r her, then we all made ourselves as comfortable as
possible while we waited for the relief train.

"We found out then about the wreck, and the chief thing we could find
out anywhere was what a 'fortunate' wreck it was! The engine and six
cars went off the track on a curve. Just ahead was a steep bank with a
river below it, and of course it _was_ fortunate that we did not go down
that. No one was killed, and only a few much injured. The car ahead and
ours were the only ones that were smashed any. Yes, I suppose it was a
'fortunate wreck'--but I never want to see an unfortunate one. Certainly
we all felt pretty thankful that we had come out of it as well as we
did.

"The relief train came at last, and took us to the next city, and to-day
we are started on our journey once again. We expect to reach New Orleans
to-night, and take the boat for New York Saturday. We all feel a little
stiff and sore, but of course dear Tilly feels the worst. But she tries
to be just as bright and smiling as ever. She looks pretty white,
though, and what the storybooks call 'wan,' I reckon. She says, anyhow,
she wishes she _were_ a centipede--in _arms_--because perhaps then she
wouldn't miss her left one so much, if she had plenty more of them.
There seems to be such a lot of things she wants her left arm to do. The
doctor says it wasn't a _bad_ break--as if any break could be _good_!

"And here endeth my record of 'Bertha's accident'--as Tilly insists upon
calling it, until she's made Bertha almost ready to cry over it."

* * * * *

Owing to the delay of the accident, Mr. Hartley and his party had only
one day in New Orleans before the boat sailed; but they made the most
of that, for they wanted to see what they could of the quaint,
picturesque city.

"We'll take carriages, dearie. We won't walk anywhere," said Mr. Hartley
to Genevieve that morning. "In the first place, Mrs. Kennedy and Miss
Tilly couldn't, and the rest of us don't want to. We can see more, too,
in the short space of time we have."

So in carriages, bright and early Friday morning, the party started out
to "do" New Orleans, as Genevieve termed it. Leaving the "American
portion," where were situated their hotel and most of the other big
hotels and business houses of American type, they trailed happily along
through Prytania Street and St. Charles Avenue to the beautiful "Garden
District" which they had been warned not to miss. They found,