Page:The moods of Ginger Mick.djvu/47

Rh So I gits some reel good readin' in the letter wot 'e sent— Tho' the spellin's pretty rotten now an' then. "I 'ad the joes at first," 'e sez; "but now I'm glad I went, Fer it's shine to be among reel, livin' men. An' it's grand to be Australian, an' to say it good an' loud When yeh bump a forrin country wiv sich fellers as our crowd.

"'Struth! I've 'ung around me native land fer close on thirty year, An' I never knoo wot men me cobbers were: Never knoo that toffs wus white men till I met 'em over 'ere— Blokes an' coves I sort o' snouted over there. Yes, I loafed aroun' me country; an' I never knoo 'er then; But the reel, ribuck Australia's 'ere, among the fightin' men.

"We've slung the swank fer good an' all; it don't fit in our plan; To skite uv birth an' boodle is a crime. A man wiv us, why, 'e's a man becos 'e is a man, An' a reel red-'ot Australian ev'ry time. Fer dawg an' side an' snobbery is down an' out fer keeps. It's grit an' reel good fellership that gits yeh friends in 'eaps.

"There's a bloke 'oo shipped when I did; 'e wus lately frum 'is ma, 'Oo 'ad filled 'im full uv notions uv 'is birth; An' 'e overworked 'is aitches till 'e got the loud 'Ha-ha' Frum the fellers, but 'e wouldn't come to earth.