him were continually saturated; and to make up the
catalogue of his troubles, he, on more than one occasion, lost himself
in the bush. Now, however, he said, he had got used to all these
inconveniences; which, after all (from the rarity of their occurrence),
he considered slight; and as to the wet, since he had been put up to the
dodge of keeping his bed dry, it did not concern him in the least. He
liked the independence of his life, though it was a little dull; and his
wages being good, he was enabled to save plenty of money; while he
intended to be removed to the head station, when, he said, he would be
perfectly contented with his lot.

The morning following the storm broke calm and beautiful; the air was
clear and fresh, and a serenity was diffused abroad, perfectly
enchanting; while the exhilarating buoyancy of the atmosphere, and its
refreshing temperature, fully compensated for the previous visitation.
William, as we would say here, rose with the lark; and having brought in
his horse, saddled and mounted him, and after bidding adieu to his
rustic entertainer, from whom he received directions about the road to
the station, "he went him on his winding way."

After following the directions of the shepherd, in about an hour or so
he approached Rosehall, and presented himself to the inmates as they
were about sitting down to breakfast. Upon the relation to them of his
adventure, he had the satisfaction to learn, that if he had skirted the
scrub for a short distance, until he came to the bend of the creek that
formed the pocket, in which he found himself after swimming it, he would
have been able to have struck the road in a few minutes. However, by the
time he received this information, it was of little use to him; and
having entirely lost all thought of his past danger, he could laugh with
his friends at the absurdity of losing himself in the bush. He remained
at Rosehall a few hours longer than he intended, at the solicitation of
his friend Mr Lauray; who was deeply interested in a question that was
then agitating the whole population of Moreton Bay; and which we will
take the liberty of explaining.

Some few years previous to the date of this incident, a small party,
feeling the injustice and neglect under which the district had so long
suffered, introduced the idea of applying to the Crown for the
separation of the northern portion of New South Wales from the parent
colony; and its erection into a separate state