48 TEE GREAT THIRST LAND. 



when, to the surprise of the guest, he found, as an item 

 in his account, a sovereign loaned J:o toss with, and ten 

 shillings for wine lost on the occasion ! Several were 

 acquainted with the circumstances of the case, and when 

 the denouement came our mirth was hilarious. It was 

 one of those peculiar things this great genius could do 

 without any one blaming him. 



About our host we had another quaint story. When 

 Germany was supposed to be a power of no importance 

 he was residing in one of our colonies where all the 

 inhabitants were English ; so he resolved to be a subject 

 of our gracious Queen. For thirty shillings that privi- 

 lege was accorded him. After that, in different localities 

 to which he was called, he became a Scotchman and an 

 Irishman ; for the first he paid one pound, for the last 

 two shillings. He was now happy ; who could say that 

 he was not a Briton ? What potentate had a lien upon 

 him but the monarch " whose flag has braved a thousand 

 years the battle and the breeze ? " But the blast of the 

 tocsin of war bellowed throughout Europe Germany 

 and Trance were in arms to destroy each other, and, to 

 the surprise of many, Mr. Prefer in particular, the 

 former great power conquered. There was grief in his 

 heart for what he had done ; would he not sooner belong 

 to the great Teuton race ? Yes, certainly ! So he wrote 

 to the English, Scotch, and Irish officials to whom he 

 had paid the various sums, with a polite request that 

 his money might be returned. To his great surprise no 

 answer has been received, not even up to the present 

 moment. " Ah," he used ever to apostrophise, " the 

 English Government do know how to look after JSTo. 1." 



Well, we were most comfortable at his hotel, 

 although we used occasionally to take wine with him 



