Miscellaneous.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 223, 8 October 1887, Page 7

Miscellaneous.

What More did He Want ? — About five years ago, Mr Felkin, one of the Uganda missionaries, complained to Mtesa that His Majesty had not kept the missionary larder stocked, as he had agreed, and the missionaries were actually suffering for food. A happy thought struck the King. He gave an order to an attendant, and in a few minutes eighteen buxom young women came marching in with big baskets of bananas on their heads. • c Take these women for your wives, " said Mtesa. " They will dig in your garden, raise your food and cook it. Take them, and don't bother me any more. Send me the other men, and I will give them wives too. Now, take your women and go." Mtesa was greatly enraged when the poor missionary ventured to protest against being married in this wholesale fashion. He told Mr Felkin that he and his fellows might shift for themselves. They had a hard time of it until the King long after became better natured. Crawling Black Things. -—a gentleman, after a farewell dinner-party at his club, joined his wife on the steamer that was to sail in the early morning, taking the upper berth, and those in the adjoining staterooms were alarmed by his exclaiming in drunken tones, ' I've got 'em ? I've got 'em ! Black things are crawling all over me !' 'Go to Bleep and you'll be all right,' sternly replied his better half ; but by this time he had risen to a sitting posture and was hurling to the floor black, squeaking objects, which caused his wife to exclaim, ' Steward ! lights ! lights !' Steward and lights arrived, and disclosed the fact that the ship's cat had deposited a litter of kittens in the berth occupied by the gentleman, whose presence between the sheets had caused them to investigate the surroundings.