I thought of the handkerchiefs in my bag, but to get to them I
should have to pass compartments containing ladies, and I was only
in early morning dress.
So I had to wipe myself with a newspaper which I happened to have in
my pocket, and a more unsatisfactory thing to dry oneself upon I
cannot conceive.
I woke up B. when I got back to the carriage, and persuaded him to
go and have a wash; and in listening to the distant sound of his
remarks when he likewise discovered that there was no towel, the
recollection of my own discomfiture passed gently away.
Ah! how true it is, as good people tell us, that in thinking of the
sorrows of others, we learn to forget our own!
For fifty miles before one reaches Munich, the land is flat, stale,
and apparently very unprofitable, and there is little to interest
the looker-out. He sits straining his eyes towards the horizon,
eagerly longing for some sign of the city to come in sight.
It lies very low, however, and does all it can to escape
observation; and it is not until he is almost within its streets
that he discovers it.
THE REST OF SUNDAY, THE 25TH
We Seek Breakfast. - I Air My German. - The Art of Gesture. - The
Intelligence of the Premiere Danseuse. - Performance of English
Pantomime in the Pyrenees. - Sad Result Therefrom. - The "German
Conversation" Book. - Its Narrow-minded View of Human Wants and
Aspirations. - Sunday in Munich. - Hans and Gretchen. - High Life v.
Low Life. - "A Beer-Cellar."
At Munich we left our luggage at the station, and went in search of
breakfast. Of course, at eight o'clock in the morning none of the
big cafes were open; but at length, beside some gardens, we found an
old-fashioned looking restaurant, from which came a pleasant odour
of coffee and hot onions; and walking through and seating ourselves
at one of the little tables, placed out under the trees, we took the
bill of fare in our hands, and summoned the waiter to our side.
I ordered the breakfast. I thought it would be a good opportunity
for me to try my German. I ordered coffee and rolls as a
groundwork. I got over that part of my task very easily. With the
practice I had had during the last two days, I could have ordered
coffee and rolls for forty. Then I foraged round for luxuries, and
ordered a green salad. I had some difficulty at first in convincing
the man that it was not a boiled cabbage that I wanted, but
succeeded eventually in getting that silly notion out of his head.
I still had a little German left, even after that.
