330 SPEEDY AND EFFECTUAL 



we were upon the point of taking our departure, 

 we observed that it was a very extravagant one, 

 and that the charges were exceedingly exorbitant, 

 the magical letters, "CM." being written on the 

 top of the charges. The landlord insisted that it 

 was quite correct, and it became somewhat diffi- 

 cult to know what to do, as he positively refused 

 to abate one kreutzer of the amount, when it 

 occurred to one of us that the charges in the bill 

 were the identical ones he had read in the carte 

 the evening before, but with this difference, that 

 the carte was made in schein, whilst the account 

 was in Mlinz. The landlord was immediately 

 told, that it was evident it was a mistake, as his 

 charges in our bill corresponded in the figures, 

 but that " CM." had been incorrectly, and pro- 

 bably inadvertently, written on the top. No, he 

 would not listen to a word. He vowed and swore 

 that the carte was CM. too (although it is an 

 invariable rule, that when nothing is written over 

 the florin it means the schein), and insisted most 

 positively on our paying the whole amount. We 

 then made inquiries at other hotels, and found 

 that the usual charges in Temesvar were exactly 

 the same in schein florins as this man's were in 



