came to a spot of swampy ground, where he could not be surrounded, which he jumped over, bowed courteously to the assembled throng, and walked away, as fast as decorum would permit, fearful that he might be overtaken before he reached the boat; which, as soon as he entered, was pulled with all speed towards Perth.
The Governor's situation was certainly not much to be envied. All the land on the banks of the Swan, of which these emigrants had heard such flattering accounts, and of which they naturally expected to obtain a slice, after having come so far for that purpose, was already, and, perhaps, improvidently given away.
There is no doubt, therefore, that, although their own foolishly sanguine expectations might have contributed to blind them, yet there existed some legitimate cause for grumbling, which, it is well known, John Bull has a wonderful propensity to indulge in, frequently ex causis non æquis;—It may not, therefore, be wondered at, if it were rather unrestrainedly indulged in, as I have every reason to believe it was, on the present occasion.
Among the number, I observed several faces not unknown to me, and I was also recognized by them. I went into the tent of Mr. Lord, formerly a merchant in Calcutta, now supercargo of the Ephemina, where I received some refreshment, of which I stood in much need; and shortly afterwards I met another acquaintance, a respectable settler, from the Derwent, who had brought, amongst other things, several horses for sale, and he politely accommodated me with the loan of one.
