Page:Admiral Phillip.djvu/278

 could in the next year add, 'I do not doubt that this country will prove the most valuable acquisition Great Britain ever made,' Phillip was still so thorough, so possessed of that capacity for detail, of that thoughtfulness in little things which counts for so much in the management of all great concerns, that he could in the very despatch which contained these 'memorable sentiments ask for iron pots for cooking, and remember that the women were short of gowns.

His perfect self-reliance and belief in his ability to pull the colony through its worst misfortunes, led him sometimes, perhaps, to write too cheerfully for his own and his charges' comfort. Even in the dismal time of famine, a month after the wreck of the Sirius, when the settlement was on the brink of starvation, he sent to the Home Secretary such moderately worded letters that Lord Sydney either affected to think or actually believed that the colony was almost flourishing; for in April 1790, Sydney stated that he had received two letters containing three requests from 'our friend Phillip, who represents the new settlement as having nearly overcome its difficulties. &hellip; The last (letter) refers to his request for leave to return home for the regulation of his private affairs. &hellip; He makes his last request with much the least earnestness. &hellip;'

And this was the nature of the man. Is it not the nature of most true Englishmen? Does not this