say I think we were all rather greedy, but we tried to give a better
colouring to our gourmandism by inviting the captain, who was
universally popular, and by making it as elegant and pretty a repast
as possible. Three or four of the gentlemen formed themselves into
a committee, and they must really have worked very hard; at all
events they collected everything rare and strange in the way of
fish, flesh, and fowl peculiar to Australia, the arrangement of the
table was charming, and the delicacies were all cooked and served to
perfection. The ladies' tastes were considered in the profusion of
flowers, and we each found an exquisite bouquet by our plate. I
cannot possibly give you a minute account of the whole menu; in
fact, as it is, I feel rather like Froissart, who, after chronicling
a long list of sumptuous dishes, is not ashamed to confess, "Of all
which good things I, the chronicler of this narration, did partake!"
The soups comprised kangaroo-tail--a clear soup not unlike ox-tail,
but with a flavour of game. I wish I could recollect the names of
the fish: the fresh-water ones came a long distance by rail from the
river Murray, but were excellent nevertheless. The last thing which
I can remember tasting (for one really could do little else) was a
most exquisite morsel of pigeon--more like a quail than anything
else in flavour. I am not a judge of wine, as you may imagine,
therefore it is no unkindness to the owners of the beautiful
vineyards which we saw the other day, to say that I do not like the
Australian wines. Some of the gentlemen pronounced them to be
excellent, especially the equivalent to Sauterne, which has a
wonderful native name impossible to write down; but, as I said
before, I do not like the rather rough flavour. We had not a great
variety of fruit at dessert: indeed, Sydney oranges constituted its
main feature, as it is too late for winter fruits, and too early for
summer ones: but we were not inclined. to be over-fastidious, and