STRANGE, ESPECIALLY IF TRUH.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 20 October 1891, Page 4

STRANGE, ESPECIALLY IF TRUH.

I The following amusing story is related a' j the late King Kalakaua of Hcnolulu. j His Majesty, who was a gocd deal of • I boon companion, it would seem, betook him i self one evening with a. French gentleman to ! a tavern, to enjoy a game of cards and some j light refreshment o( the liquid kind, i There ' happened lc> be a British ship in | the harbour at the time, and on this partial i lar night the sailors had been ashore diminishing the visible supply nl grog in the upper ■ nart of town. In the small hours ot tho morning they started hack for the boats, ! and, as unkind fate would have it, their route j liiy by the tavern wherein i ho King and his friend were having their qnjet game. Into Ihe tavern they staggered with much boisterous laughter and an unseemly tramping of feet. Honolulu whisky was beginning to have its effect, and what with salty songs and ' clapping of hands it was taxing the royal brain to keep the run of the game. To add to the royal annoyance, the royal pile of coins became perceptibly diminished in the course of his unlucky game with his French friend. Thereupon, royalty rose up in its wratk, smote the table with its fist, and commanded that t'-cre be less noise j This move of the King naturally led to a j heated argument between Mis Majesty and His Majesty's French friend on one side and a motley crowd of jack-tars on the other. The argument developed into a lively scrimmage, and before His Majesty had time to say Kaoppollinjjii, he was seized by the slack [ of the royal raiment, carried to the door, and | tossed unceremoniously into, the middle of the street, where he lay lull in the effulgence ol the tropical moon until something landed in a heap beside him. This something I proved to be Ihe Frenchman. After studying the stars for awhile, the j King got on hi.-; leet and hailed a passer-by, who was despatched post haste to the palace ; for the royal army. Then the dejected inclrvmuals seated themselves on some convenient steps to await the coming of the army and to reflect on the uncertainty of a quiet -nine of " nap" in the tropics. The strains of bailor songs were still floating out from the tavern when the Hawaiian army turned ir.i.. the street. The sounds of martial tread awoke tho King and his companion from their deep reflections. A hasty council of war was held, and then the royal army full twenty strong—an overwhelming majority being officers— charged into the tavern, encouraged by the shouts of the Fienchman, who discreetly remained out in tiie night air, and hung to ;>. sign board, from which point of vantage he cuiild view the battle. There was a defiant shout from the sailors when the troops rushed through the door ; i hen the sounds ol blows and scuffling, which lasted the fraction of a minute : Then the royal army came out of the tavern. It wasn't :i eh.iige. '1 hey had simply iallenover each other, in which t'-.c-v were assisted by the { sailors, who hnsilcu them out double quick. In a moment the U'n>j, his army, and the Frenchman were in hiil retreat toward the palace, whipped, horse, foci, and dragoons, by ,-i handful of sailors, who pelted them up •he street with glasses, beer mugs, and any •nissiles that came mrniiiy to hand. And as the Kin; iviiivd unhappy to bed, he army If; the liispcOaiiry to secure plaster md beefsteak for scratched faces and discoloured eyes, the cocks were crowing, and there flofited in from the bay on the early morning air the muffled sound cf triumphant shouts and sailor songs.