CHAPTER XLI.

Hobart Town.-Recording Ministers.—Conversion of a Unitarian.—Journey.— Climate and Diseases.-Hamilton.-Frost.-Falling-stars.-Stranded Whale. -Birth-day.-Convict Discipline.-Captain Maconochie's System.-D. and C. Wheeler.-Meeting Premises and Burial Ground.—Death of J. Johnson.New Norfolk.-Sudden Death.-Affirmation Act.-Yearly Meeting.-Aborigines on Flinders Island.-Sir John and Lady Franklin.-Dr. Foreman and Female Prisoners.-Reformed Drunkard.-Departure from Van Diemens Land.

WE remained in Hobart Town more than three weeks, and made many unsuccessful inquiries, respecting vessels proceeding to the Mauritius, and touching at the Settlements on the south coast of Australia, and at the Swan River; believing it would be right for us to proceed in that direction, for the Cape of Good Hope, as soon as way should open. In the mean time, we continued our labours, for the edification of those, united with us in religious profession, and for the welfare of the Inhabitants of the Colony generally.

6th mo. 1st. Our monthly meeting was a season, to be remembered with thankfulness to the Shepherd of Israel, who was pleased to grant a sense of his presence, and in a remarkable degree to unite our spirits, especially in deliberating upon the important subject of recording two individuals as approved ministers. Great unity of sentiment prevailed in taking this step, and under a sense of the importance of the office, much weighty counsel was conveyed by various persons.

13th. We had a pleasant visit from James Allen, the surgeon of the Establishment for the Aborigines, on Flinders Island. He gave an interesting account of the progress of civilization among the Blacks. They have left off

their dancing and hunting, and are acquiring the English language, and useful arts, as well as an historical knowledge, at least, of Christianity. They still, however, diminish in number, the mortality being considerable; and in one case of a birth, among them, a strong disposition was shown by the parents, to destroy the child.

18th. The meeting this morning, was a very remarkable

one.

The early part of it was attended by a deep feeling of poverty. The weather being wet, and the roads miry, it was long before the congregation was fully assembled. Soon after the meeting became settled, the sense of the divine presence gradually overshadowed us, gathering our minds into reverent, silent adoration, and preparing many to magnify God with their voices. Silence was first broken by one of our women friends, of whom we have some that, like Tryphena and Tryphosa, labour in the Lord: she expressed a few sentences, on the marvellous condescension of our Holy Redeemer, in taking upon him the nature of man, and submitting to be tempted as we are, that we might know, that in him, we have a High Priest, touched with a feeling of our infirmities. This testimony was followed by others, from seven different persons, in which the way of life, through Jesus Christ, was clearly set forth, with various exhortations, admonitions, and praises, and with allusions to the importance of being instant in prayer, and steadfast in faith, not only in the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ, but in all that he said and did, and in that light which comes by him, and by, and in which, he leads his disciples into all truth, and now "speaketh" to them "from heaven."-A person who held Unitarian principles, came casually into this meeting, and became convinced of the unsoundness of his principles: he said, that the feeling of divine influence was so powerfully felt by him, as soon as he entered the door, and before a word was spoken, that it would have been in vain, from that time, for any one to have tried to persuade him, that there was no such thing to be felt, as the perceptible influence of the Holy Spirit. This influence opened his understanding to receive also, the doctrine of Christ crucified, to the unspeakable comfort of

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his own soul.-The afternoon meeting was small and silent; a season to prove to us, that mercies, such as we were favoured with this morning, are not at our command.

23rd. We set out, on horseback, on another journey into the interior.-At New Norfolk, we met an elderly woman of our acquaintance, who, after a residence of many years in Tasmania, made a voyage to Europe, and visited her native country, Scotland. She found the more humid and cloudy climate of Great Britain, uncongenial to her feelings, and was glad to get back to this, her adopted country. It is however, the clouds and rain of Great Britain, that render it so much more fertile than these sunny, southern climes. Though the clouds, and rain, and cold, of Britain, give rise to diseases, that often put a period to life, I much question, whether the average longevity is greater here, than in Great Britain. Consumption is less frequent in the Australian regions, but acute diseases and sudden death, are more frequent. Perhaps this may result from the more free use of intoxicating liquors, and the much more abundant consumption of animal food, in Australia and Tasmania. Nervous diseases are also very common in these Colonies; possibly they may arise from drinking such large quantities of green tea, as are generally taken by persons of all ranks.

24th. We visited a couple, who are strongly attached to the principles of the Society of Friends, and had a religious interview with the patients in the hospital. Of latter time, the Wesleyans have paid attention to the religious state of New Norfolk, which is now much more of a town than when we first visited it; they have erected a chapel, and are building one at the Back River.

25th. We held meetings with the inhabitants of the Back River, and of New Norfolk. In the former, one of the persons noticed yesterday, expressed a few words in prayer, and afterwards, informed the congregation, that he had at his house, a collection of books for gratuitous loan, illustrative of the principles of the Society of Friends. A comforting sense of the divine influence prevailed in this meeting; and after it, a man, who had formerly been very

unsteady, but had become reformed, expressed the comfort he had derived from the manner in which the doctrine of Christian self-denial had been urged.

26th. We proceeded by way of Hamilton, to Green Valley. Hamilton is considerably improved since we were last there. In addition to several other buildings, a neat, brick, Episcopal place of worship, has been erected. The day was cold; the hoar frost did not melt in the shade, and the roads were frozen in places.

We parted from our friends at Green Valley, and went to Bothwell, on the 28th, and from thence to Ansty Barton, on the 29th. The cold still continued severe. The Clyde and the Jordan were frozen over, but not sufficiently to bear a person to walk upon them. On the 30th, as we

travelled across the Eastern Marshes: the horses tried to drink at some ice-covered pools, and did not seem at all to understand why they could not get their noses into the water. Soon after sunset, a brilliant meteor appeared in the east, like a large star, with a coloured train, descending in an oblique direction. Falling stars are of frequent occurrence, in these southern latitudes.

We reached Kelvedon on the 1st of 7th month. The weather was much milder on the coast, but stormy. On the 4th, we went a few miles along the beach, to see a Whale, that was killed on the 1st instant, by a whaling party, who have a station on Schouten Island, that is attended by a schooner, which rode out the gale of yesterday, with difficulty, and was obliged to let go the Whale, which was about forty feet long. It drifted on shore, and they were now endeavouring to tow it off, for the purpose of "cutting it in." It was a Right Whale, the species affording whalebone and oil. As is generally the case, it had a great many flattened Barnacles, adhering to its smooth skin, on which there were also a number of small animals, holding on by hooked claws; these were about half an inch long, and might be regarded as the lice of the Whale. The Right Whale is wonderfully constructed for taking large quantities of fish into its capacious mouth, and retaining them there, while it ejects the water taken in along with them, by sending

it out between the numerous plates of whalebone: these are articulated to the upper jaw, like the laths of a venetian blind, but fixed only at the upper extremity; the lower, when the mouth is partially, or completely closed, being included within its enormous lips. The whaling season is a time of excitement among young men on these coasts; they sometimes join the whalers, who are generally reckless, dissipated men.

6th. The Monthly Meeting was one, in which the sense of the presence of Him, who condescended to promise to be with the two or three, met together in his name, was sensibly felt, both in the time occupied in worship, and in that employed in conducting the discipline of our little church. Two young men, who had for some time past occasionally laboured in the Gospel, to the edification of their brethren, were recorded as approved ministers, and a person who had been separated from the church, was restored to membership.-These decisions were subject to the approval of the Monthly Meeting, to be held next month, in course, in Hobart Town, and by which they were confirmed.

8th. I am this day forty-three years old; an age to which, at one time, I little expected to attain, nor when I left England, to reach in this part of the world. It is of little consequence where we are, if only in our right places; and I am not aware that we could rightly have been, at this time, in any other, than the one in which we are. Though we have long been separated from our dear friends, in Europe, we have much to be grateful for, and nothing to murmur at. May our dedication to the service of the best of Masters, increase with the claims upon our gratitude.

After again visiting the settlers in Great Swan Port, we took a solemn leave of our friends at Kelvedon, and on the 17th, set out for Hobart Town, where we were favoured to arrive in safety, on the 19th, having made the journey by way of Spring Bay and Richmond; we crossed the Derwent, at some risk, in a sailing boat, that was scarcely large enough to hold ourselves and horses. The steamer now used in this passage, was laid off for repair.