Thursday, January 1st.—­The first day of the new year.  What will it bring forth?  The Almighty for a wise purpose hides future events from the eyes of mortals, and all we can do is to perform well our parts, and trust the rest to His guidance.  Success, as a general rule, attends him who is vigilant and active.  It is useful to look back on the first day of the new year and see how we have spent the past; what errors we have committed, and of what faults we have been guilty, that we may in the future avoid the one and reform the other.

Although the wind blew pretty fresh during the past night, we did not feel the gale in any force; and to-day it has moderated, and the weather become fine again.  Still caulking and painting.  The former seems to be an interminable job with our small gang of caulkers.  In the afternoon a brig approached the island, near enough to be seen, hull up, from the deck.  She was beating up the bank to the eastward probably from Vera Cruz.

Friday, January 2nd.—­The wind has been fresh all day from the eastward, bringing in some sea, and as we have been riding across the tide, the ship has had some motion.  Caulking and painting, tarring down and squaring ratlines, &c.  Commenced condensing water to supply the barque for her return voyage to England.  I must get to sea on Tuesday, though I fear we shall not have finished caulking; but Banks’ expedition must be assembling off Galveston, and time is of importance to us if we would strike a blow at it before it is all landed.  My men will rebel a little yet.  I was obliged to-day to trice one of them up for a little insolent behaviour.

Saturday, January 3d.—­A gale opened after all from the S.E., which I had hoped to escape, so rare is it to have blows from this quarter at this season of the year.  We have veered to forty-five fathoms on each chain, and are in six fathoms water astern (there being nine where the anchors are), and are tailing directly on the surf, with a few hundred feet only between us and it, which of course makes me feel a little solicitude.  We are open to the S.E. winds, though these blow over the bank from landwards.  Still the water is deep and the land distant, and a considerable sea comes in.  I have ordered the fires to be lighted under another boiler to guard against accidents.  The Arcas are a dirty little anchorage for large ships, being but an open roadstead, affording good shelter only from the north.  There is a very small basin between the two reefs, running off from the northern island, fit for very small vessels, where they could be made secure against northerly and southerly winds; but everywhere they would be exposed more or less to wind from the westward.

Sunday, January 4th.—­Weather clear, with the wind fresh from the S.E., dying away in the afternoon.  Having determined to get to sea this evening, we commenced getting our coal-bags on board from the barque, omitting the usual Sunday muster.  Busy with the seamen, as usual on such occasions, sending home their allotments, &c.  The weather begins to portend a norther, so I have directed the engineer to hold on with his steam for the present.