from whom to seek advice, I instinctively ask the butler or the
coachman rather than a female friend; also, when a female friend has
consulted the Bradshaw in my behalf, I slip out and seek
confirmation from the butcher's boy or the milkman. Himself would
have laid out all our journeyings for us, and we should have gone
placidly along in well-ordered paths. As it is, we are already
pledged to do the most absurd and unusual things, and Ireland bids
fair to be seen in the most topsy-turvy, helter-skelter fashion
imaginable.

Francesca's propositions are especially nonsensical, being
provocative of fruitless discussion, and adding absolutely nothing
to the sum of human intelligence.

"Why not start without any special route in view, and visit the
towns with which we already have familiar associations?" she asked.
"We should have all sorts of experiences by the way, and be free
from the blighting influences of a definite purpose. Who that has
ever travelled fails to call to mind certain images when the names
of cities come up in general conversation? If Bologna, Brussels, or
Lima is mentioned, I think at once of sausages, sprouts, and beans,
and it gives me a feeling of friendly intimacy. I remember
Neufchatel and Cheddar by their cheeses, Dorking and Cochin China by
their hens, Whitby by its jet, or York by its hams, so that I am
never wholly ignorant of places and their subtle associations."

"That method appeals strongly to the fancy," said Salemina drily.
"What subtle associations have you already established in Ireland?"

"Let me see," she responded thoughtfully; "the list is not a long