98 Australian Life 



built by the mile. During a land boom, the price 

 of the city land was put up to such an extravagant 

 price that several speculators availed themselves 

 of the presence of an American architect to erect 

 "sky-scrapers" of twelve and fourteen stories. 

 The liberal scale upon which banks, insurance 

 offices, and other buildings have been erected 

 prevents the tall buildings from looking hope- 

 lessly out of place; indeed, the city escapes the 

 criticism of being overbuilt, because everything is 

 in proportion. The surpassing activity of the 

 people in this compact city area is part of the 

 city itself. Wide as the streets are, they hardly 

 suffice for the traffic of the vehicles that crowd 

 them. The footpaths are also liberal of dimen- 

 sion, but they are always thronged in business 

 hours. Every lamp-post bears a notice request- 

 ing that "pedestrians keep to the right," and 

 owing to the general compliance with this re- 

 quest, there is no confusion between the two 

 streams of foot-passengers that pour so rapidly 

 through the city. The first and most lasting im- 

 pression of Melbourne is a roar of traffic, a con- 

 tinual clanging of tram-bells, and an eager crowd, 

 always hurrying. 



It would be easy to write at length of the dis- 

 tinctive features of each Australian city, but it is 

 my object rather to point out that they all possess 

 the general characteristics I have indicated. 

 They have a compact business area, the most 

 modern and convenient means of travelling, and 



