to borrow money. As they went on, their incapacity for the management of their affairs was day by day shown; and at last, having borrowed very large sums, the colliery became the property of the man who had advanced the money, and is now paying well.

CHAPTER VII.

PORTLAND, VICTORIA-WALLAROO, PORT LINCOLN, ADELAIDE, MOUNT GAMBIER, SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

January 15th, 1875.-Weighed from Sydney under sail at 9 A.M.; but off Bradley's Point lost all wind, and had to steam. Met the north east wind outside, which carried us to Botany, and were met by a southerly, not strong.

January 16th.--Read Schweinfurth's Heart of Africa, which is admirably written. It is something like a book of travel, and takes its place beside Wallace's Malay Archipelago, or even before it, in some points.

January 20th.-Off Cape Otway [west of Melbourne]. Saw the lights of Port Fairy at 10.30, and Portland (Victoria) at 2.30 A.M.

January 21st.-Anchored at Portland (Victoria) at 7 A.M. A fine bay, very like Portland on the chart, but such a hot wind! I went on shore at 9. Thermometer 114° in the street. The editor of the Portland Guardian came up and told us all about the place. It seems that a great deal of bark goes hence to England; Mimosa bark for tanning, but it is five years since a ship was loaded for England direct. Everything goes hence to Melbourne to ship. This little place, with its 2500 inhabitants, has its botanic gardens, a number of good-sized buildings, banks, &c., the usual assortment of churches, of which the Roman Catholic is, as usual, the best in position and appearance. Wages are at 75. to 8s. a day to labourers; 7s. and the mid-day meal is a common wage !!

January 22nd.-Hastings proposed to have a day's kangaroo hunting, and as we found it could be got up without much trouble, we got it arranged.

We landed at 1, and went to the livery-stables, where were a lot of horses of all sorts, and we went out, eleven in number, from the ship, besides eight men and lads from the shore. Mr. Bevan of the London Hotel owned the hounds, and brought out two yellow hounds, a sort of lurcher, or more like Scotch deer-hounds, and a couple of black greyhounds, a half sheep-dog, and a nondescript crossed; there were also a capital Irish retriever and a cross-bred spaniel, eight hounds in all. We rode over a broken light soiled country for five or six miles to Cape Nelson, and catching up one or two kangaroo on our way, what are called brush kangaroo; but rather refrained from following them till we got on to where the country is open and clear of timber and perfectly sound under foot. Really part of it is like the New Forest, and both Goldfinch and I recalled bits which it resembled. The rushes of the New Forest are represented by the "black boys," which bear a long bulrush-like flower, the heather by many kinds of epacris, and which are still in flower here, though over in New South Wales. Our companions were nearly all immigrants. The innkeeper had got his taste for greyhounds from Somersetshire; the tanner was from Yarmouth in Norfolk, as also was an old man who acted as huntsman. The livery stable-keeper was from Dublin, and is the breeder of some lovely Irish retrievers of excellent blood, and a butcher came from Derbyshire. We passed by several nice stone cottages on the road, each with its pretty bit of garden, its paddock, cow, and pigs, and I asked who owned them. One was a carpenter, another a shoemaker; all were tradesmen who have their shops in the town or village. Here is comfort; and these men had a respectful independence which was very pleasing. Once on the cliffs which look over the sea, we could see the kangaroo splendidly, and soon split off into two or three parties, and had splendid runs. The kangaroo jumped up right and left; one had to be sharp as a needle and to follow immediately, or else one lost sight of them in a moment; it was more like coursing than hunting, and great fun. We brought home two whole kangaroos,

two whole quarters, six or seven tails, and left two or three on the ground. We killed in all twelve brush kangaroos and one forester, a big fellow, who showed fight, and had to be knocked over with whips. We all enjoyed it thoroughly, and after about five hours on horseback, came back galloping like fury at about 7 o'clock, and so on board.

Of course there happened to be the bachelor's ball that evening, to which a good many went.

January 23rd.-Went for a walk to the lighthouse; walked through the public gardens. Very nice gardens, very pleasant, and well-ordered for a town of about 2500 people. There are great beds of gladiolas, splendid geraniums, and lovely roses. Although the third day's hot wind only ceased yesterday, I have a lovely nosegay of great big gladiolas, lilies, &c. There are some good pine trees too, and an oak or two, and some variegated holly. Decidedly it is a good place. Coming back I met with Mr. Henty, the first arrival here. Forty years ago last November he first landed. He described his meeting with Mitchell and the surveying parties. How Mitchell took him and his companions for escaped convicts, and he took Mitchell and his party for bush rangers. Then how he cut his way through the bush to Wonnon country, which is the country of Victoria. I brought him and various other people on board to luncheon, and after sending them away at 3, got under way and stood out. Wind S.S.W. veering to S.E.

January 24th.-Passed Cape Northumberland at 5 A.M. Running all day along low sand-hills. At 6 made up my mind to run to the southward of Kangaroo Island, having had a first-rate bearing of Cape Bernalli light at 4.30. Wind fresh, S.E. by S., and going eleven knots. I had a lurking suspicion that there might be currents, and left orders to be called at 2 to look out for them.

January 25th.-But at 2 I heard a cry, and jumped up; a man came to the door, and asked me what I wanted. I-"What is the matter?" He, meekly-" Breakers on the lee bow." And

I heard Hastings say-" Hands by both anchors." Coming on deck there it was, the "Young Rocks," which I had steered to clear by fifteen miles, and which we should not have been up to by 3.30, were under the bows, with a raging surf upon them. We hauled out south-west from west, and then saw the southern one, with a high sea upon it; and at 2.30 were off upon our course again. A lovely, clear, moonlight night. Saw Kangaroo Island at daylight; the wind freshening, and so thick that, after running between Gambier and Thistle Island, I gave up the idea of going into Port Lincoln, and went up towards Wallaroo.

January 26th.-Got into eleven fathoms at 7 A.M., and at S saw the Tipana Light vessel. Anchored at Wallaroo at 2 P.M., and was boarded by the captain of the port, and arranged to see the copper-smelting with him at 3.30. The copper pyrites, which contains a large quantity of sulphur, is roasted to drive off the sulphur. The ore is then crushed, and then sent to a furnace for reduction, whence it comes out as regulus, with fifty per cent. of copper in it. It is then put in a fresh range, and comes out rough copper, with seventy-five per cent., whence it goes to be reduced. A portion of this regulus is put in with the ore to flux it. A labourer earns here 75. a-day, and the men who lead at the ultimate refining furnaces £4 a-week. The men work tie and tie-i. e., from 5 P.M. to 5 A.M., and 5 A.M. to 5 P.M. There is no public school yet in Wallaroo; and as boys get from 1s. 6d. to 35. 6d. a-day, their labour is valuable, and they all work, without much regard to Factory Acts, &c. We afterwards went to the top of the town-ill-laid out and unimproved; no gardens, nothing to humanise or cultivate eye, taste, or mind; no supply of water but what is drained from the surface into muddy tanks.

January 27th.-Went at nine to Moonta by rail, and returned at 5 P.M. A rail omnibus goes the whole way, and it is surprising there should be no locomotive. Moonta stands 100 ft. high, and the distance is ten miles. The populations of these places are roughly-Moonta, 10,000; Wallaroo, 3000; Kadina, 7000; say 20,000 in the three townships.