ly seemed pleased, not that he did not
generally like Master Lewis's company, but because it looked to him
like a restraint upon his freedom.

But the good teacher took his hat and cane, and Tommy did not express
any displeasure in words. The two went to a splendid stone bridge
called the Pont d'Jena, over the Seine.

Compared with the Mississippi, the Ohio, or the St. Lawrence, the
Seine is but a small stream. The river is lined with solid stone-work
on each side, and its banks are shaded with trees. It is filled with
queer crafts, and a multitude of families live on the barges that
convey wood, coal, and certain kinds of merchandise from place to
place.

As Master Lewis and Tommy were standing on the bridge, watching the
sloops as they lowered their masts to pass under, an astonishing sight
met Tommy's eyes.

It was a great boat, like a steamer, but without screw or paddles,
swiftly passing up the river by means of a chain which rose out of the
water at the bows, ran along the deck, turned around wheels which
seemed to be worked by an engine, and then slipped overboard at the
stern.

"How far can that boat go on in that way?" asked Tommy.

"The chain by which the boat is carried forward," said Master Lewis,
"is _one hundred miles long_."

Master Lewis and Tommy passed some hours among the queer crafts on the
river, taking passages here and there on the flies or water-omnibuses.

"Were you afraid to trust me alone this morning?" asked Tommy, on
their return.

"Well, yes."

"Did you think I could not speak French well enough to go out alone?"

"Your French might not be very well understood here."

"I think I can talk simple French, such as servants could understand
very well."

In the afternoon, being somewhat alone, Tommy thought he would explore
the hotel, which was something of a town in itself. He descended from
his apartment on the third floor, with the intention of going to the
courtyard. But he could not find the place which had so attracted him
from his window. He tried to go back, but lost the way even to his
apartment. He descended again, but failed to find any place he
remembered to have seen before. It was all as grand as a palace, but
as puzzling as a labyrinth he had seen in the grounds of Hampton Court
Palace.

He said to one after another of the very polite people he chanced to
meet,--

"Please, sir [or madam], do you speak English?"

He received only smiles of good-will, and court