Alderley wanted Brixen. He had heard so much of it from a Judge. No one else had heard of it at all, and he became very plaintive about money foolishly flung away on the education of the young. "Brixen," he said, "is in the Tyrol--a mountainous district of Austria." After a short sharp passage with Drusilla he admitted to having first met the name and fame of Brixen only a fortnight ago. My sister voted for the Juras. She had seen a picture in the Academy, of a valley of wild flowers there, by MacWhirter, and she had always longed to visit them. But against Switzerland rose the universal voice. Norway was excluded on account of the sea voyage; Rome for its heat; Spain for ignorance of the language and (on Mrs. Wynne's account) prevalence of anarchists and bombs; the Black Forest for its want of civilised apparatus; the Tyrol for its steepnesses. And then Naomi hit the nail on the head. "Venice," she said. Of course. Later in the evening Dollie Heathcote came in. He had looked round the dancing rooms to which he had been invited, had disapproved, and, disapproving, had with a bachelor's lofty privileges done what he called a guy. "Besides," he said, not in excuse, for he admits to no errors, but in further explanation of a perfectly rational line of conduct, "there were crowds of men over--oceans." "What do you know of Venice?" Naomi asked him. "Venice," he said, "I know all about Venice. It is a suburb of New York, the streets are flooded, and there is nothing to eat except for mosquitoes, and they eat you." "Very good," I said. "Don't encourage the ass," said Lionel. "Very good," I said, "but now be practical." "Oh, as for that," said Dollie, "I know nothing of Venice except that the wise are said to stay at the Lido, where there is ripping bathing and no mosquitoes, and go over to Venice when they want to. It is quite close--much closer than the Isle of Wight is to Portsmouth and much jollier. I hate the Isle of Wight." "Will you come with us?" I asked him. "As my guest?" But he could not. He had arranged a series of visits for the Long Vacation, and he obviously wanted to pay them, or he would have accepted my invitation instantly. His duty always lies along the primrosiest path. "Then it is you who will have to pay the bills and tip the waiters," I said to the K.C. "Alderley loves that," said his wife. And so it was settled: we were to go to Venice and go very soon. I wrote to Miss Gold to tell her of the projected journey, and she replied instantly, asking me to come down at once and to be sure to bring Naomi with me. She received us very warmly and got to business almost instantly.