Fiction > Book editions > London, 1885 - Prince Otto

24 PRINCE OTTO
not the first by many who has slept well below
my roof,' continued the old gentleman, mount-
ing the stairs before his guest ; ' for good food,
lionest wine, a grateful conscience, and a little
pleasant chat before a man retires, are worth all
the possets and apothecary's drugs. See, sir,'
and liere he opened a door and ushered Otto
into a littl ^ whitewashed sleeping-room, ' here
you are in port. It is small, but it is airy, and
the sheets are clean and kept in lavender. The
window, too, looks out above the river, and
there's no music like a little river's. It plays
the same tune (and that's the favourite) over
and over again, and yet does not weary of it
like men fiddlers. It takes the mind out of
doors ; and though we sliould be grateful for
good houses, there is, after all, no house like
God's out-of-doors. A.nd lastly, sir, it quiets a
man down like saying his prayers. So here,
sir, I take my kind leave of you until to-morrow ;
and it is my prayerful wish that you may
shimber like a prince.'
And the old man, with the twentieth courte-
ous inclination, left his guest alone.