Page:Victoria, with a description of its principal cities, Melbourne and Geelong.djvu/45

 right is seen Arthur's Seat, Mounts Martha and Eliza, striking objects as landmarks, and relieving the monotonous view of the shore. Away to the left extends the Bay of Corio, passing Swan Bay; at the head of the former is the large and flourishing city of Geelong, the second in Victoria; passing onwards, you enter the limits of Hobson's Bay. The first glance on leaving the thickly wooded country, and the seemingly barren waste which is spread before you, is most unfavourable. An extensive mud swamp and tea-tree scrub seem to surround you, till the fog, in which it is constantly enveloped during the early part of the day, has cleared away, and you see the very beautiful city of Melbourne, not two miles distant, built on a gentle acclivity, well relieved by the wooded backgrounds stretched out before you. You can trace the meanderings of the Yarra-yarra as it winds through the scrub, and partly encircles the city in a tortuous course, making six miles, which by railway is barely two.

Though to a stranger this swamp appears unsightly, and apt to lead one to form an unfavourable opinion, yet it is but fair to expect, drawing an inference from the rapid growth of this wonderful city, that a very short time will see it form an additional ornament, as it becomes converted into blooming gardens, rich fields, or beautiful villas. On the right of Hobson's Bay extends a long deep beach of fine sand, and in the interior, as the undulating form of the shore allows, are to be seen the