filling a flat bottle with coffee. He had poured
some coffee out of the coffee pot into the pitcher of hot milk, which
had still a considerable quantity of hot milk remaining in it, and then,
after putting some sugar into it, and waiting for the sugar to dissolve,
he had commenced pouring it into the flat bottle.
[Illustration: PREPARING FOR THE JOURNEY.]
"We may like a little coffee too," said Mr. George, "as well as the
oranges. We can drink it out of my drinking cup."
Rollo put his oranges into Mr. George's bag, for his own bag was now
full. When all was ready, and the hotel bill was paid, Mr. George and
Rollo got into a carriage which the waiter had sent for to come to the
door, and set off for the diligence office. It was only half past seven
when they arrived there. Rollo saw what time it was by the great clock
which was put up on the front of one of the buildings towards the court
yard.
"We are too early by half an hour," said Rollo.
"Yes," said Mr. George, "in travelling over new ground we must always
plan to be too early, or we run great risk of being too late."
"Never mind," said Rollo, "I am glad that we are here before the time,
for now I can go around and see the other diligences getting ready to go
off."
So Rollo began to walk about under the portico, or piazza, to the
various diligences which were getting ready to set out on the different
roads. There was one where there was a gentleman and two ladies who were
quite in trouble. I suppose that among the girls who may read this book
there may be many who may think that it must necessarily be a very
agreeable thing to travel about Europe, and that if they could only
go,--no matter under what circumstances,--they should experience an
almost uninterrupted succession of pleasing sensations. But the truth
is, that travelling in Europe, like every other earthly source of
pleasure, is very far from being sufficient of itself to confer
happiness. Indeed, under almost all the ordinary circumstances in which
parties of travellers are placed, the question whether they are to enjoy
themselves and be happy on any particular day of their journey, or to be
discontented and miserable, depends so much upon little things which
they did not at all take into the account, or even foresee at all in
planning the journey, that it is wholly uncertain when you look upon a
party of travellers that you meet on the road, whether they are really
having a good time or not.
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