"The heat, fatigue, and discomfort of the last four days had almost
worn out Mrs. Shortridge's strength, and now suggested to Lady Mabel
some sage reflections on travel in general, as the result of her
experience.

"Traveling is certainly one of the pleasures of life, with this
peculiarity, that it affords most pleasure when the journey is over.
With all the interest and excitement attending it, there are some
drawbacks. We gratify our curiosity at times at no little cost. In the
search after strange manners, the traveler may have to adopt them; in
inspecting the various conditions under which men can live, we must
often subject ourselves to these conditions, and thus acquire
practical experience in place of theoretical knowledge. We cannot,
like Don Cleofus, command the services of Asmodeus, to enable us to be
lookers-on without becoming parties in the scenes we witness. To know
how the Arab lives, we must for a time become an Arab; and to pry into
the inner mysteries of Hottentot life, you must make yourself a
Hottentot."

"And to estimate the prisoner's woes," L'Isle suggested, "you must try
the virtues of a dungeon--musty straw, and bread and water."

"That would be buying the knowledge dearly," said she; "but I would
like to try how the life of a nun would suit me."

"It would suit you the least of all women," said Mrs. Shortridge.
"You might die in the cloister, but could not live there."

"Oh, I am sure I could stand a short novitiate, say three or six
months," exclaimed Lady Mabel.