She was a small and mysterious girl. Her hair fell in the manner of an Irish-Catholic, instantly deceiving her Protestant vocal delivery, H's pronounced as hard as her skin appeared to touch.
Colonial children generally have a slightly darker complexion to their British equivalents. They appear at home in the harsher environment of New South-Wales, more athletic, lithe.
My foremost concern with Australian-born youth, is their obvious lack of innocence, discipline and religious virtue. Whilst wandering round the streets of Sydney, I was astonished at the number of young street-urchins frollicking barefoot, selling match-books and generally loitering.
The specific object of my attention, however, was named Hilda. She caught my attention as I walked through one of most notorious areas for Instances of Larrikinism, near The Rocks. I was alarmed to see a girl, aged no older than nine years wandering the streets on her own at dusk. She appeared to be bartering pipe-tobacco in exchange for rum with a group of disreputable members of The Push.
The confidence and appalling language this young Australian spoke to these men with both excited and concerned me.
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