Evening star., 1901-04-27
SHE COULD-FA FALK FRENCH

dapper little man with a goatee very
much waxed mustachios (both hirsute ap-
pendages palpably dyed and the unmis-
taxable air and manner of a Frenchman,
boarded downtown Avenue car at Wash
ington Circle the other afternoon. He had
a couple of heavy grips in his hands, so
that 1t was evident that he was bound
upon journey. The, car was flied. The
Frenchman deposited his two grips In the
B aisle and made grab for a strap. The
car was just then getting on the straight
track from the circle, and the Frenchman
missed his clutch for the strap and fell
sprawling in the lap of a very large, very
black, but very cleahly booking old NANNY,
who had an old-fasi1ioned bandanna wrap
ped around her head, and heavy gold loop
earrings In her ears. The Frenchman's silk
nat was knocked off his head and the top
button of his light overcoat flew off as he
sprawled about in the lap of the old black
NANNY The passengers Uttered. In re-
covering himself the dapper little French
man sat for an instant on the edge of the
mammyS lap, and he looked for all the
world so like precocious infantile charge
of the old black womans that the laugh
that went around the car was more or less
Justlha6le, At length the Frenchman
scrambled to his feet, however, picked up
his silk hat, waved it gracefully at the old
nanny and murmured some words of
apology.
!, oh, uat I'LL Tlgnt, money, murmuieu
the old black woman. NO hahn done
Ans done held many bigger boy dan yo'
all In dis heah Of lap O mine
Then another and a louder laugh went
around the car. 1t was clear that the
Frenchman hadn't understood what the old
nanny had said, forahe looked at her in
a puzzled sort of way, and then looked
into the faces of the passengers as if to
discover the reason for the prolongation of
their merriment -.
The passenger next to the old nanny
left the car at the War Department build
ing and the Frenchman took the seat. Be
gan to manifest considerable uneasiness,
and beckoned to the conductor. The
Frenchman jabbered in his language at the
conductor, who regarded him with bland
grin. The Frenchman wanted to get off
the car at the Pennsylvania station, but he
didn't know how to express the matter In
English, and the more he talked at the
conductor the more the conductor grinned
at him and shook his head.
AT length shy-looking young man across
the aisle, blushing good deal, leaned over
and addressed the Frenchman in his best
article Of Ollendorf French. The French
man gazed at the young man with a nom
comprehending stare. Clearly. the young
mans French must have been very Olen-
dorf1sh indeed. The puzzled shakes Of the
Frenchman's head only aroused the young
man across the aisle to further linguis-
tic efforts. The whole car was listening
by this time and the knowledge Of this
fact probably excited the young man
good deal. At any rate his French appear
ed to have absolutely no meaning for the
Frenchman, who shook his head more and
more, and gazed around again at the rest
of the passengers as if to find out from
their expressions whether he was being
Suyed or not At length the young man
with the stock of Ouendorf French gave
it up, and leaned back in his seat with
whole lot of red in his face. remarking to
the grinning man. next to him, ",That
fellow must talk Zulu-he certainly doesn't
talk French"
Then the old black hlammy sitting next
him and addressed him n his own tongue.
1t was funny to Aee thE startled look in
his face. The old manrmy's French was
as pure as crystal 'Aibeitf of course, in the
African patois, anp the sFrenchman eager
ly replied to her questions. while the young
man across the aisle grew redder and red
der The old black NANNY told the
Frenchman that SHE'D let him know when
the car reached the Pennsylvania station,
and then the two chatted and laughed to-
gether at great. rate, 1t was an odd
colloquy to listen to, and the passengers
watched the old black NANNY interestedly
as she emitted her liquid flow of Gallo
speech. The marveling expression on the
t'renchman's face gave way to one of de-
light as he talked on with the turbaned
nanny. He asked her how it came that
she was so proficient In his language, and
sne told him that she had been speaking
1t from her birth-that she was from New
orleans, and was on a visit, to married
daughter in Washington. The Frenchman
bade her very gracious adien when 9th
street was reached. and raised his top
hat to her very gallantly. The old nanny
with the good French at the tip of her
tongue got off at Az street, and then the
young man who had volunteered his
French to help the Frenchman out grinned
sheepishly at the man next to him, and
remarked:
We'll, I guess the old girl had 1t on me,
at that l wouldn't ha' opened my bazoo
with my high school French for eight
million dollars If I'd ha' known that she
could roll it out the way she did,