Page:In defense of Harriet Shelley, and other essays.djvu/138

 MARK TWAIN

One day I was going down the Grand Canal in a gondola, when I heard a shout behind me, and looked around to see what the matter was; a gondola was rapidly following, and the gondolier was making signs to me to stop. I did so, and the pursuing boat ranged up alongside. There was an American lady in it a. resident of Venice. She was in a good deal of distress. She said :

&quot; There s a New York gentleman and his wife at the Hotel Britannia who arrived a week ago, expect ing to find news of their son, whom they have heard nothing about during eight months. There was no news. The lady is down sick with despair; the gentleman can t sleep or eat. Their son arrived at San Francisco eight months ago, and announced the fact in a letter to his parents the same day. That is the last trace of him. The parents have been in Europe ever since; but their trip has been spoiled, for they have occupied their time simply in drifting restlessly from place to place, and writing letters everywhere and to everybody, begging for news of&quot; their son; but the mystery remains as dense as ever. Now the gentleman wants to stop writing and go calling. He wants to cable San Francisco. He has never done it before, because he is afraid of of he doesn t know what death of his son, no doubt. But he wants somebody to advise him to cable; wants me to do it. Now I simply can t; for if no news came, that mother yonder would die. So I have chased you up in order to get you to sup port me in urging him to be patient, and put the thing off a week or two longer; it may be the

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