, and it seems curious enough nowadays that
so little interest was taken in it. There were more than a thousand people
on board, and one would have thought that if the departure of the convicts
did not create excitement, the sailing of the bluejackets and the guard of
about 200 marines bound for such an unknown part of the world would have
set Portsmouth at any rate in a stir. But the Fitzherbert scandal, the
attack on Warren Hastings, and such-like stirring events were then town
talk, and at that period there were no special correspondents or, for the
matter of that, any newspapers worth mentioning, to work up popular
excitement over the event.

On the way out the fleet called at Teneriffe, at Rio, and at the Cape to
refresh; and Phillip's old friends, the Portuguese, gave him a hearty
welcome and much assistance at the Brazils. When the ships reached Botany
Bay in January, 1788, the voyage of thirty-six weeks had ended without
serious misfortune of any kind. Lieutenant Collins, of the Marines,
Judge-Advocate and historian of the expedition, thus sums up the case:--

"Thus, under the blessing of God, was happily completed in eight
months and one week a voyage which, before it was undertaken, the
mind hardly dared to contemplate, and on which it was impossible
to reflect without some apprehension as to its termination. This
fortunate completion of it, however, afforded, even to ourselves,
as much matter of surprise as of general satisfaction; for in the
above space of time we had sailed 5021 leagues, had touched at the
American and African continents, and had at last rested within a
few days' sail of the antipodes of our native country without
meeting with any accidents in a fleet of eleven sail, nine of
which were merchantmen that had never before sailed in that
distant and imperfectly explored ocean. And when it is considered
that there was on board a large body of convicts, many of whom
were embarked in a very sickly state, we might be deemed
peculiarly fortunate that of the whole number of all descriptions
of persons coming to form the new settlement only thirty-two had
died since their leaving England, among whom were to be included
one or two deaths by accidents, although previous to our departure
it was generally conjectured that before long we should have been
converted into an hospital ship. But it fortunately happened
otherwis