must, in taking leave of Central, say a word about its larder.

Whence the fat beeves come from, or how the cattle about here keep in flesh, is a very marvel to me; for I see no grass, save a blade every now and then but in this bite there is a magic power of fattening, they say; and certain 'tis, cattle fatten on these mountains, even in winter, without hay or other food. Then the supply of their splendid salmon trout is very good; and in the winter and fall, deer, elk, and antelope are very abundant, and a cinnamon bear may be seen sometimes dependent from a butcher's hooks, so that the miner is at least very well fed.

Game was very plentiful all round here a few years ago, and I was assured that mountain lions and wild sheep the animals described by travellers as jumping down precipices when pursued by wolves or other deadly foes, and alighting safely on their huge horns, which, however, is denied by the hunters of the neighbourhood as Munchausenish-had been seen across the street not so long since; now, to paraphrase the well-known lines of an Oxford prize poem

Scared by busy man from his own hills, The lion fled the loud resounding mills. And a good long distance has to be travelled over ere the feræ of the mountains may be encountered.

As for the ladies of Central and its entouragepardon me for introducing them in this remote portion of my jottings, after notice has been taken of so many objects in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms: the fact is, I considered the subject too serious for my notes, and intended to have passed them with only the silent homage a true man ever accords them in his heart, though pen and voice may not be loud or eloquent. Yet they are the real ornament of Central; and is it not as a tribute to them that all these jewellery and finery shops are maintained? Is it not owing to their influence that these rough places of the earth have been made to feel the power of refinement and civilization, and that the miner, instead of degenerating into a gnome or troglodyte, becomes a good citizen, imbued with all the charities of life?

This happy state of things has not, I believe, been of very long standing; as, for the first few years, the place was scarcely fit for the presence of women; but now they are pouring in fast from the States: these diggings," like our Indian possessions, being an admirable market for many who have not succeeded eastwards in drawing prizes. And as they ride along the mountain slopes of an evening Amazone," with the most coquettish habits you

en

ever saw, decked with all sorts of pretty little gold (or brass) buttons like an hussar's jacket, you might "disremember," as the Irishman said, very easily that you were on the Rocky Mountains, and might fancy yourself transplanted to the neighbourhood of Innspruck, or some other spot in those mountains of old civilization.

There is another large mining district in this locality, about a hundred miles south, in the vicinity of the South Park, called "Buckskin Joe" district; but though the lodes there promise even fairer returns than those in this neighbourhood, they belong principally to even poorer men than the "claims" hereabouts, and consequently have not been so far developed; but they are well worth a visit, I am told, if only on account of the surpassing loveliness of the scenery about there. Indeed, no traveller should think of leaving this country without visiting the three Parks, which are to be found within a compass of about one hundred and fifty miles, and which form a most peculiar feature of the Rocky Sierra. They are known by the names of North, Middle, and South, and are huge basins in the heart of the mountains, whence issue some of the large rivers which water this part of the continent; the vegetation in them is abundant, and

they are peopled by almost every species of wild animal. Should time permit, I trust to visit them all during the fall months, and, unless the reader be tired of travelling through this country, I will be happy to communicate my experiences of wild mountain life in my next.

CHAPTER III.

On sylvan scenes intent.

THE America of 1863-or rather, to speak according to facts, the Federal possessions on that continent— may be classed under four main categories or divisions, to wit:-Battle-fields, spittle-fields, gold-fields, and game-fields. The nomenclature will no doubt be much cavilled at, but can any one deny that this classification is at once comprehensive and specific? distinguishing in some notable respects the genera and species of the districts in question: as was required in my juvenile days by that wise pundit, Mr. Aldrich, the Lindley Murray of logic; unless, indeed, my memory has played me a scurvy trick after her frequent fashion, now that Consul Plancus has given place to the majestic Kaiser of the Tuileries.

Of the battle-fields I had seen enough-far more than enough-in the desolated homesteads and the levelled woodlands of Virginia, lovely and pictu