THE JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE FROM CALCUTTA ΤΟ VAN DIEMEN'S LAND: COMPRISING A DESCRIPTION OF THAT COLONY DURING A SIX MONTHS' From Original Letters, SELECTED BY MRS. AUGUSTUS PRINSEP. "But Heaven's high fiat is, that we must part, SECOND EDITION. LONDON: SMITH, ELDER AND CO., CORNHILL. EDITOR'S PREFACE. THE Letters from which the following pages were compiled, afforded mere passing notices of the places visited, which the able hand of the lamented writer, had he lived, might have embodied in a shape more fit to engage public attention than can be expected from another, who is unskilled in all that relates to authorship. As, however, curiosity has of late been awakened respecting some of the scenes described, more especially Van Diemen's Land, it was suggested that even these outlines must possess sufficient interest for the general reader, to justify the editor in overcoming her reluctance to offer them in their present form. The errors of arrangement must rest with herself; while all that can give such a work its substantial importance - namely, the fidelity of the sketches of habits, society, &c. as |
