MACARONI AND DUTY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2946, 5 December 1916, Page 5

MACARONI AND DUTY

'•■ '-+———' ■■ • A WATERSIDE SKETCH, , lie Customs officer was overlooking a pile of personal luggage belonging to some members of-the Italian Opera ' Company, after their arrival from fciyd- ! ' . . ney by the Manuka last evening. Questioning the .uncomprehending Italian singer on tbeir contents, lie espied a square cardboard box, which struok hia reasoning powers as something that might come within the scope of the Customs tariff. . "What's in this?" he asked. i The Italian signified that he did riot .'• understand. "What's in this box—in here, what d °os it.contain?" repeated the officer. •"i? 618 was another gush of voluble Italian from the ladies, 'whose rapid diction rippled and rattled with increasing excitement. At last it was made clear what was wanted. "Macaroni, si, signor." "What's it worth?" asked the officer. Again the agitated | Italian found tho , question difficult to compreliond. Then suddenly ho was seized with an inspiration, and indicated the action of ' eating spaghetti.. In despair the officer once-more asked what it was worth—how much was paid for it. : • The son of Italia looked up at the ! gathering stars, counted on his fingers, /< . and then said: "Twenty pounds!" :-. "There'll be primage to pay on this," \ said the officer, with a wiso look. Someone suggested that he meant £2, not £20, but the Italian really , meant neither. What it is supposed ho / meant was that it weighed twenty pounds. Then seeing that the Customs officer .; meant that something should be paid, ; the visitor drew out of his pocket a , handful of small silver and said sententiously: . ' : "Eleven shillings—spaghetti," which cast no light on tho situation. Then someono explained that "macarone," or macaroni, as wo call it, was merely long tubes of dried flour and 4 wafer, from which the national dish of spaghetti was concocted. ! With that the ■ officer gave up the • hunt for primage,- and -told them to take it away, which injunction the newcomers understood immediately, and with chuckles of laughter stowed the box of "macarone" among the luggage in an express.