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Rh for what he had told them on this interesting subject. They closed their note-books as soon as the interview ended, and then went out for a stroll. Curious to see the shipping in the harbor, they directed their steps to the Circular Quay, the modern name of Sydney Cove, where the original expedition landed, in 1788. The founders of the settlement could hardly recognize the cove should they revisit it to-day.

"Circular Quay," said Fred, in his account of their walk, "is at the head of the cove, and has a length of one thousand three hundred feet, available for the largest vessels. It has piers and pavilions for the ferry-steamers, which are numerous and active, and the Government has made a liberal expenditure for extending the wharfage accommodations and erecting sheds for the storage of goods. The Australian Steam Navigation Company have their wharves here, and several of their vessels were loading or discharging at Circular Quay all at once.

"To give an idea of the commerce of Sydney with other parts of the world, let me mention the various steamship lines whose vessels were visible from this quay. One of the first to come within our line of vision was a great steamer of the Peninsular &amp; Oriental Company, familiarly known as the 'P. &amp; O.,' and not far from it was another equally large steamer belonging to the Orient line. Each of these companies has a fortnightly service each way between England and Australia, and the sharp competition between them has had the effect of reducing the price of passage and securing rapid voyages. A little farther away was a steamer flying the tricolor of France; it belonged to the 'Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes,' a rival of the P. &amp; O. in Asiatic waters, and at the principal ports of Asiatic and Australasian lands. The Austrian flag was visible on a steamer of the Austrian Lloyds, and the German flag upon a magnificent vessel of the North German Lloyds, or 'Bremen Line.'