t theer darg trimmed up like that!"

"DOSSING OUT" AND "CAMPING"

At least two hundred poor beggars were counted sleeping out on the
pavements of the main streets of Sydney the other night--grotesque
bundles of rags lying under the verandas of the old Fruit Markets and
York Street shops, with their heads to the wall and their feet to the
gutter. It was raining and cold that night, and the unemployed had been
driven in from Hyde Park and the bleak Domain--from dripping trees, damp
seats, and drenched grass--from the rain, and cold, and the wind. Some
had sheets of old newspapers to cover them-and some hadn't. Two were
mates, and they divided a _Herald_ between them. One had a sheet of
brown paper, and another (lucky man!) had a bag--the only bag there.
They all shrank as far into their rags as possible--and tried to sleep.
The rats seemed to take them for rubbish, too, and only scampered away
when one of the outcasts moved uneasily, or coughed, or groaned--or when
a policeman came along.

One or two rose occasionally and rooted in the dust-boxes on the
pavement outside the shops--but they didn't seem to get anything. They
were feeling "peckish," no doubt, and wanted to see if they could get
something to eat before the corporation carts came along. So did the
rats.

Some men can't sleep very well on an empty stomach--at least, not at
first; but it mostly comes with practice. They often sleep for ever in
London. Not in Sydney as yet--so we say.

Now and then one of our outcasts would stretch his cramped limbs to ease
them--but the cold soon made him huddle again. The pavement must have
been hard on the men's "points," too; they couldn't dig holes nor make
soft places for their hips, as you can in camp out back. And then,
again, the stones had nasty edges and awkward slopes, for the pavements
were very uneven.

The Law came along now and then, and had a careless glance at the
unemployed in bed. They didn't look like sleeping beauties. The Law
appeared to regard them as so much rubbish that ought not to have
been placed there, and for the presence of which somebody ought to
be prosecuted by the Inspector of Nuisances. At least, that was the
expression the policeman had on his face.

And so Australian workmen lay at two o'clock in the morning in the
streets of Sydney, and tried to get a little sleep before the traffic
came along and took their bed.

The idea of sleeping out might be nothing to bushmen--not