ain, because I never improved upon the quality of the wild
grapes, which had a sharp, acid flavour, that affected the throat
somewhat unpleasantly until one got used to them.

When I speak of my "mountain home," it must not be supposed that I
remained in one place. As a matter of fact, in accordance with my usual
practice, I took long excursions in different directions extending over
weeks and even months at a time. On these occasions I always took with
me a kind of nut, which, when eaten, endowed one with remarkable powers
of vitality and endurance. Since my return to civilisation I have heard
of the Kola nut, but cannot say whether the substance used by the
Australian aboriginal is the same or not. I remember we generally
roasted ours, and ate it as we tramped along. In the course of my
numerous journeys abroad I blazed or marked a great number of trees; my
usual mark being an oval, in or underneath which I generally carved the
letter "L." I seldom met with hostile natives in this region, but when I
did my mysterious bow and arrows generally sufficed to impress them. By
the way, I never introduced the bow as a weapon among the blacks, and
they, on their part, never tried to imitate me. They are a conservative
race, and are perfectly satisfied with their own time-honoured weapons.

Wild geese and ducks were plentiful in those regions, and there was an
infinite variety of game. From this you will gather that our daily fare
was both ample and luxurious.

And we had pets; I remember I once caught a live cockatoo, and trained
him to help me in my hunting expeditions. I taught him a few English
phrases, such as "Good-morning," and "How are you?"; and he would perch
himself on a tree and attract great numbers of his kind around him by his
incessant chattering. I would then knock over as many as I wanted by
means of my bow and arrows. At this time, indeed, I had quite a
menagerie of animals, including a tame kangaroo. Naturally enough, I had
ample leisure to study the ethnology of my people. I soon made the
discovery that my blacks were intensely spiritualistic; and once a year
they held a festival which, when described, will, I am afraid, tax the
credulity of my readers. The festival I refer to was held "when the sun
was born again,"--_i.e._, soon after the shortest day of the year, which
would be sometime in June. On these occasions the adult warriors from
far and near assembled at a certain spot, and after