as too porous to hold gold; but when a stratum of pipeclay was reached the diggers knew that not an ounce of gold would be found beneath, and their search was confined to a little streak of brownish clay, about an inch in thickness, just above the pipeclay.  Every particle of this was carefully washed, and after hours of patient labor the toilers were rewarded by about a thimbleful of the shining dust they were so eagerly seeking.  From this small beginning on the 10th of June, 1851, have grown the wonderful mining operations of Australia; and in less than a month after the little incident related above twenty thousand diggers—­in a year increased to one hundred and fifty thousand—­were busy in the inexhaustible mines of that far-off land; and so came those rugged, barren lands, hitherto scarcely broken even by savages, to be peopled by men from every civilized land.

[Illustration:  KANGAROO HUNT.]

[Illustration:  CATTLE-HUNTING.]

Ballarat, the centre of one of the chief mining districts, is connected now by railway with Melbourne, so that in the interval of only four hours one passes from the commercial metropolis to the “City of Gold.”  Over the fertile belt of cultivated lands that surrounds Melbourne, through rugged rocks and barren sands, runs this road, on which one meets crowds of pedestrians, many of them barefoot, the sole capital of each a tent and a pickaxe.  Nearing the mines, the aspect of everything is changed:  whole forests of trees demolished as if by a thunderbolt; rivers turned out of their natural bed; fertile meadows laid waste; gaping chasms and frightful depths here and there, in which are men toiling half naked, begrimed with mud, and fierce, reckless, cadaverous faces that tell of hardships and strife and sin in the eager pursuit of riches.  Ballarat was at first only a mining-camp of immense size, and its environs are still occupied by tents, where transient visitors find very passable accommodations.  But the city proper, now some sixteen years old, with a population already of thirty thousand, is an exact transcript of Melbourne, with beautiful dwellings, and broad streets thronged with carriages by day and lighted with gas by night.  It boasts already its clubs and theatres, its banks and libraries and reading—­rooms, where the successful miner may invest his earnings, cultivate his intellect and seek recreation for his leisure hours.

[Illustration:  COMPANIONS OF THE HUNT.] There are over two thousand mining districts in Australia, of which one of the richest is “Black Hill Mine,” but why called “Black Hill” it would be difficult to say, as its beautiful glistening sands are far nearer white than black.  Next to gold, the most valuable ore is mercury, immense quantities of which are shipped annually to England from these mines.  Iron-ore is found in nearly every part of the island, much of it so rich as to produce nearly three-fourths of its weight of metal.  Topazes of rare beauty are frequently obtained, and coal is