THE GOLOSHES OF FORTUNE. 57

So far it had gone well, But now one o. the men began to
speak of a pestilence which he said had been raging a few years
ago: he meant the plague of 1484. The councillor supposed he
meant the cholera, and so the conversation went on tolerably.
The Freebooters’ War of 1490 was so recent that it could not
escape mention. The English pirates had taken ships from the
very wharves, said the man; and the councillor, who was well
acquainted with the events of 1801, joined in manfully agairist
the English. The rest of the talk, however, did not pass over so
well; every moment there was a contradiction. The good bache-
lor was terribly ignorant, and the simplest assertion of the coun-
cillor seemed too bold or too fantastic. They looked at each
other, and when it became too bad, the bachelor spoke Latin,
in the hope that he would be better understood, but it was of
no use.

“ How are you now?” asked the hostess, and she plucked the
councillor by the slecve.

Now his recollection came back ; in the course of the conver-
sation he had forgotten everything that had happened.

“Good Heavens! where am I?” he said, and he felt dizzy when
he thought of it.

“We’ll drink claret, mead, and Bremen beer,” cried one of the
guests, “and you shall drink with us.”

Two girls came in. . One of them had on acap of two colours.
They poured out drink and bowed: the councillor felt a cold
shudder running all down his back. ‘“ What’s that? what’s that?”
he cried; but he was obliged to drink with them. They took
possession of the good man quite politely. He was in despair,
and when one said that he was tipsy he felt not the slightest doubt
regarding the truth of the statement, and only begged them to
procure him a droschky. Now they thought he was speaking
Muscovite.

Never had he been in such rude vulgar company.

“One would think the country was falling back into heathen-
ism,” was his reflection. “ This is the most terrible moment of
my life.”

But at the same time the idea occurred to him to bend down
under the table, and then to creep to the door. He did so; but
just as he had reached the entry, the others discovered his in-
tention, They seized him by the feet, and now the goloshes, to
his great good fortune, came off, and—the whole enchantment
vanished. ;

The councillor saw quite plainly, in front of him. a Jamp burning,
and behind it a great building ; everything looked familiar and
splendid. It was East Street, as we know it now. He lay with
his legs turned towards a porch, and opposite to him sat the
watchman asleep.

“Good Heavens! have I been lying here in the street dream-