Page:An Australian Parsonage.djvu/192

Rh between Perth and Green Mount are now replaced by a good solid causeway fit for fast travelling. The miles of sand over which I passed when this road was in its transition state have since been bottomed with sections of great forest trees, the shape and size of which are best described by their ordinary name of "Governor Hampton's Cheeses." They were laid down during his term of office, and have produced a result which must dispose all travellers, who had ever passed over the road in its original condition, to bestow on him a benediction as on a second "General Wade."

Nothing surprised me more than the much greater amount of work which is got out of horses in Australia than in England, especially when the comparatively small amount of care bestowed upon them is taken into consideration. Whereas the horse of an English gentleman is kept with as much precision as if intended for exhibition in a glass-case, Australian horses are really treated with no more ceremony than at home falls to the lot of a donkey. In all seasons and in all sorts of weather they are left in the open fields or in the bush; they seem equally to disregard the storms and rain of winter and the burning suns of summer, and even when the shelter of a shed or stable is at their command, they appear to prefer exposure. Often one sees them hung by the bridle upon a gate-post for hours together, or standing harnessed at some door for an indefinite amount of time, without even a boy at their head. Mares with young foals are ridden or driven as the convenience of their owners may dictate, but then, to make amends, the foal has the privilege of joining the party.