252 Australian Life 



upoii his lips. But the Australian counts his 

 possible gains as well, and in this respect is gifted 

 with a vivid imagination. He is not always a 

 good winner, being easily puffed up by the first 

 breath of prosperity. Land booms, mining booms, 

 and even booms in butter and sugar production 

 are the frequent result of this over-confidence, and 

 the effects of the bursting of an Australian boom 

 are fraught with an infinity of disaster. When 

 such calamities occur, it is impossible to avoid 

 a feeling of wonder at the extent to which men 

 reputed shrewd and far-seeing have allowed 

 themselves to become involved. It is equally 

 impossible to refrain from admiring the courage 

 and self-reliance shown by men approaching 

 and past the middle age, in marking out for 

 themselves fresh careers, and facing once 

 more the vicissitudes of life in surroundings so 

 inconstant. 



This familiarity with misfortune makes the 

 Australian tolerant and sympathetic. Where 

 prosperity is so often the result of circumstances 

 rather than merit, poverty is not so hastily set 

 down as the sign of either lack of industry or 

 ability. Men speak of their reverses with a ready 

 frankness that betokens an absence of fear of 

 condemnation, and recount their successes with 

 an equal readiness. On this score, the Australian 

 lays himself open to a charge of boastfulness, 

 and those who fail to understand his interest in 

 his neighbours as well as in himself may readily 



