or walk?" asked Mr. George.

"We are going to walk over the pass," said Rollo. "The road is too steep
and rocky for horses. But then we are going to have a horse to carry the
trunk."

"Can you put our trunk on a horse?" asked Mr. George.

"Yes," replied Rollo, "the guide says he can."

"Very well," said Mr. George, "and just as soon as we get through
breakfast I am going to walk on, and leave you to pack the trunk on the
horse, and come along when you are ready."

"Well," said Rollo, "you can do that."

"Because, you see," continued Mr. George, "you will probably have
various difficulties and delays in getting packed and ready, and I don't
want to have any thing to do with it. I wish to have my mind entirely
free, so as to enjoy the walk and the scenery without any care or
responsibility whatever."

Sometimes, when fathers or uncles employ boys to do any work, or to
assume any charge, they stand by and help them all the time, so that the
real labor and responsibility do not come on the boy after all. He gets
paid for the work, and he _imagines_ that he does it--his father or his
uncle allowing him to imagine so, for the sake of pleasing him. But
there was no such child's play as this between Mr. George and Rollo.
When Rollo proposed to undertake any duty, Mr. George always considered
well, in the first instance, whether it was a duty that he was really
competent to perform. If it was not, he would not allow him to undertake
it. If it was, he left him to bear the whole burden and responsibility
of it, entirely alone.

Rollo understood this perfectly well, and he liked such a mode of
management. He was, accordingly, not at all surprised to hear his uncle
George propose to leave him to make all the arrangements of the journey
alone.

"You see," said Mr. George, "when I hire a courier I expect him to take
all the care of the journey entirely off my mind, and leave me to
myself, so that I can have a real good time."

"Yes," said Rollo, "that is right."

And here, perhaps, I ought to explain that what is called a courier, in
the vocabulary of tourists in Europe, is a _travelling servant_, who,
when he is employed by any party, takes the whole charge of their
affairs, and makes all necessary arrangements, so that they can travel
without any care or concern. He engages the conveyances and guides,
selects the inns, pays the bills, takes charge of the baggage, and does
every thing, in short, that is necessary to sec