The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-01-21

self to dinner with you, stays the night
volunteers to bring his bag and stop a
month, and is so polite and suavely
impervious to hints that you can never
get rid of him. Even IL yon invent
some fable about being called out OF
town for a rponth, he will insist on
staying TO mind your rooms while you
are absent, and he will probably tell
you that he will not be lonely, as he
has a Compatriot in Islington who, he
Is sure, will come and keep him COM
pany. And when he goes home again
at last he will tell his friends how
kind you We're to him, and will give
them letters of Introduction to you,
and send them away to you with the
fun conviction that they will be simil-
arly accommodated. Perhaps it is not
always so. Perhaps | speak SANDER
ously, but hear my tale out; then
Judge
As Karl's letter did not reach me
till the 18th | know now that my old
nurse was right when she said 13 was
a fatal number--I could not reply TO
put him off, for he must be already un-
der way.
He arrived.
They always do.
They never get on the wrong train
and wander off accidentally to Scot
land or the North Pole.
His cab drew up at my door. The
fare was three and siXpence, and he
had no English money.
They never have!
| paid
1Ja oraotad ,,,o ,,.i+t oee,,,io,, a,a
wanted to kiss me on both cheeks.
Then he inquired which was his room.
What could / say?
l gave him my room and slept on
the sofa in my study.
Ny landlady told me afterward that
he had burned several holes in the
sheets by smoking in bed, and I found
that he used to strike his matches
on the new wall paper. and throw
them, with his cigar ashes on the car
pet.
But he was so grateful and affable
with it all that 1 could not raise any
objection. / said "Kismet" and sub
mitted.
Then began the search for the ap.
pointment in some good hotel in Lon
don." by means of which he proposed
to acquire that knowledge of English
hotel keeping that he desired.
He was a wonderful man. He could
make me pay cab fares, and yet leave
me to feel that he was doing me a
favor by allowing such thing. He
could drag me from hotel to hote
in that weary quest until 1 wished
that 1 could fall i'll and be confined tc
my bed; and when each day ended in
failure it was my fault that it was so
He wore my ties and linen, smoked
my cigars, lived at my expense, ant
nearly killed Inc with worry of it all;
but thanked ME every evening with
such delicate tact that at the time
almost reproached myself with no
having done enough for him. He be
gan ambitiously. / knew nothing O
hotel keeping-how should I?-and haC
no idea as to the best way to go tC
work, so we simply decided to go from
hotel to hotel and see what we could
do. He took me first to the--(yor
will understand why 1 will mention
no names), and demanded to see thu
proprietor. The hall porter smiled.
Proprietor, he said, this hotel i!
| owned by a company"
Then l will see the company"
"Oh, you will? Then you will have
to go to a good many different town!
! to see them ALL"
| meekly suggested that we Nigh
| see the manager. After some tele
| phoning, cross-questioning and mucl
voluble relteration by Karl, we Were
ushered along passages, up stairs, anC
| finally into Il stately office, where sa
a man of awe-inspiring dignity. HI
| looked sternly at us and said tersely:
well. what is your business?"
IF you please, sir" said Karl, I"
| will be manager here to learn
What the devil are you talkin!
| about? l am manager here"
Then will be your assistant. I an
| Karl Bronner and am the proprietor
of the Hotel Adler, which is the great
est hotel in Cnterberg. 1 shall be bur
gomaster of Unterberg when Stanislau'
Bauer dies, and he is already very old
| and"
Can you explain the meaning of al
this pack Of nonsense?" asked the
manager, turning sharply to me.
1 explained Karrs wishes. For an
swer the manager pressed a button OF
| HIS utSh' al seiSt dpICdlCuy anu ne W a.
told to SHOW these gentlemen the way
out! and don't you bring any on
else to me until you have found ou
exactly what they want: understand
| that"
And that wretched little jacks sprat o.
a page grinned and sniggered all tn,
! way to the door, and winked expires
sively to every waiter and porter tha
| he passed. l wanted to go home a.
soon as we got outside, but Karl, un
abashed, wanted to know why l die
not punch that mans head" for hi,
insolence, and seemed to have a poo
idea of my pluck. He said that h,
would go back and challenge the man
ager to a duel, and would hardly be
lieve that that form of recreation wa!
not popular in England. However, a
last l dragged him away from the curl
in front of the great portlco, where h,
was standing and shaking his fist com
prehensively at the whole building.
| At the next attempt thought it bet
ter to open the subject myself, in less