Through the Land of the SerbDurham, M. E. (Mary Edith)
History
Through the Land of the Serb
Durham, M. E. (Mary Edith)
Montenegro -- Description and travel; Serbia -- Description and travel
When I woke, quite refreshed, the sun was streaming through the cracked
shutters. I heard my neighbours shake themselves and issue forth, so I
shook myself and issued forth too. Monsieur, Madame, and the
gentleman-who-was-not-married were all flat on the floor blowing up the
fire. They were enchanted to see me and hear I had had a good night, and
shook hands enthusiastically. Except that their hair was a little
rougher, they looked just as they had the night before, but by the
bright morning-light I saw that Madame's dirty grey jacket was really
purple silk with a silver pattern, and had once been very gorgeous.
Washing was my chief idea, and I told Monsieur I should like some water.
He replied the coffee would be ready in a minute. I said it was for my
hands, so he fetched half a tumblerful and poured it over them. As they
had not been washed for twenty-four hours, it made very little
difference. I indicated a tiny tin basin. Madame understood at once, and
filled it for me. I took it to my room, and she followed. Her delight
and astonishment when she found I had taken the precaution of bringing
soap with me were really beautiful, and the sponge was an article she
had never seen before. She immediately called to her husband, and he and
the gentleman-who-was-not-married hurried to see the sight. They danced
with glee when they saw how the water ran out of the holes, and were all
seized with a wild desire to try it. This I steadily refused to
understand in any language. Owing, indeed, to the scarcity of water and
the quantity of spectators, the wash was hardly satisfactory. They
forgot the sponge in the joys of seeing me brush my teeth. A tooth-brush
was a complete novelty. Monsieur, whose teeth were as white as a dog's,
begged to be allowed to use it only for a moment, but just then the
coffee opportunely boiled over, they rushed to the rescue, and I was
saved.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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