THE COOK, THE POET AND THE POKER.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6648, 12 September 1889, Page 2

THE COOK, THE POET AND THE POKER.

I A LIVSET UPTLB SCBNB. | Talking of Socialist Morris "remind* ' me," as the tellers of anecdotes eay, of a little story. William Morrie, who ia a very different man from his brother poet, Lewis ~ Morris, author of the " Epio of Hades," :is grey, gnarled, growling, and— l was ; going to say, grimy, but I will substitute dingy. He lives in a small house, near to ' which he hag bnilfc a rough shed, where tue {socialists meet on Sunday evenings and discuss the millennium. William Morriß is very passionate and very fond of plum pudding. My brother was dining with him one Sunday afternoon when this delicaoy came up hard as a cannon-ball. Morriß forthwith dashed his fork into it, and rushing downstairs, breathing fire and slaughter, hurled the underdone pudding at cook. "You villainous hag, you mis- ; begotten old witch, do you want to murder me with indigestion ! " The guests heard , him apostrophise the delinquent domestic. Cook, however, it seemed, understood her master. "Get out of this, Mr Morris, or I'll tie a dishcloth to your tail," she said coolly. " You'll what — you oleaginous harridan ! " spluttered Morris. « I'll tie a dishcloth to your tail retorted cook, or something worse," and here the audaoioua female withdrew a red-hot poker from the fire, and made a significant- pass at the angry poet. He came upstairs attain even faster than he went down. "My dear," he announced to his wife who seemed to take the scene quite as a matter of course, "I scolded cook and she wanted to bur a me." "I've often told you, love, not to meddle," said Mrs Morris placidly, and the Bubject dropped.