of the worry of the letters she carried with her; she even for a moment had an idea of putting the matter they contained before Rawson-Clew and asking his advice; that is, if the friendship which had begun to dawn on their acquaintance that evening grew yet further.  It did grow, but she did not ask him, loyalty to her family prevented; there were, however, plenty of other things to talk about, and the friendship got on well until the end came.

The end came about the time of the annual fair.  This fair was a great event in the little town; it only lasted three days, and only the middle one of the three was important, or in the least provocative of disorder; but—­so Mijnheer said—­it upset business very much.  After inquiry as to how this came about, Julia learnt that it was found necessary to give the workmen a holiday on the principal day.  They got so drunk the night before, that most of them were unfit for work, and a few even had the hardihood to stop away entirely, so as to devote the whole day to getting drunk again.  Under these circumstances, Mijnheer made a virtue of necessity, and gave a whole holiday to the entire staff.

“Does the office have a holiday too?” Julia asked.

Mijnheer nodded.  “These young fellows,” he said, “are all for holidays; they are not like their fathers.  Now it is always ’I must ride on my wheel; I must row in my boat; I must play my piano; let us put the work away as soon as we can, and forget it.’  It was not so in my young days; then we worked, or we slept; playing was for children.  There were some great men of business in those days.”

Julia was not in a position to contradict this; she only said, “It is a real holiday, then, like a bank holiday in England?”

“A real holiday, yes,” he answered her; “a holiday for you too, if you like.  Would you like a real English bank holiday?” He called to his wife:  “See here,” he said, “here is an English miss who would like an English holiday; when the workmen have theirs she shall have hers too, is it not so?”

Mevrouw nodded, laughing.  “But what will you do with it?” she asked.

“I should go out,” Julia answered; “if it is fine I should go out all day.”

“To the fair?” Mijnheer asked.  “You would not like that alone; it would be very rough.”

“I should go out into the country,” Julia said.  “I should make an excursion all by myself.”

They seemed a good deal amused by her taste, but the idea suggested in fun was really determined upon; Julia, so Mijnheer promised, should have a holiday when every one else did, and do just what she pleased.

“You shall do as you like,” he said; “even though it is not to go to the fair and eat pooferchjes.  It is only once in a year one can eat pooferchjes, or three times rather; they are to be had on each of the three days.”

“What are they?” Julia asked.  “I have never heard of them.”