and that of the horses, to the providential discovery of a small boat on the beach, which the men with the most cheerful alacrity carried upwards of ninety miles on their shoulders, thereby enabling us to overcome obstacles, otherwise insurmountable.

"Until within these few days, I hoped to have had the satisfaction to report the return of the expedition without accident to any individual composing it; but such is the ferocious treachery of the natives along the coast to the northward, that our utmost circumspection could not save us from having one man (William Blake) severely wounded by them; but by the skilful care bestowed upon him by Dr. Harris (who accompanied the expedition as a volunteer, and to whom upon this occasion, and throughout the whole course of it, we are indebted for much valuable assistance) I trust his recovery is no longer doubtful."

You see, my dear Batlle, by this rapid sketch of Mr. Oxley's journey, that a great portion of the territory at a considerable distance from Sydney is now known. You will observe that the marshes were the greatest obstacles which the relater met with in his progress, and that he had no difficulty in getting over all the mountains which he could reach.

I have frequently remarked that in dangerous voyages or journies, a deficiency in the original instructions has often been productive of fatal consequences. In the present case, Governor Macquarie showed equal prudence and reserve; and while he granted certain powers, which were deemed indispensable by the leader of the expedition, he has pointed out its principal objects with a nicety that does him great honour.

"The three grand and principal objects of the present expedition are:-First, to ascertain the real course or general direction of the Lachlan River, and its final termination, and whether it falls into the sea, or into some inland lake. Secondly, if the river falls into the sea, to ascertain the exact place of its embouchure, and whether such place would answer as a safe and good port for shipping; and thirdly, the general face of the country, nature of the soil, woods, and animal and natural productions of the country through which this river passes; carefully examining and noting down each of these particulars, and adding thereto the nature of the climate, and description of such natives or aborigines of the country as you may happen to see, or fall in with, in your progress through it."

Here every thing is positive; and if the Governor has not pointed out the precise road they were to take, it was because it was out of his power to do so, and in that point only the fullest latitude was given to Mr. Oxley.

As that gentleman was then preparing his work for publication, he could not with propriety furnish me with the details which I should have been desirous of knowing; as the first communication of them was due to his own Government. But I learned that, shortly after quitting Bathurst, he met with some natives to whom he gave some provisions, and made some trifling presents; that they appeared to him mild in their dispositions, and were acquainted with several English words and phrases. After having made several days' progress on the river Lachlan, he met with another party of savages, to the number of eight, who appeared not at all alarmed, and with whom they exchanged civilities.

At the end of the preface to his second journey, Mr. Oxley observes,

"So few natives were seen in the interior, that those extensive regions can scarcely be described as inhabited: some scattered families comprise the entire population, and the scanty remarks we were enabled to make satisfied us of the strict identity of this race of human beings with those of the coast. The same method of procuring their food, the same arms and utensils, are common to both. This remarkable similarity in the natives of different tribes extends also to the animal and vegetable productions of the country: the eucalyptus and camarina; the kangaroo and the emu, with their various species, alike inhabit the cold regions of Van Diemen's Land, and the warmer latitudes within the tropics.

"A short description of the most remarkable plants collected during the expedi tion by Mr. Charles Frazier, the government collector, is added to this Journal: and although the result as to the principal object of the expedition has not been answerable to the expectation which was entertained when it set out, yet when the general knowledge obtained of so considerable a portion of this extensive country is considered, it is hoped that it has not been undertaken and performed in vaiu; and that the field which it has opened to the colonists will be attended with ultimate benefit both to them and to the parent country."

This is the language of real modesty. As for us, who did not participate in the dangerous expeditions of which we have been speaking, but who attach the fullest credit to every part of the narratives of them which have been published, we must conclude, that the first expeditions into the interior were not undertaken with means sufficient to ensure their success, and that the persons who wrote accounts of them exaggerated the real difficulties, and imagined the most absurd obstacles; and that Governor Macquarie, by his generous attention, and the extensive preparations he made, has not less claims on the gratitude of the public, than Mr. Oxley by his courage and the valuable information he collected.

Adieu, my dear Friend! We are now under weigh.

LETTER CLII.

At Sea, 1820.

HERE I am, my friend; I have now only four or five thousand leagues to sail before I embrace you; I fancy myself already at home; I am transported with joy.

We quitted New Holland, delighted with our rendezvous there. We are now on our way to old Europe, and shall terminate our long campaign with a feeling which I assure you delights me, of leaving friends in every part of the world. Although we have been threatened by savages, and occasionally have run considerable risks, not a drop of blood has been spilt; our prudence and our cheerfulness have smoothed all obstacles, and not a sigh of remorse or regret escapes from our hearts......

How pleasing to me is the strong gale which blows us on! Already we are further south than New Zealand,—that immense island, where the winter is so cold, yet where the people, how

ever, only wear a short cloak to protect them against the severity of the seasons. There are still to be found those Anthropophagi whose combats are so murderous; there yet wander savage tribes, who, like the Paikice, or the Mundrucus, cut off the heads of their vanquished enemies, and prepare them in such a way as to preserve them for years. The same weapons, the same ferocious manners, and almost the same designs on the body and face, are to be found among people situated so far from one another; and if I may believe the reports of voyagers, deities with the same names. Explain, if you can, this wonderful resemblance, particularly as it is found in such different zones: the former inhabit hyperborean regions; the latter, on the contrary, receive the sun's rays perpendicularly on their heads.

A few leagues from Campbell's Island.

Here we are at the point of the globe furthest from Paris; and so near its antipodes, that I may almost say, I am now dancing under the Pont-Neuf.

A few days only have elapsed since we left Sydney, and we are now seven hundred leagues distant from it. Land, cries the look-out man, land a-head. On consulting the chart, no land however is laid down; and on nearing it, we discover, to our surprise, that it is an ice-berg as high as our masts. These pelagian (sea-born) masses torn from the pole, and driven by impetuous winds into temperate climates, present an imposing sight. The following day we saw two others of smaller dimensions; and on the ensuing days passed close to so many of these floating rocks, that we were obliged to be constantly on the lookout, and found the navigation extremely dangerous.

This morning I am roused from sleep by the joyous cries of the crew, who hail a second time the continent of America. Yet another disagreeable rendezvous; for we know that the cold is very severe at Cape Horn, even in the middle of summer. At

present the weather is fine, we have a fresh breeze, and perhaps may double this formidable point to-day.

You see, my friend, how much I endeavour to gratify your taste and impatience in one page I carry you over a space of eighteen hundred leagues, in order to give you some interesting details of a very interesting country, which has as yet been little explored. I had no desire to take you with us on this long passage, or to keep your mind continually tacking and veering about with our corvette, as I knew you were not very fond of nautical details, which deaden the interest of the subject, without communicating any thing new. You must have remarked that I have all along been very sparing of these. And for two very good reasons: the first, that I am quite ignorant of the subject; and secondly, the little value attached to such details, now that the science of navigation has arrived to such perfection.

Here we are then, off Cape Horn: the weather is delightful, like a fine spring day in our climates; no haze hangs over the coast; a light breeze drives us slowly along; and we can contemplate, at our ease, the various places which we pass. In general the land is not very high, though white spots, at no great distance, point out in these frozen regions the limits of eternal snow. Pointed summits and rocks of a strange aspect form the fore-grounds of the picture, in which creeks and inlets, which must be protected from every wind, are also indicated. How many tempests have beaten against these bare rocks! how many hurricanes have passed over their dark heads! There is no vegetation on them, except perhaps in some glens where the wind is powerless. The sea is calm to-day; and yet it roars, half in anger, as it were, among the immense masses which have braved its fury for so many ages. Columns of smoke rise in the country, at a considerable distance; we are ignorant if they proceed from volcanoes, or the habitations of man; but as we