Oh, go to the pier, you old fool--that's where we want to go!"

We reasoned calmly with Dan that it was useless to speak to this

foreigner in English--that he had better let us conduct this business in

the French language and not let the stranger see how uncultivated he was.

"Well, go on, go on," he said, "don't mind me. I don't wish to

interfere. Only, if you go on telling him in your kind of French, he

never will find out where we want to go to. That is what I think about

it."

We rebuked him severely for this remark and said we never knew an

ignorant person yet but was prejudiced. The Frenchman spoke again, and

the doctor said:

"There now, Dan, he says he is going to allez to the douain. Means he is

going to the hotel. Oh, certainly--we don't know the French language."

This was a crusher, as Jack would say. It silenced further criticism

from the disaffected member. We coasted past the sharp bows of a navy of

great steamships and stopped at last at a government building on a stone

pier. It was easy to remember then that the douain was the customhouse

and not the hotel. We did not mention it, however. With winning French

politeness the officers merely opened and closed our satchels, declined

to examine our passports, and sent us on our way. We stopped at the

first cafe we came to and entered. An old woman seated us at a table and

108

The Innocents Abroad