BREAKFAST 301 



One pile of "hot-chek" after another disappeared as if 

 they had been made of air and I, in my simplicity, had 

 imagined that one of them was a man's ration ! Spread 

 with butter and surmounted with jam, these cakes slipped 

 down with fabulous rapidity. With a smile I thought 

 of the conjurer, holding an egg in his hand one minute 

 and making it disappear the next. If it is a cook's best 

 reward to see his food appreciated, then, indeed, Lind- 

 strom had good wages. The cakes were washed down 

 with big bowls of strong, aromatic coffee. One could 

 soon trace the effect, and conversation became general. 

 The first great subject was a novel, which was obviously 

 very popular, and was called " The Rome Express." It 

 appeared to me, from what was said I have unfortu- 

 nately never read this celebrated work that a murder 

 had been committed in this train, and a lively discussion 

 arose as to who had committed it. I believe the general 

 verdict was one of suicide. I have always supposed 

 that subjects of conversation must be very difficult to 

 find on expeditions like these, where the same people 

 mix day after day for years ; but there was certainly no 

 sign of any such difficulty here. No sooner had the 

 express vanished in the distance than in steamed the 

 language question. And it came at full steam, too. It 

 was clear that there were adherents of both camps 

 present. For fear of hurting the feelings of either 

 party, I shall abstain from setting down what I heard: 

 but I may say as much as this that the party of reform 



