Kirk of Alloway to pass, and therefore no chance of hearing old Clooties blowing bagpipes, or being " catched wi' Warlocks i' the mirk." A n d lucky was it for the madcap equestrian that it was so, for if chased by witches, he had no brig of D o o n with its running waters to save him from being " cutty-sarked," for the Merri Creek was then dried up, and there was not as m u c h of a current as could by any possibility operate as a spell upon supernatural pursuers. There was no analogy between it and the achievement of John Gilpin, except "That like an arrow swift he flew, Shot by an archer strong,—"
For the rider was even better in his work than the horse ; and there was this difference between it and Turpin's famous ride to York, that T o m rode a white mare while Dick's Bess was black, and there was besides no turnpike in Port Phillip to be jumped. Arriving at his destination, the dreaming H a w d o n was broken in upon, the pistols were obtained, and the eight miles back were thundered over again in a double-quick time never out-paced since. It was about i o'clock when the courier galloped up Collins Street, flourishing a pistol in each hand, very m u c h inclined to shout out his success, but that he was partially tongue-tied through gripping the bridle between his teeth. Re-entering the Club and exhibiting the emblems of his good fortune, he was welcomed with uproarious applause, and regarded as the hero of the moment. A further hitherto unthought-of complication n o w arose, for though they had the pistols, there was no ammunition. O n the Christmas Eve preceding, an explosion occurred in the Market Reserve, which blew up the " Sporting E m p o r i u m " (the only powder and shot mart in town) with its whole stock of combustibles, and there was only one other place where cartridges could be obtained; but the difficulty was h o w to procure them. T h e Military C o m m a n d a n t was a Captain Smith, w h o resided at the Officers' quarters at the West end of Bourke Street, and it was proposed that Lieut. Vignolles should rouse up his superior officer and endeavour to procure the needful. But this he point blank refused to do, as the- consequences of such an application by him might turn out rather unpleasantly. It was suggested that the meeting should be deferred, but the intending combatants were so intent upon a mutual slaughter that it would not be listened to, and again H — l t — n stepped into the breach, and vowed that sooner than have the fun fall through, he would go and get what was wanted at any risk. Again, the reverse of a "messenger of peace" he sped forth; but this time on foot, and making his way to the mansion of Captain Smith, knocked up that warrior, and obtained an interview. After m u c h hesitation, the captain yielded, and the ambassador had just converted a capacious coat-pocket into a powder magazine, when the Captain's wife, fancying something very wicked was going on under her roof-tree, quietly left her bed, and peeping through a partially-opened door, saw what they were up to. Starting out en deshabille, she seized the new-comer by the collar, and c o m m a n d e d him to unpocket what he had so carefully secreted. There was a regular tussle over Tom's pocket, the lady pulling and shaking him a good deal; but, of course, all he could do was to passively resist by holding tight by the magazine, which was so poked and knocked about, as to lead to some apprehension of a blow-up from the friction. However, T o m was determined not to surrender what his wrestler was disposed to regard as contraband of war, and he directed his efforts to retreat towards the doorway through which he jumped, snatching his half-severed coat-tail out of the fair fury's grip, and emerged into the open air, not only with a divided skirt, but rent up to the shoulder-blades. A w a y he retraced his steps; and n o w that the pistols and ammunition had been secured, the next thing to be looked up was a surgeon, for they were all positively certain that, so deadly would be the fray, a surgeon's services should be provided. There was then resident in Bourke Street a Mr. D. J. Thomas, a son of Old Cambria, though much more given to talk of the leek than to eat one. N o person was better known in the by-gone times than " Dr. T h o m a s " as a surgeon of considerable skill, and an ardent lover of practical jokes, and so it was that he was called upon to turn out and take the field, which he did without m u c h reluctance. Every obstruction n o w removed, the party moved off to the convincing ground, a grassy c o m m o n on the verge of the s w a m p northwardly adjoining Batman's Hill. B y this time it was clear daylight, and
