In the middle of the fifteenth century of the present era the Portuguese explored much of the coastline, and in 1497 Vasco da Gama doubled the Cape of Good Hope.

" We reached the end of the Swatch, and leaving Queenborough, with its grim collection of battleships and coal hulks, to starboard, we stood out to sea along the coastline.

On the contrary, beyond Gregory's eastern limit there occurs a long stretch of coastline unmarked by the mouth of any river.

This is the Mediterranean coastline to the south and west of Asia Minor, the towns of which have been so extensively peopled and made prosperous by Greeks and Italians.

The coming century's great deeds lie not at Europe's doors; A grander stage awaits mankind,the vast Pacific's shores; And we not only skirt that sea from Tokyo to Saigon, Our coastline fronts the western world from Syria to Ceylon!

The coast is here higher than usual, and is thickly wooded; but the coastline to the northward is formed of high cliffs without much wood, and of a remarkable white colour.

On our arrival I learnt that a part of my object had been already accomplished by a Mr. Florance, who had just returned from a partial survey of Macquarie Harbour; but upon examining his chart I found it to be merely a delineation of its coastline; without noticing the depth of water or any of the numerous shoals which crowd the entrance of this extraordinary harbour.

As soon as we had obtained an offing the wind freshened up to a strong breeze from the westward, attended with squally and unfavourable weather; but we were enabled to make some useful observations upon the coastline as far as the next point to the southward of Smoky Cape; when night obliged us to steer more off shore.

The low and sandy character of the western sides of these islands differs much from that of the opposite shore, where the coastline is formed by steep rocky cliffs whose bases are washed by the sea.

The curving coastline of Italy wavered away into the shimmering horizon.

In spite of the most formidable attacks made by the German troops along the coastline between Westende and Ostende, and in a crescent sweeping round Dixmude for about thirty kilometres, those Belgian soldiers, tired out by months of fighting with decimated regiments and with but the poor remnant of a disorganized army, not only stood firm, but inflicted heavy losses upon the enemy and captured four hundred prisoners.

The coastline appeared to be formed of high chalky cliffs, crowned by a narrow band of woody hillocks; and the land of Cape Villaret was so elevated as to be distinctly seen at the distance of forty miles, whereas two days afterwards, the weather being clear, it was not visible above the horizon for more than five leagues.

Beginning with the north-eastern coast, I have been enabled to lay down a very safe and convenient track for vessels bound through Torres Strait, and to delineate the coastline between Cape Hillsborough, in 20 degrees 54 minutes South, and Cape York, the north extremity of New South Wales; a distance of six hundred and ninety miles.

It is very uncertain whether the coastline that is laid down upon the chart is correct: it was scarcely visible from the deck, and was so low that it might have merely been the dry parts of extensive reefs.

The line of the coast above described retires at a point which corresponds with the decline of its level; and immediately on the north of Cape Melville is thrown back to the west; so that the high land about that Cape stands out like a shoulder, more than forty miles beyond the coastline between Princess Charlotte's Bay and the north-eastern point of Australia.

The sandhills, which form the coastline, do not appear to extend more than a mile inland.

We therefore gave up the exploration of the Fitzroy, in latitude 17 degrees 44 minutes South, longitude 124 degrees 34 minutes East, having traced its course for 22 miles in a general South-South-West direction, and having penetrated 90 miles from the coastline, towards the centre of Australia, from which we were still distant 600 miles.

A gap in the coastline, 28 miles wide, with a strong tide passing to and fro, failed not to give birth to endless speculation as we approached the spot.

This was the first remarkable elevation in the country we had seen during the two hundred miles of the coastline traced by the Beagle; it appears to be the North-East termination of the high land seen southward from the Turtle Isles.

The north-east extreme of Tasmania is singularly low, with a coastline of sandhills.

The whole landscape seemed filled with eeriness: the events of the day had left their impress on this dark November night, causing the sighs of the gale to seem more spectral and weird than usual, and the dim outline of the trees with their branches turned away from the coastline, to seem like unhappy spirits with thin, gaunt arms stretched dejectedly out toward the unresponsive distance.

Here I saw for the first time a species of Sciadophyllum, one of the most singular trees of the eastern coastline of tropical Australia; a slender stem, about thirty feet in height, gives off a few branches with immense digitate dark and glossy leaves and long spike-like racemes of small scarlet flowers, a great resort for insects and insect-feeding birds.

On the 29th, a barrier reef was found extending to the eastward in the direction of the coastline; they were unable to clearly identify Cape Rodney and Point Hood, of the English charts.

In the course of the same day, when Lieutenant Dayman was close inshore with the galley laying down the coastline, he had occasion to approach the native village before alluded to, and observed the men following the boat along the beach within gunshot, sharpening and poising their spears, violently gesticulating and calling out loudly, as if daring him to land.

He can also readily rise high into the air so as to gain a bird's eye view of the country which he is examining, so as to observe its extent, the contour of its coastline, or its general character.