t he was ready to pay the
difference in the fares.

He blamed himself for having done this last, however, afterwards. He
seemed to think that he could have avoided this expense by assuming
ignorance of the German language. He said that two years ago, when he
was travelling in Germany with three other men, the authorities came down
upon them in much the same way for travelling first-class with
second-class tickets.

Why they were doing this B. did not seem able to explain very clearly.
He said that, if he recollected rightly, the guard had told them to get
into a first-class, or else they had not had time to get into a
second-class, or else they did not know they were not in a second-class.
I must confess his explanation appeared to me to be somewhat lame.

Anyhow, there they were in a first-class carriage; and there was the
collector at the door, looking indignantly at their second-class tickets,
and waiting to hear what they had to say for themselves.

One of their party did not know much German, but what little he did know
he was very proud of and liked to air; and this one argued the matter
with the collector, and expressed himself in German so well that the
collector understood and disbelieved every word he said.

He was also, on his part, able, with a little trouble, to understand what
the collector said, which was that he must pay eighteen marks. And he
had to.

As for the other three, two at all events of whom were excellent German
scholars, they did not understand anything, and nobody could make them
understand anything. The collector roared at them for about ten minutes,
and they smiled pleasantly and said they wanted to go to Hanover. He
went and fetched the station-master, and the station-master explained to
them for another ten minutes that, if they did not pay eighteen shillings
each, he should do the German equivalent for summonsing them; and they
smiled and nodded, and told him that they wanted to go to Hanover. Then
a very important-looking personage in a cocked-hat came up, and was very
angry; and he and the station-master and the collector took it in turns
to explain to B. and his two friends the state of the law on the matter.

They stormed and raged, and threatened and pleaded for a quarter of an
hour or so, and then they got sick, and slammed the door, and went off,
leaving the Government to lose the fifty-four marks.

We passed the German frontier on Wednesday, and have been in Belgiu