had
the office thrust upon him. Feeling his responsibility, he had,
immediately on arriving at Calais, changed some English money. This
was found very convenient. Nobody had any francs except the Member, so
we freely borrowed from him to meet trifling exigencies.

With the object of arriving at the best possible means of dealing with
the vexed question of luggage, a variety of expedients had been tried.
The Chancery Barrister, having read many moving narratives of raids made
upon registered luggage in the secrecy of the luggage van, had adopted a
course which displayed a profound knowledge of human nature. He had
argued with himself (as if he were a judge in chambers) that what proved
an irresistible temptation to foreign guards and other railway officials
was the appearance of boxes and portmanteaux iron-clasped,
leather-strapped, and double-locked. The inference naturally was that
they contained much that was valuable. Now, he had pointed out to
himself, if you take a directly opposite course, and, as it were, invite
the gentleman in charge of your luggage to open your portmanteau, he
will think you have nothing in it worth his attention, and will pass on
to others more jealously guarded. You can't very well leave your box
open, as the things might tumble out. So, as a happy compromise, he had
duly locked and strapped his portmanteau, and then tied the key to the
handle.

As he observes, with the shrewd perception that will inevitably lead him
to the Woolsack, "You are really helpless, and can do nothing to prevent
these gentlemen from helping themselves. If you leave the key there,
there is a fair chance of their treating your property as the Levite
treated the Good Samaritan. If not, your box will be decently opened
instead of having the lock broken or the hinges wrenched off."

That was a good idea, and proved triumphantly successful; for, on
arrival at Montreux, the Chancery Barrister's portmanteau turned up all
right, the key innocently reposing on the handle, and, as subsequent
investigation showed, the contents untouched.

Our Manufacturer had a still better way, though, as was urged, he comes
from Yorkshire, and we of the southern part of the island have no chance
in competition with the race. He lost his luggage somewhere between
Dover and Paris, and has ever since been free from all care on the
subject.

Perhaps it was the influence of these varied incidents that led to a
scene of some excitement on o