Enderby went off in high dudgeon, and I took a long ramble under the trees. It was not long till I shook off the effects of my grammatical skirmishes and began to enjoy the day to the full.
In point of fact I made several sketches, and returning in a couple of hours had luncheon successfully. That was comparatively easy. I had merely to say, "Koffie!--Kaas!"--and the meal was ready.
Being by this time a trifle tired, I conceived the idea of driving back to the Hague, for it seemed too far to walk. In this design I was encouraged by the presence of a considerable number of vehicles with horses, standing about.
On examining my dictionary to get the Dutch idiom for 'drive home' I discovered three curious translations for drive: 'rijden', 'drijven' (used, I was informed, of ice) and 'jagen.'
Now seeing that 'rijden', meant 'to ride', and 'jagen,' to 'hunt,' and the other word was restricted to icebergs, there really appeared to be a lack of the precise term I needed.
Obliged thus to circumscribe my meaning, I rapped on my green table and enquired, "Kellner, kan ik een paard hebben?"
The waiter mumbled inarticulately, coughed apologetically, and vanished like a shadow.
Presently he came back with a red-faced man who seemed to be the proprietor of the Uitspanning. What I wanted to say was, "Have you a horse disengaged to drive me to the Hague!" but owing to the defective character of the Dutch vocabulary this could not be said directly, and I was obliged to go round the point.
I went round it thus: "Mag ik beleefd vragen, Mynheer, heeft U paarden beschikbaar om my te dragen?"
This sounded diplomatic and neat, and was certainly clear; but the apoplectic proprietor looked askance.
He paused and endeavoured to transfix me with his beady eyes and read my inmost consciousness. This being impossible, he condescended to the gruff question: "Wou meneer een peerd koope?"
"Koopen?" I replied in astonishment, "oh niet koopen! Gunst! ashjeblieft niet."
"Rijen, graag," I agreed; "gaarne rijden; maar--ik ben niet in staat het paard terug te zenden. En ... en ik heb geen ruimte in mijn kamers voor een paard."
"Wat dan?" said he rudely, with a kind of a dull glare in his black eyes.
I was getting into deep water--there was no use blinking the fact--and here was this dreadful man growing more enraged and suspicious every moment. Perhaps after all I could make something of those three doubtful dictionary words. "Kan u niet," I asked with some asperity, "kan oe niet, mijnheer, mij laten jagen naar den Haag?"