Being
utterly unconscious of any necessity for concealment, we had left
several English books at the very top of the box. These they carefully
took out, and laid on one side, and then proceeded to rummage
the boxes from top to bottom. By this time, as most of our
fellow-passengers had been examined, and had proceeded to their
hotels, I was getting fatigued and nervous, when it struck me that a
small douceur would perhaps set matters right. This idea I
communicated to Claudia, and she, speaking privately to a superior
sort of man, who was overlooking the other, assured him that we were
two perfectly unoffending English ladies travelling for pleasure,
having nothing whatever to do with politics, and entreated him to let
us go, at the same time putting some money in a hand conveniently
placed for its reception. No sooner, however, had it been safely
pocketed, than the man assured her that he could do nothing whatever
for us, and that he must take some opportunity, when nobody was
looking, of giving her back the money. It is needless to say, that
this opportunity never arrived; and in the meantime, we were taken
into a small room, to be more particularly examined.

Here another box was opened, when, to the great vexation of my dear
Claudia, her journal was found. Hitherto she had been very patient,
but now she could bear it no longer. What! her journal, so carefully
locked that nobody had ever been allowed to read it, to be at the
mercy of these strange men! Claudia remonstrated loudly. 'They might
have anything else they chose,' she said, 'but that she really could
not give them.' She did not perceive that the more anxious she
appeared about the book, the more important it seemed in their eyes,
and the more anxious they, of course, were to retain it. After a long
discussion, and many prayers and entreaties on Claudia's part, the
books and papers were sealed up before us. They inquired what hotel we
were going to, and told us we must call the next day for our books at
a certain custom-house office they mentioned. Feeling harassed and
persecuted, we proceeded to our hotel, my unhappiness being rendered
more acute by our being separated from our _Murray_, without which I
felt myself a perfectly helpless being, entirely at the mercy of any
one who chose to impose upon me.

We obtained apartments at the hotel we intended lodging at, and as it
was now late in the day, ordered our dinner, and retired early to
rest, very anxiou