Merely Borrowed.

Otago Witness, Volume 30, Issue 2353, 30 March 1899, Page 60

Merely Borrowed.

Chinese butlers have a way, when their own supplies fall short, of borrowing from neighbours.

At least, this was a very common custom not long ago, and goods changed hands over the garden wall with astonishing celerity, the butlers, meantime, keeping a strict account. A European lady residing in China writes thus: —

"At the first large dinner party to which I was invited — I went as a bride — I found myself eating with my own brand new knives, forks, and spoons. I stared at them very hard ; there could be no mistake, for I could see the fresh monograms. I did not dare to say anything, but when- 1 reached home I told my husband, rather tremblingly, for I was quite sure they had been stolen. _ To my amazement he only laughed, and said: " ' Oh, you will get used to that soon, and when you have too many guests you will find that, instead of asking you to get more supplie?, the butler will just borrow your neighbours' and always make up the deficiency.' "And so it proved. I can well remember once, when my husband had asked eight guests in to dinner only half an hour before the usual time {one for each of the delicious spring snipe he had shot), that there appeared, later, a splendid roaet'leg of mutton as one of the courses. , "Now, I knew we had no mutton, for earlier in the day the cook had been bewailing tho non-arrival of the Shanghai steamer, by which it always came. Turning to the gentleon my left, I asked : . " ' Did your steamer como from bhangnai to-day?' " 'Yes; why?' , . IU " I looked down to the other end of the table where my husband was carving the unexpected treasure-trove with very evident enjoyment. . , " ' Well, ours did not,' said I, and yet "He caught fight of the mutton. "'Oh!' he laughed. 'I suppose that is mine. No doubt yours will come to-morrow, and probably be much better ; so I shall be the gainer this time.' "