8 
LEAVE SYDNEY. 
As there was no Government establishment to the S. W. 
at which I could effect any repairs, or recruit my supplies, 
as I had done at Wellington Valley, the expedition, when 
it left Sydney, was completed in every branch, and was so 
fully provided with every necessary implement and comfort, 
as to render any further aid, even had such been attainable, 
in a great measure unnecessary. The Governor had watched 
over my preparations with a degree of anxiety that evi- 
denced the interest he felt in the expedition, and his ar- 
rangements to ensure, as far as practicable, our being met 
on our return, in the event of our being in distress, were 
equally provident and satisfactory. It was not, however, 
to the providing for our wants in the interior alone that His 
Excellency’s views were directed, but orders were given to 
hold a vessel in readiness, to be dispatched at a given time 
to St. Vincent’s Gulf, in case we should ultimately succeed 
in making the south coast in its neighbourhood. 
The morning on which I left Sydney a second time, under 
such doubtful circumstances, was perfectly serene and 
clear. I found myself at 5 a. m. of that delightful morning 
leading my horses through the gates of those barracks 
whose precincts I might never again enter, and whose in- 
mates I might never again behold assembled in military ar- 
ray. Yet, although the chance of misfortune flashed across 
my mind, I was never lighter at heart, or more joyous in 
spirit. It appeared to me that the stillness and harmony 
of nature influenced my feelings on the occasion, and my 
mind forgot the storms of life, as nature at that moment 
