"Why, the law is," said Mr. George, "that when people have any thing in their trunks that is dutiable, if they _declare_ it, that is, acknowledge that they have it and show it to the officers, then they have only to pay the duty, and they may carry the article in. But if they do not declare it, but hide it away somewhere in their trunks, and the officers find it there, then the thing is forfeited altogether. The officers seize it and sell it for the benefit of the government." "O, uncle George!" exclaimed Rollo. "Yes," said Mr. George, "that is what they do; and it is right. If people wish to bring any thing that is subject to duty into any country they ought to be willing to pay the duty, and not, by refusing to pay, make other people pay more than their share." "If one man does not pay his duty," rejoined Rollo, "do the others have to pay more?" "Yes," said Mr. George, "in the end they do. At least I suppose so. Whatever the amount of money may be that is required for the expenses of government, if one man does not pay his share, the rest must make it up, I suppose." "They did not look into my trunk at all," said Rollo. "Why didn't they? I might have had ever so many things hid away there." "I suppose they knew from the circumstances of the case," said Mr. George, "that you would not be likely to have any smuggled goods in your trunk. They saw at once that you were a foreign boy, and knew that you must be coming to Switzerland only to make a tour, and that you could have no reason for wishing to smuggle any thing into the country. They scarcely looked into _my_ trunk at all." While Mr. George and Rollo had been holding this conversation they had returned to their places in the car, and very soon the train was in motion to take them into the town. Thus our travellers passed the Swiss frontier. In half an hour afterwards they were comfortably established at a large and splendid hotel called the Three Kings. The hotel has this name in three languages, English, French, and German, as people speaking those several languages come, in almost equal numbers, to Switzerland. Thus when you leave the station you may, in your directions to the coachman, say you wish to go to the Three Kings, or to the Trois Rois, or to the Drei Koenige, whichever you please. They all mean the same hotel--the best hotel in Basle. CHAPTER III. BASLE.