The Cairo bulletin., 1909-03-17
HER TRIP
TO EUROPE
Mrs. Brown Wanted Very Much to
Hear About II.

MIS-. DIdEh lliu just l0lul htu ilbih
that most delightful of all excursions,
her first trip to Europe, and while she
was still bubbling over with the eXpe
rience of travel and longing TO pour
them into some willing, listening ear
she met her friend Mrs. Brown just
outside of that ladys door, and was
promptly seized upon and carried
within for a cup of tea and a good
long talk
81 want you" said Mrs. Brown, en-
Enthusiastically, ito begin at the very
beginning of your trip from the mo-
ment you stepped onto the steamer
that took you over, and tell me every
thing that happened up to the moment
YOU stepped off of the steamer that
brought you home. Let me make you
perfectly comfortable in this big chair
and put this cushion at your back be-
fore | ring for tea
Mrs. Black thrilled with her first
real opportunity TO tell anybody any
thing about Europe She had always
seemed such a novice before when the
conversation turned on trips abroad,
and she realized that she was about
The only person in the world who
hadn't been over half a dozen times;
but here was kindly Mrs Brown, who
had never been over at all, and who
was perfectly willing to take a second
hand tour personally conducted by her
friend.
AS soon as the tea arrived and the
two ladies began to sip that innocen!
beverage before the cheeriest of fires,
Mrs, Brown turned to her friend,
Nov, begin at the very beginning
mind YOU" she said, "and don't skip
an incident till you come TO the end,
Mrs. Black cleared her throat expect.
autly. Il shant weary you with the de-
tails of preparation for the voyage,
she began, just like a story book, but
come at once to the time when jim
and / looked down from the upper
deck to the pier, which for few mo.
ments looked like a brisk handker
chief sale on bargain day Everybody
was fluttering his or her bit Of cam
brio, hats were being hoisted on sticks
and waves of hearty good-byes swept
over us till we were out of hear
ing"
Yes" interrupted her friend Mrs
Brown. sympathetically. Il know just
how it looked. You know, viii and !
went to Atlantic City this summer on
Wills new catboat, and the whole fam.
| lily came down to the wharf to see rs
Off You would really have thought
that We were going to cross the ocean
they made such tremendous fuss
about it.
will got The idea from the trip that
| Jack London and his wife are taking
only, of course, they crossed the ocean
while we stuck pretty close to shore
| but it was no end of lark, VIII says
| If p. & Q. goes up, and it's pretty GER
tain to go, he's going TO have a small
schooner next summer with room for
! four of us, and he has already decided
that you and Jim are to go cruising
with us If you can be content with
American waters after your European
experience.
20, but you are not telling me any
thing about your trip That's always
the way with people who come from
Europe. You can't get anything out o,
them about what they've seen or done
It's really downright selfish of them,
think not TO talk about their travels
TO the poor souls who have only
chance of seeing Europe through otnei
peoples eyes | am quite sure ii eve.
went over | should have plenty to tel
about it when ! came back.
But then. as VIII says / am natu
rally very observant. Why, often hi,
sister Jane and | go down town TO
gether for a mornings shopping, and
when we come home I can tell Wi!
about hundred things that I've seen
and while she sits perfectly quic
and silent. / don't mean that She
stupid, my dear. Far from It., being
4 graduate of Vassar, and all that
but she Just seems to be one OF The
unobservant sort.
Why, when she came from Atlantic
City in the spring she scarcely told us
anything about her trip except to ga,
hat she was very tired and spent mos
of her time in a rolling chair looking
out at the ocean. Fancy going to A.
lantic City to look out at the ocean
when there is so much to see on the
boardwalk.
Il like to study life, as / so oftca.
bad to tell viii when he refused 10 ht
dragged into those fascinating shops
And speaking of shops, go. thes
very tea cups at one of those distract
ing Japanese places on the boa -dwalk
Aren't they frafl and delicate hooking
But they were rAlly quite a bargain
my dear. There we're very few people,
at the auction that morning, and sol
they were knocked down to me at the
most absurd price imaginable. In
ashamed to tell you how little | paic
for Them. We brought them all Tho
way home in the catboat, too. without
so much as chipping one of them. Ill