_March 4th.--Eleven A.M._--I have been calculating that if Frederick does not leave England till the mail of the 25th of February, I may, by pushing on, catch him at Galle. This would be a great point. I must push on and take my chance. [Sidenote: Pulo Sapata.] _March 8th._--We are passing Pulo Sapata, a bald, solitary rock, standing in the midst of the China Sea, the resort of seafowl, as is indicated by its guano-like appearance. There it stands day after day, and year after year, affronting the scorching beams of this tropical sun. All ships pass by it between Singapore and China. So I am looking at it for the fourth time--the last time, we may hope. We have made fully 200 miles a day--a great deal for this ship. _March 10th._--We are now very near the Line, and the breeze has nearly failed us; so you may imagine we are not very cool, but we hope to reach Singapore to-morrow. These Tropics are very charming when they do not broil one; and I passed a pleasant hour last night on the top of the paddle-box, with a balmy air floating over my face from the one side, a crescent moon playing hide-and-seek behind a cloud on the other, and right above me a legion of bright stars, shining through the atmosphere as if they could pierce one with their glance. _March 11th._--We have passed the Horsburgh lighthouse, and entered the Straits. Wooded banks on either side, diversified by hillocks, and a ship or two, give some animation to the scene. It is very hot, and I have been on the paddle-box getting what air I can, and watching a black wall of cloud covered with fleecy masses, which rests on the bank to our right, and seems half inclined to sweep over us with one of those refreshing pelts of which we had a succession last night. It is this habit of showers which renders the vicinity of the Line more bearable than the summer heat of other parts within the Tropics. However, the cloud sticks to the shore, so I have come down to write this line to you. [Sidenote: Singapore.] _Singapore.--Sunday, March 13th, Seven A.M._--This place looks wonderfully green and luxuriant after China. The variety of costumes and colours too, Malay, Indian, Chinese, &c., and the pretty villas perched on each hillock among flowering trees, give it a festival air. Heavy showers of rain also keep the temperature down.... 3.30 P.M.--I went to church and embarked immediately after; and here we are, about ten miles from Singapore, going well through a calm sea, with a slight breeze rather against us. Twenty months ago I left this place at about the same hour with poor Peel for Calcutta.