Friday, March 21st

A cold night and morning, but hot for three hours in the middle of the day. Wind S.W. and N.W. The air is quite chilly at night, and the discomfort is aggravated—perhaps caused—by the insufficiency of the houses. After breakfast we took a load of piles (ten heavy ones) to the Island, rowing there against the wind. A stonemason accompanied us to search for stone to build the chimneys. After some searching we found, pretty near, some good stone lying loose, which he said might do. He was a civil man—from Canterbury.

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We left Henry with Caughey & Abernethy. They had got on pretty well with the excavation, but the road seems every day steeper and less accessible. The goats were doing well, and there had been signs seen of the pigs. As we came back a schooner, the Bride, arrived from Sydney. Took tea with the Townsends, having some business with the old gentleman, and spent a pleasant, civilized evening. Two of the young ladies played duets from the 'Huguenots' exceedingly well. Their house is dreadfully cold, being only weatherboarded, and they still cook in the open air. Margaret Ferguson gave me today her first quarter's wages to send home for her sister Mary. I promised to get as much added to it as would fit her out and send her to Plymouth and thence to New Zealand.