HENRY THE COOK.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 654, 25 March 1914, Page 7

HENRY THE COOK.

HOW HE CAME TO BE IN NEW SOUTH WALES. Henry the cook was an original. '>How' did you come to be in New South) Wales, Henry;?" I asked ol him one day. "All along of exploring, Miss." "Exploring ? I don't understand." '"Well, this was the way of it, Miss. I was one of an exploring party in a big park one night, and we came upon a house and wanted to i see what was inside of it. So in we went, but not by the front door. And' whilst we was looking over beautiful silver things there' was a ncjise and a break in' of dogs—and another exploring party comes in, but they wasn't our friends, and I got away and took a cold bath." 'A cold bath;!" I exclaimed in bewilderment. "Yes, Miss ; a cold bath, and it was in a water-butt qu'ite convenient, and the water was very deep and come up to my chin, and there the enemy found me. v The enemy was in uniform, and dragged me out and put bracelets on my wrists, and was very nasty altogether ; and I made a voyage with friends of mine right out to this country, and here I am a-cooking for you Pa and Ma and you, Miss, and a-ralsin' of ducks and fowls. It ain't such a bad life, after all ; but it was such a grim one, you _bet, before I got my ticket-oi-leave." This account, interpreted, was that Henry had been caught in England robbing a house at night, and had been sentenced to transportation to New South Wales for seven or fourteen years. One day Henry was seen by a friend of ours at Kiama, seven miles from the mills. "What are you doing here ?" said our friend. "Ought not you to be cooking your .master's dinner?" "Well, that's it; but I just felt I wanted a taste of freedom. It'll do the old gentleman good to do without, his dinner. He's been getting a deal too stout lately."—From "Pictures of Australian Life, 1843-1844," by Mrs. . Thomas Henry Huxley, in the "Cornhill."