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S.S. “Magdalena”                                                 5th Sept. 1893

My dear Mother,

I suppose you got both letter & p.c. from Lisbon. Thanks to Julie for his notes which were delivered to me after the ship sailed.^[1] We are now eight days out from Lisbon.^[2] We sighted Grand Canary on the third day & since then we have not seen land but to-night we shall view Fernando Noronha & to-morrow reach Pernambuco.^[3] These big ships have ceased calling at St Vincent (Cape de Verde), a comfortable omission: – the place is so barren & parched that I never was tempted to land there & the ship, when coaling is going on, is horribly dirty.

The weather has been perfect all along. Not a single rough day, & the heat has not been oppressive.

I mentioned that my cabin was not a good one & that two Brazilians were booked to enter it at Lisbon. Well they came, & the purser held out small hopes of being able to do better for me as the ship was so full. I wondered if my luck was going to desert me, but it didn’t! On the second day I was moved into one of the best cabins on the ship, – better than Julian’s who paid £7-10-/ more for his ticket.^[4] My room-mate is a very nice old gentle-man called Fraser, who does not mind at what hour I come to bed & who turns out before six in the morning leaving me room to dress leisurely. He further gives me an occasional cigar & we get along famously.

We are having a very jolly voyage. I have not played cards much – in fact the smoking-room has not known me, except two nights when I joined a table of small poker which the old Pernambucanos run. There are no whist-players – though half a dozen are willing to play, but they don’t know the elements so I seldom cut in: – it’s no fun & it’s apt to ruffle one’s equanimity.

I have a very tough & come-up-again-smiling opponent at chess in the 2nd officer, Mr Joliffe.^[5] Y’day we had a hard battle lasting two hours almost. I go to his cabin usually twice a day, before lunch & after dinner; we light our pipes & fall to.

Y’day we had a game of euchre^[6] in the Captain’s cabin, where we took afternoon tea: – Mr & Mrs Broad, Mrs Jewett & myself.^[7]

I the morning y’day Neptune came on board & delivered some amusing letters to various ladies, causing much amusement.  In the afternoon he came back & held a court. About a dozen of the young fellows who had not yet crossed the line were shaved with a wooden razor after having been lathered all over the face with a white paste liberally laid on by a white-wash brush, & then chucked head over heels into a sail containing about three feet of water, where four of Neptune’s sea-police ducked them about unmercifully.

In the evening there was a very good concert in the 2nd class,^[8] which we all attended, the poop being prettily decorated with flags & electric light.^[9] We had lots of songs, comic & serious recitations, step-dancing, banjo-playing, & nigger business.

The “nigger” told a funny story about his “gal” having met with an accident. She climbed a peach-tree, got out on a branch, tried to get a peach on the top of the tree, the branch broke & she fell down “peach-less”!

It has been so calm that several nights there has been dancing on deck, to the rapturous delight of two sweet gushing young ladies & the more moderate pleasure of those of more sober age.

The passengers are all pleasant companions, some of them very nice indeed. An engineer who superintends various bridges & water-works under construction in Brazil, Mr O’Meara (Irish of course), whom I knew before at Rio, gave us the other night an interesting lecture on the eclipse of the sun at Cerarã, illustrated by magic lantern slides.^[10] He had much to do with the Commission that was sent out from England to observe the eclipse, & lately, when at home, he had an opportunity of examining papers & photographs & learning results which have not yet been published. I have had many conversations with Mr O’Meara & he has lent me a delightful book on Astronomy.

Many thanks to the girls for my plum-cake (I think it was Annie who baked it this time).^[11] Several ladies said it was the best cake they had ever tasted, & I was able to have several little afternoon tea-parties, invitations to which were much coveted. And the chocolate creams which were used as padding for the tin made me very popular.

Just now there are two little girls, Silvia & Lucy, who want to be sweethearts to me so I cannot write any more.

Bye-bye. Love to all.

Jack