The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1870-09-21
not & forget hs Mhehf yoaa gJt tothe!topy

not 6 fJrea. Gs mhodi yaoa 81 lgJ5t .oshe' top,
for I haven't had my ,dinneryetF
So saying, he tied the rope under my
arms, shook it as signal to those above,
encouraged me with the remark, "Steady,
now, old fellow, and good luck to your
and calmly proceeded to relight his ex-
tinguished Cigar, while I was rapidly
hauled through the air to place of safe
ty. This young man was Dick Farrell.
The rope was again let down, and he
soon made his appearance beside me.
Luckily he could speak French, of
whIoh I did not know single word, and
1 appealed to him to rescue me from the
police, who promptly arrested mo on the
charge of having attempted suicide.
Dicks persuasive oratory secured my
release. and, being thus doubly indebted
to him, I felt obliged to invite him to the
hotel and to dinner.
Ho proved to be q painter of some
sort-l know nothing about art-on his
way to Rome, and, though he was in the
main honest, and always good-tempered,
ho was altogether too much of q vnga-
bond to be suitable travelling compnn-
ion for gentleman of my ago and po-
sition. felt this strongly, when, after
much consecutive champagne, ho pro-
posed that we should journey to Rome
together. But, what was 1 to do?
Clearly could not say to the man who
had just saved my life, "Sir, cannot
consent to travel in your company, be-
cause you wear preposterous hat, and
are addicted to perpetual smoking and
untimely singing" Of course lacked
the courage to say this, and hence it fol-
lowed for the next two weeks we were
constantly together. will do him the
justice to say that he never attempted to
borrow money from me, and that he
rendered me considerable service by act
ing as an interpreter between myself and
the natives. Still his undignifed habits
wero n constant source of annoyance to
me. He would insist upon my accom-
panying him into third-class cars, where
he smoked, and sang, and drank cheap
wine, out of casual bottles, with chance
acqualntances, in manner disreputable
in the extreme. acquit him of any in
territorial disrespect in representing to
the police of st. Joan that was luna
tic, and that he was my keeper, since he
solemnly averred that by no other pre-
tence could he have saved me from ar
rest. I cannot, however, excuse his
habit of calling me "old boy" and the
gross familiarity with which he criticised
my personal appearance, and what he
was pleased to call "my jolly greenness. /.
After We reached Rome, rs was quite
natural, We saw good deal of each
other. It so happened that we ono day
visited the Catacombs of st. Calixtus.
The guido who was with us explaining
the skeletons and things with great ap-
parent eloquence, and Dick was translat-
ing his remarks to me with comments
and additions of his own, when we came
upon another party, consisting of q
mlddle-aged lady, her daughter, and, of
course, their. guide. AS they were evil
IDENTIFY Americans, we stopped and con-
ultimately accepted their invitation to
accompany them through the rest of the
Catacombs, Dick escorting the mother,
while walked by tho side of her pretty
daughter.
Pretty is just the word which de-
described her. She was not strictly
beautiful, but her manner was extremely
attractive, and she had, moreover, the
idea of the respect due to man Of my
character and position in life, which I
have found the young girls, as rule,
seldom have. [ soon learned that her
mother, widow lady, was from New
York, and that they were both we'll ac-
quainted with the family of my business
partner. We therefore rapidly became
ne familiar as old acquaintances; and
presently, while Dick, with his accus-
toned impudence, was giving the old
lady history of the Catacombs-of
which am certain that he knew abso-
lutely nothing-the daughter drew closer
to me and whispered:
"Would you dare to get me little
piece of n bono out of one of those
inches? They are all saints bones, you
know, but the guide won't let me have
any, and, besides, L can't reach them,
though I do SO long for q piece of
saint"
1 need not say that stole some saint-
rib, L think it was-and my new ac-
quaintance was delighted with it. The
girlish pleasure with which she hid the
bono in the folds of her dress, and in
sisted that sho "was ever so much
obliged to me, together with the childish
eagerness with which she whispered her
request. completely charmed me. In
fact, fell in love with her on the spot,
and determined that would marry her