Presently, turning to me, he said, “Mr Burke, you are fortunate in making the acquaintance of my old friend West, and you will be wise in taking any advice on colonial matters he may offer you. I have been thinking over your case. Now this is how it appears to me. Although you have been educated and trained as a soldier, still you have had no experience in bush fighting, and without that are of no use to us. I should therefore recommend you to join a colonial corps as a private, and you will quickly gain promotion, when you have gone through the mill and gained the required knowledge. Pay, I believe, is of small consequence to you; the hardships and dangers of the campaign, which are very great, must be borne equally by officers and men alike. Good birth and education are desirable, but it is the best men we want, and the best man gets ahead in this country. You have travelled fifteen thousand miles to see fighting, and therefore don’t want to serve as a town guard, so I will give you a letter to Colonel McDonnell, one of our most experienced officers, and can promise you that you will see enough savage warfare and experience every phase of irregular fighting. What do you say, West?” “You have given him the same advice as I have already done, so that if you will scribble a chit to McDonnell and give Burke a pass up in the _St Kilda_ I will look after him and see him through.” The advice was sound and I determined to profit by it, so, thankfully receiving the letter and pass, the latter including the name of Tim, we shook hands with the minister and backed out. No sooner were we clear of the Government Buildings than West said: “Let’s go down to Prosser’s; we are sure to find some of McDonnell’s men there, and you can make acquaintance with them. You will find them a warm lot, but all right in the field, and perfect devils to fight.” Prosser’s, at that time, was the great sporting headquarters of the up-country man, and was much frequented by the driver and stock-rider class, every one of whom is more or less a sportsman and lover of horseflesh. An odd prizefighter or rowing man might be found there occasionally, while diggers on their way to and from the goldfields used it largely. It was, however, a well-run establishment, owned by a very good fellow. On our entrance we found the place swarming with men of a type I had not as yet met, but although I have used the word “type,” and anyone could see they were men who followed the same occupation and had much in common, yet in nationality, birth, education and manners they differed greatly, and this difference was far more marked than had been the case among my old comrades in the Papal Zouaves.