Wednesday, August 19.—We went down this afternoon to try our hand at fishing. It was too rough to catch anything, but I practised throwing out the line. The way to do it is to make fast one end, then holding the other, on which is the bait and stone, about a yard up, to rapidly whirl in round and round and then let go with a jerk. A good throw will carry the rest of the line, which is lying in a coil, forty or fifty yards.
Friday, August 21.—We have spent the best part of four hours taking the harmonium to pieces and putting it together again. A note had gone wrong, causing the greatest discord; we therefore had to do something. The parts to be unscrewed seemed numberless, but happily we were able to find out what was causing the mischief and to put it right. A small peg had got out of its place. It was worth while taking the instrument to pieces if only to clear away the accumulation of dust. Yet there was one incident which threatened to wreck everything. A board with a line of little upright pegs was removed, which Graham, without a thought that the pegs were not fixtures, turned upside down, when out fell the greater part of them. To our consternation we found each peg had its own hole and that there was nothing to show which it was. It took us hours to get them fitted.
Saturday, August 29.—It is now over five months since we have had communication with the outer world. Happily, the every-day duties and interests make the weeks pass quickly. Some families have run short of potatoes, partly on account of disease and partly on account of the increased population. The Repettos are among the number. It being their week to serve us, I told Mrs. Repetto this morning she must not bring us any, but she brought them all the same. They killed an ox yesterday, and brought such a huge piece of beef that we had to return some of it. He said, with tears in his eyes, perhaps it would be their last time of serving us.
We fear the new-comers will have a bad influence on old and young as regards morals. One of the men and two of the wives are terrible swearers. Some of the children are already singing bad songs learnt from them.
Tuesday, September 1.—This evening we heard that two whales were to be seen within the kelp. We went on to the cliffs to look and could clearly see, about a quarter of a mile away, an old one playing with its calf.
Andrew Swain and his wife spent the evening with us. I taught her a new pattern in knitting, a new heel, and how to cast on double.
Friday, September 4.—Yesterday after the choir practice Mrs. Repetto and Mary went down to fish. Before long I saw them returning, and when they got near noticed Mary had her head bound up. It seems she had fallen on the wet rocks and cut her head near the right temple. Her mother wrapped her pinafore round the place, but could do no more, as such sights make her ill. They came in here. It was difficult at first to see what damage had been done, as the cut had bled freely and the hair was clotted with blood. We bathed the place and then made her lie down on Ellen's bed, where she fell asleep. Happily, it turned out not to be such a bad cut as it at first appeared to be. Mrs. Repetto stayed and talked about her children. She told us Willie will never go to bed unless she says, "Good-night, dear." "Good-night, Willie," will not do. He comes back and throws his arms round her neck and says, "Say 'dear.'" Sometimes to teaze him she says the other words. The night of the dance when they came back with the children it was 12 o'clock, but little Joe, though very sleepy, would not go to bed until he had said his prayers. So many of the children get no help from their parents in doing right. Truthfulness is a great difficulty with them. Quite small children will tell you a lie without so much as a blink of the eye. I think some are certainly more truthful than they were; but children go through such phases that it is not easy to tell whether the habit of truthfulness has been formed.
Saturday, September 5.—A ship was sighted early this morning, which proved to be a French sealer bound for Kerguelen Island. It put out a boat, but not knowing where the settlement was, made for the Hardies. A boat went off from here and then the ship came round. It has been rather a miserable day, for rain has been falling nearly all the time. Two boats went out in the afternoon with meat and potatoes, which had been asked for. The Captain was not willing to give anything but spirits in exchange. The boat which went off in the morning and which contained some of the new-comers got three bags of biscuits and soap, which ought really to have been divided amongst "All Hands." It was very disappointing for the others, who had gone out to the ship in a steady downpour.
The young Sam Swains had a little son born yesterday. This makes our number ninety-nine. I went to-day to inquire and found the mother knitting. Mrs. Repetto was nursing the baby, which looked beautifully clean in a pretty gown and a little print capie on his head.
Thursday, September l0.—A mild form of mumps is prevalent among the younger children. The Andrew Hagans have had to leave the house of his step-mother, old Eliza Hagan. Susan Hagan could stand the life there no longer. It seems that Mrs. James Hagan is out nearly all day, neglects her children, and is altogether impossible to live with. It is hard that they should have to turn out for newcomers, the more so as Andrew is the elder brother and has been living in the house many years. What led to the final breach was James saying to Susan that her husband had stolen his step-mother's sheep and that there would be blood and slaughter. This alarmed the Andrew Hagans so much that they made up their minds to leave next day, and did so. The old step-mother is staying on, as it is her house, but I fear she will have an ill time of it, for the children are unmanageable and she will often be left alone with them.