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[PRICE SD.

A SETTLER'S LIFE IN AUSTRALIA.

The following interesting letier has just been re-
ceived from Victoria, in Australia. The writer is

Mr. Henry Edwards, a son of the respected soli-
citor of ' the same name, at Ross, in Hereford-

shire :

" Merrivale, Merri Merri Creek, Melbourne, Sept. 15.
"We landed in Australia on the 22d of June, after
a very delightful voyage of 88 days—a voyage which
I greatly enjoyed, and to which .1 Shall always re-
fer with great pleasure. Three months passed at
sea with the same wide waste of waters' always
around you .; the same face every day before your
eyes, and one unvarying mode of life continued day
after day, may be monotonous, but' they bring to
a mind at all capable of receiving' beautiful impres-
sions thoughts and feelings which° cannot easily pass
away The
.sight of lands with the .names of which
we have been frmiliar from our very infancy, but which
have existed in our minds only as a -far-off vision, the?
numberless strange birds and the `'wonders of the deep,'
the gorgeous sunsets, and the no less beautiful moonlit
skies;—all afforded me much food for reflection, and
upon the many objects of deep interest Which our voyage
presented to me I shall long dwell with much real saw-
o w howu
gdeep
faction. On my arrival here I inquired for my brother,
and on the day after my landing I was so happy as once
more, after four years' separation, to
press his honest
hand and to be greeted by his old and cheerful smile.
I need not tell you how much delight this union
hasyou occasionedwll
easily us
understandboth.
attached to each other we have ever, been, and
ow 'veil
manyknow
a iandeeply and
many a cry we had, what tales there were to
tell, what news to communicate, what plans to con over
for the future, what bright castles we were to build-up
and what sweet remembrances we had to recall to each
other other of the happy days passed so pleasantly long
ago in merry England. lam happy to tell you that he
is situated in a Very nice farm on the banks of a rather
pretty creek about 8 miles from Melbourne, and that
he is doing and likely to do very well. Farming is a

most profitable occupation in this country, and I have
arrived at a very opportune time for William, as many

occasions' call him frequently away from home, and
he has been long wanting some one to superintend

matters in his absence. He has assured me over and

over again that (had I been here three years ago we should

both h-ave been rich men now. I liave learnt to drive

bullocks, tO plough, and divers other such accomplish,

merits which are available here. I find lam able to do

much harder work than I anticipated, and let me assure
you this is the very place in which men must labour if
they intend to succeed. It is very likely that in the
courre of a few months or so we shall open a store, either
in town or at the diggings, which I shall take charge
of. People here do not care what they do in an honest
way to get money, and even since I have been here I
have met many gentlemen of good families and superior
education engaged about what in England would be
regarded as menial occupations. Still, do not fancy
that we cannot find any time to enjoy ourselves. We
do so as far as our circumstances will allow us to do,
and, by greasing the wheels of Time's chariot, we
manage to make it run on merrily with its burden.
We take our guns on a day when we have little else to
do and enjoy some sport, or wander off among the
forests of gum trees in pursuit of plants and insects,

- _
which, as you know, always possessed for me such
lasting charms. Our house is a tolerably large and
comfortable one. Will's wife is a good, kind, intel-
lectual woman, and his little boy one of the sweetest

children I ever saw. You will, therefore, easily
believe that we are happy together. We only want a
few of the treasured friends of home around us to
complete our comfort, and a glimpse now and then of
the busier world among which you are moving.
This is a strange country. I can call it truly the
' land of liberty,' but not the land of grandeur and
of beauty.' The district for many miles around Mel-
bourne is (with here and there exceptions) either in the
shape of farms or vast arid plains, one unbounded
forest of gum trees and a few other tall shrubs.
Near the town, and, in fact, for 12 or 14 miles'
distance, every way the country is somewhat thickly
populated, and small townships are springing up every
week around us. As you advance further towards the
interior you find fewer houses and more of the bush or
primeval forest, as it existed before the white man set his
foot upon the shores. There are few hills, and, conse-
quently, few scenes which would strike the beholder
as being at all beautiful, when compared with the
lovely valleys and mountains of the old countries. The
bush itself is everywhere the same, the trees all of the
same character, and presenting but very few distinct
species. They are mostly ill grown and shedding their
bark, instead of their leaevs, have a very curious ap-
pearance. There is no underwood of any kind whatever,
but thousands of strange and beautiful plants spring up
in the sward under our feet, rendering the country
one of deep interest to one, like myself, an enthusiast in
botanical pursuits. • • - •
"The spring is now coming on, and every day as I
walk along I meet with some treasure or other, most of
which my brother is able to name for me ; with the
warm days, too, swarms of insects of the brightest
colours and most singular forms appear, and at every
step you take upon a stony bank you startle some little
lizard which has been basking in the sun, and darts like
lightning from the gaze of the intruder. Snakes, too,
many of them venomous, are numerous, but as yet I
have not made acquaintance with any of them, nor do
I much desire an introduction. In the gum trees about
our house hundreds of those curious little animals—the
opossum—are found ; they appear only at night, and we
frequently amuse ourselves, when the moon is bright,
by shooting them for the sake of their skins, which are
much valued for rugs and coats.
"The curious duck-billed platypus is found in our
creek in the summer in considerable quantities, and loads
of quail and wild duckstare always to be had by dint of
a little of that exertion which is always so pleasing to
the sportsman. The birds of the colony possess great
attractions for me. I have taught myself to skin pretty
well since I have been here, and have already managed
to get between 40 and 50 species. Parrots of the most
brilliant plumage are so common that I have frequently
brought home from 20 to 30 in my pockets, the work of
one afternoon's slaughter. They are delicious eating,
and when well-cooked are a perfect treat. I often
think, when I shoot a parrot, how glad may of my
friends in England would be to have him for a pet.
The lemon-crested cockatoo, also, which is so often kept
in England in cages, is extremely abundant in the sum-
mer season, and is very destructive to the crops, doing
more barns than the rooks at home. They are very wary
rascals and have made me very often in an unamiable
humour. I have seen some thousands since I have been
here, but have never been so fortunate as to kill a single
bird. A flock of them have taken a great fancy to a
patch of barley which has been recently sown near the
house. They generally make their attack upon it in the
morning, and my first act for the last few days has con-
stantly been to seize my gun and rush outside. lam
sure to find my friends, the cockatoos, at their feast, but
they never allow me to get nearer to them than about
150 yards. I put a couple of bullets among them yes-
terday morning, but only frightened them away. I still
hope in a day or two to make an example of some one of
them, and, if I do, I think I may be tempted to forego
the pleasure of skinning him, and hang him up in the
field instead, as a warning to future depredators. We
went last week to a range of hills on the River Plenty,
about 30 miles from Melbourne, to cut down poles for
fences, and from this journey I got some fresh ideas of
the Australian productions.
" We went in a new district, or a new geological for-
mation, and consequently found new birds, new plants,
and new insects. We were out three days from home,
as we had our bullock-drays with us, and the bullocks
are but slow travellers. lam beginning thoroughly to
enjoy the somewhat rough life peculiar to the country,
and think, in time, I shall make a very good bushman.
I go into town about once a-week, and frequently oftener.
I hope to be there to-morrow with Will,
to dine with his
old friend, Major Davidson, I shall then Post this let-
ter. Melbourne, for its age, is a most wonderful place.
It is tolerably well, though irregularlY built ; the streets
are straight and wide, though badly paved, aud the shops
very good indeed. Wideaw
And age hats, high boots,ct n
nroed
and blue shirts, long beard, short pipes
i tselafre common
ex-
though the inhabitants of Melbourne
and provisions of
actly as people do at home. u
all kinds are very high in price, but I believe are on the
much inconvenience sometimes
decline. We are put
by not being enabled ttooprocure little things to which
in England we have beenpaccustomed, but, like the eels,
we become used to it.
"Gold is still being found in prodigious quantities, and
it is more than likely that by the time this reaches you
I shall have joined the band of diggers, for the sake of
seeing what the diggings are like more than with any
thought of realising a rapid fortune. If we can manage
it, Will and myself will go together for two or three
months, by which time our crops will be fit to cut, and
ssosliall return home. You shall hear of our doings
there, if we go. A new Lieutenant-Governor is ex-
pected daily here, though we know not who he is to be.
Latrobe is not popular among the masses. It is said
that he truckles too much to the Government at home,
but it is my opinion that no human being would please
the whole of the colonists. We shall see what his suc-
cessor may turn out.
" If you know of any one who thinks of coming out 4
here, tell him that he must be prepared to endure priva-
tions and hardships which at home he has never dreamt
of ; that he must work as hard as any day labourer if he
wishes to succeed ; that he will come among a lot of
men, for the most part very low in the intellectual stan-
dard, bent entirely upon making money, and selfish to
the worst degree ; that he must rid his mind of the idea
of a pleasure trip ; that the climate of Australia is not
what it has been painted, but that it is bitterly cold and
wet in the winter, and burning hot in the summer ; that
employment, except in such occupations as carpenters,
farm servants, bullock drivers, blacksmiths, &c., is very
scarce ; that gold is not found upon the surface of the
ground, and is only to be obtained by much and labo-
rious toil ; that many of the oomforts of civilised life
must be dispensed with, and, in short, that if he is well
settled at home, with anything like a good prospect be-
fore him for the future, he had better stay, unless he may
have a capital of 3001, or 4001. and can make up his
mind to endure hardships, in which case, with a little