notoriety by conjuring on the racecourse, promised that, should his application be acceded to, he yvould produce circus exhibitions beside yvhich anything else attemptable in the Province would dyvindle to insignificance. The Justices deferred dealing yvith the several applications until the 5th May, the annual Publicans' Licensing day, when the circus question yvas summarily dealt with by a refusal of all the applications. Hayes at once boldly declared his intention of disregarding the refusal, and would go on without a license. If the law necessitated such a formal permission, he could easily evade it, and in any case his promises to the public should be redeemed, license or no license. Accordingly, on the 9th May, the pavilion was formally opened, the entertainment was free of charge, but every person seeking admission was to purchase a cigar at the door for half-a-croyvn, and, puffing, pass in. T h e neighbourhood of the pavilion was then beginning to acquire the bad odour, for yvhich it since became famous, for in every direction yvere taking root steyvish dens, reeking with infamy, some of which have since been knoyvn as the social plague spots of the city. T h e consequence yvas, that with little more than the faintest semblance of a circus, the occasion scraped together the scum of all the loyv villainy of the town ; and during, and for hours after, the performances, the place and its precincts yvitnessed scenes of riot, blackguardism, and outrage of every kind. It so continued, and, whilst the authorities yvere considering the most effective means for its suppression, the concern suppressed itself by a burst-up, and the few horses and all the other tayvdry paraphernalia were turned over to the hammer of an auctioneer. With the disappearance of his circus, Hayes also made himself scarce, and nothing further was ever publicly heard of him.
THE PIRST BLONDIN.
On the 3rd May, 1849, about five thousand persons congregated at the Melbourne Wharf to behold an ante-Blondin named Quinn, perform the feat of " crossing the line " over the Yarra. A rope made fast was passed over some tyventy feet above the yvater, and triced midyvay to the mast of a cutter moored there for the purpose. Quinn, yvith a balancing pole, got through half of his journey, yvhen the rope slackened a little, causing him to lose his footing; but recovering, he went through a variety of evolutions with hands and feet, and, by the same agency, worked his passage back to the starting point. The performance, altogether, occupied tyventy minutes, and the distance was about a hundred yards. It yvas declared " that nothing like it had ever before been attempted in the Australian colonies." Mr. Michael M'Namara, a tailor and City Councillor, passed round the hat.
THE FIRST VENTRILOQUISTS
To make a public appearance in Melbourne were a Messrs. M'Gregor and Meymott, Sydney arrivals, who, in June, 1849, gave some clever ventriloquial and musical entertainments at the Prince of Wales Hotel.
THE FIRST MESMERIST.
The first recorded experiments in animal magnetism yvere effected by Mr. George Wright, at Geelong, on the 22nd October, 1849. Great interest was excited, and several persons were operated upon with much success, especially in the case of three boys.
