98 SAM DARLING'S REMINISCENCES 



lie demanded a * bock/ which was also suppHed. 

 He tried to persuade us to go to a very attractive- 

 looking hotel hereabouts, and others of his kind 

 in the yard there joined in urging us to do so. On 

 this we became suspicious, and ordered our man 

 to drive, as he was told, to the 'Provence/ He 

 shrugged his shoulders and did so. 



" Arrived there we found the gold-braided 

 menial now officiating as porter. We entered the 

 grill-room, and it fell to me to give the various 

 orders of each member of our party. These needed 

 such thought to turn into French, that I fought for 

 time by calling for hors-d'oeuvre. Mr. Gubbins, 

 meantime, was well pleased with some excellent 

 bread, which we speedily finished, and asked for 

 more — without result. The hors-d'ceuvre were a 

 terror. I got a fish of sorts — on which a dog 

 would have delighted to roll had he found it on the 

 sea shore. The others had equally monstrous 

 * delicacies.' 



** Meanwhile I had given the orders ; but so long 

 was I explaining in French that kidneys for Mr. 

 Darling were to be lightly cooked, that, although I 

 did so at last and was perfectly understood, the 

 kidneys had meanwhile been cooked to leathern 

 consistency. Troubles now rained thick on us. 

 Mr. Gubbins called — and kept calling — for bread, 

 but it came not, and there was evidently great 



