FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF MELBOURNE.
It will readily be believed that our hero surveyed with eager interest
the city which lay before him. Melbourne was not so large and populous as
at present, but it presented an unusually lively and animated appearance.
It was in the height of the gold excitement, and multitudes had flocked
thither from all parts of the world, so that representatives of every
nationality might be found in the streets of Australia’s capital. But we
are anticipating a little.
Mr. Lindsay, Maud, and Harry stood on the deck of the vessel, waiting for
the ship to be secured, that they might go on shore. Mr. Lindsay’s mind
was quite at ease, for he had money, and money would provide him with all
the comforts and luxuries which he could desire. But with Harry it was
different. He realized the helplessness of the situation, and, despite
his pluck, it made him feel a little uneasy. He knew that Mr. Lindsay
had an interest in him, but he did not like to presume upon that interest.
“Well, my boy,” said Mr. Lindsay, “are you ready to go on shore?”
Harry hesitated.
“I should like to go,” he said.
“I have just ordered my trunks brought on deck,” said the merchant. “In
half an hour I think we may be on shore.”
“Then I will bid you good-by, sir,” said Harry.
“Good-by! What for?”
“Yes, Harry, what for?” echoed Maud.
“Because we are going to part.”
“No, we are not. You are going with us.”
“But,” said Harry, hesitating, “I could not afford to stop where you do.”
“Don’t trouble yourself about that,” said Mr. Lindsay, kindly. “I feel an
interest in you, and so does Maud.”
“Of course I do,” said Maud, so decidedly that Harry blushed, not being
accustomed to hear himself spoken of in such such complimentary terms by
a young lady.
“Therefore,” proceeded Mr. Lindsay, “I mean to take you on shore with me,
and I will afterwards give you time to form your plans, in which I shall
give you such assistance as I can.”
“You are very kind, sir,” said Harry, gratefully.
“Then you will go with us, Harry,” said Maud, “won’t you?”
“I shall be very glad to do so,” said Harry. “You are very kind to me,
Miss Lindsay.”
“Miss Lindsay!” repeated the young lady, impatiently. “What makes you
call me that?”
“Isn’t it your name?” asked Harry, smiling.
“No, it isn’t. At any rate you are not to call me so. Call me Maud.”
“Well, Maud, I will, if you want me to.”
“Certainly I do. I wish we could go on shore; I am tired of staying here.”
They had not long to stop, however. They were soon on the pier, where
a number of carriages were waiting to convey passengers to the various
hotels. Mr. Lindsay had previously inquired which was the best hotel in
the city, and gave directions to the driver to convey him thither. As I
do not wish to discriminate in favor of any particular hotel, I shall
call it by an assumed name, “The Tasmania Hotel.”
It had a handsome appearance, being located on Collins Street, which
is the principal business street in Melbourne. This street is about
one third wider than Broadway, and had, even in the days of which I am
writing, many handsome shops and imposing buildings.
“I didn’t know Melbourne was such a nice place,” said Maud, looking about
with satisfaction. “Why, they’ve got as nice shops here as they have in
London.”
“Yes, Melbourne is quite an enterprising city,” said Mr. Lindsay.
“I like it better than London for one reason,” continued Maud.
“What is that?”
“It is brighter and more cheerful. In London it is almost always foggy.”
“I should like to deny that, being a true Briton,” said Mr. Lindsay;
“but I am afraid I must admit that London is open to that objection.”
“I’ll tell you what I am going to do this afternoon papa.”
“Well, what is it?”
“I’m going out shopping.”
“I am afraid I can’t go with you this afternoon, Maud. I shall be
occupied with business.”
“There is no need of your going with me, papa.”
“But I should not be willing to have you go alone, Maud,” said her father.
“I don’t mean to go alone. Harry’ll go with me, and protect me, only I
don’t think I shall need any protection; but it’ll be pleasant to have
him go.”
“If he is willing to go, I have no objection.”
“You’ll come with me, Harry, won’t you?” asked Maud.
“I shall be very happy to accompany you, Miss—”
Here Maud held up her finger warningly.
“I mean Maud,” said our hero.
“Then that’s settled. We’ll have lots of fun.”
“I am afraid that is not quite the way young ladies ought to talk,” said
her father. “What would your governess say?”
“Poor, dear old lady! she’d be shocked, I know she would. She wanted me
to be as prim and stupid as herself. But I can’t be, papa. It is not in
me.”
“No, I don’t think it is,” said her father, smiling.
They were assigned pleasant rooms in the hotel; in fact, the best in the
house. Mr. Lindsay, though not an extravagant man, was always liberal in
all his arrangements when travelling; and now especially, when he had his
daughter with him, he was resolved to spare no expense to secure such
comforts as could be procured. Harry also was provided with a pleasant
apartment on the same floor. Mr. Lindsay might easily have secured for
him a cheaper one on an upper floor; but he was apparently resolved to
treat Harry as if he were a member of his own family.
They ordered an early dinner, being tired of ship fare, and anxious
for the fresher vegetables and meat which could be obtained on shore.
According to the English system, they took their meal privately in Mr.
Lindsay’s apartment. It proved to be well cooked, and of good quality,
and each of the three did full justice to it.
When the meal was over, Mr. Lindsay said:—
“I must go out now and make a business call, leaving you young people to
your own devices.”
“We’ll go out shopping and sight-seeing, papa, as I told you.”
“Don’t go too far, or you might get lost.”
“Never fear that. But there’s one thing you mustn’t forget, papa.”
“What is that?”
“What does a young lady always want when she goes out shopping?”
“Some money?”
“You’ve guessed right the first time.”
“You won’t want much. What do you wish to buy?”
“I can’t tell, papa, till I see what they have got to sell.”
“Here, then,” said Mr. Lindsay, placing two gold sovereigns in his
daughter’s hand. “Mind and don’t spend it foolishly.”
“Did you ever know me spend money foolishly, papa?”
“Well, perhaps I had better not express myself on that point. Good-by for
a few hours.”
Mr. Lindsay went out, and Maud and Harry soon followed. They walked along
Collins Street, looking about them with eager interest. They met German,
English, French, Chinese; in fact, types of nearly all nationalities.
This seemed more strange to Maud than to Harry, for in New York the
latter had been accustomed to see a mingling scarcely less great of
heterogeneous elements. But in London, or, at any rate, in those parts
with which Maud was familiar, there was far less diversity.
“I like this,” said Maud, with satisfaction. “Everything looks so new and
strange. It’s ever so much better fun than being in London. Besides, if
I were in London, instead of having you to walk about with me, I should
have a stiff old governess calling out every moment, ‘You should be more
particular about your deportment, Miss Maud.’ Now I know you won’t say
anything about my deportment.”
“No, I think not,” said Harry. “I don’t know what a young lady’s
deportment ought to be.”
“I’m glad of that, for you won’t be turning up the whites of your eyes at
me in horror at anything I say or do. Oh, there’s some ribbon I want! Do
you see it in that window? Come in with me, Harry.”
They went in, and Maud made a purchase of some ribbon, which she declared
to be of a lovely shade.
Now it must be confessed that Maud sometimes allowed her high spirits
to carry her too far. She was of an excitable, impulsive temperament.
Still her impulses were generous and kindly, and in spite of her faults
she was unusually attractive, and it was difficult not to be won over by
her frank, affectionate manner. So Harry, who was not much used to the
society of young ladies, and, as he said, did not very well know what
deportment was proper for them, considered Maud to be very agreeable, and
felt grateful for her kindness to himself.
After buying the ribbon, Maud walked on for some little distance till she
came to a gentleman’s furnishing store.
“I want to go in here, Harry,” she said.
“They only sell articles for gentlemen in there,” said Harry.
“Never mind,” said Maud. “I know what I want. Come in.”
Entering the shop, Maud took the lead, and, advancing to the counter,
asked the shopman:—
“Will you show me some of your cravats?”
“For yourself, miss?” asked the shopman, surprised. “We don’t keep
ladies’ goods.”
“No, for this young gentleman, my cousin,” she added, looking at Harry.
“But, Maud, you mustn’t buy anything for me,” interposed Harry, in a low
voice.
“Yes, I shall,” said Maud. “I don’t like your cravat at all. I’m going to
buy you a nice one.”
Harry continued to remonstrate, but he found that opposition only made
Maud more determined. So he was obliged to submit, while she purchased
for him two handsome neckties.
“There, Harry,” she said, placing them in his hand, as they left the
shop, “I expect you to put one of them on as soon as you get home.”
“What will your father say, Maud?” asked Harry. “Perhaps he won’t like
it.”
“You don’t know papa,” said Maud. “He will only laugh. Now will you
promise?”
“I am sure I am much obliged to you. I wish I could buy you a present.
Perhaps I may be able to some time.”
“There, don’t say anything more about it. What a lot of carriages there
are in the street!—almost as many as in London.”
The street, in fact, was lively with a continued line of cabs, drays,
and vehicles of various kinds, presenting a spectacle more animated
than might be expected of a city of the size. But Melbourne, though
at this time it contained but a hundred thousand inhabitants, had a
very large foreign trade with the principal ports not only of Europe
but of the United States. This had been largely increased by the gold
discoveries,—those who were lucky at the mines being prodigal in their
purchases of articles of luxury as well as necessity. Then there was
a large export trade in wool, hides, and country produce from the
interior, especially in the two former, for Australia is a great grazing
country.
“I wonder what building that is!” said Harry, soon afterwards.
He pointed to a very handsome structure in the Italian style, on the
corner of Bourke and Elizabeth Streets. It was adorned with sculptures,
and looked new. In fact, it had just been opened to the public.
“That,” said a gentleman, who overheard him, “is our new post-office.”
“That reminds me,” said Harry, “I must write home to-night, to let my
mother know where I am.”
In fact, Harry did write that same evening, and gave the letter to a
servant at the hotel to post. The latter carelessly lost the letter, and
then, being afraid of blame, falsely assured Harry that he had posted
it. So the fates were once more against Mrs. Raymond, and the missive
which would have cheered her heart got swept into a waste-basket, and was
consumed with other papers of no value.