78 ON AND OFF THE TURF. 



he growled out, *' Save the Governor, be d — - — d. 

 Where's me hoots? ^' 



Evidently the gentleman from the North did not 

 coincide vfith my views. He wished to make tracks. 



Happily no great harm was done, only one side of 

 the car had been burnt through some of the rods 

 being overheated. An amusing account of the inci- 

 dent appeared in a Melbourne paper, Bohemian. Here 

 is the extract which I happened to come across : — 



'^ The true story of that fire on board the Sydney 

 express, about a week ago, has not yet been told. 

 The alleged origin of the outbreak that nearly 

 devoured the new Pullman car and its contents, may 

 pass for what it is worth ; but no one has yet ven- 

 tured to describe the scene in the interior of the car 

 after the alarm was sounded. The alarm of ^ fire,' 

 when uttered in a shrill voice in the small hours of the 

 morning, never fails to have the desired effect on the 

 soundest sleeper, especially if the cry be uttered by a 

 female. On this occasion it had the desired effect on 

 every soul in the carriage. A lady who slept in a 

 berth near the door heard it first, aud, running out 

 into the passage that traverses the carriage, in her 

 rohe de nuit, was confronted by the stalwart figure 

 of Dibbs, the new Premier, who was vainly attempt- 

 ing to find his way into the trousers of Nat Gould, 

 the author of ' The Double Event.* Nat is fat and 

 short, and Dibbs is' a big fellow, and slim, with 



