Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1880-08-05


stepped out after it, She was a tall,
slatternly Amazon. As she set foot on
the pier the customs, notwithstanding
the boat had on the trip down touched
upon the Swiss side only, took the LAM.
ward end of the trunk and commenced
making the Journey 10 shore. The own
er went up To him, there was IA low CON
versation between them during which
the strong hand Of the law held on TO
the trunk. At length he shook his
head negatively and started again the
owner demonstrated he brushed her
aside; she caught the other end, and
each pulled and tugged In opposite
directions. Matters were getting inter.
| esting. The universal desire TO get
ahead OF the custom house furnished
her with plenty Of ardent hackers, and
a hundred throats urged her on from
the boat in French, English and Ger
man. Suddenly, in the struggle, the
handle the law was holding came out
and both went over on their backs, but
the favorite had the spoils. She WAS
up like lightning and darted around
her PROSTATE enemy for land. He, as
she passed, for want OF a handle, seized
the trunk bodily in his arms. The adj.
| ditional weight stopped her short, he
rose to his feet and shrieked at her TO
drop it. Not word did she utter, but
gave him a look OF the most supreme
contempt. lie tried in vain TO TWIST Ls'
hand loose. Then he changed his tao
tics and made the trunk serve the
| purpose OF hattering ram. 1t was
success she yielded the handle, but
! prepared 10 return the compliment.
1t became almost a dead lock each
with face purple and with arms knotied
| around the subject Of their contention,
stood for few seconds bent over cycling
/ the other. At length the law, from
sheer exhaustion, let 90 its hold the
crowd on the boat yelled louder than
ever. Stimulated. the victor defantly
| threw the trunk at her feet, and in her
excitement jumped straight up, coming
| down on the lid with terrible thuE'p.
! This she repeated number OF times,
/ and ~ often as she did 70 she spit
straight into the face Of her annoyer.
! This was too direct an insult, and he
prepared 10 ontgeneral her by placing
! himself so as TO cut oil her commuul-
cation with the shore. just then "A
voice from below cried out IN French,
"Are you going 10 starye her out?'
! The captain would hold the boat no
longer and we moved off. After we
| had pas ed long distance the customs
| renewed his efforts To get the trunk by
| force. The patient wharfman kept his
place and not once offered to interfere.
! Finally the entire scene formed black
! silhouette in the evening light, and as
| we lost sight OF them the three were
still upon the pier, the combatants
seeming but struggling insects.
The fresh air had sharpened our APP
petites and We went down 10 the saloon
! for dinner. there short thick neck.
ed individual WHO vas very drunk and
rapidly growing drunken, sat by table
idiotically leerina over two bottles
| standing before him. the one contain.
! ing brandy and the other soda. Every
few minutes he addressed mixed thick
tongued questions to a gentleman near
him who was reading, and who to get rid
OF him gave monosyllAbic answers with
out looking away from his paper. Each
! frequent sIzzle Of the soda as he turned
the spigot indicated that he had gone
! down another degree into the brandy.
At length he poured food Of object.
J less questions at two young Genevese
| ladies sitting at our table, then got up
and came over and sat down beside
/ them. The weak kneed steward in at
! tendance saw they were annoyed, but
afraid TO demonstrate, he merely smiled
and treated the affair AS though he con.
sdered it a joke all around.
spoke up and said "Why do you not
I stop annoying those ladies p
And who are your
Then commenced a long and inter.
esting dialogue that ended in INV
| telling him that would pitch him over.
I board if he continued. Here the ladies
| interfered, he went back in his old seat,
one of them said to me, I'VE know his
! family, IT Is such a pity l'--''piiy -
came echoed in broken syllables from
/ him, sizzle went the soda and again he
took a seat near us. he was gloriously
/ drunk. Whenever a remark was made
he sent back the last halt of the last
| sentence and smiled. | could scarcely
refrain from laughing out, the steward
enjoyed the thing hugely. Once tried
to make the ladies understand in
English. they said they had studied 1t,
but here Just where il was wanted IL
| iAitSN NAtAis ne, utNtNtEs was SluAt 10
the emergency and gave it back to me
just as | said It. He was too much for
me and we all went on deck to be reliev.
ed of him. The boat was in the narrow
part Of the lake and approaching Cop.
pet, once the home OF Necker and his
daughter Madame De Stael, celebrated
as the most literary woman OF her time
IN Europe, it was her prison too, for
here Napoleon forced her to long re.
main under strict surveillance. As we
advanced further down the lake it nat.
urally grew more narrow till finally Gen.
eva appeared dark mass at the end of
IL. The boat had been delayed upon
the trip and As she approached twilight
vas about merging into night, already
the lights OF the city were shining and
rapidly increasing in number. As We
| glIded swiftly by, caught a rlimpse