Tuesday, March 4th

After breakfast we set to turning the house inside out, opening boxes and drying the contents, which was done by the fervid sun in no time, most satisfactorily. We scraped the floor free of mud, dug a small waterway round the foot of the wall inside, (Willy called it a 'trinket') and made everything dry and smooth. The contents of the boxes were not much injured. Some by sitting on the wet floor, had sucked up the damp, but had not mildewed. Some of the cloth clothes in a portmanteau were dreadfully spoiled and stained with damp, but this may have been done on board ship. Hamilton's gun was well rusted. Everything was put back, and we had a dry room again in the evening. The boat was got up from the shed (easily carried by four of us up the hill) and she is caulked and painted with her first coat this evening. Today I sat for the first time alone on the Bench and took some drunken cases—experiencing the strange sensation of being the arbiter of the liberties of one's fellow men. I felt rather bashful and unwilling to say too much. In the evening I was applied to for a ne exeat against the Captain of the Castle Eden at the suit of one of his men for wages, who feared he was going to sail away to-morrow. By great difficulty got it postponed till to-morrow morning, feeling very helpless and fearful of the responsibility of doing so large a deed.

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Wortley has got a floor on his house and a fire in his chimney, and seems quite comfortable. The Salacia is reported arrived with horses and cattle, & two other small craft—one with twenty cows. Have thoughts of buying a few more, if good.