"Being Protestants," I added, "I suppose a convent wouldn't be of any use to us--what do you think?" Momma thought she could go. There was no need for hurry, and I attended to only one other matter before I went to bed. That was a communication to the _Herald_, which I sent off in plenty of time to appear in the morning. It was addressed to the Society Editor, and ran as follows: "The marriage arranged between Professor Arthur Greenleaf Page, of Yale University, and Miss Mamie Wick, of 1453, Lakeside-avenue, Chicago, will not take place. Mr. and Mrs. Wick, and Miss Wick, sail for Europe on Wednesday by s.s. Germanic." I reflected, as I closed my eyes, that Arthur was a regular reader of the _Herald_. CHAPTER II. We met poppa on the Germanic gangway, his hat on the back of his head and one finger in each of his waistcoat pockets, an attitude which, with him, always betokens concern. The vessel was at that stage of departure when the people who have been turned off are feeling injured that it should have been done so soon, and apparently only the weight of poppa's personality on its New York end kept the gangway out. As we drove up he appeared to lift his little finger and three dishevelled navigators darted upon the cab. They and we and our trunks swept up the gangway together, which immediately closed behind us, under the direction of an extremely irritated looking Chief Officer. We reunited as a family as well as we could in connection with uncoiled ropes and ship discipline. Then poppa, with his watch in his hand, exclaimed reproachfully, well in hearing of the Chief Officer, "I gave you ten minutes and you _had_ ten minutes. You stopped at Huyler's for candy, I'll lay my last depreciated dollar on it." My other parent looked guiltily at some oblong boxes tied up in white paper with narrow red ribbon, which, innocently enough I consider, enhance the value of life to us both. But she ignored the charge--momma hates arguments. "Dear me!" she said, as the space widened between us and the docks. "So we are all going to Europe together this morning! I can hardly realise it. Farewell America! How interesting life is." "Yes," replied poppa. "And now I guess I'd better show you your cabins before it gets any more interesting."