1888-1889
Gibraltar, Algeria, Malta, Egypt, India, Burma, Singapore, China, Japan, Korea, Russia
June 29th, 1889
Shanghai
My Beloved Angee,
I have had rather an adventurous time of it since leaving Nagasaki on the 26th – not willing to waste all the week as I must have done if I had waited for the regular mail steamer I took a passage on board a small steamer carrying coals from Japan to this place. The Captain is a Norwegian, indeed it is a Norwegian ship and crew and the Captain had his wife on board. The weather was stormy a part of the voyage and we had a pretty good tossing. The Captain kindly gave me the use of his chart room with a sofa about 4 feet long, but filled with company in the way of cockroaches and the heat was almost suffocating and here at Shanghai it is really terrible. I must hurry out of China quickly now as I am sure I could not stand it.
Have been disappointed since my arrival to find that my two weeks' missing letters have just been sent to Nagasaki, so that I shall have to wait until my arrival at Hong Kong before receiving them.
I wrote you from Japan and sent it via America and there is a mail out from here in a few hours and thought I would just send a few lines, but have no time to write a proper letter – have many times thought seriously this week of returning home as I tremble more in this intense heat than for anything else – it is just like being boiled – we feel it so much because of the humidity of the atmosphere.
Suppose you will soon be returning home and I dare say the change will be acceptable to you after such a long absence – well the Lord knows all the longings of my heart for home too and once more to see your dear face and all our loved ones.
Dear Mr Hunter has just called in and wants me to take the Gospel tomorrow, but for prudence sake I have had to say no, although there has been no return of the irregularities of the heart's action, but this weather would soon exhaust me.
Once more with much love to you my dearly beloved Angee and the dear boys and their wives and little ones – kiss them all for me and believe me.
Being very affectionate Husband.