Page:Life and Adventures of William Buckley.djvu/183

160 —which he accepted—and sailed once more for that quarter of the globe, where he founded his new colony, struggled with great difficulties—which he overcame—and after governing there six years, was enjoying the flourishing state his exertions had produced, when he died suddenly—after a few days' confinement, from a slight cold—on the 24th March, 1810. His person was remarkably handsome, and his manners extremely prepossessing, which, to a cultivated understanding, and an early fondness for the ' Belle Lettres ,' he joined the most cheerful and social disposition. How he was esteemed by the colony over which he presided, will appear from the following extract of a letter announcing his decease:—'By the death of Colonel Collins, this colony has sustained a loss it will take a number of years to get over. I have known and served with him from the first establishment of the colony, and when I speak the feelings of my heart on this melancholy occasion, I am sure that it is not my single voice, but that of every Department whatsoever in the settlement, who, with the heartfelt regret, universally acknowledged him to have been the Father and Friend of ALL!'"