SEEING IS BELIEVING 



of. This certainly spoke well for the accommo- 

 dating powers of their constitutions and for the 

 quality of the drinks they had absorbed. I don't 

 know what they drink now under similar circum- 

 stances in Oxfordshire, or whether their staying 

 powers are equal to what they were. But I do 

 know that never since then have I ever taken the 

 word of any hotel proprietor that a comfortable 

 apartment has been reserved for me without 

 ocular demonstration, long before I wanted to 

 avail myself of the accommodation, that it was 

 well out of earshot of any banqueting-hall. 



65 



