PREPARATIONS FOR THE TRIP. With maps, guide-books, time-tables and notebooks before us, we look up the steamer lines and routes and decide when, where, and how to go. (Good maps will be found in the railroad guide-books). City newspapers publish once a week the lines of steamboats and their times of sailing. The steamboat agents also furnish advertising matter giving other necessary and interesting information. When we have decided upon our route, we telegraph ahead for our staterooms. Now let us plan for our baggage. What kind of a trunk must we take? Why a steamer trunk? How large must this be? What will we do with this trunk when we leave the boat? (We are advised to leave it and part of its contents at the ship company's office. They will store it until we are ready to take the return trip). How many pounds of baggage are we allowed on the steamer? What other baggage shall we take (hand bags)? Why not small trunks? (Because every pound of baggage must be paid for in some countries.) Many countries have not our convenient system of checking baggage. What else will we need? (Traveling rugs.) What clothes must we take? First, we must take warm clothes for steamer wear, which may be packed away when we arrive. Then we must take traveling suits for train wear, and thin clothing to use after arriving at our destination. We have promised friends at home that we will inform them of our safe arrival immediately. How can we do this? By mail? Is there not a quicker way? How many know of the cable? How many have ever sent a cablegram? Can we cable from Puerto Rico? How much will it cost? Our guide-books give us all this information. We must have guide-books, phrase books, toilet articles and writing materials. These should be packed in linen or canvas bags, because more easily carried about than heavy leather satchels. Our guide must be able to speak Spanish, for that is the language of the Puerto Rican people. If one of our party acts as guide, we must be careful to select a polite, tactful, and, above all, a patient and good-natured person. Why?--Because his patience will be severely taxed many times during this trip. Arriving at the city from which we are to sail, we visit points of interest, the docks especially, and compare our steamer with others, learning what we can about all the ships in the harbor. If our lesson is well planned, we can accomplish a great deal the day we sail. CLASS WORK. After two or three conversational lessons, let pupils begin their diaries (composition books). In these may be written descriptions of what they see, hear, or read about the place being studied or visited. In most schools will be found one or more pupils who have been upon or crossed the ocean. Let them give both oral and written descriptions of the voyage.