In 1861 observer and commentator, known only as Rob the Ranter at the time, wrote a series of articles that were published in the Newcastle Chronicle in 1862. The articles describe his sojourn in Newcastle where he had sought the advice of well-known medico Richard Ryther Steer Bowker for an ailment of the lungs. He spent three months in Newcastle during which time he made observations not only of various inhabitants, but of the town itself including the poor state of the roads, his unpleasant experience of touring a coal mine near Newcastle and his return to Cassilis by coach which took days to complete......
Reminiscences of a Three Months' Sojurn in Newcastle and Maitland, By Rob the Ranter.
IT WAS ONE COLD MORNING at early dawn,
about the 10th of June, 1861, that I arrived at Newcastle having come a distance
of two hundred miles, to get treated for a
bronchial disease of the lungs, and an
aneurysm of one of the arteries of the
right breast by a certain famous, and justly
celebrated disciple of Esculapius, who dwelt
in that city.
Being a perfect stranger, I
had some difficulty at first in procuring
suitable lodgings, but at last succeeded in
arranging matters at the
Prince of Wales
Hotel
, worthily presided over by "mine
host" Lewis Jones. My disease, though
not very painful, was of that slow, insidious
character, which induces extreme melancholy to gather, with great debility, and
prostration both of physical and mental
energy ; consequently I had little relish for
conversation or society, and seldom mixed
with any company, save that which chance
or circumstances unavoidably brought me
into contact with, at my lodgings. Having
nothing to do, I often used to indulge in
long rambles, wandering here and there,
solitary and alone, in 'melancholy meditative mood,' viewing the scenery and natural
curiosities of the city and its environs.
Almost every object I beheld was new to me,
and on that account interesting, drawing my
attention and exciting my admiration, though
others passed them by, pronouncing them
'very common,' while the townspeople
went a step further, by affirming they were
' nothing at all.'
The reader may feel somewhat surprised
that I should see anything in Newcastle so
very new and interesting, but his astonishment will cease when I inform him, that
this was the first city or seaport town I had
seen for a period ranging over twenty-three
years, that being the length of time since I
had left the Land 0' Cakes, for New
South Wales; but being then only about
two years old, I had not the least recollection of the embarkation at home, the voyage across the ''saut sea," or the landing at
Sydney from the good ship Coromandel, on
the 2nd October 1838. From Sydney, we
proceeded a distance of two hundred and
odd miles into the far interior, inhabited at
that time almost exclusively by the wild,
untutored aboriginals, and scarcely less
uncivilised white convict population, for the
most part a rude, illiterate, and in some
cases, as equally ferocious a set of beings
as the sable races by which they were surrounded.
These "old lags," as they were
termed, were never very choice nor instructive in their discourses, which were at all
times plentifully garnished with oaths, and
generally about bullocks, horses, or sheep ;
and when these local subjects became stale
or exhausted, they were occasionally varied
by the introduction of minute and sickening details of the numerous bacchanalian
revels, lewd scenes and exploits they had
witnessed, or taken an active part in, both
at home and abroad ; and these "yarns"
again were interspersed here and there with
anecdotes of bushrangers, and the cruel
robberies and cold-blooded murders they
had perpetrated.
Thus reared during the earlier years of
my boyhood, amidst, and in almost daily
contact with, these rude specimens of humanity, can it be wondered at that I grew
up in almost to that ignorance of the great
world at large, as well as with the refinement, conventionalities, and usages of genteel society, or that I should be, even now,
(though I have since become better acquainted with the world, and with a more
refined and intelligent class of associates,)
somewhat rude and uncouth in my manner and address, and strangely ignorant on
many subjects, on which the well-educated,
travelled man of the world is perfectly at
home.
But though thus brought up, as it were,
in an atmosphere of ignorance and moral
depravity, I generally contrived to keep
myself superior to the greater bulk of those
by whom I was surrounded, and though I
could not help often witnessing, and being
acquainted with many of their vices, I did
not practice them. Yet, perhaps, I did not
escape altogether scatheless. It is said,
custom is second nature, and though I
did not imbibe many of their loose principles, yet my early familiarity with their numerous evil practices, may have had the
effect of somewhat blunting the finer feelings, and moral sensibilities of my nature,
notwithstanding that I exercised a continual
and rigid surveillance over myself to prevent their influences.
At an early age I evinced a taste for
reading, which, though there were no
schools in the bush then, and very few even
now, I was partially enabled to gratify -
thanks to an affectionate mother and a lady
friend, both alas, now no more - who taught
me the rudiments of reading and writing.
Though often forced by circumstances to
associate with worthless characters, whom I
could not help despising, I absented myself
from them on every possible occasion, and
seizing some favourite volume, would plunge
into the pathless forests, where, in solitude
and silence, my thirsty soul could drink in
the streams of knowledge, as they flowed
pure and unpolluted from the Storied
page, over which I pored. There I made
myself acquainted with many of the great
and good of different ages; with illustrious
heroes, who, not actuated by ambition, or a
desire of personal aggrandisement, but by
the purest and noblest feelings of humanity,
had employed the prowess of their glorious
and invincible arms in hurling despots and
tyrants from their bloody thrones, and in
restoring oppressed, down-trodden, and enslaved nations to liberty, and the enjoyment
of freedom and happiness ; and with heroes
of a still higher order heroes of the quill
- men who had spent their lives, and employed their mighty minds and powerful pens
in subverting the reign of Ignorance, and
bursting the bonds of Superstition and Prejudice, which had so long bound the human
mind in the chains of Error, and in illuminating and improving the benighted understandings of the masses of their own
times, nor them alone, for their examples,
experiences, and opinions, recorded in books
the emanations of their stupendous intellects, and bequeathed to us as legacies, still
continue to improve and enlighten our race,
and throughout all the succeeding generations of mankind, their beneficial influences
will be as lasting as the memories of their
authors, which shall only perish when time
itself shall be no more.
I trust the indulgent reader will pardon
this digression, which has not been dictated
by egotism, or a vain desire to give a short
autobiographical sketch of my early life,
but because it was partially necessary, in
order to show that though I had heard and
read a good deal, I had little or no actual
acquaintance with, the world, excepting that
portion of it where I had been reared, or
with its curiosities, natural or artificial, or
with the numerous and wonderful achievements of modern science and art.
Hence,
nearly everything I beheld was novel and
interesting to me. The ever-restless ocean,
with its shores of rock and sand, its myriads
of finny inhabitants disporting themselves
in its fathomless depths, and its wavy bosom
gemmed with the richly-laden crafts of all
nations, bound to every part of the known
world ; the busy wharf with its piles of
costly merchandise, its gigantic steam-cranes, raising huge trucks containing many
tons of coal, and swinging them round with
as much case as if they had been mere
feathers ; the numerous railways, with their
cuttings, tunnellings, and raised ways, their
seemingly endless lines of iron rails, laid on
transverse sleepers of wood, along which,
ever and anon, hurried with arrowy swiftness the smoke-wreathed hissing, puffing
engines, drawing their long trains of linked
carriages, laden with merchandise and human souls ; the telegraph, with its whitened
posts of immense altitude, extending and
rising at long intervals through the town,
and seeming, when seen through the uncertain gloom of twilight, or the darker shades
of night, like huge solitary spectres, or the
tall ghosts of some departed race of primeval
giants; the telegraph office itself, with its
many mystic wires, its, to me, incomprehensible machinery and revolving wheels,
its apparently interminable length of perforated tape, continually coiling and uncoiling itself from a refulgent brass cylinder ;
the shrewd-looking master going through
the routine of his business with the precision, regularity, and, I may add, the immobility of an automaton.
All these, dear
reader, and fifty other objects that met my
distended visual organs, were perfectly new
to me, and therefore, as a natural consequence, could not be otherwise than interesting. Even the very coals that burned
and sparkled on the grate, and which, while
they diffused light and warmth to the outer
man, were generally giving the coup de grace
to some culinary preparation, destined to
comfort the inner one also, was a commodity
I had never seen before, wool being the
only kind of fuel I had previously been acquainted with in the bush.
Visit to a Coal Mine
One of my first excursions from Newcastle was a visit to the Tunnel, an extensive coal mine, some three miles distant
from the city. I had previously heard so
much of this tunnel from bushmen like myself, who had visited it, that I had conceived
an insatiable longing to see it, and, as I sallied from the Prince of Wales to meet the
coal train in the vicinity of the Pottery, I
felt a glow of pleasurable excitement pervading my bosom at the anticipation of
having this ultima thule gratified. I had
scarcely time to seat myself e'er the whistle
sounded, and we shot along at a moderate
pace. The road on each side was lined with
tastefully built cottages, the residences of
the miners and their families. These dwellings were in general surrounded by small,
but well laid out, gardens, with a plot in
front devoted to the cultivation of flowers
and various kinds of exotics, but, unquestionably, the fairest flowers that met my
eyes were the miners handsome daughters,
as they came to gaze at us from the doors
and windows, and displayed a pair of rosy
cheeks, and a captivating face, illuminated
by a pair of bright, wicked, killing eyes, one
glance from which was enough to destroy a
poor fellow's peace of mind for a month to
come at least.
Some half mile or so from
the Tunnel the buildings ceased altogether,
and the ranges on each side began rapidly
to converge, forming a dark, narrow, tortuous ravine, up which the train moved with
some difficulty, as the incline was pretty
steep. It was a wild, dismal-looking place
indeed. The ranges on both sides the ravine
were steep and precipitous, covered principally with a thick and almost impenetrable
undergrowth of tangled brushwood and
wild mountain vine's, broken at intervals
with huge chaotic masses of dark, jagged
rock, and varied here and there with the
appearance of some gigantic monarch of the
forest, rearing high its dusky trunk and
giant arms, overtopping and looking down
on his surrounding brethren of lesser attitude with an air of silent majesty. The
farther up we went, the scene grew wilder
and wilder, and darker and darker, and it
really seemed as if we were approaching the
dominions of Old Nick himself. From a
huge heap of burning coal or "slack'' rose
vast clouds of dun-coloured smoke, wholly
intercepting the rays of the sun, or giving
them a red, lurid, unnatural appearance, and
shrouding and enveloping every object in
dim and horrible indistinctness. I must
confess I now began to feel rather nervous;
vague recollections of various passages in
'Dantes' Inferno,' descriptive of the infernal regions, began to rush wildly through
my brain, and on reaching the Tunnel, and
seeing some written notice over the entrance
I ran forward fully expecting to see the
identical inscription which the immortal
poet beheld on the portals of Hell :— All
hope abandon ye who enter here. However I was agreeably surprised to find it
was merely a notice, written by some heavy
masculine hand, in cabalistic characters, and
in complete defiance of all the known rules
of orthography and grammar, and with less
respect for the proper position of the capital
letters, requesting a meeting of the miners
to consider some question relative to the impending strike.
Meeting with one of the Messrs. Patricks,
with whom I had some previous acquaintance, and who was about to enter the
Tunnel for a load, he kindly volunteered to
take me with him, and give me a ride in his
little truck, drawn by one horse. I thankfully embraced the friendly offer, and having
been provided with a small collier's lamp,
resembling in shape a miniature tea-pot,
stuck in the ribbon of my hat, I mounted
the sooty-like vehicle along with my friend
and entered the Tunnel. As we receded from the entrance, the light of day
grew fainter and fainter, till finally it disappeared altogether, and everything before
and behind us was shrouded in Cimmerian
darkness, save the small space immediately
around us, which was lighted up with our
lamps, whose strong red glare fell on the
jagged roof and walls of the Tunnel, from
which the moisture exuded in copious
streams. The exhalations arising from the
damp floors and walls, and the heavy atmosphere, impregnated with the fumes and
smoke of burning lamps and blasting powder, thereby producing an efflusive, whose
remorseless attack on my olfactory organs
quickly dissipated any reminiscences of
eau de cologne or scent shops with which I
happened to be regaling myself at the time,
and soon had a very perceptible and disagreeable effect on my respiratory organs
A feeling of sickness, dizziness, and nausea
and complete exhaustion seized me, and although I had never fainted in my life, nor
seen others in that state, I was afraid I
would do so on this occasion, or, perhaps,
what was infinitely worse, die altogether,
and as the probability of this last occurrence flashed across my mind, a sensation
of horror and secret dread took possession
of my soul.
I was not one of those who
entertained a slavish fear of death, but yet,
like many more in this sinful world, I always flattered myself I would be better
prepared to die to-morrow than to-day, and
the thought of having to shuffle off my
mortal coil in this horrid hole, which, dark grim, and dismal, and all as it was, might be a perfect Elysium, when compared with the locality to which I might be assigned in the next world, perfectly annihilated any little amount of moral courage I possessed. To contemplate dying on a bed, seeing and seen by my friends, beneath the blessed light of that Heaven to which I hoped to ascend was cheerless enough, - but to yield up the ghost in a filthy coal waggon, buried in the bowels of the earth, in the subterranean recesses of this miniature hell, shrouded in such pitchy, palpable, darkness. that to use a Paddyism, "I couldn’t be afther seein myshelf doi", was horrible. All
and everything appeared to have conspired
against me to make me miserable, and as
if the interior of my cranium was not painful enough already from the crowd of appalling ideas that were filling it almost to
bursting, it was ever and anon receiving an
unceremonious bump from some projecting
portion of the roof, as from time to time I
incautiously raised it, in a vain endeavour
to pierce the gloom that surrounded us.
bitterly cursing the ill-starred curiosity that
had led me hither, and which I need scarcely
inform the reader was now more than satisfied, although as yet we had not proceeded
more than 200 yards.
I implored Mr
Patrick, if he had the slightest grain of
tender compassion in his composition, to
turn his waggon, and restore me once more
to the outer regions of light and liberty, if
it were only to die. This he informed me
was impossible, as the vehicle ran on rails
and could not be turned till it reached the
end of the line, but he tried to encourage
me by telling me we had only about a
quarter of a mile to go now ; after all the
agonies, physical and mental, I had endured
along the 200 yards which we had as yet
traversed, perfectly horrified me, and as to
the consoling assurance "
that the farther I
went I would feel the better, and get used
to it
," I thought it somewhat analogous to
that administered by a certain hangman
to his victim, who, on expressing a dread of
the rope, was assured that "
though, it
moight feel rayther toightish a bit fair the
fust kipple o’ minits or so, it wuld be nothin
at awl arter that
."
However there was no
help for me, and with an involuntary exclamation of " Oh ! dear, this is horrid !'' I
summoned what little philosophy I could
muster, and with the fortitude of a martyr
resigned myself to the evils I could not
avoid, and on we sped, preserving a profound and almost, painful silence. Once
or twice I became doubtful as to whether I
was not actually dead although I was not
aware of it, but on trying to force a ' hem '
and a little cough or two, I succeeded, and
became convinced of the pleasing fact that
I was not defunct yet at all events, but was
still in the body. This gave me encouragement, and, as my friend had predicted, I
began to feel decidedly better, and get used
to the uncongenial atmosphere. With reviving spirits my curiosity returned, and I
commenced to examine, as well as the dim
light of our lamps and the speed at which
we were hurrying would allow, the walls on
each side of the passage along which we
were going.
The passage we were traversing, and which appeared to be the main one,
seemed to be about 12 or 14 foot wide, with
two sets of rails laid down, so that two
waggons or trucks could conveniently pass
each other going in and out. The roof
appeared to be principally formed of solid
rock, which obviated the necessity of supports, but the walls, except where intersected
by veins of rock, were chiefly composed of
different layers or seams of coal, varying
from three to seven feet in thickness, though
in some parts of the mine, I was informed,
they are as much as nine feet through and
and through. Many millions of tons of
coal have been extracted from this mine,
and supply seems as inexhaustible as ever.
From the sides of the main tunnel numerous
smaller ones branch off, penetrating far into
the surrounding hills, some of these are exhausted, some in full working order, and
others only in a state of formation.
(To be continued.)
The Newcastle Chronicle and Hunter River District News (NSW : 1859 - 1866) Wed 10 Sep 1862 Page 2
HERE AND THERE we passed a solitary
miner, at work in some painful and un-natural position, but mostly on his side,
picking away at the ebony mass before him,
which he first undermines and then hews
down in huge lumps, the larger the better,
I believe, so long as they can be handled.
They generally arose at our approach, and
as the strong glare of our lamps fell on
their faces, and brawny frames, perfectly
naked as far as the waist, and besmeared
and blackened with the dusty particles
arising from the mineral they were working,
I could almost have fancied them fiends
arisen from the lower regions to welcome us
to their infernal abodes, had it not been for
the expression of cheerfulness and contentment, visible even through the mass of dirt
that encrusted their physiognomies, and the
good-humoured smile and bow of recognition with which they saluted my friend, and
bestowed an enquiring glance on myself.
Though most of the miners whom we
passed had a sickly and cadaverous appearance, they seemed, with few exceptions, to
be healthy, cheerful, and contented. But
the laborious occupation they follow, and
the unwholesome atmosphere they are forced
to breathe, must certainly exercise an un-wholesome influence on their constitutions,
and considerably shorten the average duration of their lives.
During the previous week, while warming
my shins at the comfortable fire that always
blazed in the cheerful lap of the Prince of
Wales, I had not the remotest idea that it
required so much toil and hardship to procure the sable mass that hissed and crackled
in the grate before me. But now that the
curtain was raised, and I was somewhat initiated into the mysteries and miseries of a
miner's mode of life, I could not help pitying that unfortunate portion of our race,
thus immured in a living grave, as it were,
and doomed to toil in darkness, solitude,
silence, for a scanty pittance, to prolong an
existence that can have few pleasures, by
raising a substance for the diffusion of light,
heat, and happiness, to their more fortunate
brethren above them. But I soon found
out, however, that my commiseration was
thrown away, or, at all events, not appreciated by the objects which had culled it
forth, for on reaching the end of the tunnel,
and when about to return, I fell into conversation with miner, whose broad accent
at once proclaimed him to be a man 'frae
ayont the Tweed,' and on remarking that
his occupation must be very unhealthy and
cheerless, he remarked, "
losh blaas ye, mon,
nut at; it's a mere naethin when ye're used
till't.
" On my reiterating my former
opinion, and describing the unpleasant sensations I had experienced on first entering,
he gazed at me with an incredulous smile
and an expression of mingled contempt and
surprise, as he answered, "
odds, mon, that's
wonnerfer, I wad a thocht a muckle buirdly
felly like ye, wad nae hae fand onythin like
that ; ye maun be unco saft
." On informing my blunt and somewhat uncourteous
friend, that my 'softness,' as he was
pleased to style it, was the result of disease,
and not constitutional, his physiognomy assumed a more sympathising expression, as
he replied, "
oh; aye, ye're nae weel, are ye,
deery me, I didna ken that; naebody tao
louk at ye wad jalouse there was onythin
the matter wi' ye, but that lung complaint
is vera deceivin, an people aft leuk best when
they're worst; I suppose Bowker's attendin
tae ye, is he
?" On replying in the affirmative, he continued, "
eh, mon, that Bowker's
a cliver cheil ; he has pit hunners o' people
tae richts, that ither damned quacks kid
dae nacthin till, excep ease them o' their
siller; but Bowker's nane o' ye're purse
doctors, it's nae ye're bawbies that he tries
tao git at, but ye're disease, and giff he
canna pit that awa, whilk is nae often the
case, he tells ye jist richt bung off ye're
ayont his skill, and that there's nae' use
bein at ony mair expense, trying to get rid
o' it. But the best thing ye can dae noo is
to gang awa hame, and consult ye're Heavenly Physician, and while ye houp for the
best, aye tae keep yersel praparit for tae
worst. Then syne he jist settles up wi' ye,
charging accordin tae yer means, an giff ye
hae not the siller jist the noo, he tells ye tae
sen it sometime when ye hae it tae spare;
indeed, he's a noble man, that Bowker; he
has aften and aften been kent tae atten the
puir fae naethin, and frae ane end o' New
South Wales tae the ither he has nae a
match for skill, generosity, an charity, an
ivery ither guid quality that maks the doctor,
the gentleman, and the Christian
."
By this time, Mr. Patrick had unyoked
the horses from the empty truck, and fastened him to the full one, and on informing
me all was ready to return, I prepared to
bid my new friend and enthusiastic admirer
of Dr. Bowker, adieu. At first he had regarded me with contempt, setting me down
as some effeminate coxcomb, while I took
him to be one of those petulant, sullen,
morose individuals, who inflated with a false
idea of their own supreme importance, and
eaten up with self-esteem, can never find a
kind word or pleasant look to bestow on any
one but themselves. Now, however, a complete revolution had taken place in our sentiments, and we began to look on each other
with feelings akin to those of friendship.
Though somewhat rude and uncultivated in
his appearance and address; I found that
beneath this rough and unprepossessing exterior, he possessed a warm heart and a tolerable stock of common sense, which he
had a fearless, free, off-handed way of delivering, in the rich vernacular dialect of
his native land.
Appearance of the Streets
Considering the time Newcastle has been
in existence, and its importance as a coal-producing district, it was often a matter of
surprise to me to notice the miserable appearance of the streets, and the primitive
and unpretending style of most of the
buildings. Occasionally, an edifice with
some few claims to architectural beauty is
met with, but its effect in general is
spoiled by the contiguity of a collection of
hovels, styled, par excellence, 'little shops',
that would certainly disgrace any shepherd's
hut and not a few of those merry-make
haste erected bush tenements, yelept "gunyahs or
bandicoots.' which I have beheld
amidst the pastoral wilds of the Castlereagh.
The greater part of the thoroughfares along
the streets are in an execrable condition,
being wholly unpaved, and in a state of
nature, Hunter street excepted. But even
the improvements in this street, as I was
given to understand, are nearly all of recent
origin, having only been commenced since
the city's incorporation into a municipality,
some four years ago, when Mr. Hannell was
elected mayor, an office he has continued to
hold ever since, with credit to his constituants, and honour to himself, and under
whose able and energetic management the
town has made wonderful advances. Since
I was down, now some six months ago, I
understand extensive improvements have
been going on in Bolton and Church-streets,
and several others, and are now in an advanced state. But at the time I was there,
they were in a fearful condition, being intersected by numerous gullies, deep creeks.
holes, and ruts, all standing temptingly
open, and ready at all times to receive into
their affectionate embraces any luckless benighted stranger, or hapless wight absorbed
in unconscious reverie, who was unfortunate
enough to approach too near their precincts,
quickly restoring him to a consciousness of
the materiality of his existence, and his present whereabouts, and in some cases presenting him with a broken limb, a sprained
ankle, or some equally tangible proof of
the deep sense they entertained of this condescending visit. In the absence of holes,
ruts, &c, the streets were graced here and
there with large pyramidal heaps of the
most beautiful white sand, into which you
sink ankle deep at every step, with the most
delightful ease, and without the slightest
effort on your part. In hot, dry weather,
a walk among these embryo sandhills was
particularly delightful, for great quantities
of the fine penetrating sand immediately
found its way into your boots, by which
your feet were quickly ornamented with
sundry gigantic blisters, while your spotless
stockings were soon metamorphosed from
their prestive snowy whiteness, into quite an
opposite colour, being tinted in the most
lovely and variegated manner, with numerous black and whity brown spots, and all,
too, without employing the aid, or incurring the expense of the dyer's art.
But
these were not the only pleasures to which
you were treated during your peregrinations
through these delectable localities; for if
old Boreas was any way boisterous, great
clouds of dust were raised the finer particles
of which, without the least apology, hesitation, or ceremony, insinuated themselves
into your eyes, mouth, nose, and, in fact,
every imaginable crevice they could find
about your person, compelling you, though
you were the most adamantine-hearted creature in the world, to shed tears of real feeling, and producing at the same time the
most exquisite tickling sensations in the
upper part of your throat, thereby causing
you to cough, though wholly free from any
pulmonary disease, and to expectorate a
liquid, or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say, substance, whose colour and
consistence would not suffer any disparagement by a comparison with Stockholm tar.
In the very centre of some of the streets in
the lower grounds, were large pools of stagnant water, in some instances coated over
with a refreshing green scum, the fruitful
source of malarious exhalations, and
extremely beneficial to those residing in the
vicinity, who happened to entertain suicidal
notions, as it completely obviated the necessity of laying violent hands on themselves, or of going to the expense of
purchasing strychnine, prussic acid, pistols,
hemp, &c., to bring about the desired ultimatum. But as I have slated in a former
paragraph, these streets have undergone
great repairs, since I saw them last, and
many improvements are, I believe, still in
progress; but it will take years of toil,
and an immense amount of capital and
labour, before ever they can assume a
thoroughly respectable appearance, owing
to the natural difficulties to be contended
against.
The City
The city is principally built
along the top, sides, and foot of a hill at
the embouchure of the Hunter River into
the sea, which is covered in many places
with large, soft, yielding beds of sand,
which are continually shifting with the
winds, or being cut up with floods, consequent on heavy rains.
There is a telegraph office and a railway station in Newcastle, and as this was
the first time I had beheld either of these
wonders of modern invention, they excited my curiosity, and I was never tired
of watching them. I generally used to
contrive to be at the railway terminus on
the arrival and departure of every train,
examining the exterior of the engine, with
its short, refulgent brass funnel, puffing
forth volumes of light coloured smoke or
steam, and noting the various specimens
of humanity all intent on some little business or affair of their own, as they alighted
from, or ascended the different carriages,
and committed themselves to the care of
the steam horse, who in a few minutes
sped away whistling, snorting, and puffing, at the rate of twenty, or twenty-five
miles an hour.
The Telegraph Office
I often used to loiter
about the telegraph office, observing the
master manipulating the wires, and transmitting with a face of the utmost unconcern, messages as various in their imports,
as they were almost countless in their
numbers. But though amused, I was not
instructed, for the mysterious process of
transmitting and receiving messages remained, and still remains as great a secret
to me as ever.
The electric telegraph is certainly a
great boon to mankind, and its invention
conferred incalculable benefits upon his
species, when he discovered it, and brought
it into operation. Yet I can never gaze
on this unconscious messenger of joy and
woe to thousands, without having a train
of reflections, all more or less tinged with
melancholy, awakened, perhaps, while I
am gazing on it. It is transmitting money
to the needy, filling their hearts with gladness, and enabling them to supply their
wants at once, and to assume a respectable appearance in society; though, in
some instances, it only furnishes them
with the means of indulging their depraved appetites, and plunging into various excesses, which not only tend to their
temporal and eternal ruin, but soon exhausts those funds which their friends
sent (though perhaps, they could ill afford
them), at their entreaties and representations of being in deep distress.
Or it may
be enabling the up-country merchant to
communicate instantaneously with his
town agent, instructing him to take advantage of the depressed state of the
markets to purchase goods at half their
value. If he succeeds, his employer will
rejoice, never for one moment reflecting
that his gains are another man's loss, —
that the unhappy vendor of these articles,
pressed by hard circumstances and remorseless creditors, was thus forced to
part with his goods at a nominal value, in
the vain hope of delaying, not averting,
the resistless advance of gaunt poverty
and grim want, who were fast enveloping
himself and his affairs in irretrievable
ruin, and who at the very time the purchaser of his effects is exulting over his
cheap bargains and anticipated profits,
may be wandering about the streets penniless, homeless, and miserable, maddened
perhaps by the consciousness that he is
not alone in his misfortunes, and that a
fond wife and helpless family, who can
neither work nor want, are looking up to
him for that support he is expected, but
is not able, to afford them.
Or perhaps
some condemned criminal, whose guilt
though established is not without many
extenuating and mitigating circumstances,
is about to be executed ; and with failing
heart and tottering limbs, that almost refuse to bear his weight, is on his way to
the scaffold. Visions of brighter days
float before his eyes, when he was young,
innocent, and happy, dwelling in a cheerful home, lit up by the smiles of love —
perchance in a far distant land — surrounded by affectionate parents, noble-hearted, manly brothers, bright-faced, sunny-eyed, guileless sisters, and those who had not only called but had proved themselves friends.
The Newcastle Chronicle and Hunter River District News (NSW : 1859 - 1866) Wed 17 Sep 1862 Page 3
PERCHANCE TOO, THERE ARISES BEFORE THE EYES of his imagination the well-remembered
image of some fair, fond maiden, whom he
had known and loved in earlier and happier
days, but whom he can never hope to see
again ; for these scenes are past — past—
for ever gone, and can never return again—
no, not even in dreams, for the fiat of his
fate has gone forth, and his life is about to
close in ignominy and dishonour, amidst
the execrations of his fellow-creatures Far,
far from those kind, those early friends,
who, could they be present, would still love
the man while despising his crimes — mourn
over his faults, his chequered career, and
ill-fated end — and in after years, when himself and his crimes were alike forgotten by
the world, wander by his lonely tomb "
full
oft when dewy eve
" began to shroud the
earth in gathering shades of gloom, inspiring sombre, melancholy thoughts — calling
up holy feelings, and awakening recollections of the past— and there, while gazing
on the little grass-grown heap that contained
his remains, and reflecting on all he had
been and all he was now, moisten his dis-honoured ashes with the tears of pity and
regret. As these wild, maddening thoughts
whirl tumultuously through his brain, his
soul melts — the fountain of his feelings,
which may have been closed for years, open,
and the large, hot, scalding tears course
each other down his rugged cheeks. He
attempts to raise his blood-stained hands to
brush them away, but in vain — these hands
are bound, never to be loosed until he is no
more. Perhaps he is approaching the scaffold— has ascended the steps — and, on reaching the platform, casts a furtive glance on
the assembled crowds below, but no sympathising faces meet his eyes — no kind words
of consolation, commiseration, or hope salute his ears — and with a sickened and
heavy heart he turns away to join in
the prayers breathed for his forgiveness be-
fore the throne of grace by those holy men
who have attended him throughout his confinement, and now accompany him to the
confines of another world. Now, perhaps,
the executioner is proceeding to adjust the
fatal rope — his heart beats fast, and his
breath, which he imagines is about to be
stopped for ever, comes slow and thick.
Already he imagines himself trembling on
the verge of eternity — about to be ushered
into that unknown world which millions
have entered before him, and through whose
portals all earth's succeeding generations
must follow, there to have all the doubts
and fears which have distracted his mind
regarding the probability of a future state
of existence finally set at rest, and the grand
secret of- "to be or not to be" revealed to
him, and his eternal state of absolute joy or
misery for ever fixed. He expects that in
a few moments more that part of himself
which now is so busily thinking, will be
torn from its dearly-loved tenement of clay,
where it has resided so long in security —
but whose evil passions and wicked desires
have brought about its present misery, and
will perhaps be the cause of its eternal
ruin — and be winging its flight with, as yet,
untried pinions through an unknown world,
inhabited by myriads of disembodied spirits,
on its way to the judgment seat of an offended but righteous God, there to give
an account of the deeds done in the body,
whether they were good, or whether they
were evil. As these thoughts rush
wildly with lightning speed through his
brain, appalled reason totters on her throne,
and a sensation of dizziness and blindness
comes over him as he casts a long, last,
vacant, fading glance around him on that
world which is about to pass from his sight
for ever, and — but a clatter of iron-shod
hoofs is heard in the distance — an indistinct
murmur runs through the gathered crowd
as a rider is seen urging his foam-covered
courser towards the fatal platform — all eyes
turn on him, for he is a messenger from the
telegraph office, bearing the prisoner's reprieve. The Executive have taken his case
into consideration, and, on account of the
many mitigating circumstances in his favour, have pardoned him. Were there no
telegraph the reprieve would arrive too
late — the unfortunate culprit would be beyond the reach of their clemency. But
there is a telegraph — his life is spared, and
and he hears with a thrill of joy never to
be forgotten the glad tidings that he is pardoned on earth, and rescued from the very
jaws of death, and maybe of hell, to be restored once more to the regions of life and
liberty.
Or, may be at this very moment
that serpentine wire that stretches its quiet
length along from post to post, is transmitting along its unconscious surface the
intelligence to fond and anxious parents
that their child — perhaps a son, and an only
one — has just met with some horrible and
fatal accident, by which he has been hurled
in one instant from the stage of time into
eternity — perhaps, alas, in an wholly unprepared state for that "great and last
change," and has been consigned a mangled
and mutilated corpse to the silent keeping of
that dust from whence he sprang. Oh,
awful and unexpected catastrophe? Who
shall picture the agony and grief of his
sorrow-stricken parents, thus bereaved of
their nearest and only pledge of reciprocal
affection just as he was emerging from boy
into manhood— of him whom they had
fondly hoped would have been the prop and
comfort of their declining years — would
have watched beside their couch of sickness,
soothed by his kind words and presence
their last hours on earth, closed their dying
eyes, and, at last, when death had severed
"the union between the soul and the body,"
have accompanied their remains to that
"last, long home appointed for all living."
On him depended their sole and only hope
of having their ancient name rescued from
oblivion, and transmitted to posterity, and
therefore for him they vainly hoped and
anticipated a long and brilliant future and
when, at last, "like a shock of corn fully
ripe," death claimed him for his own, a
translation from time into eternity under
more favourable and happier auspices than
it had pleased the all wise disposer of events,
in the inscrutable dispensations of his providence, to award him as his lot. Vain
hopes ! — sad realisation of the truth of the
Scriptural adage. " Ye know not what a day
may bring forth."
Or, may be a message
of a far different character — of a far more
joyous import — is at this moment winging
its' silent flight along yon elevated wire, from
which the tiny denizens of the air have just
arisen wi'h a flutter of alarm. Perhaps
some fond, absent lover is transmitting a
message to that fair being whose graceful
manners, handsome face, and witching
smile have won his heart, assuring her of
the unaltered state of his affections, and informing her when she may expect to see
him, or, mayhap, still better, when to prepare and hold herself in readiness 'or that
long-looked-for, come-at-last day when he
will lead her blushing, trembling, and
fluttering with nine hundred and ninety-
nine little nameless emotions to the hymenial altar, there to undergo that interesting ceremony which will link them together
in the indissoluble bands of matrimony, and
make them as one through life "either for
better or for worse.''
Or, may be — but
conjectures would be endless, for various as
they are numerous, are the messages that
daily and hourly vibrate along that attenuated continuity of galvanised wire, whose
thickness scarcely exceeds a quarter of an
inch. Oh, wondrous and variously useful
vehicle of intelligence, destined at no distant day to encircle the globe in thy embrace, bringing the ends of the earth into
instant communication with each other, and
thereby enabling relations and friends, hindered by many a sea shore, to converse
with each other, as it were, face to face, and
enquire after one another's health and
welfare.
The Wharf
I often used to saunter down to the wharf
to gaze on the various and numerous vessels
as they shot in and out of the harbour, or
lay surging lazily about on its calm surface,
fastened to their anchors. At the time to
which I allude, which was just previous to
the 'strike,' the bason of the Hunter was
literally crowded with vessels ; and never
having seen so much shipping before — at
least, to recollect it — it was some time before I could divest myself of the impression,
as I gazed for the first time on their gigantic masts, towering their huge lengths far
up into the air, that I was not beholding
some ancient forest of decayed pines, and
that the partially clewed-up sails, as they
dangled and flapped from the crosstrees,
were not pieces of mouldering bark hanging
from their gnarled and knotted arms. It
was some time before I could distinguish
one kind of craft from another; and indeed
I scarcely know whether I would have ever
been able to tell a ship from a schooner, or
a schooner from a cutter, had it not been for
the untiring instructions of a seafaring
gentleman named Mr. Walker, who, like
myself, was only a sojourner in Newcastle,
having been forced to leave his vessel on
account, of something being the matter with
one of his hands, which, however, at the
time I knew him, was nearly well. He was
a well educated and intelligent man— a
shrewd observer of human character, and
one who had travelled and seen a good deal ;
and from his society I derived much pleasure, it not profit. He attached himself
greatly to me during our brief acquaintance,
though what he could possibly see about me
to interest him so much in my behalf I
am at a loss to conceive. At that time, as
I have already observed at the beginning
of these ' reminiscences,' a morbid melancholy was preying on my soul — I was suffering both from physical and mental debility,
and my cranium was about as destitute of
ideas as a block of wood.
Mr. Walker was
constant and strenuous in his endeavours to
banish this hypochondriac tendency, by
striving to make me forget the cause of it,
and hurrying me from one scene to another.
He often used to take me in fine weather
for a walk on the top of the hill, and being
somewhat of a botanist, with a slight knowledge of geology also, he used to point out
the different species of plants to me, telling
their names and describing their various
properties ; and when we came to a seam of
coal cropping out at the edge of the cliffs,
he would forthwith commence a dissertation
on its probable origin from the decayed
matter and debris of ancient and primeval
forests. To convince me that his theory
was correct, he would commence detaching
portions of the sable mineral, and then inserting his knife between the layers, separate them, showing the prints and, in some
instances, leaves themselves in a high state
of preservation, together with the impress of
plants, twigs, and brunches of trees, which
had been imbedded there centuries ago,
and had helped to augment the general mass.
I was delighted and amused with his lively
and instructive discourse, which was never
monotonous, tedious, or insipid. I often
made fruitless attempts to join in it, but was
so fearfully dull and phlegmatic that it was
a perfect burden for me even to think, much
more speak ; and generally the only reward
my friend received for his exertions to entertain me, was a faint smile, a slight inclination of the head, or a solitary "Humph,"
which I succeeded in articulating at long
intervals through my olfactory orifices. I
often wondered he did not tire of my un-interesting society, but he did not; on the
contrary, his friendship seemed to increase,
and was always of that unobtrusive, dis-interested and unaffected kind that neither
exacts nor seems to seek a return. But the
dearest and best of friends must part. Mr.
Walker's means would not allow him to re
main too long idle; he engaged as mate
with the master of a vessel bound for Melbourne, and on going on board we indulged
in a long, hearty shake of the hands, and
parted-may be for ever.
After Mr. Walker's departure, I often
used to indulge in long, lonely rambles
along the precipitous cliffs that line the
shore to the eastward of Newcastle, where,
seating myself on some prominent
and jagged knoll, I would loiter for hours
gazing on the vast ocean below, watching
the restless, untiring waves, as with relentless, giant sweep they careered madly
towards the rocky shore, up whose jagged
sides they leapt, like imprisoned monsters
thinly striving to burst the bonds which
permitted the sight, but not the enjoyment,
of liberty, but, like them, baffled, broken,
and scattered, they recoiled in wide-spread
showers of angry foam into the seething
depths below, to be succeeded by others,
gain and again in endless succession, only
to meet the same fate. "No inapt illustration," I would murmur to myself, " of
the way in which the fairest hopes and
brightest prospects of us poor short-sighted
mortals are often dashed, wrecked, and
for ever broken on the reefs of disappointment, and we are flung back into the sea
of despair, where, like some rudderless
vessel, we are driven hither and thither by
the storms of furious and conflicting passions, till at length, overwhelmed beneath
the waves of misfortune, wearied, dispirited, and exhausted with our fruitless
struggles. we resign ourselves to the irresistible current of adverse circumstances,
which hurry us on and on through the
breakers of sickness and pain till ultimately our frail barks of clay are dashed
on the rocks of death, and we sink to rise
no more beneath the silent ocean of eternity. We are but little missed — perhaps
regretted — and, ere long, our very
names are forgotten. Others soon fill our
vacant places — these run the same race
that we have ran, meet the same fate, and,
finally like us, sink into the cold shades
of oblivion, to be succeeded by others, and
these again by others in long succession,
till time shall merge in eternity, and this
terrestrial ball be wrapt, in the devouring
flames of the last conflagration.
Newcastle 1870
Farther
out, beyond the range of the breakers, the
sea was generally studded with sailing
vessels and steamers of various sizes and
dimensions; and as the former with their
snowy, distended sails shot hither and
thither, as if instinct with life, obedient to
the helm, they really seemed like winged,
airy spirits of a higher and brighter world ;
while it required but a very little stretch
of the imagination to convert the latter —
with their brown, dingy, and sooty appearance, and their gaunt funnels towering
high into the air, shooting forth vast columns of dun-coloured smoke, which hung
long, wavy, serpent- like trains in their
wakes — into emblems, in miniature, of the
infernal regions, and the cries and shouts
of the captains and passengers, distorted
and rendered indistinct by the distance,
into the howls and wailings of the
damned.
At the time I was in Newcastle there was
only one newspaper, the "Newcastle Chronicle"
published twice a week. On a perusal of its
columns I soon ascertained the city was not
without its local literary celebrities, both in
upper walks of prose, as well as in the
flowery paths of poetry. Among the most
conspicuous followers of the 'muses' were
three individuals, using the respective initials
of "D. F." " D. A. R." and M. E H. The
latter was a female, and as I have never had
the pleasure of seeing a real bona fide poetess,
I conceived a longing desire to make her acquaintance, or at all events to have the supreme
felicity of seeing her — which latter desire,
after many unavailing efforts and adventures
was partially gratified — but of that anon.
I
soon ascertained who D.F and D. A. R. were,
and was not long in making the first mentioned
gentleman's acquaintance, whom I found to
be well educated, and possessed of considerable
talent and literary ability. He was the very
beu ideal of a poet, having a head graced with
thickly clustering curls of raven hair, eyes intensely dark and brilliant, a prepossessing intelligent countenance, and a handsome well
formed person, but like many other men of
genius, he knelt rather often at the shrine of
Bacchus, and was a leetle too assiduous in his
attentions to the bottle, a feeling that often
reduced him to a state of absolute impetusosity, from which, however, phoenixlike, he
always rose again by his own exertions. I
never had the honour of speaking to D. A. R.
which I ascertained to be a ship carpenter,
and a hardworking man, residing on the
North Shore, who employed his leisure hours,
after the toils of the day were over, in the
cultivation of letters and poetry. But though
denied the pleasure of conversing with him, I
had the happiness of seeing him several times
hammering away with chisel and mullet, at
the sides of some vessel requiring repairs, and
I have sat, or reclined for hours on the
wharf, watching him, without, however,
his appearing to be aware of the
keen scrutiny his physiognomy and
cerebral developments were undergoing.
Every time I saw him he appeared to be absorbed in deep meditation, and then suddenly
rise it upwards as if thinking some inspiring
duty for some boon vouchsafed in the shape of
a brilliant idea, or invoking the assistance of
the 'celestial ulno' to enable him to add an
other couplet to his already portentous "Lay"
written in humble imitation of "Marmion," a
poem from the pen of the immortal Sir Walter Scott. "
As I am neither inclined nor gratified for, I will not say what opinion I did, or do entertain of this production,
which it is to be regretted he did not furnish;
but I may observe en passant that though,
somewhat hyperbolical, rude and uncouth in
its construction, and rather harsh, and unharmonious in the flow of its versification— it was
not without its merits, literary and moral,
written as it was with the design of exposing
the local abuses, and current evils of the day,
The best proof that some such exposure
(though written in a more candid, and inviting style, and with a little more regard to the
"The Governor's visit to the Hunter "
Lay after Marmion"
sacredness of private' and family feeling) was
needed, and that he has succeeded in hitting
many a 'right nail on the head' was the torrents of abuse that were burled against him by
the enraged victims of his cutting satires ; indeed so incensed was one worthy manufacturer
of the 'time of day,' whose other occupation,
(represented by three golden coloured spherical globules) had been mercilessly attracted
and opposed in one part of the ' lay,' that un-able to regulate his own temper, he forsook for
a while, his workshop for his study, and seizing
his pen became the author of a few vedicatory
stanzas, which he doubtless intended for poetry,
but whose inimitable construction, it is earnestly to be hoped both for the sake of his veracity as a gentleman, and his reputation, and
success as a tradesman were not emblematical
of the internal organisation of those 'clucks
and vatches,' which he was continually holding forth to his customers, '
were de ver besht
in de coloonas, and more betterish and sheaper
dan you wot boye dem in London, or Sydney
.'
(To be continued.)
.
The Newcastle Chronicle and Hunter River District News
(NSW : 1859 - 1866) Wed 24 Sep 1862 Page 3
Poor D.A.R., the only reward he was
doomed to receive in return for his literary
labours, were the loud murmurs and execrations of his numerous foes, while the
timid few who approved, and therefore
should have applauded, were silent, because
they feared the multitude. About this time
also, he attacked Miss M.E.H., in one or
two of his poetical effusions, but was ably
answered by that lady herself, and D.F.,
whose gallantry prompted him to take up
the gauntlet in her defence.
As I have
previously observed, I had conceived an ardent desire to see this M.E.H., who, I was
informed, resided with her parents, in the
vicinity of Lake Macquarie Road. But
this was no easy task, as I was a perfect
stranger to her, and had not the slightest
acquaintance with her relations, or in fact
anyone connected with her. Her father
being a blacksmith, a worthy son of Vulcan, I often regretted that I was not a miner
or a carrier, so that I could have feigned an
excuse to call and get my pick sharpened,
or my axletree laid, but I was neither. Had
I been an Apollo or an Adonis, endowed
with heavenly proportions and godlike features, I might have entertained hopes that
she, in company with other romantic
nymphs, might have been attracted to the
windows, to cast a languishing and admiring glance at the majestic stranger, and thus
unwittingly have afforded me an opportunity
of having a peep, en passant, at her. But
though neither a monster nor a satyr, I was
not possessed of sufficient vanity to imagine
myself handsome enough for that, so I must
depend on some other means to bring about
the desired consummation.
At length,
chance accomplished what neither foresight
nor stratagem could, achieve. One day I
happened to be sauntering by the place,
when, to my joyful surprise, I saw that be-
sides the blacksmith's forge, they kept a
little shop and a suburban post-office. Here
then was an opening I had little expected,
and of which I determined to avail myself
of at once. Of course, everybody is allowed to call at or go into a post-office, to
enquire about letters without exciting suspicion, for the master or mistress is not sup-
posed to know whether he expects such
things or not. To tell the truth, I had little
hopes of getting a letter here, but was not
altogether sure, but if there was such a
thing, I felt sanguine I would have an opportunity of 'knocking down two birds
with one stone,' as the old saving has it ;
for I would not only get my epistle, but
stand a good chance of seeing the lovely
poetess herself behind the counter. I was
not long in stopping across the street, and
noticing a list of unclaimed letters, I cast
my eye down the column of S's, but thought
I failed to discover my patronymic amongst
them. I determined to go and enquire.
Accordingly I proceeded to the door, and in
thrusting in my head, beheld to my infinite
chagrin and disappointment, no Miss M.
E. H., but her venerable mother busily engaged plying her needle. I would then have
made a precipitate retreat, but it was too
late, so smoothing down my features a bit,
and giving a 'hem' or two, — (bless my
heart, what useful things these ' hems' are ;
if it were not for them, and the pocket
handkerchief with which we blow and wipe
our noses, when they require neither, I do
not know what we would do when we become embarrassed or nervous, or break
down in our discourses from want of ideas,
or suitable language to convey them; or
meet with a friend, and are at a loss what
to commence talking about) ; I proceeded
to exchange the usual salutations of the
day with her, and ended by enquiring if
there were any letters there for Mr. ---- ,
telling her my name. After a moment's
reflection, she replied, she did not think
there were, but she would not trust her
memory, but look. After inspecting the
address of five or six (all that were in the
box); she continued, there are none for you
to-day, Mr. — — , but there may be some
to-morrow. 'Ugh !'' I muttered in a tone
of disappointment that required little dis-
simulation, ' it can't be helped, good day,'
and strode away down the street towards
my lodgings. Happening to pass that way
in a few days again, I resolved to make
another call, not without a faint hope that
I would be more successful this time than
last. " Faint heart never won fair lady," I
mentally ejaculated, "so here goes to try
my luck again," I was destined to be dis-
appointed again, for there stood Mrs. H.
before me, instead of her gifted daughter.
On enquiring about letter, she recollected
me at once exclaiming in her usual bland
and courteous manner, 'oh, you are the
gentleman that was here the other day ; I
don't know whether there are any letters for
you or not., but I will look.' Her search
was as fruitless as before, and not wishing
to put her to all this trouble for nothing, I
asked her to let me have half-a-pound of
lozenges. ' Very well,' she replied, ' but
I am very busy just now, but my daughter'
will attend to you ;' Mary,' cried she, raising her voice, 'come here and serve this
gentleman.’ Gracious heavens ! I could
scarcely believe my ears ; was it possible ;
was I dreaming, or was I really awake ; was
I actually about to have my long cherished
wish gratified by seeing what I had never
seen before — a real living poetess — I could
scarcely believe it, or realise my position;
and how ever I managed to stand on my
feet, or keep from describing a pirouette high
into the air, and hitting my head against
the ceiling; or upon uttering a wild stentorian shout, in the exuberance of joy, I cannot tell to this day.
A wild, tumultuous
gush of delight thrilled through my frame,
my heart throbbed with pleasure, and vibrated from one side of my bosom to the
other, like the pendulum of an American
clock. In a few moments, M.E.H. herself
stood before me in propria personia, and at
once came up to the ideal I had formed of
her. Though not exactly a Venus nor a
Madonna in appearance, she possessed a
graceful figure, and a handsome, intelligent,
though somewhat pale countenance, gemmed
by a pair of intensely dark, deep set eyes,
lit up with the fire of genius, and extremely
expressive. It is well for me that I was not
destined to be long exposed to their witching influence ; for if I had, I shudder to
think what might have been the consequences, the least of which would probably
have been an inflammation of the heart,
which would have set the skill of the justly
celebrated Dr. Bowker, and the all-potent
remedial powers of Holloway’s ointment and
pills, alike at defiance, and could have only
been allayed by an emollient fomentation of
warmly-breathed ' yes's,' or a soothing decoction of kind words, expressed from the
cherry lips of the fair being who had caused
it. She was wholly unconscious that she
was an object of notice, and appeared to be
in as great a hurry as her mother, and proceeded at once to ask me what kind of
lollies she could have the pleasure of serving me to. I pointed mechanically, though
I must confess without looking in the same
direction, to a shelf I had previously noticed, and answered, ' these kind, if you
please, Miss.' In a few moments she had
the requisite quantity weighed, and wrapping
them in a piece of paper, handed them to
me, and received the change with a polite
curtsey, and soft 'thank you, sir.' Being
total strangers, of course our conversation
was somewhat constrained and embarrassed,
and extended little beyond a few common-place remarks about that useful and exhaustless topic, the weather, and the recent,
disastrous floods in Maitland, &c. Having
now received all I had asked for, I could
not consistently with the rules of etiquette
stay any longer, and therefore was reluctantly forced to bid her good bye; and this
was the first, last, and only time, I had the
pleasure of seeing and conversing with a
poetess.
Ladies of Newcastle
During my peregrinations about Newcastle, I was 'often struck with surprise, at
the almost total absence of those dandified
coxcombs, or lady-killers, so many of
whom are generally to be seen in other
towns strutting about with an air of great
importance, as if they really belonged to
some superior race,' and almost spurning
to touch that dust from which they sprang.
Their bodies dressed out bon ton, loaded
with jewellery and ornaments, and their
heads, devoid of 'sense' but not ' scents,'
groaning beneath a weight of powder and
pomatum, as if to make up for the great
lack of mental calibre within, gazing from
time to time on their gaudily dressed
figures, which they imagine to be the very
ne plus ultra of earthly perfection — the
focus of general attraction, and the envy
and admiration of the fair sex.
The
greater portion of the Newcastle male
population appeared to be a comely, vigorous, hard-working, and industrious race,
who neither sought nor eat 'the bread of
idleness’ and I must pay the female portion the compliment of saying I never recollect to have seen so many really handsome women in any other town or city
which I have visited. I will not say they
were "angelic creatures all," but the generality of those whom I saw had full, well
rounded, voluptuous forms, faultless features, long flowing tresses of dark shining
hair, and clear, brilliant, love-speaking
eyes, one glance from which was enough
to fire the heart of a misanthrope. It is
really an enigma to myself, however, that
visceral concretion in my left breast, yelept
a heart, managed to escape scatheless.
I
was always a worshipper of female loveliness, especially when that outward loveliness
was only an emanation of the beauties
within, and so susceptible of the 'tender
passion,' that one bright melting glance
from a pair of dark languishing eyes, owned
by some fair member of the feminine gender, was always, sufficient to set my. heart on
flame, as easily as a lucifer match is ignited
by being rubbed on a piece of sand paper.
This predilection for the society of the fair,
often got me into awkward scrapes, and adventures with the worthy hostesses where I
happened to be lodging; for if there was
such a thing as a kitchen in the vicinity,
illuminated by the presence of some fair
cook, laundress, or chambermaid, I was sure
to be there on every possible occasion, to
the infinite chagrin and dismay of the worthy landlady, who would declare "she
would rather be without that S.'s pound
a-week, than with it, for he was always in
the kitchen, and there never was a ha'porth
done while he was there," and the no less
discomfort and ill-concealed uneasiness
Of that young signing swain, whose heart
Had felt the force of Cupid's dart;
And now with all its hopes 'and pains,
Was held in love's subduing chains,
By that cook-maid with eyes so bright,
Who laugh'd and sang from morn till night!
Who strived at once, with woman's art,
To please the stomach and the heart;
And while she bak'd, and boil'd, and fried away,
Could still find time to kiss and play.
But who not having the same firm hold of
hers, dreaded the approach of a rival, lest
he might supplant him in her affections —
an occurrence which, if it took place, would,
he vowed, "have such han heffect on im,
that hit would bruk is art, and koze im to
coot is throat wad a razur, han commit
sewerside hor some hothor horful krime."
It was in vain, for the hostess to request me
politely just to be kind enough to make
myself scarce; I invariably answered with
an air of assumed and ludicrous gravity,
"oh yes, directly madam." But as these
‘directlys' generally occupied about an
hour, her patience often became exhausted,
and in she would rush like an enraged Niobe'
with an uplifted broom-handle of awe-
inspiring length and weight, which she
would proceed to lay about me in such a
lusty manner, that I was forced to make an
exit, rather more hasty the honorable,
being convinced "in less than no time,"
that "discretion was the better part of
valour."
Departure from Newcastle
The time now drew nigh when I must
take my departure. I was greatly improved in health and appearance, and at
least two stone heavier than when I came
down; but, notwithstanding this, my medical attendant gave me very little hope of
ultimate recovery. He told me to hope
for the best, but, at the same time, to be
prepared for the worst; for though I might
live tolerably easy for a number of years,
my disease was almost certain to prove
fatal in the end, and take me off very suddenly, He had known, he said, a few
solitary instances in which people suffering from my complaint had partially recovered, and he hoped I would add one
more to the number.
I had arrived in
Newcastle about the beginning of June,
and it was now about the middle of September, and I had stayed longer than I
had intended to do, and spent more money
than my limited means would well afford.
During my short stay, averse and all as I
had been to join in society, I had formed
several lasting friendships and associations,
which I could not think of without a pang
of regret. I would fain have stayed altogether, but it might not be. So having
bade my other acquaintances farewell, I
called my worthy host, Mr. Lewis Jones, from
whom I had experienced great kindness,
to bid him good-bye. He had always
predicted from the first that I would recover, declaring that I was not half so
bad as I thought I was. He now wished
me increased health, a successful journey,
and safe arrival home to the rural shades
of D______, on the Castlereagh River, and
ended by extending his hand, to which I
gave a warm shake, and hurried from the
house.
I was accompanied down to the
railway-station by a fellow-lodger, a man
in the service of the corporation, whose
herculean proportions had procured for
him the soubriquets of "Big Bill." He was
a worthy son of "Ould Ireland," and a
true and faithful type of his free, open-
hearted generous countrymen ; and I had
enjoyed many a pleasant ramble in his
company during his peregrinations through
various parts of the city in quest of some
damaged road, or obstructed drain, which
required the application of the "spade"
he carried over his broad shoulders, "jist
to titivate it off a bit, and make it look
decent and party." On passing Mr. E.
L. Cooke's "Metropolitan Hotel," we went
in to have a parting glass together, and
forthwith proceeded to drink each other's
healths in what my friend pronounced to be " a good glass of fust-
rate rum." We then proceeded to the
railway-station, and bidding him, adieu,
and receiving a parting grip that made me
doubtful whether I would ever have the
use of my hand again, I flung myself into
the first carriage I came to, which was fast
filling with a picturesque and motley group
of passengers.
Ere many minutes, the
doors of the carriages were closed and
locked, and the shrill whistle--- the signal
for departure --- having been sounded, we
sped away towards Maitland at a rapid
rate. As we receded swiftly from the old
city "spread o'er hill and vale," I cast a
long, lingering look behind, and as my
eyes wandered from one well-known object to another, and the thought intruded
itself that this might be my farewell look,
and that I was now perhaps beholding
these familiar objects for the last time, I
could not repress an involuntary sigh of
regret. At length the distance and a curve
in the line hid the city from my view, and
settling myself back in my seat, I became
absorbed in deep reverie, and for a while
was wholly oblivious of the present. Before long, most of the passengers gathered
into little groups, and began conversing on
various topics, all more or less lively and
interesting, although I noticed one or two
reserved, melancholy individuals, like myself, who preferred sitting aloof from the
rest, and communing with their own
thoughts.
Hexham
At Hexham the greater part
of them alighted, and we were joined by a
fresh passenger--- and elderly individual, and
really one of the pleasantest old gentlemen
I ever recollect to have come across. His
whole face was wreathed in one broad
smile, and the very wrinkles in his forehead seemed to be laughing and poking
fun at each other. His good humour was
contagious--- there was no resisting it---
and, in spite of myself, I was drawn into
an animated conversation about the ruinous results of the late strikes, the calamitous effects of the Maitland floods,
the prospects and probable yield of the
forthcoming harvest, and, in fact, twenty
other topics, all more or less interesting---
but for which, under ordinary circumstances-
I would not have given "no that
spittle out over my Baird," nor thought of,
but for him, and smiled and laughed
heartier than I had done for months past.
It was really a pleasure to be in the old
gentleman's company, and the time passed
merrily away till we reached the West
Maitland station. Here I determined to
alight, although I had taken my ticket for
Lochinvar, as I thought some of my acquaintances from the bush might be down
witnessing the trial of the notorious Black
Harry, and a case of horse-stealing which
was tried about the same time; and if
there was, I would have the pleasure of
their company home, and perhaps get a
lift on some of their spare horses or other
modes of conveyance, when once we got
beyond the boundaries traversed by the
mail coaches, which was a distance of
sixty miles from home, all which distance
I would be under the necessity of travelling on foot should I not succeed in our
chasing or borrowing a horse, or sending
home for one.
The old gentleman, who,
by the way, was a farmer residing near
Maitland, alighted at the same time as I
did, and insisted that I should accompany
him to the nearest hotel for the purpose
of having a farewell glass--- an invitation
which, not being over abstemious, I at
once accepted. Instead of having one
each, we had two, which soon warmed the
old gentleman's heart, and made him, if
possible, more hilarious and hearty than
ever. He declared I was the best companion ever he had travelled with, and insisted that I should accompany him home,
where his wife and daughters would be
only too happy to receive me and make
me comfortable for the night. I thanked
the old farmer heartily for his kind offer,
but assured him I was extremely sorry my
time would not permit me to avail myself
of his hospitality, and extended my hand
to him to bid him adieu; he caught it
with the grip of a vice, as if determined
to leave an impression of his friendship
upon it, and gave it such a hearty shake
that I began to entertain serious doubts
that he would dislocate my shoulder. The Newcastle Chronicle and Hunter River District News (NSW : 1859 - 1866) Wed 1 Oct 1862
Page 2
Maitland
LEAVING MY FARMER FRIEND, I sauntered
leisurely, carpet bag in hand, down High
street, Maitland, casting a cautious but searching
glance from beneath the well-pressed-down
leaf of my cabbagetree on every one whom
I met, in hopes of seeing someone whom I
know, but in vain, and I had almost began
to despair, when a rather tall figure, clad in
bush habiliments, standing at the door of
Mr. Arken's Hotel caught my view. On
drawing nearer I was agreeably surprised to
find he was a person with whom I had some
previous acquaintance, but whom had little
expectation of seeing in Maitland. He told
me he was thinking about buying a spring
cart, and if I had time to wait he would give
me a lift up in it, and even if he did not
purchase a cart he said he would be able to
assist me as he had a spare horse about 60
miles on the road, and if I thought proper
to wait till he was ready to start, we could
take the mail to where the horses were, and
thence ride home.
This was a piece of kindness I did not expect from him, for though
we had been acquainted for some time, I
cannot say our friendship increased with an
equal ratio, but on the contrary our intercourse had only served to inspire each with
a feeling towards the other, bordering on
contempt. But I must confess I was partly
to blame for this, for about -two years ago,
in one 'of my lighter moments I had immortalized the herculean 'proportions of nose,
which was the most conspicuous facial
ornament he had, in ten or twelve stanzas,
which were not very flattering to his' personal vanity. However, in the excitement
of meeting in a strange place, these old
feelings were forgotten, and we entered the
hotel together to have something to cheer
the inner man. Here I questioned my acquaintance farther as to when he purposed
starting, to which he replied ' In about
three or four' days.' On hinting that I
feared that would be too long for me, as I
was not overburdened with a redundancy of
cash, he exclaimed in rough but expressive
bush phrase,
'Oh ! never mind that my
young buck, I'll stand to you like a darned
brick. I have a little ' tin ' left yet, and
While I can raise the 'dust ' you shan't go
short
. Here, he continued, pulling several
notes out of his pocket, '
take these and be
hanged to' you, but mind its not everybody
would give you so much after making a
song about his nose
.' 'Oh! thank you,'
I stammered out, overpowered by his generous' offer, though short, I am not exactly
destitute of the needful and have as much
I think, if used with economy, as will take
me home, but, nevertheless, I am as grateful for your friendly offer, as, if I had accepted it.' Indeed his unexpected kindness
and undeserved, generosity quite overcame
me, and I felt heartily sorry and ashamed
for ever 'having allowed' my love for the ridiculous to overcome' my better sense so far
as to hold up the poor fellow's nasal protuberance to obloquy. However he gave
me no time for apologies, but proposed a
walk up the town. He said it was not every
day he came to Maitland and he intended
to make the most of it while there, and have
a ' regular good spree.' This was a declaration he had little need to make, for his
shining face, dilated eyes, ludicrous expression of countenance, coupled with a most
tremendous heightening of the point of his
proboscis, so much so, indeed, as to give me
the most unspeakable concern, lest some short sighted smoker would mistake it for a
coal of fire, and go to light his pipe at it,
told me more plainly than words could, that
whatever he might be going to do, he had
already been pretty constant in his devotions to the shrine of Bacchus.
The Newcastle Chronicle and Hunter River District News (NSW : 1859 - 1866) View title info Wed 8 Oct 1862
Page 3
THAT EVENING WE STROLLED INTO THE OLYMPIC THEATRE to witness the performances of
Harry Houdini, the great and renowned(for
so the play bills had it) poly national singer
and actor. But though this was the largest ,
theatre ever I had been in, I cannot say I
thought much either of the singing or acting, and amused myself more by scrutinizing the audience than the actors, who were
every now and then greeted with loud and
long thunders of applause, but for what
reason I was at a loss to conjecture, and
could not help thinking that the audience
before me, however respectable they might
be, were not altogether unlike some idle
packs of the canine race which I had seen,
who, when one of their number gave a bark
at something he had seen the day before,
immediately followed suite and commenced
yelping and howling at— they knew not what
--but just because they heard the other dog
do it.
At length feeling wearied and slightly
indisposed, I sought out my friend, and proposed returning to our lodgings, but as he
did not feel inclined to leave just then, but
promised to follow in the course of an hour
or two, I went home without him. On
reaching my hotel I requested the landlord
to show me a sleeping room with two beds,
so that when my friend returned he could
have the spare one and we would be together
in the morning. To this proposition Boniface at once assented, and leading the way
up a flight of winding stairs, which seemed
almost endless, ushered me into a neat little
dormitory, where, ensconcing myself between the snowy sheets, I very soon fell
into the embraces of Morpheus, and did
not awake till next morning about sunrise.
On opening my eyes and looking around,
I espied a tenant in the opposite bed, which
I at once concluded to be my friend, and
having arisen and attired myself, I went
over and gave him a rather unceremonious
shake, exclaiming, ' Come, my hearty, it is
sunrise, get up.
For early to bed and early to rise,
Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.'
But guess, dear reader, what was my surprise, horror, and confusion, when instead
of seeing my friend's good humoured,
smoothly-shaved, lantern-jawed features,
emerging from beneath the bed clothes, I
beheld the enraged snubb visage of a total
stranger, clothed with a most ferocious
looking beard, which had evidently never
undergone a sensorial operation since it had
first began to germinate, and whose portentious length might have vied with the
hirsute honours enjoyed by the celebrated
Rip Van Winkle himself. He demanded
in a gruff voice what I meant by shaking
him that way, and on telling him the mis-
impression which I laboured under, and respectfully craving his pardon for disturbing him, he muttered an angry and discontented
' ugh !' and said, ' for two pins he would
get up and apply his feet in such a vigorous manner to my lateral extremities, as
would teach me to be more cautious in
future. This insulting retort somewhat
nettled me, and thrusting my face almost
into his, I requested him in a tone of mock
politeness, not to tear his shirt, nor fly into
a passion, for kicking was a game two could
play, and that in my opinion it would
take a better man than him to do what he
threatened, although it was to be behind my
back. To this he made no answer, though
I could see his eyes flash fire, his countenance reathe, and his lips become compressed
with passion as he turned over in the bed,
and forthwith commenced scratching his
head with such vigour as to leave no doubt
whatever in my mind, but that the comfort
of that bulbous member of his anatomical
structure would be considerably augmented
by the use of a small- tooth comb, or a little
unctuous preparation which Boby Burns
facetiously terms 'fall red hot smeddum.'
Leaving my new acquaintance to scratch
his head in peace, and to the enjoyment of
that undisturbed repose of which he appeared to be so fond, I proceeded down
stairs, where, meeting the landlord, I inquired why he had sent a stranger instead
of my friend up to my room, to which he
replied that he had not returned last night,
nor had he been seen by him since we left
together the evening before. Thinking he
might have got belated or stayed somewhere
else, I waited patiently, thinking he might
put in an appearance at breakfast time, but
breakfast past, and twelve o'clock came,
and still no signs of him, when, becoming
somewhat anxious, I sallied forth to make
inquiries at the different hotels where I
thought he was most likely to be, but all
my inquiries were unavailing, and I was
on the point of abandoning the search, when
noticing a shooting gallery where he was
often in the habit of going to have a shot,
I went over and asked the marksman if he
had seen anything of him lately; he said
he had not. The next one I met told me
that a person of his description had been
seen going at a late hour last night towards
Eckford's. Hurrying with a light step from
the place I was directed to by the marks
man, I steered at once to my lodgings, intending to search no more for my friend,
but wait there patiently till he turned up.
But on nearing the door, to my no small
delight, the first person I saw was the very
identical individual for whom I had been
looking, and was just about setting out in
quest of me. He informed me, that on returning the previous night he had found the
house shut up, and had been forced to go
on to Eckford's, where he had stayed all
night. The present forenoon had been spent,
in examining and. pricing several spring
carts, all of which, however, were too dear
for the means at his command, consequently, he had come to the resolution to do
without one for some time longer, and for
starting for home on the morrow by the
mail, to where he had left his horses, and
had come to tell me of his determination.
I need hardly say I was well pleased, for I
was weary and tired of town life, and beginning to long once more for the quiet
joys of home, and the silence and solitude
of my old familiar bush haunts.
Northern Mail Coach
On telling my friend my adventures, he declared that, after that, I must be in need
of a 'wet,' and ordered Boniface to place
a ' small drop of the crator' before us.
Having quaffed our nobblers, we adjourned
to the dining room, where we done such
justice to the viands set before us as might
make an alderman look aghast. The remainder of the afternoon was occupied in
collecting and arranging our little ' traps '
and packing up our ' swags.' Next morning having 'squared the yards' with the
landlord, we took the train to Lochinvar,
and there resigned ourselves to the tender
mercies of the rough, ever-jolting, northern
mail coach, driven by a modern Jehu, who
had such command over his equine team,
that, to use his own expressive hyperbolisms, he 'could drive them right slap bang
through the hye o' a cambric needle, or make
them wheel round a threepenny bit'
The appearance of the road on each side
was picturesque and lovely in the extreme.
Far away to the left, and rendered blue by
the distance, was a range of irregularly
shaped, broken, mountains, bending away
N.W., and raising their jagged peaks in
sullen grandeur far above the surrounding
hills, while between, and to the right, rose
clear, thickly-grassed, conically-shaped
ridges of a moderate size, intersected be
tween by far stretching alluvial, level, or
slightly undulating flats and plains, clothed
in the most luxuriant verdure, a.id dotted
here and there with well cultivated smiling
farms, beautiful villas, and embryo town
ships.
The northern extremities of the
line of railway from Lochinvar to Branks
town or Blacktown-on-Creek was then in a
state of formation, and ran nearly parallel
with the road on the left hand side, and,
with its many cuttings, huge embankments,
culverts, and stupendous bridges, spanning
the various ravines in its course, elicited
many a passing comment or exclamation
of wonder or admiration as they successively
burst on our gaze, and enchained our attention till they were lost in the distance.
Muswellbrook
Nothing worthy of note occurred during the
route to Muswellbrook, which town we
reached the same evening, having travelled
that day a distance of sixty miles. Here
we left the northern coach, which branched
off to the right, for Armidale, and 'took seats
in the Cassilis mail, which was to start at
two o'clock next morning. Punctually at
the appointed hour, we were awakened by
Master J. Ward, the mail driver, and were
reluctantly forced to exchange our warm
beds for the cold seats of the small ricketty
buggy, drawn by an old broken-down horse
apparently as old as Methusalem, which was
destined to carry us to Wybong. This was
really one of the most uncomfortable rides
ever I had in my life, for the vehicle had
only a seat for one person besides the
driver, and through not being knowing
enough, and the last that got on, I found
that my friend (who whatever regard he
might have for me, entertained more for
himself) had been beforehand with me, and
had taken possession of it; so I had to
stow myself away the best I could, beneath
the seats, like so 'much luggage. '
Wybong
The
night being extremely cold, and the scanty
space at my command, compelling me to
crouch myself up and assume the shape of
a Z, I was greatly annoyed with cramp,
and not a little delighted when I saw the
welcome sign of Star inn on the opposite
side of Wybong, swinging in the distance.
In crossing the creek, the axletree of the
buggy unfortunately got strained and bent
nearly double; but as this was the place
where my friend had left the spare horse,
the accident did not cause me the least uneasiness, and I was rather inclined to laugh
at, than sympathise with, the worthy proprietor, Mr. P. Ward, who, when he ascertained what was wrong, commenced cursing
and swearing, raving and stamping piroueting in the air like a madman. But, alas
my serenity was not fated to be of long
duration, and I was soon destined to be a
sharer in his unenviable feelings to an extent, of which I had not the slightest preconception.
On my friend asking him how
the horses were, Mr. W. exclaimed 'horses,
why I don't know, if you was to ask about
your horse perhaps I could tell you, for
you have only one here now, the other has
been sent for, and taken home last week '
'Murther and lightning !' as Pat would
have exclaimed,- '
here was an oonikshpected piece of intelligins, a purty how d'ye
do
.' I stood aghast, my friend looked
surprised, whilst Mr. Ward gazed on us
both quite unconcernedly, with a grim smile
playing round his face, as much as to say,
'ah, ah, boys, whose turn is it to laugh
now; you laughed at me a little ago, but
I think the boot is on the other leg now.'
I was the first to gain the use of my oval
member, and turning round to my friend
gasped forth, ' and what the deuce am I to
do now?' 'Oh, I don't know; I suppose
you must just wait till the coach is repaired,' he replied, in a cold apathetic tone
that grated harshly on my excited feelings,
and for the time being made me think him
singularly destitute of feeling or sympathy
for others misfortunes — one who, as long
as he was ' all right" himself, did not care
if everybody else was at Halifax — quite oblivious, however, of the fact that only a
few minutes before I had been laughing at
those of Mr. W. But, admitting I do,'
I answered, after, a pause, 'it will only
take me to Cassilis, then I am sixty miles
from home, and how in the name of the
hokysmut am I to get' over that distance
without a horse?." This was a problem
that puzzled him as much as it did myself,
and confessing his inability to 'enlighten me
on the subject, proposed an adjournment to
the 'tap,' for the purpose of having a
''bull' to clear our perceptive faculties.
Here, on questioning the landlord, he informed me that the vehicle would not be
ready to start for a week, and that the mail
bags would have to be forwarded on to their
destination on horseback, and this disagreeable piece of information was supplemented
by the assurance that there was not such a
thing as a horse in the neighbourhood,
either for sale or hire. How I looked at
this particular juncture I cannot tell, but
I know I felt what Sam Slick would have
called 'reglar riled and wolfishlike.' I
am not much in the habit of cursing or
swearing, yet I am not certain but what in
the then excited state of my feelings I did
not breathe some unscriptural malediction
against the locality in particular, the country
in general, and all its inhabitants, which
had it taken effect; would had precluded the
possibility of the thermometer falling below
zero.
After a while, however, I calmed
down a little, when kindly assured by Mr.
W. that it would be my own fault if I
wanted anything while there that was in his
power to give - and he was as good as his
word. This kindness from a total stranger
was more than I expected, and was at once
surprising and gratifying. Early next
morning my fellow, traveller and friend took
his departure, and beyond the fact that he
arrived safely, home, I have not ever heard
or seen anything of him since. The period
of my stay at Wybong was agreeably enlivened by the interesting society of a Mr.
J. C. O'Callaghan, who was acting as tutor
to the family. I was struck with his pre
possessing appearance the first moment I
saw him, and on getting into conversation
with him, was agreeably delighted and astonished to ascertain that though personally
unacquainted we were not strangers to each
others names, and by a singular coincidence
had long entertained a desire to see one
another. Thus prepossessed in each others
favour, we were not long in becoming intimate, and a warm and lasting friendship
sprung up between us. And yet there was
a great seeming dissimilarity between us ;
in his manners he was easy and graceful—
I awkward and rude ; his conversation was
rapid, free, flowing, brilliant, and perspicuous, investing the commonest subjects
with a charm that was as new and pleasing
as it was unexpected — mine was the re
verse ; in education he was infinitely my
superior having received a classical one
while mine was such as I had been able to
pick up here and there by scraps in the un
lettered bush, where then, and even now, it
could scarcely be said ' the schoolmaster
is abroad;'' and lastly, though not least,
he was an author and a poet of acknowledged merit, and no mean ability ; and
though I had been guilty of various attempt at verse, yet my humble, crampt, and
homely effusions, could not for one moment
bear comparison with the mellifluous and
brilliant outpourings of his fervid and
classic muse. Yet, notwithstanding these
apparent differences in our internal and ex
ternal characters, I never recollect to have
met with one between whose sentiments,
modes of thought, and ideas, and my own
there existed such a congeniality and sympathy, although I was incapable of clothing
them in such brilliant language as was ever
at his command. Yet, notwithstanding
these defects, — the result of an imperfect
bush education,-— he never appeared to be
conscious of his superiority, and nothing
could exceed the artless, unaffected, and un
assuming simplicity of his manners. We
were together on every possible occasion,
rambling along the flats, or climbing the
mountains, discoursing on various topics,
and entertaining each other with sketches
of our past lives and adventures, with now
and then a recitation from some favourite
follower of the ' celestial nine,' or some
more humble composition of our own. Before parting, we presented each other with
a copy of complimentary verses, and promised to correspond occasionally — I to
commence the initiative. But this promise I am both sorry and ashamed to confess I never fulfilled, for about this time
an occurrence, which it would be foreign to
my purpose to mention here took place,
which plunged me in deeper melancholy
than before. I grew more gloomy, sullen,
and morose than ever — became in fact, for
a time a perfect misanthrope, a hater of my
kind — and for more than two months never
penned a line, nor held any epistolary correspondence whatever with either friend or
foe, nor even oral intercourse, except when
unavoidably forced so to do. Then I heard
my friend had left the Wybong; but not
being able to ascertain where he had gone
to, I have never been able to write to him
since.
Wappinggai
On the eighth morning I was informed there was a vehicle (not the damaged one, but another larger and more commodious) ready to convey me to Cassilis,
so having thanked my kind host for his attentions and liberality, and taking a warm
leave of my friend, I mounted the seat, and
away we sped merrily towards Merriwa or
Gammon, a small township between the
Wybong and Cassilis, where we proposed
having dinner. However, I was not only
fated to have dinner there, but supper also,
and dinner again, for on reaching the top of
the Wappinggai — a long steep hill close to
Merriwa, and well known to carriers — off
came the two front tiers. I immediately
leaped out to try and drive them on again,
but the driver was so exasperated that he
had not been provided with a better vehicle
that he set off at a rapid rate towards the
township, distant about half a mile, with
the tierless wheels, which I expected every
moment to see fly to pieces ; but strange to
say they did not; and on reaching the town
after him, I found he had consigned the
coach to the renovating care of a black
smith, and despatched the mail bags onward
on horseback. Here again was another
stoppage ; but being somewhat consoled
by the assurance that I would be furnished
with a horse in the morning. I contrived
to make myself pretty happy and at home
at the ' Cricketers Arms," presided over by
Mr. Tuite, who behaved to me like '
a raal
ould Irish gentleman, a boy of the olden
time
."
Next morning an individual, whom
if I recollect aright was called 'Yorkshire
Bill,' came and saluted me with "
mornin
Maistor, I coom ta tell thee theer's a hoss
out in the boke ya'd for thee ; he's rayther
poorish a bit, an the riggin aint fust rate,
nor altogather cumpus mintis; but thee
best coom an see um
.' On accompanying
Bill to the back yard, I found that the
animal he had said was 'rayther poorish
a bit' was a perfect racket of bones — a
forlorn consumptive, mangy-looking creature, through whose ribs there would have
been no difficulty felt in reading a news
paper, and the greater part of whose body
was quite guileless of anything in the shape
of hair ; and as for the 'riggin,' it was
perfectly in keeping with the character of
the dilapidated beast whose back it adorned.
The saddle, which was broken in the gullet
plate, was also perfectly innocent of any
cantling behind, and had only one
flap ; one stirrup-iron was suspended
by a strip of green hide, while a
piece of hempen cord performed the same
kindly office for the other; that which
should have been the bridle, was only a
pair of cart horse winkers, destitute of
a bit, and having reins composed of alternate pieces of green hide, leather, and strips
of calico fastened together. One glance at
the gallant charger and his gay trappings
was sufficient, and turning to ' Yorkshire
Bill,' I informed him that however Quixotic I might be in character and appearance, I had no intention of confirming the
illusion by bestriding such a rosenant, so
he could take him to where he brought him.
Next morning, the coach having been repaired, we started on again, but our chapter
of accidents was not yet completed. We
had scarcely gone four miles, when one of
the traces broke, and we had to dismount
and fasten it together the best way we could,
with saddle straps, pieces of hide, hempen
cord, &c. After this, we got on pretty well
for six miles more, when snap went the
springs on one side of the carriage, and
down dropped that side flat on the axletrees,
so that we were forced to sit lop-sided, and
hold on with all our might to preserve our
equilibrium, and keep our seats. But this
was not the worst that was to befall us ; for
just as we had begun to get a little cheerful,
and reconciled to our uneasy positions, off
came one of the front wheels, and over went
the coach, precipitating the driver, another
passenger, and myself, out on to the road,
one on the top of the other, ' like a hundred of bricks.' Of course, we did not
stay long in that endearing position, or stop
to ask if we were killed, but got up with
surpassing alacrity lo ascertain the fact
for ourselves, and shook our limbs to see if
they were sound and ' all there,' when,
finding they were, we proceeded to raise the
fallen vehicle. We found that one of the
nuts which held on the wheel had unscrewed
itself from the axle, and the wheel having nothing then to keep it on, had slipped
off. A long search was at once instituted
for the missing nut, but without success, so
we were forced to supply its place by shoving an old two-inch nail, which were fortunate enough to find, through a small hole
in the point of the axletree, and this was
all we had to trust the safety, of our necks
to, or to depend upon to bring us to Cassilis, both of which however it did, and we
arrived there about eight o'clock.
Cassilis
Here,
fortunately, I fell in with a Mr. Weston,
chief constable of the district, and kindly
volunteered to lend me a horse to take me
to Coolah. I was lucky enough to fall in
with another good Samaritan in the person
of Mr. M'Cubbin, innkeeper, who furnished
me with another, which took me home, where
I arrived about the 20th of October.
Since the above was written, several
months have passed away, and, contrary to
my own expectations, and those of some
of my friends, and the prediction of several M. D.'s, I have witnessed the advent
of another year, and am, and have been for
the last few months, in the enjoyment of
better health and spirits than has fallen, to
my lot for the last two years. Whether
those favourable symptoms will continue,
or whether I will ultimately recover, are
problems which time alone can solve, and
which I must leave in the hands of the all-,
wise and unerring disposer of events— who
afflicteth whom he will— doeth what seemeth
good in His sight — and whose hand none
can stay from working, or say unto Him,
what or why doest Thou. Whether ever
I shall visit Newcastle again I cannot tell ;
but whether I do or not, I shall often remember it, and be present in mind, though
absent in body, and gratified at all times
to hear of its welfare and progress.
The Newcastle Chronicle and Hunter River District News (NSW : 1859 - 1866) Wed 15 Oct 1862
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