This was such a bright bracing day - We had the long swell of the water, remaining effect of the late storm - the waves danced gaily in the bright sunshine - the wild geese and ducks sailed about in droves and the sea gulls gathered like snow flakes over the dark green water. In the fresh morning breeze came the Admiral over the sea - wash - Two of [Ward's?] 62 [?] [?] were brought from the wreck of the gun boat Zouave and put on the [fore-part?] of our boat. After dinner, Mr [Glott?], Rodamel, Shorkley & I got into the first cutter and sailed over to the [Sutlers?] Schooner - the air was fresh enough to be bracing - the water rough enough to give a bounding, exhilerating motion to the boat. We went down along the channel, among the vessels so familiar to us, past the wrecked Zouave, under the bow of the Scout - I thought I had made her out among the vessels over in the sound - out into the farthest pockets, Sunday Jan 26. continued
as the deep places of the harbor are called - the harbor is full of shoals and deep places - the deep places are called pockets - It was near sunset when we left the Sutlers' boat - we saw the Northerner gaily steaming into the sound, cheered, as she passed, by those already there. It really makes one feel good to see the difficulties at last overcome - there are now 12 or 13 transports across - but the sun sank, as we [?] under a light wind, back - leaving a horizon of orange and gold - gloriously resplendent. We got back to the Cossack in time for tea - refreshed very considerably by our trip. There is a brother of the [shoals?] gets the night-mare, almost every night, yells horribly and wakens up every one in the saloon. Markley remarked quietly that he wished he would ride that mare in the [daytime?] We call tomorrow - I read a paper this evening - the Baltimore American of Jan 23. It says "all that has been heard from the Burnside expedition was a despatch from [?] Goldsboro that the town was full of people flying from Newbern: also something taken from one of the southern papers - that one hundred of Burnside's fleet were seen on Pamlico sound--that probably they would attack simultaneously Roanoke Island and Newbern - that they were prepared for them in both places I think there are some thirty ships, transports and gun boats now in the sound the balance are out in the inlet yet. But we saw schooners come scudding in all sails set - [jibsail] - [staysail] - [foresail] - [mainsail] - [main topsail] - fore-topsail] - I learned their names from Mitchel the sailor who steered our boat -