clubs and
theatres, its banks and libraries and reading--rooms, where the
successful miner may invest his earnings, cultivate his intellect and
seek recreation for his leisure hours.

[Illustration: COMPANIONS OF THE HUNT.] There are over two thousand
mining districts in Australia, of which one of the richest is "Black
Hill Mine," but why called "Black Hill" it would be difficult to say,
as its beautiful glistening sands are far nearer white than black.
Next to gold, the most valuable ore is mercury, immense quantities of
which are shipped annually to England from these mines. Iron-ore is
found in nearly every part of the island, much of it so rich as to
produce nearly three-fourths of its weight of metal. Topazes of rare
beauty are frequently obtained, and coal is both good and abundant. In
addition to these the island possesses an almost inexhaustible store
of granite, slate and freestone, well adapted to building purposes.
Sometimes gold is found diffused with wonderful regularity within a
few inches of the surface, and so abundant that a single cradleful
will yield an ounce of pure gold-dust, the miners readily realizing
two or three thousand dollars per diem. As the grass is torn up,
flecks of bright gold are found clinging to the roots, and the clay as
it is turned over glitters with the precious dust. Again, the digger
has to search for his treasure deep in the bowels of the earth, or
among flinty rocks, or far down beneath a river's bed, and, it may be,
spend weeks or months without realizing a bawbee. Nothing else is so
uncertain as to results as the search for gold, and few vocations are
at once so fascinating and so cruelly exacting in regard to health,
ease, and even life.

[Illustration: FERN TREES NEAR HOBART TOWN.]

Among the mines, and amid barren, rugged scenery in Australia, one is
often surprised by glimpses of rare beauty--flowers of wondrous
brilliancy, odorless though they be; a gigantic tree twined about by a
delicate creeper of exquisite loveliness; or one of those magnificent
Australian lakes that show nothing at first but the greenest grass,
tall and luxuriant as under the equator; then, as he attempts to ride
through the grass, he suddenly finds his horse's feet growing moist
and the spongy vegetation getting fuller and fuller of water, till he
discovers that he has entered a lake so wide and deep that his only
safety lies in a quick retreat. This phenomenon is repeated on a small
scale a