aroundworldortra00peebiala-1

70 ABOUND THE WORLD.
alities being represented, they studied toleration, and
sang, —
** With spades and picks we work like bricks,
And dig in gold formations."
The city was named after an Irish peer. It numbers at
present some seven thousand, is lighted with gas, has an
excellent library, publishes two spicy dailies, and is surrounded
by a rough agricultural and vine-growing country.
Here I found a fine congregation of Spiritualists, ministered
to each Sunday by Mr. G. C. Leech, a prominent attorney,
and gentleman of culture.
Lecturing in Mechanics Institute, Mr. Leech occupied
the chair. The building was densely crowded. Though
there have been marvelous physical manifestations in this
city, bigotry is still rampant.
The pious Archdeacon of Castlemaine,
" whose face doth shine," ... is a violent
opposer of Spiritualism.
Sandhurst,— a wide-awake city, originally called Bendigo,
claims twenty-five thousand inhabitants. It is the headquarters
of vast quartz ranges pronounced absolutely
inexhaustible. The buildings are fine; and every thing,
save the public garden, indicates enterprise and thrift.
Our lectures were delivered in the Rifles' Orderly Hall ; Mr.
Denovan,- an ex-member of the Colonial Parhament, presiding.
This gentleman is as universally esteemed as brave in
the utterance of his convictions.
Creelong—with a population of twenty thousand, situated
upon Corio Bay— struggled sharply to gain the pre-eminence
over Ballarat. The struggle proved a failure. The city was
named after a native chief, and is noted for its harbor, botanical
gardens, suburban orchards, and beautiful vineyards. The
Spiritualists, exceedingly coy, need an infusion of moral
firmness and spinal stiffening. Our lecture was delivered
in Mechanics Institute, and' fairly reported.
Stawell—quite a distance from Melbourne—contains a