The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-06-24

you know just where the big red blot
Is on the map in your geography, and
can tell me what that book saws about
the big island. But you have yery
ioggy idea about it in spite of that, I'll
wager my hat. You can not IMAGINE
what great country it is, with mount
aims and valleys and plains; with rivers
as big as the Hudson and cities as large
as Brooklyn. Why. Melbourne is a big
city, with huge wharves and ware
houses and elegant buildings and street
cars, and noise and smoke, and big
ships and steamers in the harbor, and
thousands of people who never heard
OF the Brooklyn bridge or the Bartholdi
statue! just think Of it! tell you
realized these things when I landed in
the Dig, strange city and knew there
was not man, woman or child there
mad ever seen or heard of. Lonesome
as was on the ocean, Twas thousand
times more lonesome in this bustlino
place. so full of strange faces. wanted
to biubber right out in the streets, but
OF course was enough of a man not to
| do that.
AS l said before, I had a letter of
| credit in my pocket. There was moth
ing mean about my father, and he had
gwen me documents which would en-.
able me to draw at the various banks
in Australia f25 sterling, or over 5000
month. But / had been thinking the
matter over. There was very con-
siderable portion of the American
eagle tucked away in my sixteen-year-
Old body, and l was too Independent
for any thing. | made up my mind
that would notuse the letter of credit,
or accept any further assistance from
my father [ would cast him off. He
had chosen to turn me away from his
home, said to myself Never, never
again would / touch penny of his
money. l would show him whether |
was good for naught, as he had said.
My plan was to make fortune in short
order. Then would return to New
York, and as unfolded my millions to
the astonished gaze of my stern parent,
l would snap my finger in his face and
cry:
"'Keep thy wealth, sirrah! wish
none of it!'
cit gave me great comfort to repeat
these words, and as l thought over my
coming triumph l forgot all about my
homesick feelings.
80 dear! 1 don't believe you want
to hear the rest of this story. 1t makes
me blush to think of it. Well, if must,
here goes.
II 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; English
men, Irishmen, Americans, Spaniards,
Cinnamon, and 1 don know what all. 1t
was a pretty rough crowd, if the truth
must be told. They were all talking OF
the gold fields and the sheep pastures,
and [ soon found out that these were
/ considered the two royal roads to for
tune. l mingled with the rough, rest
less crowd, and my ears burned with
the stories heard of fabulous nuggets
of gold picked up in the new El 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 disease, and ministers and
miners often worked side by side,
grading for the precious mineral which
makes the world so miserable.
Zone day I fell in with smooth,
sleek man who took great interest in
me. told him all about myself and
my plans for astonishing the governor.
He said was brave fellow, and ad-
vised me to join his party, which was
getting ready for the gold fields I was
only too glad to accept. When / woke
up one morning and found that my
new friend had walked off with my
new clothes, my gold watch, my letter
of credit, and all my money, began to
lose faith in the gold fields. The rascal
| had left me his well-worn clothes, and,
to show that he still had conscience.
he had placed a couple of gold sover
eigns in the vest pocket.
$50 tried sheep-raising. perforce.
Now, don't think Icare to say much
about the two years / spent, three hum
dred miles from Melbourne, working
for farmer at seven English shillings
a week. 1t was not life to brao
| sSoOAosf = va N youusS AAAAh oOOhlAs,
fortune it was not success. If you
could have seen Ernest Travers, the
son of a rich man, shelling dried peas,
and helping to wash sheep, and curry
ling horses, all for the princely sum OF
a dollar and ahaf week and bis
board, I don't think you would have
envied the Prodigal Son bit. / don't
care to tell how many quarts of tears ]
shed on those peas, or how many, many
times vowed that if 1 ever got home
again would be a good boy for ever
after. Ihoarded the pennies but they
came slowly.
Zone day, after two years of this
life. | threw down my spade where ]
was digging, and started on foot for
Melbourne. Do you know what it is
to walk three hundred miles over a
rough country? Ihope you never will.
When reached Melbourne my clothes
were in tatters and my shoes were all
uppers. / was SO stiff that it took me
an hour. to walk half mile, and the
big blisters on my feet often made me
cry with pain. and was no baby
either. Twas pretty looking specta-
Gle! On the road a big tramp took
away my little hoard of money, and all