A Few Quickly-Gathered Impressions of "Home."
By "Home" I do not mean the vast stretch of land away on the side of the Indian and Pacific Oceans whence I have migrated (temporarily, of course) for the first time in my life. "Home" in the sense I write means something fuller and richer than Sydney in New South Wales or Auckland in New Zealand (my native town). To all Australians and New Zealanders to whom patriotism is no mere empty-sounding phrase England is never anything else but "Home." It is revered with a passion that distance serves to accentuate, and he is regarded as peculiarly fortunate who can visit in person the Old Country which is enshrined in the heart of every true Australian or New Zealander.
And short as my experience of "Home" has been, it has already sufficed to confirm impressions formed some thousands of miles away. I am nearing two score and ten years of age. My experiences "down under" have been many and varied, but nothing has ever touched the emotional chord so deeply as this my first visit to the Old Country. Since setting foot on England's shore at Plymouth, until now, my whole experiences have been akin to those of a fond son visiting the fondest of parents. Need one say more?
Then there is the country itself, and this wonderful London of yours (and may I add mine?)—well may it be termed great in more senses than one. I had intended coming round to London by the liner, but Ernest Barry (the world's champion sculler) in whose company I had the good fortune to travel, persuaded me to disembark at Plymouth, telling me that I would see something worth looking at on the journey up to town by train. I am more than glad I took Mr. Barry's advice, and shall remember it amongst the many kindnesses extended to me by your distinguished oarsman.
I had often heard the song," Devon, Glorious Devon."It has a new meaning for me now because I understand something of the spirit and atmosphere which gave the song its title. Glorious! That train journey up from Plymouth was the most wonderful panorama of country scenery I had ever passed through.
And then London with its wonderful buildings, its great institutions of worldwide repute, its continuous roar of traffic in the streets above and in the tubes below, all created an impression that will last.
But over and above all is the uniform kindness and attention I have experienced on all sides. Here am I in your midst with designs on the Amateur Billiard Championship— the one thing that has brought me here, so to speak—yet one and all are rendering me every possible assistance in my preparation for that great billiard event. Even some of my prospective opponents in the event which is" their ambition and mine to win have gone out of their way to lighten my task. I know that "a fair field and no favour" is traditional of British sportsmanship, but here was something that went even farther. Whether I succeed or fail in my quest for the title of Amateur Billiard Champion I feel, at any rate, that I shall not lack a full measure of sympathy and moral support.
Your tables are much "faster" than we are accustomed to, and ivory balls are something new for me to handle, but I am hopeful that, despite these little drawbacks, I shall do credit to Australian billiards.