The first thing we did next morning was to unload the boat; and then having breakfasted, and secured the door on our effects, we started on our homeward trip, and had the satisfaction of pulling the whole distance to Perth, where we were obliged to sleep the next night, as it was impossible for us to get down Melville water in the teeth of a strong sea-breeze. When we had to start again with another load of goods, our hearts were much heavier than on the first excursion. CHAPTER 8. FARMS ON THE RIVER. First impressions endure the longest, and are recalled with most pleasure. Further acquaintance does not always give us a truer idea of the value of the object, as familiarity frequently makes us overlook as insignificant that which is constantly before us. It is not the object that is proved to be really less valuable as we become better acquainted with it, but our own views which change with our position. My first impressions on visiting the various farms, or rather gentlemen's residences, on the banks of the Swan, were extremely agreeable. I thought nothing could be more delightful than to live at one of those picturesque and lovely spots. If the romance of that first feeling be now faded from my heart, it is not because I have discovered that all which I then saw was an illusion, but because a more sober state of mind -- that state into which the mind settles as the excitement of sudden change and unwonted novelty subsides -- teaches that happiness is not local, and that it is no more likely to be found in the finest country residence than in the main street of a town. At the first view we are apt to imagine that people who live in one of these pleasant retreats must needs be happier than ourselves, who possess nothing but a miserable shilling. This is the delusion; and when with increasing knowledge, we recover from this, we cease to envy and to covet. My first ride up the Swan was a most delightful one. No park in England could be more beautiful than the grounds around some of the dwellings.