I will eat his dinner, take a couple of glasses of his wine, make my bow to the ladies, go on board by eight or nine o'clock, and, having given them a dinner in return, shall have done my duty in the way of attention; after which I shall totally cut the connection.

I have no idea of their abominable fashion of forcing strangers to drink." "We shall see," said I; and having knocked the dust off our shoes, down we went to dinner.
Everything was plain, and suitable to the pretensions of a cottage.
There was no pressing to eat or drink during dinner; and in process of time the cloth was removed, the Ladies sipped a little sweet wine, and disappeared.
"Now for it," whispered my friend; "he has sent the women out of the way, that he may ply us the better." And I must own things looked rather suspicious; for our host, instead of sitting down again at the dinner-table, walked to a bow-window overlooking the anchorage, and exactly facing the setting sun, at that hour illuminating the whole landscape in the gorgeous style peculiar to combined mountain and lake scenery.

"Why should we not enjoy this pleasant prospect while we are discussing our wine ?" said the master of the house.

At that instant the door opened, and in walked the servant, as if he knew by intuition what was passing in his master's head.
"Tim," said our host, "put the card-table here in the bow-window, and give us some other glasses; also, if you have such a thing, bring up a bottle of claret." Tim nodded, smiled, and made the fitting adjustments.

The table was barely large enough to hold a noble long-corked bottle, for the fashion of claret decanters had not as yet reached that remote district of the empire.