was an important place, and went
on, with the blindness peculiar to governments, till they got to within
two miles of the town. Then they ran short of rum and rations, and sent
a man on to get them, and make inquiries. The member never came back,
and two more were sent to find him--or Hungerford. Three days later
the two returned in an exhausted condition, and submitted a motion of
want-of-confidence, which was lost. Then the whole House went on and was
lost also. Strange to relate, that Government was never missed.

However, we found Hungerford and camped there for a day. The town is
right on the Queensland border, and an interprovincial rabbit-proof
fence--with rabbits on both sides of it--runs across the main street.

This fence is a standing joke with Australian rabbits--about the only
joke they have out there, except the memory of Pasteur and poison and
inoculation. It is amusing to go a little way out of town, about sunset,
and watch them crack Noah's Ark rabbit jokes about that fence, and
burrow under and play leap-frog over it till they get tired. One old
buck rabbit sat up and nearly laughed his ears off at a joke of his own
about that fence. He laughed so much that he couldn't get away when
I reached for him. I could hardly eat him for laughing. I never saw a
rabbit laugh before; but I've seen a 'possum do it.

Hungerford consists of two houses and a humpy in New South Wales, and
five houses in Queensland. Characteristically enough, both the pubs are
in Queensland. We got a glass of sour yeast at one and paid sixpence for
it--we had asked for English ale.

The post office is in New South Wales, and the police-barracks in
Bananaland. The police cannot do anything if there's a row going on
across the street in New South Wales, except to send to Brisbane and
have an extradition warrant applied for; and they don't do much if
there's a row in Queensland. Most of the rows are across the border,
where the pubs are.

At least, I believe that's how it is, though the man who told me might
have been a liar. Another man said he was a liar, but then _he_ might
have been a liar himself--a third person said he was one. I heard that
there was a fight over it, but the man who told me about the fight might
not have been telling the truth.

One part of the town swears at Brisbane when things go wrong, and the
other part curses Sydney.

The country looks as though a great ash-heap had been spread out there,
and mulga scr