rolled and pitched to that degree that we could hardly stand on our legs; our cabin was so dark and gloomy that we could not bear sitting for an hour in it.

The dim light admitted from a bull's-eye, and a small scuttle through the side, was not sufficient to read a book, and when we endeavoured to do so, we found it a difficult task because of the motion of the vessel. You are obliged to hold anything that is a fixture with one hand to keep yourself steady, and your book in the other; but then how are you to turn the leaves as you read them? If you loose your hold the next lurch will throw you off your seat, and you are in the danger of breaking your neck. On the deck the wind was so cold and blowing so hard, that it was no pleasure or enjoyment to pass a few hours there; thus we were sadly in want of amusement, and not we only, but we believe all the passengers on board. It was also a difficult task for our servants to prepare our victuals, as they could hardly keep the cooking utensils steady on the fire.

Though the Captain had allowed us a separate caboose, which was placed between the foremast and the riding bits, in a portable house built for the purpose, our cook dared not move from it, because close to it was stowed a quantity of hay, for a fine Arabian steed and two cows which were on board. The things on the cuddy table were

often carried away, and we found much difficulty in taking our meals; the plan we adopted was that of holding the plate in our hand and eating out of it, but the most laborious task was that of taking tea; we were obliged to hold the cup in our hands, and pour out the liquid and drink it off as fast we could. Such was the difficulty we had to encounter during this gale: here we were strongly reminded of the comforts of home, and we lamented undertaking the voyage by sea; and, indeed, had there not been the number of happy innocent children on board, whose playful tricks and smiles amused us, it would have proved an extremely tedious passage. We, therefore, strongly recommend those who leave England or India for either country, by all means to go by the overland route if they can possibly afford it. It may appear presumptuous of us to recommend a route we have not travelled by, but we have heard a great deal from those who have had experience in it, and by comparing them to the narrative of our voyage, we have drawn a conclusion in its favor, and have resolved to return to Bombay by the same conveyance. We hear that the track is so completely beaten, that there is very little fatigue attending it, except crossing the desert of Suez, but you are amply repaid for it by reaching to your destination much sooner, and seeing the countries which you traverse. However, with all the inconveniences here cited, we

had reason to be thankful to the Allwise Providence for landing us safely on the shores of England.

The contrast in the appearance of the ship was remarkable; hitherto she had carried many large and wide sails, but now a triangular one (called storm-sail) was her lot, and she was as it were deprived of her beautiful clothing. It was quite depressing to see her in that state.

We continued on thus till the 4th of June, and, unfortunately, much of the live stock which we had taken at Cochin died every day during this tedious gale, and there were only two sheep on board; and it was the opinion of all, that the wind would not change its direction for a fortnight, at least there was every appearance of its continuing to blow from the same quarter; and as we were taking tea in our cabin our kind friend Mr. Stuart, the purser, came in and said that he had an unpleasant message from the Captain to deliver ; it was this, we had hitherto been allowed mutton and fowls, but as there were no fowls on board, and only two sheep, the Captain regretted he could not supply us with any meat after they were consumed, and as it was uncertain when we should reach the Cape, we were requested to subsist upon rice, peas, &c. till then. There was a great quantity of salt beef and ham on board, but we could not as Parsees partake of them from our religious scruples.

This was no "unpleasant message" to us, because there were many other things upon which we could live for weeks together; and moreover we had a quantity of preserved meat with us, which was very little consumed, and proved of the greatest use and convenience to us, as it only required warming a little and it was fit to eat. But we were extremely sorry to hear that we should have to endure the discomfort, as much again as we had already experienced.

It was very fortunate that the ship did not sustain any other injury or loss than that of her jib-boom and the sprit-sail yard, and much of it is to be attributed to the excellent management of Captain Hopkins and his officers. The boom and the yard were soon replaced, but the poop and the upper deck now became very leaky; by the constant rolling of the ship the caulking became loose, and there was every passenger complaining about it; no remedy however could be done to it before the gale subsided.

On the morning of the 5th the wind moderated, and we were able to set sail. Oh! how delightful was it, every body was full of joy, and every heart forgot all the past trouble, and looked forward with pleasure to reach Simon's Bay the day after the following. In the evening there was only a slight breeze and the sea considerably smoother, and we made towards False Bay.

On the morning of the 6th we fairly entered the

Bay, but the wind being against us we had to tack about, or beat to the windward, to enter that safe, long-wished haven-Simon's Bay.

There are very high mountains on both sides of False Bay, and there was little verdure on them on account of its being winter, but they appeared destitute of wood. The ship's company and the officer had a hard work to tack the ship about the whole of the day, and at three o'clock on the morning of the 7th, we fairly cast anchor at Simon's Bay.

Simon's Bay is about twenty-two miles northeast of Cape Town; it is much frequented by ships during the north-westerly gales for which the Cape is celebrated; it is entirely sheltered from the winds by high mountains with which it is surrounded; many of them are more than three thousand feet in height from the level of the sea. We saw her Majesty's ship Melville, 74 guns, bearing the flag of Admiral Honorable George Elliot, and two or three other ships of the navy.

Simon's Town is situated opposite the bay at the foot of the hills, and is much warmer and pleasanter than Cape Town, which lies exposed to the wind. The view of the town from the harbour is very good. The houses are principally one story high, detached from each other, and facing the bay.

We were anxious to see Cape Town, and as our friend Mr. Stuart was going there, we wanted