The mountain sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1844-1853, 1853-04-07
A Romance of Real Lifs.---A Heroine at the Aus
tralian Gold Diggings.

j late number of the Dublin Commercial Jour
nal prAlishes u letter of quite romantic charac-
ter, lately received by lady of Dublin from
young female friend and former school-fellow Cf
hers, now at the Australian diggiugs. 1t ap-
pears from her narrative that she and her bro
ther We're suddenly left orphans with G300 for
their necessities, and all the fancies and nice
ties which life IN prosperous circumstances Is
wont to Include. She says:
.'1ie had passed through college with credit,
and cduld write poetry and ride up TO the hounds
as well as any huntsman who ever hunted the
Golden Vale, while |. my part, cou play
polka, sing ballads, speak French and little
German, was capital horsewOman, (ouly |
wanted horse, ana once in my life had COM
posed waltz, and written sixteen chapters Of
novel, which broke down frUm not knowing how
TO get my heroine out of terrible scrape But
alas my dear friend, all these things might
have done well enough once upon I me, but
the real battle OF life to be fought by
utterly inexperienced recruits, and the
question was, how our time and means were to
De prulitatly rather than pleasantly spent. For
tunately, We were both young. strong, active and
hearty, ntrl never did amy Sebastian and Viola
OF them AL, love each other with stronger and
more enduring affection, than did Frank and /
so.e remnants is were, OF So much prosper
ty and So ttle prudence"
After nervous consultation over the G3O0.
they determined to emigr to Australia. On
reacli!hg Melbourne, they found that they could
not enc1u:ter worse inconSeniences 1T the Dig
gings, aud there they now are uuser singular ia
terestinS circumstances. The young lady says:
Il VAS resolved to accompany my Brother and
his friends TO the dIl giugs, ;.nd telt that to do
50 III nay pr'Per costume and character would be
to run UNNECESSARY hazard. Hence my change.
/ cut my hair into very masculine 1as!Ion; L
purchased broad felt hat, sort OF tuuic or
smock Of coarse blue cloth, trousers to conform,
boots of IA MINER and thus parting with my sex
for season, a huped Il better one,) behold me
an accomplished candidate for lining operations
and all The perils aud iucOR veuicuces tmey might
be supposed bring. All this transmutation
took place with Frank and Mr. NJ sane
ton; indeed, IL he who first suggested the
-chililsAa which | grasped aud approved
couid NOT bear 10 be separated from Frank,
and all felt that | should be safer III my male
a:tire than If / exposed my self to the dangers of
the Route aud residence IN my proper guIse. we
have now been nine weeks absent from Mel
bourne, and have tried three localities, at the
latter of which we have been most fortunate, and
tent is pitched on the side Of as pretty ii val
ley as you could wish 20 visit / have for my
self u Sort Of supplementary canvas chamber IN
which l sleep. cook, wash clothes-that IS my
own and Frunks-and keep watch and ward
over our heap of gold dust and nuggets. the
sight and touch of which inspirit me when grow
uull, which | seldom do, for L have constant
'druPpers in,' and, To own the truth, even in my
p;llmiest days, and never WAS treated with great
er courtesy or respect.
',Of course my sex is generally known. am
called Mr. Harry IAN :,bbreviation of Harriet;)
but one intruGcs the more OH that account
In fact | have become Il sort of necessity, as
always ready to do good turn-the great
secret, after all, of social success; aud never
refuse 20 oblige 'neighbor,' be the trouble what
it may. The consequences are pleasant enough
Many nugget is thrust on me whether L WiiI
no, i'll return for cooking pudding or darn
ing shirt; and if all the cooks and seamstres-
in the world were splendidly PAID as
am, the Song of the Shirt would never have
been written ut all events
My own hoard amounts n w to about GlOO ot
gold and If go on Hccumulatng, even the rich
est heiress in my family in former days VIII nc
left immeasurlbly behind. Sometimes, when l
have few idle hours, accompany Frank and
comrades to the diggings and it IS IA rare thing
to watch the avidity with which every basket
is raised. washed, examined and commented up
on. Wild the life is, certainly, but full OF ex-
citement and hope: and strange as it is, | al
most fear to tell you that lido not wish 1t TO
end You can hardly conceive what merry
company gather together ih our tent every even
ing, or how pleasantly the hours pass