reat source of supply for all the interior of Victoria.
In the wholesale shops there were great quantities of goods intended for
up-country use. "There were," said Harry, "tons and tons of clothing
destined for the mines or for sheep and cattle runs, and great
quantities of tea, sugar, and other provisions, together with saddlery,
harnesses, and ironmongery in great quantity and variety."

"We observed," wrote Ned, "that between every two wide streets there is
a narrow street running in the same direction. I believe you will find
the same arrangement in many parts of Philadelphia, and also in the new
part of Boston. The original intention of the surveyor was that these
small streets should be used as back entrances for the buildings on the
larger ones, but this intention has not been carried out in the
development of the city. Formerly these narrow streets took the name of
the wide ones, with the prefix 'Little'; for example, the one between
Collins and Bourke Street being known as Little Collins Street. Most of
them are now called lanes, and are spoken of as Collins Lane, Latrobe
Lane, and the like, and many of them are devoted to special lines of
trade. Flinders Lane, between Flinders and Collins Streets, is the
principal locality of the wholesale dealers in clothing, and Bourke Lane
is largely occupied by Chinese. We are told that the renting prices of
stores along these lanes are very high, probably greater than either
Batman or Fawkner ever dreamed they could be in their wildest moments.

"When we returned to the hotel we found an invitation for us to dine at
one of the clubs, the gentleman who gave the invitation having called
during our absence. We dressed as quickly as possible, and went at once
to the club house, where we dined on the best that the city afforded.
Melbourne is a great place for clubs, quite as much so as London or New
York. Nearly everybody belongs to a club, and many gentleman have two,
three, or more clubs on their lists. Nearly all of the clubs have
lodging rooms for bachelor members, and the popularity of the
institution is shown by the fact that most of these rooms are constantly
occupied.

"Life at a club is somewhat expensive, though less so than at a
first-class hotel. One gentleman probably stated the case very clearly
when he said that life in a club house is pretty much as each individual
chooses to make it. He could live economically or expensively, according
to his preference. He