A lady just arrived
at Genoa, when halfway to the hotel with one of these persuasive
personages snatched her bag out of his hand and walked into the rival
albergo because he said with an aggravating accent, "I sall get you
a ticket for de steam-er." "No you sha'n't, either: I have got
it myself," she said; and so they parted company, to his infinite
amazement. My friend--it was a friend of mine--turned back, on
second thoughts, to offer the man something for having carried her
belongings, but he put on offended dignity and declared that he didn't
want her money. She was rather sorry afterward that he didn't do
violence to his feelings and take it; and so, no doubt, was he.
Our Carlstad commissioner beguiled the length of the way to the
inn, at which we were a little inclined to grumble, by pointing out
everything of note in our walk through the town. We had been reading
up in the train, and knew that Carlstad was the capital of a district,
had five thousand inhabitants, and was nearly destroyed by fire in
1865; but he, a son of the place, and seeing in his mind's eye its
rising glory when the railroad should be completed, did not let us
off with that. We had to look and admire just where he told us. "Wide
streets," he would say in his finely-chopped English. "Houses all very
high--new since the fire. See here! there's the telegraph-office."
At which, to answer in the style he understood best, we must have
responded, "Oh, I say! Well.
Pages:
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288