But, Lord bless you, cook a Frenchman any way you please, and you can't disguise him.

Natur' will out, in spite of all, and the name of a Frencher is written as plain as any thing in his whiskers, and his hair, and his skin, and his coat, and his boots, and his air, and his gait, and in everythin', but only let him open his mouth, and the cat's out of the bag in no time, ain't it?
They are droll boys, is the French, that's a fact.
"Well, there was four on 'em dismounted, a holdin' of their hosses by the bridle, and a standin' near a spring of nice cool water; and there was a fifth, and he was a layin' down belly flounder on the ground, a tryin' to drink out of the runnin' spring.
"'Parley vous French,' sais I, 'Mountsheer ?' At that, they sot to, and larfed again more than ever, I thought they would have gone into the high strikes, they hee-hawed so.
"Well, one on 'em, that was a Duke, as I found out afterwards, said 'O yees, Saar, we spoked English too.' "'Lawful heart!' sais I, 'what's the joke ?' "'Why,' sais he, 'look there, Sare.' And then they larfed agin, ready to split; and sore enough, no sooner had the Leftenant layed down to drink, than the Prince's hoss kneeled down, and put his head jist over his neck, and began to drink too.

Well, the officer couldn't get up for the hoss, and he couldn't keep his face out of the water for the hoss, and he couldn't drink for the hoss, and he was almost choked to death, and as black in the face as your hat.

And the Prince and the officers larfed so, they couldn't help him, if they was to die for it.
"Sais I to myself, 'A joke is a joke, if it tante carried too far, but this critter win be strangled, as sure as a gun, if he lays here splutterin' this way much longer.' So I jist gives the hoss a dab in the mouth, and made him git up; and then sais I, 'Prince,' sais I, for I know'd him by his beard, he had one exactly like one of the old saint's heads in an Eyetalian pictur, all dressed to a pint, so sais I, 'Prince,' and a plaguy handsum man he is too, and as full of fun as a kitten, so sais I, 'Prince,' and what's better, all his officers seemed plaguy proud and fond of him too; so sais I, 'Prince, voila le condition of one colonist, which,' sais I, 'Prince, means in English, that leftenant is jist like a colonist.' "'Commong,' sais he, 'how is dat ?' "'Why' sais I, 'Prince, whenever a colonist goes for to drink at a spring of the good things in this world, (and plaguy small springs we have here too,) and fairly lays down to it, jist as he gets his lips cleverly to it, for a swig, there is some cussed neck or another, of some confounded Britisher, pops right over him, and pins him there.

He can't get up, he can't back out, and he can't drink, and he is blacked and blued in the face, and most choked with the weight.' "'What country was you man of ?' said he, for he spoke very good for a Frenchman.
"With that I straightened myself up, and looked dignified, for I know'd I had a right to be proud, and no mistake; sais I, 'Prince, I am an American citizen.' How them two words altered him.