7 



" Among the nuraernus subjects of self-eongratulatiou which Mr. Mitchell 

 has amassed, tliis surely will not be tlie least, that he has put it in the power 

 of many, who lay under the world's ban, to vindicate themselves in a great 

 measure, to reverse the sentence which had been passed upon them, and 

 begin in a far land a new^ life, when the memory of past errors would not be 

 suffered to interfere with their after progress in the work of reparation and 

 amendment. But we must not any longer detain our readers from the nar- 

 rative itself, which will be found to be fully equal in interest to any record of 

 the same kind whicli the proverbial enterprise of our countrymen has added 

 to the literature of the world. * * * » 



" We must now take our leave of this at once highly interesting and in- 

 structive work. We have already said and quoted more than sufficient to in- 

 spire our readers with a wish to make themselves acqviainted with the whole 

 of its contents, and we think that no one could rise from its perusal without 

 advantage to himself, whatever his habits or occupation might chance to be. 



" The lover of science will find ample employment for thought ; the natu- 

 ralist will read with delight the discoveries of new wonders in creation; and 

 the philosopher will pore with delight over a newly opened page in the great 

 history of man. The utilitarian will revel in anticipations of a world as yet 

 unborn, and to that hope of the future the poet will bring a saddened recol- 

 lection of the past. And with a holier, purer, feeling than any, the Christian 

 will look forward to that peaceful empire which religion exercises in the 

 hearts of men, and which shall teach the reclaimed native to kneel at the 

 same altar witli himself. Each will derive his own peculiar gratification from 

 the work before us, and many are yet unborn who shall, perchance, in a far 

 land, bless the spirit of enterprise which led the wanderers' feet into the wil- 

 dernesses of Australia. 



" In conclusion, we must not omit to mention the beautiful manner in which 

 it has been produced by the publishers. The word sumptuous is the only 

 one which would adequately express our ideas of its appearance. Each 

 remarkable scene and group, each hill and dale, birds, beasts, flowers, and 

 shrubs, have all been sketched by the masterly hand of Major Mitchell, whose 

 freedom of pencilling has been ably transferred to the stone by Barnard. 

 The various beauties of the stream named after our colonial minister, and 

 numerous other wild, yet delicious scenes, are placed before us in the reality 

 which art can lend to its creations. These illustrations amount to the numlier 

 of ninety in the two volumes. Even in this age of tjpographical splendour, 

 it is one of the most complete and perfect gems which has fallen from the 

 press within our recollection." — Torch, 29th Sept. 1838. 



" These are altogether the best volumes which have yet appeared on the 

 subject of the interior of Austi-alia. That singular country, he* etofore de- 

 scribed either as a waste of waters or as a parched desert, is here deline- 

 ated with comprehensive truth and vividness : and while new regions of 

 boundless extent and great promise are revealed to our sight, the intelligence 

 of our guide gives, even to those over which we have often travelled, the 

 charm of novelty. As a leader of exploring parties through unknown regions. 

 Major Mitchell appears to us to stand unrivalled. Prudent and decisive, he 

 advances like an experienced general ; executing in a prompt and unflinching- 

 manner all that he may attempt, yet never for a moment losing sight of the 

 limits of his resources. 



" One of Major Mitchell's chief merits, is, that he is a vigilant observer : 

 he prys into the rocks and the soil — he examines the woods — tastes the 

 grasses — and some of his minor discoveries, made in this way, are extremely 

 interesting." — Athenceum, 29th Sept. 1838. 



" The services rendered to geographical science by the author of these 

 volumes are of a very high order. He probably has done more towards 

 advancing the progress of discovery in the interior of Australia than all pre- 

 vious travellers ; but still our knowledge of the interior of this continent 



is extremely limited, and does not extend to one-seventh of its surface. 



* * « » * * 



" After the extracts that we have given from these volumes, it is almost a 

 work of supererogation to advert to the opinion we entertain of their merit. 



