em born here of English parents, together
with natives of England who have lived here many years, complain that
when they go back to the old country they are received very coldly. It
is no wonder they feel that English customs are very frigid, when they
contrast them with the general kindness and liberal hospitality that
universally prevails throughout this island continent. Men who have
received strangers as freely as is the custom here, must have a
sensation of having ice water poured down their backs when they go to
London or New York, and are greeted with the formality customary to
those two cities.

"I have been told that it is not infrequently the case that an old
Australian who goes to England with the intention of spending not less
than a year there, is back in the antipodes in less than six months. The
cold formality is not at all to his liking, and, as one man expressed
it, he feels as though a southerly burster had dropped on him all at
once; and yet his English friends are no doubt glad to see him, and have
no thought whatever of giving the least offense.

"They are only adhering to the customs of centuries, and unless they
themselves have been in Australia, which is very rarely the case, they
cannot understand why the stranger should feel that he is being unkindly
treated. I am told that thirty years ago there was the same contrast
between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States, but since
railways have traversed the American continent, and communication is
made easier, the forms of hospitality of the peoples of the two sections
have become pretty much the same.

"Of one thing you may be sure: we shall never forget the courtesies that
we have received, and when we leave the shores of Australia we shall
treasure long in our memories the warm hospitality which we have
encountered since the day we first set foot upon Australian soil."

That evening the party visited one of the clubs where all three were
"put up" for the time of their stay in Sydney, their host intimating to
Dr. Whitney that, as his nephews were under age, they would not be
expected to visit the club, except in his company. Before they had been
in town twenty-four hours, our friends had received the offer of the
hospitality of no fewer than four clubs, together with several
invitations to dinner. The three agreed that Sydney was certainly a very
hospitable place, and that a stranger suffering from indigestion, or in
poor health