The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1879-09-25
Italian Railway Enterprise.

Feeling sure that I should never climb
another mountain, had brought from
COrtina-as a trophy to hang under my
MOsel oar-the alpenstock with which
struggled up Tofana: value, twenty-five
cents. For convenience l would send it
as freight to Havre. To allow for the
slowness of the clerks, we assigned an
extra three-quarters of an hour for the
business of getting it off our hands, be-
sides half hour for buying tickets and
registering the baggage. In front of the
station stands a little guard-house, with
the deluding legend, q Expedizione.'
Might / send this stick to Havre?''
- Sicuro.''
s'How much will it costP''
We must ask. The expeditor goes
with us to the freight clerk, who an
swers, " Mort than it is WORTH"
Z" Probably, but how mueh?"
How much does IL weigh?''
80 don't know. Weigh it.''
The expeditOr hung it to the hook of
steeiyard which another man held up;
- One kilo'' (two pounds). Then after
calculation: 1.-TWO francs
Very well; will stand two francs.
No matter about the receipt. Here is
the money. Mark it Paid and send it
as soon as possible
But they manage these things better in
Italy. l must go back and see what
81 Expedizione" really means. l must
| give the details very clearly, and the
official must make out the papers. l
might go and get my tickets and fight
my baggage through, and then come
| back. l came back, at the end OF half
hour and of all my patience, and found
him still writing. There were three
| g freight letters" each as long and intri-
cate as a policy of insurance, and two
| long declarations for the custom
HOUSEKEEPING description, value, etc,
etc. (All concerning twenty-five cents
worth of wood and iron, which had not
reached Havre twenty-eight days later,
and probably never will reach there.
One of those freight letters has got into
a wrong pigeon-hOle.) Then we went
TO the freight clerk, and he signed some
thing, and signed something (sanded)
and the - ExpediziOne'' man demanded
three francs and a half. l referred tC
the contract for two francs.
"Ah! mais the 'Expedizione' costs g
franc and a half
At last I was free. Every thing was
attended to, and we had still seven min
utes to get our seats. l separated Jane
from a poodle with which, and will
| whose nllSIG6SS, VI COuIScs SLO uotNl 1llStOl'
friends, gathered up my bags and bun
dies, and started gayly for the train.
/, AS we turned into the corridor we saw
the great doors swing to, and our porter
shrugged his shoulders.
: So But what does it mean?"
! "TroppO tardi!'
90 1t is only ten minutes past nine, anC
the train leaves at quarter past
"The doors are closed five minutes
before the train starts.
"Then why in-!' But no, the maj
did not understand English, and no poo
t words of mine could do justice to tn,
situation. Jane thought otherwise, bu
, then her words are never poor, and OIL
this occasion she showed an approach K
genius As piece of sketchy charac
, terization, the estimate she expressed o
: Italian executive ability was worthy o
permanent record; but she is Overfas
} tidious in such matters, and prefers tina
her achievement should be permitted t
remain our private pOssession.-COI
, Geo. E. Waring, Jr., an HaTper'S Jot
, October.