XVII. The Slave States of Vmerica. By J. S. Buckingham XVIII.—Meteorograpay, or the Perpetual Weather Almanack XIX.-Greece as a Kingdom. By Frederick Strong, Esq. . XX.-The Daughters of England, their Position in Society, Cha- racter, and Responsibilities. By Mrs. Ellis. XXI.-Time and Timekeepers. By Adam Thompson XXII.-The Famous Genevan Testament. XXIII.-Italy, Classical, Historical, and Picturesque, Illustrated and Described. By W. Brockedon, F.R.S. Part I. . XXIV. The Modern Cambist. By William Tate. XXV.-The New Chapter of Kings; or, the History of England in XXIX.-Lady Alice; a Ballad Romance in Seven Parts. By El-ton 615 XXX.-Mesopotamia and Assyria, from the earliest period to the present time with illustrations of their Natural History. By J. B. Fraser. (Edinburgh Cabinet Library.). XXXI.-Virtue's Illustrated Works THE MONTHLY REVIEW. JANUARY, 1842. ART. 1.-Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia. By GEORGE GREY, Esq. 2 vols. Boone. CAPTAIN Grey, late of the 83rd regiment, and now Governor of South Australia, in the latter end of the year 1836, along with Lieut. Lushington, proposed to Lord Glenelg to conduct an expedition to explore the Western coast of Australia, from Swan River northwards. The letter addressed to the then Secretary of State for the Colonies, was favourably received, but with certain modifications of the plan originally suggested; it appearing to have been the desire of the Government that the expedition should commence its principal proceedings at Prince Regent's River, on the northwest coast, a great extent of that shore, as well as the interior of the vast continent being at that time unvisited, or very imperfectly surveyed, although it was known that the character of the region towards the ocean was such as to inspire hopes that navigable rivers intersected and irrigated the land. The Government seem to have in a particular manner contemplated not only the discovery and the description of the grand features of the region, such as its streams, mountain ranges, and large tracts of fertile lands, together with information concerning the natural productions and capabilities of the soil, but the familiarizing the natives with the British name and friendly intentions. Accordingly the author of the Journals, as the leader of the party, and the other officer mentioned, having been joined by Mr. Walker, a surgeon and naturalist, and two volunteers of the Royal Sappers and Miners, embarked in the Beagle sloop of war, which was destined to survey the Australian coasts; and so perseveringly did our adventurers discharge what men in their circumstances could perform, and so interesting was the narrative which the captain furnished, that at the close of 1840, and after an absence of three years, he was appointed to the governorship which we have already named, and again sent back to execute the functions of the important office. VOL. I. (1842.) NO. I. B The Journals present narratives of extraordinary interest, independent of the scientific results described, or even the capabilities for colonization of the regions explored. As respects personal adventure, courageous endurance, sustained self-command, and modestly expressed testimony, there is not in our annals of discovery a more manly or touching account than is to be found in these volumes. Not only have we many startling tales of exposure and suffering, but splendid description and enthusiastic admiration. We shall first attend to parts of the publication which afford a fair idea both of the manner of the author's style and of what he witnessed and endured; and then, towards the close of our paper, have a few things to state with regard to the success of the expeditions, and the prospects the narrative offers to emigrants. On his way to the Cape the Captain touched the South American coast, and gives us this striking anecdote of a slave. We may mention parenthetically that slavery, according to our author's predictions, will one day be the ruin of the Brazilian empire. But the anecdote: We came in sight of the coast of South America about noon, and dropped anchor in the harbour of Bahia at four p.m.; and about half an hour after I went on shore with Mr. Lushington, a person of the name of Wilson taking us in his boat: there was a slave in the boat, and, not knowing that he understood English, I asked Mr. Wilson several questions about slaves in general, and he gave me a good deal of information on this subject, mentioning among other things that the price of a good slave here varied from 90l. to 1007.; he happened to state that the slaves were wretched in their own country, and that frequently large numbers were sacrificed to their gods. I never saw so fine a burst of natural indignation as the slave in the boat evinced at this statement; his lip curled up with scorn, his dark eye grew vividly bright, and his frame quivered as he made an impassioned reply in Portuguese; I could not understand all that he said, but caught enough to know the tenor of it, that "this was not the case; Englishmen or foreigners never visited his country, so how could they know?" It was not so much what he said, but the scornful bitterness of his manner, that made an impression on me, not easily to be effaced. On arriving at the Cape the Captain hired a schooner for the purpose of conveying his party, which now was considerably increased. He also took on board a quantity of stores and a number of live-stock, and then steered his course to Australia, which he reached early in the December of 1837. But before leaving the Cape of Good Hope we must enliven our page by quoting a marine scene which is no doubt pictured to the life. The sentiments in the latter paragraph of the extract belong to an order that come often and always unaffectedly from our author: The sea-birds held their holiday in the stormy gale. The lordly and graceful albatross, whose motion is a very melody, swept screaming by upon the blast. The smaller Cape pigeons followed us fast, passing and repassing across the vessel's track. At last one of them spies a fragment on the waters, which has been thrown overboard :-a moment it hovers above, then plunges down. But the other birds have seen it too; and all pouncing on the spot, move their wings confusedly, and seem to run along the waters with a rapid and eager motion. Now is there discord wild amongst them. A screaming and diving, swimming and running, mingled with a chattering noise. No sooner does one gain the morsel, than another tears it from him. Who will be the victor here? The albatross ;-for he sweeps triumphantly over all, swoops down, and with a scream, scares off the timid little multitude; whilst high above his head he holds his arching wings; and now in pride and beauty he sits upon the waters, and, drifting fast astern, gradually fades in the twilight. What wonder that a sailor is superstitious! Separated in early youth from his home; ere he has forgotten the ghost stories of childhood, and whilst the young and simple heart still loves to dwell upon the marvellous, he is placed in such scenes as these: in the dark night, amidst the din of waves and storms, he hears wild shrieks upon the air, and by him float huge forms, dim and mysterious, from which fancy is prone to build strange phantoms; and oft from aged sailors he gathers legends and wondrous tales suited to his calling; whilst the narrator's mysterious tone and earnest voice and manner attest how firmly he himself believes the story. The statements which we next present are of a different complexion, and appalling, one would think, beyond the moral courage and constancy of man; not to speak of his physical nature when encountering protracted struggles with wet in swamps, to be contrasted anon with heat, and thirst in arid deserts; or varied by hunger and extreme fatigue,-not seldom by murderous attacks. While the narrative of these alternations and even of each of the toils and dangers rivet the attention, they are dreadful to contemplate; so much so indeed that the whole would be too heart-rending, were it not only every now and then gladdened by some sketch of delightful scenery and tokens full of promise, but by the highspirited enterprize of the Captain and some of his party, which ultimately bore them through their multiform sufferings and dis asters. On arriving at the mouth of Prince Regent's River, no time was lost in effecting a landing, in hopes of making some encouraging discoveries. But they soon became bewildered in the untamed and trackless country; and, to add to their disasters, the heat was excessive, and no water to assuage the burning thirst. Several even of their dogs perished; and with a throbbing heart one thinks of the despair of the wanderers until they were relieved through the excessive exertions of their leader to reach the schooner and to procure assistance; he having narrowly escaped drowning in swimming across an indentation of the sea in furtherance of his object. Let us see, by taking a glimpse of some of the annoyances, and also of some of the horrible incidents, what it is to explore the uninhabitable regions which he describes. For example, and generally the further north in the Australian continent the annoyance is the more intolerable, the number of flies that assail the face after sunrise, if you seek the refreshment of sleep or a little rest, forbid all such luxuries. To open the mouth is dangerous; in they fly, to be violently ejected by a fit of coughing. If the eyes are unclosed, they at those inlets find entrance, and speedily by sucking make them The nostrils too are simultaneously assailed; and the multitudes are so great that defence at all points is impossible. Then what a picture does the following incident convey of thirst in unwholesome swamps : We had marched for about an hour and a quarter, and in this time had only made two miles, when we suddenly arrived upon the edge of a driedup bed of a sedgy swamp, which lay in the centre of a small plain, where we saw the footmark of a native imprinted on the sand, and again our hearts beat with hope, for this sign appeared to announce that we were once more entering the regions of animal life. We soon found that another part of the swamp was thickly marked with the footsteps of women and children; and as no water-baskets were scattered about, no doubt could exist but that we were in the vicinity of water. We soon discovered several native wells dug in the bed of the swamp; but these were all dry, and I began again to fear that I was disappointed, when Kaiber suddenly started up from a thick bed of reeds, and made me a sign which was unobserved by the others, as was evidently his intention. I hurried up, and found him with his head buried in a small hole of moist mud,—for I can call it nothing else. I very deliberately raised Kaiber by the hair, as all expostulations to him were useless, and then called up the others. Kaiber had completely swelled himself out with this thick muddy liquid, and from the mark upon the sides of the hole, had evidently consumed more than half of the total supply. I first of all took some of this moist mud in my mouth, but finding a difficulty in swallowing it, as it was so thick, I strained a portion through a handkerchief. We had thirsted, with an intense and burning thirst, for three days and two nights, during the greater portion of which time we had been taking violent exercise under a fierce sun. To conceive the delight of the men when they arrived at this little hole of mud, would be difficult. Each, as he came up and cast his wearied limbs on the ground beside the hole, uttered these words,-"Thank God;' and then greedily swallowed a few mouthfuls of the liquid mud, protesting that it was the most delicious water, and had a peculiar flavour, which rendered it far superior to any other he had ever tasted. Kaiber performed at times the office of guide, being a native member of the party. There was also a sort of native cook, who was a shrewd fellow and fond of discovering reasons for what he could not comprehend. For instance he could not understand why |