Thursday, January 29th., Yacht Amaryllis, Cannes.
I am now up again but still with a rotten cough. I have only had two coughs in about twenty years. The first was last November and this is the second one; bit troubling. It has rained heavily most of this week. For example it rained from 5 a.m. Thursday last until 1 p.m. on Saturday. Today is fine and I have begun a watercolour and may finish it tomorrow if the sun co-operates with my endeavour.
We have at last got an English engineer that I think may suit. He was second engineer on the Laranda (400 tons) which put in here the other day. He was only engaged for the outward trip on the Laranda, and was sent to us by his Chief Engineer. In the absence of Sullivan I engaged him last night. The dynamo motor broke with a great noise the other day and is being re-built; piston rod smashed. In the meantime the voltage is down to 20 (instead of 50 odd) and diminishing hourly. Candles. Lamps. Odious. Both the big Renault engines are going to be taken down, which is some job. Expensive business this grand cruising!
The seas here have been terrific and even today in this enclosed port this ship is rolling like a cradle when a cradle is efficiently rocked. I went out oaring yesterday which was probably a mistake but I was trying to impress a young lady of my recent acquaintance. I managed to row us around a schooner that was lying and rolling and pitching in the outer roads, but the oars were so heavy that I returned exhausted. And she was a little green in the face, so that was that; wasted effort.
No prospect of us moving from here so I shall set out for London on Tuesday 8th., arriving on the Wednesday. I go to Eastbourne on the Thursday to see a performance of my play "The Love Match" previous to the London Production. I gather that the first performances have not been at all satisfactory. It seems about twenty years since I had a play produced, and this one is too good really to be a success.
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