In the month of September Burton returned from Iceland, and
the third week in October he left England for Trieste by sea. His wife
was to adhere to her usual plan of "pay, pack, and follow"--to purchase
in London the usual stock of necessary things, and follow as soon as
might be by land.
In November Isabel crossed the Channel, and ran straight through to
Cologne. At Cologne she saw the sights, and proceeded by easy stages
down the Rhine to Mayence, and thence to Frankfort. From Frankfort she
went to Wurzburg, where she called on the famous Dr. Dollinger. Thence
to Innsbruck, and so to Venice. The last occasion was during the tour
which she had taken with her sister and brother-in-law before her
marriage. She says: "It was like a dream to come back again. It was
all there as I left it, even to the artificial flowers at the _table
d'hote_: it was just the same, only less gay and brilliant. It had lost
the Austrians and Henry V. Court. I was older, and all the friends I
knew were dispersed." Her first act was to send a telegram to Trieste
announcing her arrival, and the next to gondola all over Venice. Towards
evening she thought it would be civil to call on the British Consul, Sir
William Perry. The old gentleman, who was very deaf, and apparently
short-sighted, greeted her kindly, and mumbled something about "Captain
Burton." Isabel said, "Oh, he is at Trieste; I am just going to join
him.
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