compass for this purpose. The country about St. Aubins, is on porphyritic rock; about Arthurs Vale it is on Sand

stone.

7th mo. 1st. On leaving Ravensworth, we were assisted with horses, in fording the Hunter. We continued our journey on foot, passing the habitations of some settlers, to Cock-fighters-bridge, on the Wollombi Rivulet; where we were hospitably entertained, at the house of a person belonging the Survey Department, under whose charge, a party of prisoners were employed in the erection of a bridge.

2nd. The Bridge-party here, were lodged in huts of split timber. The numerous fissures in the walls of which, admitted much air; but fires were allowed, to keep out the frost. The men had only one blanket each, in which they slept, on large sheets of bark, put up like berths in a ship. No religious instruction was provided for these men, nor any suitable occupation, for the first day of the week. Bibles were distributed among them about three years ago, but none are now to be found. Men in such situations often take to card-playing, or other demoralizing occupation, to fill up vacant time. In some places in these Colonies, they have been known to convert the leaves of their Bibles into cards, and to mark the figures upon them with blood and soot! After a religious interview with these people, we returned to Darlington, and again met a kind reception from the Glennies.

3rd. At eleven o'clock, we walked about two miles, to the school-house, which we found a miserable slab-building, in a ruinous condition, with seats fixed into the ground, much exposed to the weather, and without doors or windows. By half-past twelve, about twenty-five persons had assembled, among whom were some of the more respectable settlers of the neighbourhood; to whom we were strengthened to point out the "way of life." We learned that the Presbyterian Minister, from Maitland, was in this neighbourhood to-day, and that he had only the family in whose house he preached, as a congregation. The indisposition of people to think of eternal things, which is increased by the approximation of the races, at Maitland, and the want

of a convenient place to assemble in, were probably the chief causes of the smallness of our congregations.

We arrived at Maitland, on the 5th. On re-visiting a settler on the road, he told us, that he had long leaned a little toward the Society of Friends, although his acquaintance with them had been small, but that he had not supposed their principles to be so decidedly scriptural, as he now had found they were, on reading some of the tracts that we had given him.

6th. Maitland was in a state of great excitement yesterday, from the races, and to-day, from a large sale of live stock, belonging to the Australian Agricultural Company. From rain, and the treading of the cattle on the rich soil of the road, through the eastern part of the town, it had become so cut up, as to make a journey to the post-office, distant from our inn, one mile and a half, a difficult task. I succeeded in effecting it, and returning, in two hours.

8th. On expostulating with a store-keeper, against his practice of selling spirits, the evil of which he acknowledged, as well as, that temporal and eternal injury might accrue to his family, through this means; he pleaded the necessity of doing it for their maintenance. Thus, people too often delude themselves, and as it were, sell themselves to the devil, and those with whom God has intrusted them, under the pretext of obtaining a supply for their temporal necessities, even in the midst of other means. Such practically deny their professed belief in the promise of Christ, that the things needful for the body, shall be added to those who seek first the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness. They shrink from following his example, in denying themselves of the glories of this world, when offered on condition of falling down to Satan, and worshipping him.

CHAPTER XXXV.

Maitland.-Cedar Brushes.-Morpeth.-Retired Officer.-Faithful Spaniel.Raymonds Terrace.- Pottery. - Country.-Plants.-Reformed Prisoner.Port Stephens.-Carrington.-Territory of the Australian Agricultural Company.-Karua River.-Booral.-Stroud.--Stock.-Land Speculations.-Blacks. -Dingadee. Wallaroba. Paterson.-Libraries.-Maitland.- Newcastle.Meetings.-Coal-works.-Voyage to Port Macquarie.-Lake Cottage.-Penal Establishment.-Town.-Rocks.- Prisoners.-Wilson River.-Trees, &c.Rollins Plains.-Natives.-Sugar Canes.-Tacking Point Wood.-Acrosticum grande.-State of Prisoners.-Return to Sydney.

7th mo. 9th. AFTER attending to some subjects of importance, we took a walk into one of the luxuriant woods, on the side of the Hunter, such as are termed Cedar Brushes, on account of the colonial White Cedar, Melia Azedarach, being one of the trees that compose them. Eugenia myrtifolia and Ficus Muntia, are among the variety of trees in these brushes. The former resembles a large, broad-leaved Myrtle, and attains to twenty feet in height; its fruit, which is now ripe, is about the size of a cherry, but oblong and purple, with a mixture of sweet and acid. Ficus Muntia is a spreading Fig, growing as large as an Appletree. Where its branches touch the ground, they root, and send up erect shoots, forming a succession of trees. The insipid fruit, which is about the size of a Gooseberry, is sometimes produced from the bare trunk and boughs, as well as from the leafy branches, giving the tree a very unusual appearance. These Cedar Brushes are also thick with climbers, such as Cissus antarctica, the Kangaroo Vine, Eupomatia laurinæ, a briary bush, allied to the Custardapple, but with an inferior fruit, and several Apocineæ.

10th. We held a meeting with about fifty persons, in

a school-house, at Green Hills, or Morpeth, in which the Gospel was preached, with much warning. We afterwards dined with the benevolent individual, who let us have the use of the school-house, which he built for the benefit of the neighbourhood. He belongs to a class that is pretty numerous in these Colonies, who, having been brought up to a military life, have beaten their swords into ploughshares, and have proved, that the pecuniary profits of the arts of peace, as well as their comforts, are much greater than those of war. The eldest son of this person, when between two and three years old, wandered into the bush, and was lost; he would probably have perished, but for a faithful spaniel, that followed him, and at midnight, came and scratched at the door of one of the servants' huts, and when it was opened, ran toward the place where the child was. A man followed the dog, which led him to a considerable distance, through a thick brush, by the side of the river, where he found the little boy, seated on the ground, almost stiff from cold, but amused with watching the sporting of some porpoises and sharks. The dog afterwards lost its life, from the bite of a snake, which proved fatal in fifteen minutes, much to the sorrow of its little master, who pointed out the corner of the room where it died, with evident emotion, though several years had now elapsed since the event.

11th. We proceeded by the steamer Ceres, to the mouth of the Williams River, and walked from thence to Raymonds Terrace. Here we had a meeting, in the evening, with the assigned-servants of a considerable establishment, in an overseer's cottage, situated among some trees, in contact with the forest. The large Bats, called Flying Foxes, and the black, Flying Opossums, made considerable noise among the over-hanging trees, but this did not seem to divert the attention of our congregation.

12th. There is a manufactory of superior, brown earthenware, at Raymonds Terrace; it is one of the most successful, of the few attempts that have been made to manufacture pots, in the Australian Colonies.-From a hill in this neighbourhood, there is a fine view of the surrounding country,

which, like most other parts of N. S. Wales, is one vast wood, interrupted by a few open swamps. Near this place, Sarcostemma australe, a remarkable, leafless shrub, with green, succulent, climbing stems, as thick as a quill, and bearing clusters of white flowers, resembling those of a Hoya, was growing on some rough, conglomerate rocks. In the more fertile spots, by the sides of brooks, there was a species of Yam, the root of which is eaten by the Aborigines, as well as Eugenia trinervis, and another shrub of the Myrtle tribe, and Logania floribunda, a Privet-like bush, with small, white, fragrant blossoms. The country toward Port Stephens, whither we next proceeded, was decorated with Acacia longifolia, and some others of that genus, with lively, yellow flowers, and with Bursaria spinosa, which is fragrant and white, Lambertia formosa, a stiff bush, with beautiful, deep crimson flowers, and Dillwynia parvifolia with pretty, orange blossoms.

We were accompanied a few miles on our way, in this direction, by a prisoner, who had been the subject of religious impressions in early life, but had yielded to temptations, which led to the forfeiture of his liberty. The trials to which he had been subjected, by association with wicked men, had become, under the divine blessing, the means of stirring him up to watchfulness and prayer; and here, he met with kindness, from those under whom he was placed, whose hearts became opened toward him, as his own became again turned to the Lord. A boat, belonging to the Australian Agricultural Company, conveyed us from Sawyers Point, on the south-west of the estuary of Port Stephens, to Tarlee House, the residence of Henry Dumaresq, the Company's First Commissioner, by whose family we were received with much Christian kindness.

13th. Much rain has fallen lately. Our journey through the forest, yesterday, was a very wet one, and to-day we were almost confined to the house by rain.

14th. We visited the little village of Carrington, which is situated on the north shore of Port Stephens, and is composed of a few weather-board cottages, occupied by officers and servants of the Agricultural Company, with