Horn and Wednesday Island. As an instance of the rapidity of our
sailing speed, I may mention that seven measured miles between the two
islands was done in rather less than half an hour; which, considering
we were close-hauled, was not bad work. We had a fairly quiet night,
though it was blowing a gale, and of course the ship tumbled and
rocked about a good deal.

_Sunday, August 28th._--As the tide was running very strong, it was
decided not to start until eleven o'clock. We therefore had prayers
before starting, and sailed slowly across to our old anchorage, which
we reached about midday.

In the afternoon I was carried ashore to see Mrs. Milman, who appears
to be a great invalid. She has two nice little girls, who look after
the house and save their mother a great deal of trouble. There was
another little girl there, a daughter of Canon Taylor, who had come up
from Cooktown on a visit.

The Residency is a pleasant house, open to every breath of wind that
blows; of which, according to our experience of these parts, there is
plenty. The inhabitants tell us that this is the normal condition of
the weather here during nine months of the twelve. No doubt these
breezes are health-giving, but the perpetual blowing of the wind must
be fatiguing. It roars and whistles and shakes the house like an
incessant hurricane. The three months during which there is no wind is
at the period of the north-east monsoon, and then the rain descends in
torrents. Life during this time of the year at Thursday Island is
described as being dreary indeed.

We returned on board at half-past five, and everybody but myself
landed again later, and went to church at half-past seven at the Court
House. Mr. Milman read prayers and a sermon, and Tom read the lessons.

[Illustration: In the Torres Straits]

[Illustration: ANT-HILLS, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA]

_Monday, August 29th._--A very windy morning. Some pearl-merchants
came on board, bringing fine specimens of pearls, which seem quite as
costly here as in London. I bought some shells, more as specimens of
queer freaks of nature than for any intrinsic beauty or value they
possessed. In the afternoon we landed again on Thursday Island, and
Tom and I explored the little town, round which I was carried in a
comfortable chair. The place is larger than I expected, and the stores
seemed well furnished with dry goods of all kinds, besides tinned
meats, vegetables, and fruit; but there are no fresh pro