My agony at last produced its effect; and I was released from it. I gradually became unconscious, or nearly so. There was still a sensation of pain--of something indescribably wrong; but the keen sensibility of it, both mental and bodily, had now passed away. This semi-unconscious state did not seem the result of the accident that had befallen me. I thought it had arisen from long years of mental care and bodily suffering; and was the involuntary repose of a spirit exhausted by sheer contention, with all the ills that men may endure upon earth. Then I felt myself transferred from this state to another quite different--one of true physical pain, intense and excruciating, though it no longer resembled the indescribable horror I had experienced, while trying to inhale the rocks that were crushing the life out of me. My head was now uncovered; and I was breathing fast and freely. Though in great pain, I was now conscious of all that was transpiring. I could hear the voice of `Yorkey,' speaking in his native Yorkshire dialect, and encouraging me with the statement that I would soon be out of danger. Notwithstanding the pain I still suffered, I was happy--I believe never more so in my life. The horrible agony I had been enduring for the want of breath had passed away; and, as I recognised the voice of the kind-hearted Yorkshireman, I knew that everything would be done for me that man could do. I was not mistaken: for `Yorkey' soon after succeeded in getting my arms and legs extracted from the shingle; and I was hoisted up to the surface of the earth. Previous to this accident, I had but a faint idea of how much I valued life, or rather how much I had hitherto undervalued the endurance of death. My sufferings, whilst buried in the tunnel, were almost as great as those I had felt on first learning the loss of Lenore! This accident had the effect of sadly disgusting me with the romantic occupation of gold digging--at all events it made me weary of a digger's life on Mount Blackwood--where the best claim I could discover, paid but very little more than the expenses incurred in working it. I thought Mount Blackwood, for several reasons, the most disagreeable part of Victoria I had ever visited, excepting Geelong. I had a bad impression of the place on first reaching it; and working hard for several weeks, without making anything, did not do much towards removing that impression. I determined, therefore, to go back to Ballarat--not a little dissatisfied with myself for having left it. After my experience of the Avoca diggings, I had resolved to remain permanently at Ballarat--believing it to be the best gold-field in the Colony--but I had allowed false reports of the richness of Mount Blackwood to affect this resolution; and I was not without the consolation of knowing, that the misfortunes that befel me at the latter place were attributable to my own folly; in lending a too ready ear to idle exaggerations. Volume Three, Chapter XIV.