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Some copies have the cover title, 'The Awful Australian'.
Contents indexed selectively.
Contents
* Contents derived from the Sydney,New South Wales,:Herbert Scanlon,1920-1929 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
Following the characterisation of Australians as uncouth and provincial, Scanlon takes up the defence of Australians whom he sees as strong, honest, loyal and brave.
Though Guiseppe had endeavoured to make his fortune in a new country, things had not gone according to plan, so he decided to return to his native Italy as soon as he could save enough money to do so. However, when his widowed neighbour's toddler becomes ill, Guiseppe sacrifices his opportunity to return home by secretly donating all his savings to the child for medical treatment.
Mark Connell is a confirmed bachelor. Explaining his position to a friend, Mark cites as the cause his unfortunate experience with a calculating young woman in France during the war.
Nearing death after being wounded, a brave Captain asks a nurse to read to him an as yet unopened letter carried in his pocket. He discovers it is from his long-lost first love enquiring after her son who is serving in the Captain's unit. Tragically, however, her son was a soldier whom he had recently had to condemn to death for cowardice and, as he asks the nurse to reply on his behalf, he decides that a lie is kinder than the truth.
