Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1886-10-25

a man, woman or child there I had
ever seen or heard of. Lonesome as
| was on the ocean, I was thousand
times more lonesome in this brstling
place, SO full of strange faces. I
wanted to blnbber right out in the
streets, but of course 1 was enough
of man not to do that.
AS | said before, | had letter of
credit in my pocket. There was moth
ing mean about my father, and he
had given me documents which would
enable me to draw at the various
banks in Australia f25 sterling, or
over 5000 month. But | had been
thinking the matter over. There was
a very considerable portion of the
American eagle tucked away in my
sixteen-year-old body, and was too
independent for anything. l made
up my mind that | would not u3e that
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, l said to
myself. Never, never again would
| touch penny of his money. |
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 I unfolded my millions
to the astonished gaze of my stern
parent, l should snap my fingers IN
his face and cry:
keep thy wealth, sirrah wish
none of it!'
1t gave me great comfort to repeat
these words, and as 1 thought over
my coming triumph forgot all about
my homesick feelings.
Oh, dear 1 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.
1 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 !:
Englishmen, Irishmen, Americans,
Spaniards, Chinamen, and don't
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 l
soon found out that these were con-
sidered the two royal roads to for
tune. / mingled with the rough, rest
less crowd, and nv ears burned with
the stories / heard of fabulous mug
gets of gold picked up in the new FL
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 a poor
mans disease, land ministers and min
ers often worked side by side, cradl-
ing for the precious mineral which
makes the world so miserable.
One day | fell in with smooth,
sleek man who took great interest
in me. l told him all about myself
and my plans for astonishing the gov
ernor. He said | was brave fellow
and advised me join his party, which
was getting ready for the gold fields.
was only too glad to accept. When
l woke up one morning and found
that my new friend had walked of
with my new clothes, my gold watch,
my letter of credit, and all my mon
ey, began to lose faith in the gold
fields. The rascal had left me his
well-worn clothes, and, to show that
he still had a conscience, he had
placed couple of gold sovereigns in
the vest pocket.
SO | tried sheep raising, perforce
Now, I don't think | care to say
much about the two years l spent
| three hundred miles from Melbourne
working for a farmer at seven En-.
glish shillings week. 1t was not 8
life to brag about. For young mar
seeking his fortune, it was not a sue
cess. If you could have seen Ernes
Travers, the son of rich man, sell
ing dried peas, and helping to wasf
sheep, and currying horses, all fol
the princely sum of dollar and s
half a week and his board, I don't
think you would have envied the
Prodigal Son a bit. l don't care te
tell how many quarts of tears | she6
on those peas, or how many, many
times | vowed that if | ever got home
again, [ would be good boy for evel
after. boarded the pennies, bu
they came slowly.
One day, after two years of this
life, ! threw down my spade where
was digging, and started on foot TO
Melbourne. Do you know what it il
to walk three hundred miles over :
rough country? | hope you neve
will. When l reached Melbourne m,
clothes were in tatters and my shoes
were all uppers. | was so stiff tina
it took me an hour to walk half .
mile, and the big hlisters on my fee
often made me cry with pain, and
was no baby. | was pretty looking
spectacle On the road big tramp
took away my little hoard of money
and all | had left was few shilling!
which he had overlooked. [ had in
tended to 60 home as steerage pass