ting guest."

He called to me a conductor of the red line, said [Greek: Xenos], which
we translate guest, but which I found in this case means "dead-head," or
"free," bowed, and I saw him no more.

"Strange country have I come to, indeed," said I, as I thought of the
passports of Civita Vecchia, of the indifference of Scollay's Buildings,
and of the surliness of Springfield. "And this is Sybaris!"

* * * * *

We sent down a tug to the cove which I indicated on their topographical
map, and to the terror of the old fisherman and his sons, to whom I had
sent a note, which they could not read, our boat was towed up to the
city quay, and was put under repairs. That last thump on the hidden rock
was her worst injury, and it was a week before I could get away. It was
in this time that I got the information I am now to give, partly from my
own observations, partly from what George the Proxenus or his brother
Philip told me,--more from what I got from a very pleasing person, the
wife of another brother, at whose house I used to visit freely, and
whose boys, fine fellows, were very fond of talking about America with
me. They spoke English very funnily, and like little school-books. The
ship-carpenter, a man named Alexander, was a very intelligent person;
and, indeed, the whole social arrangement of the place was so simple,
that it seemed to me that I got on very fast, and knew a great deal of
them in a very short time.

I told George one day, that I was surprised that he had so much time to
give to me. He laughed, and said he could well believe that, as I had
said that I was brought up in Boston. "When I was there," said he, "I
could see that your people were all hospitable enough, but that the
people who were good for anything were made to do all the work of the
_vauriens_, and really had no time for friendship or hospitality. I
remember an historian of yours, who crossed with me, said that there
should be a motto stretched across Boston Bay, from one fort to another,
with the words, 'No admittance, except on business.'"

I did not more than half like this chaffing of Boston, and asked how
they managed things in Sybaris.

"Why, you see," said he, "we hold pretty stiffly to the old Charondian
laws, of which perhaps you know something; here's a copy of the code, if
you would like to look over it," and he took one out of his pocket. "We
are still very chary about amendments to statutes, so that