head of the
chief attendant: insisting, with many strange oaths, on his right to
obtain cooked food, of some sort, within the half-hour.

Years ago, I was amused, at the _Gaietes_, by a common-place scene
enough of stage-temptation. _Madelon_, driven into her last
intrenchments by the sophistries of the wily aristocrat, objected
timidly, "_Mais, Monseigneur, j'aime mon mari._" For a moment the
_Marquis_ was surprised, and seemed to reflect. Then he said,
"_Tiens--tu aimes ton mari? C'est bizarre: mais--apres tout--ce n'est
pas defendu._" As he spoke, he smiled upon his simple vassal--evidently
wavering between amusement and compassion.

With just such a smile--allowing for the exaggeration of the African
physiognomy--did "Leonoro" contemplate his victim, and me, the
bystander, and then sauntered slowly from the room, without uttering one
word. It was a great moral lesson, and I profited by it. But, in truth,
there was little to complain of; the quarters were clean and
comfortable, and one got, in time, as much as any reasonable man could
desire. The arrangements are on the European system, _i.e._, there are
no fixed hours for meals, which are ordered from the _carte_, and no
fixed charge for board. I should have remained there permanently, had it
not been for one objection, which eventually overcame my aversion to
change. The basement story of the house was occupied by a bar and oyster
saloon; the pungent testaceous odors, mounting from those lower regions,
gave the offended nostrils no respite or rest; in a few minutes, a
robust appetite, albeit watered by cunning bitters, would wither, like a
flower in the fume of sulphur. Half-a-dozen before dinner, have always
satiated my own desire for these mollusks; before many days were over, I
utterly abominated the name of the species; familiarity only made the
nuisance more intolerable, and I fled at last, fairly _ostracised_. How
the _habitues_ stood it was a mystery, till I recognized the fact, that
there is no accident of pleasure or pain to which humanity is liable, no
antecedent of rest or exertion, no untimeliness of hour or incongruity
of place, which will render an apple or an oyster inopportune to an
American _bourgeois_.

My first visit in Baltimore was to the British Consul, to whom I brought
credentials from a member of the Washington Legation. I shall not easily
forget the many courtesies, for which I have never adequately thanked
Mr. Bernal: few English trave