132 COLLECTOR'S RAMBLES 



Pausing, father would pleasantly remark, " If the gen- 

 tleman will wait until the lecture is over, we will hear 

 what he has to say." If he stopped, all went well 

 with him ; if he persisted in disturbing the meeting, 

 he would soon find himself taking a compulsory obser- 

 vation of Brisbane by starlight. 



The janitor of the hall used to make me laugh at his 

 remarks. He sold oysters, fruits, and ice-cream in a 

 little store next the hall, but was seldom patronized, 

 and felt rather blue over the situation. One evening he 

 gave vent to his .feelings in some such words as these, 



" There was Pepper and his ghost, he did pretty 

 well, but he never 'ad no such crowds as you 'as. 

 People goes past 'ere every hevening, people as 

 howes me money, and slings down their 'bob' [shil- 

 ling], or two ' bob,' as if they 'ad thousands, w'en I 

 knows they howes for the clothes they wears and the 

 food they heats. What wi' the ministers, and what wi' 

 Denton, there'll be nothink left for hoysters. Come, 

 Polly [to his pet parrot, a good talker], cry hup the 

 hoysters to um as they goes past, or we'll 'ave to go to 

 bed ? ungry. I 'ant seen a c bob' for so long that I'm 

 blowed if I 'aven't forgotten 'ow one looks." 



Pineapples were nearly as cheap in Brisbane as tur- 

 nips in New England, and I concluded that instead of 

 buying one or two at a time, we had better have a 

 crate from which we could help ourselves when we 

 liked. Accordingly, I employed the janitor to bring 



