Page:The autobiography of a Pennsylvanian.djvu/419

 and then we returned to Savannah, having made a round of about twenty miles.

I ventured an interview on the negro question, which was published and kindly received.

From Savannah, through a country apparently not very thrifty, we went to Atlanta, an enterprising modern city exemplifying the new life of the South. There Governor Joseph M. Terrell and Mrs. Terrell gave us a reception at the executive mansion. A young lady about nineteen came up to be presented and the governor, introducing her, said:

“This is the most beautiful young lady in Atlanta, and I want you to kiss her.” Southern hospitality grated a little on Northern phlegm. The girl stood blushing before me. I said to her: “That is not the first time I have known a man to try to give away what does not belong to him.” I did not kiss her. Possibly it was a mistake.

At Atlanta I met the state treasurer and this colloquy occurred.

I.—“What is the length of Georgia?”

He.—“About four hundred miles.”

I.—“A hundred miles longer than Pennsylvania. What is the breadth of Georgia ’ ? ”

He.—“About three hundred miles.” Rh