was going on without regarding him; but the man hobbled
on by the side of the strangers, and seemed about to be as pertinacious
as the commissioner. They went on so for a little distance, when at
length, just as the man was about giving up in despair, Rollo put his
hand in his pocket, and feeling among the money there, happened to bring
up a small copper coin, which he at once and instinctively dropped into
the beggar's cap. He performed the movement a little slyly, so that Mr.
George did not see him. This he was able to do from the fact that the
beggar was on _his_ side, and not on Mr. George's, and, moreover, a
little behind.

As soon as the man received the coin, he took it, put the cap on his
head, and fell back out of view.

"I am glad he is gone," said Mr. George; "I was afraid he would follow
us half through the town."

Rollo laughed.

"What is it?" said Mr. George. "What makes you laugh?"

"Why, the fact is," said Rollo, "I gave him a batz."

"Ah!" said Mr. George.

"Yes," said Rollo, "or something like a batz, that I had in my pocket."

A batz is a small Swiss coin, of the value of a fifth of a cent. Rollo
had become familiar with this money in the course of his travels in
Switzerland, but he did not yet know the names of the Prussian coins.
The money which he gave the beggar was really what they called a
_pfennige_.[4]

[Footnote 4: Pronounced _fenniger_.]

Rollo supposed that his uncle would not quite approve of his giving the
beggar this money; but as he never liked to have any secrecy or
concealment in what he did, he preferred to tell him. This is always the
best way.

As soon as the beggar had gone, another commissioner came to offer his
services. This time, however, Mr. George, after once telling the man
that he did not wish for his services, took no further notice of him;
and so he soon went away.

The streets of Cologne are exceedingly narrow, and there are no
sidewalks--or scarcely any. In one place Mr. George and Rollo passed
through a street which was so narrow, that, standing in the middle and
extending his hands, Mr. George could touch the buildings at the same
time on each side. And yet it seemed that carriages were accustomed to
pass through this street, as it was paved regularly, like the rest, and
had smooth stones laid on each side of it for wheels to run in, with
grooves, which seemed to have been worn in them by the wheels that had
passed there.

The reason why the street