t two hundred pounds, it having already been
sold for that sum.

On preparing to leave Australia proper, some facts were noted as deduced
from careful observation and diligent inquiry. It seems that this
country can command the markets of the world in three articles at
least,--wool, meat, and wine. For producing these she has the advantages
of breadth of territory, of climate, and of general adaptation beyond
those of any other land. At the present writing it would be safe to add
gold to the other three staples, since Australia, in combination with
Tasmania and New Zealand, is producing more of it annually than any
other country in the world. In competition with the United States in the
home market,--that is, in England,--Australia is handicapped by some
eight thousand miles of distance, and must therefore count just so much
relative additional cost of transportation. But Australia can produce
two of the special articles named,--meat and wool,--at least ten per
cent cheaper than our own country. As regards cereals, Australia is
capable of raising at present double the amount of grain which she can
consume. In that staple, however, the United States and some other
countries can compete with her for reasons which favor them, independent
of the additional distance she must overcome to reach a market.

CHAPTER XI.

From Australia to Tasmania.--The River Tamar.--Bird
Life.--City of Launceston.--Aborigines of the
Island.--Tattooing.--Van Diemen's Land.--A Beautiful
Country.--Rich Mines.--Mount Bischoff.--Down in a Gold Mine.
--From Launceston to Hobart.--Rural Aspects.--Capital of
Tasmania.--Street Scenes.--A Former Penal Depot.--Mount
Wellington.--Personal Beauty.--An Unbecoming Fashion.

From Adelaide and Perth let us turn our steps toward another of this
group of British colonies in the South Sea. To reach Tasmania one takes
a coasting steamer at Melbourne, passing down the river Yarra-Yarra, the
muddiest of water-ways, until Bass Strait is reached, across which the
course is due south for a hundred and twenty miles. This is a reach of
ocean-travel which for boisterousness and discomfort can be said to
rival the English Channel. As the coast of Tasmania is approached, a
tall light-house, one hundred and forty feet in height, first attracts
the attention,--designating the mouth of the Tamar River. The land
formed a lee for the steamer as we approached it, giving us smoot