st any other part of
the world. You could set out for Greenland's icy mountains or India's
coral strand with very little ease."

"I don't know about Greenland's icy mountains," said Ned, "as I don't
believe there is any line running to them from Sydney, but the P. & O.
boat and several other boats will take you to India's coral strand; of
that I am sure."

Circular Quay was formerly called Sydney Cove, and it was at the head of
this little cove that the first settlement was made. It is the principal
one of the coves or harbors where ships can lie, though Darling Cove is
nearly as important as the one just mentioned. The sheet of water into
which these coves open is called Port Jackson, and extends inland some
twenty miles from The Heads. Islands of various sizes are scattered
through Port Jackson, some of them occupied, and some remaining in a
state of nature. Our friends planned, while strolling about Circular
Quay, to make an excursion up the harbor as soon as they could do so
conveniently, and then, as it was getting pretty late in the afternoon,
they returned to their hotel.

On their arrival at the house they met a gentleman to whom they had a
letter of introduction. He had heard of their arrival, and came to hunt
them up without waiting for the delivery of their letter. This
circumstance led Harry to write as follows in his journal:--

"Wherever we go we are received with the most open-handed hospitality.
Persons who are entire strangers to us are always civil, ready to answer
any question we ask, and every one of them seems quite willing to go out
of his way to serve us. We have made the acquaintance of men in railway
trains and around the hotels, or elsewhere, who have ended up a brief
conversation by inviting us to visit their country places, their sheep
or cattle stations, if they have any, or their business establishments
in the city, and this, too, without knowing anything about us other than
that we are strangers in Australia. Those to whom we have letters throw
their houses open to us, and in every instance urge us to a longer stay
whenever we intimate that we must depart. Those to whom we are
introduced by these people are equally courteous and equally ready to
show us any hospitality. The whole country seems open to us, and if we
could and would accept half the invitations that have been given to us,
we should remain in Australia for years, perhaps for a decade or two.

"Many Australians, some of th