She comes, majestic with her swelling sails, The gallant bark along her watery way, Homeward she drives before the favouring gales. Now flitting at their length the streamers fly, And now they ripple with the ruffling breeze.

Wednesday, May 2nd.—­Steam was up at five o’clock, the wind being still fair but light.  Soon it dropped to a calm, and then went round and blew with great force exactly in the opposite direction, dead ahead.  The fires had to be put out, for it was so rough we could do no good steaming against the gale.  The screw kept racing round and shaking the vessel terribly.  Of course I was very ill; but the maids did not mind, and the children rather enjoyed the tumbling about and the water on deck.  We continued scudding along through the water, but not making much progress on our course.

[Illustration:  HOMEWARD BOUND.]

Thursday, May 3rd.—­The wind kept on increasing, and at last blew quite a gale.  We have gone a long way out of our course to the northward, ready for a favourable change, but we can scarcely make any way to the westward.

Friday, May 4th.—­A repetition of yesterday—­,

    Beating, beating all the day,
    But never a bit ahead.

Saturday, May 5th.—­A lull at last, and we are able to have the fires lighted and to steam on our course.  We made the Island of Scarpanto in the morning.  All the afternoon and evening we have been steaming along ten miles to the southward of Crete.  Its outline was very beautiful, surmounted by the snow-capped mountains.  I was up on deck just in time to behold the most lovely sunset, with exquisite rosy, purple, and crimson tints on sea and sky.

I have not quite got over my attack in Cairo yet, and for the last three days have been completely laid up with a various mixture of land illness and sea sickness.  We stopped steaming late in the day, but fires were lighted again in the middle of the night, as the wind was still ahead.  There was a discussion whether or not to go round the north side of the Island of Kandia, so as to have a glimpse of the British Fleet at anchor in Suda Bay, if they have already arrived there.

Sunday, May 6th, and Monday, May 7th.—­Early in the morning the snowy mountains of Crete were still in sight.  Service was held as usual at eleven, but it was too rough in the afternoon for it to be repeated.

Sail and steam, wind and calm, alternated with one another all day.  Tom is anxious to sail every mile he can, and yet not to lose any unnecessary time, and finds it exceedingly difficult to combine these two objects.