Pennell, Joseph; Pennell, Joseph: Our sentimental journey through France and Italy (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1893)

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had sat on Madamds left, put his paper down
to comment on the advantages of naturalisation,
on which subject he had just been reading an
editorial. It was a great thing for the country,
he thought, that the children of foreigners should
be permitted to become Frenchmen.
But Mephistopheles was down upon him in an
instant. He would not hear of naturalisation.-
“ Mon Dieu! I am a Frenchman. I go to
America or Austria. A son is born to me there.
Is he an American or an Austrian ? No, Monsieur,
he is a Frenchman ! ” and he glared defiance.
—But the little man reasoned that, on the other
hand, France was too hospitable not to take in
strangers.
Mephistopheles swore it was not logical, and,
what was more, it was against la morale, and la
morale was prime. This was his clinching argu-
ment.
The dispute grew warm. They both left their
coffee and walked up and down the room with
great angry strides, beat themselves on their breasts,
threw their arms to right and left; one would have
thought blows were imminent. In passing, they
stopped simultaneously before the sportsman, who
sat near me.-
“ And you, sir, what do you say ? ”
“My