The Washington herald., 1907-09-22
By DEXTER MARSHALL.

noisy, numbering vehicle confident that
he knew what he was about. but his con-
ndence had been short lived. Instead Of
the buildings and streets he should have
passed on the route he had travelled over
repeatedly, only unfamiliar objects met
his eye. Clearly he was going far out
of his way. and, hoping against hope,
he turned wearily to one after another OF
his fellow-passengers for information,
> but none of them could understand his
questions.
Just as he was about 10 leave the bus
in despair and try to pick his way on foot
a voice so welcome that he forgot to
be surprised for a moment, although
the accent was .-an astounding one 10
hear just then and just there. smote his
ear
Loss your way boss7" inquired the
voice. specs en- tell you jes:
whatcher wanter 10 know, Colonel. If
you done tole me ali about it,"
Turning again, the American saw just
behind him a real American darky,
black as asphalt, clad in a uniform"
distinctly German in cut and whose
happy grin at being able 10 do a fellow
traveller from the States a service was
as genuine as the voice and accent
You amt on the right bus edzactly.
Jedge, went on the American child If
Africa: but you en- git to youah place
all right If you stay heah till yer pass
foah noah strasses and den transfers.
I'll tell YOU when
"Yessah," he explained Use from St.
Louis, but Ise a member of de workin'
American colony in Berlin now. come
hear two yeahs ago wid my boss He
done took sick and die sudden like, an
now I got a job wild a German gemman.
an Ise goin' 10 stay awhile Tain't
much Ike the States, but I'm gittln' on
L de talk, an it'll DO till I save 'nough
marks TO git home Wild, or runs rergin
an American good Samaritan dat vans
ter hire n man an is goin' back an II
pay my way, too. Heahs de place 10
transfer. sab.
Tank you. sab, tank you kindly. ssh;
bite, bite" he wound up, as the man
he had set right provided two. OF the
marks that would be needed for the long
voyage home.
American represented a big class OF
American residents abroad" who rarely
get into the papers, because they neither
take long auto trips over Europe. buy
counterfeit old masters, swipe souvenirs
nor make asses Of themselves by abusing
or praisins unduly the foreign land they
chance TO be in. Finding themselves
stranded, far from home, Americans Of
still another type go 10 the consul and
beg, OF try to beg. enough money 10 buy
ticket 20 America; but these hunt work
TO do and earn their way. Some OF them
60 home as soon as they can get sufIl-
GENTLY ahead of the game while others
seem 10 have anchored themselves more
Q or less permanently abroad" and are
making their living. as the natives
make theirs. in the occupations the coun-
try affords
Teaching Barons East side English.
Since the day he met the St Louis
darky in Berlin. the travelling American
mentioned above has run across q num-
Der of this latter class in various Euro
pean cities One OF them runs a type
writer IN a big Berlin business concern
with an extensive American correspond
ence and adds 10 his income By doing
extra work az night in English "on The
machine tor such Of his travelling fel-
low-cOuntrymen rs need him and are so
fortunate as 10 find him
He is a New Yorker born. with Eng
Ilsh Of a pretty well developed East Side
accent. He came 20 Paris In 1900 for
firm that had an exhibit at the fair
His pay was not overly large AMI he
spent 1t as he got it, seeing the sights of
the French capital When the cNhibi-
tion was over he drew his nome Iassage
money from his employer but decided
70 remain here enough longer 10 see
few more things. Before he knew it
most of his passage money was gone
also, and he went 10 the consul; not 10
borrow money, but 10 get neip in looking
for a job
If YOU can pay your wav 10 Berlin,
said thu consul III give You letter
that VIII get you "a job. providing you
can Usc the typewriter"
The young man could. ne went 10 Bel
lin by the first train and was received
with enthusiasm He wasn't much Of a
typewriter. 10 tell the truth md he
didn't write shorthand II all, but the
American member o. the firm found
him veritable godsend After seven
years the young Ameri ,an still holds the
place, he never has learned shorthand.
but his typewriting is now rapid enough
for letter dictation and ne has not
thought seriously Of returning 70 his ma
tive land as yet. He began on 40 marks
a week. which IS a little under SO, but
he now gets twice as mucn and earns
another SO weekly on the average, !
some Of II by extra" typewrlting. but
mostly teaching English to Berliners.
Among his pupils he numbers a baron, |
a university professor, two or three
teachers of lesser grade, and some young
German business mcn, who mean either
10 20 10 America some time or TO use
English rs they are taught 1t IN doing
business with Americans in Berlin.
The young Americans methods with
his pupils are not Ike those of the |
schools, and he uses no grammar book; |
just talks with them In English and |
reads American books and newspapers !
with them. beginning always with sim |
pie. easy words and phrases such as
The grass is green" which is not so 1
very different from "Das gras ist gruen," /
and means the same thing.
There is no doubt that some OF his /
pupils become fluent in the Anglo-SaxOn /
tongue. but with them a girl will always 1
be a 'goI' and a Journalist a "choi- /
ualist,' for. as I have said. he is Of New
Yorks East Side, and his accent shows /
L. Their close following of his teach /
ing never will harm them, probably. Wu /
Iing-fang who once was Chinese Min /
lister at Washington, learned his Eng /
lish from college boys. fellow-students. /
who took care TO teach him so much /
slang that he never can talk English /
without mixing it, but he was a mighty |