Forthwith I arose, lit the gas, and wandered round and round the room, a white-stoled acolyte of science, with a towel in my hand, ready to take the life of any member of the extensive family of Culex Pipiens. Long was the search after the tireless musician, blowing his own trumpet as enthusiastically as any other musical genius. My wife mocked me as I danced about, flipping to the right and to the left; but at last Mrs. Mosquito, swanlike, sang a song, which (to me, at least) was her sweetest, as it was her last.
Chapter V.
SAFES AND BAGGAGE.
Shortly after this, while traveling in a palace car, and during the night, Mrs. Lawyer lost some of her paraphernalia, and felt strongly inclined to make a row about it; but I quoted the sublime words of somebody or other, “Let us have peace,” and then told her that the owners of sleeping cars—who receive pay in advance from travelers merely for the sleeping accommodations afforded by their cars, and this only from a particular class of persons, and for a particular berth, and for a particular trip—are not liable as innkeepers for money or property that may be stolen from the lodgers on their cars; and that, as they only furnish sleeping accommodation for travelers who have already paid the railway company—over whose line the cars run—for their transportation, and receive no part of the fare paid for transportation, they are not common carriers, nor are they liable for property lost or stolen from their carriages. Mr. Chester M. Smith, who lost $1,180 on the Pullman car “Missouri,” in the State of Illinois, in December, 1872, was the innocent cause of the enunciation of the law upon this point. The court held that a Pullman car is not a common inn—that it does not accommodate persons indiscriminately—does not furnish victual and lodging, but only lodging—affords no accommodation but a berth and bed, and a place and conveniences for toilet purposes—does not receive pay for caring, nor undertake to care, for the goods of travelers; but the accommodation afforded is the result of an express contract, and that the liabilities of innkeepers should not be extended to others.[180]
We had passed from one State into another, and had now taken up our quarters at a magnificent hotel (its name will not be mentioned, for I do not desire to injure any of the other houses). As we stepped out of the cab, we entered a vast and handsome office of white marble, and passed up to the splendid parlors and luxurious bed-rooms above. The way I wrote our names in the register, and asked for dinner in our private sitting-room, led the gentlemanly clerk to believe that myself and Mrs. Lawyer had but lately entered into a partnership for weal and woe; this I found when the elegantly attired waiters served our dinner. The whole service was one continued tribute to Love. On the soup tureen were little Cupids, training a huge turtle; on the fish plates, as mermaids and mermen, they were riding on salmon and dolphins; on the other dishes, these naked little rascals flew about among beautiful birds, hid under strawberry vines, or swung in spider-web hammocks from sprays of wild blackberry; they dug in ravines like mountain gnomes, and pried and lifted carrots with comical machinery, as though they were great bars and ingots of yellow gold. Some of the dish-covers were shaped like cabbages, and Cupids peeped from under every curling leaf; others, again, gathered the vintage and trod the grapes. Last of all, on the dessert service was represented the marriage of the queen of the flower fairies, each piece a different flower, with a love perched on it, some with torches, others with instruments of music; while the central stand represented the ceremony itself; a scarlet cardinal-flower was saying mass, and on the highest point of the dish, (which represented a church tower,) a chorus of these sprites of Venus were tugging at the stamens of a chime of fuchsias, like boys merrily pulling the ropes of wedding bells. Each piece differed from the others, but there was a love in every one. My wife was in raptures over the beautiful china, the exquisite elves, the graceful flowers, the delicate sentiments, the poetry in the artist’s soul thus moulded into form—hardened into a thing of beauty, a joy forever. She could not restrain her exclamations of delight, as course succeeded course, even in the presence of the sedate attendants. Each new beauty called forth a new expression of wonder and pleasure. She would scarce allow anything on her plate, so anxious was she to study the devices and designs. I was calmer, being older, hungrier, less ethereal, and feeling an inner consciousness that a heavy bill would be the successor of these fairy scenes.
Even this dinner came to an end, long though we toyed over the dessert. The china afforded a ceaseless topic of conversation, until at length little fairies of another kind began to hang upon the long black lashes which veiled my wife’s beautiful brown eyes, and we passed into our bed-chamber.
Over the mantel-piece of our dormitory hung a card, on which was printed the following:
“TAKE NOTICE.
“This building is fire-proof.
“Several robberies having taken place during the night, in the principal hotels, the proprietor respectfully requests all visitors to use the nightbolt.
“Money, jewelry, or articles of value are requested to be left at the bar, otherwise the proprietor will not hold himself responsible for any loss.