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Number One; or, The Way of the World

Chapter xv. Money—Money—Money

page 250

Chapter xv. Money—Money—Money.

"What a pleasant thing it is to be making money. Yes; it is a pleasant thing to be making money rapidly, but excess of pleasure in the process sometimes makes the business dangerous as well as pleasant. In my case, let me give the reader the true features of the event in the chronological order of their original development—pleasure first and danger, if any, as it arose.

On landing in Melbourne in 1853, I found almost everybody mad with excitement. Who could avoid danger from the disease, when gold was the cause of the malady? I will not now attempt either a detailed sketch of Australia, or an account of the moral condition of the people at a period when the magnetic influence of the precious metal created a social revolution, for the like of which history may be searched in vain. These things are patent to everybody, and have long since been given to the world by a hundred pens—the writer's included. But I then told only of the commercial dealings of others. Let me now give a brief summary of my own. At this time everything in Australia of a commercial and social, if not of a moral character, was as completely the opposite of everything in the United Kingdom as the Antipodes itself. Instead of it being difficult, as in the mother country, to page 251find a ready sale for goods at high prices, the only difficulty in Australia at this moment was to find goods in order to sell them at any price. No sooner had I placed my foot on the golden region than I was surrounded by a host of anxious enquirers, intoxicated speculators, and would-be purchasers, while all sorts of strange voices saluted me with the following and similar questions:—"Anything to sell? Any goods on board? I can buy your invoices. What cargo has the ship? Well; if you've nothing to say and nothing to sell, will you have a nobbler? As you're a new chum, we'll do the thing handsome."

These signs of the commercial baromoter indicated a pleasing prospect for one who had goods to sell, and whose only regret was that he had so few. As for excitement—it began with me the first hour of my arrival in the colony, and never left me till after my departure. The chief object of my visit—as originally designed—was that of making a book. This was completely obscured, if not entirely forgotten, in the more ready process that now presented itself of making money. True, I might have disposed of the whole of my little stock of goods at twenty, thirty, or perhaps fifty per cent profit, and in one lot, immediately on my arrival. But, like others in the Way of the world, I was not to be satisfied with a moderate return for my investment, so long as there was a chance of an inordinate rate in the distance.

The numerous discomforts that fell to my lot during the brief space of two months would have been declared intolerable, had I not all the time been making money. I should not so patiently have submitted to the indignity of sleeping, or rather lying, in a room with some half-dozen human strangers, had not the approaching morrow foreshadowed the more brilliant prospect of making money. The price paid to be made miserable was even greater than page 252the misery itself—especially to those whose social troubles found a balm in that all-potent palliative, the constant recurring fact of making money. My daily expenses were about three guineas. What of that—when the daily profits were more than thirty! Three guineas a day may appear a high figure for being made miserable, but thirty guineas a day made the temporary endurance of the misery at least bearable, if not desirable. At all events, the annoyances when over, appeared greater, on reflection, than at the period of their sufferance.

At the expiration of about two months I had converted everything I could dispense with into "nuggets," even to the ring on my little finger. All except personal requisites, and a few of these, too, had been exchanged for the precious metal. Not even the little watch in my pocket escaped colonial seizure—a digger having insisted both on becoming the purchaser and paying for the object of his fancy about five times more than its original value.

Having thus completely "sold out," at profits varying from fifty to five hundred per cent., and having secured a weighty box of "gold dust" as a return for my commercial enterprise, the question arose—what is to be the next move? The question was soon decided, and the move soon made.

Whenever or wherever has there been a sudden "hit" at money making that has not been followed by a desire, on the part of the performer, for a repetition of the performance? Who is there in the way of the world whose appetite was ever sharpened by the flavor of a fortunate venture, without retaining a taste for a similar or still more sumptuous repast? While asking the question for others, I will only attempt to answer for myself. Of one thing I had obtained positive proof, namely,—that two months in page 253Australia had enabled me to make more money than I had previously earned in the mother country in five years. The drama had only to be repeated on a grander scale in order to make the performer at least a man of fortune, if not a fortunate man. Could I hesitate to act, when action had already produced and still promised such brilliant results? Five minutes consideration, and the question was settled.

"When will the first ship sail for England?" My enquiry on this head elicited from the agent of such ship the answer—"She will sail in three days."

"Any vacant berths in the first class?" I enquired.

"No single ones," replied the agent. "Only one cabin for a married couple, and this we expect to be taken by a gentleman who is to call again in half-an-hour."

"And, of course, it will not be let to another?"

"To anybody that pays first. We consider nothing settled till we get the cash."

"What's the amount required for securing the cabin?"

"One hundred guineas for two passengers."

"But you would not, I suppose, object to the same price for one ?"

"Certainly not," said the agent.

"Then, I'll bring you the money in ten minutes."

Ten minutes had scarcely elapsed ere I had been for, and returned with the amount. No sooner had I paid the money and received a certificate to prove my right of possession to the vacant berth, than the squatter who had promised to return in half-an-hour made his appearance. On being informed the cabin was no longer disengaged, he poured forth a volley of abuse in language I will not attempt to describe. But his oaths were soon checked by the ship-agent, who coolly informed the swearer that his tongue had furnished ample evidence that the absence of page 254its owner from the ship would not prove a very serious loss to the passengers.

Notwithstanding his abuse, the abuser had justice on his side. He had called with his money according to promise; and, on subsequent reflection, I felt that the agent in letting the cabin as he had done, and the tenant who had taken it, were equally blameable for such "sharp practice." For my share in the transaction, however, punishment soon followed the act of the guilty one. At the expiration of three days, when the ship was to have sailed, there were no sailors to sail her—the entire crew, with the exception of the officers and one man, having abandoned the vessel and gone to the diggings. Three weeks instead of three days were now expended in making "ready for sea." In the interval I had the mortification to witness the departure of another ship, which contained the veritable squatter and his wife whom I had previously deprived of the cabin I now held at double fare.

The unavoidable delay of our ship gave me an opportunity to see a little of the interior of the country. The price of seeing that little gave rise to a subsequent endeavour to devise some move for resuscitating the cost of so expensive a sight. A journey to and from the Ballarat diggings, together with a week's residence on the rich gold field, involved an outlay of nearly forty pounds. The reader will have no difficulty in premising the various luxuries that raised the bill to its grand total, by noting the figures of one item only:—At a refreshment house on my way to the golden region, I partook of some bread and cheese and a bottle of ale, the bill for which amounted to fifteen shillings.

On my return from the diggings, the ship was still reported "short of hands." Well. Is there no way of page 255making enough money to cover the expenses occasioned by delay? Having, through the want of merchandize, ceased for the time to play the merchant, is there no other character by which I can make an honest penny, or rather an honest pound, for at this golden period there were no copper coins in the colony—at least I saw none. At certain literary institutions in the mother country I had on several occasions given "Shakspearean readings." Why not try the effect of an elocutionary entertainment at the Antipodes? As a rule, the excited inhabitants just now would, no doubt, prefer "nobblers" to poetry. But Shakspeare for "one night only" might possibly draw an audience, even though the reader should fail to gratify them. "Solve your doubt by putting it to the test," said a friend. "I'll do so," said I.

Unfortunately for the performer, the difficulty between saying and doing what had been decided on was at this moment greater in Australia than in England. At present, we had "no moon." As nobody could venture at night on the ups and downs of the unfinished and unlighted streets of Melbourne, in the absence of the evening luminary, without fear either of breaking his head or having it broken for him, there was not the least chance—even had the star of the night been a brilliant instead of a remote one—of attracting an audience from home, unaided by the light of the moon.

At length the ship was manned by a sufficient number of hands to enable the agents to declare her "ready for sea." The moon had also sufficiently developed herself to enable me to announce an "elocutionary entertainment" for the evening preceding my departure for England. Anything and everything that had been attempted in Australia during the year, of which this evening was a fragment, had resulted page 256in money making. I feared this literary speculation might prove a solitary exception. Such, however, was not the case. The building selected for the occasion was large, inconvenient, and uncomfortable. But when the time had arrived for opening the doors, a miscellaneous crowd—in anything but full dress —had arrived to enter them. Ten minutes sufficed to fill the room. In less than five minutes after, a variety of shouts for the performer, interspersed with cries of "What's he waiting for? "Why doesn't he make a start?" &c, compelled me, for the first and only time in my life, to begin a lecture twenty minutes before the time specified in the syllabus.

Beyond saying that—with one exception—my hearers were not only orderly but also attentive, I will simply refer to a couple of curious incidents connected with the performance. Either the composition or delivery of one of the serious pieces in the programme roused the anger of an offended spirit. Whether my declamation was or was not too violent for the character I attempted to personify, or whether, owing to the dagger I held in my hand, a bloody encounter appeared imminent, I am unable to say. But the irritable and exceptionable member of the audience alluded to—a fine dog—and the only living creature, I believe, that had not paid for admittance, began a growl that resolved itself into a terrific bark just at the moment Cato was contemplating self-destruction. Never was hesitation between life and death more quickly settled, and never did a sublime soliloquy produce greater laughter than on this occasion terminated the life of the piece before the end of the character.

The second incident,* in some respects, resembled the page 257first. Though the hero was of the human instead of the canine species, and although his appreciation of poetry might have exceeded that of the four-legged animal, his knowledge of the particular character on which he commented appeared on a par with that of poor "Shepherd." The substance of what I am about to narrate was communicated by an inmate of the hotel at which I lodged. The gentleman was present at my lecture, and as his story was confirmed by another of the audience who heard the dialogue, I have no reason to doubt its accuracy. It appears that next my friend at the lecture sat a very wealthy, though not a very learned squatter. During the lecture, after I had recited "Wolsey's farewell to the world," the magnate alluded to remarked, that "Mr. Wolsey appeared to have been very badly used, but," he continued, "who was this Wolsey? I have never heard of him before, have you? —who or what was he?"

My informant added considerably to my amusement on saying that he replied to his inquisitor by telling him that "Mr. Wolsey formerly held a commission in a large and well-known establishment." "I thought so," rejoined the colonial millionaire,—"a commercial traveller, I suppose? But," he continued, "what did he mean by 'the tender leaves of hope?' I suppose he travelled for the firm of Hope in the tea trade?" The closing supposition proved too much for the gravity of his respondent, whose ingenuity was suddenly taxed to find some other than the real cause for a burst of laughter that followed an enquiry of so serious but stimulating a nature.

Having by my elocutionary entertainment netted a clear profit of about forty-seven pounds, I felt so highly satisfied with the result of my evening's exertions as to wish that the homeward-bound ship might be delayed a page 258few days longer. Had such an event taken place, I should certainly have announced my literary medley for repetition—so long as a cheerful moon and a crowded audience favored the design of the performer. But fate willed it otherwise. The morrow came, the ship sailed, and I was once more on my way to old England.

During the homeward voyage I had ample time to sketch and determine my future course—to calculate not only the money I had made, but what I intended to make. Mark, reader! I say determined, for I had quite determined what my course should be. Well. If we could only determine future events, what pretty pictures—with the painters in the foreground—men would make for themselves. Here is a rough outline of mine:—

Author, speculator, lecturer, and prospective career painter of figure Number One fairly at sea—great contrast between past excitement and present quiet. Discover that a feverish pulse and champagne have not been conducive to health, and that the improved state of the body, occasioned by a voyage to the golden region, has been entirely dissipated by a brief residence in the region itself. Hope for a renewal of physical vigor from the homeward passage—while present lassitude is made light by the weighty presence of its compensating cause. Spirits completely revive on taking a retrospective view of the small means by which great results have been, and greater still are expected to be accomplished. Rule for the attainment of the desired end is simple as A, B, C:—for as the commercial application of four hundred pounds has produced the sum of two thousand, two thousand, worked by the same process, ought to yield the sum of ten thousand! The thing itself appears as clear and almost as grand as the majestic ocean beneath—which has only to be crossed and re-crossed, page 259in order to realize the design of one whom it nobly bears towards the glittering object in view. Ten thousand pounds! Could anything be better for him who never longed for an independent income of more than four or five hundred a-year? The thing's settled! Another voyage round the world, and the subsequent retirement of the voyager to a pretty country retreat, must bring peace and plenty to one who will then have liberty and leisure to enjoy capon and claret, and to write books for amusement, instead of for pork chops and porter.

Such is an outline of what was intended. The result of an endeavour to embody what was intended will soon be made apparent. Ere now,

"Men have been raised to wealth, at Fortune's call,
And, by their fickle mistress, doomed to fall."

For, as the same writer says,

"A bag of gold, by patient labor gained,
Is often by a prudent hand retained;
Bat lucre won by hazard or by art,
By kindred instruments may soon depart."

On arriving in England I made immediate preparations for leaving again at the earliest possible period. Ample aid was at hand to facilitate my arrangements. There was no scarcity either of labor or of merchandise—no difficulty, like that in Australia, of obtaining an abundant supply of both. The countries, like the markets, were the opposite of each other. In the one I had been besieged by eager purchasers; in the other I was now surrounded by eager sellers. At the Antipodes buyers wanted more than I had to sell; in England sellers wanted me to buy more than I had money to pay for. Attentive warehousemen soon enabled me to reach the full extent of my means, but they page 260lacked the persuasive eloquence to make me go beyond. Why? I knew, if I were to lose all I had, it would all be my own loss. This knowledge made me not only independent, but comparatively happy in the prosecution of my second antipodal venture.

But there were other trusts that caused the trustee some anxiety. The chief of these gave me greater concern than any which arose from my own speculation.

Out of a goodly number of persons bearing the name of friend, I had—and still, I believe, have—one real one. The possession of such a treasure may, and does sometimes involve a little responsibility—the solicitude for the preservation of the jewel being in proportion to its value in the heart by which it is worn. Well. My friend wished me to undertake a small commission that might prove of benefit to both. I say both, because it is impossible, where true friendship exists, for one branch to benefit another and itself not participate in the benefit conferred. At the request and in behalf of my friend, I took charge of a shipment of merchandize of the value of about four hundred pounds. I undertook this charge, with the hope of converting my friend's goods into a goodly number of "nuggets." These, according to the time occupied by my first expedition, would be returnable in England, and to the hands of the speculator, in about nine months. At present there was every prospect that the object in view would be thus speedily attained. But as nothing—at least of man's design—is absolutely certain that is not already accomplished, I felt more concerned for my friend than for myself. Although, like me, he had made a speculative throw, and would have to abide the hazard of the die, the monetary responsibility I had undertaken, though smaller in amount, was far greater in its consequences than my page 261own. Still, there was no help for it. I had a friend, and this anxiety on his behalf was only a natural sign that there existed, on my part, some little knowledge of the fact.

The following remarkable letter (translated) has already appeared in my work on Australia. It is re-produced here, not because many eminent men have pronounced it a master-piece in its way, but because the persecutions which gave rise to the document are still in force, and still disgrace the Australian colonies. At this present writing no Chinese immigrant can enter either Victoria, New South "Wales, or South Australia without being subject to the barbarous indignity of paying a tax of £10 for the admittance of his own head into a christian country! Let England, the boasted land of civilization and personal freedom, answer the following question:—If any of your free-born British subjects on entering a foreign land—even that flowery empire into which you have recently forced an entrance—had their own bodies taxed like so many barrels of beef or bales of merchandise, what would be the effect thereof on your people and your press? In England there can be but one answer to such a question. The public voice would at once demand a removal—either by diplomacy or cannon balls —of so monstrous a check to the free intercourse of nations. Unfortunately, it is not thus in Australia. Political wisdom and justice are not so far advanced, or, at least, not so generally adopted at the Antipodes as in the mother country. By legislative enactment—enforced by the prejudiced and illiterate part of the populace—Australian legislators have thought fit to deny to an unoffending people a right which they themselves claim and possess on Chinese territory, as in every other land throughout the civilized globe.

page 262

"Speech of Quang Chew, "Lately Arrived, a Man, Being Good in his Reason and Aftections, and Fifth Cousin of the Mandarin ta Quang Tsing Loo, Who Possesses Many Gardens Near Macao.

"Kind people of the gold-enticing country!—I, a man of some years beyond the rest of us Chinese who have recently disembarked upon the hospitable shores of your yellow fields; also a man, wishing very humbly to express the gratitude of his heart, and of all those who accompany him, or who have gone before us, not forgetting all those who are humbly on the way; I, being, moreover, a man of moderation and cautious judgment, even after looking on both sides of the bridge, according to the wise laws and advice of Cung Foo T'see, and Lao Shang, cannot but give words to my surprise at some of the roughly-split and knotty bamboos which, as we are informed by the tongue of our interpreter, Atchai, have been swung threateningly above the shoulders of all the golden sea-crossing people of the Central Flowery Empire, our much beloved and distant native land.

"Man being subject to many changes and dark clouds, must submit with resignation. Man must be patient and likewise exceedingly respectful. All good laws teach this; and all dutiful Chinese reverence the laws, because they are the finest flowers and fruits which the heavenly sun extracts from the roots of wisdom. Therefore man must always bow before his governors and superiors, because they are the roots of wisdom. With all becoming ceremonies we wish to approach and bow before the governor of this town.

"But in what thing have we, the Chinese, humbly landing on your delightful shores, given just cause of offence? That is what I am desirous to know. We wish to be made sensible. Man at all times needs instruction, and particularly when he arrives in a foreign land. Our interpreter Atchai would not deceive us. Atchai is a respectable young man, formerly one of the agents of Howqua and Mowqua, merchants in tea; but Atchai may have made some mistake in your words, and in the characters he placed before us as representing your words. This is my opinion. It is also the opinion of Ayung Fi, a man of extensive judgment, and one of the principal tailors of Canton. I will say more. Ayung thinks Atchai has made a bad looking-glass.

"Understanding, by the assurances of many respectable people in our own country, and additionally convinced by others who had voyaged to this land, and returned to the Central Flowery Empire, that, not only do the people of England come here, but the people of India, and Japan, page 263and America, and also from French lands, and other places; and having been informed that there were no people of any country who were excluded, and that all those people were even welcomed with both hands, and the sound of triangles and kettles [meaning drums], who came from civilized places, where the arts and other useful labors were studied from the wisest and most ancient traditions, and were industriously cultivated; now, therefore, in all reverence, and with every proper ceremony, I, the speaker of this, Quang Chew, a very humble man, but having reason, do not think it will justly balance in your wise governor's hand, when bitter and unfruitful counsellors [more literally, mandarins made of orange-peel] propose that all nations shall be welcome here, excepting the Chinese. I appeal to you all, diversified people of the gold-enticing country, if this would not be a hard-grained and distorted proceeding? At the thought of being sent home with disgrace, and for no wrong done, we blush, though innocent, we tremble excessively, though free from guilt.

"Among our numbers we have men well skilled in gardening, and the cultivation of all sorts of fruits and flowers; likewise carpenters, and workers in fine wood, and in ivory, which we hear abounds in your forests; also cunning agriculturists, who know how to manage the worst as well as the best soils, particularly Leu Lee, and his five nephews; also many excellent cooks who would allow nothing to be wasted; moreover, we have lockmakers, and toy makers, and many umbrella makers, and carvers of fans and chessmen, and some who make musical instruments, which others can play. Why should all these things be sent back with disgrace?

"If it has, unfortunately, happened that any among our people, through ignorance of your laws, have committed any offences, let them suffer the punishment awarded, and due to ignorance. Man must be instructed, either by wise precepts, or by punishment. That is all I shall say in this matter. But it is necessary that I should speak about gold. "Thinking very considerably on the subject, I can see very surely that it is not every man who can find much gold. Some, indeed, will find none at all. These poor men will need to live upon the labor of others, who will not be pleased with that arrangement. Therefore, these poor men will return to this town, and to all your smaller towns, and villages, and villas, and farms, and sell their skill and their services in their several ways for a little money, and perhaps rice. "Why should all our gardeners, and cooks, be driven away in scorn, when they might be of great use to many others, if allowed to remain here?

page 264

"I will propose one thing in particular. Being aware that the governors of this place are always chosen as being most eminent in wisdom; also being well informed of the great extent of lands in the distant regions beyond the town, and that the greatest part of those lands have never been cultivated; I, the speaker of this, Quang Chew, a humble man, but having some little sense, feel very certain that most of those men of different countries who have found much gold, have purchased land from the governor of the soil. Man delights in having land, and also in orchards and gardens, and prosperous farms. If, then, these places have not been cultivated, it is because those who have bought, or perhaps been presented with all these small farms and fields, for good conduct, by your generous and national governor, are men accustomed only to dig for gold, and not to till the soil, or else not numerous enough for the work of cultivation. Perhaps, also, not being cunning in those labors.

"If this speech have any reason in it, I know it will be heard with a close ear, and the head leaning on one side; and I most anxiously hope that the governor of this town, and all the towns and lands beyond, will condescend to weigh and measure, and reflect a little upon my words; in the belief of which, with all humbleness of heart, and respectful ceremonies, we await in silence, the vermilion-colored reply."

By the following letter (or that portion thereof that applies to the Chinese subject) which appears in the Times of this day—20th February, 1862—it will be seen that there is not much prospect of the repeal of the odious tax previously referred to.

"To the Editor of the 'Times.'

"Sir,—I observe in one or two leading articles in your journal you greatly misrepresent the state of matters in Australia.

"Our opinions are very decided about the Chinese, based as they are upon reasons and our own safety and ascendency, and any attempt on the part of England to interfere will alienate us to a man and place us in determined hostility to a country which every consideration should always lead us to regard with unalterable affection.

"I am, Sir, yours very respectfully,

"David Buchanan.

"Legislative Assembly, Sidney, Dec. 19th, 1861."
page 265

This epistle needs no comment. Its high and mighty, yet daring and tear-my-coat tone is a pretty sure indication that the writer and his followers are not open to any reason but their own. But it is only fair towards the more reasonable, and therefore more sensible portion of the Australian community to give place to the following protest which was adopted in the shape of a resolution by the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce at the time when I last visited the colony.

"That in the opinion of this Chamber, it is contrary to the spirit of the age, opposed to the interests of this colony, and opposed to the treaty with China, to pass any law peculiarly applicable to the prevention of the Chinese from landing in this colony."

When my commercial arrangements were complete, goods shipped, and the ship nearly ready for sea, the recollection of what originally appeared a subject of more importance than commerce suddenly flashed on my mind. I remembered that the primary object of my first visit to Australia was that of writing a book. Though impressed with the full belief, and inspired by a sincere hope that, on my second visit to the Antipodes, the same money making cause for the non-fulfilment of the literary part of my mission would still exist, I considered that on this occasion the double object might be accomplished—that after I had made a fortune, I might, if only for amusement attempt some description of the country in which so sudden a fortune had been made. At present a few hasty notes of an equally hasty visit to the diggings comprised the only evidence—except the box of gold that had just been converted into goods for a second antipodal enterprise—of the fact that I had seen anything of the country, for a sight of which I had journeyed so far. Though the heart was made page 266buoyant by the knowledge of what had been, and by the hope of what was expected to be done in the way of money making, its owner was not so entirely the slave of gold, as to lose at once and for ever the taste that had before changed a commercial into a literary life. No. I still desired and intended to see something more both of the country and people I had visited—not only of the particular colony of Victoria, but other of the Australian Colonies—and to write and publish an account of what I had seen.

Such was my intention. I intended to visit the principal parts of the chief antipodal countries, and to make a book after I had made a fortune. As a preliminary step towards the attainment of this object, and as the only means of obtaining correct statistical information for the contemplated work, it was absolutely necessary to get letters of introduction from the highest official in England to the highest officials at the Antipodes. At present the sovereign power over those distant regions and the rulers thereof was vested in Sir George Grey, the Secretary of State for the Colonies. Could I obtain the required letters from Sir George—a man to whom I was an entire stranger? Impossible. So I was told. But people who always believe, or are only guided by what they are told, seldom accomplish anything. I had seen so many seeming impossibilities surmounted by others that I was not in this instance to be frightened from action by the friendly assurance of "you'll not succeed," nor was I to be deterred from a bold step by the equally friendly advice of "don't try"

From early experience in the way of the world, I knew that, as a rule, letters of introduction from inferior to superior officers were worthless pieces of paper, while those page 267from friend to friend of corresponding rank often prove equally useless to the bearer. But a note from a superior officer to a dependant is a very different thing. This commands attention, while the former, in some cases, barely insure civility. Wishing to take my cards—if I took any—direct from the fountain head, I communicated to Sir George Grey my desire on the subject. The application was accompanied by some three or four letters to prove the respectability of the applicant, and by a copy of my last work, which had passed through several editions. I soon received a polite answer to the effect that Sir George Grey was satisfied of my respectability, but could not on that account alone give me letters of introduction to the governors of our colonial possessions. If, however, evidence of position in addition to that of respectability could be furnished, such as a letter from the banker of the applicant, together with a reference to some one personally known to Sir George, the letters of introduction applied for would be cheerfully given.

"Letter from my banker!" Now, let me tell you, reader, it is a fine thing to have a banker, and a still finer thing to have "a friend at court." So far as my own account was concerned, my banker was only three months old. What of that? Was not "my banker" a living reality? During the brief space of three months—thanks to my colonial speculation—I had paid through this monetary channel between two and three thousand pounds. For commercial purposes, a connexion of longer standing would no doubt have been more effective. But, had my banker been an old friend, or his bank coined for the occasion, the institution could not have been better adapted to the purpose for which it was now required. As for the second thing needful, a reference to some one personally known to page 268Sir George—this requisition could be easily complied with. Mr. Macaulay (afterwards Lord Macaulay), or some other eminent writer who had taken an interest in the only work I ever wrote that didn't sell—a book of poems—would, no doubt, say all that was necessary. That every requirement was eventually fulfilled to the satisfaction of the Secretary of State for the Colonies may be seen by the following epistle, in the original of which was conveyed the hoped for response to my wishes:—

"Downing Street, December 29th.

"Sir,

"I am directed by Sir George Grey to forward you the enclosed letters of introduction to the Governors of Victoria, New South Wales, Van Dieman's Land, and New Zealand, in compliance with the request contained in your letter of the 19th instant."

"I am, Sir,

"Your obedient servant,

(Signed) "Sam. Whitbread.

"To—, Esq."

I was now fully charged and again ready to start on my half-literary, half-commercial enterprise. With letters of introduction to the governors of four colonies, there could be no doubt about my obtaining ready access to the state papers necessary for the compilation of statistics for my literary work. And with a stock of merchandise, to the value of about two thousand pounds, I was likewise hopeful of finding, as I had previously found, that to the pockets and favorable opinions of the colonists access would be equally easy.

Once more beating down channel against a head wind—which some of the sailors attributed to our having "sailed on a Friday"—we only awaited a favorable change of the elements, in order to skim the ocean with cheerful hearts, page 269a full cargo, agreeable passengers, an able commander, and a gallant crew, towards that haven at the opposite side of the globe which, it was hoped, would be safely reached in something less than ninety days. The captain of the ship predicted a fine passage. But the passengers subsequently discovered that the captain was not in this instance a true prophet.

"Poor wanderers of a stormy day,
From wave to wave we're driven;
And fancy's flash and reason's ray
Serve but to light the troubled way,—
There's nothing calm but Heaven!"—Moore.

* This incident has been mentioned in my work—which will hereafter be alluded to—on Australia.