Also When, How, and What are You Taking—the Questions of the Day Summer flittings have been unusually delayed this season because of the refreshing coolness of the weather but everybody left in Shanghai appears to be on the point of departure so that those of us remaining will have all-too-much elbow room in an emptying town.
On consolation in being left behind is that those who are not packing or being entertained to a series of farewell festivities have leisure to imagine ideal trips quite unflurried by the demands of packing or the inconveniences of time-tables. Looking forward to holidays seen through the mists of distance one's arrangements are always perfect. Trunks, costumes, routes and travelling companions are adjusted with ease and every prospect pleases.
The equipment for trips long and short is always fascinating.
new "shoe-secretary" has just been designed by Vuitton, which resembles a section of the lock-box department of the Post Office, except that all the little drawers pull out with a convenient tag. The secretary in question has space for 36 pairs of boots and slippers, which is several' more than I require; but if one had such a trunk why would it not be possible to rent out accommodation to one's friends and thus make good on the old promise "You may pack your shoes in my trunk, any time you like!" When one is looking forward to a sufficiently distant trip one might contemplate having the local Chinese trunk man make you up such a box, but when the time actually arrives it is all too likely that there will be the same old problem of no place at all for slippers, and the end of the trip will find heels and toes in danger
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.