the hill. It seemed a kind of continual picnic. It was no
longer a weariness to practice. The weeks flew away so happily that they
hardly noticed that the Fall was near. They must return to Paris soon.
The vacation was over long ago. Still, the handsome pile of francs was
not large enough yet, and they kept on to Calsrue and Homburg. Every
where it was the same. Presents of every imaginable kind, flowers and
jewelry were showered upon her. At one place they gave her more
preserves and sugared fruits than she could eat in a month, and a German
Countess at Manheim was so charmed with the child that she took off a
beautiful pearl cross and chain and put it round Camilla's neck. It was
the cross the lady had when she was confirmed at Church and she valued
it highly on that account. Camilla kept the beautiful present for a long
time till it was lost in New York, as we shall see later in the story.

The tour was really not a very extensive one. A part of Eastern France
and a part of the Rhine country was all she saw, but it took seven long
months to get through with it. Were she to undertake the tour now it
could be done in two weeks. They had no active agent traveling ahead to
hire the halls and secure the rooms at the hotels. There were no
advertising facilities, and no telegraphs. M. Urso had to do everything
himself. The ceremonious calls upon the great families took a great deal
of time. The subscription list and the sale of tickets could not be
started till they were fairly settled in the town. Three weeks in one
city was hardly enough time to prepare for one concert and during it all
Camilla's practice could not be neglected for a single day. Her father
was always present watching and guiding her, and, in fact keeping her
steadily to her work.

To off-set all this, it cost them very little to live, and their concert
expenses were light. The rent of the halls was low, and they had very
few advertising bills to pay. This made it easy to make the tour
profitable, and when at last they returned to Paris they found they had
5,000 francs on hand, more money than they had ever dreamed about in
sleepy old Nantes. This represented Camilla's first earnings. Aunt
Caroline had received part of the money to help along the little home in
the Rue Lamartine and when they came back she stood ready to welcome
them at the top of the six flights of stairs. The cats were all there on
the red roofs, but that wolf had run away in dismay. It