GOOD STORIES.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1988, 31 December 1889, Page 4

GOOD STORIES.

•< Atticus” in the Leader has the following“ What on earth do you want to leave for ? ” asked the mistress. Bridget hesitated and said she wonld rather not answer. But 'lie mistress insisted, and Bridget at Inst faltered out : *■ Wall, if you must know, ma’am, it’s because you and I love the same man and you have him. It’s more than I can bear.” She was an excellent cook, and the mistress was a sensible woman. “ Don’t bo silly, Bridget, if you love him its all the more reason you should stay. I wont mind it if you don’t.” On this understanding Bridget consented to remain, and her cooking was more brilliant than ever, so that the mistress was secretly glad that the poor girl’s affections were thus misplaced. But after a lull of a few weeks Bridget again came to give notice. “ I can’t stand it any longer, ma’am,” she declared. “I bore’with his loving yon, for it was his duty to, But to see him singing end philandering over the piano with your sister, while he never so much as throws a look at me, cuts me to the heart. If you wont sen! your sister out of the house I mnjt go.” And in spile of ail that could belaid to prevent it, she went! An amusing story at the expense of Major-General Edwards, who was laialy t*r>nnd here inspecting the tmroianeni and volunteer forces on behalf of the Imperial G >vernra-nt, is now circulating the c übs. It a; • ire that wMie in Chris'church the M-jar-G'-nersu had an orderly told off to attend upon him in his Koings-out and cominga-in. The said orderly was a yeom«n eevalry man of fine physique, and allege'her, a good sample of New Zealand young manhood. It, was the lest day of ,the MujorGenerai’s stay there, and at the close of it says the orderly ; “ I suppose you will not want me any more, sir?” “ No, orderly,” replied the General,’ “ I shall not require you any further. Stay, though 1 What are you—that is, what do yon do for a living here? 1 ” “Nothing, sir,” replied the orderly. “ Nothing ! ” exclaimed the General ; “ a great, strong able-bodied man like you. do nothing hut volunteering 1 ” “ That’s so, sir,” affirmed the trooper. “Then,”, said the General, “you ought to be heartily ashamed of yourself, an ablebodied man like you doing nothing but loaf about and spend a little time in volunteering. Go and get some work to do, it’s positively disgraceful,” and turning on his heel, disgusted, he entered the club doors to find himself confronted by a well-known Christchurch citizen, also a member of the club, who was about to go out of that institution, To him the General thus “ I gay, - t you see that orderly of mine,just going along there? What do you think I A great hulking fellow like that calmly told me he did nothing for a living, but just loafed around and played at volunteering I Isn’t it disgraceful ? “ H’m,” said his friend, “do you know who that is ? ” “No,” said the General, “ but he’s a lazy beggar anyway.” “ Well,” said the other, “ he has a right to be if be likes ; that’s young———, and he has £7OOO ayear I “ D—n the colonies,” said the Major-General, and the two went and swore mutual and eternal secrecy over a bottle of champagne, Wellington Press.