Page:Travel letters from New Zealand, Australia and Africa (1913).djvu/60

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home, is six cents here. I had my shoes shined at a street stand today, and the price was six cents. There is no five-cent piece in English currency, but there is a six-cent silver piece. There is nothing here answering to our ten-cent piece except the sixpence, which is worth twelve cents. There are five- and ten-cent stores here, but their prices are six and twelve cents. . . . When we want a guide, we get a boy from the hotel, who is known as "Buttons." At meal-times, his business is to go through the dining-room, and take orders for liquor. He also sings in the vested choir in the largest Episcopal church in town. We passed his church yesterday, and he offered to take us in and introduce us to the pastor, but we were compelled to decline the honor, owing to lack of time. Wherever I go, I employ boy guides. They know the interesting places, and point them out, but have no problems to discuss as men have. . . . A sign we see here frequently is "Private Bar." What is a private bar? Does it mean a bar operated by a man who has a saloon for his own private use, and a bartender who waits on no one else?. . . In the bar connected with the Hotel Royal are two girl bartenders, and they are good-looking, stylish girls. . . . A big store near our hotel is operated by "John Court, Limited." That word Limited is frequently seen abroad, and seems to mean the same thing as "Incorporated" with us. . . . At home, we have a saying that oysters are good only in the months which have an "r" in them. Here, oysters are at their best in April, May, June, July and August, and out of season in the months which have an "r" in them. . . . In an early walk this morn-