PART I At
the little town of Vevey 0
, in
Switzerland 1
, there is
a particularly comfortable hotel 2
.
There are , indeed ,
many hotels 3
, for the entertainment of
tourists 4
is the business of
the place 0
, which , as
many travelers 5
will remember , is seated upon
the edge of
a remarkably blue lake 57
6 --
a lake that it behooves
every tourist 7
to visit
68 .
The shore of
the lake 57
8 presents
an unbroken array of establishments of this order 3
, of every category , from
the “ grand hotel ” of the newest fashion , with a chalk-white front , a hundred balconies , and a dozen flags flying from
its 9
roof
9 , to
the little Swiss pension of an elder day , with
its 10
name inscribed in German-looking lettering upon a pink or yellow wall and an awkward summerhouse in the angle of the garden
10 .
One of the hotels at Vevey 2
, however , is famous , even classical , being distinguished from many of
its 2
upstart neighbors
3 by an air both of luxury and of maturity .
In
this region 11
, in the month of June ,
American travelers 12
are extremely numerous ; it may be said , indeed , that
Vevey 0
assumes at this period some of the characteristics of
an American watering place 13
.
There are sights and sounds which evoke a vision , an echo , of
Newport 14
and
Saratoga 15
.
There is a flitting hither and thither of
“ stylish ” young girls 16
, a rustling of muslin flounces , a rattle of dance music in the morning hours , a sound of high-pitched voices at all times .
You 17
receive an impression of these things at
the excellent inn of the “ Trois Couronnes ” 2
and are transported in fancy to
the Ocean House 18
or to
Congress Hall 19
.
But at
the “ Trois Couronnes , ” 2
it must be added , there are other features that are much at variance with these suggestions :
neat German waiters , who look like
secretaries of legation 21
20 ;
Russian princesses sitting in
the garden 23
22 ;
little Polish boys walking about held by the hand , with
24 ; a view of
the sunny crest of the Dent du Midi 26
and
the picturesque towers of the Castle of Chillon 27
.
I 28
hardly know whether it was the analogies or the differences that were uppermost in the mind of
a young American , who , two or three years ago , sat in
the garden of
the “ Trois Couronnes , ” 2
23 looking about
him 29
, rather idly , at some of the graceful objects
I 28
have mentioned
29 .
It was a beautiful summer morning , and in whatever fashion
the young American 29
looked at things , they must have seemed to
him 29
charming .
He 29
had come from
Geneva 30
the day before by
the little steamer 31
, to see
, who was staying at
the hotel 2
--
Geneva 30
having been for a long time
his 29
place of residence
64 .
But
had a headache --
had almost always a headache -- and now
she 32
was shut up in
, smelling camphor , so that
he 29
was at liberty to wander about .
He 29
was some seven-and-twenty years of age ; when
spoke of
him 29
,
they 34
usually said that
he 29
was at
Geneva 30
“ studying . ”
When
spoke of
him 29
,
they 35
said -- but , after all ,
he 29
had
no enemies 36
;
he 29
was
an extremely amiable fellow 69
, and universally liked .
What
I 28
should say is , simply , that when
certain persons 37
spoke of
him 29
they 37
affirmed that the reason of
his 29
spending so much time at
Geneva 30
was that
he 29
was extremely devoted to
a lady who lived
there 30
38 --
a foreign lady -- a person older than
himself 29
65 .
Very few Americans 39
-- indeed ,
I 28
think none -- had ever seen
this lady , about whom there were some singular stories 38
.
But
Winterbourne 29
had an old attachment for
the little metropolis of Calvinism 30
;
he 29
had been put to school
there 30
as
a boy 66
, and
he 29
had afterward gone to
college 40
there 30
-- circumstances which had led to
his 29
forming a great many youthful friendships .
Many of these
he 29
had kept , and they were a source of great satisfaction to
him 29
.
After knocking at
’s door and learning that
she 32
was indisposed ,
he 29
had taken a walk about
the town 0
, and then
he 29
had come in to
his 29
breakfast .
He 29
had now finished
his 29
breakfast ; but
he 29
was drinking a small cup of coffee , which had been served to
him 29
on a little table in
the garden 23
by one of
the waiters who looked like
an attache 42
41 .
At last
he 29
finished
his 29
coffee and lit a cigarette .
Presently
a small boy 43
came walking along the path --
an urchin of nine or ten 43
.
The child , who was diminutive for
his 43
years
43 , had an aged expression of countenance , a pale complexion , and sharp little features .
He 43
was dressed in knickerbockers , with red stockings , which displayed
his 43
poor little spindle-shanks ;
he 43
also wore a brilliant red cravat .
He 43
carried in
his 43
hand a long alpenstock , the sharp point of which
he 43
thrust into everything that
he 43
approached -- the flowerbeds ,
the garden 23
benches , the trains of
the ladies 44
’ dresses .
In front of
Winterbourne 29
he 43
paused , looking at
him 29
with a pair of bright , penetrating little eyes .
“ Will
you 29
give
me 43
a lump of sugar ? ”
he 43
asked in a sharp , hard little voice -- a voice immature and yet , somehow , not young .
Winterbourne 29
glanced at the small table near
him 29
, on which
his 29
coffee service rested , and saw that several morsels of sugar remained .
“ Yes ,
you 43
may take one , ”
he 29
answered ; “ but
I 29
do n’t think sugar is good for
little boys 45
. ”
This little boy 43
stepped forward and carefully selected three of the coveted fragments , two of which
he 43
buried in the pocket of
his 43
knickerbockers , depositing the other as promptly in another place .
He 43
poked
his 43
alpenstock , lance-fashion , into
Winterbourne 29
’s bench and tried to crack the lump of sugar with
his 43
teeth .
“ Oh , blazes ; it ’s har-r-d ! ”
he 43
exclaimed , pronouncing the adjective in a peculiar manner .
Winterbourne 29
had immediately perceived that
he 29
might have the honor of claiming
him 43
as
a fellow countryman 67
.
“ Take care
you 43
do n’t hurt
your 43
teeth , ”
he 29
said , paternally .
“
I 43
have n’t got any teeth to hurt .
They have all come out .
I 43
have only got seven teeth .
counted them last night , and one came out right afterward .
She 46
said
she 46
’d slap
me 43
if any more came out .
I 43
ca n’t help it .
It ’s
this old Europe 47
.
It ’s the climate that makes them come out .
In
America 48
they did n’t come out .
It ’s
these hotels 3
. ”
Winterbourne 29
was much amused .
“ If
you 43
eat three lumps of sugar ,
will certainly slap
you 43
, ”
he 29
said .
“
She 46
’s got to give
me 43
some candy , then , ” rejoined
his 29
young interlocutor
43 .
“
I 43
ca n’t get any candy here -- any American candy .
American candy ’s the best candy . ”
“ And are
American little boys 49
the best little boys 50
? ”
asked
Winterbourne 29
.
“
I 43
do n’t know .
I 43
’m
an American boy 51
, ” said
the child 43
.
“
I 29
see
you 43
are
one of the best 70
! ”
laughed
Winterbourne 29
.
“ Are
you 29
an American man 52
? ”
pursued
this vivacious infant 43
.
And then , on
Winterbourne 29
’s affirmative reply -- “
American men 53
are the best , ”
he 43
declared .
thanked
him 43
for the compliment , and
the child 43
, who had now got astride of
his 43
alpenstock , stood looking about
him 43
, while
he 43
attacked a second lump of sugar .
Winterbourne 29
wondered if
he 29
himself 29
had been like this in
his 29
infancy , for
he 29
had been brought to
Europe 47
at about this age .
“ Here comes
! ”
cried
the child 43
in a moment .
“
She 54
’s an
American girl 71
. ”
Winterbourne 29
looked along the path and saw
a beautiful young lady 54
advancing .
“
American girls 55
are
the best girls 72
, ”
he 29
said cheerfully to
his 29
young companion
43 .
“
ai n’t the best ! ”
the child 43
declared .
“
She 54
’s always blowing at
me 43
. ”
“
I 29
imagine that is
your 43
fault , not hers , ” said
Winterbourne 29
.
The young lady 54
meanwhile had drawn near .
She 54
was dressed in white muslin , with a hundred frills and flounces , and knots of pale-colored ribbon .
She 54
was bareheaded , but
she 54
balanced in
her 54
hand a large parasol , with a deep border of embroidery ; and
she 54
was strikingly , admirably pretty .
“ How pretty
they 55
are ! ”
thought
Winterbourne 29
, straightening
himself 29
in
his 29
seat , as if
he 29
were prepared to rise .
The young lady 54
paused in front of
his 29
bench , near
the parapet of
the garden 23
, which overlooked
the lake 57
56 .
The little boy 43
had now converted
his 43
alpenstock into a vaulting pole , by the aid of which
he 43
was springing about in the gravel and kicking it up not a little .
“
Randolph 43
, ” said
the young lady 54
, “ what ARE
you 43
doing ? ”
“
I 43
’m going up
the Alps 58
, ” replied
Randolph 43
.
“ This is the way ! ”
And
he 43
gave another little jump , scattering the pebbles about
Winterbourne 29
’s ears .
“ That ’s the way they come down , ” said
Winterbourne 29
.
“
He 29
’s
an American man 73
! ”
cried
Randolph 43
, in
his 43
little hard voice .
The young lady 54
gave no heed to this announcement , but looked straight at
.
“ Well ,
I 54
guess
you 43
had better be quiet , ”
she 54
simply observed .
It seemed to
Winterbourne 29
that
he 29
had been in a manner presented .
He 29
got up and stepped slowly toward
the young girl 54
, throwing away
his 29
cigarette .
“
This little boy 43
and
I 29
have made acquaintance , ”
he 29
said , with great civility .
In
Geneva 30
, as
he 29
had been perfectly aware ,
a young man 59
was not at liberty to speak to
a young unmarried lady 60
except under certain rarely occurring conditions ; but
here 0
at
Vevey 0
, what conditions could be better than these ?
--
a pretty American girl 54
coming and standing in front of
you 61
in
a garden 23
.
This pretty American girl 54
, however , on hearing
Winterbourne 29
’s observation , simply glanced at
him 29
;
she 54
then turned
her 54
head and looked over
the parapet 56
, at
the lake 57
and
the opposite mountains 62
.
He 29
wondered whether
he 29
had gone too far , but
he 29
decided that
he 29
must advance farther , rather than retreat .
While
he 29
was thinking of something else to say ,
the young lady 54
turned to
the little boy 43
again .
“
I 54
should like to know where
you 43
got that pole , ”
she 54
said .
“
I 43
bought it , ” responded
Randolph 43
.
“
You 43
do n’t mean to say
you 43
’re going to take it to
Italy 63
? ”