AN OLD-TIME YARN.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1869, 6 February 1892, Page 4

AN OLD-TIME YARN.

Mr J. P. Hamlinis a man of many good tales, one of the best telling how his father lost a blanket. The Key. James Hamlin, it is needless to remind all but "new chums" was one of the early missionaries to New Zealand. He was a big man, of great muscular development, and his feats of strength no doubt aided him to acquire an influence over the Moaris. One powerful chief regarded Mr Hamlin as his special pakeha. This chief owned a n amber of slaves. One day a little baby Hamlin was disporting himself on a blanket in the kitchen, when a slave entered and stole the blanket. The alarm was raised, and Mr Hamlin, rushing out, caught the thief in the garden. By way of punishment he lifted the slave bodily and threw him over the garden fence, which was about seven feet high. The missionary returned to his studies, satisfied that he had saved his blanket. But he reckoned without his chief. That august personage was vexy wroth when he beard of the attempted robbery from his pakeha, and decreed that the slave should be killed and eaten. The slave, bearing of this, took refuge in Mr Hamlin's house. There he was sought by the irate rangatira, who stoutly maintained that the slave had forfeited his life, and that he must be sacrificed unless utu, or compensation was paid. The end of it was that Mr Hamlin had to give the identical blanket which the slave had tried to steal to save the would-be-thief's life!