1839 Sunday May 5th

Divine service performed on board, to escape which & to endeavour to bring up my journal, I retired to my cabin under plea of indisposition on reconsidering things I found, the vortex of pleasure in which I had been whirled round during the last week had left a very imperfect idea of what had passed, dinners on shore, the opera (generally Norma) & excursions into the country, occupied the whole of my time. - On the 30th of April Her Majesty the Queen Dowager of England arrived in the Hastings & on the following day we went down to Belem to act as her guard of honour. Since which time there has been nothing but saluting & manning guards. She landed in state on the 1st inst. & I of course went to see her & had a very good opportunity of so doing as I stood close to the hind wheel of the carriage which the Donna Maria had sent for her use, it was the state...