ETIQUETTE.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2544, 13 April 1871, Page 2

ETIQUETTE.

indrahisidn)^ The Bally'shannon f'ounclered offboast of Cariboo, ' , , v ' And down in f.vthbins manyAycht tK6"captain and the orew, „ , r-, r Down went the owners,-- whom hope of gain allured ‘ ! ■ ~ 0, dry the starting tear,, tor ’ were heavily insured- ‘ • >;j,; " Besides the captain' the mate; thn owuers and.the crpw, i / "' v ; The passengers were also droWhcd, excepting only twp Young Peter Gray, who' tested teas for Baker, Croop,, pgd po., And Comers, ''who frorii 'EAsterir shores im'ported indigo'.' " t , These passengers by reason of their clinging to a mast, ■ i ': ■" ■ . 'nv'• •' Upon a desert island w-eqe eventually cast. They hunted for their meals, as Alexander • Selkirk-used,) <,= nr::' But they couldn’t chat together,—they had not been j /;i , j For Peter Grayj ! and Somers, too, though bcrtainlyintr.ado,. ' v y Were properly-jpariicalar aboiifthd friends • t'icy ! niadc‘; ~'i : - ■ And somehow thus they settled it, without eaiWord'of imouVhji—. . That Gray should take tlio northern half - while Somers took Ellc sditlh,) Oh Peter’s rare; .>' ; j h j; ■ But ;oyster6 Averh -a delicacy < Peter couldn’t bear. " On Somers’ sidb was. turtle, outlie sbingle lying thick, Which'Somers couldn’t eat, because it";d ways made him sick’, , ; _ ; Gray gnashed hid teeth with envy as he saw a mighty gtore . r p Of turtle, unmolested on hip fellow-creature’s shore. 1 ; The oysters at his feet aside impatiently ho shoved, ... For turtle, and his mother, were the only . things he loved. And Sonjers.sighcd in sorrow as ho settled in the south,' , i : ' ... , ' For the thought, of. Peter’s oysters brought the water to his mouth. £Tp Imaged, to lay him do\Vn : upon the shelly bed and stiijtp; ; 1 . , He had often eaten oysters, never ‘ had enough." How they wished an introduction to each i other they ha I had When on board the Ballyshanuon-! And it drove them nearly mad - To think how very friendly with each other they might get, ' ' It it wasn’t for the arbitrary rule of etiquette! One day when out a-huutlng for the mus ridieulus, Gray overheard his fellow-man soliloquizing thus : “ I wonder how the playmates of my youth are getting on, • , M‘Council, 8. B. Walters, Paddy Byles, and Bobiusoa J” . . / y. These simple words made PetA as delighted as could be, ’ , ‘'' 01d, chummies at the Charterhouse . were £lb]biuiou he f, <ii .... o :o ■■■'■• n •

Ho walked straight up to Somers, then ho turned extremely reel. Hesitated, hummed and hawed a bit, then cleared his throat and said : “I bog your pardon—pray forgive mo if I seem too bold, . But you have breathed a name 1 knew familiarly of old. You spoke aloud of Robinson—l happened to he by. „ You know him?” “Yes, extremely well. “ Allow me. so do I !” It was enough ; they felt they could more pleasantly get on, For (ah, the magic of the fact !) they each knew Robin son ! And Mr Somers’ turtle was at Peter s- service quite, iii And Mr Somers punished Peter s oyster-boas all night. They soon became like brothers from community of wrongs ; They wrote each other little odes and sung each other songs; They told' each other anecdotes disparaging their wives ; , On several occasions, too, they saved each other’s lives. , . They felt quite melancholy when they parted for the night, „ ~ And got up in the morning soon as ever it Each otlur’s pleasant company they reckoned so upon, , in , And all because it.happjflncd that they each knew Robinson ! - They lived for many years on that inhospitable shore, , , i V And day by day they learned to lovo each other more and more, At last, to their astonishment, on getting up one day, They saw a frigate anchored m the omng ot the bay ! To Peter an idea occurred : “ Suppose we cress the main I . „ So (mod an opporiunity may not occur again. And Somers thought a minute, then ejaculated “ Done! . , I wonder how my business in the City s get- : ting on.” “But stay,” said Mr Peter ; when in England, as you know, : . I earned a living tasting teas for baker, Croop, and Co. , . I may be, superseded,—my employers thnik me dead r “ Then come with me,” said homers, ana taste indigo instead. ” But all their '.plans were scattered in a moment when they found , , The vessel was a convict-ship from Portland, outward bound ; ~ : When a .boat came,off, to fetch them, though . they felt it very kind, 1 „ To .go. on board they firmly but respectfully declined. , As both 'the happy settlers roared with laughter at the .joke, _ .o ... They recognised a’ genlemanly felloe pulling stroke; ’Twas Robinson, a convict, in an unbecoming • ~-frbck,- ■ ■■ ■: ‘ Condemned to seven years for misapropnating stock ! u ■ They laughed no more, for Somers thought ‘ jie had been rather '*ash . ' ! f In knowing one whose friend had raisapropriated cash And Peter thought a foolish tack he must have gone In snaking. of a mend of ! ‘ v Robinson.. .

: 'At.first tiicy : sKV(t quarrel very openly,- I’ve heard.; 1 : ~' i .... They nodded when. they met, apd «QW and then exchanged a word j.,>j *u..r'■ •' word grew rare, and rarer still the nodding pf tne,head, And when they .meet each .other now they cut each other .dead* > To allocate the island they .agreed ,by r word - of mouth, ' ■ ■ And Peter takes the north again, and Somers takes the south' V*" u . [ And Peter has she oysters, which he hates, in layers thick, I And Somers, ha ß the turtla^jrturtle always makes hi’nft efek.