Sat. 15. [15 January 1898] Came on board about 6.30 to find that we
[were] running down the coast of Jamaica in sight of the beautiful blue
mountains. Presently we turned the point of Port Royal and got inside
a wide lagoon with Kingston at the end of it. The channel is extremely
narrow. The Urgent is lying at the top of it. We passed Fort Augusta
on our port side. At Kingston we lay up against the wharf and
presently to our joy found that the yellow fever quarantine was over
and that we might go on shore. So after breakfast we started out, took
a little covered carriage and drove 9 miles up to Gordon Town, 4
miles this side of New Castle, where we lunched on eggs and bacon,
bread and cheese and newly picked oranges. The first part of the
road was across slowly rising ground, the roads thick with people,
some of them coolies - it did one good to see the coolie women
wrapped in their discreet and graceful saris in the midst of all these
niggers. We got out at the Hope gardens and were taken round; saw
sago palm, tobacco, all sorts of spices, limes, pineapples, cocoa,
chocalate, pointsettias [sic] 10 ft high ablaze with flowers, several
beautiful kinds of jessamine, a hanging orange coloured flower called
bignantea, growing like a great white bell flower like a big
rhododenron Beumontia, and pink bell flower growing on a bush,
Strabillata, Logwood with a very sweet smelling yellow flower etc.
Growing wild apparently were trees with a charming pink fruit which
when it was ripe opened and showed 3 black pips, Akey they call it.
[On opposite page of diary are pressed flowers: wild[?]; logwood;
bignantia; jessamine; tobacco (missing)] We drove on up a narrow
gorge very thickly wooded, twisting and turning and giving us
glimpses of mt tops with here and there a palm standing out of the
skyline. Bananas and oranges grew near the stream, bamboos
cactus and unfamiliar trees. Tiny white houses like little white boxes
were scattered over the hillside with mostly a great pointsettia at its
door. Gordontown was an absurd little tumbledown place. The
restaurant Durah, was also the village store. We got nothing but ham
and eggs and bread and cheese and fresh oranges from the orchard
outside. Back to the ship about 3. No one on board but Mr Pattinson
who was too ill to go on shore. Watched a large shark swimming
round us. We were coaling and it was extremely hot and dirty.
Pleasant dinner with the Captain and Mr Dicks Chief Officer.
Afterwards sat on board and talked to the Captain, then to Mr Murdoch
under purser. Then Miss Pattinson and I played patiences with the
Chief and the Purser. Very hot and one couldn't have a bath in that
nasty harbour water.