Part 18 (1/1)

My nextthe road which I traversed I ca variety of picks, shovels, and othertools, which had evidently been discarded by disappointed prospectors I decided not to enter this town but to go round it; then I continued ardie and thence to Southern Cross

After working for some time in the last-named town (my impressions of ”civilisation” would make another whole book), I made my way to Perth, the capital of Western Australia In Perth I was advised that it would be better for o to Melbourne, as I would stand a ht work ly I proceeded to Melbourne as soon as I could, and the only noteworthy incident there was my hunified functionary in execrable French, telling him that I was a French subject and wanted to be sent back to Europe I bungled a great deal, and when lish The Consul waited patiently till I had finished, stroking his beard the while, and looking at me in the most suspicious manner

”You claim this because you are a Frenchman?” he said

”That is so,” I replied, involuntarily relapsing into English once more

”Well,” he said coldly, as he turned away, ”the next tilish at all, because you speak that language better than I do”

I tried to argue the point with him, and told him I had been shi+pwrecked, but when I went on to explain how long ago that shi+pwreck was, he smiled in spite of himself, and I came away From Melbourne I went to Sydney, and from Sydney to Brisbane

About May 1897, I found ton, New Zealand, where I was advised I stood an excellent chance of getting a shi+p to takeCompany's _Waikato_, and landed in London in March 1898