A Sportsman 187 



referring to our dinner the evening before, I asked the 

 name of our guest, as I did not catch it, to which my 

 friend answered by saying, "Why, that was Charles 

 Dickens!" I met Mr. Dickens afterward in London 

 during my frequent visits there, and again in Boston, 

 during his lecturing tour in the United States. 



I DINED one evening at the house of Emile de Girar- 

 din, the noted owner and editor of La Libert^, 

 whose salon, presided over by Madame Girardin, was 

 noted as one of the most social and political centres of 

 Paris. I was seated beside a Frenchman who spoke 

 English fluently, and who had travelled much over the 

 world and particularly in America, and who indicated 

 so much interest in Colorado that I dwelt upon it more 

 than I otherwise should. This gentleman proved to 

 be Mr. Geise, a prominent official in the Credit Fon- 

 cier, an important financial institution of Paris. 



Before I left Boston, in conversation with Oakes 

 Ames with mention of my proposed departure for 

 Paris, Mr. Ames remarked that as General Dix was 

 there, and President of the Union Pacific Railroad, 

 the French people could perhaps be interested in 

 it, and if so the road would be glad to get a loan 

 there on its bonds. Those who are familiar, as I 

 am, with the early history of the Union Pacific Rail- 

 road know the struggles it had to sustain itself in the 

 first part of its building. It was largely discredited in 

 business circles, and found, despite the large gifts of 

 lands given by the government and the government's 

 credit in bonds, that at various times it seemed as if 



