ing of the tide. Frank and Fred found the oysters of good flavor and soon became quite expert at opening the shells with the oyster-knives which were opportunely brought along in the boat.
"Don't fail to visit the gold-mines and the Hot Lake district," was the injunction repeatedly made to Doctor Bronson and his young companions. As soon as they had exhausted the sights of Auckland and its neighborhood they proceeded to follow the foregoing advice.
PROSPECTING FOR GOLD.
First in order were the Thames gold-fields. A steamer carried them in five hours from Auckland to Grahamstown, and as soon as they were on shore they began their inspection of the mines. There are no placer diggings here, the mining being almost entirely confined to the veins of quartz in the mountains, which rise abruptly from the shore of the bay on which Grahamstown is built. For this reason Grahamstown, which takes its name from Robert Graham, its founder, has a more permanent and substantial appearance than the ordinary town in a newly opened mining country. It lies along the shore of the bay, and the numerous reduction-works, founderies, and similar establishments were suggestive of a manufacturing centre rather than a mining one only a few years old.
