A few closing remarks, I suppose I may make. We again joined the great
family of civilised mankind; and if I have any readers who have
followed my story throughout its five separate phases, I may account
myself fortunate indeed. A long array of tautological detail is
inseparable from the records of Australian, as well as any other
exploration, because it must be remembered that others, who come
after, must be guided by the experiences and led to places, and
waters, that the first traveller discovers; and am I to be blamed if I
have occasionally mixed up my narrative with an odd remark, anecdote,
or imaginative idea? These, I trust, will not in my reader's opinion
detract from any merits it may possess. I have collected many
thousands of plants and hundreds of entomological and geological
specimens; a great portion of the list of the former and all of the
latter have unfortunately been lost, only a list of plants collected
during my first and second expeditions now remains, which appears at
the end of these volumes.
It is with regret I have had to record the existence of such large
areas of desert land encountered in my travels in Australia. The
emigrant, however, need have no fear on that account.
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