Washington sentinel., 1899-02-04

She is a root-type by herself
the Australian girl; and, since !
make bold at the outset to say that
she is Of mine own land and mine
own people, / may be forgiven for
also stating frankly that the type
has for me an especial attraction,
1t is not that the Australian girl
is cleverer or prettier, or physic-
ally or mentally superior to girls
of other countries. 1t is not that
she differs in marked degree from
her cousins in Great BritaIn-it is
hardly to be expected that she
shOuld-but she differs enough to
show that she is Australian and
not English; that she bas an indi-
viduallty of her own, and that her
virtues and her faults are those Of
the offshoot, and not OF the stem.
Like her natal land, she has no
immensely distinctive characteris-
tics, In temperament she has not
the splendid luXuriance Of some
daughters OF the South or the
heroic hardihood OF children Of the
North. In physique she cannot be
called robust; she is almost always
slender, not to say thin, and her
thInness might easily become an
gularity, her fragile bloom sallow-
ness. | have heard her described
in antithetical terms, as "a weedy
specimen, all nerves and indiges-
tion-an example OF the bad effect
Of drinking tea with meat" and
again as. "a languorous tropic
flower-all grace and charm"
Neither of the descriptions eX-
presses her. The first was given
by a doctor, old and Grabbed; the
second by a poet, young and sus-
ceptible.
l could not help thinking OF the
"tropic flower" smile as l looked
down the saloon table on board a
p. & .. steamer in Melbourne har-
Dor, where a number Of young
Australian women were seated.
They had come to greet, or "send
off" friends, or because they knew
the captain and officers, and a din
ner on a P. & Q. boat offered pleas.
ing variety to their ordinary
amusements. Having got together,
and outnumbering the matrons,
they did somehow give the sugges-
tion of an animated border OF un-
English flowers. The blossom
effect might have been partly due
to their petal-like muslin frilleries
and gay summer hats, but was
more so TO the hothouse dclicacy
Of their compilations and that
exotic look one soon associates
with the Australian girl. The
Australian girl would not, how
ever, approve Of being called un-
English and exotic. Iti her dear
est ambition to be considered Eng
lish-which is, perhaps, why she
does not show to such advantage
in a conventional setting as does
the American girl, who dares to
stand out from herBsetting and be
her real American self The Aus
tralian girl would be a more def
mite intellectual and social tact if
she had the SAME courage and a
true respect for her claims to con.
sideration as an Australian pure
and simple. Though decidedly
adaptive and clever in making the
most OF her materials, she cannot
compare with the American Girl in
sturdy originality and the capacity |
to shine under difficult social cir |
cumstances.
Thus the Australian girl appears
to best advantage in her particular |
envlronment-most so the Girl Of |
the Bush. Here she seems a !
natural product OF the peculiar |
features which make Australia un-
like all other countries. II is the |
Bush girl who represents emphat- |
ically the Australian type, and in |
her Bush home she is more or less |
the same always, whether that be
a rough station out West or the
luxurious homestead Of a rich
Victorian squatter Even far in
the wilds the Bush girl has a knack
of refinement. That is one OF the
characteristics Of the Australian
girl. She may be poorly educated;
she may run almOs. wild, hobnob
with blacks, ride after cattle, and
scrub, COOK, and clean as many a
girl has TO do out west; but, with.
all, the squatter's daughter is al
most always natural little gentle.
woman.
On the big Selections" girls
lead something OF the same kind Of
life as do those on the Stations;
but in an agricultural country,
where sci :ctors cOngregate, the
homesteads are nearer together,
and the society different; for, as a
general rule, the seiectors and
squatters don't cordially intermix.
Under the old order, the squatter
represented the aristocracy Of Aus
tralia; and though nowadays the
distinction does not exist in the
same way, and a free selec.or NAV
be the son ot a nobleman or Ger
man held labOrer, the original free
selector was almost always a work
ingman. who, having got together
a little money, would settle down !
independently on his own few
acres, and rear his family to be
better than himself. Il is in the
tree selecting" communities that |
one finds something OF a parallel
with a certain class OF girls in the
United States. Here, too, is the