BMUOGLING — DESCRIPTION OF IIOBARTOWN. 189 



before thej left. Two of them got into a fracas on 

 board the James Allen ; and, after indulging in every 

 expletive in and out of the Billingsgate vocabulary, 

 were about settling their difficulty pugilistically, but 

 were restrained by the mate's peremptorily ordering 

 them into their boat. On their showing some reluc- 

 tance at starting, he threatened them that they should 

 never again come aboard, unless they obeyed. This 

 had the desired eft'ect, and they went away, to settle 

 the matter ashore. 



A short time previous to our arrival, the water- 

 police for the suppression of smuggling had been 

 abolished ; and, scarcely was our anchor down, 

 when the watermen came aboard, to bargain for 

 tobacco and other contraband articles. 



Hobartown, from the water, does not present a 

 striking appearance. Apart from the military and 

 the public buildings, there are bat few objects of in- 

 terest to the beholder, excepting several churches, 

 and a huge windmill, perched on a tower, where 

 corn is ground. The town is scattered, or rather the 

 buildings are — which amounts to the same thing, — 

 over a considerable area. Its population is variously 

 estimated, from fifteen to sixty thousand ; I having 

 been assured by at least a dozen respectable, intelli- 

 gent citizens, that both these numbers were correct. 

 In the absence of a certified copy of the census, I 

 will establish a mean between the two, and estimate 

 it at less than forty thousand. Its streets are laid 

 out at right-angles with each other: the foot-path is 

 paved with flags, and the carriage-way macadamized. 

 The city is lighted with gas, the works for which were 

 imported from England. Several of the streets present 



