DANCING AND FOOD.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume IV, Issue 38, 24 January 1936, Page 8

DANCING AND FOOD.

Inducements To Buy An Umbrella! SALESMAN IN ADDIS ABABA AND AN AUSTRALIAN. Tim oilier day I was can ah t, ui<»>:peelially in ;i heavy shower and dodged into a nearby shop to buy myself an mnbreH '. r P!i<' process, took ml more than eiaht minutes, and as 1 stopped out into the rain I was reminded roreili'ty of a sinii’ar transaction carried cut in very different circumstances —the hnyiur of er mu-

hiadhi in Addis Ahaha ('wiles Lloyd Fraser in (ho Sydney Rim). The heat was intense when ! arrived in the Abyssinian capita! and I needed an ninbrel’a as incdocLon r *rriins* (ho smi. ! van led il qniekiy. lint I was soon to discover (■hat i was wreny in expert in." (o ho no'e (o oh(ain one in a simple, slraighllenvard wa v. Tlie native salesman issn n d a broad smile as I made my wants Iniown, then threw hath a have ray, disftlayiny twenty or thirty ximhre’las of various kinds and with different orna-in-vitet ions. Abyssinian umbrellas possess a stiek almost twice as 'mn as onr own. with a cover about ha’T the e iron inference of a western “r;amp,” Bat 1 set out to have one in spile of these dimen-

sums. When I picked out one and queried, (ho price, (he native salesman grinned. “Thirty shillings!” he demanded. 1 put that one down and selected another. “Forty shillings T ’ lie answered, watching every movement of my face. Once again I put it down and tried a third. “Fifty shillings!” he echoed. I put it down and turned to go. “Wait,” he commanded, and, pushing a packing case towards me, he bade me he seated. A'most as I did so a native woman dancer appeared, then another, followed by hah' a dozen more. For thirty minutes they danced without ceasing, then suddenly they stopped an I a native youth brought in two. plates of food —one

for me and one for the salecsman. “Eat,” laughed my companion. Then as I looked at the food, lie hinted if was goose liver swimming in oil. 1 tried it —and it tasted good, for ! was hungry. Then another plate of it was brought and ! polished that off, too. Having once got me into a good humour, as he thought, the native salesman again turned to his wares. ITe took the umbrella 1 Had first picked up and banded it to me. “Thirty shillings!” lie said placidly. I shook my head in the negative. But he would not hear of it and hade me be seated again. .Almost as 1 did so the dancers appeared again, thou the native boys brought in more goose liver and green gravy and native bread. This happened six times in succession, then as my appetite was satisfied I rose to stretch my legs. A glance at my watch showed that i had been trying to bargain for four and a qnaider bourn, so I counted otu thirty shillings rn silver, intending to buy

the mnbrel’a and reprimanded myself for spuming- so long over it. Imagine n.y surprise when the I native salesman would have none of it. What he had meant was thirty “pennies,” so | put. the silver back and gave him the copper coins. At this his face became jubilant. But to this day I cannot make out whether 1 really paid for the umbrella —■ or the food and dancing!