James Artis Morgan said good-bye to his sister, and left England at the age of 27 after his mother died. He took his diary and poem-book which he read to the many people he befriended in his travels. He also related many interesting stories to them. He always kept in constant touch with his sister. Arrived in New York, America. Experienced Red Indian attacks. Witnessed the ruins after the Civil War in the Southern States. Made friends with River Boat Detective and played a part in the capture of a fraudster. Travelled by train across to the west. Looked around San Francisco. Had a desire to travel again. To Australia. Arrived in Sydney, Australia. Stayed at boarding-house and made friends. One man got him a job on the railways which he enjoyed. One other helped him overthrow a gang of ruffians at a station one day. James had a yearning to visit the Far East. This time it was India.
Arrived in Calcutta, India, where his life began to take on a much more interesting shape. He was shocked at the amount of Europeans and their high-class lifestyle in this city. He befriended a man who recommended a guest-house. He travelled with James to many historical places including the Taj-Mahal and James learned a lot about the Indian's way of life, which he writes to his sister about. The land-lady recommended James to her friend a Loco-Foreman on the Eastern Bengal Railway. James was employed by the railways. After his apprenticeship he got a promotion to Head Driver of a goods train, and had a trusty Indian fireman to assist him. James spent a lot of enjoyable times discussing life, relating happenings and reading poems to his friends. The land-lady confided the heart-broken loss of her son. Agypsy prophesied that James would soon meet the woman he would marry. He writes to his sister about this luxurious life-style. The friend who assisted him with the ruffians in Australia paid him an enjoyable visit.
James met the wife of the Loco-Foreman at their dinner invitation, and she spoke of her eight year old son and Rebecca their step-daughter of 17, who was an orphan, her mother having died when she was only seven days old, and her father dying of Malaria when she was only seven years old. She was a boarder and was still at school. She was finishing her schooling at Christmas. They also invited James for Christmas Dinner. At Christmas James met their step-daughter, Rebecca. She was very clever and had passed well in her exams. She was also very talented and played the piano very well. While she entertained the family playing the piano and singing, James became captivated by her charm. At her eighteenth birthday party at the Railway Institute he plucked up courage and asked her to dance. The whole family was shocked, but to his delight Rebecca happily accepted his request. Having taken the first step and been successful, he did not hesitate in asking her to dance at the Easter Celebration ball at Delhousie Institute. He had fallen in love with Rebecca and divulged this to her while they happily danced. She replied that she had loved him from the first time they sang hymns together. He confronted her about the big age gap, and she replied that age was not important, but love was. He asked her to marry him, and she accepted. He wrote a proposal of marriage to Rebecca's step-father and step-mother, and was delighted to receive their acceptance. After the marital interrogationswhen they were alone on the veranda, James romantically put his engagement ring on Rebecca's finger. After that special moment, they waited patiently for their wedding day to arrive, becoming more and more in love.
After the lengthy waiting, the wedding day was perfect. They happily vowed to be united till 'death do us part', and that night their marriage was enjoyably consummated. They were designated married quarters and had a servant for every job. Soon they had their first baby, a daughter. Rebecca had a difficult birth. James constantly consoled her all the way through. Unfortunately a few hours after her birth the baby died. Caused by the length of labour and the cord becoming wrapped around her neck. James and Rebecca were completely heart-broken. James opted to be stationed at Guolundo. The move would help them get over their tragedy more. Soon Rebecca gave birth to another baby girl. She was christened with a very small name because of a Gypsy's advice. Rebecca received the inheritance her father had left her at twenty-one. At Guolundo James experienced hunting a tiger, amongst his other hunts of dangerous animals. The tiger becoming a man-eater had to be destroyed. He had a big collection of hides and claws as trophies. They also experienced near-death incidents with Cobras, and many other tropical irritations. James also rescued a woman from being beaten to death.
After a year James and Rebecca returned to Calcutta. Soon after they had another daughter. The following year they had another daughter. James loved his daughters but longed for a son. James and Rebecca were delighted their three daughters were growing up healthy. They were bringing up their children to bewell-educated, well-mannered, religious, and in knowing about the importance of cleanliness. They dealt with any childhood ailment with patience and understanding. On the occasion of their friends' visit, they had an enjoyable time discussing interesting events, relating unusual ghostly happenings, and telling jokes. The family enjoyed a relaxing day discussing life's do's and don'ts and sharing each other's points of view. Rebecca served out the food rations, and dealt with the servant's diarrhoea problems. Rebecca's step-father retired. The whole family attended his farewell celebration party at the Railway Institute. James and Rebecca visited friends from a place not far from Assam. They experienced a bad sand-storm, and later James and his friend encountered a near-death situation when he had to resort to shooting a rogue elephant which was