“I hope I would,” sez I, calmly, “upheld by Duty’s apron strings.” I wouldn’t have it knowed in Jonesville for a dollar bill that right there in the Emperor’s palace Josiah demeaned himself so, but he did say:
“I don’t want to hear any more about them infarnal strings.”
And a gorgeous official looked round at him in surprise and rebuke. Well, we didn’t stay a great while after that. We walked round a little longer through the magnificent rooms, and anon we met Arvilly. She wuz lookin’ through a carved archway at the distant form of the Emperor and unfastenin’ the puckerin’ strings of her work-bag, but I laid holt of her arm and sez:
“Arvilly, for pity sake help me find Robert and Dorothy.” She turned with me, and my soul soared up considerable to think I had already begun to help the powers and lighten their burdens. And pretty soon the rest of our party jined us, and we returned home to our tarven.
CHAPTER XXXIII
Miss Meechim wanted to visit Carlsbad, the great Bohemian watering place. She said it wuz a genteel spot and very genteel folks went there to drink the water and take the mud baths. And so we took a trip there from Vienna. It is only a twelve-hours’ journey by rail. Our road lay along the valley of the Danube, and seemed to be situated in a sort of a valley or low ground, till we reached the frontiers of Bohemia, but it wuz all interestin’ to us, for novelty is as refreshin’ to older ones as to children. Cheerful, clean-lookin’ little villages wuz scattered along the way, flourishin’ orchards and long fields of grass and grain, and not a fence or hedge to break the peaceful beauty of the picture.
Anon we entered a mountainous country with blue lakes and forests of tall pine trees and knowed we had entered Bohemia. We see gypsy tents anon or oftener, for what are gypsies but true Bohemians, wanderers at will, hither and yon.