I looked upon it from the same ground, and could not discern the waters in its channel; so much had they fallen below their ordinary level.

He saw the river when it was overflowing its banks; on the present occasion it had scarcely sufficient water to support a current.

On the summit of the greater eminence, which we ascended, there remained the half-burnt planks of a boat, some clenched and rusty nails, and an old trunk; but my search for the bottle Mr.Oxley had left was unsuccessful.
A reflection naturally arose to my mind on examining these decaying vestiges of a former expedition, whether I should be more fortunate than the leader of it, and how far I should be enabled to penetrate beyond the point which had conquered his perseverance.

Only a week before I left Sydney I had followed Mr.Oxley to the tomb.

A man of uncommon quickness, and of great ability, the task of following up his discoveries was not less enviable than arduous; but, arrived at that point at which his journey may be said to have terminated and mine only to commence, I knew not how soon I should be obliged, like him, to retreat from the marshes and exhalations of so depressed a country.