Joe Wilson And His Mates

Reproduction of the original.

Joe Wilson and His MatesBy Henry Lawson

Joe Wilson and His Mates is a collection of short stories by Australian poet and author Henry Lawson. It was released in hardback by William Blackwood in 1901 when Lawson was living in England, and features one of the author's better known stories in "The Loaded Dog".

There are many times in this world when a healthy boy is happy. When he is put into knickerbockers, for instance, and 'comes a man to-day, ' as my little Jim used to say. When they're cooking something at home that he likes. When the 'sandy-blight' or measles breaks out amongst the children, or the teacher or his wife falls dangerously ill-or dies, it doesn't matter which-'and there ain't no school.' When a boy is naked and in his natural state for a warm climate like Australia, with three or four of his schoolmates, under the shade of the creek- oaks in the bend where there's a good clear pool with a sandy bottom. When his father buys him a gun, and he starts out after kangaroos or 'possums. When he gets a horse, saddle, and bridle, of his own. When he has his arm in splints or a stitch in his head-he's proud then, the proudest boy in the district. I wasn't a healthy-minded, average boy: I reckon I was born for a poet by mistake, and grew up to be a Bushman, and didn't know what was the matter with me-or the world-but that's got nothing to do with it.

Excerpt from Joe Wilson and His Mates There are times when a man is happy. When he finds out that the girl loves him. When he's just married. When he's a lawful father for the first time, and everything is going on all right some men make fools of themselves then - I know I did. I'm happy to-night because I'm out of debt and can see clear ahead, and because I haven't been easy for a long time. But I think that the happiest time in a man's life is when he's courting a girl and finds out for sure that she loves him and hasn't a thought for any one else. Make the most of your courting days, you young chaps, and keep them clean, for they're about the only days when there's a chance of poetry and beauty coming into this life. Make the best of them and you'll never regret it the longest day you live. They're the days that the wife will look back to, any way, in the brightest of times as well as in the blackest, and there shouldn't be anything in those days that might hurt her when she looks back. Make the most of your courting days, you young chaps, for they will never come again. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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This collection of gripping short stories by Henry Lawson takes you on a journey through the heart of Australia, as seen through the eyes of the resilient Joe Wilson and his mates. From the bittersweet tale of 'Joe Wilson's Courtship' to the thrilling encounter with 'The Loaded Dog', Lawson weaves a tapestry of unforgettable characters and their enthralling escapades.

Henry Lawson (1867-1922) was an Australian writer and poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period. Most of his work focuses on the Australian bush. Lawson was a firm believer in the merits of the sketch story, commonly known simply as 'the sketch, ' claiming that "the sketch story is best of all." Like the majority of Australians, Lawson lived in a city, but had had plenty of experience in outback life, in fact, many of his stories reflected his experiences in real life. In Sydney in 1898 he was a prominent member of the Dawn and Dusk Club, a bohemian club of writer friends who met for drinks and conversation.