NOTES ON TRAVEL 215 



work, this had its inconvenient side, but Dr. Adrian 

 Blaikie, at that time Ramsay's assistant, shortened his 

 vacation like the loyal friend that he was, and made 

 all right in the absence of his chief. 



The wedding took place on August 3rd, and had the 

 family been superstitious they might have felt that 

 things looked bad for the future. Two days before the 

 ceremony a maid in the Buchanan household developed 

 diphtheria, and anxiety was felt lest Mrs. Buchanan 

 should do the same. This, however, proved a false 

 alarm, and as it was considered safer, arrangements 

 were made to have a hotel wedding, a very unusual 

 thing in those days. Troubles, however, were not over 

 yet ! Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay had invited the nearest 

 relatives to dinner in the evening. On the morning of 

 the wedding day, just after breakfast, the ceiling of 

 theii dining-room, for no obvious reason, crashed down 

 doing, happily, no damage beyond breaking a little 

 china. Again arrangements were made rapidly, and an 

 ingenious builder rigged up a canvas ceiling, and the 

 party went off as if nothing out of the way had happened. 



This chapter of accidents, instead of being an omen of 

 evil, was the beginning of a singularly happy married 

 life. 



After a day or two in London the couple, both being 

 fond of the sea, crossed to Antwerp from the Thames, 

 saw Brussels and stayed a few days with Ramsay's old 

 friend Elizabeth Lang, now Mrs. MacNicol. Her hus- 

 band, an engineer, was getting some work done at the 



