374 A HISTORY OF THE COLONY OF VICTORIA 



settled ; but fortune did not often smile twice on these spendthrifts, 

 and, even if he did eventually settle down, he was not always in a 

 hurry to send his address. When the lucky digger was first en- 

 meshed, he had to show his honourable intentions by ordering in 

 the most sumptuous apparel and costly jewellery, and by making 

 provision for the service and its accompanying festivities without 

 any reference to cost. One well-established item in the programme 

 was the hire of an open carriage and pair, for which from 15 to 

 20 would sometimes be paid, and in this to drive about the 

 streets, the coachman and horses streaming with white satin rib- 

 bon, the happy pair supported by a few choice friends, carousing 

 on champagne and plum cake, and stopping occasionally to ad- 

 minister a drink to a passing mate. An hotel in Collins Street, 

 called the " Criterion," on the site now occupied by the Union 

 Bank, had an enterprising American landlord, who laid himself out 

 to attract those who delighted in gaudy colours, much gilding and 

 many mirrors. He fitted up a couple of rooms in this style of 

 meretricious glory, and advertised them as the "Digger's Nuptial 

 Suite ". At the liberal tariff of 20 per day they were pretty fre- 

 quently occupied, and it became such a mark of distinction and 

 competition between the damsels interested, that a promise of a few 

 days' tenancy was often exacted before they would consent to be 

 married. 



The amusements of the crowd were of the roughest. Theatrical 

 performances were at a very low ebb ; there were a few rowdy 

 concert halls, some dancing saloons, and nearly always a circus ; 

 but the people who patronised them were mostly of the dissolute 

 type. The merchants and tradesmen were too much overwhelmed 

 with work to be able to take amusement. The ever-increasing 

 stream of new arrivals were only birds of passage, eager to get to 

 work at digging lest some more active prospector should forestall 

 their finds. They only lingered long enough to arrange the means 

 of transit for themselves and their belongings, and had neither 

 money nor inclination for idle diversions. 



The disorganisation of the labour market told very seriously 

 upon those households whose avocations debarred them from the 

 increased profits of trade, while they had to face a more than 



