Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1878-03-22


Man.
CONTINUED from yesterday
| wonder if there was another such city
as Melbourne in the first year or two after
the discovery of gold All the world was
there; Spaniards and Parleyvoos, Greeks
and Malays, Russians and Indians. John
Chnaman was not there, but he came af-
terward. Such drinking and squanderng
OF mOny was never seen before, and will
never be seen again. We were all mad.
had heaps of money in the shape OF mug
gets, so put up at the biggest hotel in
Melbourne, the Criterion, and drank cham
pagne at ten dollars bottle--No. Two
we called it-for breakfast, dinner, and
tea, and was as mad as the rest OF them.
| was drinking phiz at the Criterion bar,
when Il mate that had known on the dig
glngs came in and clapped me on the
shoulder.
"IIullo, Bo-kee" he said.
"lIullo, Mate " said
And called for another bottle of No.
Two, and knocked the neck off. and
poured the champagne into two pewter
pots. When we had drank it we ex-
changed news, which only consisted in the
intelligence that we had both gone to Mel
bourne on spree, and that we were Jolly
glad to see each other. Little as there
was to say, it took long time to say it,
and there's no telling how long we might
have stood there talking nor how many
bottles OF No. Two we ight have cracked
it voice that sounded three parts like
mans and one part like a woman's hadn't
screamed out:
"Now, then, Tom how much longer
are you going to be?"
Tom dropped the pewter pot and said
with tipsy laugh,
Hanged il wasn't forgetting; that's
my wife,
''Didn't know you were married, mate"
said.
NO more | was" he said, scratching
his head, "till an hour ago. Come out
and see her"
/ went with him to the door of the hotel.
and there in a coach was his wife, dressed
in pink silk-a great red-faced Irish wo.
man, ten years older than lom. A young
er woman. but most as big, was sitting
next to her
"Only met her yesterday, Bo kee," he
whispered. "Met her yesterday, married
her to-day-that's the proper kind of
thing to do"
PLENTY of her. | whispered back.
"lsn't there 20 he answered exultingly.
Cant get such woman as that every
day"
VERY sudden marriage, mate, isn't it?'
l said.
Not at all" he said tits the proper
kind OF thing to do: it's the fashion. Bar
ney, the butcher, was married Yesterday.
and fighting Pnil the dav before"
Were they, though ?" said. knew
both OF them well. Aud it's the proper
thing to do-eh, mate ?? =
mo good coming to Melbourne without
doing it," he answered,
who is that bouncing girl in the coach?'
asked.
That's Rafting Bet" he said. Jump
in, and stick to her. Show her your mug
gets, and she'll have you"
As it really appeared the proper kind of
thing to do, | Jumped in by the side of
Rattling Bet, and before the day was over
we arranged to get married.
She was q sumner, was Rafting Bet.
She wouldn't get married in anything but
white satin, and she stipulated that on
the day we were tied together, we should
drive through Melbourne in d carriage
and six, and treat all the diggers either of
us knew She got blind drunk on the
weddine day; but, as | got blind drunk as
well, | hadn't much to grumble at
OF course didn't know it at the time,
but do believe that girl had been mar
ried twenty times. The only thing did
know about her was that she was a stun
ming big girl, with eyes as black as cher
res, and with hair down to her waist. If
she had been born in tiptop family she
would have been regular beauty. She
pretended to be in love with my whistling,
and believed her like fool, She would
say
"Whistle, B1-kee !"
And would sit before her whistling.
like great donkey, and | dare say she
was laughing at me all the time thought
she was admlring me.
1t wasn't my whisling she was in love
with it was my nuggets. She made up
her mind to have them. and have them
she did That's what | like in Rittling
Bet. There was nothing namby-pamby
about her We had been married lust
three days. would not have known that
it wasn't three weeks if it hadn't been for
dates, for was drinking day and night,
and WASH t sober a minute of the time
when | was brought to my senses by be-
ing told that Rattling Bet had ratified off
with another lucky digger. She had rat
tied off with my nuggets as well. But
had few ounces of gold on deposit in a
Melbourne bank, and drew it and spent
it tracking her; without success, though,
for she had sloped to the Sidney side. and
had my own particular reasons for not
showing my face there just then. soon
gave up the hunt, and went back to Jack
ass Gully, but | found. when | got there,
that the best part of the gold had been
dug out went from one gully TO an
other, but though could always get gold,
couldn't get it in such quantities as when
| was mates with Dutch Louis and 10 the
Tinman. used to wonder if they ever
reached the diggings where the gold was
ly ing in Jumps on the surface, inquired
for them wherever | went, but nobody
could tell me anything about them, and II
wasn't till fifteen months afterwards that
| came plump upon Dutch Louis, at