PORT STEPHENS. 323 



which rose the splashing, rippling, gushing sound 

 of the stream, whilst overhead, the vault of heaven 

 was " thick inlaid with patterns of bright gold." 

 But the plunge of my companion's horse in the 

 water, and his voice calling out that all was right, 

 soon drew me away, and in another moment I was 

 fording in utter darkness the rapid though shallow 

 stream of the Karuah. 



We passed the night at Stroud, and next morning 

 started for Port Stephens. There having been 

 some delay in getting my horse, I was obliged to 

 push over the first seven miles in little more than a 

 quarter of an hour, the postman having waited for 

 me over his time. 



On the 15th, the requisite observations were 

 obtained for rating the chronometers, which we 

 found had altered their rates in a most singular 

 manner ; so much so, that in spite of the short 

 interval that had elapsed since our departure from 

 Sydney, we found the resulting meridian distance 

 between that place and Port Stephen, to be very 

 defective. This fact illustrates the unaccountable 

 changes that sometimes occur in the rates of 

 chronometers, and the necessity of repeated mea- 

 sures of difference of longitude to arrive at the 

 truth. 



On the morning of the l6th we again sailed for 

 the North coast with a fine southerly wind. 



June 19. — At noon, when in 30 fathoms, with 

 coarse sand bottom, we saw Indian Head, bearing 



Y 2 



