The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1885-07-04

it was the end and object of every
petty principality-this was before &c
and sovereign princes were as plenty
as blackberries in mid-Europe-to
make it as unpleasant as possible for
any traveller not properly accredited to
his or their Serene Highness.
However, this has little or nothing
to do with my story, which relates ex-
clusively to my experience with the
Custom-hOuse officials, except it be to
explain how everybody was suspicious
Of everybody else, and where diamond
cut diamond was the order of the day,
thieves and adventures generally
passed the frontiers triumphant, while
otherwise honest folks frequently paid
the penalty of being caught in an occa-
sional breach of the moralities.
"Now my wife, Ike all her sex, had
peculiar notions on the subject of con-
traband goods. She held-in common,
am bound to say, with many other
wise scrupulously honest folks-that
Custom-house officials were only, in
vented for the annoyance of travellers,
and as such it was not only allowable
but praiseworthy to circumvent them
in every possible way.
'In short, it was case of all being
fair IN love or war. They were there
to detect and prevent the passage of
certain articles. 1t was obviously the
duty of every right-minded person to
resent this arbitrary conduct on their
part by carrying from one country to
another as many Of the said articles,
concealed more or less ingeniously upon
their persons, as the nature of the case
permitted.
81, on the contrary, not only had
serious qualms as to the honesty of the
proceeding in question, but being then,
as now, of naturally timid DISPOSE
ton, conceived that the pleasure Of
evading the payment of a few dollars
on a piece of lace or box of cigars
would be dearly purchased by the anx-
iety which | should endure when | per-
ceived the eye of stern-visaged official
fixed upon me, and felt that | looked
like murderer, and should politely be
detained on suspicion, and perhaps
searched.
even the tenor of this last appeal
TO her reason failed to convince my wife.
al am sure no one would ever want
to search me, she insisted. And |
really don't see the harm.
'"To which | replied in the words of
o well-known novelist, that i had never
known but one woman who could UNI
| derStand reason, and she wouldn't lis
ten to it.
"Well, to make long story short,
we argued the question out until both
of us became quite warm, and | ended
by absolutely forbidding my wife to
carry anything of contraband nature
on her person. She made no reply,
and l, fond man, supposed the matter
settled. l had only been married a few
months, and | had the most absurd
ideas-as my wife will tell you-on the
subject of duty and obedience. and sc
forth. You see did not know the sex
1--WE had delightful run through
Europe without any special disaster
and my wife's air of injured innocence
expressed for the most part in very
Indifferent French, but making up il
expression what it lacked in idiom-
when asked to declare any dutiabIe ar
ticles, was positively beyond descrip
ton.
1T was at Brussels, / think, that
read in one of the English papers o
the arrest of two French women a
Dover charged with smuggling over
quantity of lace which they haC
wrapped around their persons unde
their clothing, and which was only dis
covered by their being searched by tn
officials.
THE writer added that a regula
corps of female searchers had bee
added to the department, and that sus
picious characters were invited to ste
in and interview these ladies with
view to indicating their appearance o
failing under the tenure of the law.
Il showed the paper to my wife
o whose only comment was, More foo
they
81 suppose she meant to express he
contempt for women who were FOOLS
t enough to look suspicious. | though
\ at the time she intended to convey he
q opinion of the folly of attempting t
outwit her Most Gracious Majesty
7 servants, and | felt relieved at the ide
D that my arguments had prevailed upo
: her at last.
> "Once more, Brown, old fellow,
4 showed my ignorance of the SCI
/ My arguments had had precisely til
!. same weight with her as my con
mands.
{ Mrs. Robinson spent a good deal
money in Brussels. Indeed when. @
# our way to Ostend, | came to add u
o the amount had given her during OF
o short stay, felt, must confess, a lit
O staggered to find how much. But
|. seemed little early to allude to sue
T. mundane matters, and Iheld my peac
, only considering what the dickens 81
3 had got to show for it all.
"On the steamer, as in duty boun
5. Mrs. Robinson paid that tribute of r
spect which Father Neptune demand
d of the majority of those who ventu
4 upon his dominions In n word Mr.