rived towards the end of a long and severe drought, and was met at the
railway station by a deputation of representative bushmen, who invited
him, in the first place, to accompany them to the principal pub--which
he did. He had been observed to study the scenery a good deal while
coming up in the train, but kept his conclusions to himself. On the way
to the pub he had a look at the town, and it was noticed that he tilted
his hat forward very often, and scratched the back of his head a
good deal, and pondered a lot; but he refrained from expressing an
opinion--even when invited to do so. He guessed that his opinions
wouldn't do much good, anyway, and he calculated that they would keep
till he got back "over our way"--by which it was reckoned he meant the
States.

When they asked him what he'd have, he said to Watty the publican:

"Wal, I reckon you can build me your national drink. I guess I'll try
it."

A long colonial was drawn for him, and he tried it. He seemed rather
startled at first, then he looked curiously at the half-empty glass,
set it down very softly on the bar, and leaned against the same and
fell into a reverie; from which he roused himself after a while, with a
sorrowful jerk of his head.

"Ah, well," he said. "Show me this river of yourn."

They led him to the Darling, and he had a look at it.

"Is this your river?" he asked.

"Yes," they replied, apprehensively.

He tilted his hat forward till the brim nearly touched his nose,
scratched the back of his long neck, shut one eye, and looked at the
river with the other. Then, after spitting half a pint of tobacco juice
into the stream, he turned sadly on his heel and led the way back to the
pub. He invited the boys to "pisen themselves"; after they were served
he ordered out the longest tumbler on the premises, poured a drop into
it from nearly every bottle on the shelf, added a lump of ice, and drank
slowly and steadily.

Then he took pity on the impatient and anxious population, opened his
mouth, and spake.

"Look here, fellows," he drawled, jerking his arm in the direction of
the river, "I'll tell you what I'll dew. I'll bottle that damned river
of yourn in twenty-four hours!"

Later on he mellowed a bit, under the influence of several drinks which
were carefully and conscientiously "built" from plans and specifications
supplied by himself, and then, among other things, he said:

"If that there river rises as high as you say it dew--and if