CHAPTER IX THE TRAVELLER'S ORACLE 



SO many and varied were the ills which beset the 

 path of the traveller that an astute author, one 

 William Kitchiner, M.D., conceived the brilliant 

 idea of writing The Traveller's Oracle, which 

 should set forth all the perils lying in wait down the 

 road, and show how to avoid or, at any rate, circumvent 

 them. Incidentally, the wily do6lor managed to intro- 

 duce puffs for his other literary wares, and to advertise 

 many commodities, for which service no doubt the 

 proprietors thereof paid him well. 



The "Oracle" sounded a warning note from the very 

 beginning, for though Dr. Kitchiner admitted that 

 many travellers did aftually reach their destination 

 safely, yet such a happy termination by no means created 

 a precedent. The intending traveller's first duty there- 

 fore was to make his will, and bequeath all his earthly 

 possessions, so that, if despite the assistance of the 

 "Oracle," he succumbed by the way, his death should 

 occasion his relations as little inconvenience as possible. 

 Now mankind has always considered the making of 

 a will a lugubrious and disagreeable necessity, but Dr. 

 Kitchiner set out to prove that such was pure fallacy; if 

 approached in the proper spirit, will making was an 

 agreeable and pleasant pastime. To enjoy its delights to 

 the full, it was necessary to follow closely the rules set 

 forth in one of Dr. Kitchiner's own books entitled The 

 Pleasure of Making a Will, a copy of which should be 

 purchased forthwith. 



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