g up till we reached Thulunbah, upwards of 3,000 feet
above the level of the sea. Thence we went on to Warwick, which was
reached about 12.40. Here a dear little boy appeared at the station
and handed me a large and beautiful bunch of violets. It is very
pleasant to receive flowers from people whom I have never before seen,
and who only know my books.

After leaving Warwick we entered on the tract of country known as the
Darling Downs, and a splendid stretch of land it is, covered with
magnificent stock, both sheep and cattle looking well even now after
the long summer drought. How much better they will look in a few
weeks' time when the new grass has had time to grow can scarcely be
imagined. The first station we passed through was one of the largest
private stations on the downs; the next was called the Clifton
Station, and belongs to a company. Edenvale Station could be seen in
the distance; and on the opposite side stretched a large station
belonging to Mr. Tyssen, whose landed estates are valued at five
millions. This extensive table-land looks something like the prairies
of South America, only with more trees and fewer undulations. The
occasional fires we met with on our way heightened the resemblance. On
reaching Tawoomba, one of the largest and pleasantest towns in this
neighbourhood, a lady came to the carriage door and gave me another
bunch of violets. The violets of Australia have more perfume than any
we grow in England; certainly they are more fragrant than those one
gets on the Riviera.

From Tawoomba the railway rapidly descends, dropping as much as 1,300
feet in ten miles. The scenery somewhat resembles that of the Blue
Mountains, and is even more beautiful. The exquisite effects produced
by the waning daylight lent a peculiar charm to this landscape. The
forest close to us looked dark and sombre, whilst the valley further
off was bathed in sunlight, and in the dim distance the mountains over
which we had passed early in the day faded into a delicious pale blue
chiaroscuro. The banks beneath or above us were cleft by little
gullies, with struggling rivulets, edged by delicate ferns and strange
plants. The railway stations even seemed prettier and more homelike
than any we have yet seen in Australia. They were surrounded by
gardens, and quite overgrown with creepers. The line must have been
expensive to make, and evidently required great engineering ability.
A more direct line could perhaps have been co