hopes.

October 27.

The winds for the last few days had been from West-North-West to
North-West, light after midnight to near noon, then moderate and
sometimes fresh. The tides, as they approached the springs, increased
their velocity, occasionally coming down in bores at the rate of four and
five knots.

RETURN OF CAPTAIN WICKHAM.

Captain Wickham returned this morning, having discovered the river to be
fresh about seventy miles above the ship. For some distance it had not
decreased in size, which was very delightful news. I had been several
times on the point of inquiring on this subject; but fearing an
unfavourable reply, hesitated. Now my hopes were at their highest pitch,
and I was quite impatient to start on an expedition up the river.

On the 29th the ship was taken under my guidance up the river, as far as
the commencement of the long southerly reach. As the shoals in that part
had not been sufficiently examined, we proceeded to do so in the evening,
and two channels were discovered; one between a bank, dry at low-water,
and a covered patch of one and a half and two fathoms, and the other
between the covered bank and the east shore; the latter, although the
narrower, I found to be the better. The tides set direct through it, and
to keep close to the bank is a simple and sure guide. The least water is
four fathoms, half a fathom more than was found in the other, the
direction of which crossed the set of the tide when the bank on the west
side became covered.