the Cape, intended to land at Hanover Bay, establish there a depôt for stores, and to proceed into the interior. Captain Stokes never thought highly of this proposed point of starting, and we think results proved his judgment sound. They left Point Cunningham on April 3rd, and worked through Sunday Strait. After some days' sailing, in which they had reached the point where a probability existed of the discovery of Lieutenant Grey's party, our author obtained permission to take the boats to survey Collier Bay, which he trusted would furnish some access to the interior. A wound in the foot had not daunted his ardour for discovery, and he proceeded with two others only. The results from this expedition, though determining many important points, and the discovery of possibly another branch of the Glenelg, in an eight days' absence from the ship, did not enable them to penetrate deep by any inlet into the interior. On their return to the ship, to their great joy they found Lieutenant Grey had already arrived, but badly wounded, half starved, and extremely ill. The Glenelg, however, had rewarded the perseverance of his party, and they soon found, by comparing notes, that they had seen a portion of the same land. This expedition had only penetrated sixty miles into the interior; and though the Glenelg would probably not have been discovered, we agree with our author, that the Fitzroy would have given them a better access, and a less dangerous one, to the interior of this enormous continent. Lieutenant Grey had, however, evidently been among a more civilized class of the natives. Curious figures, images, and drawings, had been seen by him, which somewhat redeem the Australian, if his own, from the imputation of being little better than a kangaroo. The vessel from which Lieutenant Grey had disembarked, the Lynher, had given up the expedition for lost, even when the guns of the Beagle announced their arrival to look for them. Twelve weeks wandering in the interior had produced sad effects on the party. Lieutenant Grey was most anxious to know if they had discovered the mouth of the Glenelg, but of this they assured him they had found no trace from Port George the Fourth to the bottom of Collier Bay, with the possible exception already noticed. This portion of their instructions being completed, they proceeded to quit Port George the Fourth, to return to Swan River. Lieutenant Grey and his party proceeded in the Lynher to the Mauritius. We pass the visits of our adventurers, after quitting Swan River, to Tasmania and Sydney, and shall accompany them now through Bass Strait, Port Philip, and its vicinity, which occupied a large portion of their attention. We proceed next with the north-western portion of this extensive survey, on to

Port Essington, and our readers will follow on our course, first to the north from Sydney and Port Stephen, in order to get a right direction to enable them to trace our voyagers. At Breakset Spit, in this direction, the Britomart caught a shark twenty feet long, with the bones of some large animal, probably a bullock, in the interior. Halifax Bay received a careful survey, and the region round about, as well as Cape Upstart. Captain King's researches were carefully verified. The dreadful Torres Straits, the scene of so much cannibalism and shipwreck passed, our voyagers reached Port Essington, which receives just commendation as the capital of Northern Australia.

The

They quitted Port Essington to survey Melville Island, and to ascertain if Clarence Strait was navigable. Their progress here was highly satisfactory, and rewarded with the discovery of a river, which they named Adelaide, from respect to the Queen Dowager. Escape Cliffs, in this direction, received their appellation from the fact that Mr. Fitzmaurice, the discoverer of the Adelaide, and Mr. Keys went ashore at that point to compare the compasses. While thus occupied, a large party of the natives appeared on the cliffs about twenty feet above their heads. They were evidently evil disposed; but Mr. Fitzmaurice immediately commenced dancing and shouting, though in momentary expectation of being transfixed by their spears. His companion followed his example, though he might easily have escaped, a noble fellow that well deserves notice. Fortunately a boat reached the bay at this moment, and saved their lives by its arrival. boats of discovery proceeded up the Adelaide nearly 80 miles, and all except one day's provision being exhausted, the further search was given up. Where they left the river divided into two branches, one to the south and another to the east, the latter too narrow for the oars, the former blocked up at the point to which they had arrived by fallen trees. The river abounded in wild fowl, alligators, and fish. It is navigable for fifty miles for vessels of 400 or 500 tons, and into fresh water, a thing hitherto unknown in Australia, Captain Stokes observes. With this highly satisfactory intelligence they returned to Port Essington. On the 18th of March, 1839, they quitted Port Essington, having with them a native named Jack White, for the purpose of facilitating further communication with the natives. While off Timor Laut a Malay proa came up to them, from which, singular to say, a man, who ultimately turned out to be the humane chief who saved the lives of some of our countrymen, tendered them papers, that contained written in pencil a rough journal of the men who left the unfortunate Charles Eaton, a merchant vessel which was wrecked in Torres Straits, in one of her cutters, in

which they reached Timor Laut, and thence gained Amboyna in a trading proa. Of this unfortunate ship the details have been already before the public, and the writer of this was deeply interested in the question which the singular conduct of Captain Carr placed before the public. This unfortunate vessel struck on a reef situated at the entrance of Torres Straits. She carried away keel and rudder, and the captain announced her as totally lost, and gave orders to get the boats ready and furnished with provisions to reach Timor. She had four boats, the long boat, two cutters, and a small jolly boat. In the largest cutter three men left the wreck, and two others joined them by swimming across a bar or reef at the risk of their lives. The other boats were knocked to pieces and lost. These men, whose conduct on their own showing was extremely bad, left the captain and passengers to their fate. The passengers were Captain D'Oyly of the Bengal artillery, his wife and two sons, George and William, an English gentleman named Armstrong, and a Bengalee. The ship's crew consisted of twenty-four hands, J. G. Moore, master. Horrible to say, all this body of persons, with the exception of Ireland, a cabin-boy, and the younger D'Oyly, a child, were murdered by the natives. Captain Carr, of the Mangles, although he heard that two white persons survived the general massacre, made no effort to release them in any manner at all effectual. No officer ever acted more shamefully than this man in such a position, and it is quite a mistake upon the part of Captain Stokes to affirm that his report led to the sending out vessels by government to save the children who were recovered. It was owing to the energetic remonstrances of Mr. Bayley, of Stockton, the relation of Mrs. D'Oyly, that any exertions were made, slightly aided by the writer of the present article. Captain Carr was literally forced before a magistrate to give some account of the matter, and the account he did give was any thing but creditable to himself, though the magistrate obviously favoured him from a regard to the highly respectable house that employed him. The dreadful straits in which the Charles Eaton was wrecked must prove most fatal, since at the time of the shipwreck of that vessel, her crew observed another high and dry, with her masts standing, and royal yards across, and sails set. This proved to be the Flora. In the confusion that ensued on the striking of the Charles Eaton the following circumstances took place, and they rest on the authority of the cabin-boy Ireland, who was not recovered by Captain Carr, who could have rescued him, but by the Isabella, we believe, sent out by her Majesty's Government. After an attempt to lower a boat on the quarter had failed, the men in the cutter, whom we have men

tioned, refused to take in six of the crew who swam to them, and made off. The master constructed a raft, which he was seven days in making. On it, when completed, the master, Captain and Mrs. D'Oyly, their two children and nurse, and Mr. Armstrong embarked, with two seamen. It would not support the weight of more persons, so that most of the crew remained on board. A second raft was constructed by those who remained. In this second raft was the cabin-boy Ireland, from whom the whole story is derived. After remaining two days and nights upon the slowly drifting raft, they passed an island, and saw several more a-head. A canoe came up, containing ten or twelve Indians, who approached extending their arms, exhibiting friendly signs. They were induced to trust themselves with them in a canoe. They were soon landed on the island Boydun, where, horrible to say, they were all massacred in their sleep, the result of exhaustion, by the natives. The two boys, Ireland and Sexton, now awaited their fate, having seen all the others massacred. Ireland struggled with a savage who attempted to cut his throat successfully, escaped from him, and swam out to sea, but was compelled to return, finding no means of escape. The same Indian shot him in the right breast with an arrow, and then became quite calm, and gave him food. Sexton, in his struggles with another, bit a piece out of the Indian's arm, and succeeded in obtaining his life in a similar manner. Collecting the heads of all their victims, the Indians proceeded to another island, where the women were, which they called Pullan. On landing there, Ireland saw two of Captain D'Oyly's children, and the eldest told him that all the passengers on the first raft that quitted the vessel, excepting himself and brother, were instantly murdered, and that his mother was killed by a blow of a club while his little brother was in her arms, but that the child was saved by one of the women, who afterwards took care of him. The heads, among which were clearly discernible Mrs. D'Oyly's, from her long hair, and the master's, remarkable for its physiognomy, were suspended by a rope to a pole, around which the savages danced night and morning. After a time the savages parted into two divisions, one, taking Ireland and the infant D'Oyly, embarked in a canoe, and after visiting various places, Duppar, the Murray islander, bought them (which Captain Carr might more easily have done, and possibly others,) for two branches of bananas. From this person the Isabella, we believe, recovered them.

Our enterprising author immediately set about recovering the European boys, of whom he had heard, but was unsuccessful. A daring officer had achieved this matter before him. Mr. Wat

son having learnt, while cruising in the schooner Essington, of the existence of some European on the island, enticed one of the chiefs on board, and the instant that he had the savage in his power, sent word that he would hang or shoot him unless the European was produced. Three days and nights did the natives refuse, until at length when a rope was placed around the neck of the chief, the boy was produced, and when received on board, though the chief had escaped, Mr. Watson nobly paid, though unconstrained to do so, all he had agreed to give them for the release of the European. He proved to be one of the crew of the ship Stedcombe, all of whom, except himself and another boy who died, were massacred by the natives. The boy Ireland detailed to the writer of these lines the fact that the inhabitants of Murray Island, and others in these straits, are all cannibals; and when he was asked whether it was from necessity, said No, that the island contained every thing, such as turtle, shell-fish, &c., necessary to support even luxurious life. Cannibalism is then here nothing more than an acmé of barbarism, a foul letch of savageness. There appear many Captain Carrs over these regions; for this child, Forbes, declared that several Dutchmen might have rescued him if they pleased, as Ireland affirmed of Captain Carr, even for a hatchet. We suspect, however, that the important article of a commerce in tortoiseshell is far more valued by many of these worthies than any motive of morality, piety, philanthropy, or religion. The removal of a European might lead to the possible discontinuance of this in the opinion of these shallow men; but if properly managed, it would not interfere even with their own selfish views.

After having satisfactorily determined the navigability of Clarence Strait, which considerably enhanced the value of the discovery of the Adelaide, and provisioned a boat for four days, our author and Mr. Forsyth proceeded to investigate another considerable inlet not examined by Captain King. Here also they failed to obtain access to the interior, but named it Hope Inlet. It is eleven miles distant from Clarence Strait.

Singular to say, Circumcision is practised even by the natives of Australia; and who shall say, with these facts before him, that the Australian is not of the same genus, however ruined, originally as the Christian. Our readers will perceive with much pleasure several very interesting remarks also on the languages of this vast continent at vol. ii., p. 25. But discovery is our cue in this book, and certainly most interesting were all the observations made by our voyagers at Port Darwin and around the Adelaide river; but we shall now move to the West, where still further discoveries awaited them. Another vast opening our voyagers soon per