Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1896-01-04

~ battling the most
praiseworthy a t.
fempts of the police of two towns to
capture me
While this statement is naturally flat
tering to me, it is nevertheless a libel,
and, in fact, if cared to use strong
language, 1 might go so far as to take
the last syllable away from the word
"libel''
The whole trouble arose through
Switzerland not having a proper Ian
guage of it's own, that hilly country pre-
ferring to express what few thoughts
it has in a mixture of French, German
and Italian, depending on what particu-
lar canton you happen to be in. They
say that the Swiss are natural lin
gusts. Unfortunately, they are. Any
combination of sounds you may make,
means something to any Swiss to whom
you happen to be talking, for he knows
so many Languages that you are sure to
hit one of them, and SO you convey ideas
to him that you had no thought of ex-
pressing.
October weather is lovely in Switzer-
land. Most of the visitors have then
gone, prices come down one-half, and
the air is sweet and cool, with usually
a cloudless sky.
Under these circumstances / thought
it would be a nice thing, as the roads
were good and the scenery picturesque,
to take a bicycle tour right around
Lake Thun, beginning at the town
which gives the lake its name, and 60
ing around to the north side of the lake
to Interlaken, and returning by the
south shore.
The hotel keeper told me that if /
went up the street, turned to the right,
went under an arcade until | came to a
tunnel, penetrated that and emerged
on another street, turned to the left
and kept on, would come to the shop
cfaman who would let me have a bicycle
on hire by the day or the hour. I fol-
lowed the directions as closely as pos
sible, and thought recognized the shop
because bicycle was leaning against
the wall. The owner was leaning
against the doorway, looking at the
bicycle outside. The following CONVEX
sation in many languages took place
between us:
"Haben sic un bicyclette louer?''
opened out on him with the above i'm
partial mixture of German and French.
1t seems he understood me to ask if
that was his bicycle, whereupon he
replied in four languages:
"Yaw, yaw, oui, yes, Sc"
Then, throwing in a bit of Italian, I led
off with:
''Quanta costa la machine la hoor,
oder per tag?"
Now 1 submit that to any educated
person, or even to university man.
this sentence said as plainly as print:
"'How much do you want for this ma
chine by the hour or the day." tried
afterwards to get the magistrate to see
this, but he, not knowing Italian, SHE'D
at the very beginning of the phrase.
The owner of the bicycle ON oath de-
clares that he thought I asked how
much the bicycle had cost Aim. He
says he answered that he paid 500 francs
for that brute of machine, made in
France, while understood him to agree
to let me have it for five francs day,
whichw cheap. Twas in hurry to be
off, and was afraid he might repent his
offer, so 1 said it was all right and l
would take it, whereupon, without
further parley, wheeled the bicycle
into the middle of the road, sprang on
its back, and was off, leaving the aston
ished man standing by the door, too
1hunderstruck, it seems, to make any