y must be one hundred feet wide, at
least that is what I would guess."

"You guessed very closely," said the doctor, "as they are ninety-nine
feet (one chain and a half) wide, and the tradition is that Melbourne
was laid out by an American surveyor. The city, as originally planned,
was one mile square, but it has received numerous additions, so that it
now covers a great deal more than a square mile. It really occupies,
with its suburbs, an area of nearly one hundred square miles, and every
year sees a new suburb added. Of course, when population is mentioned,
the whole of the suburbs should be included, and the inhabitants claim,
with a great deal of reason, that within a radius of ten miles from the
city hall, there are fully four hundred thousand people residing."

"That is certainly a very rapid growth," said one of the youths. "All
that population since 1835! It is the most rapid growth of any city that
I know of, is it not?"

"Yes, I think it is," replied the doctor. "Neither San Francisco nor
Chicago can show a growth equal to that of Melbourne in the first fifty
years of its existence. Chicago is now a much larger city, but fifty
years from its foundation it could not boast of as many inhabitants as
could Melbourne when it was half a century old."

To the eyes of our young friends Melbourne presented a very busy
appearance. Cabs and carriages were rushing hither and thither. Crowds
of people were on the sidewalks, and other crowds filled the tram-cars
and omnibuses. Harry observed that Melbourne was sufficiently up with
the times to be provided with electric cars, and that she also had cable
lines, as well as the more primitive street cars. It was near the close
of the afternoon, when the great majority of the population are seeking
their homes, and the scene of busy life reminded the youths of lower
Broadway, near the end of the day in New York.

The doctor explained that a very large part of the working population
resembled the well-to-do portion, by having their homes in the suburbs,
and, consequently, that a great many people required transportation.
Hence the rush for the tram-cars and other public means of travel on the
part of the great mass of the public, while those with better-lined
purses patronized the cabs and carriages. Cab fares are high, being
about one third more than in London, but not so high as in New York. In
the days of the gold rush the most ordinary carriages could not be hired
for l