They use it in his family
for keeping the children in order.
The people of the inn seemed rather astonished at his behaviour.
They regarded him, with troubled looks, and then gathered together
among themselves and consulted in whispers.
"I evidently have not made myself sufficiently clear to these simple
peasants," said my friend to himself. "I must put more vigour into
this show."
Accordingly he rubbed and patted that part of himself to which I
have previously alluded - and which, being a modest and properly
brought-up young man, nothing on earth shall induce me to mention
more explicitly - with greater energy than ever, and added another
inch or two of smile; and he also made various graceful movements
indicative, as he thought, of friendly feeling and contentment.
At length a ray of intelligence burst upon the faces of his hosts,
and they rushed to a cupboard and brought out a small black bottle.
"Ah! that's done it," thought my friend. "Now they have grasped my
meaning. And they are pleased that I am pleased, and are going to
insist on my drinking a final friendly bumper of wine with them, the
good old souls!"
They brought the bottle over, and poured out a wineglassful, and
handed it to him, making signs that he should drink it off quickly.
"Ah!" said my friend to himself, as he took the glass and raised it
to the light, and winked at it wickedly, "this is some rare old
spirit peculiar to the district - some old heirloom kept specially
for the favoured guest."
And he held the glass aloft and made a speech, in which he wished
long life and many grand-children to the old couple, and a handsome
husband to the daughter, and prosperity to the whole village. They
could not understand him, he knew; but he thought there might be
that in his tones and gestures from which they would gather the
sense of what he was saying, and understand how kindly he felt
towards them all. When he had finished, he put his hand upon his
heart and smiled some more, and then tossed the liquor off at a
gulp.
Three seconds later he discovered that it was a stringent and
trustworthy emetic that he had swallowed. His audience had mistaken
his signs of gratitude for efforts on his part to explain to them
that he was poisoned, or, at all events, was suffering from acute
and agonising indigestion, and had done what they could to comfort
him.
The drug that they had given him was not one of those common, cheap
medicines that lose their effect before they have been in the system
half-an-hour. He felt that it would be useless to begin another
supper then, even if he could get one, and so he went to bed a good
deal hungrier and a good deal less refreshed than when he arrived at
the inn.
