Sunday 7th August

Editor's note: On 29th July the Buffalo encountered a great storm which drove it back to the Isle of Wight. Despite attempting to leave port no progress was made until the 3rd August when the ship finally got underway.

Most vexing day. Great seas with a rolling swell, meaning that many amongst us have come down with mal de mer.

As a consequence attendance was sparse at Divine Service this morning. It would have been even sparser if we had know that Charlie Howard was going to drone on for over an hour explicating the intricacies of Hebrews 3:16-17  For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?  If Howard had preached to the Israelites it would have just seemed like forty years.

Then, to ice the cake, I sprained my ankle. When we were still at St Helen's I urged people to make every effort to get all cats off the ship. But did they? Of course not. As a result you can not move about the ship without getting one under foot. The emigrant's deck stinks of cat's piss. And of course I tripped over one as I came out of my cabin and this combined with the rolling of the ship was enough to send me to the deck, twisting my ankle.

To add insult to injury George Stevenson, that man of letters, had the nerve to tell me that I was not as young as I thought and as the years steal upon us, joints stiffen. I could loosen a few of his joints if he'd like me to.

Mrs Hindmarsh seemed most concerned that I had not hurt "Tinkle", the evil looking creature of Satan that she had, it seems, adopted as her own, perhaps as a familiar. If I get near him, be assured, we will know "whose carcase fell in the wilderness."