The Portland daily press., 1867-11-01
Miscellany.


Many years ago, says the Paris correspond
ent OF the Boston Post, while travelling in
Austria, L fell i'm with a young Englishman.
He was alone, and as had no duplicate we
lourneyed together few days At that time
OEendoris plan OF teaching languages was in
vogue, and the Continent was covered with
people busily putting it into practice to the
great evaporation of the natives and their
own discontinue. Men and women with
praiseworthy industry committed to memory
such graphic and instruction questions as
Have you the blue buttons of my fathers
ugly cow" "Where are the wooden tonos
OF the good carpenter?" and others of similar
tenor, and straightway thought themselves
capable OF carry ing on glib and lively CONVEX
sation in any foreign tongue. Ny new ac-
quaintance had been promoting his natural
faculties in this way hy the study Of German.
and felt capable of anything in that line. His
phrases struck me as 10 certain extent crude,
and needing little baking to bring out their
virtues, but he evidently did not look upon
his rapid acquisitions in that light. One day
at Vienna We went to large bathing estsb-
llshment which is very much resOrting to by
the inhabitants of that rather dirty city,
1t is built on scale OF great splendor and
surrounded with flowers and trees All
the appointments are costly and elegant.
and one finds there not only the usual accom-
panlments OF such place, but refreshments
OF every kind. The visitor can ttilate him
self both externally and internally with every
sort oil qualification, foreign or domestic. for
the palate or the epidermis. He can take a
balm Chi'tois and follow il up with chickens
q Ia t0nJuctus, or have his skin scorched a la
1ufque, till a lobster would look white beside
him, and then satiate his fiery pangs by pill
low OF curried rice, or he can simply moilifv
his exterior by the use OF unsophisticated soap
AID water du ndturei, and tone 1t down by a
cup of Teutonic coffee AS my fellow travel
er, whom win sly lie MIR. & -, as that was
not his name, seemed to iced no helm and
rather scorned its offer, | left him to his own
devices. When he came forth from fhe little
watery den in which he had been parboiine
himself, asked him how he liked IT,
Pretty well, replied he. "but don't tbev
give you rather queer soap?" ~
why, it was brown Windsor, wasn't it ~
said i, with the air of ole who knows: 1T
was what had" %
II don't know what they gave you, but
NINE wasn't brown, and it wasn't like any
their style, though, and I've no fault to find,
What did it look hke?" said l.
1t was thick and white, and thew brought
it in bowl" th3
lin bowl? Well that srrpasses p' replied
L. LET us ask one Of the walters and find
out what it means If there is ANYTHING
new on the tapis l should like to understand
it, N''-N i'''''''
1t required very little time for an explana-
ton. ina few expressive words, eked out
with many suggestive slrugs OF his shoulders
and intuitive winks, the gareon informed me
that the gentleman had ordered what he un
g derstood to be soup. As the dish for that day
was veal soup, which is thick and white, when
wen made, he had brought toamiue bowl of
1t, and It Was with the aid of this that Mr.. b.
mad performed his ablutions With some dif-
ficulty restraining the laughter that con
vuised me externally, l asked him to ex-
plain how he had applied this e.egant unguent
10 the adonment of his person. This he pro-
cosmetic, new kind Of almond paste. for ey-
ample, he had applied it vigorously to his
head, copiolsly to his body, and rubbed it on
con turore in his efforts to get up Iather.-
Failing in this, and exuding essence of calf at
every pore, he had done the next best thing
ana phlfosophically given himself an elaborate
irlction with towel, like cabinet maker
pO1lSl1ng up a bit of second hand f,rr;1,,,o