Page:Admiral Phillip.djvu/98

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72
BUILDERS OF GREATER BRITAIN

perceiving, deemed it prudent to retreat, and after assuring Bennilong that he would remember his promise, told him he was going. At that moment an old-looking man advanced, whom Bennilong said was his friend, and wished the Governor to take notice of him. At this he approached the old man with his hand extended, when on a sudden the savage started back, and snatched up a spear from the ground and poized it to throw. The Governor, seeing the danger, told him in their tongue that it was bad, and still advanced, when, with a mixture of horror and intrepidity, the native discharged the spear with all his force at the Governor. It entered above his collar-bone, and came out at his back, nine inches from the entrance, taking an oblique direction. The natives from the rocks now poured in their spears in abundance, so that it was with the utmost difficulty and the greatest good fortune that no other hurt was received in getting the Governor into the boat.'

Phillip's personal coolness needs not this incident to prove its existence, but Mrs Macarthur's statement of his behaviour ought to have a place here. She says:—

'As soon as they returned to this place an universal solicitude prevail'd, as the danger of the wound could by no means be ascertained untill the spear was extracted, and this was not done before His Excellency had caus'd some papers to be ar-