animals had been exposed on the former
journey, would be less felt on the present occasion.

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 evidenced the interest he felt in the
expedition, and his arrangements 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.

LEAVE SYDNEY.

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 inmates I
might never again behold assembled in military array. 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 seemed to have forgotten the
tempests that sometimes agitate her.

APPEARANCE OF THE PARTY.

I proceeded direct to the house of my friend Mr. J. Deas Thomson, who had
agreed to accompany me to Brownlow Hill, a property belonging to
Mr. M'Leay, the Colonial Secretary, where his son, Mr. George M'Leay, was
to join the expedition. As soon as we had taken a hasty breakfast, I went
to the carters' barracks to superintend the first loading of the animals.
Mr. Murray, the superintendent, had arranged every article so well, and
had loaded the drays so compactly that I had no trouble, and little time
was lost in saddling the pack animals. At a quarter before 7 the party
filed through the turnpike-gate, and thus commenced its journey with the
g