Oh, what inclement weather! Now it rains and then it snows; it snows in the morning and rains in the afternoon; the devil alone knows what else he can invent, but anyhow the streets are full of mud. How can I reach Porunceanu's house?! If I hire a cab, I have to keep it waiting and pay through my nose… That' rather bad! Walking is out of the question: how can you bring your muddy boots into the man's house - particularly when he's a gentleman from whom you expect... To wait for a change in the weather is also out of the question, for my business is rather pressing! What can I do?... Oh, wonderful! At the corner of Brânzărie street there is a bootblack or shoeblack or whatever you call him; farther down, the third or fourth shop called "The Honest Merchant" sells galoshes. So I walk out of the house, reach the corner of Brânzărie street, have the bootblack clean my boots of mud, then go in at the shop, buy a pair of galoshes, put them on and go to Porunceanu's house. Wonderful! When you've got galoshes, you get rid of cabbies and of the obsession of the clock. Wherever you go, you may stay as long as you want! Let's go then. Let me look out of the window to see whether it is raining. No it isn't, yes it is, no it isn't! It isn't raining. It isn't raining, but the clouds are threatening!... Nevertheless, pick up courage! What a clever idea I had! Look at the galoshes I bought for twelve lei! As cabs go, twelve lei is wasted in a couple of days or so; the galoshes on the other hand can last me throughout the winter; for mud when it is muddy; for the cold when it is frosty.Oh, I think I've already reached Porunceanu's house. Yes, this is it. Let me ring the bell. "Is Mr Porunceanu in?" "Yes he is, Sir." "Please give him my card." "Yes, certainly, Sir." You see? How wise I was to buy galoshes: had I come in a hansom cab, every minute would be charged to my account. Moreover, when you drive in a cab, you go somewhere and you do not find your man at home, you're driven crazy with spite! And then there's the quandary: release the cabman and walk away, that doesn't suit your self-respect; willy-nilly, you must drive somewhere else where you've got no business - or just a little farther and pay him another leu for a whistle."Please come in, Sir." All right! So I was there, transacted my business, finished it. So let me roll a cigarette now. Oh! But how muddy my boots are! Where are my galoshes? I forgot them at Porunceanu's. What's to be done now? How can I retrieve my galoshes? Now I must by all means hire a cab: I can hardly walk and enter his house with such muddy boots. And I do need my galoshes for I have paid twelve lei for them; that would be the worst stupidity to buy another pair now. It seems I had been doomed to waste two lei on the cab by all means! "Gheorghe!" "Yessir!" "Clean and polish my shoes and then call me a cab." "Yessir!" "Would you like to see Mr Porunceanu?" "Yes, if that is no..." "Mr Porunceanu has just gone out." "Never mind. When I was here a short time ago I forgot my galoshes. So I've only come to pick them up.""Oh! The galoshes! So they belonged to you, Sir? I'm bringing them in a minute.""Turn the horses, cabby!" "Are they these, Sir?" "Yes, they are." "Would you like to put them on, Sir?" "No, not now. Better leave them on the floor of the cab. Thank you very much. Drive on, cabby!"The devil may take you, damned galoshes! It's for your sake alone that I have to pay the cabman two lei and, adding half a leu that I tipped to the footman for bringing them to me, it amounts to two and a half lei. "Gheorghe!" "Orders, Sir!" "Has anybody called during my absence?" "No.""All right. Oh! Did you pick up the galoshes from the cab?""What galoshes, Sir?" "My galoshes, the galoshes I had bought... And the forgot... And were now in the cab...""I didn't see them. I didn't know!" "See if you can stop the cabman." "He's gone already." "How's that? Did you pay him?""No, Sir, you paid him before getting off." "So he's gone with my galoshes?" "It seems so!""Bravo! So twelve lei for the galoshes and two and a half and… What number plate did the cab have?" "Well, Sir, I'm afraid I didn't notice."
by Th. D. Speranţia (1856-1929)
