Page:The Boy Travellers in Australasia.djvu/478

454 learned that the city took its name in honor of Lord Melbourne, who was then Premier of Great Britain. Frank suggested that perhaps Shakespeare had Melbourne in mind as the "bourne whence no traveller returns," since a great many deaths occurred there during the gold rush. Fred reproved his cousin for using this antiquated "chestnut," and the topic was indefinitely postponed.

The first thing to attract the attention of the youths was the width of the streets (ninety-nine feet, or a chain and a half) in contrast with the narrow streets of Sydney. Then the situation is pleasing, as it is on some rolling hills something like those on which Moscow, the ancient capital of Russia, stands. The hills afford good drainage to the central part of the city, and as one goes about he finds himself occasionally upon an elevation from which he can look away for a considerable distance. The city itself is about a mile and a half square, and is regularly laid out; it is surrounded by parks and gardens, and its suburbs include a radius of not far from ten miles, and are steadily extending. Within this radius it is claimed that there are fully 360,000 inhabitants, and the number is increasing year by year.

"Three hundred and sixty thousand people in a city which was first settled in 1835!" said Fred. "Chicago and San Francisco must look sharp for their laurels."