ANOTHER BOAT EXPEDITION. 303 



The prospect that lay before us raised our spirits 

 to the highest ; and the weather, clear, cool, and 

 bracing, could not have been more favourable, the 

 temperature being 60°. The ripples rolled rapidly, 

 expanding from the boat's bows over the glassy 

 smooth surface of the water, whilst the men stretched 

 out as if unconscious of the exertion of pulling, 

 every one of them feeling his share of the excite- 

 ment. From the western sky the last lingering 

 rays of the sun shot athwart the wave, turning it, 

 as it were, by the alchemy of light into a flood of 

 gold. Overhead, the cope of heaven was gradually 

 growing soberer in hue from the withdrawal of those 

 influences which lately had warmed and brightened 

 it ; but in the west a brilliant halo encircled the 

 declining ruler of the day. In these latitudes the 

 sun-set is as brief as it is beautiful. Night rapidly 

 came on, and presently the masts of the ship could 

 no longer be discerned, and we were pursuing our 

 way in darkness towards the mouth of the opening. 

 After vainly endeavouring to get over the bank 

 extending off the mouth of the opening, in the 

 dark, we anchored the boats outside. The awn- 

 ings were spread, and the kettle for our evening's 

 meal was soon hissing over a blazing fire. Of all 

 things tea is the most refreshing after a day of 

 fatigue ; there is nothing that so soon renovates 

 the strength, and cheers the spirits ; and on this 

 occasion especially, we experienced a due portion of 

 its invigorating efi"ects. Grog was afterwards served 



