COASTS OF AUSTRALIA, 
347 
continued so long and so severely, that I was 
under the necessity of sending him back to Eng- 
land. We had now every prospect of encoun- 
tering a third voyage without the assistance of a 
surgeon. Hitherto we had been fortunate in not 
having materially suffered from the want of so 
valuable an officer; but it was scarcely probable 
we could expect to continue upon such a service 
much longer without severe sickness. As any 
assistance, therefore, was preferable to none, I 
accepted the proffered services of a young man 
who was strongly recommended by his Excel- 
lency the Governor, and he was on the point of 
joining me, when a surgeon of the navy, Mr. 
James Hunter, who had just arrived in charge of 
a convict ship, volunteered his services, which 
were gladly accepted, and he was immediately 
attached to the Mermaid’s establishment. 
The accession of a surgeon to our small party 
relieved me of a greater weight of anxiety than I 
can describe ; and, when it is considered that 
Mr. Hunter left an employment of a much more 
lucrative nature, to join an arduous service in a 
vessel whose only cabin was scarcely large 
enough to contain our mess-table, and which 
afforded neither comfort nor convenience of any 
description, I may be allowed here to acknow- 
ledge my thanks for the sacrifice he made. 
1820 . 
June 12. 
