money does
not make the artist. Let us begin with the bonnet. Walk down Collins
Street at the time of the block on Saturday, and I doubt whether you can
count half a dozen bonnets which are both pretty and suitable to the face
and head of the wearer. _Bien chaussee et bien gantee_ might be Greek
as far as Australia is concerned, and if by chance you see a stocking or
any portion of the under-clothing, you will have your eyes opened.
Whatever does not meet the eye is generally of the commonest. It would be
thought a sinful waste of money to have anything particularly good or
expensive which other people could not see. The light of Melbourne is
never likely to hide itself under a bushel; external adornment is the
_mot d'ordre_. Ribbons and laces, or anything that helps to improve the
look of a dress, the colonial lady will indulge in freely and even
extravagantly; but you must not penetrate her tinsel armour.

Owing to the climate, hats are much more frequently in use than bonnets,
and if the merit of subdued tints is unappreciated, it is not often that
the eye is shocked by the glaring discords to which Englishwomen are so
prone. Fringes are much worn, and the hair is often parted on the side.
In spite of the heat, _gants de suede_ find very little favour; they
look dirty, and with a 25 per cent. duty cannot be renewed every day. The
usual English fashions find their way to Melbourne in about eight months,
and this is the more convenient, because your summer is our winter, and
_vice versa_. Spring and autumn we agree to forget; this is rather a
pity, because practically nine-twelfths of our year are spring and
autumn, and on a bright July or August day the dress which is appropriate
to a London fog in December looks singularly out of place. Sealskins and
furs are worn till you almost imagine it must be cold, which during
daylight it hardly ever is in this country. In summer, suitable
concessions become obligatory, and dresses are made of the thinnest and
lightest materials. Pompadour prints and white calicoes reign supreme,
and look better than anything else. It is then that the poorer classes
are able to dress best, the material being cheap. Winter stuffs are
expensive, and to a great degree their effectiveness is in direct ratio
to their cost; but during quite half of the Australian year the poor meet
the rich, if not on an equality, at any rate on much fairer terms than at
home with regard to dress.

Servants, of co