‘DID YOU EVER?’

New Zealand Graphic, Volume VIII, Issue 26, 27 June 1891, Page 119

‘DID YOU EVER?’

A good story is told of an encounter between a sharpfeatured, sharp voiced woman and a street car conductor. The passenger offered a 2s piece in payment of her fare, and the conductor, after handing her the change, turned to go back to the rear platform. She stopped him by calling out brusquely, ‘ Look here, conductor, you haven’t given me the right change.’ The conductor answered with all politeness : ‘ I think you must be mistaken, lady ; I gave you three sixpences and a threepence.’ ‘ But you didn’t !’ exclaimed the woman. ‘ You gave me only three sixpences.’ The conductor counted his change and said :

‘ You certainly must be mistaken, for the change in my pocket isall right.’ ‘ Did you ever?’ inquired the now excited woman, appealing to a fat man opposite. The fat man did not say whether he ever did or not, and she turned again to the conductor. ‘ I never make a mistake,’ said she. ‘ When I know a thing I know it.’ ‘ But I certainly gave you the right change.’ She turned to an old lady in the corner and asked : ‘ Did you ever ?’ The old lady was non committal, and the irate passenger looked at an old man who was reading the Star, as if expecting him to answer, but he, too, decliner! to say whether he ever did or not.

The conductor counted his change again. Then an idea occurred to him.

‘ Won’t you please get up, lady, and see if the threepence isn’t somewhere in your clothing.’ She fairly gasped for breath as she looked from one passenger to another and inquiied, ‘ Did you ever?’ By this time the conductor began to weary of the fight, and passed her a threepenny piece, which she put triumphantly into her purse. As the car approached City Road she signalled the con ductor to stop, and the other passengers all watched with interest to see her get up. There was a general air of I-told-you-so when the missing threepence dropped from a fold of her dress to the floor.

The conductor pointed towards it, but the departing passenger was true to her colours. ‘ You ought to know enough to make the right change,’ she remarked, ‘ and not make such a fuss about it.’