AT SYDNEY 123 



The interior of the house, a striking specimen of Colonial 

 architecture, the individual trees and creepers, flowers and 

 shrubs, the revival of nature when the rain ceased and ' a few 

 insects came out, the Diamond birds flitted from tree to tree 

 and the large Sea Eagle or Osprey left his lonely lair and 

 commenced wheeling over ,the calm waters of the bay,' and 

 beyond the bay ' a rocky precipice christened Sunium, on 

 which it is the intention to build a temple ' all this is fully 

 set forth in the Journal with one very homely touch as to 

 ' Mr. William's workshop ' : 



The smell of camphor and specimens, so well known to 

 me at home, reminded me strongly of olden times, especially 

 as I found everything in the inimitable mixture of con- 

 fusion and order in which Mr. Brown's shop at the Museum 

 and his rooms in Deane Street are wont to be. 



(To his Father, August 25, 1842.) McLeay has promised 

 to collect for me in New Holland, and knowing him as 

 we do, when one thinks that hardly a dozen mosses have 

 been described from that vast country, there can be no 

 bounds to the novelties he may fall in with. He was 

 quite delighted when I showed him the Scloiheimia Brownii 

 growing on rocks near his house, and the Dawsonia amongst 

 some roots he had brought from the forests of the interior. 

 He seemed rather cautious about broaching his Quinary 

 system, and I was rather anxious to hear how he thought it 

 would apply to the higher orders of plants. The circular 

 system no doubt holds among the Cryptogamiae, Fries 

 having proved it with regard to Fungi, and Berkeley seems 

 to incline the same way. 1 



The record of the visit ends with the entry for August 5 : 

 'At 11 A. M. sailing down Port Jackson along the cold-looking 

 sandstone cliffs, leaving Sydney with few regrets but leaving 

 Mr. McLeay's fine establishment where there was much to see.' 



1 ' As to McLeay's theory, I fairly worked myself out of that error by the 

 mosses, which I first arranged to please McLeay himself.' (To Harvey, 

 June 8, 1845. Cp, p. 84.) 



