Here and There.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 374, 9 July 1903, Page 7

Here and There.

I UNCLE RASTUS AND THE j 'possum.; •.-. j ||jsS|N American clergyman tells of i ||||||f an amusing, yet withal very * BB ' BS instructive, experience which befel him in connection with a negro I 6 na< * a little knowledge. The clergyman wsa driving ' one . Sunday in company with a friend, to *take"duty at a place a few miles from his home, when he came upon the negro, with a club in his hand,, and a freshly killed opossum on his shoulder. The clergyman! and his I companion stopped for a moment to examine the negro's prize, and a short conversation ensued. r ■ 'My friend,' said one to the negro, * don'i you happen to know that it's Sunday ?' p .'.* ' Sartin, boss, dat's it's Sunday,' was the unhesitatingly reply. ■ .''But I thought you were a religious man?' continued the first speaker. * ' I are.' came the quick response. ' And soon I'll jist be on my way" to church.' t ■-....■ ' But I should like to know,' demanded the other,' what sort of religion you have got that permits you to" go hunting on Sundays P' . , ~ ' Religion ? religion P' repeatedly queried the old man, as he held the opossum up with one hand'and reflectively rubbed M»* nose with-the" other. ' Does you 'xpect any black' man in die 'ere country is gwihe to hi&self up to any religion that 'lops a 'possum to walk right across de|road ahead of him and git away if rib P No, sah. , A religion which won't bend a little when, a fat 'possum heads you off , couldn't be 'stablished in de universe.' -. ,

A STORY FROM SOUTH AFRICA.

.The Rev, E. P. Lowry, Benior .Wesleyan Methodist chaplain with the British army during the South African war, relates the following incident of the campaign. There < smart' private in one pi tM who was; very ftnxioua loJxlfcain the affection of his sweetheart at home, and he accordingly concocted a story of which he himself was the hero, and in which he represented that by his own bravery he had saved 100 lives and extricated the whole battalion from a tight place when crossing a river, and adding that for his distinguished conduct on that memorable occasion he had been recommended for the Victoria Cross, He sent this to his ,Mve in England, who, of course, felt very proud of his exploits, and showed the letter to many of her friends. Eventually someone sent a copy of the letter to ' Lloyd's Newspaper,' in which, not knowing that the story was a concoction, the letter was printed in full. In course of time copies of f Lloyd's Newspaper' found their" way to South Africa, and one ..of them got into the hands of the ; orderly f to the colonel to the battalion; irwhich was said to have ■%&&& ' Sated by[ the private's daring exploit. The orderly read it with great but having never heard of the "incident,! he handed the paper to the colonel. The next morning _the including the ; authbr of mi story, was paraded and formed into a square, and. the colonel •read to men ■ the account which appeared in 'Lloyd's' of the wonderful, achievement of one of their number/ 'Then, addressing the battalion, the colonel sajd'•: 'I feel that an apology is, due [from me to the brave fellow in, bur franks whose gallant deed has gone to long unrecognised by his, comradfes. But the fact is I had[ never heard of it until I read it in the paper yesterday, However, to make amends for our past, neglect, I upon you to give the hero three hearty cheers.' The battalion responded with three mighty cheers, whilst the poor fellow who was the subject'of them felt like sinking into the ground. • " '/ H \

''PO'RT'O RICO. w^ic n naß recently at the bureau of engf aVin'W ail printing is certain to attraot considerable attention as soon as it becomes generally known. It marks 'another < chapter in the development of the colonial dependency idea of the United Ssates. ' * The stamp is* made for use in Porto Rico, but there is nothing' on its face to indicate that the United States has anything whatever to do with that island. Across the top of the stamp are tile words, i The People of l*o>io* fftiep.' This is the only indication of the authority for the issue of the stamp, although there is said to be some question as to how and why this peculiar'designation was attached. The decorations of the stamp consist of a shield, upon which is a representation of the rising sun, ! while shield is ibyl two draped figures, representing Art and Plenty. The motto<oh the stamp is ' Prospera lux oritur.' The values of the stamps range from one cent to as high, it is said, as fifty dollars. When under the Idominibn of the Spanish Government, the Porto Ricans used the Spanish (tax; stamp, the value of which did; not exceed ten pesetas. . I The interesting part of th« stamp is the sentence,« The people of Porto i Rico*' No other .American stamp' tears a similar legend, and: stampq collectors say that the issues a stamp which is entirely devoid ! | indicate the counfrjrTQ* dependency belongß. » Spirit SMUGOLfig[jg^^r^ An amnsing story comes from Avernes. The other day a sort of