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antine officer, who inquires as to the health of the ship, which is satisfactory, and we proceed up the Bay. Shortly after, we pass, on the west, Queenscliffe, a pretty village built on a bit of abrupt headland, the houses of which dot the greensward. The village church is a pleasant object in the landscape. We curiously spy the land as we pass. By the help of the telescope we can see signs of life on shore. We observe, among other things, an early tradesman's cart, drawn by a fast-trotting pony, driving along the road. More dwellings appear amid a pretty, well cultivated, rolling landscape.

At length we lose sight of the shore, proceeding up the Bay toward Melbourne, which is nearly some thirty miles distant, and still below the horizon. Sailing on, the tops of trees rise up; then low banks of sand, flat tracts of bush, and, slightly elevated above them, occasional tracts of clear yellow space. Gradually rising up in the west, distant hills come in sight; and toward the north an undulating region is descried stretching round the Bay inland.

We now near the northern shore, and begin to perceive houses, and ships, and spires. The port of Williamstown comes in sight, full of shipping, as appears by the crowd of masts. Outside of it is Her Majesty's ship "Nelson" lying at anchor. On the right is the village or suburb of St. Kilda, and still farther round is Brighton. Sandridge, the landing-place of Melbourne, lies right ahead of us, and over the masts of shipping we are pointed to a mass of houses in the distance, tipped with spires and towers, and are told, "There is the city of Melbourne !"

At 5 P.M. we were alongside the large wooden railway pier of Sandridge, and soon many of our fellow-passen

gers were in the arms of their friends and relatives. Others, of whom I was one, had none to welcome us; but, like the rest, I took my ticket for Melbourne, only some three miles distant, and in the course of another quarter of an hour I found myself safely landed in the great city of the Antipodes.

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First Impressions of Melbourne.-Survey of the City.-The Streets.Collins Street.-The Traffic.-Newness and Youngness of Melbourne. -Absence of Beggars. - Melbourne an English City. - The Chinese Quarter. The Public Library.-Pentridge Prison.-The Yarra River. -St. Kilda.-Social Experiences in Melbourne.-A Marriage Ball.Melbourne Ladies.-Visit to a Serious Family.

I ARRIVE in Melbourne toward evening, and, on stepping out of the railway train, find myself amid a glare of gas-lamps. Outside the station the streets are all lit the shops are brilliant with light, and well-dressed people are moving briskly about.

up,

What is this large building in Bourke Street, with the

crowd standing about? It is the Royal Theatre. A large stone-faced hall inside the portico, surrounded by bars brilliantly lit, is filled with young men in groups lounging about, talking and laughing. At the farther end of the vestibule are the entrances to the different parts of the house.

Farther up the same street I come upon a large market-place, in a blaze of light, where crowds of people are moving about, buying vegetables, fruit, meat, and such like. At the farther end of the street the din and bustle are less, and I see a large structure standing in an open space, looking black against the starlit sky. I afterward find that it is the Parliament House.

Such is my first introduction to Melbourne. It is evidently a place stirring with life. After strolling through some of the larger streets, and every where observing the same indications of wealth, and traffic, and population, I took the train for Sandridge, and slept a good sound sleep in my bunk on board the "Yorkshire" for the last time.

Next morning I returned to Melbourne in the broad daylight, when I was able to take a more deliberate survey of the city. I was struck by the width and regularity of some of the larger streets, and by the admirable manner in which they are paved and kept. The whole town seems to have been laid out on a systematic plan, which some might think even too regular and uniform. But the undulating nature of the ground on which the city is built serves to correct this defect, if defect it be.

The streets are mostly laid out at right angles; broad streets one way, and alternate broad and narrow streets crossing them. Collins and Bourke Streets are perhaps

the finest. The view from the high ground at one end of Collins Street, looking down the hollow of the road, and right away up the hill on the other side, is very striking. This grand street, of great width, is probably not less than a mile long. On either side are the principal bank buildings, tall and handsome. Just a little way up the hill, on the farther side, is a magnificent white palace-like structure, with a richly ornamented façade and tower. This is the new Town Hall. Higher up is a fine church spire, and beyond it a red brick tower, pricked out with yellow, standing in bold relief against the clear blue sky. You can just see Bourke and Wills' monument there, in the centre of the roadway; and at the very end of the perspective, the handsome gray front of the Treasury bounds the view.

Among the peculiarities of the Melbourne streets are the deep, broad stone gutters on either side of the roadway, evidently intended for the passage of a very large quantity of water in the rainy season. They are so broad as to render it necessary to throw little wooden bridges over them at the street-crossings. I was told that these open bridges are considered by no means promotive of the health of the inhabitants, which one can readily believe; and it is probable that before long they will be covered up.

Walk over Collins and Bourke Street at nine or ten in the morning, and you meet the business men of Melbourne on their way from the railway station to their offices in town; for the great number of them, as in London, live in the suburbs. The shops are all open, every thing looking bright and clean. Pass along the same streets in the afternoon, and you will find gayly-dressed

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