. Caviare and anchovy sandwiches were the rule in the
half hour preceding dinner, which was, of course, a serious function.
But ours was a valiant company, and supper was a seventh meal achieved
by many. The orchestra seemed never far away; games were numerous
(here again I had hopelessly neglected my education), and at night
there were concerts, impromptu dances, and balls that were far from
being impromptu.

It is, I fear, a confession of natural perversity, but by the time we
reached the Mediterranean I was exceedingly restless, and inclined to
nervous depression.

I welcomed the various ports of call, and was properly ashamed of the
unsocial irritability which made me resent the feeling of being made
one of a chattering, laughing, high-spirited horde of tourists, whose
descent upon a foreign port seriously damaged whatever charm or
interest it might possess. At least the trading residents of these
ports were far more sensible than I, their preference undoubtedly
causing them to welcome the wielders of camera and guide-book in the
vein of 'the more the merrier.'

It was in Naples, outside the Villa Nazionale, that it fell to me to
rescue the elegant young widow, Mrs. Oldcastle, from the embarrassing
attentions of a cabman, whose acquaintances were already rallying
about him in great force. So far as speech went, my command of Italian
was not very much better than Mrs. Oldcastle's perhaps; but at least I
had a pocketful of Italian silver, while she, poor lady, had only
English money. The cabman was grossly overpaid, of course, but the
main point was I silenced him. And then, her flushed cheeks testifying
to her embarrassment, Mrs. Oldcastle turned towards the gardens, and,
in common courtesy, I walked with her to ascertain if I could be of
any further service. The upshot was that we strolled for some time,
took tea in the Cafe Umberto, walked through the Museo, visited one of
the city's innumerable glove-shops, and finally, still together, drove
back to the port and rejoined the _Oronta_.

As fellow-passengers we had up till this time merely exchanged casual
salutations, Mrs. Oldcastle being one of the three who shared the
particular table in the saloon at which I sat. No one else of her name
appeared in the passenger list, in which I had already read the line:
'Mrs. Oldcastle and maid.' I imagined her age to be still something in
the earliest thirties, and I had been informed by some obliging gossip
that she was