News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-07-15

! about Australia 2 Oh, yes; I've no
Q doubt you know just where the big red
blot is on the map in your geography,
and can tell me what that book says
about the big island. But you have a
3 very foggy idea about it in spite of
that, I'll wager my hat. You cannot
imagine what great country it is, with
i mountains and valleys and plains; with
rivers as big as the Hudson, and cities
as large as Brooklyn. Why, Melbourne
is big city, with huge wharves and
warehouses, and elegant buildings and
street cars, and niose, and smoke, and
big ships and steamers in the harbor,
and thousands of people who never
heard of the Brooklyn Bridge or the
| Bartholdi Statuel Just think of it!
tell you realized these things when
landed in the big, strange city, and
J knew there was not a man, woman or
child there | had ever seen or heard of.
Lonesome as I was on the ocean, l was
!; a thousand times more lonesome in this
bustling place, so full of strange faces.
/ wanted to blubber right out in the
streets, but of course was enough of
man not to do that.
Gas said before, I had letter of
|
ing mean about my father, and he had
given me documents which would enable
me to draw at the various banks in
Australia e25 sterling, or over $500 a
month. But / had been thinking the
matter over. There was very cOnsid
erable portion of the American eagle
tucked away in my sixteen-ye year-old
body, and l was too independent for
anything. made up my mind that l
would not use the | tier of credit, or
accept any further assistance from my
father. l would cast him of. He had
chosen to turn me away from his home,
l said to myself. Never, never again
would touch a penny of his money. l
would show him whether | was a good
for naught, as he had said. My plan
was to make a fortune in short order.
Then would return too New York, and
as unfolded my millions to the aston
ished gaze of my stern parent, | should
snap my fingers in his face and cry:
Keep thy wealth, slrrah! l wish
none of it =
at gave me great comfort to repeat
these ords, and as l thought over my
coming triumph forgot all about my
homesick feelings.
"Oh dear! l don't believe you want to
hear the rest of this story. 1t makes
me blush to think of it. Well, if l |
must, here goes.
81 very soon found out that Mel
bourne was full of men who had come
from distant lands to get rich quickly |
in the Land of Promise. The city was !
| full of strangers of every sort: Eng |
lishmen, Irishmen, Americans, Span
iards Cinnamon, and l don't know |
what all. 1t was pretty rough crowd, |
if the truth must be told. They were .
all talking of the gold fields and the ;
sheep pastures, and l soon found out |
that these were considered the two royal /.
roads to fortune. l mingled with the
rough, restless crowd, and my ears
burned with the stories heard of fab
u!ous nuggets of gold picked up in the
new Ell Dorado. Men looked at my
smooth, boyish face, and my stylish
clothes, with some astonishment, but |
they were accustomed to see all sorts of |
men and boys among them, for the gold
fever is by no means poor mans dis
ease, and ministers and miners often
worked side by side, cradling for the
precious mineral which makes the world
so miserable.
''One day I fell in with a smooth,
sleek man who took great interest in
me. l told him all about myself and
my plans for astonishing the governor.
He said | was a brave fellow, and adj
vised me to join his party, which were
getting ready for the gold fields. l was
only too glad to accept. When l woke
up one morning and found that my nc
friend had walked of with my new
clothes, my gold watch, my letter of
credit and all my money, l began TO
Jose faith in the gold fields The ras al
had left me his well-worn clothes, and,
to show that he still had a consc ence,
he had placed couple of gold sover-
cigns in the vest po ;ket.
$50 | tried sheep raising, perforcc.
Now, l don't think l care to say much
about the two years ! spent, three hun
dred miles from Melbourne, working
for farmer at seven English shillings q
week. 1t was not life to brag about
For young man seeking his fortune it
was not success. If you could have
seen Ernest Trayers, the son of a rich
man, shelling dried peas, and helping
to wash sheep, and currying horses, all
for the princcly sum of dollar and a
half a week and his board, 1 don't
think you wo Id have envicd the Prod
igal Son bit. / don't care to tell how
many quarts of tears l shed on those
peas, or how many, many times | vowed
that If | ever got home again, | would
be COOL boy for ever after. | boarded
the pennies, but they came slowly.
zone day. after two years of this life, Il
threw down my spade where | was dig
ging, and started on foot for Melbourne
DO you know what it is to walk three
hundred miles over q rough country? |
hope you never will. When | reached
Melbourne my clothes were III tatters
and my shoes were all uppers. | was so
stiff that it took me an hour to walk half
q mile, and the big blisters on my feet
often made me cry with pain, and | was
no baby. | was pretty looking spec
tacle! On the road a big tramp took
away my little hoard of money, and all
had left was few shilings which he
had overlooked. | had intended to go
home rs steerage passenger. Now |
must work my passage.
"But this was not SO easy Sea cap
tains looked at my ragged clothes and
tangled hair, laughed, and said they
didn't want any help.
II slept Mt tramps' lodging house
at best it was almost that For six
pence you bought ticket emitting you
to a nights lodging, such as it was.
ate stale rolls, and thought them good.
had no money to buy better fare with.
Every day passed the bank to which |
had letters of introduction, but pride
kept me from going in
zone night spent my last siXpence
for lodging ticket. By some chance
that night the man who took up the
tickets passed me by. kept the ticket
in my pocket, and wondered if / could
get another nights lodging out of it.
The next day | had nothing to cat. Late
in the afternoon | swallowed my pride
and it was all had lett to swallow
and went into the bank.
"'Have you any mail for Earnest
Traverse | asked.
''The clerk looked at me curiously.
"What Earnest Traverse" he ask
cd
'T mentioned my fathers name and
address.
'''Wait moment said the clerk. He
went into an inner Office, and | heard
whispering voices, and saw curious
faces peering at me through the glass
doors. The room was whirling around,
and my head felt light and giddy and
queer. My heart was beating wildly,
yet | wanted to laugh, and all the while
was suffering cruel agonies of appre
hensIon. Oh how hungry | was
1.