"Alongside the quai stood the waiting boat train... Porters, in a mix of French and rudimentary English, shepherded the day's arrivals onto the train... On to Paris we sped, with no stops in between."

"He was offended. His Spanish honor had been insulted. By now pretty thoroughly unnerved, I began to wonder if he carried a knife."

"Leaving the American Express office (in Naples), I was (approached) by a somewhat elderly man who asked, in English, and in a pure, high soprano voice, 'Did you find what you want?'... To my racing mind instantly came what little I knew of castrati as they are known in Italy."

"I saw myself as a developing expatriate... With no effort I could picture myself living in Paris... but I recognized that it all had to end. Reality had caught up with me."