On the afternoon of Friday the 25th, we left the magnificent bay of Bahia, and after obtaining an offing, stood away to the southward and eastward. I was much amused by a story of Grey's a day or two after we sailed: it seems he had mistaken the Quartermaster's usual call in conning the ship of "Very well, dice" (a corruption of "very well, thus") for a complimentary notice of the man at the helm; and anxious to know the individual who so distinguished himself, had two or three times gone on deck to see "Mr. Very well Dice:" finding a different helmsman each time, completely confounded him; and when I explained the matter, he joined me in a hearty laugh at the mistake! CHAPTER 1.3. FROM THE CAPE TO SWAN RIVER. A gale. Anchor in Simon's Bay. H.M.S. Thalia. Captain Harris, and his Adventures in Southern Africa. Proceedings of the Land Party. Leave Simon's Bay. An overloaded ship. Heavy weather and wet decks. Island of Amsterdam. Its true longitude. St. Paul's. Water. Westerly variation. Rottnest Island. Gage's Road. Swan River Settlement. Fremantle. An inland lake. Plans for the future. Illness of Captain Wickham. Tidal Phenomena. Perth. Approach to it. Narrow escape of the first settlers. The Darling Range. Abundant Harvest. Singular flight of strange birds. Curious Cliff near Swan River. Bald Head. Mr. Darwin's Theory. The Natives. Miago. Anecdotes of Natives. Their Superstitions. Barbarous traditions, their uses and their lessons. We had, upon the whole, a favourable passage across to the Cape; but on the 17th of September, when distant from it about 500 miles, we encountered a moderate gale from the north. As this was the first heavy weather we had experienced since our departure from England, I was curious to see what effect such a strange scene would have on our passengers. Wrapt in mute astonishment, they stood gazing with admiration and awe on the huge waves as they rolled past, occasionally immersing our little vessel in their white crests--and listening, with emotions not wholly devoid of fear, to the wild screams of the seabirds as they skimmed o'er the steep acclivities of these moving masses. The landsmen were evidently deeply impressed with the grandeur of a storm at sea; nor can the hardiest seaman look with unconcern on such an exhibition of the majesty of Him, whose will the winds and waves obey. Not more poetically beautiful than literally true are the words of the Psalmist, so appropriately introduced into the Form of Prayers at Sea--"They that go down to the sea in ships, and occupy their business in great waters: these men see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep: for at his word the stormy wind ariseth, which lifteth up the waves thereof." My own experience has over and over again satisfied me, that, mingled with many a dim superstition, a deep religious sentiment--a conviction of the might and mercy of Heaven--often rests on the heart of the most reckless