ide Jockey Club have just been holding their annual meeting at
Melbourne on account of an attempt by the South Australian
Legislature to abolish betting! On the whole the prices of things
in Melbourne may be said to be about the same as in London. Some
things are much dearer, and not so good, as for instance, cloth
clothes, boots and shoes. Again, house-rent is excessive. I can
give two examples--one, a cottage of one story and four rooms,
which lets for 22s. 6d. per week; another, what is called a
seven-roomed house, but it really has only four rooms, the other
three being merely of the size of dressing-rooms; this is in not at
all a fashionable part, and the rent was lately L98. It has now
been raised to L108. Every house, however, has a bath-room, and the
old houses in which there is no bath have to be fitted with that
convenience before they can be let. On the other hand, food,
especially meat, is much cheaper, but the meat is not so good as at
home, at least in my opinion, but I can scarcely expect this
opinion to be accepted without objection. A fish called "garfish"
is about the best fish here. It is something like a whiting, but
has more taste. Another fish called "trevalli" is not particularly
good. There is no sole or turbot or salmon. The colonial wine is,
upon the whole, very good and wholesome, and is much drunk. At
Geelong lately the heroic measure of destroying the vines has
been taken to prevent the spread of phylloxera. There are several
good clubs in Melbourne--the principal are the Australian at the
west end of the town, and the Melbourne at the east end of
Collins-street. On the introduction of a member (approved by the
committee), strangers are admitted as honorary members for a
month: then for the second month they pay L1, or L6 for six
months; but strangers cannot be taken in casually by a member as
is the case in many London clubs. Most of the clubs have bedrooms
attached, which are much used by travellers in the colonies. They
are, therefore, not merely more comfortable, but usually cheaper
than hotels, because meals are paid for as taken, while at nearly
all hotels the American system of so much a day prevails.

One day I accompanied a friend to the University to be present at
the "annual commencement," when the degrees are conferred. The
"commencement" here occurs about the middle of the term. With us at
Cambridge it is at the end. The ceremony took place in the "Wilson
Hall," which is used