Page:Neuroomia.djvu/29

Rh glad it was so. They were of the same colour as myself, and I could see at a glance that they belonged to the same race. What impressed me most, however, was their fine appearance. I heard them talk, and was taken aback, for they spoke a language I knew not. But what mortified me most of all were the ladies, who took a few significant glances at my apparel, and then seemed immensely amused, whereupon I turned my back towards them till they had passed. Up to the present I had always thought that my “claw-hammer” coat (though perhaps a little the worse for wear) and “pocket-felt” had a decidedly respectable appearance; but I now, however, began to be doubtful about the matter, and went on my way feeling very dejected. The men in the conveyance, however, were not dressed like myself, but wore embroidered cloaks on their shoulders, while the ladies wore neat, dark, plain, closely fitting dresses, not unlike those worn by many of our women.

I now began to approach the outskirts of the city, and saw many things that were new to me, The road I followed brought me to the principal street near the end farthest removed from the bay. It was wide, and ran in a straight line up a gentle incline in the direction of the water. The