SYDNEY AS IT IS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4828, 18 September 1894, Page 2

SYDNEY AS IT IS.

[BY CECIL SIMM.]

This is a oharmingly located city, Its harbour is one of the most beautiful in the world, entered as •it is through an. imposing gateway, flanked on either side by precipitous cliffs, known respectively as "North Head", and " South 'Head," while another rook, called "Middle Head," stands in the centre apparently blocking up the way. As one advances, and tho gobd ship or steamer winds her way, the passenger is treated to a series of delightful and novel scenes not to be equalled in any other part of the whole universe. ■••

To the traveller, the whole seen displayed before his view as he i conveyed between tho sea - girl wooded bankß, thero is a nameles something—a strange natural beaut; —suggesting Borne less advance! region. Some four or five miles ar< traversed, and suddenly the passeh ger observes tho city revealing itsel as if by magic, springing upwan from hill and hollow to the ver; water's verge. The numerou wharves are icached and passed and for tho moment the travelle is disappointed to find them of sucl narrow,scantyproportions,especiall; so for such a City aa that unfoldei before his vision. A few second thought accounts for this in the fac of the soveral narrow channels no permitting further encroachment 01 their waters, owing to tho incessan traffic of the ferry boats, plying be tween Sydnoy and the suburbs. With a fow exceptions there i nothing very remarkable about th structure of tho City. True, th Post Office is a magnificent edifice but as far as I could seo, there i scarcely any other imposing buildin] in tho town, Around the harbou we charming bits of rocky orsylvai scenery, and in many wooded pro montories can bo seen the villas o tho wealthy. In the City's vicinit; are many handsome residences elegantly, furnished, and surroundei by extensive and beautifully-kep grounds. Tho fresh arriyal after haviiij Eound a dwelling, removed hi travelled-stained garments andfei tho inner man, wends his way alouj the crowded thoroughfares, jostlei bore and there by the hundreds o unemployed, until at length, tirei wd sick, he wanders away to Hydi Park. A seat is found under somi j'er-spreading Norton-Bay fig tree md here he hopes to enjoy a litth solitude and rest. Vain. hope. Hi :ias perhaps been marked asa stran jer, and the picnic begins. " Hav< ,'ou a match about you, Sir ?" Sud. lenly asks a dilapidated looking inlividual who has just arisen from ihe turf behind, "Why, certainly," mswers tho stranger, handing the nuch wished-for article. In n noment or two the latter is again iccostcd with, " You haven't got a ripe of 'baccy about you, have you?" ' Why, of course"! have !" and' the veed is tendered to tho interrogator, vho goes off with a smile that would lecome some individual coming into , fortune. This kind of tiling would ;o on all day, if the stranger rested icncath that tree, but it suddenly lawns upon him that he has not yet ound a satisfactory bower of soliude, and rising from the seat, lie tiolls away and is lost to view in lis vain endeavor to find rest.

Saturday night comes nigh, and with its a longing in tho breast of a new arrival to see tho niuch-talked-of" Paddy's market." Hero one may observo the salo of almost anything, from a needle to an elephant, and hear sounds mora befitting tho nether regions. You arrive at the door. If you are accompanied by a friend he will tell you to first place your money and other valuables in inside pockets. All being ready, your friend will perhaps take the lead. You must not mind boing lifted off your feet, while hearing strange sonnds, nor need yon careshouldyou feel a nimble hand in the pockets out of which you have already taken your money, otc. Simply smile and take pleasure to yourself that tho" biter is bit!" At last you find yourself on terra iinna, and, after having straightened your tie, and placed your clothes in position, you gaze around. What a jumble of confused wares, and medley of sounds! Electric batteries infusing their currents into heads, arms, and feet; phonographs, from which familiar melo-

dies strike the car; automatic machines, wherefroni weight, strength, and length of lifo can be accurately learned; birds of all descriptions warbling forth their notes as if for tho purpose of trying to outrival the din; fishmongers, while pointing to their goods, continually calling " All alive oh!"; Jew second hand dealers "vanting to know vy you don't puy a vatch, housewives frying potatoes while you wait; curiosity stalls in which almost anything cau be obtained; Italian ven-

dors of ice cream of all tho colours of

the rainbow—suggestive of cholera and death j and hundreds of other wares too numerous to mention; such is Paddy's market after two or three hours of crossing, peering and digesting. There is yet another surprise in store for tho stranger, He wonds his way along thebrilliantly-lighled streets and is perhaps annoyed to find himself accosted by no less than three or four young females in the length of each block of buildings. Ho will perhaps leave George Street for that of the Pitt thoroughfare,! but although in better attire tho samo class of* unfortunate women wil be to tho fore. If ho is of an observant character, he will havo noticed the extreme youth of tho i majority of these unfortunates. If such is the case ho may try to account for this deplorablo state of affairs, However that may be, as far as I cau see this unusual and unnatural fact finds root in the ibsenco of honourable employment. During my short stay I heard indirectly of soveral cases where the parents gave their daughters no alternative but the streets, and openly lived from tho proceeds gathered by the child from any source.

CMc continued.)