I have had considerable difficulty in finding any good passages to Melbourne or Sydney in 1879. It was a time of depressed freights and ships found themselves seeking cargoes in other than their regular trades. Thus we find the tea clipper _Titania_ on the Melbourne run instead of going out to China. The _Thomas Stephens_ tried a voyage to Otago. _Salamis_ was still in the East seeking a tea cargo. _Thessalus_ went to Calcutta from Penarth, whilst the poor little _Cutty Sark_ had many strange and unpleasant adventures before she resumed her place in the Australian trade, which was not until 1883. Of the other cracks _Patriarch_ with 90 days, _Miltiades_ with 88, _Ben Voirlich_ with 87, _Loch Maree_ with 94, _Old Kensington_ with 96, _Cimba_ with 91 and _Thermopylae_ with 86 days all made poor passages. [Illustration: “SOPHOCLES.” _Photo by Hall & Co., Sydney._] The two rivals, _Brilliant_ and _Pericles_, were the only ships to make Sydney in under 80 days from the Channel, and owing to _Pericles_ getting ashore close to Plymouth and having to come back and dock and discharge her cargo, etc., the two ships eventually left the Lizard together. +-----------+--------------+--------+--------+-------+-------+----+ | | | | Crossed| Passed| | | | Ship | Departure |Crossed | Cape | Cape |Arrived|Days| | | |Equator |Meridian| Otway |Sydney | Out| +-----------+--------------+--------+--------+-------+-------+----+ |_Pericles_ |Lizard Aug. 30|Sept. 25|Oct. 17 |Nov. 10|Nov. 14| 76 | |_Brilliant_|Lizard Aug. 30|Sept. 27|Oct. 20 |Nov. 12|Nov. 15| 77 | +-----------+--------------+-----------------+-------+-------+----+ The best passages out to Melbourne were the following:— +---------------------+--------+--------+---------+--------+----+ | Ship | Left | On | Arrived | On |Days| | | | | | |Out | +---------------------+--------+--------+---------+--------+----+ |_Sobraon_ |Plymouth|Oct. 3|Melbourne|Dec. 16| 74 | |_Mermerus_ |Channel |March 26| „ |June 11| 77 | |_Titania_ | „ |Feb. 21| „ |May 7| 75 | |_Aristides_ | „ |July 8| „ |Sept. 23| 77 | |_Loch Vennachar_ |Clyde |July 4| „ |Sept. 23| 81 | |_Ben Cruachan_ |Channel |June 5| „ |Aug. 25| 81 | |_Loch Garry_ |Clyde |June 6| „ |Aug. 27| 82 | |_Sir Walter Raleigh_ |Channel |June 9| „ |Aug. 30| 82 | +---------------------+--------+--------+---------+--------+----+