Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 24.djvu/449

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Diary of Rev. George Gary — IV 417 ings; and this scent has been very disagreeable indeed. Every precaution, I suppose is now used to guard against it; twice a week say twenty or more barrels of water is poured into the vessel, to keep the oil casks moist to pre- vent their leaking. After this water has been in a few hours, it is pumped out ; which has a very great tendency to keep the hold of the ship clean. The scent is diminish- ing, and we are getting more used to it, so we hope to be soon comfortable. We find our captain, officers and crew harmonious, quiet and pleasant. We are highly pleased with the exchange of the Brutus for the Wm. Hamilton ; not that she is as pleasant as the Brutus in the finishing of her cabin &c, but she is apparently freighted with a very good share of good humor and with a prevailing disposition to accommodate and please and nothing small and niggardly appears as yet in our voyage. In all these points there is as great a dissimilarity between the Brutus and Wm. Hamilton as there is between penurious selfish- ness and a becoming and noble generosity. To be a little particular, in the Brutus, we had in the morning warm soft bread, at no other meal soft bread ; no vegetables, at any time. In the Wm. Hamilton, we have good soft bread at every meal ; a plenty of good potatoes and such other vegetables as were in market at Honolulu. In the Brutus, we were provided for as in a merchant vessel fitted for passengers. In this vessel, we were appraised that they only laid in such stores as were befitting themselves as whalemen, and that we, as passengers, would need some supplies of our own. But after all, the great item of our change is, the getting rid of faultfinding and scolding and its ordinary ill will &c. These were very painful to us. We have a very pleasant state of things in the vessel. We have prayers at evening in the cabin, accompanied generally with singing, as well as reading the holy scrip- tures. In favorable weather, we shall have meetings on the Sabbath, and we feel that Providence has presented this opportunity for our sailing to the beloved land of our