difficulties, and in a quarter of an hour we
regained our own abode.

Our hut then occupied the whole of our
spare time. The framework was composed
of the trunks of trees, which we felled, and
lopped, and fixed in the earth, fitted with ridge
poles and rafters, and across which we
stretched a tarpaulin. The sides were filled
in with turf sods, set in wet clay. There
only remained the two ends to complete. At
this stage of our career my companions
became disheartened. There was no success
in digging. The work was very severe,
the discomfort was excessive, and we had to
support ourselves entirely with the money we
had brought out with us: the prices of all
kinds of food (and that none of the choicest)
being enormous. At last one of our men declared
his intention of abandoning the diggings
altogether. He should go back to Melbourne.
Off he went. A few days more of hard work,
and no pay, ate up the patience of the other
two, and they also departed, urging me very
much to go with them. I steadily refused,
because I had determined to give my
undertaking a fair three months' trial.

Left alone with my own thoughts at the
other side of the world, I was amused, and
perhaps now and then touched by the aspect
of shiftlessness and incompleteness that
belongs to a community, consisting almost
wholly of men. I was standing one day in
the forest talking to some men, whose beards
of many months' growth, bronzed complexions,
and rough dress, gave them a savage
appearance, when, suddenly, a lady on  horse-
back (probably the wife of the Commissioner),
followed by a servant, appeared. All conversation
instantly ceased, and we followed her
with our eyes until the last flutter of her
riding habit was lost amongst the trees. On
her disappearance one of the men, with a
deep gasp, as if he had not breathed for the
last few minutes, exclaimed, "Ah, a sight like
that does a man good."

I was left quite alone, but even that did
not discourage me, as I considered that if the
toil was greater, so also might be the reward.
I continued at work as before; but, although
I found gold, it was in such small quantities,
that, as an Irishman said, it would take a
ton of it to weigh a pound. One evening,
soon after my companions had left, I went to
the store to buy a camp oven, which I brought
home with me. It was very rusty, but I
thought it would bake none the worse for
that. After washing myself I went to bed.
In about an hour the palm of my left hand
(which was covered with broken blisters,
from the constant use of the axe) began to
ache very much; the pain increased fast,
and in the morning my hand was very much
swollen. From bad, it rapidly increased to
worse, and at the end of the week my hand
and arm run together into one unsightly
mass. The rust had acted on my blistered
fingers. The pain was agonising, it allowed
me no rest day or night. Not only was I
unable to work, but I could scarcely dress
myself, or cook. The slightest movement
gave me increased pain. At the end of a
fortnight the inflammation came to a head,
and no less than five openings formed; four
in my arm, one in the palm of my hand.
Those who have never been in Australia can
form no idea how rapidly under its hot sun
inflammation advances. Since I had no one
to bring me the least help, the fever became
aggravated. Sometimes I was nervously at
work for three quarters of an hour trying to
get a fire, sitting on a log and blowing it
with one hand, whilst the pain in the other
was distracting me. Then perhaps, just as I
thought that I had coaxed a few sparks into
action, a great gust of wind rushed in from
the unfinished end of my hut, killed them
entirely, and dispersed their ashes, I know
what utter desolation is, since I have tasted
illness thus alone in the backwoods. Scarcely
able to dress myself (indeed I was obliged for
several nights to lie down in my clothes,
being unable to get them off), and quite
deprived of power to use my axe, I could but
make a fire with the small sticks blown down
from the trees, which I gleaned from the
ground, wandering about like an old woman
for the purpose. Through the open ends of
my hut, clouds of dust came whirling. The
commonest necessary I had to fetch for
myself, however high the fever, from a distance;
and the water, which it cost me much trouble
to procure, was of the colour of pea-soup. I
was obliged to drink it, and also to use it
with my tea. All that I could do for myself,
as a physician, was to apply bread poultices
(requiring for the purpose one half-quartern
loaf three times a day, at a daily expense
for the three loaves of seven-and-sixpence),
together with warm fomentations. One
night I lay down as usual, having bathed
my wounds, applied fresh poultices, clean
bandages, and finally wrapped a clean
kerchief over all. Next morning at daybreak I
took off the bandages, and who cannot
understand my horror on perceiving that the
wound in my palm was alive with maggots.
Some one of the blowflies, of which there were
millions about, had during the night crept in
through the linen folds and done the mischief.
I remained for a few moments stupified at
the sight—almost cast down into complete
despair. Oh for a familiar hand or voice at
that moment! However, the necessity for
exertion soon made itself felt, and hastening
my fire to boil the water, I sat down on a
log, penknife in hand, and cut the maggots
out; then I fomented the whole wound with
boiling water. Happily I succeeded in the
work of extirpation. I was afraid lest the
corruption might have penetrated to the
bone, in which case I should have attempted
the amputation of my hand, for travelling
to Melbourne in any such condition was
impossible.