April 2 Wednesday – Sam’s notebook: “10 a.m. Entering Nassau. The blues, greens & bronzes of this water at Nassau surpass all the splendors of any water we have seen. Visit of Mr. Gladstone. / Flying fish 30 ft long” [NB 45 TS 8]. Note: Sam’s ship log essentially the same report.

In Nassau, Bahamas, Sam wrote to Livy.

Livy, dear, it is decided that we sail to-morrow for Jacksonville, reaching there on the 5th; then run up the St Johns river & take a look at it; then to Charleston & the Fair; stop next at a point in Virginia & take coal; then to New York. So it looks now as if we can hardly fail to be home by the 12th—& I do hope there won’t be any failure.

I have telegraphed you to-day to write to Charleston; slow as the mails are, that gives time enough for a letter to arrive before we get there. I have written Havana to send my letters to Riverdale.

I hope you are well of your cold; I wanted to ask you to telegraph me, to-day, but I couldn’t, as we were likely to leave here before night. It is a long time since I got those letters from you & Jean—it seems weeks.

It is cool & pleasant tonight, & we are wearing our coats & vests once more; the heat has been very oppressive ever since we were here before [LLMT 336-7].