We are pretty close in now & in a few minutes the pipe will go “all hands bring ship to anchor", and out will come the Portuguese Boats with Fish, Fruit, &c. I don't think we shall get any letters until we arrive at St. Miguel. our latest news direct from England is May 8th, so we are nearly 2 months in arrear.

9pm
We dropped anchor at 4 about 1/4 of a mile from the chief town of Horta, a very pretty place built all along the beach & looking like Brighton seen from the sea. The houses are all white without chimneys, & away far up in the mountains a few convents can be seen. At 8 o'clock the bells were ringing for evening mass & sounded very solemn indeed. They don't ring a peal like we do but have one deep toned bell which is rung very slowly like a passing bell. These islands are all cultivated & at present the corn is just ready for cutting.

As soon as we anchored, the Quarantine boat came alongside to see if we had any sickness on board, after considerable delay they gave us pratique, which means permission to land &c, but they also informed us that the small pox was very bad on shore & also at the other islands & Madeira, so our stay at these islands will be as short as possibl.e The disease was brought here by a British merchant ship from Boston, America, but the boatmen told us that none but children were attached as yet. However the Captain allowed no one on shore but himself & a few of the scientific gents & the boatmen were not allowed in board, but we might go down to their boats alongside & purchase what we liked. They had fish, eggs, cheese, bread, green figs, apricots, plums &c. I have bought 6 dozen of each, & half a dozen eggs which is the total amount I have expended here.