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64 her, the next day she is on the trail. The half castes are few ; even in 1846 Mr. Robinson only knew of from 20 to 30. One of the loveliest children we ever beheld was a half caste infant on the banks of the Murray. With a rich bronze colour, soft curly hair, and chubby, ruddy cheeks, he had the sparkling eyes of his really pretty mother. One roguish little fellow of some fifteen months would peep over the lubra’s shoulder when a white man or woman passed, and holding out its tiny hand, would laughingly whine in English “ gib me copper.” The young folks of a camp are full of fun. Although the father seldom condescends to a romp, the maternal feelings are in all their natural play. We have repeatedly spent an hour in watching their happy gambols. Once asking a native to send her child to the Black School, she answered sorrow fully, “ No, no, no, me plenty cry.” Though the lubra may now and then get a tap with a waddy for want of assiduity in procuring her coolie a good dinner, or for being too chattingly familiar with a young man, it is very rare that a child is struck ; the demonstra tion of temper is admired in the boy, as an evidence of future warlike spirit. Kind, however, as the mother is to her offspring, she has another favorite, on whom she lavishes her caresses. No lubra is seen without a pack of hungry, spotted, dirty, mangey dogs, whose pups share with her own child her lactary blessing. A friend told us he once saw outside of Melbourne, a native woman suckling in their turns a little boy and four puppies. MARRIAGES. The old story is, that when a young man wanted a wife, he lay in wait for a girl, sprang upon her like a tiger, felled her senseless with his club, and dragged her off bleeding to his lair. We need hardly say that this is a gross calumny upon the native character. The process of courtship among them is about what it is with us. What is called the throwing of sheep’s eyes is the usual preliminary of attack, followed by importunity, coyness, ardent avowals, and bashful pleasure. There is one lamentable deficiency in their love makings, which will dispose every sentimental youth and lassie to consign them irretrievably to the doom of baboons ; we allude to
