Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 November 1875 — A Practical Joke on a New York Tourist. [ARTICLE]

A Practical Joke on a New York Tourist.

A good story is told about an adventure of a New Yorker (a member of the Lotos Club) in visiting Paris a few months ago. For convenience he may be called George, but that is not his name, and never was. George and three or four other Lotos men were at the Hotel de Bade, and one day they agreed to dine there at the table d’ hote. As there was a little over an hour to spare, George thought he would take a ride while the rest were indulgingin k preliminary beer. Not speaking a worffo£ French beyond “ oui” and “ combien,” he asked one of his friends to explain to the cabman that he wished to drive to the Champs Elysees and return to the hotel within an hour. The friend consented and delivered the message to the cabman about as follows: “This gentleman is an Ainerican architect who wants to see the Oirtsfde of all the churches in Paris, and he won’t mind being four or five hours about it. He thinks the architecture of the Hotel de Bade is the finest in the world, and if he gets excited and mentions the hotel you can understand he means the church you are showing him is nothing compared to the Hotel de Bade. Keep on driving him, and don’t be alarmed If he gets excited over the architecture, as he is a Tittle insane about it” "Oui, oui, je comjprende," said the driver, and away he started. George thanked his friend for his efforts with the driverand said: “ I will be here at six, sharp, for dinner.’* The driver went to the Madelaine and halted. " L'egliee de la Madelaine, Moneieur," said he, and George gave a glance at the front and motioned for the team to go on. His motion was obeyed, but instead of going to the Champs Elysees the vehicle took the direction of the Church of St. Augustin. There was another halt; the name of the church w-as pronounced; George looked and then motioned to proceed. Then came another church, and another, and pretty soon George thought he had had churches enough for that day. His hour was up, and at one of the churches, as soon as its name was pronounced, he nodded and said: “ Hotel de Bade.” “ Oui, oui," replied the driver, with a smile of approval at his customer’s admiration for the architecture of that establishment. And he drove to another church, halted and gave its name. George nodded, gave the briefest possible glance, and said, with rising inflection: “ Hotel de Bade.” There was another smile, another “ Oui, Monsieur," and then a drive to another church. - ——— So it went on for a half a dozen churches. Each time George pronounced the name of his hotel more emphatically than on the previous occasion, and each time the driver smiled and said: " Oui, Monsieur; oui, oui." The hour had grown to two hours and more, and George began to think that all the churches in the world had come to Paris for a convention. At about the twenty.fourth church his blood w-as up aqdhe determined to make himselfunderstood. Rising from his seat he grasped the driver’s collar with his left hand while he flourished his umbrella with his right. “ You infernal frog-eating idiot,” said he, “ I want to go to the Hotel de Bade; do you understand—Hotel de Bade!!! I want to go there now, and if you don’t take me I’ll muivler you. Understand, now, Hotel de Bade!!!” And he flourished the umbrella within an inch of the driver’s nose. The coachee comprehended and took George home. The rest of the boys had finished dinner when he arrived and were iff front of the house waiting for him. But he was so mad they had to wait a couple of hours for him to get cool enough for him to stand a laugh and a bottle of wine