Personal.

Observer, Volume 9, Issue 522, 22 December 1888, Page 11

Personal.

— Th 9 mantle of William Jarge appear sto have descended on Mr Black. • Coo-ee,' an old and valued contributor to the Observe R,has just had a couple of his clover sketches of Australian life accepted by the Sydney * Centennial Maeazine.' This is a feather in 1 Coo-ec's cap. Wo beg to offer our sincere congratulations. They appear to be pven more particular about the observance of the Sabbath in the Graid Duchy of Oldenburg' than in dear old Scotland. The 'other 'day a tailor w>\s fined because he. was seen walking down the high-street of Oldenburg on Sunday morning, during church-time, carrying , .a-ps-ir of trousers over his arm. It is a wonder they didn't fine him for carrying another pair on hislega.r .•...;...•'■ . it ■ ■ ;• — A youtbiui importer attended service at one of the city churches last Sunday evening:,, and ostentatiously produced a large-sizel note- . book. • All eyes were turned upon him, but he was - undismayed. Notoriety, was evidently wnatne was pining for, With a sweep of- the hand he presently contrived to knock over his book, and the loose Slips -flow all over the place. The congregation tittered, and even the parson's eyes twinkled, the reporter dived after his notes with a lace the •Colour of a danger signal, and his manner, before so bumptious, became meek and lowly. . ; J-l (Hasgov^ grocer got married about a couple of years ago. Very early in the present year, Ms wife presented him with, a couple of • ' boys, and she has now added thereto a wee lassie. ■ A Mend who was invited to the christening of the last' little <sf ranger,' called the proud father on one side, and thus addressed him-' .Man, Sandy ! are ye no mindin' that that's three bairns m one yea-! Gin ye Uith live ten years, that 11 be thrutty bairns! Hoo'llyekeepthema, ma man? I— The annual dinner to the Council em ployees was given by the Major at Canning's last week, Willum Jarge, who is most # decidedly > entitled to rank as a council employee, if any one is was somehow overlooked when the invitations were sent out. "Put he didn't mind. Said the Grand Old Collarer ; ' I don't 'old with dinners, myself. The wittles is cooked biliousy and the wine gives yon the 'eadache ; No, 1 don't paterMise banquets.' —A, real live Earl is said to be among- the gold-diggers, near Greynionth, leading a hand-to, mouth existence,, and frequently dependent on qnarityfpr his daily bread. He quitted England, it is said forty years ag-<\ being then just mwnea to one of the prettiest girls in London. Why he left all most men hold dear,' writes a Hokitika correspondent, ' a lofty position, a large fortune, affectionate relations, and a lovely wife, to ''ostracise himself in tlie wilds of Africa, and afterwards among the humblest of colonial society, cannot be told here ; suffice it to say, if his statements to Dr — —are correct— and it is almost impossible to doubt them— a most revolting revela,tion has beea made, showing to what depths of human depravity some people occupying the most exalted station 'm life descend to ; and how a man, i through placing implicit belief and faith, in those near and dear to him, became a wanderer and an outcast, and in lieu of bavins the command of tens of thousands is dependent on the poor digger for help in sickness and old age. This is no romance, but a bit of real life, the chief actor being one of ourselves living in our midst, and as well know*' to us all (only under another name) as, say, the Town Clerk. Mrs McStingy, who only comes up to town occasionally, arrived last week with her two daughte ra from the wilds of the Waikato, where McStingy tas a station, and is (joining money,' being aa awfu' carefu' man, ye ken. Mrs Mac is , just as carefml and the young ladies take after pa ! and ma. They decided to stop at a well-known hotel, a first-class one, but in order to lessen the, expenses a's'much as possible, mamma said they . would just take breakfast and dinner every day at 'the hotel ' and we can lunch out "at Rome xesturant, my dears. lam told they give you a really first-class lunch at some of those places for a shilling : where*s if we lunched here you know, we should be charged half -a-crown apiece for ©very time, in the bill.' So the party lunched out. Butwbat was the horror of Mrs McStingy when leaving, to find herself, billed for lunch and all! She, remonstrated, but was informed that it was optional with visitors to lunch or not in the house; there was, in fact, no extra charce for unch ! Mrs McSt ingy nearly fainted. — A, patrician party went; into a Queen- > street hairdressing saloon the other day to get his hair cut. Priorto Bitting do «i in *h» operating chair, the patriciat) one (supposed to \>e a noble travelling incog , x^erhaps a Prince in h -* own ' aountry), removed his coat and" hung ifc > > » on a v peg. • When he had gone, the tonsorial & i «t discovered that his illustrious patron had .*jffc his coat behind him, and had taken his (the tonsorial artist's) own coat in its place. It was palpably a mistake, because the. coat left behind was of exqnisite out and beautiful workmanship. The barber tried it on and found it came down -to ' about Mb armpits. Otherwise it fitted him like a ye.v ye. v c. Having lost his own coat he decided to wear the absent nobleman's garment. His appearance thus attired reminded one of Dave Gar- ' dener._ Some days elapsed, and then a detective ' interviewed the man of hair. Had he seen anything of a coat, &c ? Why, of course he had ! Wasn't he wearing it) that identical moment ? 'Well,'' said the detective, ' we've been scouring , the country for that coat. Its owner is kicking j up (profane expression) about it. He's a Russian duke or something; must be, by the way he talks, and I believe that if he had not got back Ms coat there 'would have been trouble ; he'd have communicated with his Government whoever they are, and they'd have bombarded us.' 'Great Scott 1 ' said the barber, 'he oan have his coat ; but I should like ' ■to have mine. It must abont come down to his Highness's heels, and this here thin? is more like ' a« bloomin'' waistcoat on me.' 'Return it at 1 once,' &aid the' detective, ' and I think I can pro- ' mißß''tbat i the business shall be amicably arranged—if youhesifate you are lost.' The terri- ' - fled barber hastened tq complete thetransfer, and' '. has sinee 'received' his own 'coat in return. The ( "ioßlfrrian ' has /quitted the , city, having beeiv assur ed-by, the detective that there was 'no poli« 1 tical sigmfiqaucQ ' t in the detention of his coat. ■ ,