comfortable in an old dog-cart. After the baptismal ceremony was satisfactorily got through, an adjournment was m a d e to the Rising Sun Hotel, in Little Bourke Street, where the health of the trio was so repeatedly encored, that when the coachman of the vehicle took his seat to drive the party h o m e he was in a very "tight" condition. At the intersection of Swanston Street there was a pool of water, and into this the whole concern, trap, passengers, and cargo, capsized. T h e mother clung tenaciously to one of the little strangers, and two of them were shot into the m u c k ; but they were with difficultyfishedout. Mr. William Bayes embarked in the venture of running a two-horse carriage between Melbourne and Mount Macedon, for doing which he obtained a license from the Mayor. In looking through some musty legal records, 1 have exhumed the following trifle, a small historical curio in itself:—"New Insolvent, 18th March, 1845. John Pascoe Fawkner, Melbourne. Liabilities, ,£8898 os. iod.; assets, valuation of landed property mortgaged to various persons (except property valued at ,£35), ,£2352 is.; personal property, stock-in-trade, etc., ,£15 14s.; outstanding debts, bills, bonds, etc., / 8 1 5 18s. id.; (independent of bad debts ,£9114 8s. s±), balance deficiency, ,£5714 7s. 9d." T h e peculiarity of this schedule leaves little doubt of its being the fingerwork of Fawkner himself. Hisfinancialdifficulty was brought about by his enrolment as one of the "Twelve Apostles," a monetary manoeuvre detailed in another chapter.* Fawkner always said he had been victimised on this occasion, and often regretted his " Apostolic" good nature; but through the agency of a post nuptial settlement, he was able to weather the storm. What a jealous woman may be impelled to do was fearfully exemplified at Brighton, on the 1st May, when Mrs. Cameron, the wife of a blacksmith, resident there, with a fine baby in her arms, walked into the sea, and kept moving until both mother and child were submerged. T h e bodies were washed ashore next day. On the 5th June, William Dana was fined ,£5 for thrashing Gideon Manton. Both belonged to the "swell" portion of creation, and Dana, hearing that the other had been talking too freely about him, knocked one evening at the residence of a Mrs. Musgrove, at Collingwood, where Manton was staying, and demanded an explanation. This was not given, and a horsewhip leathering was administered to the reputed maligner, w h o found refuge in a neighbouring house. As early as 1843, several Melbournians subscribed to the Society for the Promotion of Fine Arts in Scotland, but it was not until June, 1845, that the first engraving arrived. subject was " T h e Glee Maiden," and it was said to be exquisitely executed.
The
" Coining" was one of the last of the major class of felonies introduced to Port Phillip in 1845, when a small counterfeit mint was started in Little Bourke Street West, but the charge of coining could not be established; but as three bad shillings were found in possession of one John Richards, he was sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment. In October, 1845, there were 2288 inhabitable houses in Melbourne, and not more than a dozen empty. T h e town population was estimated at about 11,000. One day in November, 1845, a Mrs. Elliott, wife of a publican who kept the Mechanics' Arms, in Little Collins Street, whilst in a state of insanity, rushed from her h o m e with an infant in her arms. N o trace of her could be discovered until three weeks after, when mother and child were found drowned in a waterhole in Richmond Paddock. In the same month of the following year, Mr. William Lang, father of Mrs. Elliot, committed suicide, induced by such an awful family bereavement.
- Chapter LIL.page 708.
