in. "I'll give you two dollars."

"America! Liberty!" he cries, having cunningly established my
nationality, and flattering my country with Oriental guile.

"Exactly," I say, "liberty for such as you if you go there. None for me.
Liberty in America is only free to the lower classes. The others are
obliged to _buy_ theirs."

He shakes his head uncomprehendingly. "How much you give for him? Last
price now! Six dollars!"

We haggle over "last prices" for a quarter of an hour more, and after
two cups of coffee, amiably taken together, and some general
conversation, I buy the thing for three dollars.

Bee says my tastes are low, but at any rate I can truthfully say that I
get on uncommonly well with the common herd. I got about thirty of these
jargon-speaking merchants so excited with my spirited method of not
buying what they wanted me to that a large Englishman and a tall, gaunt
Australian, thinking there was a fight going on, came to where I sat
drinking coffee, and found that the screams, gesticulations, appeals to
Allah, smiting of foreheads, brandishing of fists, and the general
uproar were all caused by a quiet and well-behaved American girl sitting
in their midst, while no less than four of them held a fold of her
skirt, twitching it now and then to call attention to their particular
howl of resentment. They rescued me, loaded my purchases on my donkey
boy, and found my donkey for me, beside which, sitting patiently on the
ground and humbly waiting my return, I found my little Scotchman.

With all this cumulative experience, as Jimmie says, "of how to
misbehave in shops," we got back to London, where I could bring it into
play, and in a manner avenge myself for past slights.

I was so grateful to Jimmie for the King Arthur that he gave me at
Innsbruck that I decided to surprise him by something really handsome on
his birthday.

When we got to Paris, there seemed to be an epidemic of gun-metal
ornaments set with tiny pearls, diamonds, or sapphires. Of these I
noticed that Jimmie admired the pearl-studded cigar-cases and
match-safes most, but for some reason I waited to make my purchase in
London, which was one of the most foolish things I ever have done in all
my foolish career, and right here let me say that there is nothing so
unsatisfactory as to postpone a purchase, thinking either that you will
come back to the same place or that you will see better further along,
for in nine cases out of ten you never s