d to its growth, the Macalister was not likely to remain long in
obscurity. Along its beautiful banks were discovered many thousands of
acres of magnificent black soil country, without a stick of timber to
impede the plough, over which a furrow, miles in length, could have
been turned without an inch of deviation being necessary.

Where the wretched bark 'gunyah' of the native stood, is now found the
well-finished house of the planter; and where the savage pastimes of
the 'bora' ground once obtained, and the smoke from cannibal fires
curled slowly upwards to the blue vault of heaven, is heard the
cheerful ring of the blacksmith's hammer, the crack of the
bullock-whip, as the team moves slowly onward beneath the weight of
seven-feet canes, and the measured throb of machinery from the factory,
where the crushed plant is yielding up its sweets between the
inexorable iron crushers. In this, our newest world, improvements when
once set afoot, proceed with marvellous celerity, and a turn of
Fortune's wheel may in a single year convert a howling wilderness into
a flourishing township. But I find myself digressing again, and
resisting rambling thoughts, must revert to our preparations for the
morrow.

[Illustrations KANGAROO. and ORNITHORHYNCHUS PARADOXUS.]

The meeting at which we had just been present, took place on the
morning following our return from the search on Hinchinbrook Island;
and not only was another day indispensable for the arrangements that
were necessary, but we also felt that one more night of comfortable
rest would render us better able to encounter the fatigues of the
coming expedition. Only bushmen and explorers can appreciate the
intense enjoyment of a night of unbroken rest between the sheets, after
knocking about for a length of time, catching sleep by snatches, and
never knowing the luxury of undressing. Turning in like a trooper's
horse, "all standing," as the nautical phrase is, may be an expeditious
method of courting the sleepy god, but it certainly is not the best for
shaking off fatigue. Bound up in the garments you have carried all
day, the muscles are unable to relax to their full, the circulation of
the blood is impeded, and your slumber, though deep, is not refreshing;
more particularly when--as had happened to us on this last trip--our
boots were so soaked that we were afraid to take them off, lest we
should find it impossible to struggle into them in the morning.
Dunmore's camp wa