CHAPTER XXXIX.

North Harbour.-Pumice-stone.-Animals, &c.-School and Temperance Societies. Tidings of D. and C. Wheeler.-Report to the Governor.-Sense of Unprofitableness.-Botany Bay. -La Perouse.-Circumnavigation.-Butterflies.-Fishermen.-Silent Meetings.-Drunkenness.-Convict Servants.Arrival of D. and C. Wheeler.-Visit to the Governor.-Refraction.-Factory. -Aborigines.-Elizabeth Macquarie.-Departure from N. S. Wales.-Voyage to V. D. Land.-Jervis Bay.-Sheds, &c. of Aborigines.-Jelly-fish.-Storm. -Lying to.-Albatross.-Arrival at Hobart Town.

1st mo. 5th, 1837. WE walked to the North Harbour of Port Jackson, to visit a family who frequently attended our meetings. On the way, we met with many beautiful insects, upon the flowers of Angophora cordifolia, such as Buprestis grandis, variabilis and macularia, and Cetonia frontinalis. Many of the insects of New South Wales are of splendid We also saw several interesting plants, among appearance. which was Dendrobium ruscifolium, a large tuft of which was growing on the sandstone rock.

6th. We visited one of the bays, north of Port Jackson, on the north shore of which, there were banks of Pumicestone. This volcanic production has, at some period, drifted with a south-east wind and a high sea, into many similar places on this coast. A lizard, three feet long, was running among the rocks. On G. W. Walker's attempting to catch it, he received a blow from its rough tail, that brought the skin off his hand. Within the influence of the salt water, the beautiful Crinum pedunculatum was producing heads of fragrant, white, tubular, lily-like blossoms.In a morning walk, I set up a Wild Dog, which made off with speed. These animals, though of wolfish appearance, are very shy. We returned to Sydney in the evening.

A few mornings ago, in a walk before breakfast, I fell in with a large Emu, at a short distance from Sydney, which probably had been domesticated, as it exhibited no signs of fear on my approach. The Emu retreats from the haunts of man, and is now rarely seen, except in remote places in the interior.

9th. We attended the meeting of the Committee of the Australian School Society, at which, information was received, that Government had granted a piece of land, for the site of a school-house. The Girls' School is in a prosperous state, the prospect of that for boys is improving.

10th. We were present at a Committee of the Temperance Society, which is about to issue a twopenny, monthly publication, on the plan of the Temperance Penny Magazine. While the Committee was sitting, there were repeated cries of "Murder," to which no one gave any attention, for some time. At length, one of the persons present remarked, with a sigh, that he saw that the rest of the company had, like himself, become callous to such cries, from their frequency, in consequence of the prevailing intemperance. Subsequently to this period, the question of Total Abstinence from all intoxicating liquors, was successfully taken up in Sydney; and in 1841, the members of the Total Abstinence Society, amounted to 1,842.

17th. We received from Henry Bobart, a Missionary, just returned from New Zealand, the pleasing intelligence that our dear friends Daniel and Charles Wheeler, had arrived in safety at the Bay of Islands, and were likely soon to return to this Colony. Their visit had been very reviving to the New Zealand Missionaries, who, on both sides of the island, had been greatly cast down by the misconduct of some of their own body, and by contentions among the native tribes.

21st. Through the medium of the Colonial Secretary, we forwarded to the Governor, "A Report, on various subjects connected with the state of the Colony of New South Wales," which we thought it our duty to submit to his notice before our departure, and which is inserted in APPENDIX. O.

22nd. The weather lately, has been very wet. To-day it rained nearly without intermission; generally, there are fair intervals in the course of the day. Our meetings were small, and held in silence. Now that our labours in New South Wales are nearly concluded, it is my lot to dwell much under the feeling of emptiness and unprofitableness. For this I desire to be thankful, for were it otherwise, I might be in danger of taking to myself, the glory of any little services that I have been enabled to perform, instead of giving it to the Lord, who gave the qualification, and in whose sight no flesh may glory, without condemnation.

27th. We went to Botany Bay, to pay a farewell visit to a family of our acquaintance. On the way, we got upon a newly-drained marsh, the surface of which was dry, and so light, that we often broke through, to the water which remained underneath.

28th. We walked to the north head of Botany Bay, to visit the Custom-house officer, stationed there; who, we were glad to find, had strictly adhered to temperance principles, for the last thirteen months. The officer at the Light-house, at the heads of Port Jackson, and one of the pilots, have also adopted temperance principles, greatly to their advantage. At the north head of Botany Bay, stands the monument, erected by the French Government, on the spot from which La Perouse embarked, when he last sailed from this land, in 1788. No tidings respecting him were obtained from that period, till within a few years, when Chevalier Dillon ascertained, that he was wrecked on a small Island, near the Fegee group. Contiguous to the monument, is a rude tomb, containing the remains of a French priest and physician, who was attached to the party of La Perouse, in their expedition to circumnavigate the globe. This exploit, so much thought of at that period, is now performed by almost every vessel from England, to N. S. Wales or V. D. Land; as these come out by way of the Cape of Good Hope, and return by Cape Horn, in consequence of the wind, in the latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere, in which they have to sail, blowing almost constantly from the west. Near the Heads of Botany Bay,

gay butterflies were numerous. Some of those in this part of the Colony, are remarkable for having the upper sides simply white, or mottled, while the under sides are exceedingly gay with various colours. Two noble, dark coloured, species are frequent about Sydney; where they, with many others, are occasionally to be seen in the streets. In returning, we passed a row of fishermen's huts, near to which two men were mending their nets. We had some conversation with them, reminding them of the fishermen of Galilee, and of that Gospel which they were chosen to proclaim. Not being unmindful of their temporal interests, we instructed them in the art of making shrimp-nets, and taking shrimps; of which there are plenty on the neighbouring shoals, but they are rarely brought to the Sydney market.

29th. Twenty persons were present at meeting, in the forenoon, and eighteen, in the evening. Both meetings

were held in silence. This seemed hard for some of the company to bear: three of them left in the evening, before the meeting concluded: such an occurrence is by no means unfrequent. It is lamentable to see how little idea, even the professors of Christianity generally, have of communing with their own hearts, in silence before the Lord, or of quietly waiting upon him, in stillness. Their religion is too much a temporary excitement, produced by external influence; and their waiting in public worship, it is to be feared, is rather upon man, that he may produce this excitement, than directly upon God.

30th. On returning to our lodgings, last evening, we found the family in a state of alarm. While some of them were at a place of worship, two of the servants had gone out, and got drunk, and on their return, had cruelly beaten a poor, Mauritian Black, who was also a prisoner-servant, in the house his cries brought in a neighbour, who by the free use of a horse-whip, made the drunkards desist; but they had severely bruised the object of their spleen. Subsequently, the black man preferred a charge against the others, before the Magistrates, and they were sent to prison. Servants of the convict class, are amongst the greatest drawbacks upon domestic comfort, in these Colonies; and

by their drunkenness, they clearly shew, that the use of intoxicating liquors has been a principal cause of their becoming convicts.

31st. We were greatly comforted, by the return of our dear friends, Daniel and Charles Wheeler, who, in the course of the forenoon, arrived in Sydney Cove, on board the Henry Freeling. They seemed in more vigorous health than when they left, and their crew had behaved remarkably well, during their voyage among the islands of the Pacific; where the religious labours of our friends appear to have been well received.

2nd mo. 15th. Having received a note from the Private Secretary, informing us that the Governor was shortly to leave this part of the Colony, on a visit to Port Phillip, from which he would not be likely to return before the departure of G. W. Walker and myself, and inviting us to visit him again at Parramatta, we took the steamer, in the evening, and joined him and a few of his friends, at tea, at the Government House. The Governor courteously acknowledged our Report, made many inquiries respecting the subjects of our observations, conversed freely respecting the state of the Aborigines, and inquired, as he had also done on former occasions, if we remembered anything in which he could forward our views, or be helpful to us. This visit made way for our addressing to the Governor subsequently, the letters respecting the Aborigines, introduced at APPENDIX. P. We were politely invited to lodge at the Government House; but having previously engaged to accept the hospitality of P. L. and B. Campbell, whose relatives we expected to meet in Africa, we returned to their dwelling. On the way, we were amused with the refraction of the moon's rays, on the dewy grass, presenting a luminous radiation, around the shadows of our heads. This appearance is sometimes also produced by the rays of the sun, when a person is in a position to see his own shadow in the sea, over the side of a ship; in both cases, he sees little, if anything of it, on the shadow of any one except himself.

16th. We called at the Factory, the superintendent of

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