Page:A Voyage of Discovery and Research in the Southern and Antarctic Regions Vol 2.djvu/53

] and hospitality which were manifested by His Excellency and Lady Gipps to myself and the officers of the expedition during our stay at Sydney; and I have much pleasure also in acknowledging the civilities that were offered to us by the principal inhabitants of the colony, but which the necessity of unremitting labour at the observatories obliged us to decline. I had also the high gratification of meeting with some very old friends in Captain Philip Parker King, R. N., Mr. Leay, the late colonial-secretary, and his son Mr. W. S. Leay, who had been several years resident in the colony, and from whom I learnt many interesting particulars of the cruize of the American expedition, which had touched here on its return from the Antarctic Regions; but as the greatest secrecy had been prescribed to its commander by the government, I could, at that time, place but little dependence on what I heard, but which has since turned out to be perfectly true in the principal particulars.

Mr. Leay's house being situate very near to our ships, we had many opportunities of enjoying the kind hospitalities he so liberally and continually extended to our officers, and whose sentiments towards myself were those of almost paternal regard and solicitude, which the remembrance of having, in my younger days, assisted me in my scientific pursuits, may probably have in some degree tended to awaken.

In the beautiful grounds, consisting of above twenty acres, about Mr. Leay's house, and which