24 THE UPPER YUKON 



was Knight, took the man out in a carriage 

 and drove him all around the city and its en- 

 virons and allowed him to inspect every one 

 of the numerous bridges that cross the Schuyl- 

 kill River. Each bridge was carefully ex- 

 amined, and at the end of each inspection the 

 man would praise it faintly, and then start with 

 his "buts." It was not like this or that bridge 

 in England, "you know." Finally the Girard 

 Avenue bridge, built and opened about the 

 time of the Centennial Exhibition in 1876, 

 was reached. This bridge is generally con- 

 sidered to be a model of architectural beauty, 

 and as Dr. Knight explained its cost, the time 

 taken in its erection, and its dimensions, the 

 man was so much impressed with it that he 

 made a tour of the upper and lower decks, 

 and also went down to the river's edge to look 

 it over from water level. Then he com- 

 menced to praise it, but soon having exhausted 

 all the compliments that he could find to say 

 in its favor, he came to the inevitable "but." 



Dr. Knight at once lost his temper. "Oh, 

 damn your 'buts' — what's the matter now?" 



"Don't be angry, doctor," the man replied. 

 "I was just going to say that the bridge is 

 creditable in every respect, but it doesn't have 

 as many people crossing it as London Bridge.'* 



