![Thomas Keir diary - 31 December 1863 entry [National Library Micro-MS-0837]](http://mermaid1864.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/26-18631231-ViewScan_0117-k.png "7-18631126-ViewScan_0098-k")
Thursday 31th – Cloudy with little wind
and misty rain. the ship rolling a little.
A sail on the port bow in the morning
[page]
Had a scotch haggis for dinner, baked a
current loaf for our New Year and got some
whisky from the Purser[1] at 3/- Passed an
hour or two with the Gorilla hunters in
the wilds of Africa[2]. Had a turn at the
of the dancing in the evening on the quarter
deck. 10 P.M. a nice breeze with a drizzle
of rain. Preparations are being made for wel-
coming in the New Year
STANDARDISED
Thursday 31st
Cloudy with little wind and misty rain, the ship rolling a little. A sail on the port bow in the morning. Had a scotch haggis for dinner, baked a current loaf for our New Year and got some whisky from the Purser at 3 shillings. Passed an hour or two with the Gorilla hunters in the wilds of Africa. Had a turn at the dancing in the evening on the quarter deck. 10pm a nice breeze with a drizzle of rain. Preparations are being made for welcoming in the New Year.
HENRY SCHOFIELD DIARY
Dec 31st dull & fog
A woman fell down & hurt herself. Joe raffled a ship off 50 members 6d per member Capt Wilson[3] got it first time. Playing at draughts. Saw a ship outward bound. A fair wind, 9 knots per hour, 33 deg Lat & 29 Long. Dinner pork & pea soup. Got a rope of a sailor. The Scotch had a good deal of acting, etc, going at it till this morning when I went to bed about 2 O’clock.
Notes
1. The purser was 31 year old James McQuade from Dublin.
2. The Gorilla Hunters: A Tale of the Wilds of Africa is a boys’ adventure novel by Scottish author Robert Michael Ballentyne, first published in 1861. [Wikipedia]
3. Captain Wilson wasn’t listed among the assisted emigrants nor the cabin passengers, although a Captain Holland was travelling as a cabin passenger with his wife. Wilson may have been another steerage passenger paying his own fare.
Further reading
Robert Michael Ballantyne (24 April 1825 – 8 February 1894) was a prolific writer of juvenile fiction, and many of his books are available online through the University of Pennsylvania’s Online Books Page, including The Gorilla Hunters.
Front cover of The Gorilla Hunters by R.M. Ballentyne, first edition, published 1861.[Friends of Library and Archives Canada]
