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New Zealander, Volume 9, Issue 762, 3 August 1853, Page 3

A Heroine at the Diggings.—The Dublin Commercial Journal publishes a letter of quite a romantic character, lately received by a lady of Dublin from a young female friend, and former schoolfellow "of hers, now at the Australian diggings. It appears from her narrative that she and her brother were suddenly left orphans with 3007. for their necessities, and all the fancies and niceties which life in prosperous circumstances is wont to include. u He had passed through college with credit, and could write poetry and ride up to the hounds as well as any huntsman that ever hunted the Golden Yale; while 1, on my part,, could play polkas, sing ballads, speak French and a little German, was a capital horsewoman (only I had no horse), and once in my life had composed a waltz, and written sixteen chapters of a novel, which broke down from my not knowing how to get my heroine out of a terrible scrape. But, alas ! my dear friend, all these things might have done well enough l once upon a time,'but the real battle of life was now to be fought by two utterly inexperienced raw recruits, and the lion was, how our time and means were to be profitably rather than pleasantly spent. Fortunately, we were both young, strong, active and hearty, and never did any Sebastian \ mla of them all love each other with a stronger and morcenduring affection than did Frank and I,— sole remnants as we were of so much prosperity and solillle prudence." After much nervous consultation over the 300?., they determined to emigrate to Australia. Oa reaching Melbourne they found that they could not encounter worse inconveniences at the diggings, and there they now are under singularly interesting circumstances. The. young lady says:—"l was resolved to accompany my brother and his friends to the diggings,and 1 fell that to do so in my own proper costume and character would be to run unnecessary hazard. Hence my change. 1 cut my hair into a very masculine fashion; I purchased a broad fell hat, a sort of tunic cr smock of coarse blue eloth, trousers to conform, bools of a miner, and thus parting with my sex for a season (I hoped a belter one,) behold me an accomplished candidate for mining operations, and all the perils and inconveniences I hey might

be supposed (o bring. All this transmutatie look place w ilh Frank and Mr. M 's sanation ; indeed it was he who first suggested the change, which I grasped at and improved on. I could not bear to be separated from Frank, and we all felt that 1 should be safer in my male attire than if I exposed myself to the dangers of tli3 route and residence in my proper guise. We have now been nine weeks absent from Melbourne, and have tried three localities, al the latter of which we have been most fortunate. We arc near water (a first-rate article), and our tent is pitched en the shlc of as pretty a valley as you could wish to visit. I have for myself a sod of 'supplementary canvass chamber,' in which I sleep, cook, wash clothes—that is my own and Frank's—and keep watch and ward over heaps of Kold dust and "nuggets," tho sight and touch of which inspirit me when I grow dull, which 1 seldom do, for I have constant 'droppers in,' and, to own the truth, even in my palmiest days I never was treated with more win lesy or respect. Of course my sex is generally known. I am called 'Mr. Harry (an abbreviation of Harriet); but no one intrudes the more on that account. In fact, I have become a sort of ' necessity,'as lam always ready to do a good turn—the great secret, after Jill, or social success—and 1 never refuse to om'gc a ' neighbour,'be the trouble what it may. The conscqußiices are pleasant enough. Many a 'nugget'is thrust on me whether 1 will or no, in return for cooking a pudding or darning a shirt; and if all (he cooks and sempstresses in the world v/ere as splendidly paid as I am, the ' Song or the Shirt' would never have been written, al all events. My'.own board amounts now to about 101b. of gold, and if I go on accumulating, even the richest heiress in rny family in former days will be left immeasurably behind. Sometimes, when 1 have a few idle hours, I accompany Frank and his comrades lo the diggings, and it is a rare thing lo watch the avidity with which every 'bucket' is raised, washed, examined, and commented upon. Wild the life is, certainly, but full of excitement and hope; and, strange as it is,Jt almost fear to tell you, that Ido not wish it to end! You can hardly conceive what a merry company gather together in our tent every evening, or how pleasantly the hours pass. Tea and coffee we have in plenty, for every one brings a hoard, and milk we manage to obtain, for among us we have imported hro cows, which cost us about 50Z. each, but that is a mere trifle. Cake of various kinds I manufacture, thanks to old Betsy D forteaching me; and as for liquor, we sometimes! have a little wine, brandy, or arrack, and some 4 limes not. And Ihen we dance to the music o a German flute, played by a real German, o' we sing glees and quarletls, or talk of Moore Byron, Burns, Goethe, Shakspere, and the musical glasses, etc., until midnight, and sometimes long after it. As to suitors, I have them in plenty, and not despicable ones either, I assure you.".