GOVERNOR FOR A DAY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 1514, 9 November 1912, Page 2 (Supplement)

GOVERNOR FOR A DAY.

VISITOR'S CEREMONIAL RECEPTION.

A KOEPENICK JOKE.

In tho West Indies tiiß& occasionally hangl heavy on one's hands, and there arc opportunities for weaving elaborate jokes.

A laughable story of a West Indian Koepenick is related in the West India Committee Circular. , The unwilling pei petrator of the deception, who passes u» der the pseudonym of Smith, himself dascribes it.

"A new Governor had been appointed# and ho had announced his intention of paying a visit to a small island on a particular day. This island, at one time the scat of Government in tho days of the original colonisers, still boasts the remains of the old Legislative nail and a small fort. It is now inhabited only by two or three hundred half-cast?s. As might be supposed, the inhabitants have few opportunities of making the acquaintance of the high official of tho colony.

" Now and then the Governor may make a passing call on his way up the river to his periodical inspection of the colonial Dartmoor, which was. located higher up; but these visits are few and far between. "It happened Unit a few days before the day fixed, Smith, in. conjunction with an American visitor, had accepted the hospitality of one of the Commissioners of the large Water Conservancy which had its outlet in the river in question, to go with him on his tour of inspection, and at tho conclusion of the trip the party debouched from the creek into the river nearly opposite the island in question.

" Anxious to show his guests as much as possible, and ignorant of the visit of the Governor to the island, the Commissioner suggested that a sight of the old relics would be of interest, and the course of the highly official looking tent-boat waa directed towards the small jetty which represented the landing-place. "It was about midday, and as the boat approached the island it was seen that the. entire population were collected in the neighbourhood of the jetty. Not suspecting that this was prompted by anything more than curiosity as to the nature of the visit, tho party duly landed, and were received with extraordinary effusion by the inhabitants. The Commissioner was known to the headman, and a hasty whisper as to which was the Governor supplied the inveterate practical joker with material for what followed. " Telling the man that Smith was the Governor, he took an opportunity of acquainting Smith with his new role. There was no going back, the thing had to be faced, and, much to his disgust, Smith had to play the part. A tour of inspection was made of the island, with the headman hat in hand, and an admiring ' crowd behind.

"At List the school wan reached, Th© children wore drawn up. and sang 'God, save the King.' largess from Smith's pockets being distributed with gubernatorial head pattfngs. The books of the school having been inspected, and searching inquiries made as to the visits of the school inspector, a retreat was made to the jetty, and the boat reached. "Just at that moment a steamer whistle was heard in the distance, and no time was to be lost if tho party was to escape undetected. Ceremonious farewells were made, a case of whisky was handed out of the boat to supply the wherewith for drinking the Governor's health, and off the party started as hard as the crew could paddle, just in time to see the smoke of the steamer conveying the real Governor rounding the point of the island."