William ———, a tall, slight, and rather delicate looking man, is the next of our party whom I shall mention. His youth had been passed at Christ's Hospital. This he quitted with the firm conviction (in which all his friends of course participated) that he had been greatly wronged by not having been elected a Grecian; and a rich uncle, incited by the beforementioned piece of injustice, took him under his care, and promised to settle him in the world as soon as a short apprenticeship to business had been gone through. A sudden illness put a stop to all these schemes. The physicians recommended change of air, a warmer climate, a trip to Australia. William had relatives residing in Melbourne, so the journey was quickly decided upon, a cabin taken; and the invalid rapidly recovering beneath the exhilarating effects of the sea-breezes. How refreshing are they to the sick! how caressingly does the soft sea-air fan the wan cheeks of those exhausted with a life passed amidst the brick walls and crowded, noisy streets of a city; and William, who at first would have laughed at so ridiculous a supposition, ere the four months' voyage was terminated, had gained strength and spirits sufficient to make him determine to undertake a trip to the diggings.
He was a merry light-hearted fellow, fonder of a joke than hard work, yet ever keeping a sharp eye to the "main chance," as the following anecdote will prove.
One day during our stay in Melbourne he came to me, and said, laughing:
"Well! I've got rid of one of the bad HABITS I had on board the ——."
"Which?" was my reply.
"That old frock-coat I used to wear in the cold weather whilst we rounded the Cape. A fellow down at Liardet's admired the cut, asked me to sell it. I charged him four guineas, and walked into town in my shirt-sleeves; soon colonized, eh?"
Richard ——— was a gay young fellow of twenty, the only son of a rich member of the stock Exchange. In a fit of spleen, because the parental regulations required him always to be at home by midnight, he shipped himself off to Australia, trusting that so energetic a step "would bring the govenor to his senses." He was music-mad, and appeared to know every opera by heart, and wearied us out of all patience with his everlasting humming of "Ciascun lo dice" "Non piu mesta," &c.
Octavius ——— was the eighth son of a poor professional man, who, after giving him a good general education, sent him with a small capital to try his fortune in the colonies. For this he was in every way well fitted, being possessed of a strong constitution, good common sense, and simple inexpensive habits; he was only nineteen, and the youngest of the male portion of our party.
The day after our arrival at the diggings, being Sunday, we passed in making ourselves comfortable, and devising our future plans. We determined to move from our present quarters, and pitch our tents higher up the gully, near Montgomery's store. This we accomplished the first thing on Monday morning and at about a hundred yards from us our four shipmates also fixed themselves, which added both to our comfort and security.
A few words for their introduction.