Tuesday, 25th June, 1861.--Night calm, clear and intensely cold,
especially towards morning. Near daybreak, King reported seeing a
moon in the east, with a haze of light stretching up from it; he
declared it to be quite as large as the moon, and not dim at the
edges. I am so weak that any attempt to get a sight of it was out
of the question; but I think it must have been Venus in the
Zodiacal Light that he saw, with a corona around her.
26th.--Mr. Burke and King remain at home cleaning and pounding
seed; they are both getting weaker every day; the cold plays the
deuce with us, from the small amount of clothing we have: my
wardrobe consists of a wide-awake, a merino shirt, a regatta shirt
without sleeves, the remains of a pair of flannel trousers, two
pairs of socks in rags, and a waistcoat, of which I have managed to
keep the pockets together. The others are no better off. Besides
these, we have between us, for bedding, two small camel pads, some
horse-hair, two or three little bits of rag, and pieces of
oil-cloth saved from the fire.
The day turned out nice and warm.
Wednesday, 27th June, 1861.--Calm night; sky overcast with hazy
cumulostratus clouds; an easterly breeze sprung up towards morning,
making the air much colder.
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