We crossed the Williams river, about fifteen miles South-West from Stroud, and after nearly another hour's ride came to a place called Wallaroba. I was here doomed to experience the only instance of incivility I ever found in Australia. It was late in the afternoon of a cold blustering day, and having breakfasted early, we were prompted to test the hospitality of a Mr. Chapman, whose station we were passing. It was the only one we had seen during the day, and knowing the possibility of our being mistaken for bush-rangers,* we turned back our rough coats, and rode up to the house as smart as we could make ourselves. We met the owner standing in the gateway of the garden fronting the house, which he nearly filled; but although presenting a John Bull's exterior, there was a great deficiency of the national character within. After introducing ourselves we asked for a little milk, but were refused on the plea that there was none at the station. Our surly informant added, that we should find a comfortable inn eight miles farther on. First looking at the number of fine milch cows that were grazing near, and then at the speaker, we turned and left him in silent disgust.
(*Footnote. Escaped convicts, who live by plundering the settlers, taking also their lives if any resistance is offered. I remember on one occasion, a party of gentlemen had their horses taken from them: one of them was of great value, and the owner thought he would try an experiment to recover him, by saying in a jocular manner, that he would tie a card with his address round the animal's neck, in order that when done with they might know where to return him. Strange to say his experiment succeeded, as the horse was sent back a short time afterwards.)
We passed the night at the inn to which we had been directed, and next morning I separated from my companions, our roads being different. There had been a hoar frost during the night, and the morning was delightfully bracing. About ten miles in a North-West direction, brought me to the end of my journey at Cam yr Allyn, the residence of Mr. Boydell. A few miles from this place, I passed the house of a Mr. Townsend, the road close to which was literally through a garden of roses, which in the freshness of the morning, diffused a delicious fragrance.
Mr. Boydell's residence is on a rich spot of ground, on the banks of the Allyn river, which runs among the spurs of a range of hills, trending North-North-West, and distant about six miles to the eastward, where it attains an elevation of three or four thousand feet.
SAGACITY OF THE HORSE.
The country in the neighbourhood is very hilly, and intersected by deep narrow valleys or ravines. I was very much amused by the sagacity displayed by the horses in crossing these. They make a point, as soon as they get near the bottom on one side, of dashing down at a most tremendous pace, in order to gain an impetus that shall carry them up the opposite acclivity. The first time the animal I rode exhibited this instance of forethought, I imagined he was about to run away with me; for suddenly, without giving the least warning, he made a rush in a downward direction and was across the valley before I could look round.
All the hills in this part of the country, showed singular sloping sides to the South-West, whilst on the opposite, they were almost perpendicular; old red sandstone is generally found on their sides, and granite on their summit. On the Allyn, I noticed the same kind of rich limestone, that I found on the west bank of the Karuah, two miles within the entrance. These two spots are about thirty miles apart. The rocks in the valley of the Karuah belong to the transition series, and on the shore of Port Stephens, they consist of porphyry, basalt, and greenstone.
An instance here came under my own observation of the beneficial results which sometimes arise from the punishment of transportation; knowing the difficulty of getting good servants, I was curious to learn how Mr. Boydell had procured his excellent butler, and on inquiry was surprised to learn that he had been sent out for robbing Madame Vestris of her jewels.
CULTIVATION OF TOBACCO.
Mr. Boydell was cultivating tobacco to some considerable extent, with the hope of being able to supply the colony; others who speculated on a larger scale were ruined; for it soon turned out that it was impossible to compete in cheapness with American tobacco. This was in consequence of the extensive establishment required on the estate--the large drying sheds that had to be erected, the number of coopers necessary, and the general high price of labour.