The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1891-04-03
AN AWFUL EXPERIENCE.
The Memorable Ride I Took in a
Paris Omnibus.

As | think of it now, though it oc-
Cured six months ago, l grow for
moment quite red with Indignation and
righteous anger at tie thought that Joe
should have caused nue. to be the laugh
ing stock and amusement of all that
crowd of grinning Frenchmen and
Frenchwomen.
This feeling soon disappears, how
ever, and the righteousness of the whole
situation comes over me. | can see the
puzzled conductor and the highly
amused countenances of the whole bus
full, and just lie back in my chair and
laugh until the tears roll down nv face.
1t is no more than a just compensa-
ton that | should be able to laugh at it
now; for | am sure that at the time,
while others evidently thought the oc-
currence. very funny, 1 could not see
anything but that Ihad been frightfully
outraged, and that others were making
sport of me-all through Joe's forget
fulness, too; that was the hardest part
of it all.
am not going to exaggerate or color
my account of what took place, a single
bit-it is not in the least necessary; and
though to some it may seem that have
done so, want to state that such is not
at all the case; the following is simply
a literal rendering of funny expert
ence that Joe and l had in Paris bus
when we were over to see the "eXposi-
ton
We were on our weddingtrip. / only
mention this as showing, | think, that
j. was all the more culpable to SO COM
pletely forget all about me; If we had
been married longer, l do not think
that l should have taken the matter
nearly so much to heart. Still, | sup
pose l ought to have remembered that
Joe was given to fits of deep abstrac-
ton; he is an artist, you know.
1t was Porte Maillot omnibus, that
starts near the gate of the same name
and proceeds straight down the Champs
Elysees, that j. and l boarded one
lovely morning III June. We were in a
great hurry to get down into the city,
and as there only happened to be one
seat vacant downstairs, j. suggested
that ] take it, and he would climb on
top. In Paris, the outside as well as
the inside of the conveyancesis utilized
for carrying passengers; and very novel
and pleasant riding it is when the
weather is warm, as you canssee so
much of the city from your elevated po-
sition.
Pretty soon the conductor came
around to collect the fares, and when
he asked for mine 1 told him in my
very best French that my husband, who
was upstairs, would pay it. When he
had finished his collections downstairs
he mounted zen haut," as the French
would say, but in a few moments re-
turned to me saying he could find nc
man on top who would acknowledge to
having a wife downstairs whose fare it
was his duty to pay; he declared he had
asked everyone in turn.
Suddenly it came over me that OF
course poor j. did not understand what
the conductor had said to him, as a
thorough knowledge of the French
tongue was not one of his accomplish,
ments. opened my purse and found q
five-franc piece, which l offered for my
fare, saying thought it possible that
my husband did not comprehend his de
mand. Whether it was that the sight
of my ive-franc piece appalled, the con
ductor at the thought of having to make
change to that amount, or whether il
was the spirit of gallantry that they say
Is inherent in every Frenchman'!
breast, never knew; but he suddenly
turned on his heel, at the same time
saying, loud enough for everybody il
the bus to hear him:
MADAME, you do not look like al
,impostor If you say you have hus
band upstairs, believe you, and vii
find him and compel him to pay you