United States or San Marino ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Yet it must not be supposed that the outset of Iglesias' spiritual journey was wholly serene, free from obstacle or hesitation, from risk of untoward selection, or rejection, of the safe way. Many roads, and those bristling with contradictory signposts, presented themselves. Noisy touts, each crying up his own special mode and means of conveyance, rushed forth at every turn.
One of the boys had gone after the shoes that Bob had thrown off a distance from the course. "Ritchie," he said gravely, "feel there." His leader took the shoe, ran his hand into it, and looked into it. "Oh, shame! shame!" he exclaimed with a wrathy face. "Whoever did this deserves to be tarred and feathered." "What is it?" inquired Frank. "An old trick among touts and welchers.
"My dear fellow, certainly NOT! The Holy Land, invested by touts, and overrun by tourists, would neither appeal to my imagination nor my sentiments and in its present state of vulgar abuse and unchristian sacrilege, it is better left unseen by those who wish to revere its associations, . . don't you think so?"
He was a winner by a short head as they passed the post, and old John Farrier could not hide his satisfaction. "He's the best plucked 'un in England to-day, lady, and you may put your wardrobe on him after that. Be quick about it though, for there'll be no odds to speak of when the touts have written to-day's work in the newspapers. Go and telegraph your commissions now.
But it is surpassed by a hundred delightful things in "The Visitor's Handybook," which the touts in New Antwerp, ignorant of its treasures, press upon the traveller gratis.
As we were delayed by a little accident it was getting dark when we rumbled along below the great wall of Peking into the noisy station alive with the clamour of rickshaw boys and hotel touts. In fifteen minutes I was in my comfortable quarters at the Hôtel des Wagons Lits, keen for the excitement of the first view of one of the world's great historic capitals.
"When I went home, Nancy perceiving me to be rather sprung, and my een no as they ought to be, said to me 'Where have you been, Nicholas, until this time o' nicht? "'Touts! said, I, 'what need ye mind? It is a hard maiter that a body canna stir out owre the door but ye maun ask 'where hae ye been? I'm my own maister, I suppose at least after business hours.
Our horses were thoroughly cheered up, and we passed through the long streets of the town at a lively trot, a thing Jo was taught as a child to consider bad form. A semi-transparent little man in a black hat stood on the hotel steps beckoning to us. But we had no use for hotel touts, and waved our sticks saying, "Hospital." He seemed curiously disappointed.
"Onc ne furent a touts toutes graces donnees." So we see in the gift of eloquence, wherein some have such a facility and promptness, and that which we call a present wit so easy, that they are ever ready upon all occasions, and never to be surprised; and others more heavy and slow, never venture to utter anything but what they have long premeditated, and taken great care and pains to fit and prepare.
They pay several dozen lions for those apartments to the Council to you, I should say." Graham still felt a difficulty with the coinage, and this mention of a dozen lions brought him abruptly to that matter. In a moment the screaming temples and their swarming touts were forgotten in this new interest.
Word Of The Day