After several tedious delays from clouded weather, on the
14th of March, we gladly stood out of King George's Sound
on our course to Keeling Island. Farewell, Australia! you
are a rising child, and doubtless some day will reign a great
princess in the South: but you are too great and ambitious
for affection, yet not great enough for respect. I leave your
shores without sorrow or regret.
[1] It is remarkable how the same disease is modified in
different climates. At the little island of St. Helena the
introduction of scarlet fever is dreaded as a plague. In some
countries, foreigners and natives are as differently affected by
certain contagious disorders as if they had been different
animals; of which fact some instances have occurred in Chile;
and, according to Humboldt, in Mexico (Polit. Essay, New Spain,
vol. iv.).
[2] Narrative of Missionary Enterprise, p. 282.
[3] Captain Beechey (chap. iv., vol. i.) states that the
inhabitants of Pitcairn Island are firmly convinced that after
the arrival of every ship they suffer cutaneous and other
disorders. Captain Beechey attributes this to the change of diet
during the time of the visit.
