Year: 1877

They tell me that NOWADAYS. when a


vessel arrives at Melbourne. the Milo,
comes off to her outside the harbor.. IF
so, congratulate the adult COLONY of Vic-


lorla upon. at all events, one very decid
ed Improvement upon the somewhat &C.


centric arrangements adopted BY the iu-


venile colony Of Port Phillip some time
ago. When | arrived there in the year


1891, in the good ship ANONYMOUS. the
fashion was for the pilot to wait till tbe


danger was passed, and then come Quiet


ly on board inside the bar, and entertain


YOU on the way up to the mouth of the


farra Yarra. with playful chaff upon the


narrowness of your escape from LAYING


your bones upon il. In case there should
be any among my readers who may not vet


have made personally y-conducted' voy-
age to Australia, may thus miss the cream
oil this exqulsit practical Jest, may mem


ton that the harbor of Victoria is little
inland sea of | forget how many square


miles in extent. with just one exceeding


y narrow entrance. 1t is in fact like, a


very huge bottle with a very tiny neck:
or. to be more dignified. like a miniature
Mediterranean with q proportionate Gut
OF Gibraltar.


Now this is all very well with the Med
iterranean, which is an easy going classi-
cal old sea. ready enough TO rage upon
adequate occasions, but far too blase for
the unexciting exertion OF. o daily tide.
But Port Philip is in its juvenile stage-that
stage when ii is q physical necessity to be
doing something" ii it be only the truly
dabolical occupation of going to and fro
and walking up and down. SO, Port Phil
lip. OF course, indulges in tide, and as
this tide has no other means Of getting In
and out OF the big bottle except through
the little neck, you may readily obtain by
the simple means of filling a bottle with


water and turning it topsy -turvy, 4 fairly
suggestive idea Ot the way in which il
conducts itself on the passage. To make
things better, about half the channel is
barred by a submerged reef. 80 aos


will do the third mate of the Anonv.
nous the justice to believe that he was
not aware of the ingepius regulation above
referred to, by which it was ordained
that vessel should in. all cases run the
gauntlet OF this pleasant passage, before
presuming to demand the services of a
pilot. Indeed, there was no particular rea-


son why the third mate should have known
anything about it. 1t was only his second


voyage at sea, and the first had been T.,


Callao and back. You will say, perhaps


that, under those circumstances, there was
no particular reason why the charge of
the good ship Anonymous should have
been left to the third mate. And per-
haps there was not. Only with the sec.
ond mate deserted in Port Cooper, the
mate with his skull split fairly open twelve
hours ago by the fall of heavy block.
and the skipper what fguratively- dis
posed Yankee on board called ..sopping-
drunk' in his cabin, it was not so easy to
say on whom else that duty should de-
vOlve. '"'


And on The whole. perhaps, as a prac.
tlcal seaman without the slightest knowl-
edge OF his whereabouts except such "a
might be CLEANED from chart carefully
locked up in some unknown drawer in the
captains cabin. he no doubt acted for the
best in not attempting to run his ships
nose into such very uninviting-looking
trap as Port Phillip Heads without assist,
anee. and accordingly in heaying her to
and signalling vehemently for assistance.


He was wrong, no doubt in swearing so
violently as he did, when, instead OF send
ing us pilot, the lighthouse people re.
Piled by signalling in their, turn, with
equal emphasis, but, to US, in perfectly
unknown tongue, to the effect that until
we should have got over our difficulties no
assistance could be given. But am bound
TO admit, both that the circumstances Of
tered some temptation to such a course,
that large majority both of crew and
passengers joined very heartily in the per.
formance. Meanwhile the good shin
Anony nymous driited slowly, but very sure
ly towards her doom. There was a
strongish breeze blowing straight into the
harbor, and as luck would have It, a
strongish tide setting straight cut of it.
AS we neared the bar we felt the influence
Of the latter more strongly, and hung like
Mahomet's coffin, between wind and tide.
Only with Mahomet's coffin, wind and tide.
or what answers to them, appear to be
fixed quantities, whereas i'm our case the
tide, AS We afterwards discovered would
slacken and turn in about another hour.
and then u a. N6r


At length, just as the ''then'' was get.
ting painfully imminent, small boat was
seen struggling towards US. Fortunately
the wind had but comparatively little effect
on her low hull. while the full force of the
tide swept her toward u.s.. or the one man
who steered her would have but q slender
cnance. AS TWAS she just lived to get
alongside three parts full of water. and
sank from under their feet as they scambled
out OF her into our mizzen-chains.


What the -" began our irate young
acting g-cOmmander, more savage at the de-
lay than grateful for the help that had
come at last. But the man cut him short.


''ls she quick in staysp" he asked brisk
ly and imperatively, altogether disre gard
ing not only the mates angry greeting.
but the chorus of objuratiOn from the
forty or fifty passengers around.


NO." he replied suddenly, I'D
,ia.sgiaf f -,


The man stuck his hand impatiently up-
on his thigh, and look came into his face,
before which the chorus Of objuration
somehow died away suddenly into silence.
The stranger gave one qaick glance aloft,
another to leeward, where the boiling
surge seemed to thunder over the reef al
most close under our beam. then spoke
again briskly and imperstiveIy as before.


Then fill and wear round = be said.
There's no help for 10. And bear hand
every soul of you. for IL Is touch and 70.