At Melbourne for Hokitika.

Evening Post, Issue 193, 20 September 1865, Page 2

At Melbourne for Hokitika.

•The steamers Hero and Omeo were laid on at Melbourne for the Hokitika ; the former to sail on the 11th, and the latter on the 1 4th. The Hero, for Hokitika, was to proceed to Lyttelton end Port Chalmers only. The Craiglevar, on the 11th ; the schooner Sangalier, early ; and the three-masted schooner Maria, were laid on at Melbourne for the Hokitika. Referring to the Leotard troupe, the Daylesford Mercury, B»y9 :— "We have to record another feat ef agility, though not an net of honesty, on the part of this troupe, in their having leaped through their liabilities, and jumped off, without paying the little account due to this paper, and thus leaving the performance considerably behind their promise. We trust brother journalists and newspaper proprietors will not be similarly robbed by this class of professionals." 3S w Cha.noio ov Fashions. — Crinoline in the shape of a steel-hooped petticoats, is certainly doomed, though it will die a lingering death, and prevail for some time with the servants when it has been discarded by the mistresses." It is a fact th:it at the opera, the theatre, at flower shows, and indeed at all public places, ladies may now be seen without an atom of steel cunningly co ice ile<i in their underclothes. And they are full-dressed ladies of fashion too : leaders of ton and and denizens of the beaumonde. They look odd at first, measuring soiircely more ronnd the lower extremities than round the shoulders. They have a statuesque appearance, and undoubtedly they lose something in obtrusive appearance. But they are really a blessing to a crowded metropolis, and their mule companions are beginning to look quite imposing again. Muni} fashions, too, are undergoing mutation. Peg-top tro'isers are decidedly going out, not going out wider and moreptgtoppy, but ceasing to be made at the fashionable tailors 1 Unmentionables are all but tight ; indeed they approach the " horsy" character. Long and solemn frock coals, too have had their day, and gentlemen from " Noah's Ark" no longer promenade in threes along Piccadilly and by the rails of the "Ladies Mile." A Bporting era in matters sartorial seems to be setting in, and cutaway skirts with outside pockets, adorn the manly forms of our young aristocrats in town. As for fashions belonging more properly to the individual man, the Dundreary drawl is abating ; so is the lisp ; so is the vacant stare, anl the hee haw. Young city clerks have adopted these peculiarities, however, and will materially help to wear them out. Shortly perhaps, there will be nolugs chewing of toothpicks in Pall Mall after lunch. — Court Journal. Re-appeara.nck op an Old Fashion. — Shoes are again to be seen for out-door morning wear. In Brighton they are more general even than in London ; they are made of pateafc leather, and are cut high— a sort of compromise between a boot and a shoe ;. and in front they are ornamented with large cut steel buckles. Signs op Bain. — When the odour of flowers is unusually perceptible, rain may be expected, as the air whe&~datnp conveys the odour more effect ire ly than when dry. Damp, air being also a better conductor of sound than dry, the sound of mills, railway trains* distant bells &c, may be heard nif>re plainly just before rain. The amenities of Parliamentary debate appear to be imperfectly understood in the Ta6manmn House of Assembly. The fol- * lowing passage is taken from the Mercury's report of a debate whic h took place last

Tuesday :— " Mr. gregson supposed then all this arose from the mal-administration of the present Government, and preceding t Governments, of course, had nothing to 'do with it. Now the hnn. member for Kingborough was a deserter, and they all knew that apostates— Mr. Perkins desired that the expression might be withdrawn. Mr. Gregson did not wish to offend the hon. member by making use of the word apostate, but— Mr. Perkins thought the hon. member for Richmond an apostate ..(Order, order.) Mr. Gregson, in continuntion, said the colony lost its population in consequence of the gold fields, and the higer wages in Victoria and Adelaide. He trusted the honourable member for Kingborongh would point out something which would relieve the present depressed state of the colony, but the hon. member had the most unutterable nonsense he (Mr. Gregson) had ever heard that night. Mr. Perkins characterised Mr. Greg«on's speech as nonsense : his addresses were also unutterable nonsense. Mr. Gregson would not submit to Mr. Perkin's criticism. He (Mr. Gregson) did occasionally rise in a vein of irony when a presumptuous ass was talking before that Assembly." A new reef has been found near Munster Gully, Dunoliy, out of which between four and five pounds weight of gold was obtained from a small quantity of stone. The discovery although made a fortnight or so since, has only just been made public. An act of incendiarism was committed at Fryer's Creek a few days ago. The Waterloo Hotel, a large wooden building which has for some time been unoccupied, its last tenant being the unfortunate Dr. Helling, was totally destroyed by fire The Age of August 29th says:— lt is just thirty years to-day since the city ol Melbourne was founded. On the 29th August, 1835, Mr. J. P. Fawkner, with five others, sailed up the Yarra in the Enterprise, and landed on -the site of the present metropolis of Victoria. We understand that three of those who accompanied Mr. Fawkner are still living. Le Messager dv Midi announces that the Maritime Prefect of Toulon has discovered a mode of blowing up men-of war at a distance. The agent is electricity* and it is not necessary to touch the vessel. He actually blew up a vessel of 30 tons in the harhour so siialiictorily, that practical men think he can blow up an iron-clad. The story seems a little vague, though one or two vessels have been blown tip by torpedoes during the American war. Mademoiselle Rosa Bonheur has received the Cross of the Region of Honor, and all French sentries, therefore must present arms to her as she passJsV She is the first female artist who has been decorated in France. It is srtid that the Parisian bankers who side with the South are now having to pay <lear for their sympathies. Thus MM. Mfirouiirt et Cie, who advanced a considerable sum 10 Mr. Slideil upon an estate which he possessed in the South, will "probably lose it all, as the estate has been confiscated. It is calculated that there were formerly 10,000 birds' nasts in every square league of cultivated land in France. Each nest is supposed to contain on an average four young ones, which the old birds fed with GO caterpillars a day. The old birds were supposed to eat 60, making 120 caterpillars a day altogether. This multiplied by 10,000 nests will give 1,200,000 caterpillars destroyed daily in a square league of a well planted country. A letter from Nice to the Gazette dv Midi affirms that the dying Czarewitch, whil« the Princess Dagnar and his brother Alexander were at his bedsidp, charged the latter with the continuance of his affection for his betrothed, and bequeathed her to him as his future bride. Petroleum has been discovered in the Crimea, and the oil, although said to yield to that found in Pennsylvania, will compare with that in Canada. ¦mi im JMimm .mm a— — — —— — — — i— — —