"'Oh, we are going to leave them here till to-morrow: they are all right--you can mark them too;' and without further ceremony we moved toward the door. One of the men stepped after us. I thought it was to make us return, but it was only to ask if he should get us a carriage. "We thanked him and replied that we were going to the hotel opposite, and did not need one: he then turned to a person who seemed to be the porter of the establishment, and told him to carry our satchels for us. Now we felt our journey was well at an end, for the windows of our welcome asylum were blazing not more than a hundred feet off. "We crossed the street, rang at the ladies' entrance and asked for rooms. After a few moments the servant returned, and, much to our chagrin, said that there were none to be had, every corner was full. "'Do let us see the clerk. We _must_ have a room: you can surely find us one somewhere.' "The man shook his head. "'Please go and try,' we insisted: 'we shall be satisfied with anything for the night. Won't you go and ask again?' "'It is of no use,' he answered obstinately, à cause de l'Exposition;' and he opposed a shrug of his shoulders to every other effort at persuasion that we made. "Just then a chambermaid passed. 'Do come here,' I called. 'Can't you find us a room? I will pay you;' and I put my hand significantly in my pocket. "'Very sorry, ladies, but it is impossible,' "This was a contingency we had not provided for: we looked at each other blankly, and, though loath to do so, we both came to the conclusion that they were telling the truth. "'What shall we do?' asked Annie, speaking to me in English. "'I suppose we shall have to take a carriage and go down town, after all,' "'They may be full there too,' she said in a rueful tone. "Just then the porter with our satchels spoke: 'There is another hotel near, ladies, and if you will come I will show you to it,' "I consulted Annie with a look, and she assented. Any prospect was better than a midnight drive of several miles, with no certainty as to our lot at the end of it. So we turned from the inhospitable door and followed our guide. "The latter walked quickly for perhaps a square, stopped before a neat-looking house and rang. Our courage rose as the door opened and revealed a clean-looking court surrounded by orange trees in boxes, with small coffee-tables under them for the convenience of the guests. "'Rooms for two ladies!' demanded our attendant with the voice of a herald. "The trim but sleepy servant looked at us a moment, as if not comprehending the situation, then slowly pronounced our sentence in two words, 'No rooms!' and as if to emphasize them threw up the palms of his hands, shook his head and added 'Full!' after which he closed the door with a hasty click and returned to his nap.