"Thee think o' thisen an' thi mother, an' leeav Mally to me—but if tha'rt beginnin to duff tha'd better get aght an leeav it to Peter an' Sammywell! if it worn't for thi age and respect aw have for thi family awd pitch thi cleean aght o' th' cab! Duffin! nah Mr. Peter awl put it to yo do yo think its likely,'at a chap what's kept a beer-haase at th' moorend all th' years'at awve done, whear thers been as monny as three or four rows in a wick, some wicks;—tho' aw alluskept a orderly haase, perleece'll tell yo soa if yo ax em,—an aw've seen chaps brayin one another to bits ommost, an awve nivver stirred aght o' mi cheer,—nah, do yo think aw should be likely to duff?"
"Your courage will not be called into requisition, so you need not be at all alarmed. This leads us to the Quartier Latin, let us get down here and try this."
It wor commin dusk an th' lamps wor bein leeted ith' streets, but inside all wor a blaze wi leet. It wor a big, rayther low raam, gay wi gold an colours an lukken glasses, an supported with a lot o' thin pillars covered up hawfway wi crimson velvet—seeats covered wi th' same stuff went all raand th' sides an' th' floor wor covered wi little marble tables, an stooils wi velvet tops, an altogether, th' place lukt varry grand an hardly seemed suitable for th' company at wor thear, for altho' they didn't luk like workin men, ther wor an untidy, unweshed, unkempt look abaat em'at aw hadn't noaticed in ony other lot. Peter gave th' order an in a minit a young woman, donned up like a playacter coom wi three bottles o' beer, an six glasses. Shoo put em all daan an Peter paid, an in a twinklin th' six glasses were filled, two moor lasses at didn't wear sleeves i' ther gaaons, but hung em on wi two narrow shoulder straps, an wi skirts made that length wol yo didn't need to wonder whether they wore garters or not,—coom an smiled an each takkin a glass, popt it off at one swig, (an they held a gill,) an filled em up agean, (for all bottles thear hold three gills) an withaat waitin to tak ther breeath, sent th' second to see after th' first, wiped ther lips an lukt as dry as if they hadn't tasted for a month. Th' empty bottles an glasses wor takken away, an wi a smile an a wave o' ther hand they went to attend to somdy else, leeavin us to sit as long ovver awr glass as we'd amind. Peter said we were too sooin to see th' place at its. best,—which meeans at its warst,—but he tell'd us at th' customers wor mooastly artists an students, an theas wimmen wor dressed up i' sich fantastic style to draw fowk thear, an it wor ther principal duty to get off as mich drink as they could, an at from 12 at nooin to 1 next mornin they oft took more nor 100 glasses o' beer, to say nowt abaat th' glasses o' liquors an wines they had in between. It wor hard to believe it, but after watching em for abaat an haar, aw could ha believed it if he'd sed 200, for we wornt moor nor an haar ith place, an aw saw one lass, net moor nor 20 year old, drink 15 glasses o' beer, one o' coffee and brandy, an one wine, an when we left shoo seemed as reight as if shoo hadn't had aboon twopenoth. After each glass shoo ate a couple o' shrimps aw suppooas to mak her thirsty for th' next. Peter sed they seldom lasted moor nor four years, for if it didn't kill em it awther made em bloated an ugly or browt on some disease, but wol they lasted they could mak throo 200 to 400 pounds a year, an during that time they wor generally living wi some student or artist as his mistress, an givin him all shoo could get, i' return for which, as sooin as shoo could hold her situation noa longer, he turned her into th' street, to add one moor to that swarm, estimated at 30,000 women, at live i' that fair, gay and fashionable city called Payris, by prostitution ov th' worse sooart, an this 30,000 doesn't include some thaasands moor, who carry on th' same trade, under th' sanction an protection ov ther government. Yo'll feel inclined to say, "Well, Sammy, we've heeard enuff o' that,—tell us summat else."
"Aw wish aw could tell yo summat else, an paint yo a true pictur, withaat havin to drag in that spectre,'at i ivvery guise o' revoltin ugliness, an heavenly beauty, haunts church, street, cafe, garden, river, and even holds its revel alike in th' perfumed chaymer, surrounded wi youth an innocence, an' in th' pestiferous stinkin den whear vice is life, and virtue all unknown. Noa wonder'at ther's a free exhibition at th' Morgue ivvery day, an "One more unfortunate" sleepin her long last sleep on that drippin stooan, all unconscious ov th' curious crowd at see in her limp limbs, an distorted face nowt moor nor a spectacle provided bi a thowtful government for their entertainment, but fail to leearn th' lesson'at it owt to taich."
France has her warriors,—her statesmen, an' her poets! Has'nt shoo one man, with a voice at can ring throo her fair cities—her vineyards, an' her lovely hamlets; at will raise it to rid her o' th' biggest curse under which a nation can grooan. Shoo's safer wi a thaasand invadin armies hemmin her raand, nor wi that enemy gnawin away at th' vitals ov her heart.
When we left th' brewery we had a drive up an' daan th' principal boulevards, an' it wor a treeat an' noa mistak. Th' mooin wor as breet varry near as a sun, an' th' gas lamps lukt to burn wi a yallo blaze at shed noa leet. Th' trees sparkled as they shook ther leaves an' th' buildins stood aght agean th' breet blue sky as if they'd been cut aght o' cleean card-booard. Men sauntered along puffin ther cigerettes, or set ith' front o' one o' th' cafes, en-joyin th' luxary o' havin nowt to do, an' knowin ha to do it. It wodn't interest yo to tell yo whear we went; for yo'at nivver wor thear ud be noa wiser an' yo at have been can tell for yorsen. It wor a long drive, an' we stopt at last at th' Arc de Triomphe de L'Etoile an' aw should think ther isnt sich another seet ith' world. Payris appears to lay at yor feet, an' strings o' gas leets mark aght ivvery principal street. Billy could'nt find words to express hissen, all he could get off wor, "E'e, gow! Sammy! E'e gow! By gum mun! A'a mun!"
It wor one o' them things whear yo could'nt help onybody: Aw did think'at Billy wor a bigger fooil nor me, but awm foorced to own'at he could describe it just as weel as me, for aw kept tryin to remember what awd leearnd aght o' th' bookshunary soas aw could say summat, but it wor noa use, aw could nobbut stare an' ax misen, in a whisper, whether aw wor i' this world or th' next.
Payris wor asleep. That rattle an' clang'at had caused a hum to flooat ovver th' city wor silent.—Aw lost misen i' thowt:—aw didnt see a city;—aw saw a wood, an' mi fancy tuk me throo it; all th' singin birds had dropt ther songs an' wor nestlin' i' ther cosy hooams, but ther still wor some lukkin aght for what they could catch—owls,—human owls,—wor nobbut makkin a start. Aw've oft seen th' owl stuck up as a symbol o' wisdom, but aw could nivver understand it: an' aw should be thankful if one o' them cliver chaps'at know soa mich wod kindly point aght to me whear th' sense is, i' sittin an' blinkin all th' day, when th' sun is makkin ivverything lovely, an' turnin aght at neet when all is dark an' solemn, to drop onto some timid little maase at wod ha been aght i' th' daytime if it dar. Noa,—aw nawther see wisdom nor principle ith' owl. Gie me a lark'at shaks his wings as sooin as th' sun sends aght his furst pale ray as an agent i' advance to tell th' world he's gooin to show agean, an' starts towards heaven whear he hings, a dot agean a dull blue dome, an' pours his melody on an awakenin eearth, cheerin the sad an' addin' joy to them whose cup wor full exceptin for those drops ov harmony.
Ther's summat at feels heavy o' yor heart when a gurt, bustlin city is asleep,—when th' solitary cab rattles wi a peevish din along a silent street—an' th' quiet steady traid o' th' watchman saands like th' pulse-beeat ov a district lapt i' sleep. We made it up'at we wod have a nod neet aght an' see th' dark side as weel as th' breet. If awd been a praiche'r aw could ha fun plenty o' subjects for a sarmon as we wandered raand. Ommost all th' places wor shut up and nubdy seemed to be abaat.
As we slowly trampt along, nah an' then a—(what-do-yo-call-em, we call em Bobbies i' England,) passed us, or we passed him, but Peter sed a word or two an' we wornt interfered wi. We coom anent one grand place whear th' winders wor blazin wi leet an' we went in. It wor another o' them grand shops sich as we'd seen soa monny on, but all along one side wor little raams screened off, an' they called em Cabinet particulier an' we went into one;—ther's noa mistak abaat th' luxury an' beauty o' theas little places, but it doesnt tak th' e'e ov a hawk to see even moor in one nor they'd wish aghtsiders to believe. We had'nt been long an' th' waiter wor nobbut bringin us th' furst cup o' coffee when in coom two wimmen, (aw call em wimmen becoss they wor ith' shape on em,) but Peter gave em to understand'at we did'nt want to add to th' number o' th' compny.