Page:Travel letters from New Zealand, Australia and Africa (1913).djvu/318

 *can boarding-house, to live. And here is where Mr. Atterbury's baseness developed: he ate as heartily of the boarding-house fare as he had ever eaten of his wife's cooking Although the incident happened years ago, Mrs. Atterbury is still mad about it. "And," she added, in telling of her wrongs, "some people say I am a pretty fair cook. After that, I quit the kitchen for good, and have been boarding ever since." Their young gentleman son, Manfred Atterbury, is afraid to take sides in the controversy, but he did say that his father doesn't pay much attention to what he eats; that when he goes to the table he usually carries American newspapers or magazines with him, and doesn't eat anything at all unless his attention is called to the fact that the body requires a certain amount of nourishment The American women I meet here all say American men are more considerate of their wives than the men of any other nation. I believe that at home we men are rather unpopular as husbands, and that our conduct attracts a good deal of unfavorable criticism from American wives; but abroad we are everywhere toasted because of our devotion to our women-folks At the dinner tonight, an American woman said: "Another reason I want to go home: I want to see pretty girls again." There are not many pretty women over here, whereas America is full of them; particularly in dull towns Another guest at the dinner tonight was H. T. Hofmeyer, a prominent Boer lawyer of Johannesburg, and who has just served two terms as mayor. He is much interested in American newspapers, magazines, books, and citizens. The ex-mayor and Mr. Gunsaulus, the Amer