asked the proprietor to let me be present at the sorting out, as I should like to see river diamonds. He willingly consented, but no diamonds were to be found. On my expressing regret, he said he had not seen a diamond for a fortnight ! I remarked that the prospect was rather a poor one, but he told me that a fortnight before he picked out one worth £300, " and that," he said, " will pay for several weeks' wages of my boys." This is the kind of speculative gambling that goes on at the river diggings. The miner may toil fruitlessly for months, and then come across a pocket of stones, where they have been swept by some eddy, by which he will net several thousands. Diamonds from the " river washings " aie of all kinds, as if contributed by every mine in the neighbourhood. They are much rolled and etched, and contain a good proportion of first-class stones ; they are of very good quality, as if only the better and larger stones had survived the ordeal of
