"
"It is also the fault of our police that it is too fond of the
newspapers, of posing before the public--it is a fault of human
nature, is it not?"
"You speak English so well, Mr. Martigny," I said, "that I have
wondered where you learned it."
"I was some years in England--the business of wine--and devoted myself
seriously to the study of the language. But I still find it sometimes
very difficult to understand you Americans--you speak so much more
rapidly than the English, and so much less distinctly. You have a way
of running your words together, of dropping whole syllables----"
"Yes," I smiled, "and that is the very thing we complain of in the
French."
"Oh, our elisions are governed by well-defined laws which each one
comprehends, while here----"
"Every man is a law unto himself. Remember, it is the land of the
free----"
"And the home of the license, is it not?" he added, unconscious of
irony.
Yes, I decided, I was very fortunate in gaining Martigny's
acquaintance. Of course, after he opened his business, he would have
less time to devote to me; but, nevertheless, we should have many
pleasant evenings together, and I looked forward to them with considerable
anticipation. He was interesting in himself--entertaining, with that
large tolerance and good humor which I have already mentioned, and
which was one of the most striking characteristics of the man.
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