Morning journal and courier., 1886-05-07
WITH Al TR EYES.
Some cfthe Humorous Sights One sect
 on the Continent of Europe.

Some eft Humorous Sights One sees on the Continent Of Europe.
 One of the most entertaining of recent articles on European travel is contributed by Mir. Herman Merivale to the current number of Temple Bar A wonderful change, he writes, has come during the last few years over the spirit of the waiter. forget wheth- CT it was in Punch or where that IremembeI years ago the delightful dialogue between Tom and 'Arry over their table in German hostelry. "Ow comfortable it is that in these countries they all understands French. Gar song, tarse der corfee." And no doubt it was a great comfort. But we have changed all that now. They don't. There is no long CT universal tongue, either for diplomacy or for travel; the many-landed walters bring together in by-ways and corners in such odd combinations that there seems ts be at last neither speech nor language, but their voices are heard among them. We were seated-L. and lat one of the most queerly represent ative table d'hotes have seen among those strange institutions of cosmopoly. It was at Spezia. Our company consisted of two young Russian ladies of birth, with eye glasses, and very rude, and one of them en-
  Italian noble, who buncRed her with iberali- I 'ty. There is 1othing wrong in the expression, which young American lady in London so- ciety freshly arrived explained to a startled partner. She complained that she had never been punched since she came. He was talk = en aback, and wondered what to apologize for in the manners of the country, when she explained that punching means to supply with flowers. The Russian girls-there was then talk of war, and they eye-glassed me with special suspicion-were attended by a quies widow companion of uncertain na- tionality. Near them sat dear old white haired Belgian couple, full of the little hand pressures and touching ways of time-crowned marriage love, which sends one thinking away-thinking upon the many teachings of the great marriage mystery.
 Opposite to them little newly married pair of French turtle-doves, very new and very young indeed-the ceremony but two days old, as we afterward learned-mira cu- lously disappearing into corners now and then, and reappearing with a delightful as- sertion of propriety, unconscious of very shining eyes and rumpled hair. And to them a halfway-house English husband and wife, no matter who; and the inevitable bach elor parson on his wanderings, with sing ular gift for producing sound tobacco in deh- ance of the pestilent Nicotian monopoly of his Italian majesty, and our odd menagerie was complete. Complete but for the head waiter who was conundrum. tried him in every language of which knew anything 80 did everybody else; and he always an swered in another language some question which had not been asked. At dessert, after having well dined, with some good red wine and a little cognac, asked for biscuits for L. and for myself. "Des biscuits" quoth I in pure Parisian; and he smiled at SO sim pie demand. After strangely long absence he returned with an enormous II, F, o1,1a
 ed before us The Russian ladies looked at us with disgust, and it bore the brand of Jamie son.
 "You asked du wiski !" said the waiter as I looked in astonishment.
 s'What country" said in despair, Con earth do you belong toi''
 'tI!" he said; s'I'm 8 Turk" :"
 It grows difficult, certainly, and one should know the passwords. Once after & bad sea passszsI U tried hard to explain to a .good
 t,ered waiter at Calais that wanted IIlttle gin, but understand he could not, and the classical French I could not for the mom- ent remember After every spirituous h- quor had been offered in turn my wants must have been suggested by some despair ing pantomime. For his face expanded with smiles-he put his right fersfnger to his cheek and his left in the air with infinite expressiveness, and ssAh, ah!" he said, with sympathy, and all in one word, "Oletum!" And Old Tom it was.
 met very odd diarist in Venice once He was young American studying for the church, and doing Europe to enlarge his mind, under contract to bring home diary. He was always dressed in rusty black, and always very sad and very simple He never smiled never could quite feel sure if he
 was donkey or humorist.> When after ward I learned that he had with tesrs) per suaded the Venetian landlord to advance him
 large sum of money instead of insisting on l his bill, on the ground that he: the student,
 had been disappointed for the moment of his l remittanoes from the elders-and then at 1 once left the town without 8 trace behind | but bag with spare suit of Elder black | I concluded that he was the latter. But he
 was always retiring from table, as he said, ''to write up his thoughts" many days in
 arrear. Once got him to come with me to l the top of the Campanile of St. Mark. We 1 looked down on the sea-logged city and lit
 expanse of the Lagoon. He gazed ruminat- l ingly at the view some time without speaking, | as, for my part I am always content to do,
 and, without speaking, came down. As we
 crossed the Place homeward, he said placidly, without 8 muscle moving:
 "Venice has been very much misrepresent- ed to me in one particular. I understood that