The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1873-02-14
An American Girl of the Period in Eu-
rope.

Well, girls, you know that I came
back from my grand European tour only
last week, and Pm sure you're perfectly
dying to hear all about 1t. 1t was just
splendid, and of course / couldn't helm
enjoying myself although one needs a
good education and fine taste in order
70 appreciate all the beauties of foreign
travel. / was so glad that / had been
educated at Madame Folatre's s, and knew
French, logic, geometry, and all the
other things.
While we were crossing the Atlantic,
ma took the absurdest notion into her
head that perhaps I'd forgotten my
French; and so she dunned me through
all the rest Of the voyage to review my
grammar and phrase-book, Just as if we
hadn't reviewed and reUieUed at school,
until there wasn't anything left OF
them.
l told her it was a pretty pass things
had come to if a well-educated Ameri-
can girl couldn't party fronsy as well as
those ignorant foreignersi "Why, il
stands to reason" said !, fthat if pve
studied anything as much as Pve stud
led that horried old Fasquelle, I ought
to know it by this time. So, nowl
And, besides, il would be simply vast
ing precious moments that might be
better employed, and it's against my
principles to do that"
Then l appealed to her feelings as q
mother, but that didn't do any good; so
again / resOrted to argument.
"Now, ma" said /, "its entirely use
less for me to study that; and if it's en-
tirely useless, of what use is it? There
fore, and conversely, it's of no use at
all.n
This contained all the force OF logic
and geometry combined, and as she was
convinced, call it 4 signal triumph of
science.
She Immediately gave up, and ac-
knOWledged, with a smile, that this
proved to her conclusiyely the utter use
lessness Of my studying French. I don't
see what she smiled for, though; Tnever
smile when Pm beaten in argument.
or course we went through England /
before going TO France, and we found /
London to be quite a large town-larger
than Boston, l should Judge. But then /
II isn't near as nice as Boston. / should /
nate to live there. And, anyway, Eng /
land isn't very interesting. The people |
all speak our language, q little corrupt |
ed; and when one visits foreign coun- /
tries one wants to hear foreign Ian
guages, or else what's the use of study
ing French?
But we saw a number of dukes and /
marqulses, and we crossed the Channel |
on the same boat with a real, live, Eng /
llsh nobleman, Lord Ferdinand Alfred |
Adolphus Fitz Clarence. He had pale |
olue eyes and yellow, mutton-chop /
Whlskers, and wasn't very handsome, |
aiuef an but then he had such an dris-
tocrdtie arr He belongs to one Of the 1
best families, you know.
mentioned to him, carelessly, that /
we were from Boston, and he raised his
eye-glass like a true scion of the Rritisb
nobility, and observed, condescending-
ly:-
"Ahl um! hindeedl s-Shropshirer, |
I explained, "Not Shropshire, but
Boston, Massachusetts"
He regarded me with an air of the |
most aristocratic perpleXity, and dream
lily murmured, "Ah, hindeedw
"Yes,n I pursued, "Boston, Massachu- |
setts-the metropolis of America. Pa
is a merchant there"
"H'mi hal Hamerica! Savages re- |
ceiving the benefit of tradei Wonder |
ful progress of British civilization |
Very gratifying, hindeed, TO ear that
they ave shops"
But" said !, "Sir-that is, Lord |
NAAti~LN EAlliGu <Auolp pluo-J pa ISL u ]
shopman. He's a wholesale dealer-a 4
real merchant princep
Ha, prineelp he returned, with a
shade OF the sublimest melancholy |
swept over his noble face princes re-
aueed TO serving in a shopui And then.
Indignantly exelaiming, ssyYretebed re-
suit oil a republican form of GOVERN
ment!' he turned on his heel and strode
maJestically away in his noble wrath
was sorry for the mistake he n,ada
but didn't have chance 10 exnIain'
and now l suppose that pve left fba iIi,r,' ~
preston among all the British nobiiitv
that pa keeps little grocer's sbon ~
something OF that kind. The ideai
Well, il is sad, but 1 can't help II.
We went on to Paris, and took rooD,s
in the most expensive hotel we couId
find, for, you know, we're accustomed
to the best of society and the best of
everything at home.
We intended to dress as well as the
finest; SO the first time we went to
breakfast wore my blue silk with the
court train, and ma her low-necked vel