Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1869-09-14


full of animation-full of impatlence.
He said:
"Come wis me, genteelmen como!
/ show you re letter written by Chrls-
topher Columbo write it blmself =
write it wis his own hand come !
He took US to the municipal palace.
After much impressive fumbllng OF
keys and opening of locks, the stained
and aged document was spread before
US. The guides eyes sparkled, lie
danced about us and tapped the parch-
ment with his finger:
What tell you, genteelmen Is
it not so? See handwriting Christie
pher Columbo write it himself!
We looked indiferent-unconcern-
ed. The doctor examined the docu-
ment very deliberately, during pain
full pause. Then he said, without any
show of interest:
"Ah-Ferguson-what-what did
you say was the name Of the party
VINO wrote tnlS
Christopher Columbol re great
Christopher Columbor'
Another deliberate examination.
Ah-did he write himself; or--or
how ?"
"He write it himself christopher
Columbo! he's own handwriting, write
by himselfr
Then the doctor laid the document
down and said
Why, | have seen boys in Ameri-
ca only fourteen years old that could
write better than that"
But this is ze great Christie"
al don't care who he is It's the
worst writing | ever saw. Now you
mustn't think you can impose on US
because we are strangers. We are
not fools, by good deal. If you have
got any specimens of penmanship of
real merit, trot them out and if
you haven't, drive on!'
We drove on.
We have made it interesting for
this Roman guide. Yesterday we spent
three or four hours in the Vatican,
again, that wonderful world of curios-
tiles. We came very near expressing
interest, sometimes-even admiration
it was very hard to keep from it.
We succeeded though. Nobody else
ever did, in the Vatican museums.
The guide was bewildered-non-plus-
sed. He walked his legs off, nearly,
hunting up extraordinary things, and
exhausted all his ingenuity on US, but
it was failure; we never showed
any interest in any thing. He had
reserved what he considered to be his
greatest wonder till the last-a royal
Egyptian mummy, the best preserved
in the world. perhaps. He took US
there. He felt so sure, this time, that
some of his old enthusiasm came back
to him:
"See,genteelmen Mummy! Num-
my"
The eye-glass came up as calmly,
as deliberately as ever.
Ah,-Ferguson--what did l un-
derstand you to say the gentleman's
name was ?''
Name ?-he got no name! 'Gyp-
tian MUMMY
Yes, yes. Born here? ?''
"No! Egyptian mummy
All, just SO. Frenehman, pre-
sumo ?"
"No not Frenchman, not Roman
born in Egypta!' r
/" Born in Egypta. Never heard of
Egypta before. Foreign locality, like
ly. Mummy, mummy. How calm he
is, how self possessed. Is, ah-is he
deadr
"Oh, sacre bteu, been dead three
thousan' year,
The doctor turned on him savage
ly:
" Here, now, what do you mean by
such conduct as this Playing us for
Cinnamon because we are strangers
and trying to learn! Trying to i'm
pose your vile second hand carcasses
on as thunder and lightning, I've a
: notion to-to-if you've got nice
, fresh corpse, fetch him out !-or by
George wen brain your
We make it exceedingly interesting
) for this Frenchman. However, he has
paid us back, partly, without knowing
/ it. He came to the hotel this morn
ing to ask if we were up, and he en-
deavored as well as he could TO de.
scribe US, so that the landlord would
, know which persons he meant. He
finished with the casual remark that
we were lunatics. The observation
was so innocent and so honest that it
f amounted to very good thing for a
t guide to say.
There is one remark (already men
} tioned) which never yet has failed to
, disgust these guides. We use it al
ways, when we can think of nothing
, else to say. After they have exhaust
, ed their enthusiasm pointing out to
> us and praising the beauties of some
: ancient bronze image or broken-leg-
ged statue, we look at it stupidity and
, in silence for five, ten, fifteen minutes
, -as long as we can hold out, in fact,
and then ask:
"Is-is he dead ?"
! That conquers the serenest of them.
! 1t is not what they are looking for
> especially new guide. Our Roman
Ferguson is the most patient, unsus.
: pecting, long suffering subject we have
had yet. We shall be sorry to part
with him. We have enjoyed his So
: ciety very much. We trust he has en-
joyed ours, but we are harrassed with
!: doubts.
D. e. Willard of Oxford has a SOW
J, that within fifteen months has brought
him four litters Of pigs-two litters
: of II, one of Is and one of 13, max.
, ing in all sirty5fre pigs. He sells
9 3 them at six dollars each.
/, That story is almost as hoggish as