"Oh! yes, the _arnticle of Pahrriss_."

"Exactly so. Excuse _my_ pronunciation."

This floored him.

"Rather impertinent, your smoke-room neighbor!" you will say.

Undeceive yourself at once upon that point. It is not impertinence,
still less an intention to offend you, that urges him to put these
incongruous questions to you. It is the interest he takes in you. The
American is a good fellow; good fellowship is one of his chief
characteristic traits. Of that I became perfectly convinced during my
last visit to the United States.

CHAPTER II.

ARRIVAL OF THE PILOT--FIRST LOOK AT AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS.

_Saturday, January 4, 1890._

We shall arrive in New York Harbor to-night, but too late to go on
shore. After sunset, the Custom House officers are not to be disturbed.
We are about to land in a country where, as I remember, everything is in
subjection to the paid servant. In the United States, he who is paid
wages commands.

We make the best of it. After having mercilessly tumbled us about for
nine days, the wind has graciously calmed down, and our last day is
going to be a good one, thanks be. There is a pure atmosphere. A clear
line at the horizon divides space into two immensities, two sheets of
blue sharply defined.

Faces are smoothing out a bit. People talk, are becoming, in fact, quite
communicative. One seems to say to another: "Why, after all, you don't
look half as disagreeable as I thought. If I had only known that, we
might have seen more of each other, and killed time more quickly."

The pilot boat is in sight. It comes toward us, and sends off in a
rowing-boat the pilot who will take us into port. The arrival of the
pilot on board is not an incident. It is an event. Does he not bring the
New York newspapers? And when you have been ten days at sea, cut off
from the world, to read the papers of the day before is to come back to
life again, and once more take up your place in this little planet that
has been going on its jog-trot way during your temporary suppression.

[Illustration: PILOT WITH PAPERS.]

The first article which meets my eyes, as I open the New York _World_,
is headed "High time for Mr. Nash to put a stop to it!" This is the
paragraph:

Ten days ago, Mrs. Nash brought a boy into existence. Three days
afterward she presented her husband with a little girl. Yesterday the
lady was safely delivered of a third baby.

"Mrs. Nash takes her time over it" would have