The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1893-04-15

iet me down easy. I was : sight 70 80
when the rocks and trees and BRAN oles
got through with me. was IN BAD Z
state Of repair, but had still enough OF
clothes left on me to satisfy the re-
ouirements of the French law.
It was impossible to climb back, 20
made the best of my way down the
cliff. had many tumbles, but they
were of small account compared WIN
the wild hilarity of the first series. AL
my interest in the scenery mao Deen
completely shaken out OF me- Inere
are occasions when the finest scenery
does not satisfy the exacting require
ments of mankind.
At last reached the foot OF the cllH
with my neck still unbroken. l was
tired out and hungry. l thought my
troubles had ceased, but in fact they
were just beginning.
At the bottom of the cliff the rocks
had been blasted so as to increase the
size of the garden of the villa at the
back of which / had arrived. An iron
fence ten or twelve feet high bounded
the back of the garden. The upright
bars of iron formed jagged spikes at
the top. 1t was a fence utterly impos-
sible to climb, but there was little
gate which / noticed was padlocked
When stood on the edge of the little
cliff formed by the blasting ofthe rocks
1 was just slightly higher than the top
of this tall fence and five or SIX feet
away from it. The fence formed one
wall and the rocks the other of the
twelve-foot deep ditch at the edge OF
which stood.
An oldish man was on the other side
of the iron fence pottering in some
newly made earthen beds that ran
along the villa side of the fence and with
him was gardener They were the only
two in sight and were but ten feet or
so away. could see them and they
could see me through the bars OF the
fence
Il beg your pardon" said to the old
gentleman, ''but would you allow me
to pass through your grounds to the
main road?"
He looked at me for moment and
answered curtly:
s'My grounds are not a public
thOrOugn1afe.
"All right replied. I resolved to
Chamber over to the back of some
other villa whose proprietor would be
more obliging. Ten minutes from
that time, after much hard climbing,
it dawned on me that was in a trap
and completely at the mercy of the dis
obliging old gentleman. The way was
blocked in every direction by insur-
mountable rocks and l realized that it
was one thing to slide down the face of
cliff and quite another to climb up
again. regretted had said "all
right in the tone / did. / reopened
negotiations with him in subdued and
chastened manner.
81 am very sorry to trouble you, sir,
ventured, "but it seems to be impos-
sible for me to get out of this except
through your property. 1t would be a
great obligement if you would ask
your gardener to unlock the gate for
me-
II have no doubt it would be. 1
shall do nothing of the kind. Go back
the way you came. If you have some
trouble in doing so, it will teach you
to keep to the public paths hereafter"
81 came down the cliff entirely
against my own will. My being here
is the result of an accident at the top.
Even if it were possible for a man to
climb back, l am tired out. / doubt ii
I could go up the hill if there were a
path"
i, GAIL that is nothing to me-
Il can't stay here forever, you know.
If you let me through that gate you
may arrest me for trespass, and l will
pay my fine. That will serve as the
lesson you are so anxious to impress
on me-"
1.-The penalty for trespass in this
country is imprisonment -
every we'll. would rather go to
iail an remain longer in your COM
pany."
! This was silly thing to say to a
man I wanted favor from, and
| realized that the moment it was said.
! Patience, has never been one of my vir-
! tues.
81 refuse to hold any further discus
sion with vou," said the old man, with
some dignity.
( ''Oh, but you'll have to. If I stay
here I'm going to have the worth of it
in talk, and don't you forget it. don't
want your company, but if you insist
on having mine you will have to stand
the consequences. How much will you
take for your bit of property, anyhow?
I'm thinking of buying place in
Cannes. have some property in Flor
! ida that will trade with you for this
bit. Florida has ever so much better a
climate than the Riviera"
The old gentleman kept Industrious
| " pottering about the flower bed with
q kind of rake he had, and now and
then gave quiet instructions to the gar
dener, who never looked up at me. l
felt hope that if I, could only get the
old man into the house, could come
to financial understanding with the
gardener.
Before making payment down !
! would like to look at the villa from the
front road. If you open the gate will
go through and tell you how much I'll
give
| ~