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Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1990, 21 February 1914, Page 6

An amusing incident occurred- at a shop in Queen Street, Auckland, on Wednesday morning. Whilst an. assistant was- engaged trucking a consignment of Chineso lacquenvare to tho interior of the shop, a Chinaman followed him, and in broken English inquired the price of a, conspicuously-branded case. The assistant passed him.on to <i department manager, who, after a calculation of costs and charges,.offered to dispose of the goods for £16. "Or-li, me take 'irn," replied l theVwily one, and after paying over the money went off struggling with tho' purchase on his shoulder. An hour later ho returned, gesticulating wildly, and vplublv expressing himself in a language that is non-existent in the vocabulary of any of the employees.. The services of an interpreter wore hastily requisitioned to oluoidato tho babel of nouns, verbs, adjectives, otc, most prominent of which wero, "AVhafor," "No savvy," "Nexytime," "Mo," "No catchem." Tho Bcqticl is grotesque- in tho extreme. It appears that tho caso of lacquer boro a message written in' Chjneso characters to the effect that tho interior contained la. false- bottom which concealed £100 worth of opium, but upon emptying tho contents another mossago appeared on the bottom of tho caso which read, "Better luck next time." Needless to remark that Chinaman is not in quest of any further at present.