Sunday, October 20th

Fresh breeze right aft from N.E. Service as usual. During the forenoon a large vessel kept us company about six miles to leeward, steering the same course. As usual we imagined page 53her to be one of our fleet. We lost sight of her in the afternoon. The first albatross appeared today—something like a large gannet—and a Cape hen—a beautiful black, graceful bird, like a large swift. Began an argument with Wortley which lasted all day and at last put me quite out of temper, on the derivation of albatross, I maintaining as it was a black and white bird—'alba' and 'atra' must be a reasonable derivative; he maintaining that 'alba' and some Spanish word like 'trossa' was more reasonable. Searched in books for it, but to no purpose. This, the first day out of the tropics, is clearly cooler, and in the evening we gladly exchange our linen clothes for pea jackets and cloth trousers. Latitude at noon 24.14 S. Steering S.S.E. with port studding sails set. Right on Tristan d'Acunha about seven, the wind coming dead aft, they were setting starboard studding sails, when the wind chopped suddenly round, blowing up fresh with rain; all the small sails were taken in, and in an hour the ship was going to a fresh breeze as high as she could, but on the same course, fortunately, as before. Heavy rain came on at night and continued till late.