SOUTHERLY BUSTERS.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 13411, 1 May 1909, Page 7

SOUTHERLY BUSTERS.

Of Capt. Edwin, Now Zealand's valiant weather prophet (wnose retirement under the service agj regulation has been notified, after a long and honourable career) Hamlet would have said "Tnis fellow hath some fee-ling for his business." Edwin had that cardinal qualification of a. prophet—an assured faith in the fulfilment of his own prophecies, and possibly his acquired meteorologies] skill did not altogether banish, the old nautical notion that a wind comes when it is whistled for. , . Anyway, this story is told to his credit. . Some years ago sky signs pointed to a tremendous hurricane in Cook Strait—something quite abnormal in the way of devastating gales, and shipd that valued th ir mortal skins wo.o solemnly abjured to lie in harbour till the furious tempest had passed. fcio they did. with the exception of a vessel commanded by a real Viking—who looked at the clouds, looked at tho barometer, looked into his mvn soul, and snapped gnarled fingers at the Impending Crisis. Over to Picton ho sailed courageously—-cheerfully he sailed back —and there wasn't a sign of a storm! Something had gono irretrievably wrong with tho ' meteorological works. And on Wellington wharf, as the Viking moored his little craft, stood tho 6ombro Capt. Edwin—fair game! Tho mnrincr hailed him. "Cao'n Edvin! Cap'n Edvin! Vot aboudt *dot storm, hey? Vofc aboudt dot hurricane? It coom! It nefer coom!" Edwin glared at him with the basilisk eye that curdles the blood. ''No," he snid, "No, it didn't come. But"— and ho shook his fist at the mocker— "yon scoundrel, I'll have you yet! I'll have you ypt!" Another admirable nanticnl veteran, who writes iiml'-r tho name of "So% ' fnrer." contributed recently to "Tim PresH , ' sojno rearlabl" reminiscneep of ; Cnpt. Fairchild, a veteran who has i • 0 inH rest, '■Vhere no storms comu. Where tho jrreon raeil is in tho haven dutnD out of th« swing of the eea. FnirehiW had for twenty years New Zealand notoriety. With character, • wit, American accent, a spice of . gnomic malice, and command of tho i Government picnic steamer, he made j for himself a reinitiation that is still ! relished. • Sorno examples unrecorded by "Seafnrer." One night Fairchild's steward came aboard the worse for liquor. Tho old nvm said nothing and helped the ! criminal to his bunk. Next morning, when tho steward came in with the tea —"Steward, you were drunk last night." 'Drunk, sir? Mc, sir? Oh, ! no. sir. I may have had a glass or two, j sir—but not drunk, sir, I assure you,' sir." ''Well, steward, if you were' not i drunk, I vras; and next time I'm drunk you're fired!" Neat, too, was Fa.irchild's commentary at the time of'the Russian war scare when the Nr-w Zealand Government had no thought'of giving Dreadnoughts, but looked to jfpcal defence. Two old cannon were found in Wellington, and a sapient committee wr.s sent to inspect the Hinemoa, and decide whereabouts on the vessel they could be mounted most effectively. Thf> committee walked dubiously round tho deck, and at last bethought itself to take the captain's opinion. "You mount those two guns pointing right over the starn, gentlemen. That's tn<? only place they'll be of any use to mc."