Description Rev John William McKenzie

"Steam Ship Great Britain"

Friday evening Feb 16th

My Dear Mother

At long last we are drawing towards Melbourne. The captain says we will get in on Tuesday. I won't close this letter until we get there, but I want to have it ready in case the mail might be starting soon after we get there. 

Well dear Mother it seems a long time since that morning on which I took farewell of you and I have since that crossed many a long and weary mile of trackless ocean. But neither time nor distance can make me forget you or cause the rememberance of you to be the less sacred to me. It seems to me that nothing can ever make me feel different towards you from what I felt when I left you that morning. I just feel the same as I did ten years ago, and it seems to me that if I am spard ten years longer I will still feel the same. But little 

do we know what may take place before ten years more shall pass away. It is not very probable that I would find you all there if in ten or twelve years I should take a visit home. Let us so live as that we will meet in that land where we shall never have cause to shed a tear over the departure of a friend.

It is now nearly nine o'clock at night with us, but with you at home it is exactly that time in the morning. Here it is a delightful night in summer but with you it is a cold windy day. Well we have great reason for thankfulness to God for providing us such a comfortable home on the mighty deep, and for carrying us so far in safety accross its trackless basin. God is here to preserve us as well as at home. I can scarcely ever look at the moon without thinking of what Aunt Jessie said to me the night after I was married. I must not forget to tell you that it was all nonsense about us having to throw away our underflannel. I had nothing to do but go give them a good airing before putting them away.

Tankards Hotel Melbourne

Friday Feb 23nd 72

Dear Mother while I am sitting here writing you it is drawing on to eleven o'clock in the forenoon, but you will be thinking of going to bed as it is with you about nine o'clock at night. At long last we arrived in Melbourne.

I've arrived day before yesterday after a passage of windy days from Holy Head. We have great reason to be thankful to our dear Heavenly Father for watching over us this far. No misfortunes have befallen us since we left you. Oh! that we might be enabled to manifest in our lives our love to our Heavenly Father for the way in which He has prospered un is the past and may His face still shine upon us. Not a day and I might say not an hour passes but I think of you all and how delighted I would be to see you all again once more.  But although it is so sad to think of being so far away from you, yet I am thankful to God that I am so far away when I think of the work to which I am going. I have no regrets so far that I have left home.  The only regret I have is that when at home I did not seek more an outpour

ing of the spirit of God to qualify me for the work. We are both very well. In fact I have been as fat and hearty for ten years. The passage did me a great deal of good.

Whom do you think we saw today! Mr and Mrs Ingllis. They cam up in the Day Spring and will be going back with us. They came on account of Mrs Ingils' health; she is getting smart again. I cannot describe my feelings at meeting them. It was almost like seeing persons from the dead. I think I will like them very much. I've spent an evening with Captain and Mrs Fraser. He has left the Day Spring and they are going home to Nova Scotia. 

I also met a young missionary Mr McDonald belonging to Scotland, but who studied in Melbourne and is going out with us in the Day Spring. I haven't seen any of the Geddie's or the Murrays. They Murrays arrived safely and are well. They have taken rooms in Geelong a place about forty miles from Melbourne. The Day Spring is undergoing repair here and will not be ready to sail until about the 25th day of March. I've have an introduction to the new captain of the Day Spring, Rae or Ray I don't know which is his name. He is very highly spoken of as a christian man. The people here are lamenting very much that Captain Fraser is going away. He is very highly esteemed here and then his is as well known having been so long captain