183G. SETTLEMKNT — r.OCAL ATTRACTION. 6S5 



A few straggling houses, ill-placed in an exposed, cheerless 

 situation, were seen by us as we entered the harbour ; and had 

 inclination been our guide, instead of duty, I certainly should 

 have felt much disposed to ' put the helm up,' and make all 

 sail away from such an uninviting place. 



Next day, however, we found that appearances were worse 

 than the reality ; for behind a hill, which separates the harbour 

 from the sound, a thick wood was discovered, where there 

 were many trees of considerable size ; and in the midst of this 

 wood I found Sir Richard Spencer's house, much resembling 

 a small but comfortable farm-house in England. This sort of 

 isolated residence has a charm for some minds ; but the loss of 

 society, the numerous privations, and the vastly retrograde step 

 necessarily taken in civilized existence by emigrating to per- 

 fectly new countries, are I think stronger objections to the 

 plan than usually occur to persons who have not seen its con- 

 sequences in actual operation. 



At this time there were about thirty houses, or cottages, 

 in the neighbourhood of the sound and harbour ; some had 

 small gardens ; but, generally speaking, there was no ap- 

 pearance of agi-iculture, excepting immediately around Sir 

 Richard's house, where a few fields had been cleared and 

 cultivated in the midst of the wood. 



There is an extraordinary degree of local magnetic attrac- 

 tion about this place. We could not ascertain the amount of 

 variation with any degree of accuracy until our compasses 

 were placed upon a sandy beach of considerable extent, near 

 the sea. Wherever there was stone (a kind of granite) near the 

 instruments, they were so much affected as to vary many degrees 

 from the truth, and quite irregularly : those on board were not 

 influenced, at least not more than a degree. We were also per- 

 plexed by the irregular and peculiar tides ; but as they are 

 mentioned elsewhere, I will refrain from farther remark on 

 them here. 



We had a good opportunity of seeing several of the abo- 

 rigines ; for not only were there unusual numbers of neigh- 

 bouring natives then about the settlement, but a strange tribe, 

 VOL. II. 2 s 



