A BUSHMAN AFLOAT.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8469, 21 June 1907, Page 7

A BUSHMAN AFLOAT.

By ALBERT DORRINGTON. , Author of "Along the Castlereagh,' '•'Children of the Gully," etc.) {Published by specia 1 arrangement —Copyright reserved.) JJO 14.-THE DUKE'S UNDERSTUDY. When joining the Ophir at Colombo, after a stay of a fortnight, I expected to hear one or two good stories about the Duke, of York what time he was on his way from England to open the first Commonwealth Parliament. Although H.R.H. t spent several years as a midshipman, in the navy, he remains a veryin4 different sailor. During the 'voyag* to Australia all sorts of sleeping contrivances were arranged to minimise the terrible attacks of mal-de-mer -•wfcWfcfrequently overwhelmed him. One French firm of hammock-makers designed a curious jßub-aerial bunk, guaranteed to remain .stationary in i the, roughest. seas. Another loyal jftgliah house of chairmakers pre,«anted H.R.H. with a patent non'Sflating lounge capable of maintaining a horizontal, attitude in North Atlantic weather. The Duke pinned his faith to the 'patent French bed, and it responded nobly until the Ophir ran into an oldman cyclone in the Mediterranean. Then the patent squall-resisting bed began to polka gracefully on its sliding pivots, until the bottom posts threatened to punch holrs in the >lt took seven stewards to chain the bed to the floor and prevent it from breaking through the skylights. The Duke escaped unuer,. the curtainrods before it had wrecked fethe patent ceiling and electric fittings. One of the oldest tars aboard the Ophir volunteered a little information about the Duke's voyage which until recently only been hinted at. . ,'* ■* "We'ad>a terrible rough passage ' across the Bay of Biscay," began tne tar huskily; "worst ever experienced. The Dook came on deck an* sez to the skipper, 'Cap'n, n he says, 'yow'd better put into Vigo till mawnin'. I'm feelin'quite rotten.'" " 'The Duke boarded the Ophir at Naples," I put in sorrowfully. "What was he doing in the Bay of Biscay?" he did, so he did." answered .<*heoid tar promptly; "It was the , Dock's understudy I'm talkin' about. The chap what came aboard at Tilbury dressed like the Dook. whiskers, face, an' boots. You couldn't tell one from t'other at six paces." We breathed silently lest we might interrupt the tar's train of thought. ■ "The understudy came aboard at Tilbury," he went on, "to get hisself used to the -sea afore the real Dook got on at Naples. Afterwards, when we left Naples, 'e was able to stroll up and down lookin' \ like the ' real thing, while his Rile Highness was 'eavin' his heart-out below. "There was a terrible crowd of men-o'-war's men aboard, an' it would 'ave looked a bit undignified if it was known our sailor prince was 'eavin' hisself to pieces in his stateroom. So the undsrstudy uster stroll about until everybody thought that his Highnesa. was a. real out-an' : out sailor. -"A night or two afore we got to ■ Port Said the understudy came to me 'Bill, 'ave you 'eard 'ow BPHighness is prjgressin'?', " 'Pea-green a.i' white about eyes,'l sez. 'I s'pose you're" N>pin' he'll remain sick, Arty V " '<You called the Duke's understudy Arty,"*l broke in feebly. There seemed nothing else to say. "As often as'e called me Bill," growled the tar. " 'Well,' says Arty, 'my position is awkward. Bill,' he says. 'I 'ave to dine with the Duchess every night, an' the crowd, of ladies what accompany her.' "-'lt's better* than shovellin' coal, Arty,' sez I, orfightin' policemen.' " 'Pightin' policemen's all right, Bill,' says Arty; 'but I ain't goin' to stand the Duchess hittin" me on the knuckles with a nut-cracker.' . " 'Hit you on the knuckles, Arty?' I sez. " 'Nearly broke me ring-finger,-' Bill,'he sez. 'Her Grace apologised She said she 'ad forgot moment that I wasn't the real George. I didn't mind thaV but when she called me a mincin' little pollywog I thought it time to give up me job.' '"lt's only the Duchess's animal spirits, Arty,' I sez. 'Hang on to yer job.' "As the Dook's understudy, Arty 'ad a 'ard time with the Duchess, sir. She was always mistakin' him for the Dook, an' makin' him swaller ice-cream on top o' bilm' i'ot soup. "One night, after we'd left Suez, I was passin' forr'd, an' I sees Arty leanin' his 'ead against the port rail. "'Cheer up, Arty,' I shouts; 'his rile nibs will soon be all right. He was pickin' at some 'am this morninV "Arty looks up at me. an' his eyes seemed to 'ave changed colour a bit. /Sailor,'he sez, low an* sorrowful, , 'your arrigance will get you six months.' "His Grace the Dook!' I sez. holdIn'me breath. "Oly Peter!'" "'Off side,' he sez, moyin' away; *an' no bunkum. ,s "It was the Duke all right, but I never could make out what he, meant by 'Off side an'no bunkum.' Can you, sir?" , The expression was used very fre- % quently at Buckingham Palace. I ex- ■' plained, /whenever certain effusive Australians entered the Royal Drawing Room. All the same, we felt sorry for the Duke'and the understudy who was nourished on boiling hot • soup and ice-cream. (To be Continued.)