelings.
Now, it is rumoured that Gilbert is a member of the craft of Freemasonry - just rumours, of course, as is the way with the Lodge. No names, no faces, just secret handshakes and what do they do with the goat?
But still there are rumours, and names like Gilbert and Gouger and Morphett keep popping up in them. Of course, you can't ask them and they certainly won't be saying anything about it themselves, but still, there's no smoke without fire.
But the name that occurs most often, and most surprisingly, is Kingston. Oozisface Kingston! who would have thought it?
(I really must learn the horrible little man's name. I can't keep calling him "Mr Kingston" to his face. I'm sure his name starts with G. Or was it a D? "Godfrey"? "Giles"? "Gregory"? "David?" Durward rings a bell. Yes,,, Durward Kingston seems to be about right.)
(Editor's Note: Kingston's name was actually "George Strickland Kingston". Given the Governor's enjoyment of the novels of Sir Walter Scott it would seem that for some reason he has associated Kingston with the hero of Scott's 1823 novel Quentin Durward)
Durward Kingston's name regularly appears in stories about the Freemasons and, if they are to be believed, he is Grand Panjandrum amongst them. I find it hard to see how the insufferable little toad could be grand anything so I have no choice but to doubt the veracity of these rumours.
Of course there are always those willing to assure one that the Craft of Masonry is nothing but a social gathering and a bit of fun and that all those stories about the extra-ordinary influence Masons have in political circles are nothing but malicious gossip. And to them I say that they bear the onus of proof to show, in the absence of Masonic influence, how someone so utterly devoid of talent, of intelligence, of charm and ability as Durward Kingston could rise to a position of importance in this, our new colony. If the stories are not true and the Masons are not secretly in charge then what other explanation can they offer for our Assistant Surveyor?
The man could not survey a view from a lookout. He could not lead a group in silent prayer. A blind beggar could beat him at charades. And yet, there he sits, second only to Light in determining the future of the Colony. It can surely be nothing other than the influence of the Lodge Brothers.
On other matters, the mad poisoner at home served us some things called Monmouthshire Muffins for breakfast this week. If my memory serves, the Wye valley runs through Monmouthshire and as I looked at my breakfast "Why?" was all I could think.
The Marines tell us, with a simple, childlike openness that either betokens enthusiasm or lunacy that within a week we will be able to see the new Government House. I hold out no great hopes, but will look forward to seeing what fresh disaster the Marines have managed to conjure for our delight.
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