The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-12-28
Travellers Who Speak Only English at
a Disadvantage.
RISKS OF AMERICAN GIRLS
STORY OF ONE OF THEM WHO
WENT ABROAD.
(NeW York Tribune.)

gray of the girl in all brown.
She shook her head, half regretfully.
No, only as far as - street. I'm
due at M'amszelle's this very moment
for a French lesson, and tomorrow it
is to be German"
Going back to your governess
days?" inquired the man, falling into
step.
Trying to undo the mischief the
goVerness did. She never taught me
French or German ineligible IN their
native land. The principal result of
our summer in Europe is a collection
of art works, for which we paid twice
as much as we should, and a deeply
rooted suspicion of the European shop
keeper. In fact, thanks to our mutual
ignorance of French, the polite
language, we were done at every point
of the game-fieeced, robbed. And now
mother says We will not so abroad
again until we can speak both French
and German. l am TO be the spOkes-
man-hence my industry"
But 1 thought English was gener-
ally spoken in Europe?" inquired the
man.
Quite so. You approach a shop
keeper and tell him what you want in
English, and he says, I send for my
boy and the boy comes and interprets,
incidentally suggesting to papa that
the lady is a good thing and ought to
be properly worked. Papa does the
rest. That is where had one advan-
tage. l could understand French just
enough to hear what guides, walters,
cabbies and shopkeepers thought of us.
We did nothing but change guides, and
each was worse than his predecessor.
"One day a woman stopping at our
pension showed me a beautiful piece Of
Roman silk, for which she had paid
three lire, or 60 cents a yard. ] asked
my guide to take me to the same shop
and the woman would not part with it
for less than five lire, or 81 a yard, sim
ply because the guide informed her
that l was 'Americaine,' with boobies
of money, and could not even make
change in Italian coin, let alone know
the value of Italian wares. l pieced
that much together from scraps of Ital-
ian ne dropped as he fumbled over the
silks. When I turned to leave the
shop, after much haggling, in which
he pretended to advise her to drop the
price, she offered the silk at 90 cents
yard, but I was so angry I refused to
take it. 1 just wanted to pay off that
guide and dismiss him as soon as I
could get back to the hotel
Shopping with a guide is a confess
sion of ignorance and weakness, as
well as an extravaganza. The pour
boire of the guide is to add to your bill,
and it is funny to see the guides keep
track of what you buy so that they
can return to the store later and coll
leCt their commission.
In one city upon our arrival, a por-
ter, all rags save for the silk band
around his hat which set forth in gilt
letters his position and duties, grabbed
mothers bag and mine Half way
through the station another man
grabbed them all from the first, and the
two followed us to the hotel bus. both
demanding payment. In vain I tried to
explain to the hotel courier in my best
English and with my most eloquent
gestures. Unless I paid the two men
who had assisted us I could not enter
the bus. Or would I prefer to have
their charges added to my hotel bill?
Decidedly I would not. I paid the bill.
I'VE wanted to drive for three hours
one Sunday afternoon. The hotel rate
cards advised US that it would cost 20
cents, or q lire, an hour. We engaged
the jehu at that rate in the presence
of the concierge, who bowed us into
the vehicle and went back to his sta
ton. We rode through the crooked
streets and saw in the distance a queer
tunnel or Viaduct. We both INDUCED
in ecstasies and wondered what was on
the other side. The driver, who could
not understand English, mind you,
suddenly turned around, pointed at the
tunnel and said something in his native
tongue which We interpreted as an in
quiry. Would we like TO ride through
the tunnel% We would and we did,
and on the other side stretched vine
yard after vineyard. beautiful vistas of
well-tended farms and such hillsi We
rode on and on. revealing in the ex-
quisite amethyst tints creeping down
upon the mountain sides, and then we
suddenly discovered that we must be
more than an hours ride from town,
and two of our allotted three hours
were exhausted.
1--WE began to prod that man i'm the
back with our sunshades. When moth
er's arm got tired I took my turn, and
his invariable reply was, Isl, signora.
e. L want to go back to the hotelu
we would baWi, but the man drove on,
absolutely unperturbed by our Amer
lCdIl uNSltild. IIOlAty cars l6luCIl Will
rolled past us. and we en-
We'd the fortunates packed in the third
class seats. Well, the upshot of it was
that we reached our hotel after dusk,
furious and not entirely unfrightened
We have never been able to figure it
out, but that ride cost us nearly 81. The
listened patiently TO my eX-
PLANTATION OF the drivers refusal TO re-
turn, Offering the suggestion that we
made a serious mistake In going out
side the city gates. politely showing us
on the rate cards that once outside the
gates your charges were doubled. The
prodding in the back? Oh, yes. that
had made the driver suffer most keen
ly, but his horse was oid-it could go
no faster. Americans We're always in
such haste At this enormity of mis-
Of the most malicious
sort I gave up the ghost and proffered
q 25-lire note (S5) The driver handed
me back lire or 81.
Il" Where is the rest OF my change"
/ demanded. and suddenly he under
stood English perfectly. 'Ah, signorita,
my pOurboirei'
THAT was just a little more than I
could stand and ] told the concierge
would allow no man to dictate what
my tip should be and / would tip no
man who had cheated me. BY this
time mother was on the Verge of hy-
sterics, a number of impertinent men.
of the hotel, were drifting
we swallowed our defeat
and hurried TO the lift.