river, in a few days; and it is my wish to accompany him, if possible,
that I may select my own grant.


The spirit of detraction to which the writer alludes in the early part
of his letter is thus noticed in the _Cabinet Cyclopaedia_, vol. iii.
of Maritime and Inland Discovery: "The difficulties and embarrassments
which the settlers at the Swan River have been obliged to endure, have
been industriously exaggerated by the colonial press; the strong desire
which exists in New South Wales to attract emigrants to that country
being naturally allied with a disposition to disparage every other
settlement."

* * * * *


ON VIEWING CANTERBURY

_From the rural Heights of Harbledown, in the Summer of 1827._

(_For the Mirror._)


I.

I am no pilgrim unto Becket's shrine,
To kneel with fervour on his knee-worn grave,
And with my tears his sainted ashes lave,
Yet feel devotion rise no less divine--
As rapt I gaze from Harbledown's decline