As This Happened About
Every Quarter Of An Hour, He Could Not Complain Of A Sedentary
Employment.
A few days after this, migratory birds arrived in Cyprus
upon the inhospitable shore opposite the Custom House in the shape of
two Liberal M.P's. from England,--who visited the island specially to
form an honest opinion free from all political bias.
Whether these
gentlemen were undervalued by the eccentric official to whom I have
alluded, or whether he suspected Liberals as opponents to be regarded
and treated as spies, we never could determine; but utterly disregarding
their innocent exterior, he subjected them to the extreme torture of the
Custom House, and dived and plunged into the very bowels and bottoms of
their numerous small packages, rumpling clean linen, and producing a
toilettic chaos. To the honour of these members of the Opposition they
never brought the question before the House upon their return to
England, neither did they make it the foundation of an attack upon the
Government.
An excess of zeal is not uncommon among ignorant officials newly raised
to a position of authority: thus Larnaca was outdone by the Custom House
representative at Limasol in vigilance and strict attention to the
administrative tortures of his office. I have heard of cases of crockery
being unpacked upon the beach and spread out to be counted and valued
upon the loose stones of shingle!
The unfortunate European traders of Larnaca were shortly relieved of
their Custom House troubles by the total absence of imports.
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