We first tried the mother, but she, in addition to being of a singularly taciturn, indifferent disposition, spoke nothing but German. The little boy answered only with a negative or affirmative. The commodore of the party, however, knew some words of French, and some of English, and we were able to understand what she told us with no more difficulty than arose from the oddity of the circumstances. The following is the dialogue that took place between us, with her polyglott part translated into common English.
"Where are you from, my little lass?"
"Is it me, sir? Oh, I am from New York."
"From New York! What were you doing there!"
"Keeping my father's room, sir: he is a journeyman."
"And what brings you to Europe?"
"My father sent me to bring over mother."
"Sent you."
"Yes, sir; and because my brother could not be left in the room all day when my father was out at work, I took him with me."
"What! and you two little children crossed the ocean to fetch your mother?"