haracteristic and which seems never to desert them, withal they were
cursing the country with lurid metaphors quite refreshing after a month
of unimaginative, monotonous Cockney swearing. The Cockney has one oath,
and one oath only, the most indecent in the language, which he uses on
any and every occasion. Far different is the luminous and varied Western
swearing, which runs to blasphemy rather than indecency. And after all,
since men will swear, I think I prefer blasphemy to indecency; there is
an audacity about it, an adventurousness and defiance that is better than
sheer filthiness.

There was one American tramp royal whom I found particularly enjoyable. I
first noticed him on the street, asleep in a doorway, his head on his
knees, but a hat on his head that one does not meet this side of the
Western Ocean. When the policeman routed him out, he got up slowly and
deliberately, looked at the policeman, yawned and stretched himself,
looked at the policeman again as much as to say he didn't know whether he
would or wouldn't, and then sauntered leisurely down the sidewalk. At
the outset I was sure of the hat, but this made me sure of the wearer of
the hat.

In the jam inside I found myself alongside of him, and we had quite a
chat. He had been through Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and France, and had
accomplished the practically impossible feat of beating his way three
hundred miles on a French railway without being caught at the finish.
Where was I hanging out? he asked. And how did I manage for
"kipping"?--which means sleeping. Did I know the rounds yet? He was
getting on, though the country was "horstyl" and the cities were "bum."
Fierce, wasn't it? Couldn't "batter" (beg) anywhere without being
"pinched." But he wasn't going to quit it. Buffalo Bill's Show was
coming over soon, and a man who could drive eight horses was sure of a
job any time. These mugs over here didn't know beans about driving
anything more than a span. What was the matter with me hanging on and
waiting for Buffalo Bill? He was sure I could ring in somehow.

And so, after all, blood is thicker than water. We were
fellow-countrymen and strangers in a strange land. I had warmed to his
battered old hat at sight of it, and he was as solicitous for my welfare
as if we were blood brothers. We swapped all manner of useful
information concerning the country and the ways of its people, methods by
which to obtain food and shelter and what n