MARTIN RATTLER. 108

“And do ye git much out 0’ the di’mond mines?”
inquired Barney, whose mind was running on this
subject.

“Oh yes, a great deal. Every year many are got,
and Government gets one-fifth of the value of all the
gold and diamonds found in the country. One
diamond was found a short time ago which was
worth £40,000.”

“Ye don’t say so!” exclaimed Barney in great
surprise, as he blew an immense cloud of smoke from
his lips. “ Now, that’s extr’or’nary. Why don’t every-
body go to the mines and dig up their fortin at wance?”

“Because men cannot eat diamonds,” replied the
hermit gravely.

“Troth, I niver thought o’ that; ye’re right.”

Martin laughed heartily as he lay in his hammock
and watched his friend’s expression while pondering
this weighty subject.

“ Moreover,” resumed the hermit, “you will be sur-
prised to hear that diamond and gold finding is not
the most profitable employment in the country.

“The man who cultivates the ground is better off
than anybody. It is a fact, a very great fact, a fact
that you should get firmly fixed in your memory—
that in less than two years the exports of sugar and

coffee amounted to more than the value of all the