In those days of foreign travel it was necessary to await a vessel that might by chance be sailing in the direction of the desired destination. Fortunately the ship _Grafton_, Captain Abbott, was found to be loading for a direct voyage to China, and passage was obtained for a party of missionaries en route for the Orient, including the trio for Siam. On July 27, 1846, the _Grafton_ sailed from New York. A journey to the Far East then was a matter of time and tedious delays, as well as of adventure. The course of the _Grafton_ lay southward through the Atlantic, now near the coast of Africa, now near the coast of South America, with glimpses of Liberia and of Brazil; around the Cape of Good Hope and across the Indian Ocean, among the East Indies and thence northward to China. The indirectness of the voyage by which Dr. House reached Siam is shown by this fact: one hundred days after leaving New York, the _Grafton_ put in for water at Ampanan on the island of Lombok, one of the smaller of the East India chain. This port was within four weeks’ direct sail of the Siamese capital; whereas the _Grafton_ was headed for the port of Canton, to reach which required fifty days more; thence by another vessel it was necessary to retrace the course to Singapore and transfer for Bangkok. Could the missionary have taken passage direct from Ampanan to Bangkok he would have reached his destination in about two-thirds the actual time consumed. But even the most direct course to China could not then be taken because the season had arrived for the northeast monsoons on the China Sea, which are a peril to sailors. The _Grafton_ was compelled to pass to the eastward among the Isles of Spice, past Pelew Island, out into the Pacific, east of the Philippines, within sight of Formosa and thence westward to Canton. The doctor writes home to the children of the Sunday school that “It was a dream of childhood come true to sail among these fabulous islands.” On the 28th day of December, one hundred and sixty days from New York, the _Grafton_ arrived at Macao, the Portuguese port for Canton, which during the stormy days of early foreign relations with China was a place of safe entry, transfer and retreat for merchants and missionaries alike. No vessel was to be found bound towards Siam, so the missionaries had to wait. The American merchants Olyphant & Co., of Canton, with hospitality “as generous as it was elegant,” took the doctor into their home for the sojourn during the delay. Dr. House visited the mission school of Dr. Happer, located at the port, and also went up to Canton to visit the hospital conducted by Dr. Parker, who had been a lecturer in the University of Pennsylvania when he was a student there. On Feb. 7, the party for Siam took passage on the _John Bagshaw_, Captain Dare. After a call at Hong Kong they had a quiet passage southward through the China Sea, and on the 23rd reached Singapore, the maritime capital of the South China Sea.