A short distance inland is Queenstown, where much smelting is 51 going on. Notice the desolate appearance of the country round, and the stumps of the trees which have been cut down for fuel. Gormanston, with its background of rugged mountain, is equally 52 desolate. Close to this town are the famous Mount Lyell copper mines. Here is the “open cut” where they are quarrying into the 53 mountain-side, and here are some of the smelting works. Here 54 again is a general view from our hotel: the whole country is 55 grim, scarred, and waste, in great contrast to the beautiful forest scenery a few miles away. But it is the source of great wealth to Tasmania. We shall not attempt to travel further south than Macquarie Harbour, as there is little beyond but wild forest and hill country, backed by the bare plateau and full in the path of the westerly gales from the Southern Ocean. It is without roads or railways and has scarcely a human settlement. So we return to Launceston and follow the railway southward to Hobart. The coast of the south-east corner is very different from that of the rest of the island. It is a drowned coast, with deep fiords, many islands, and irregular peninsulas barely connected by narrow necks with the mainland. On one of these deep fiords stands Hobart, the second oldest city in the whole of Australasia. Here we have a general view of Hobart, looking across the water 56 to the hills beyond. Once again we are reminded of portions of the Clyde, and only Sydney can compare with Hobart for the beauty of its position. Here is another view from the water, with Mount 57 Wellington in the background rising into the clouds. In the neighbouring lowlands, sheltered from the west by the mountains, are more apple orchards; and in a gully near the town we find a 58 mass of tree ferns. Here again is Government House, since Hobart 59 is the political capital of Tasmania: notice the lake and the trees. Everything around us suggests a mild and not very dry climate. If we climb Mount Wellington, the aspect of the country soon 60 changes. The mountain is not an isolated peak, but merely the south-eastern corner of the central plateau. From the summit is a fine view of the fertile lowland valley and the great expanse of fiords and islands. But the summit itself is a wild confusion of boulders with low scrub and heath. This is a very good guide to the nature of the whole surface of the plateau behind, and we realise that it is not a favourable country for the settler, though in some of its wilder aspects it may attract the tourist. We shall not attempt to reach the lakes lying on the surface of the plateau, but content ourselves with a short journey round its southern rim. [Illustration: _Copyright._) (_See page 68._ ADELAIDE: LOOKING SOUTH-EAST.] [Illustration: