ss their shoulders, pass and repass one in rapid succession;
omnibuses rattle furiously over the pavements, while the "going, going,
gone," of the open sham auction-rooms rings upon the ear. Now and then
one meets a beggar, blind or decrepit; but such are not numerous, and
generally palliate their vocation as well as evade the law by offering
some trifling articles for sale, such as pencils, shoestrings, or
matches. In European cities, where professional beggary is so often
resorted to as a regular occupation, one hardens his heart and passes
these people heedlessly by; but here in Sydney he drops a trifle in the
hat. Every street-corner has its bar-room, about whose doors are
congregated a disreputable crowd of bloated faces and bleared eyes,
among whom are seen only too many of the youth of the town, beginners in
vicious habits, besides numerous idle but able-bodied representatives of
the laboring classes. No part of London even is more numerously supplied
with gin palaces and low tap-rooms than Sydney. The sad sight of
intoxicated women staggering along the public way shocked the
sensibilities, though this unfortunate exhibition was far less common
than we have seen it in Liverpool and Glasgow. The demi-monde are fully
represented upon the streets,--one of the sad but inevitable
concomitants of a great city. Let us add, in all fairness, that this
objectionable feature is certainly no more conspicuous here than in
Chicago or New York,--a fact which is mentioned not to draw a
comparison, but in order faithfully to depict the every-day aspect of a
colonial capital.

Turning from these multiform scenes of human life, often ludicrous, but
oftener painfully sad, we sought the Botanical Gardens; and after that
at Calcutta, and the superb gardens of Kandy in Ceylon, this of Sydney
is the next finest we remember to have seen. In round numbers these
gardens embrace fifty acres of land, laid out in terraces and irregular
elevations, so that many of the broad paths overlook portions of the
city and harbor. The grounds extend on a gentle incline to the shores of
the beautiful bay, forming a semicircle round what is known as Farm
Cove, a picturesque indentation of the harbor. The several main paths
are liberally ornamented with statuary representing Flora, Ceres,
Commerce, Science, etc. One special charm of these delightful grounds is
the fact that they are accessible by a walk of about five minutes from
the centre of the city. It