Page:Narrative of a Visit to the Australian Colonies.djvu/176

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140
HOBART TOWN.
[4th mo.

house for public worship, notwithstanding it might be to their edification to meet more retiredly. The room, hired for this purpose was in the upper part of Macquarie Street. The first meeting was held in it on the 7th of the 4th month. The congregation consisted of fifteen persons, including some children. On this occasion I had much to express in doctrine and exhortation; and especially to point out the necessity of the superstructure of a religious profession, being raised upon the solid foundation of repentance towards God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.—In consequence of several of the children having had but little religious instruction, it was determined, temporarily to hold a meeting for religious reading in the afternoons; and on this day a chapter of "Tuke's Principles of Friends," a part of "Chalkley's Observations on Christ's Sermon on the Mount," and a portion of Scripture were read.

4th mo. 8th. We set out on another long journey among the settlers.—Crossing the Derwent to Kangaroo Point, we proceeded over a woody steep called Breakneck Hill, to Richmond, where we were again kindly welcomed by W. T. Parramore and J. H. Butcher.

9 th. W. T. Parramore, furnished us with a guide, who took us through among the woody hills, by a narrow winding track, called Black Charleys Opening, to the Brushy Plains; where the path joined the cart track from Sorell Town. Here we parted from our guide, who was a prisoner in the field-police, and was anxiously looking forward toward restoration to liberty. This is indeed universally the case, except with such prisoners as are sentenced for life, or have become reckless. Our guide assured us that many of the latter class were infidels, and of this we afterwards had much proof.—Brushy Plains is an extensive flat of open forest, bearing grass and sedgy herbage, intermingled with scrub, and joining some swampy land, called The White Marsh. Here, we found a young prisoner, in charge of a settler's hut, who said he had seen it asserted in an English newspaper, that transportation was no punishment; but that he felt it to be a very severe one; that the best of his days were wasting, and he doing nothing for himself; that being sent out