Читать книгу An Australian Ramble; Or, A Summer in Australia онлайн

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I am rather disappointed at first. Cook’s agents were to come on board, and one of them did put in an appearance, but that was all, which was a pity, as many of us were trusting to Cook as a tower of strength. In one respect I was especially disappointed. Cook was to take us all to Pompeii, give us lunch there, and bring us back for 12s.; but, alas! the King’s uncle had died, and Pompeii was shut up, and so was the Museum. What a misfortune it is that royal personages should trouble us so much! While alive, of course we must do all we can for them; but surely, when dead, when they have fairly passed to where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest, it is hard that they annoy us still. Many of us may never again have a chance of seeing Pompeii. But I steer clear of the guides and start off for a three hours’ prowl. What strikes the stranger is the loftiness of the houses, the narrowness of the streets, and the number of people. Locomotion in some is almost impossible, so dense is the crowd; while it is the same in others in consequence of the number of equipages, chiefly open carriages drawn by black horses quite overdone with heavily-plated harness. To add to the difficulties there has been a slight shower of rain, and as the scavenger seems to be unknown, the streets are very slippery; I saw one little child run over in consequence. Another difficulty of the pedestrian is the number of stalls on each side, for the sale, apparently, of everything that can be brought into the street to tempt the purchaser.