NIGHT IN MELBOURNE LANES.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 108, 6 May 1873, Page 4

NIGHT IN MELBOURNE LANES.

Three~aFticles entitled .'• Shadows of Melbourne Life " have appeared in recent issues of the Age. They describe the vice and crime that « hide themselves from the eye of the respectable portion of the community in a network of lanes and alleys branching off Little' Bourke-street, from Swanston-street to Spring-street, and burrow like rabbits in cuts de sac and ia righte-ofrway which Btrike out from a common centre." „ We take the following from the third article of, the^ series :■— As the shades of evening begin to fall, an extraordinary activity/takes possession of the inhabitants in the lanes. Loud is the laugh of the knots of larrikins that „'"• crowd the footpaths, as they concoct their plan of operations for the coming night. Furtively the male population, in twos and threes, slouch out of the dwellings, and seeking the&iroad streets^of the city, are. soon lost in the;; stream of peaceable citizeDS whom pleasure or occupation calls ■ . abroad^ > TW : womeniV^ toilette consists of> tbe addition; of , : '!a' hat : Ov;. : jg^a J^in;g^udyiflbweMi^ ■■ £ lSaßtil^,-;,o ve>(i A&e i fortified • with', a :^ir^^ ::^;campMg^.i;^s^{da^iie^ , ,v^a|g3^j^'|nep^Whip^^

i the sordid dwellings : in order to prolong rtheir. orgies at their ease^The faint flicker of a tallow'*dip; supported in a bottle, can be seen through many a dim uncurtained window, and the ' smoky lurid flame of , cheap kerosine illumines groups of unsightly male and female humanity indulging in potations long and deep. The snatch of a song is rudely broken by the shrill tones of disputes, followed by loud imprecations, a smash of crockery, and the d6wnfall of furniture, above the din of which is heard a feeble cry for the police: The bullies are in their element now ; cra&b goes a door and out flies the stranger who has been acting the part of entertainer, hatless and coat less, bruised aud bleeding, and falls senseless in the- gutter, while perhaps the trio of loafers who have in their possession the contents of the pockets turned inside out, colly share their illgotten gains and depart to spend the proceeds of 'their dastardly attack in some favourite haunt. Two stalwart ruffians are having a set-to in the street, a ring having been formed by a circle of admiring women and envious youths, who cheer the combatants and shriek with delight as their features become obliterated by the streamlets of blood which, dammed by the of dirt, spread in a clotting mass, and form a gory mask more hideous than ever conceived by the most expert property man for a Christmas pantomime. An appalling cry for mercy reaches the ear, almost drowned by obscene vituperations. In the middle of the lane a brute in a pea jacket and moleskin trousers, with a woollen muffler round his hirsute throat, holds in his firm grasp a trembling creature, who by her fragile and unset form, and by her dark hair seems but a child, but' who looks half a century hold by the death discs of her eyes. Down' comes the brawny fist upon that pallid cheek, where it leaves in unmistaken characters the sign manual of of cowardice and fiendish brutality. The girl's eyes close, her limp form is only upheld by the herculean grasp of her tormentor, who, seeing that his cruelty is about to be stopped, withdraws the support of his hold, and administering a parting kick with a foot encased in a hob-nailed boot, turns and seeks safety in flight. Still on the ground lies his insensible victim, her long tresses washed by the nauseous liquid that flows down the channel. The crowd of females whom the noise of strife has attracted to the spot, gaze on the inanimate form of their associate in misery in utter helplessness, and it is only when the poor bruised Jbody is lifted by a couple of policemen, to be borne to the hospital, they show that a last flickering spark of womanhood dwells within their breasts, by tha manner in which they arrange the disordered garments of the unconscious girl into something like an approach to decency. With a rush like a wirlwind comes a youth of some fifteen years down the narrow lane, and, as he passes an acquaintance, pants out " The traps are after me," pushes into the outstretched hand of the other the purse just filched from the pocket of a pedestrian, and hurries on in his flight until he is lost in the darkness of the night. At the door of one hovel, during the whole of the turmoil which has been going on, a woman has been seated, her face burried in her hands, a very statue for quiescence. On being asked what is the matter, she looks up in astonishment, no doubt, at being addressed in language other than that of commard or abuse. By the light of a neighboring lamp it is easy to see that her features are pinched and her eyes are swollen with weeping, and as she sits and looks, that her emaciated fingers cluch convulsively the threadbare shawl that bangs about her drooping shoulders. Once or twice she essays to speak, but articulation! Ie impeded by the choking sobs that rise to her throat ; at last, with a desperate effort, and in a tone of anguish, she whispers, "For G-od's sake give me something for my child in there to eat —he took everything I had, and we have not broken our fast for nearly two days." With selfish eagerness the hand closes on the * proffered . coin, and without waiting to bestow one word of thanks, the woman hurries to procure nourishment for her starving babe. Still the^, noise goes on — imprecations float upon' the air, ribald jests are wafted to the ear,, and sounds of drunken clamor and passionate invective are broken by the measured tread and official tones of the guardian of '* the night, as he; pays his periodical; visits. When the grey streak "fifi <%wn /apipea|B in the /east, the. npiße anil cpnfuisioh^grad^ally :^«Bef I ligiitt':.'jfi:l' i 'ex-* tinguished, muddled guests are ejected '}ni° # streWt; floors : *are^shu^{and .1 only oPf^/atinteryaJs tqadmitjthe lastofthei night V birds,; .unde^their \ she! ter ing roof; : and theniiquiet reigns in the Jaiies while; \tbf denizeiißJ Bnatch $few> hours of v B holy • before) once; -s^^ris^umitig- ■ those" ■ c ?^t ?£#W ;* h ;e;;Bur^fore^ners^^^