Life in La Plata 241 



by looking at his empty plate. Thinking that the 

 waiter might be deaf, the German repeated the obser- 

 vation in a louder tone, only to receive the same reply, 



' Si, senor. ' Then he fairly shouted the words at the 

 waiter, who rushed off, and returned with a tray covered 

 with a second instalment of steaming viands, duplicat- 

 ing the first order. By this time the German gentleman 

 was beside himself. Holding the pocket-dictionary 

 in his hand and shaking it in the face of the waiter, and 

 looking in disdain at the table, he roared the words, 



' Como mucho ? ' The waiter ran to the manager, in- 

 forming him that the German gentleman at the table 

 which he was serving was undoubtedly insane. The 

 manager, who fortunately spoke the German language, 

 came up and asked the cause of the trouble. An explana- 

 tion followed. 'Ah, but,' said the manager, "you 

 should not have said 'Como mucho? '\ you should have 

 said ' Cuanto ? ' and it would have been all right. After 

 telling my waiter three times that you are a heavy feeder 

 he naturally supposed you wished to be helped to a 

 second portion. * One of my friends, who some years 

 ago visited the United States, provoked my mirth by 

 telling me a story at his own expense of a little blunder 

 which he unconsciously made upon his arrival in 

 New York. Presenting a letter of introduction to one 

 of the prominent citizens of Gotham, the latter cor- 

 dially invited him to dine at his home on the following 

 evening. After accepting the invitation he said, 'I 

 suppose it will be in order for me to come in my night- 

 clothes. ' The amused look on the face of his ac- 

 quaintance prompted him to ask questions, and he 

 discovered the idiomatic difference between 'night- 

 clothes' and "evening dress.' As these tales were 

 told me after my attempt to discourse upon paleon- 



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