We embarked in the afternoon and had a head-wind, which has been our evil fortune for every bit of open sea we have had on this cruise. Verily I am sick of sailing vessels! We had a wretched night—tossing about and lying on the very hard deck not venturing to unfasten pillows or plaids, from momentary expectation of shipping seas and downpours of rain. I confess it made me wish many times that I had stayed at the head of exquisite Savu Savu bay, which, they say, scarcely shows a ripple even when a hurricane sweeps the land. At daybreak this morning we were off the isle of Koro, and arrived here about breakfast-time to find that Lady Gordon and the children are at Suva, and that Arthur Gordon has returned from the mountain-war very seriously ill—from gastric, or maybe typhoid, fever. The war itself has just been brought to a very satisfactory conclusion, marking one bright point in Fijian history—the first since annexation; and it has all been settled quietly, without any sort of fuss. The Governor, Captain Knollys, Mr Maudslay, and Baron von Hügel, arrived last night. On their return from the mountains they had gone to Suva to see Lady Gordon, but were summoned here when Mr Gordon’s illness was found to be so serious. Happily, Mrs Abbey and her husband are both excellent nurses, and Abelak and the other Hindoo valet are most neat and patient attendants. Of course Dr Macgregor is here, and himself had the difficult task of conveying his patient all the way from the mountains, where the fever first developed itself, owing, we suppose, to exposure and want of proper food. * * * * * _Wednesday, Sept. 13._ Everything continues much as when I last wrote to you. Lady Gordon and the children are still at Suva, staying with Mrs Joski. Of course they must not return here just yet, though Mr Gordon is decidedly on the mend, and to day was able to walk into the drawing-room with slight help from Abbey; but he was very soon utterly tired out. Baron von Hügel is busy making an illustrated catalogue of his huge collection of Fijian _curios_, and I have been helping him a little, and also working up the sketches I got on my last cruise while they are still fresh in my mind. Our time on land was so cruelly short in proportion to that which we spent in misery on the sea, that I generally had to content myself with making very elaborate pencil-drawings with notes of colour, and these I am now working out.