The Cairo bulletin., 1911-03-03
p A 7
BY carroll Fl. PIERCE
Copyright by American Press Asso-
ciatlon. 1871.


set out one morning from aeyay on
the road to Geneva. l was walking
along enjoying the beautiful prospect
about me-Lake Leman and white AL
pine peaks in the distance when
ahead of me | saw a figure topped by
| 4 cohicai hat. a greenlsh coat and
knee breeches over his shoulder he
carried a staff, 10 an end of which was
slung bandauna handkerchief, evil
! IDENTIFY containing the wayfarer's lug
gage Upon my word" | said to my
self, IF there isn't Il son Of the Elmer
aid isle tramping along here in Swift
Zerand."
! There is 4 kinship among those who
speak the same language that comes
ont when they meet in foreign lands.
| 1t was this feeling that induced me to
| increase my pace till / reached the
| man, When did so he turned toward
ME good naturcd face and on seeing
that ! was amused ut his appearance
said iauntily,
"Ihe top OF the morning to you, sir"
"How are you, Pat?' | replied.
"And how did YOU know me name
was PATTI he asked.
"0h, You green islanders are all Of
thor Pat or Mike. | had an even
chance of hitting your name"
| you're not English" he rejoined
! unless you're colonist. know that
by your talk"
I'm an American But what the
dickens are YOU tramping for here in
Switzerland looking for q chance to
carry mortar to the top of some new
| building:"
"Where there's a fellow to do all the
work 2"
Ny reply to this was smile. The
man puzzled me His brogue was not
so broad rs that of an Irish peasant
! And why an Irish peasant should be
looking for a job in Switzerland could
not conceive.
! Whether 1t was that longed for the
! companionShip Of one who spoke
| common language or because there
was something very much alive with
my fellow traveller don't know, but |
enjoyed his company so well that !
was in no hurry to part with him.
Coming to village, we sat down tor
gether at table In the grounds of
hotel on the margin of the lake and
ordered n luncheon Pat talked glibIy
all the while. his chat sparkling with
wit and humOr, so that | was very
agreeahly entertained. | undertook TO
pay for his lunch as well as my own,
but he wouldn't have it. ! insisted
that ii was a low price for me to pay
for having been 50 pleasantly cheered.
but he said that he had, or thought he
had, money enough TO take him to
Dublin, and as long as 1t lasted he
would pay his own way.
| The result of the meeting was that
we Travelled together to Geneva There
he named cheap hotel he proposed to
stop ut, and | was SO foath to part
with him that | chose the same hos
terry He intended to set out on his
walk the next day toward Dion,
thence TO Paris, Calais and across the
channel and over England to his home
/ In ireland But the next day he was
taken down with rheumatism in one
of his legs and CO ldn't move,
He did not quit Geneva for two
weeks. 1t was one of my stopping
points and ! kept him company, 10
other words took care of him. then sue
! cceded in inducing him to permit me
/ to purchase a ticket for him to Dull
/ lin. Indeed there seemed to be no
other way for him to get home but By
| train, for he couldn't walk and he
! hadn't sufficient money to ride told
! him that | would make tour OF Ire
! land before returning to America and
would see him there. If he found 1t
convenient to pay the loan then, well
! and good, if not | would not miss the
amount. On parting with him | asked
7 him to tell me what he was doing In
\ Switzerland He smiled that good
! naturcd smile Of his and said that
would be explained when ! saw him
in Ireland
II was several months before ! start
ed ON my Irish tour and on reaching
Dublin / posted a letter announcing
my arrival to the address he had given
me. village not far from the city,
The next afternoon a note from Pat
was handed to me stating that he had
had relapse Of his old trouble, rheu.
matsm and could not get out. Would
! ! kindly come with the bearer? The
( bearer was livcricd servant,
r. I thought there must be some mis-
take. but said nothing. went out
side where | found a carriage with &
coaahman, in the saihe livcry as the
bcarer Of the note was put into the
carriage and driven for an hour whet
we turned into a handsome place. As
we neared The house / saw gentle
man sitting on the porch with one lef
resting on n chair On his face was +
broad grin. evidently at the surprise
plainly visible on mine. for he wa;
none other than my fellow traveller
Pat
he thus explained the case, He wa!
a gentlemans son and like others o
HIS kind went out into the world {,
fight for a living, since his father hat
lost his property by speculation. III
had fancied to tramp as an Irish peas
ant: having heard Of the death Of {