"It may be, my children, that the 49 per cent. of the foreign born, who are said to furnish the other per cent. of the 'takings,' are only celebrating their arrival in so glorious a country--a country in which a day's earnings, it is said, will pay for many beers. At any rate, the native-born Zelanian seems the better man, for he either 'calls' less frequently or 'carries his load' better than the 'new chum.'" But all are thirsty, Mr. Oseba, and the "practice at the bar," if not profitable, is exhilarating. They think they want a drink. When it's wet they want a drink. When it's dry they want a drink. When it's warm, and when it's cold; When they're young and when they're old-- They think, and when they think, They want a drink. When they're sick, and when they're well, Bound for heaven or for ----, Then they think--they want a drink. But do they think when e'er they drink? Or does the drink confuse the think? "But the fact," said Mr. Oseba, "that in one year there were twelve homicides is most surprising to the inquiring stranger. Surely no man well 'quartered' in Zelania should care to be killed, and the reckless head that would plan, or the ruthless hand that would execute a design to close a life in Zelania, should in some manner be restrained from so fell a purpose. Deducting the homicides of foreign birth, however, it leaves for the Zelanians the cleanest record in the 'Christian' world--as one would expect. "The Zelanians, my children, are usually glad they are alive, and, too, they are usually willing to allow others to remain and enjoy the entertainment." INTELLECTUAL GYMNASTICS. The notes relating to Zelanian art and literature were very full, and they were complimentary. 'Tis said that art develops only with age, and that while the aspect of Nature may appeal to the poetic or artistic imagination, art arises from dominant ideas, from deeply-seated sentiments, and as in new, active, progressive, and commercial countries the dominant ideas do not lend themselves to reverie, and could not be feelingly expressed on canvas, art in Zelania must be "imported" for a season. But literature has come, and literature is civilisation. The notes continue:-- "Literature, or, to broaden the theme and say the taste for knowledge and for general reading in Zelania, deserves many compliments. While there is not, as yet, a literature bearing a distinctive stamp of Zelanian genius, many volumes with real merit, both in prose and verse, have been written, and the topics show a versatile taste, knowledge, and imagination.