The Sedentary Hen.

Waipawa Mail, Volume X, Issue 1021, 11 December 1886, Page 3

The Sedentary Hen.

Though generally cheerful and content with her lot, tho hen at times becomes moody, sullen and taciturn. Wo are often called upon to notice and profit by the genial and sunny disposition of the lien, and yet there are times in her life when sho is morose, cynical, and the prey of consuming melancholy. At such times not only her own companions, blit man himself shuns the lien. At first she seems to be pro-occupied only. .Sho starts and turns pale when suddenly spoken to. Then she leaves her companions and seems to he the victim of hypochondria. Then her mind wanders. At last you come upon her suddenly some day seated under the currant hushes. You sympathise with her and you seek to fondle her. She then picks a small memento out of the back of your hand. You then gently hut firmly coax her out with a hoc, and you find that sho has been seated for some time on an old croquet ball trying to hatch out. a whole set of croquet halls. This shows that her mind is affected. You -pick up the croquet ball, and find it hot and feverish, so you throw it into the shade of the woodshed. Anon, you find your demented hen in the loft of the barn hovering over a door knob and trying by patience and industry 7 to hatch out a hotel. When a lien imagines that she is inspired to incubate, she at once ceases to bo an ornament to society, and becomes a crank. Sho violates all the laws and customs of nature and society in trying to hatch a conservatory by setting ~ the long day's and nights of summer on a small flower pot. Man may win the affections of a tiger, the lion, or the huge elephant and make them subservient to his wishes, hut Ike setting lien is not susceptible lo affection. You might as well love tho Manitoba blizzard or try 7 to quell the cy'clone bylooking calmly in its eye. Tho setting lion is filled with hatred for every living thing. {She loves (o brood over her wrongs or anything else she can find to squat on. I once owned a hen that made a specialty- of setting. Sho never ceased to be the proud and anonymous author of a new warm egg, but she yearned to boa parent. She tiiercfoio seated herself on a nest where other liens were in the habit of leaving their handiwork for inspection. {She remained there during tho summer hatching steadily on while the others laid, until she filled my barnyard with little orphan hcnlcts of different ages. Sho remained there night and day, patiently turning out poultry for me to bo a father to. 1 brought up on tho bottle about one hundred that summer that had been turned out by 7 this morbidly maternal hen. All she seemed to ask in return was my kind regards and esteem. 1 fed her upon tho nest and humored lu rin every way 7. Every 7 day she became a parent, and every day added to my responsibility. One day I noticed that, she seemed weak and had a far away look in her eye. For the first time tiio terrible truth burst upon my mind. I buried my face in the bay mow and T am not ashamed to say that I wept. Strong man as I am, I am not too proud to say that I soaked that hay mow through with unavailing tears. My hen was dying oven then. Her breath came hot and quick like the swift rush of a hot ball that caves in the short-stop and speeds away to centro field. The next morning one hundred chickens of various sizes were motherless, and if anything had happened to me they would have been fatherless. For many y 7 cnra L have made a close study of the setting lien, but I am still unsettled as to what is the best to do with her. She is a freak of nature, a disagreeable anomaly, a fussy 7 phenomenon. Logic, rhetoric and metaphor are all alike to the setting lion. You might as well go down into the bosom of Ycsuvious and ask it to postpone the next, eruption.

We understand that an entertainment will shortly be got up in aid of Mrs Michaclsen. Fuller particulars will appear in due course. It is a curious fact that the Waiuui settlers arc in a state of complete contentment. They have no roads, but they do not want them ; they have no landing place, but is it likely that such a trifle ns that is going to upset their equanimity, even if they arc dependent upon the sea for all their traffic? Recently a public meeting was called to see if arrangements could not be made for the construction of a breakwater, 1o assist the laudiug and export of goods. All the settlers seemed willing to support the project, although, as wo say, it really didn’t trouble them very much either way. Then arose Mr Hnndyside, of Tan fane. The cape is his, <md the break water would l>e on his coastal frontage. He said lie would be willing enough, to let them build it, if they liked, and even subscribe towards it, but he added, knowingly, “ what about the consequence ? The land will immediately rise in value, and you will be taxed accordingly!” and they hung their heads and all voted against the breakwater, to a man. Oh ! how we blush forWainni ! llow easily are they frightened I .Surely that was the very best argument that could have been used to shew the great value that a breakwater would be to the district and their property !

A monster meeting of natives will take place at Porangahau at the New Year ; when Te Kooti will be the principal guest. It is expected that many hundreds of Maoris will assemble, as Te Kooti will bring 300 in his own train of followers. Immense preparations will be made, and have already commenced. The natives have raised the wind in their customary way, and have ordered tons of flour and potatoes. Cooks have been engaged, oue of them at 30s a day ns clief de cuisine, and hospitality generally will be on a magnificent scale. It is expected that the bowl of waipiro will also flow, and that necessitates the despatch of a special army of constables lo the scene of action. To Kooti and train will pass through Waipawa and Waipukurau a day or two after Christ-

At Wainui, on Saturday 4tli iust., before A. 11. Price, Esq., J.l\, Tim Driscoll and George Langley, were fined £1 each and costs for being drunk while in charge of horse on a public road. A public meeting was held in Wainui on 24th iust., to form a Library. Messrs C. Herbert (chairman), J. Whylie, W. Hales, S. Pull, Geo. Vincent, S. Franklin and K. Cameron were elected as a committee. Subscriptions amounting to £lO were collected in the room and. it is intended that these shall be aided to to as much as possible and that applications be made for the Government subsidy in January next. The library will be kept in the schoolhouse and Mrs Alexander will be asked to take charge of it Bravo Wainui !

Very little interest seemed to be taken ir the polling tq-day or tho question of the Loan proposals. However, ratepayers recorded their votes one by one during the day.