The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1892-09-22
,ater. Since then we have imbibed

freely and with no i'll effects. In Rome
the water is delicious-cold and clear and
satisfying to the thirst. In Paris, on ac-
count of repairs being made on the water
works, we refrained from using the city
water and went back to ''lemon squash. -
Few things are more interesting IN for
eign travel than the life of the common
people as reflected in the street scenes.
There is an endless fascination in watch
ing the milk carts drawn by dogs all
through Belgium; the queer little donkey
carts in Italy, with panniers full of fruit
hanging from either side; the mountain
guides scaling Alpine heights in owitzer-
land with an incredible amount of luggage
strapped on their backs; the women wash
ING clothes by the river banks and tilling
the fields; the lazy, light hearted and
filthy beggals of Southern Europe, as con
trasted with the thrift and cleanliness OF
the Swiss and Dutch. These and thous-
and other sights show what the national
life of the people is, and lead an American
more and more to rejoice i'll his birthright.
There is an advantage, too, in mixing with
other natonalities and hearing what they
have to say of our land and customs. On
the whole ''Brother Jonathan is a great
favorite on this side of the Atlantic. His
dashing. rapid movements rather astonish
the natives. but they delight in his prod
iyality and believe that we are all the
happy possessors of millions. The Brit
ish accuse us. and Justly | think, of being
unduly sensitive to criticism. Let any
one dare to insinuate that we have not the
grandest country, the finest climate, the
most magnificent houses, the swiftest
ships, the ablest statesmen, the best
brightest children-in short, that we are
not ahead of all the rest of creation-and
Yankee bristles with resentment forth
with. The English are less thin skinned,
although they are extremely touchy in
spots. Another difference between Amer
lean men and their British cousins is that
getting, is more easily satisfied. When a
man over here has amassed a modest com
petence he settles down comfortably to en-
JOY his family and take life easily. As
one Londoner expressed it, 1--WE retire here
when we've earned thousand pounds
He goes to his business later and
comes home earlier. and cultivates
the acquaintance of his family more
than We. In politics he goes in for a
hard tussle at the time of the general
election. and if heis a candidate for Par
lament it is the fashion nowadays for his
wife to engage actively in the campaign
and electioneer for her lord and master.
But the election over he settles in
to his easy-going ways and enjoys
his roast beef without caring a ha' penny
whether Gladstone OF Lord Salisbury is
Prime Minister. till the time comes for
another fight. But an American keeps in
a constant fever of excitement owing to
the rapid succession of either municipal,
State or national elections.
A knowledge of modern languages is not
essential to comfort in travelling here. but
it is a great convenience. Miss Mathews
fluent and finished German helped us out
of more than one pelpleXity. and my 'poor,
lisping stammering tongue was useful
whenever French was in requiSition. The
Germans are not apt in interpreting panto-
mime. They do not ''catch on quickly.
as the boys say. Give AN Italian or a
Frenchman a fraction of an idea and he
will readily guess the rest. A good story
is told to illustrate the lteralness of the
Teutonic mind. One day the professor of
English literature in a German university
was calculating LAS You Like It to his
pupils. He came to the passage:
And thus our life. exempt from public
Finds tongues i'll trees, books in the running
brooks,
sermons in stones and good i'll everything.
He read the lines over several times.
scratched his head, adjusted his spectacles
again and again and finally blurted out.
ilI-I-l 1lGII koIdhcS'tdl lItSll illdUc
Won leetle meestake. He do mean that
we lind leotes on de trees, stones in de run
ming brooks. Se,ntonS in books and tongues
in our heads This rendering he CON
sidered a great improvement upon the
original.
Thus far we have journeyed, including
the ocean voyage over s, 800 miles without
the least accident, delay or mistake. We
have been in eight different countries,
heard six languages and know not how
many dialects spoken, used as great a
variety of currency and have neither lost
our way nor our wits. Ladies who are at
all used to travelling need not hesitate to
undertake European tour without
gentleman But their enjoyment of the
trip will depend much on the amount of
knowledge which they carry with them.
If they have no idea of architecture they
will see in cathedral only pile of stone.
If they are ignorant of art and history and
literature they will see little but color in
the exqusitely stained glass windows and