The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-08-16
MY OLD FRIEND SALISBURY.
Embarrassing Circumstances Under Which a
Brooklyn Man Met Him.

Embarrassing Circumstances Under Which
Brooklyn Man Met Him.
New York Times.
II am very glad to find that my old friend
Salisbury is doing so well, said a Brooklyn gen
tleman one morning recently, as he looked up
from his paper, to friend who sat with him OH
the piazza of his summer residence Staten
island
What Salisbury do you refer to-" asked the
friend. Surely you don't mean the Marquis of
Salisbury, the Prime Minister of England!"
That is exactly who | mean" said the former.
why, have | never told you about my meeting
with Lord Salisbury at Cologne? 1t was an i'm
upon myself and upon my family, ard believe
that his lordship was also impressed
at the time. And believe that her ladyship
he accompanied by daughter-was
also impressed. j have frequently related the
detaiissof our meeting, and have my doubt that
Lord Salisbury has done the same thing. |
shouldn't wonder if he had related the matter at
the dinner table of Queen Victoria herself
that is, provided his lordships noble legs have
had the opportunity of distorting themselves
beneath the royal mahogany
Some ten or fifteen years ago. continued
the gentleman, business took me to Europe
for a few months. | took my wife, my daughter,
and one Of my sons with me. One pleasant
afternoon-I think 1t was in Augustine arrived
at Cologne, and stopped at a hotel which was
not far from the magnificent cathedral for
ments early in the evening intending to take
stroll, but as we were descending the
stairs my wife spied the open door
of an ordinary furnished parlor. She
looked in and said: That's the public parlor.
Let us go in We entered the room and found
that the windows commanded superb view of
the cathedral ! noticed the floor a carpet
bag and one or two umbrellas but | supposed
these had been left there by some guests and
the idea that the room could possibly be any
thing but public paror did not then enter my
head.
I'VE gazed at and admired the vast and stately
work of architecture for some moments. Then
we heard steps, and looking around saw a gen
tleman, apparently of middle age and accom-
panied by young lady. They were evidently
English. | observed that the gentleman was
looking at me sterDly, and it flashed through my
mind that he might imagine that were mo-
nopolizing the window accommodations of the
room. We accordingly moved aside leaving the
strangers at liberty to select the window which
they preferred. Still the gentleman looked
sterny at me, while his companion looked haught-
lily at my wife and daughter. We must be more
outspoken in our polteness,' thought
l. Approaching the gentleman bowed and in
vlted him to step to the window and look at the
cathedral. 1t would be impossble' said l. to
find anywhere In Cologne better view of the
cathedral than is to be had from the windows of
the parlOr' Even this failed to induce the strange
gentleman to part with any portion of his stern
glance In the meantime my wife and daugh-
ter and son had turned their attention to the
naughty young lady. Ny wife approached her
in a motherly way and extended to her an in
vitation to view the cathedral. but received no
response. But the strange gentleman had evil
IDENTIFY grown weary of merely regarding me
sternly, and he responded to my pressing invi-
tation. He responded by announcing that the
room was a private parlOr which he himself had
engaged and thereby indirectly invited myself
and my family to leave the apartment as soon
as could conveniently do so. Then it flashed
across my mind that in European hotels like the
one in which we then were there public
parlors and cursed my own stupidity in not
having remembered the fact before.
Il apolOgized for my mistake and said that
finding the door open had taken the apartment
for public paror. My wife apologized, my
daughter apologized, and the apologize fever
seized upon my son. But did not apollo
gize as fully as we had intended to because
neither the strange gentleman nor his compan-
ion made the slightest response to our eXplana-
tons. They continued to gaze at us-he sternly
and she haughuly. Apooclzing under such
discouraging circumstances is not pleasant. We
could do nothing, consequently, but beat a
retreat, which did with our countenances
suffushed with bushes and our bosoms filed
with modification The possessor of the sup
posed public parlor watched u.s. still with stern
expression, until we were out of the room Then
the door was closed. We had forgotten for the
time being all about the beauty and magnif-
cence of the great Cologne cathedral
Il hunted up the landlord and asked him to
tell me the name of the gentleman into whose
private parlor we had stumbled Why replied
he, in an awestruck whisper that gentleman is
my Lord the Marquis of Salisbury, a great En-
glishman-a statesman l had heard of the
Marquis, who was then beginning to cut a con-
siderable figure IN English politics. The fact
that this Lordship was man of some distinc-
ton did rot in the least tend to lessen the NOR
LITIGATION and anger which felt. / spent the re-
mainder IF the evening with my family in our
apartments. In fact, we locked ourselves in
with the determination that on that evening at
least we should not render it necessary for the
American eagle to again hang his proud beak in
shame owing to our ignorance of European
customs. After thinking over the matter care
fully could not decide who l was most angry
with, my Lord Salisbury. for refusing to accept
my apologies, as it seemed to that any gen
tleman should have done under the circum-
stances, or with myself for having failed to re-
member that in the hotel there was no such
thing as public parlor.
Ever since our little conference at Cologne
have spoken of the present Prime Minister of
England, somewhat ironically, perhaps, as my
old friend Salisbury"