One of the bedroom stewards got a touch of sunstroke this morning, and
suffered a good deal. I was, of course, very sorry for him, but could
not help feeling rather annoyed, for it was entirely his own fault.
The men are just like children, and will not or cannot understand the
power of the sun and the danger of exposure to it. They will run up on
deck bare-headed to look at some passing object, and then are
surprised that they at once get a bad headache. They are all well
provided with pith hats, and awnings are spread everywhere, so that
one cannot feel quite as much sympathy for them as if they were
sufferers in the cause of duty.

_March 3rd._--An absolutely calm and uneventful day.

We are now getting towards Tuticorin, whence it is a short journey by
rail to the splendid temples of Madura, or to Tinnevelly, the great
missionary station of Southern India. Tanjore with its famous rock and
its wonderful history, and Trichinopoly, with its temples and caves,
are also easy of access.

We had hoped to have been able to pay a visit to the great temples on
Rameshuwaran and Manaar, two of the islands forming what is known as
Adam's Bridge, which partially connect Ceylon with the mainland; but,
to our disappointment, we find that they are unapproachable from the
westward, and we cannot get through the Pamban Passage, as its depth
is but ten feet of water, whereas we draw thirteen. In order to reach
the temples it would consequently be necessary for us to make the
circuit of Ceylon, which would take far too much time. We shaped,
therefore, as direct a course for Colombo as the light and variable
breezes would admit of.

_March 4th._--To-day was calmer and hotter than ever. At noon we had
run eighty-eight knots, from which time until 8 P.M. we were in the
midst of a flat oily calm, beneath a burning sun. We were,
consequently, all much relieved when, in the course of the evening,
fires were lighted, awnings spread, wind-sails set, and we began to
make a little air for ourselves.

Sailors are amazingly like sheep in one respect; for if one does
anything at all out of the ordinary course, it is ten to one that his
shipmates feel bound to follow his example. Yesterday morning, for
instance, after the cases of sunstroke of the day before, several of
the crew reported themselves to the Doctor as sick, though, upon
examination, he found that they were only suffering from the effects
of a too-vivid imagination. Some medicine o