CHAPTER LVI. EARLY SKY-LARKING AND DUELLING. SYNOPSIS--Sergeant Staunton.-Origination of Larrikinism.-The Early Sky-larkers.-" The Charcoal Boys."-Two " Gentlemen Johns."—"Jack" T and "Jack" F .—Old Sam's Peccadilloes.—Dr. Martin and the Secreted Padlock.-D and his Sword.—The Melbourne " Nickers."—The Dog-and-Bell Trick. —The Duello.—The Clonmel " Text-Book ofHonour."-The"Thirty-six Commandments"—The First Duel—Peter Snodgrass versus William Ryrie. —A Nocturnal Ride in Search of Pistols. - Ammunition at a Premium.—A Lady on the Scene. —The Meeting. —The Fiasco.—Subsequent Challenges and Meetings—John Bourke and the Hawdon Duelling Pistols.—H 1 versus the Doctor.—D. Mc versus S .—Snodgrass versus Redmond Barry.—Powlett versus Hogue.—Craig versus Broadfoot.-The Honourable Gilbert Kennedy versus Demoulin.—"Jam Bullets" and "Jam Satis."—Ross Challenges Croke.—Playne Challenges Curr.—A Poultry Dispute.-Griffin Challenges Synnott.—Bulletless Pistols.-Another Fiasco. —The Honourable Gilbert Kennedy versus C .—Sprot versus Campbell.—A Flash in the Pan.—Doctor F versus Doctor T .—Allan versus Purcell—Arrest of the Principals.—Mr. Frank Stephen and the " Hand and Foot Trick." WILD OATS. pM-0 little ingenuity has been employed in tracing the origin of the term "larrikinism," as designating a comparatively modern human development, which has gathered into the most mischievous social ulcer of the present day, for its contagion communicates to both sexes of successive rising Ib(| generations of young colonists. Philologically, the word " lark " is traceable from more than one V./A- root; as, for instance, from the sky-lark that mounts in the air, and sings flying. And so, "sky-larking" was adopted as a nautical term for mounting the highest yards of a ship and sliding down the ropes, a species of marine recreation permitted under certain conditions. Others derive it from the Anglo-Saxon word lac (sport), and also from "leary," an old cant word, signifying flash, sly, knowing— viz., "leary bloke," a clever customer. I am disposed to adopt the first etymology, and by extending the Jack Tar metaphor, apply sky-larking or larking, as engaging in fun or frolic in an unrestrained and boisterous style, just such an ebullition of the animal spirits as would exactly fit in with the essentials of an uproarious nocturnal grog spree. Furthermore, much misconception exists with reference to the prolongation of the dissyllable to a trisyllable, i.e., stretching lark-ing into lar-ri-kin, but I am in a position, from personal observation, to definitely settle that point. About 1850, there was in the City Police Force, a Sergeant John (or as he was commonly called "Jack") Staunton, a medium-sized, bull-headed Irishman, with darkish face, slightly asthmatic, and thick lips, through which, when giving evidence in the Police Court, he slightly " slavered," and thereby acquired a habit of frequent application of his coat-cuff to his mouth. Staunton, though somewhat dull, was a plodding and highly useful officer, and in his day did good service in ridding the community of some of the wicked excrescences which have existed in every state and every age. Little Bourke Street, with its purlieus, was then as now the main nursery of city crime, and Staunton was not only a power but a terror to the thieving and night-birding fraternity. Staunton's education was on a rather limited scale, and in his vocabulary he was wont to include as "larkers" everyone engaged in nocturnal illegalities about town, especially disturbances originating in public-houses, or indulged in by persons during the enjoyment of late hours. Upon such offenders "Old Jack" had what is known as a terrible "down," and frequently appeared as police prosecutor in such cases. There was something wrong about the tip of his tongue, rather too big for its place, I thought, which imparted a lisp and stammer to the enunciation of some of his words, especially those where double consonants interposed, and one especially, "larking," he could never distinctly master. The "r" and the "k" conjoined seemed too much for him, though separately THE CHR ONLCLES OF EARL Y ME LB O URNE. 7 G 9 he could manage them well. But when both united against him the guttural and palatal requiring for their amalgamation, a quivering motion of the tongue, with its pressure against the roof of the mouth, and a depression of the under jaw, was a mouthful quite beyond his capacity. Therefore, when a magistrate would ask Sergeant Staunton what his charge was against a particular prisoner, he would give his lips a wipe and a screw, and would try to answer " He was a lar—" the " k " caused him to stammer and draw breath, and in his plunging towards the far end of the word, he floundered between the "r" and the " k," and to enable him to reach the terminus, the "r" was duplicated and backed by an "i," a third syllable being so formed, which Staunton employed as a stepping-stone, and jumped across. The response therefore, took this form, " He was a lar—ri—kin, your Worship," and so was coined a word now of common use, which will yet be incorporated in the English language, like other slang expressions seemingly so necessary that one wonders how they could ever have been done without. But, though the designations are analogous as coming from the same shell, it would be a gross injustice to rank the ancient larkers with the modern larrikins as birds of a feather, for there was a wide divergence between the two classes in action, motive, and even temperament. Larrikinism is the outcome of various causes, climatic, dietary, defects in the educational bringing up, moral, religious, &c. In its indulgence it far exceeds the traditionary limits of the sky-larkers, and drifts into excesses of the most criminal kind, not unlike in some respects, the ruffianism of the Mohocks, with which the streets of London rang in the beginning of the 18th century. In all their mad wild revels, their " Reckless days and reckless nights, Unholy songs, and tipsy fights," The larkers in old Melbourne would as soon think of cutting their own throats as robbing a man, and I have found no authenticated instance of their having offered insults to any woman passed in the streets in their intoxicated raids. The old sky-larkers were drawn from the cream instead of the scum of society, the scions of families of good blood and reputation, who came to Australia in search of fortunes—gay sparks, some with light and few with heavy purses, the contents of which were sent flying in every direction. Many of them took up land in various parts of Port Phillip, commencing on the Plenty, and trending northwards along the rivers in the interior away to the Murray. From this aggregation stood out prominently what was known as the " Goulburn Mob," dashing, gentlemanly, intellectual and good-looking fellows, who led a monotonous, industrious, life in the bush; but the moment they got a chance flocked to Melbourne, went the pace there in a manner conducive to the health of neither body nor pocket, enjoyed life while they could, then returned to the drudgery of station work, and so came and went until the " wild oats" were not only sown, but the crop reaped with a vengeance. Some of them, at the turn of the tide, settled down quietly and amassed fortunes, afterwards enjoyed both in the colony and at home; but death made sad havoc with many, for the best and the brightest and the gayest of the frolicsome scapegraces went down before its remorseless scythe. The first head-quarters of what the newspapers were wont to designate the " Waterfordians" (after the mad Marquis of Waterford), were established in 1839, at the Lamb Inn, the second hotel in Melbourne, an unpicturesque, ramshackle, straggling wood and brick batch of apartments, thrown together on the site of the present Scoffs Hotel, in Collins Street. For some reason or other, not knc vn to posterity, they passed under the title of " The Charcoal Boys." Possibly it was because of some association of ideas in the colour of charred wood, and the darkness under cover of which their escapades were indulged. The Lamb Inn was opposite the then Melbourne Club, which got into full swing in 1840, and this proximity afforded a favourable opportunity for uniting the several forces in the event of any combined movement; for, be it written, not to their disadvantage, that the Waterfordians usually pulled well together; there was no splitting into factions, and, unless a row over the dining or card-table, and a hostile meeting ending in an abortion, no inter sc feuds ever existed. In a short time, the Club completely eclipsed the mad doings of the Iamb, and in the course of a few years the Prince of Wales, in Little Flinders Street, was an occasional contributory; zz 770 THE CHRONICLES OF EALiL Y MELBOURNE. but the Club finally outran all competition, and its larking achievements did not die out for nearly a decade. The Club was in itself the focus of every harum-scarum undertaking that could be imagined, and to such a height did its post-prandial excesses in a short time reach, that it became necessary to establish in connection with it a " receiving-house" as a harbour of refuge—a queer unhallowed sanctuary, to which such as were pro tern unfit to mingle with the ordinary Club society, voluntarily banished themselves like fallen angels. This rowdies' home was an old shed-like, brick-nogged, one-roomed rookery, perched rearward of where the Australian Club-house is erected, in William Street.