g thirst of three days and two nights? Happily a
water-hole, not bereft of all moisture, was found in the nick of time. A
few birds flew about it in the evening, but Sir George Grey's hand shook
so that he could take no aim. He headed a last desperate spurt for Perth;
the reaching of succour, or the arrival of death. Which would it be?

How attractive to lie down and rest for ever on the parched grass, with
some thin bush to keep off the sun. In the other extreme a shepherd of
the hills, caught in a snowstorm, folds him in his plaid and goes to the
sound sleep. Life in those wrestlers for it had sunk low; better die than
hang on to a mere tether of living. Yet the better instinct asserted
itself. And the second half of the expedition, far in the rear, cried for
relief. On, on!

Sir George staggered across the miles until, in the goodness of fortune,
he met natives who gave him food and water. He crawled into Perth, black
with the sun, bones from want; he was not recognised by friends. A Malay,
daft but harmless, led a vagrant life at Perth, getting bit and sup from
the open tables of the colonists. The good wife of the outermost
settlement, where Sir George Grey knocked, seeking refreshment, took him
for 'Magic.'

'When I spoke to her in English,' he said, 'she looked so surprised that
I feared she might run away, leaving me without the food and drink I
needed. However, she merely exclaimed, "Well if you're not 'Magic,' who
are you?" Being told, and in time convinced, she brewed Sir George the
most delicious cup of tea he ever drank. Soon, relief to the expedition
was scurrying across the plains.

At the start of the journey Sir George had his sextant, but, having to
walk hungry and thirsty, he needed to walk light. Therefore he hid the
sextant in a tree, where many a year later it was found, a rustic relic,
by some settlers. Death raced him so hard that he eased the burden of
keeping in front of it by tearing the boards from his New Testament. To
the Word itself he clung impregnably.

The perils of Sir George Grey, as an Australian explorer, match some of
those experienced by Captain Sturt. That brought up the name of the
latter, and Sir George passed the eulogy: 'Australia owes to Sturt a
greater debt, perhaps, than to any other of her explorers. His
discoveries, apart from their own stir and colour; were of the first
importance in the successful settlement of the country. I knew him well;
a man who would do anyt