The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-11-29
MY NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR.

gone over every thing rather specifically, and
was very rejoicod at having eight whole weeks
in which to see the mountains at my leisure
Man proposes and God disposes Never-I am
convinced after long and mature consideration,
was there so true aphorism.
xhad no sooner reached Lausanne and driven
over from there, in joyous anticipation of nay
visit to Vevay, when in the long, narrow lane,
east of the little chalet" which every visitor
to those regions knows, the conducteuP of the
diligence embraced the opportunity offered him
by the turn of the road to deposit me and my
luggage against the stone wall, which borders
the route
Not so carefully but that my trunk was de-
molished, decorating with its contents the ada
cent shrubbery-and sadly more to my grief
not so carefully but that my left ankle was
wrenched out of place.
1t would be needless. perhaps rather improper,
for me to repeat here the epithets which I Law
ished on my charioteer. Fortunately, he did
| not understand word of them, his language be-
| ing patois of mingled French and German, and
mine, alas, only English, 'pure and undefled'
perhaps, as every Bostonian fatters himself,
but nevertheless, wholly inadequate in foreign
| lands especially in situations like this
| realized its inadequacy more and more when
I l found myself cooped up in chamber with a
| spraIned ankle at the chalet of Vevay, with
not soul to speak to and not a book to read.
wonder now when I think of that wretched
summer, | did not become entirely mad
| Two little almanacs in German, which hung
| from the mantel by string and formed the sta
| pie stock of literature in the house, were my
! first distraction. pored over these till their
| meaningless gothic letters seemed to be leering
| and ieering at me, and crowded my restless
| SAUNDERS with grimaeing nightmares which
| have moi ahlo To I'm oh dau 7 sod
| too, to solace myself with solloquies in my ma
| tive tongue, just to hear the sound of an Ameri
! can word, but even this harmless occupation 1
was obliged to give up, as found out it gave
! the waiter and the doctor the impression was
| delirfous and ought to be treated accordingly
My daily programme. like the advertised
clocks of Geneva, did not vary the fraction of
| minute"
! ter-of-fact Swiss, whose name, Jean Marie, was
| the only Swiss thing about him flor his costume
was that of the usual commonplace waiter),
| brought me my chocolate At 10, an equally
matter of fact, commonplace doctor pulled and
| jerked my tortured leg in, / presume, the APP
proved Swiss style, and bandaged it up again,
! chattering most volubly all the while, though he
| knew | could not understand a word of his I'M
| heard of jargon: at IL, breakfast at bandaging
| again; at 5, dinuer, at Z, bed. Thus diurnany,
day after day, until it seemed as if it would go
on forever
| Nothing ever happened; nothing, I thought
v,
was wrong. For ane day heard a great noise
of moving of trunks and such things, in the hall
which my door opened upon l did not pay
much attention to the fact at first, for
| the few people who came to the "chalet"
| at that time Of the year tit was still too
| early for tourists} were generally travelling
men who staid but day or two, and went away
! as they came But there was more moving
about this time than customary for an ordi
| nary voyagel. could hear the windows being
| opened to air the room, and there was much stir
| going on, as if the furniture were being vigor-
ously cleaned and put to rights. 1 wondered
who the unknown occupant could be; perhaps
| some person of distinction travelling ineognito
| perhaps an Englishman or even a compatrot L
/ grew almost excited over it, and even asked the
| waiter who they were expecting but as he did
not understand me he could not explain.
l had almost forgotten having a neghbor
| when was startled the next morning by hear
| ing some one play on the piano. 1t seemed as
though were to escape none of the ills of life.
| The boaFder in the room below me, who had re-
manned nearly week, had given another turn
to the screws of my torture by mercilessly play
ing the flute Now it was the piano, I thought
with q groan, and my heart failed me when re-
membered the triIls and scales that my sisters
praetieed every day at home
But my neighbor was not playing scales and
trills found as 1 listened. He was playing a
melody, soft flowing melody, one of Men
delssohns Songs Without Words" And how
! exquisitey he played, tool How firm and deli
| himl
1 again asked the waiter, when he came in to
bring my breakfast who the newcomer was, and
as was anxious he should understand me this
time, l moved my fingers as though was play
ing on an invisible piano, and then nodded my
head with interrogative eyebrows in the direction
of the strangers room.
This miserable manner of carrying on con-
versation in aforeign tongue though felt mex
pressibly silly while was doing it, had an ex-
cellent result, for Jean Marie Immediately began
a most eager and volumnous discourse in
which, however, l could understand only the
word American.
Americana I asked looking and noddine
interrogatively in the direction of his room.
ia, ja' cried he; American, American"
1t seemed too good to be true, especially as
| from his playing, / should have taken him to be
German or an Italian. He played again in the
evening some noeturnes from Chopin and a
magnificent eantata of Beethoven's liked his
repertoire; he did not amuse himself with the
music of the day, but showed his classical taste
by his fondneSS for the great music masters -
l could have listened forever it was such pleas
ure to hear him play. l was very anxious to
meet him, and as could not call myself l de-
cided to send in my card by jean Marie adding
to it this little note:
Il should be very pleased if my new neiehbor
who, | understand, is also an American, and
whose music has afforded me the greatest de-
light, will forgive the informally of not calling,
and do me the great pleasure of spending the
afternoon with me-
l waited impatiently for Jean Maries return,
thinking that of course the stranger would send
me his card perhaps even a note saying he
would come or eXcusing himself if he could not
Jean Marie did not return for nearly an hour;
then he handed me this note:
Mr.. Richard Morrison-Sir: l return the inclosed
card and note which, though am your neighbor
and the only newly-arrived American in the house.
trust you could not have meant for me.
Yours truly, ALICE CLIFTON
could not understand. Alice Clifton? Why
what had to do with Alice Clifton2 | knew no
Alice Clifton. read the little note over. and
after it my own; then, and only then it came TO
me- Blockhead that wasl The stranger was
a young lady, and here l was asking her to ex-
cuse the informahty of my not calling and beg
gne her to spend the afternoon with me!
OH 1t was too much Where was my wit
that should have taken it for granted that my
fellow hoarders Mere be eyclllsivel,, rnasc1i-