ave had no
terrors, have been seasick on the narrow-gauge line from Launceston
to Hobart! There are two ways of going from Melbourne to Hobart, one
by Steamer to Launceston at the north of the Island, and 40 miles up
the river Tamar, which takes about 24 hours, and thence by express
train to Hobart which takes 5-3/4 hours, the other by Steamer all
the way. There are two lines of Steamers, the Tasmanian S.S. Co.,
and the Union S.S. Co., of New Zealand, which calls at Hobart on the
way to New Zealand. The Steamers of the latter Company are built by
Messrs. Denny, of Dumbarton, and are fine, comfortable, and swift.
To travel by one of them is in my opinion far the pleasantest way of
reaching Hobart from Melbourne. Others to whom the shortest sea
passage is preferable, will naturally go by Launceston, and will
have a beautiful ride through the country, though they may be shaken
to pieces.

Tasmania is about half the size of England, but its population is
only 120,000. There are only two towns of any size--Hobart in the
south and Launceston in the north. A great deal of the interior is
marshy, and there are lakes of some considerable size, which in the
winter are sometimes frozen. The north-west coast is very barren and
sparsely inhabited. The doctors and clergy in these parts have often
long journeys to make through the bush. In climate, Tasmania is
preferable to Australia. The temperature is much more equable, and
therefore not so trying to weak constitutions. Formerly, many
Anglo-Indians visited the north-west coast; but this has not been so
much the case latterly. Numbers of tourists come from Australia
during the summer months. Compared to the larger island, Tasmania is
well watered, and the rainfall is very much greater. The climate has
often been compared to that of England, without its damps and fogs,
but the lightness and clearness of the atmosphere rather resemble
that of the South of France or Italy, and supply that gentle
exhilaration to the spirits which can be so seldom known in England.
Mount Wellington, which rises 4,000 feet above Hobart, is often
covered with a wreath of mist, and in the winter with snow. Many
English fruits and trees have been introduced, and flourish well.
The sweet briar was brought in some years ago, and now in many parts
the hedges are of nothing else. The native foliage is, however, the
same as that of Australia. Everywhere the eucalyptus predominates,
and in Tasmania grows to a gre