1. The story of Australian exploration tells of hardships and hazards innumerable. It is a story that is highly creditable to the dauntless courage and persevering energy of our brothers in Australia. As landlords of a vast estate, they have endeavoured to ascertain its nature, and to learn how best to turn it to profitable account. This knowledge could only be gained at the expense of many lives, and at the cost of great self-sacrifice. The explorers who have lost their lives in the fulfilment of their self-imposed task, if not entitled to a place on the roll of martyrs, have certainly earned a place among the makers of our empire. Of such men we can only give one or two examples in this brief account. 2. The vast interior is worse to cross than the Sahara, for while it is often quite as hot and quite as dry, it is covered in many parts with a dense "scrub," consisting of prickly shrubs and the dreaded porcupine grass. The constant pricking of this grass causes raw and bleeding swellings round the horses' legs; and to escape from it, they will prefer to force their way through the densest scrubs. Here they rush along, frequently forcing sticks between their backs and their loads; then comes a frantic crashing through the scrub, packs are forced off, and the horses are lost sight of for hours or even days. 3. Mr. Kennedy, who explored in Queensland, describes the difficulty of travelling in the tropical jungles of that colony. He speaks, in particular, of the terrible lawyer vine and the equally-dreaded tree-nettle. The former is a species of rattan, armed with hooks and spurs, which once fast never let go. The other is a forest-tree belonging to the nettle family, and its broad leaves sting so severely as to cause serious inflammation; horses, indeed, which have plunged about and got stung all over, sometimes die from the effects.