e people of Ballarat for boating, and being
only four feet in depth, there is no danger of drowning. The drive
round it too, of about five miles, is pretty. Of course Ballarat
cannot do without an art gallery, but to that much praise cannot be
given. Some of the pictures by local artists may be interesting as
specimens, but the prices attached to them are purely imaginative.
To commemorate the Duke of Edinburgh's visit a public hall was to be
built, to which honour both East and West Ballarat--which are
separate municipalities--laid claim. The difficulty was solved by
building the hall over a small creek which separates the two towns,
so that each has one end. As Ballarat is 1,400 feet above Melbourne,
the temperature is much lower--10 degrees on an average. When I was
there in May the weather was decidedly cold. In winter snow is
frequent, while in Melbourne it is the rarest thing. From Ballarat I
went to Adelaide, but that must be the subject of another letter.

IV.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

It is some months since I last wrote about Australia, but it is a
question whether something is not gained by a delay in putting
together notes of travel. If much is lost in vividness and
particularity, yet the whole and its parts are thrown into better
proportion, slight incidents that at first seemed of much interest,
are relegated to a more humble position, and really salient points
have a better chance of receiving their due share of attention.

On the 20th May, I went to Adelaide from Melbourne by the steamer
Adelaide, and, among the fine steamers of the Southern Hemisphere,
there is none better appointed than this, in respect of food,
ventilation, and general comfort. Like many others, it is fitted
with the electric light. The captain is a well-known character. Some
time before, he had been to blame in a collision with another
steamer on the river Yarra. The Marine Board at Melbourne suspended
his certificate for six months, but his employers, I was told, held
him in such esteem that during that time he went on his own ship as
purser, until he could resume command. I was confined in the cabin
with a gentleman, who kindly informed me, beforehand, that he
undertook this voyage in order to be seasick, on account of his
health, and so he kept me in a continual state of expectation, like
one who, in the night, every moment expects a cock to crow. At the
end of the voyage he expressed his regret that he had not been ill,
wh