I have been so much occupied for the last two days that I have really not had time to make any notes in my Journal, notwithstanding the vast numbers of events I have to record.

I am afraid his opinion of my taste is much diminished. ' leaving him to form his own conclusions as to my opinion. Yes, that's the Pandanus Tree and that's the water, and, ah, yes. I was placed in a puzzling position, for I have a constitutional aversion to lying. Words won't describe the absurdity of the thing. I went and lo! the sketch, which with a look as much as to say 'you don't see anything like that every day' he submitted to my inspection. The scene indeed was a beautiful one and a splendid subject, rich in colour and brilliant effects of light and shade. Thought I to myself we are going to have a Claude at least. He did me the honour ( ?) to approve, but said 'Ah, wait till I get it out in colours'. I finished mine in pencil and showed it him. The other day he and Brierly and I went across in the galley up the river, and each made a sketch of the same place. That he had neither smell nor hearing nor taste sufficiently refined to enable him to distinguish one sensation from another, sulphuretted hydrogen from Millefleurs, 'God save the Queen' from 'Old Dan Tucker', strawberries from mulberriesВ–I knew long ago, but I now find that his eye is equally defective. That little skipper of ours is a greater ass than I thought. There is Denison's dog and Dayman's Billy and Pug and Native and another little beast of the skipper's, Brady's unfortunate kangaroo dog lost or as some opine shot at Cape Upstart, and Juno and the setter, left behind at Sydney this time. We are unfortunate in our dogs, Lighthouse being the seventh or eighth that has disappeared since the ship was in commission. The ship's company, with whom he was a great favourite, are in despair. The jolly-boat was sent after him this morning but has not been successful. He strayed from the watering party yesterday and did not return. One today had a child of which she took great care, shielding it from the sun with a light mat so that we could hardly get a sight of it. They never stood up in the canoes as the men do but always kept sitting and sometimes shading themselves with a piece of matting. In this respect they exactly resemble the Darnley Islanders. They wear a girdle from which long grassy fibres depend as far as the knees so as to form a kind of petticoat. In some of the canoes they brought off some specimens of their ladies they were ugly enough but not quite so bad as the Australians. Various canoes have been to us every day, and the best understanding has been maintained. I see I am getting out of my good habits but there has been nothing to write for the last few days. Letters and Diary 1849 July and August July 1, 1849 The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Performance'. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Necessary'. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Functional'. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Analytics'. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.

Little man in the canoe