Warmer and smooth sea, all very quiet aboard ship – very few attended Divine Service – Governor of Malta very ill.
Called at Plymouth where a good many more passengers left and then to Woolwich. Arrived safely at 6am on February 14th.
Arrived Newcastle on Monday, the 17th Feb and on Tuesday and Wednesday attended the office and cleared off some of the work that had accumulated in my absence. On Wednesday night I did not feel well so went to bed and called in the doctor – I had a high temperature and lay in bed for a month suffering from an attack of “Flu” and Congestion of the Lungs – am thankful to say I am now well and about again.
In conclusion I must say the trip was a wonderful experience – very interesting and highly educational but very strenuous for a man of my age. We must have travelled 24 thousand miles in 3 and a half months in various temperatures and altitudes by boat, rail, motor car, rickshaw, camel and elephant. We were treated with the greatest kindness by all we met and we hope to meet many of them again when they are home on leave.
During the past nine years I have visited many countries – Spain, North and West Africa, Italy, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, France, Canary Islands, West Indies, Venezuela, Switzerland, through the Panama Canal to Panama, Canada, and the United States – have seen the best and poorest parts of some of their principal cities and have stayed in their best hotels but have always had a feeling of thankfulness that England was my home on landing in England after each trip. It is in my opinion the best, cleanest and most wonderful country in the world.
Sam Smith
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