In 1899 he made a speech in Boston, and some of his friends noticed that he seemed extremely tired. He remained in Boston several days. One day during his stay a friend asked him if he had ever been to Europe. He replied that he had not. He was asked very casually whether he thought that he would enjoy a trip to Europe. He said that he certainly would, but he did not ever expect to have such a pleasure. A day or two later some of his friends came to him and told him they had a little surprise for him, that they had made arrangements for him and his wife to go to Europe in the summer and spend several months on a vacation. Washington was very greatly surprised. He thanked his friends very cordially for their interest but told them that he could not afford to take the trip. Whereupon they told him that all the money for the expenses of the trip had already been raised, and that it would not cost him a cent. He thanked them again very sincerely but told them he could not think of leaving his work that long,—that money had to be raised for Tuskegee, and that he had to stay right on the job to get it. Then they told him that a group of his friends had already raised enough money to keep Tuskegee going until he got back. He then gave another excuse. He was afraid people would say that he was “stuck up”; that since he had made some success in the world he was trying to show off and play the big man. His friends told him that sensible people would not think such a thing, and that he need not bother about the people who had no sense. Washington thought, too, that he had no right to quit work so long. He had worked all his life. There was a world of work yet he had to do. To go off on a vacation of several months, when there was so much to be done, and when other people were at work, seemed wrong to him. But he realized finally that a reasonable amount of rest, when one is tired, means more and better work in the long run. So it came about that, on May 10, 1899, Washington and his wife went aboard the ship _Friesland_ in New York harbor and sailed for Europe. It was a wonderful experience for Washington. In the first place, as he went aboard the ship, he received a message from two of his friends telling him that they had decided to give him the money to build a magnificent new building at Tuskegee. That was a good “send-off.” Washington was a bit uneasy about how people would treat him aboard ship. He knew what unfortunate experiences some members of his race had had in times past. But the captain received him cordially, and everybody on board was exceedingly courteous to him and to his wife in every way. Washington on his way to Europe! It seemed to him like a dream. Again and again he had thought of Europe,—much as he did of heaven,—a goodly place, but far away. It had never even occurred to him that he would ever go to Europe. And now he was on his way! He was like a schoolboy; he was happy over the prospect of a wonderful trip.