Three Men on the Bummel

Christian recreation-The language of the guide-How to repair the ravages of time-George tries a bottle-The fate of the German beer dr

n until such time as the powers-that-be should permit us on to the platform. George, w

seen

, "See

d to answer intel

them. If you wait, you'll see it for yours

and I thought for the moment he must be referring to this. A moment's reflection, however, told me that here, in the middle of Eu

id; "now am I

long Dundreary whiskers. Over a pepper-and-salt suit he wore a light overcoat, reaching almost to his heels. His white helmet was ornamented with a green veil; a pair of opera-glasses hung at his side, and in his lavender-gloved hand he carried an alpenstock a little taller than himself. His daughter was long and angular. Her dress I cannot describe: my grandfather, poor gentleman, might have been able to do so; it would have been more familiar to him. I can only say that it appeared to me unnecessarily short, ex

outing, "Where's my camera? What the dickens have I done with my camera? Don't either of you remember where I put my camera?"-then we know that for the first

and the lady carried a phrase book. They talked French that nobody could understand, and German that they could not translate themselves! The man poked at officials w

ter, to require very little else in this world; a yard or so of art muslin at the most. On the Continent she dispenses, so far as one can judge, with every ot

ere Manchester was. I asked him where he was going to, but he evidently did not know. He said it depended. I asked him if he did not find an alpenstock a clumsy thing to walk about with through a crowded town; he admitted that occasionally it did get in the way. I asked him if he did not find a veil interfere with his view of things;

rlin during the excitement caused by the Transvaal question. My conclusion is that they were actors out of work, hired to do this thing in the interest of international peace. The French Foreign Office, wishful to allay the anger of the Parisian mob clamouring for war with England, secured this admirable couple and sent them round the town. You can

called for it, shrugging their shoulders and eating frog sandwiches; or a file of untidy, lank-haired Germans might be retained, to walk about, smoking long pip

een saved to it, had it possessed windows less large and temptingly convenient. The first of these mighty catastrophes it set rolling by throwing the seven Catholic councillors from the windows of its Rathhaus on to the pikes of the Hussites below. Later, it gave the signal for the second by again throwing the Imperial councillors from the window

lock of stone, half ivy hidden, marks the spot where Huss and Jerome died burning at the stake. History is fond of her little ironies. In this same Teynkirche lies buried Tycho Brahe, th

n-Platz they show as a sacred spot the cabinet where he prayed, and seem to have persuaded themselves he really had a soul. Its steep, winding ways must have been choked a dozen times, now by Sigismund's flying legions, followed by fierce-killing Tarborites, and now

rotestant Swedes. The Prague Ghetto was one of the first to be established in Europe, and in the tiny synagogue, still standing, the Jew of Prague has worshipped for eight hundred years, his women folk devoutly listening, without, at the ear holes provided for them in the massive walls. A Jewish cemetery adjacen

to their foetid lanes, though these are being rapidly replaced by fine new streets t

was a case of talking German or nothing. The Czech dialect is said to be of great antiquity and of highly scientific cultivation. Its alphabet contains forty-two letters, suggestive to a stranger of Chinese. It is not a language to be picked up in a hurry. We decided that on the whole there would be less risk to our constitution in keeping to German, and as a matter o

cotch lady. I understand Scotch fairly well-to keep abreast of modern English literature this is necessary,-but to understand broad Scotch talked with a Sclavonic accent, occasionally relieved by German modifications, taxes the intelligence. For the first hour it was difficult to rid one's self of the conviction that the man was choki

not the beauties of Prague, but the benefits likely to accrue to the human race from the use of this concoction; and the conventional agreement with which, under the

as he saw it, was not to lead us to dwell upon the ravages of time, but rather to direct our attention to the means of repairing them. What had we to do with broken-headed heroes, or bald-headed saints? Our interest sho

"), a sickly, disagreeable-looking, uninteresting world. The Future ("After Use") a fat, jolly, G

ed for it. Personally, I can neither praise it nor condemn it. A long series of disappointments has disheartened me; added to which a perman

o a man he knew in Leeds. I learnt later that Harris

left Prague. George has noticed it himself. He attrib

ting too fond of Pilsener beer. This German beer is an insidious drink, especially in hot weather; but it does not do to imbibe t

ry, with a little soda-water; perhaps occasionally a glass of

sh I could keep to it myself. George, although I urged him, refused to bind himsel

orge, "one in the evening, or even

his half-dozen glasses that

to stop it," said Harris

ed to me," I answered. "It seems hi

a little lemon squeezed into it, is practically harmless. What I am

sort of gentleman, with the usual stiff neck, riding the usual sort of horse-the horse that always walks on its hind legs, keeping its front paws for beating time. But in detail it possessed individuality. Instead of the usual sword or baton, the man was holding, stretched out

practical test where it would look best. Accordingly, they had made three rough copies of the statue-mere wooden profiles, things that would not bear looking at closely, but which, viewed from a little distance, pr

he having remained behind in the hotel to write a letter to his aunt,-"if he has not observed these

d showed it to him from every possible point of view. I think, on the whole, we rather bored him with the thing, but our object was to impress it upon him. We told him the history of the man who rode upon the horse, the name of the artist who had made the statue, how much it weighed, how much it measured. We worked that statue into his system. By the time we had

d to German beer, and drinking too much of it, had gone mad and developed homicidal mania; of men who had died young

otel. It was a stormy-looking night, with heavy

came; we'll walk back by the riv

other night as this that he was walking with that man the very last time he ever saw the poor fellow. They were strolling down the Thames Embankment, Harris said, and the m

. It occupied the centre of a small, railed-in square a little above us on the opposit

ter?" I said; "

little. Let's re

ith his eyes glu

speakin

strikes me is how very much one

is always something distinctive. Take that statue we saw early in the evening," continued Harris, "before we went into the concert ha

ys the same horse, and it's always the same man. They are a

to be angry

you think

eorge, now turning upon me. "Why, lo

What damn

is the same horse with half a tail, standing on its

king now about the statue

eorge; "I'm talking abou

tue?" sai

ce merely expressed friendly sorrow, mingled with alarm. Next, George turned his gaze on me. I endeavoure

d as kindly as I could to Ge

fellows understand a joke? It's like being out with a couple of confounded ol

said Harris, on our overtaking him. "I knew

said George, cutting him s

most unpleasan

way, and, as a matter of fact, it was. In the open space behind the theatre stood

id Harris, kindly. "You

his is the shortes

it is," pers

id George; and he turned and we

lunatic asylums, which, Harris said, were not well managed in

appear to have a large number

at is where one would look for the majority of Harris's friends

o think of it, how many of them have gone that way

splatz, Harris, who was a f

said, sticking his hands in his poc

it was the best of the three-the most like, the most deceptive. It stood boldly outlined against the wild sky: the horse on its

pathetic ring in his voice, his aggressiveness had completely f

queer," said Harris, kindly.

is," answe

s; "but I didn't like to say anything to

plied George, rather quickl

ll you. It's this German beer that you are

George. "I dare say it's true, but someho

used to it,

aid George. "I think you must be righ

him to bed. He was very

factory dinner, we started him on a big cigar, and, removing things fro

ue did you say we saw?" asked

replied

said George. "

replied Ha

ng!" answe

ink he quite b

may hear more languages spoken than the Tower of Babel could have echoed. Polish Jews and Russian princes, Chinese mandarins and Turkish pashas, Norwegians looking as if they had stepped out of Ibsen's plays, women from the Boulevards, Spanish grandees and English countesses, mountaineers from Montenegro and millionaires from Chicago, you will find every dozen yards. Every luxury in the world Carlsbad provides for its visitors, with the

odern, and even what is ancient is not nearly so ancient as one thought it was. After all, a town, like a woman, is only as old as it looks; and Nuremberg is still a comfortable-looking dame,