THE STEWARD AND THE GOVERNOR.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2031, 10 April 1890, Page 4

THE STEWARD AND THE GOVERNOR.

Some good stories are told anent the recent gubernatorial trip to Great Barrier, but it would be a trifle unkind to repeat in print the small talk which is current respecting the experiences of our popular vice-regal visitors. There is, however, one episode which has been the standing joke on the Opal for a week or two past, and which will certainly justify repetition. At all events the principal actor in the incident has gone from our shores, and is tree from the influence of the pen which worries and the gossip of the tongue that never is at rest. Therefore, it will do him no harm to relate the story of his most serious discomfiture at Great Barrier. The Opal had anchored for the night in one of the pleasant buys for which the Barrier is so famous. His Excellency insisted upon sleeping ashore, though the officers of the Opal were anxious that he should remain on board, and eventually he was rowed to land with his aid-de-camp and quarters found for them in a settler’s outhouse There they slept the sleep of the just till after daybreak, when their slumbers were rudely disturbed. An individual poked his head through the doorway, and called, “ Say there, I want some butter and eggs,” There was no response to his peremptory demand, and, wnth an annoyed look on his face, he pushed the door open and shouted, “ Get up there and tell me if you’ve got any butter and eggs.” Still there was no movement on the part of the sleepers, and the intruder seizing the nearest recumbent form by the shoulders shook it vigorously, apos trophising thusly meanwhile, ’ “ Get up, you lazy devil. What do you mean by sleeping till this time of the day ? Get up at once and find me some butter and eggs. I’m the steward of the Opal.” 1 hen there was a movement in the other bed, The face of the aid-de-camp appeared from its surroundings of blankets, and pointing to the sleeper he horrified the intruder by whispering, “ It’s his Excellency.” 'lhe steward’s time back to the ship is said to have been fast enough to establish a record.—Auckland Star,