The Gold Hunter's Adventures Or, Life In Australia Volume 2 ( Of 2 ) by William H. Thomes (books to read in your 30s TXT) 📕

One, And I Had The Satisfaction, Before I Left The Country, Of Hearing

Him Say That He Was Delighted With Its Performance, And That He Had

Discarded Many English Farming Tools, And Substituted American, Which

Were Lighter, Yet Quite Strong Enough, And Saved Much Labor.

If I Had Accomplished No Other Result In Australia Than Introducing A

Few Articles Of The Manufacture Of The United States, I Should Think

That I Was Amply Compensated For My Trouble, Convinced As I Am, That We

Have Found A Market That Will Consume Thousands Of Dollars Worth Of

Agricultural Tools, And Be Paid For In Clean Gold Dust.

Mr. Wright Owned Fifty Thousand Acres Of Land,--Not One Thousand, But

_Fifty_ Thousand,--And Over Two Thirds Of It Were Devoted To Grazing

Purposes.

Of A Bully," Mr. Wright Said, "Owing To His Quarrelsome Disposition, And

Readiness To Use A Knife On Slight Occasion. I Have Overlooked Several

Faults In Hope That He Would Improve In Disposition, But I See That My

Leniency Is Lost, And As Soon As His Head Is Healed, He Goes To

Melbourne."

I Begged Him Not To Discharge The Man On My Account, But Mr. Wright Was

Firm And Obstinate As Any Englishman, When Once Resolved On A Project,

So I Let The Matter Drop, And When We Reached The House, Jackson

Informed Us That Our Second Supper Was Ready, And That Nancy Was

Impatient For Something To Eat.

"Where Have You Two Men Been Wandering?" Cried Mr. Brown, Who Was Pacing

The Room Like A Hungry Bear. "Supper Has Been Ready Ten, Minutes; A Long

Time For Famished People To Wait"

We Did Not Waste Precious Time In Excuses, For It Was Near Three O'clock

In The Morning, And I Felt Anxious To Finish, And Get That Rest Which I

So Much Needed.

"Let The Men Close The Doors And Windows, And Set A Guard Over Our

Prisoners," Mr. Wright Said, Addressing Jackson, Who Stood In Readiness

To Attend To Our Wants.

"And One More Request," My Friend Said, As We Took Our Seats At The

Table, "When We Once Get To Sleep, Be Kind Enough To Let Us Rest Until

We Wake Of Our Own Accord. For The Past Three Days Our Naps Have Not

Been Very Long Or Sound."

"Every Thing Shall Be As You Desire, Gentlemen. Now Fall To, And Don't

Forget That There Is A Lady Present."

Unless Our Host Had Alluded To The Fact, It Is Probable That We Should

Have Forgotten It, For Nancy Was So Well Disguised In Men's Apparel That

She Looked Like A Respectable Farmer.

She Seemed Perfectly Cool And Unconcerned, And I Was Not Surprised To

Hear Her Say That She Had Passed Many Months So Disguised While Mining

With Her Husband At Bendigo, Tarres Creek, And Ballarat, During The

Early History Of The Mines, When It Was Neither Safe Nor Agreeable To

Have A Woman In Camp. Tired As We Were, She Related A Few Incidents

Connected With Her Life That Were Listened To With Much Interest, And We

Found That If Nancy Was Rough, She Possessed A True Heart And A

Christian Spirit, And Was Never Backward In Extending Aid To The Sick,

Or Giving Good Advice To The Profane.

"Smoke Your Pipes, Gentlemen," She Said, "And Don't Be Afraid That I

Shall Be Sick, Or That The Smoke Will Injure My Complexion. My Old Man

Has Used A Pipe These Twenty-Five Years, And I Hope That He Will Live

Twenty-Five More, And As Much Longer As The Lord Is Willing. I Don't

Think That Using A Pipe Will Shorten His Days Or His Nights. When I See

Him, After A Hard Day's Work, Sucking A Yard Of Clay, I Thank Heaven

That It Ain't A Whiskey Bottle. It's But Little Comfort The Poor Fellow

Gets In This Country, And If He's Contented I'm Happy."

"I Wish That I Could Find A Wife With Your Sentiments," Mr. Wright

Remarked.

"So You Can," Nancy Replied; "But You've Got To Search For 'Em. They

Ain't Found Out Here On The Sand Plains, Or In The Mines, But Beneath

The Shelter Of A Parent's Protection In The Large Cities, Where

Education And Virtue Are Taught."

"If You Speak Of Melbourne," Mr. Brown Said, With An Incredulous Shrug

Of His Shoulders, "I Shall Be Inclined To Doubt You, For In The City No

Such Word As Virtue Is Known."

"Spoken Like A Man Of The World, And Without A Thought Of How Much That

Is Good And True Is Placed Upon A Level With The Vile And Unworthy. For

Shame, Gentlemen, And Brave Men As I Know You Are, To Utter Such

Slanders Concerning The Weaker Sex. Remember That Your Mothers Were

Women, And If Aught Was Spoken Against Them, Would Not Your Blood

Tingle?"

Mr. Brown Did Not Jest Again That Night, And I Think That The Reply Made

Us All Reflect Upon Our Obligations To Our Maker, For We Pushed Back Our

Chairs From The Table, And Declared That Sleeping Was Better Than

Drinking, And That We Would Finish The Punch Some Other Time.

Jackson Led The Way To Our Room, While Our Host Did The Honors For His

Lady Guests. We Bade All Good Night, And After Mr. Brown And Myself Had

Exchanged A Few Words Relative To The Incidents Of The Day, We Threw

Ourselves Upon The Mattresses Spread Upon The Floor, And Just As

Daylight Began To Glimmer In The East We Fell Asleep, And Our Slumbers

Were Undisturbed For Many Hours; But At Length We Were Awakened By Mr.

Wright, Who Sat In The Only Chair The Room Afforded, Smoking His Pipe

With Great Apparent Relish, And Looking As Though He Had Been Awake

Since Sunrise.

"Come, Rouse Up," He Said, "Or You Will Have No Appetite For Supper. You

Are The Soundest Sleepers That Ever Saw, For I Made Some Noise In Hopes

Of Awakening You, But I Found That Was An Impossibility, So I Thought I

Would Try Tobacco Smoke."

"What O'clock Is It?" I Asked, Rubbing My Eyes, And Trying To Think

Where I Was.

"Near Four. Come, Get Up, And Help Me Entertain The Women. They Have Got

Their Proper Clothes On, And Don't Look So Bad As They Might. The Young

One Still Wails For Her Husband, Although I Tell Her To Keep Up Her

Spirits, And Think Of Something Else."

"Advice Which She Is Certain Not To Follow. Did You Ever Know Of A Woman

That Would Be Advised Under Any Circumstances? No, I Thought Not."

"You Are Always Grumbling About The Women," I Said, Addressing Mr.

Brown. "If The Truth Was Known, I Suppose That It Would Show That You

Have Been Jilted Some Day By A Female With A Pretty Face, And Revenge

Yourself By Abusing The Whole Sex. That Is Ungallant."

"I Don't Care How Ungallant It Is, For I Know It To Be True," Replied

Mr. Brown, With Great Candor; "Ten Years Ago, I Made Love To The

Prettiest Piece Of Flesh And Blood That Ever Walked On Two Legs, Or

Allowed Her Hair To Curl In Ringlets. But I Don't Like To Talk On The

Subject."

"A Truce To Your Love Affairs," Interrupted Mr. Wright; "Come And Take A

Gallop With Me This Afternoon, And Have A Look At My Farm, And I'll

Warrant That You Will Think No More Of Women Or Of Marriage. Will You

Come?"

We Both Readily Assented, And A Good Cup Of Coffee, Which Jackson Had

Kept In Readiness For Us When We Awoke, Was Swallowed With A Relish, And

Then We Found Our Horses Standing At The Door, Looking In Prime Order,

In Spite Of Certain Places On Their Coats Which Had Been Singed While

Riding Through The Fire The Day Before.

Mr. Wright Had Been Very Attentive To Our Comforts, For The Saddles

Were Repaired And Made Smooth Where They Were Rough, And The Bridles

Were Oiled And Cleaned, And Looked Like New Ones. We Mounted, And

Turning Our Horses' Heads, Trotted Slowly Towards The Field Of Wheat,

Which We Had Passed The First Day Of Our Arrival.

A Pleasant Ride We Had That Afternoon, Reviewing Flocks And Growing

Crops, And Discoursing On The Best Mode Of Cultivation. I Found That Our

Host Preferred The Heavy Tools Of English Farmers, To The Light, Easily

Managed Instruments Of The Americans, And I Took Occasion To Point Out

The Superior Advantages Which The Latter Possessed; But Mr. Wright Was

Incredulous, And Suspicious Of My Innovations. His Land Was Level, And

Free From Stones, And Just Suited For Light American Ploughs, And I

Pledged My Word That A Third More Work Could Be Done With One, Drawn By

A Yoke Of Oxen, Than Could Be Performed By An English Made Plough, A

Huge, Clumsy Thing, Drawn By Two Span Of Horses, And Requiring Three Men

To Attend Upon Its Wants.

I Exacted A Promise From Mr. Wright, That He Would Give An American

Plough A Fair Trial; And The Next Time He Visited Melbourne He Purchased

One, And I Had The Satisfaction, Before I Left The Country, Of Hearing

Him Say That He Was Delighted With Its Performance, And That He Had

Discarded Many English Farming Tools, And Substituted American, Which

Were Lighter, Yet Quite Strong Enough, And Saved Much Labor.

If I Had Accomplished No Other Result In Australia Than Introducing A

Few Articles Of The Manufacture Of The United States, I Should Think

That I Was Amply Compensated For My Trouble, Convinced As