an
the prospect of rain, and the decided change in the temperature from 115 deg.
to 73 deg.. This was almost the first day during a month in which the air had
not been warmer than our blood; often had it been greater than fever
heat, so that 73 deg. felt to us as cool as 50 deg. would have been to a resident
of Sydney. Much rain did not fall at our camp, but it seemed that rain
was falling about the sources of the Bogan and other places at which a
supply of water was indispensable to enable us to proceed. At sunset,
glimpses of a clear sky appeared about the horizon, and during the night
the moon and stars came forth, and destroyed all hopes of more rain. We
were thankful, however, for the relief afforded by what had fallen, which
had lowered the temperature about 40 degrees, and enabled us to enjoy a
night of refreshing rest. Thermometer at sunrise, 85 deg.; at noon, 80 deg.; at 4
P.M., 73 deg.; at 9, 68 deg.;--with wet bulb, 67 deg..

4TH FEBRUARY.--The morning dawned in a most serene sky, with refreshing
breezes from the south, and the thermometer at 61 deg.. This day we had
completed the repair of the wheels of half the drays. Many of the tire-
rings had been cut, rewelded, and again fixed and bolted on the wheels;
the wood of these having contracted so much in the intense heat, as to
have rendered these repairs indispensable. The same repairs were required
by the wheels of the remaining drays and those of the light carts, and
the smith and wheelwright continued their work with activity and zeal.
Meanwhile the cattle were daily regaining strength and vigour for another
effort. Thermometer at sunrise, 61 deg.; at noon, 89 deg.; at 4 P.M., 89 deg.; at 9,
72 deg.;--with wet bulb, 62 deg..

5TH FEBRUARY.--This morning the mercurial column stood higher than I had
yet observed it here, and clouds of cirrus lay in long streaks across the
sky, ranging from east to west, but these were most abundant towards the
northern horizon. The day was comparatively cool and pleasant, the
thermometer never having risen above 96 deg.. By 6 P.M., the barometer had
fallen nearly four millimetres, and even upon this apparently trivial
circumstance, I could build some hope of rain; such was my anxiety for a
change of weather at that time, when the earth was so parched as not only
to preclude our travelling, but almost to deprive us of sight.
Thermometer at sunrise, 60 deg.; at noon, 94 deg.; at 4 P.M., 96 deg.; at 9, 73 deg.;
with wet bulb,