A Native Solomon.

Te Aroha News, Volume III, Issue 106, 13 June 1885, Page 5

A Native Solomon.

I was sitting with tho Raja on tho raisod platform in front of his houso, drinking tea in tho cool of tho evening. Suddonly our peaceful, silont smoking was disturbed by a young and very pretty girl, with flowora in her hair and silver ornamonts on neck and ! arms, who rushed up the laddor and threw horsolf at tho Raja's feet in a passion of toars. Aftor hor ascended slowly, one by one, a number of villagers wrapped in their long homespun mantlos, who quietly sat down on tho platform to tho right and left of the chief. The Raja smokod on silently, until the woman's sobs had grown somowhat loss violont, when he romarked quietly, ♦ c Woeping is good for womon. " A few more puffs of fragrant tobacco, and as the sobbing still continued, ho added with solemnity, "Three conditions aro to bo avoided. First, not to be able to weep ; socond, to weep without knowing for why; third, to weop too much.'^ The last condition was pronounced with impressive distinctness, and an assonting murmur wont round the assembly. Tho girl raisod hor hoad. "My father! I cannot live with Tawngoy. I hate him !" " What has he done 1 Has ho boaten you ?" " No, ho has not boaten mo ; that I should not havo minded, Ho suspects me. He watchos mo, and I will not endure it. I demand to bo divorced. Oh, my father, be it on your head !" "Tawngoy, coine forward, thou son of foolishnoss ! What is this I hoar ?" Tawngcy appeared, slinking shamefacedly from tho depths of the crowd. First making a lowly obeisance, he sat down boforo tho chiof. " My Lord," said Tawngoy, "I saw hor flirting with—" "It is falso— it is falso !" vohomontly cried the girl, dashing away hor tears. "I went with tho other girls to draw water in the stream, aud Adui's sweetheart Powthee cairo and begin laughing, and so we splashed him with the wator. Then this man" (pointing with concentrated scorn at the wretched Tawngey), " this man was spying bohind a treo, and he came and dragged mo by tho arm and abused me boforo thorn all. I never suflerodsuch shamo. Rolcaso mo, oh my fathor ! I will not live with him." Hero sho again prostrated hersolf at tho Raja's foot. A dead silence onsued, brokon only by tho girl's sobs. Tawngoy looked as though he wished the oarth would swallow him, but he said not a word. Suddonly tho Raja spoke again and gave orders. "0 you and you " (naming two or three oldors anong tho spoctators), "take away these two wicked ones, who disobey tho holy law. Strip them of all their clothes, savo one cloth only to tho woman, aud shut thorn up togcthor in tho great empty guost-houso. In tho morning I will hear thorn again. Enough ! I havo spoken." So the young couplo wore hustled off, and shut up in a baro empty house. Tho night was very cold, and as I pulled my thick wadded quilt ovor my shoulders beforo going to sloop, I admired tho shrewd wisdom of the Raja. In tho morning, when their clothes wero handed in to them, and the door was opened to conduct them before the chief, they quiotly slipped away hand in hand, and departod poaccably to their own abodo. » Tho Fly on tho Wheel, or How I Helped to Govern India," by Lioutonant-Colonol T. H. Lowin.