'Will you really go? And what will you do, my dear, when you get there?' 'I haven't a notion,' I answered; 'that's where the fun comes in. But, anyhow, I shall have got there.' 'Oh, Brownie, you might starve!' 'And I might starve in London. In either place, I have only two hands and one head to help me.' 'But, then, here you are among friends. You might stop with me for ever.' I kissed her fluffy forehead. 'You good, generous little Elsie,' I cried; 'I won't stop here one moment after I have finished the painting and papering. I came here to help you. I couldn't go on eating your hard-earned bread and doing nothing. I know how sweet you are; but the last thing I want is to add to your burdens. Now let us roll up our sleeves again and hurry on with the dado.' 'But, Brownie, you'll want to be getting your own things ready. Remember, you're off to Germany on Monday.' I shrugged my shoulders. 'Tis a foreign trick I picked up in Switzerland. 'What have I got to get ready?' I asked. 'I can't go out and buy a complete summer outfit in Bond Street for twopence. Now, don't look at me like that: be practical, Elsie, and let me help you paint the dado.' For unless I helped her, poor Elsie could never have finished it herself. I cut out half her clothes for her; her own ideas were almost entirely limited to differential calculus. And cutting out a blouse by differential calculus is weary, uphill work for a high-school teacher. By Monday I had papered and furnished the rooms, and was ready to start on my voyage of exploration. I met[Pg 16] the Cantankerous Old Lady at Charing Cross, by appointment, and proceeded to take charge of her luggage and tickets. [Pg 16] Oh my, how fussy she was! 'You will drop that basket! I hope you have got through tickets, viâ Malines, not by Brussels— I won't go by Brussels. You have to change there. Now, mind you notice how much the luggage weighs in English pounds, and make the man at the office give you a note of it to check those horrid Belgian porters. They'll charge you for double the weight, unless you reduce it at once to kilogrammes. I know their ways. Foreigners have no consciences. They just go to the priest and confess, you know, and wipe it all out, and start fresh again
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