I am become the marketer and cook; a good joke occurred this week; my Father and I had been eating beef, which I bought for mutton and made broth etc. of it, they kill meat here twice a day as that killed in the morning will not keep for the evening, fish the same, the price of provisions here is but a little dearer than in England, 'tho at taverns you pay double and treble as much. I am very sorry we left Bocatoro, where every thing was plentiful and cheap. This day twelve month we sailed from Port Royal to do there, what an eventful year my Father has had. I have done pretty well, I was a great deal better off there than I ever shall be here or perhaps any where else.
2nd. April, Sunday: Yesterday being April fools day, brought to my recollection how the untutored Indians at Bocatoro behave to the educated and what is called polished life of Europeans the people in Central America know nothing of these foolish customs on particular days: yesterday (as a hoax) a young man hoisted the signal for the packet's arrival which brought the P.M and D.P.M.G and all concerned from their country houses to town. Speaking of the Indians, my Father often makes this observation. "In Africa the men have curly hair and the sheep straight hair; in Europe it is quite the reverse, the sheep are curly and the men straight". Last Tuesday Colonel Johnstone died and the day following Major Lights both my Fathers friends. The custom here is to bury people in 12 hours after they die. My Father says I have caught the Negro brogue, I hope not for I can't understand what they say, they pronounce our common name like Mottle—dar. I have just been to market and bt. a beef steak to make a pie; my Father dines out, but I shall keep him enough for his dinner tomorrow; there is such a mob of Negroes and Mulattos that the city guard is obliged to be in the market to keep order! Whilst I am writing the packet has arrived but no letter!!
1st May. Monday. Monthly Journal. The events of the past month have been shockingly bad and full of vexations. I went out to a Pen with my Father in a chaise to take a view and on my return I found I had been robbed of all my money which I had saved to buy myself a hat and pair of shoes !! My Father suspected Edwards and so did I. I mentioned the robbery to him, when he became insolent and afterwards shoved my Father's door open and ordered all his things out the servant took away every thing which old Mr.Edwards had put into the room; my Father took him before a magistrate, who made him pay 9 dollars (we got nothing of it) the magistrate told my Father to remain at Edwards's as long as he liked; but we soon got another lodging in a Negro hut, which I like very well, but the noise, dancing and singing, greatly annoys my Father.