Our hotel proprietor had been one of the unfortunates. He said the prospects in the gold fields had never been great, and were then daily diminishing. "Gold," he said, "there is, but not in payable quantities; it is too patchy. One man will wash out ten or fifteen dollars' worth in a week, while the claims around him will not come near paying expenses. Sometimes a large nugget is found, as, for instance, the one recently exhibited in Durham, weighing 214 ounces. Young men frantically rush to see such a nugget, and immediately imagining the country is covered with gold, are eager to leave a good situation and go to the fields. "Deceived humanity! Let them be wise men for only five minutes, and ask themselves how much did that nugget cost the finder, and how many didn't find the nugget at all? I possess a quantity of gold that cost me ninety dollars the ounce, whereas the market value is from fifteen to twenty dollars the ounce. I am neither an Australian nor Californian miner, but, having always been in partnership with the latter, I have had the benefit of their experience, and I claim to be a practical miner. Labour is scarce. Kafirs are paid four dollars a month (they now receive much more) and have the usual diet, mealie meal, which is fifteen dollars a sack and sometimes twenty-five. No," said he, "prosperity is the exception, and the great cry is. How can I get away from here?" The attitude of the Boers had become more and more menacing during our short stay in Pretoria, and it seemed prudent to retire whilst we could. So giving up with a sigh all our half-formed resolutions to see the wild country and enjoy the glorious climate where the regaining of health was a certainty, we packed ourselves away in the down coach. The easiest way to ride with comfort in a coach is to imagine one's self India-rubber. Don't sit too firmly on the seat, but sway about with the motion of the coach until you can't imagine yourself India-rubber any more. By the time the body is numb and pretty nearly paralysed, the coach stops, and on trying to descend the limbs refuse to act. But the India-rubber idea has rested the body in some measure. The farms we passed on our way down were deserted, all the occupants having trekked to Potchefstrom to attend a monster meeting fixed for the following week. There had been heavy rains, and we crossed several streams which had changed into rivers since our journey up. One, the Yorksey, which was only just fordable, had been but a stagnant puddle when we passed it before.