the place, affecting both man and beast. This is often the case during
the prevalence of the south wind, which blew, more or less, during the
whole of our stay. We none of us suffered from the malady at the time,
but now nearly everybody on board is affected, and some very severely.

_Friday, January 5th_.--The fresh fair breeze still continues. At noon
we had sailed 240 knots. The head-sea we could dispense with, as it
makes us all very uncomfortable. Muriel, Baby, the three maids, and
several of the crew, are ill to-day with influenza, and I have a
slight touch of it, so I suppose it will go right through the ship.
Towards the evening the breeze increased to a gale.

_Saturday, January 6th_.--The gale increased during the night, and the
head-sea became heavier. There was a good deal of rain in the course
of the day. The wind dropped about sunset, and was succeeded by
intervals of calm, with occasional sharp squalls. Baby was very
poorly all day, but seemed better at night. We have now regularly
settled down to our sea life again, and, if only the children recover,
I hope to get through a good deal of reading and writing between this
and Japan. At present they occupy all my time and attention, but I
think, like the weather, they have now taken a turn for the better.

_Sunday, January 7th_.--A very rough and disagreeable day, with much
rain. All the morning we rolled about, becalmed, in a heavy swell.
Steam was ordered at half-past twelve, but before it was up the fair
wind had returned, so the fires were put out. We had the Litany at
eleven, and a short service, without a sermon, at four.

Baby was _very_ ill all night. Everything was shut up on account of
the torrents of rain, so that the heat was almost insufferable, and we