SYDNEY. 215 



yellowish cliff brought to our minds the coast of 

 Patagonia. A solitary lighthouse, built of white 

 stone, alone told us that we were near a great and 

 populous city. Having entered the harbour, it ap- 

 pears fine and spacious, with cliff-formed shores of 

 horizontally stratified sandstone. The nearly level 

 country is covered with thin, scrubby trees, be- 

 speaking the curse of sterility. Proceeding further 

 inland, the country improves : beautiful villas and 

 nice cottages are here and there scattered along 

 the beach. In the distance, stone houses, two and 

 three stories high, and windmills standing on the 

 edge of a bank, pointed out to us the neighbour- 

 hood of the capital of Australia. 



At last we anchored within Sydney Cove. We 

 found the little basin occupied by many large ships, 

 and surrounded by warehouses. In the evening I 

 walked through the tov\ai, and returned full of ad- 

 miration at the whole scene. It is a most magnifi- 

 cent testimony to the power of the British nation. 

 Here, in a less promising country, scores of years 

 have done many times more than an equal number 

 of centui"ies have effected in South America. My 

 first feeling was to congratulate myself that I was 

 born an Englishman. Upon seeing more of the 

 town afterwards, perhaps my admiration fell a lit- 

 tle ; but yet it is a fine town. The streets are reg- 

 ular, broad, clean, and kept in excellent order ; the 

 houses are of a good size, and the shops well fur- 

 nished. It may be faithfully compared to the large 

 suburbs which stretch out from London and a few 

 other great towns in England ; but not even near 

 London or Birmingham is there an appearance of 

 such rapid growth. The number of large houses 

 and other buildings just finished was truly sur- 

 prising ; nevertheless, every one complained of 

 the high rents and difficulty in procuring a house. 



