to other quarters, and at length few remained; but before hope was quite extinguished, a ship appeared and brought them a long-expected supply.'
Lieutenant King, it will be remembered, had been sent home with despatches in April 1790. His voyage of eight months from Batavia to England, like Hunter's, was one of such danger and distress as can scarcely be realised nowadays. The little Dutch vessel in which he sailed had not been five days at sea before her captain and most of the crew were taken ill with fever. King took charge, and with the only four able-bodied men navigated the snow to the Mauritius. Here he embarked a fresh crew and continued his voyage, calling at the Cape of Good Hope, where he met Riou trying to patch up the wreck of the Guardian, He sailed again for England, arrived there in December, and had interviews with Lord Chatham and Lord Grenville.
Phillip's letters home had acquainted the Government with King's value, and a commission was already waiting for him as Lieutenant-Governor of the settlement at Norfolk Island. While at home he married, embarking with his wife on the Gorgon, and, reaching New South Wales in September 1791, he returned in a few weeks to his island command, where certain of his acts gave great offence to Grose, Phillip's successor. King in these disputes always shows to advantage, and his superiors in England approved of most of what Grose censured. The best proof of
