Letters from George Alexander Ballard to his mother sent while serving in HMS ISIS, HMS HAMPSHIRE and HMS BRITANNIA. Most of the letters are sent from the ISIS while in the Mediterranean or on the China Station during the Boxer Rebellion. As the crew of the ISIS were not involved in the fighting, the letters provide Ballard's view of events in China as a frustrated close observer mainly from Amoy [Xiamen], Hong Kong, and Wei-Hai-Wei where ISIS was employed in protecting European civilians and shipping. His letters also cover the difficulty of being away while his wife was expecting their first child and the progress of the Second Boer War [South African War] in which his brother Colin was fighting.