Page:History of New South Wales from the records, Volume 1.djvu/360

 25Q THE CHRONICLES 17i»8 Death from Btarration. Watching for a ship. A ship in sight Marines in tears. own abservation. I was passmg the proTision store when a msn, with a wild haggard coantenance, who hacl just received his dailj pittance to carry home, came out His faltering gait and eager devoaring eye led me to watch him ; and he had not proceeded ten steps before he fell. I ordered him to be carried to the hospital, where, when he arrived, he was found dead. On openiog the body, the cause of death was pronounced to be inanition. When matters had reached this stage, nothing but the arrival of a ship from England could have averted the most dreadful consequences : — A party of seamen were fixed on a high bluff called the South Head, at the entrance of the harbour, on which a flag was ordered to be hoisted whenever a ship might i^pear, which should serve as a direction to her, and as a signal of approach to u& Here, on the summit of the hill, every morning from daylight until the sun sank, did we sweep the horizon in hope of seeing a saiL At ereiy fleeting speck which arose from the bosom of the sea, the hetn bounded and the telescope was lifted to the ey& They were in much the same plight as shipwrecked people floating on a raft. The long-expected ship appeared at the very moment when hope had given way to despair : — At length the clouds of misfortune began to separate, and on the evening of the 3rd of June, 1790, the joyful cry of <* the flags up'' resounded in every direction. I was sitting in my hut, mnsiii^ on our fate, when a confused clamour in the street drew my atten- tion. I opened my door, and saw several women with children in their arms running to and fro with distracted looks, congratulating each other, and kissing their infants with the most passionate and extravagant marks of fondness. I needed no more ; but instantly started out and ran to a hill, where, by the assistance of my ^podktt- glass, my hopes were realised. My next-door neig^boar, a brother oflicer, was with me ; but we could not speak ; we wnug each other by the hand, with eyes and hearts overflowing. It must have been a terrible pinch indeed that could make two officers of marines in those days show such signs of emotion. Finding that the Governor intended to go immediately in his boat down the harbour, I begged to be of his party. As we pro- Digitized by Google