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CHAPTER XXI. 



Sydney — Prosperity — Excursion to Bathurst — Aspect of woods — -Party 

 of Natives — Gradual extinction of aborigines — ■ Blue Mountains — 

 Weatherboard — View of a grand gulf-like valley — Sheep farm — Lion- 

 ant — Bathurst, general civility of lower orders — State of society — Van 

 Diemen's Land — Hobart Town — Aborigines all banished — Mount 

 Wellington — King George's Sound — Cheerless aspect of country — 

 Bald Head, calcareous casts like branches of trees — Party of natives — 

 Leave Australia. 



AUSTRALIA. 



January 12th, 1836 — Early in the morning, a light air 

 carried us towards the entrance of Port Jackson. Instead 

 of beholding a verdant country scattered over with fine 

 houses : a straight line of yellowish cliff brought to our minds 

 the coast of Patagonia. A solitary lighthouse, built of white 

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

 city. Having entered the harbour, it appeared fine and 

 spacious ; but the level country, showing on the clifF-formed 

 shores bare and horizontal strata of sandstone, was covered 

 by woods of thin scrubby trees, that bespoke useless sterility. 

 Proceeding further inland, the country improved ; beautiful 

 villas and nice cottages were here and there scattered alono- 

 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 neighbourhood 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 town, 

 and returned full of admiration at the whole scene. It is a 

 most magnificent testimony to the power of the British 

 nation. Here, in a less promising country, scores of years 

 have effected many times more, than the same number of 

 centuries have done in South America. My first feeling 



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