The Australian dog never barks; indeed, it is remarked by Mr. Gardiner, in a work entitled The Music of Nature, "that dogs in a state of nature never bark; they simply whine, howl, and growl: this explosive noise is only found among those which are domesticated." Sonnini speaks of the shepherds' dogs in the wilds of Egypt as not having this faculty; and Columbus found the dogs which he had previously carried to America to have lost their propensity to barking. The barking of a dog is an acquired faculty-an effort to speak, which he derives from his associating with man.'-vol. i., p. 235.

In this, of course, as in every book about New South Wales, the kangaroo claims right to fill a considerable space. The chase, by no means a very safe amusement, of the old man kangaroo,' as the blacks call the full-grown male, seems to have found great favour with Mr. Bennett, and he sketches some scenes which, as he himself says, might have deserved to be immortalized by the pencil of a Landseer. We content ourselves, however, with one or two of his lighter pages. An Irishman of his acquaintance. had a favourite dog, who rashly pursued a large kangaroo into a water-pool, and was ducked almost dead for his pains :

Pat, in a great rage at the threatened death of his dog, would have shot the kangaroo, but his gun missed fire; he then entered the water-hole" to bate the brains of the baste out" with the butt-end of the gun; but the "baste," not fancying to be thus treated, turned from the soused and now senseless dog to his more formidable adversary, and a struggle took place, in which the man was often thrust under water, and victory was promising much in favour of the kangaroo, when some of Pat's companions fortunately coming to his assistance, attacked and killed the animal with clubs, and rescued him in almost an insensible condition. I asked him how he felt when the beast hugged him; he replied, "Not very comfortable, he tumbled me about famously; they are mighty strong bastes, and don't seem to like being meddled with." Indeed, many persons when alone are afraid to face a large "old man" kangaroo. A man, recently arrived in the colony, was sent after cattle; he returned in great terror, having come suddenly on the ranges upon a kangaroo, as "large," he said, as a horse." I asked him the colour of the animal; he replied, that he did not recollect it; he only wished to get away from the beast, and, running down the hill, was glad when he saw the animal warn't following him. It is probable, when he went down one part of the range, the animal, equally, if not more frightened, descended another.'-vol. i. p. 286.

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The part of the kangaroo most esteemed for eating is the loins; but the tail, which abounds in gelatine, furnishes an excellent and nourishing soup: the hind legs are coarse, and usually fall to the share of the dogs. The natives (if they can be said to have a choice) give a preference to the head. The flesh of the full-grown animal may be compared to lean beef, and that of the young to veal: they

are

are destitute of fat, if we except a little occasionally between the muscles and integuments of the tail. The colonial dish, called a steamer, consists of the flesh of this animal dressed with slices of ham. The liver, when cooked, is crisp and dry, and is considered a substitute for bread.'-Ibid. p. 289.

The passion of the aborigines for hunting kangaroos, opossums, and so forth, appears to be inextinguishable, but to be much more intimately connected with the cravings of the stomach than with any of the nobler stimulants of the chase. The moment the kangaroo is killed, the struggle begins, not, as in an English field, for the brush, as a trophy, but for a limb to be forthwith broiled (with the hair on) and devoured. Nay, in many cases, they do not even wait for any application of fire, but, tearing the animal joint from joint, knock off the end of a bone instanter, and begin sucking the marrow before it has time to get cold. No abundance of beef and potatoes seems to damp in the smallest degree these ancestral appetites; and no new artificial habits strike deep enough to interfere with their immediate indulgence when opportunity is afforded. A friend of our author observed a native woman, well clothed, and of really decent appearance, engaged in some domestic offices in the plentiful kitchen of a farmer on the Murrumbidgee. He expressed his satisfaction at what he saw, but was assured that, though she had just risen from a capital dinner, if she discovered an opossum on the top of a tree, she would instantly strip herself to the skin, and mount seventy or eighty feet into the air, rather than lose the chance of securing such a bonne-bouche.

We find it still more difficult to sympathise with these people in that rage for the flavour of pounded moths, which collects whole tribes of them as often as the proper season comes round, upon certain masses of granite, not far from the Been Station on the Tumat. Captain Cook was astonished, when at Thirsty Sound, with the profusion of butterflies- the air absolutely crowded with millions of myriads of them for three or four acres together;' and Captain King, in his Survey of Australia (vol. i. p. 195), describes much the same scene at Cape Cleveland: the stem,' he says, of every grass tree (xanthorrhea), which plant grows abundantly on the hills, was covered with butterflies, and on their taking wing, the air appeared as it were in perfect motion.' We presume the two captains were not scientific enough to distinguish a butterfly from a moth, and that they both refer to the same species of insect, called by the natives bugong, of the grand annual capture and cookery whereof the present author had an opportunity to be an eye-witness.

The bugong moths collect on the surfaces and also in the crevices of the masses of granite in incredible quantities: to procure them.

with greater facility, the natives make smothered fires underneath those rocks, and suffocate them with smoke, at the same time sweeping them off frequently in bushels-full at a time. After they have collected a large quantity, they proceed to prepare them, which is done in the following manner :

A circular space is cleared upon the ground, of a size proportioned to the number of insects; on it a fire is lighted and kept burning until the ground is considered to be sufficiently heated, when, the fire being removed, and the ashes cleared away, the moths are placed upon the heated ground, and stirred about until the down and wings are removed from them; they are then placed on pieces of bark, and winnowed to separate the dust and wings mixed with the bodies: they are then eaten-or placed in a wooden vessel, and pounded into masses or cakes, in colour and consistence resembling lumps of dough made from smutty wheat mixed with fat. The bodies of the moths are large, and filled with a yellowish oil, resembling in taste a sweet nut. These masses will not keep above a week, and seldom even for that time; but by smoking they are able to preserve them for a much longer period. The first time this diet is used, violent vomiting and other debilitating effects are produced; but after a few days they become accustomed to its use, and then thrive and fatten exceedingly upon it.

These insects are held in such estimation among the aborigines, that they assemble from all parts of the country to collect them from these mountains. The crows also congregate for the same purpose. The blacks (that is, the crows and aborigines) do not agree about their respective shares-so the stronger decides the point; for when the crows enter the hollows of the rocks to feed upon the insects, the natives stand at the entrance, and kill them as they fly out, and afford them an excellent meal, being fat from feeding upon the rich bugong. So eager are these feathered blacks after this food, that they attack it even when it is preparing by the natives; but as the aborigines never consider any increase of food a misfortune, they lie in wait for the crows, with waddies or clubs, kill them in great numbers, and use them as food.

The quantity of moths which may be collected from one of the granite groups it is calculated would amount to at least five or six bushels. The largest specimen I obtained measured seven-eighths of an inch, with the wings closed, the length of the body being fiveeighths of an inch, and of proportionate circumference; the expanded wings measured one inch and three quarters across; the colour of the wings dark brown, with two black ocellated spots upon the upper ones; the body filled with yellow oil, and covered with down.

When the natives about the Murrumbidgee river heard, on my return, that I had visited the "bugong mountain," they expressed great delight, and wished to see what I had collected. On showing them the few insects I had, they recognised them instantly; but I thought there was a feeling of disappointment at their curiosity only, not appe

tites, being gratified by my little entomological collection.'-vol. i. pp. 270-274.

We have stayed so long with Mr. Bennett at New South Wales, that we must make short work with the rest of his Wanderings." He gives a fuller and livelier description of Macao, its inhabitants, Portuguese, English, and Chinese, than we have elsewhere met with; and of Canton itself he furnishes sundry sketches which will also reward the reader's attention. We were amused with the following note:

The brilliancy of the Chinese colours for painting, &c., has often been very highly extolled as being superior to the European. What surprise must it create, then, when we are informed that the colours used are of English manufacture, and the Chinese artists are eager for, and anxiously inquire after them! This reminds me of the gross ignorance displayed by one of our countrymen who purchased an elegant London clock in a shop at Canton, at a high price, to take to England as a specimen of China manufacture. But do not we see these follies committed by our countrymen almost every day at Paris?'-vol. ii. p. 61.

To be sure we do; and we have no doubt much use is made of English colours, as well of English clocks and watches, in China: but that the Chinese artists have some colours of their own which no European skill has as yet rivalled, is a fact as well ascertained as any in the world.

At Macao the two lions that principally occupied Mr. Bennett's leisure hours were the public museum of rare animals, fossils, weapons, &c. &c., collected at the general expense of the English residents, and the aviary in the private gardens of one of our countrymen, a venerable gentleman of the name of Beale, who had spent forty years in this distant region, and spared no cost to assemble a vast population of Chinese, Javanese, and Indian birds, which appeared to occupy the whole attention of a considerable establishment of servants, and to be kept altogether in a style that would have done honour to the taste and munificence of any sovereign prince in the world. The recent change in the affairs of the East India Company must, as Mr. Bennett regrets to observe, put an end ere long to the English Museum-nor is it likely that, under any future circumstances, an individual resident will be found either disposed or enabled to rival the useful and elegant collection of Mr. Beale. Our author gives two amusing chapters to this old gentleman's aviary: we must be contented with extracting a single specimen of them-he is talking of the mandarin duck::

A drake was stolen one night, with some other birds, from Mr. Beale's aviary; the beautiful male was alone taken; the poor duck,

in spite of her quacks during the distressing scene, was left behind. The morning following the loss of her husband the female was seen in a most disconsolate condition: brooding in secret sorrow, she remained in a retired part of the aviary, pondering over the severe loss she had just sustained.

'Whilst she was thus delivering her soul to grief, a gay, prim drake, who had not long before lost his own dear duck, which had been accidentally killed, trimmed his beautiful feathers, and, appearing quite handsome, pitying the forlorn condition of the bereaved, waddled towards her; and, after devoting much of his time and all his attention to the unfortunate female, he offered her his protection, and made a thousand promises to treat her with more kindness and attention than her dear, lost drake. She, however, refused all his offers, having made, in audible quacks, a solemn vow to live and die a widow, if her mate did not return. From the day she met with her loss, she neglected her usual avocations; her plumage became ragged and dirty; she forsook her food and usual scenes of delight.

Some time had elapsed, when a person, accidentally passing a hut, overheard some Chinese of the lower class conversing together. One said, "It would be a pity to kill so handsome a bird." "How, then,"

said another, "can we dispose of it?" The hut was noted, as it was immediately suspected that the lost mandarin was the subject of conversation. A servant was sent, and, after some trouble, recovered the long-lost drake by paying four dollars for him. He was then brought back to the aviary in one of the usual cane cages.

'As soon as the bird recognized the aviary, he expressed his joy by quacking vehemently and flapping his wings. An interval of three weeks had elapsed since he was taken away by force; but when the forlorn duck heard the note of her lost husband, she quacked, even to screaming, with ecstacy, and flew as far as she could in the aviary to greet him on his restoration. Being let out from the cage, the drake immediately entered the aviary-the unfortunate couple were again united: they quacked, crossed necks, bathed together, and then are supposed to have related all their mutual hopes and fears during the long separation.

One word more on the unfortunate widower, who kindly offered consolation to the duck when overwhelmed with grief. She in a most ungrateful manner informed her drake of the impudent and gallant proposals made to her during his absence;-it is merely supposition that she did so; but at all events the result was, that the recovered drake attacked the other the day subsequent to his return, pecked his eyes out, and inflicted on him so many other injuries as to occasion his death in a few days. Thus did this unfortunate drake meet with a premature and violent death for his kindness and attention to a disconsolate lady. It may perhaps be correctly written on a tablet over his grave-"A victim to conjugal fidelity.""

Since we are on the chapter of Ducks, we may notice here our author's diverting account of the duck-boats at Whampoa and

elsewhere