When Betty came down to her breakfast the following morning, she found her plate heaped with letters and fascinating little parcels of different shapes. For a moment she looked puzzled, then she exclaimed:
“Oh! I know! It’s my birthday, and I’m having such a splendid time sight-seeing, that I had forgotten all about it! How lovely!” as she glanced again at the presents.
“See, John!” she cried, opening the first package, which had an American postmark, “see what mother has sent me! It is such a pretty tan leather cover, with little handles, to put on my Baedeker. You know I always carry the guidebook, and read about things for Mrs. Pitt. Now, I can keep the book clean, and besides, people can’t recognize me as an American just from seeing my red book! That’s a fine idea, I think!”
John thought that his sister was not opening the bundles quite fast enough, so he pounced upon one and unwrapped it for her.
“This long thing is father’s gift, Betty. It’s an umbrella, of course, and a fine one! Here’s a card which says, ‘Knowing that two umbrellas could never be amiss in England, I send this.’ Do you suppose he guessed that you’d lost yours?”
After the bundles were all opened, the letters hurriedly devoured, and Betty had at last settled down to eating her cold breakfast, Mrs. Pitt said:
“I had not decided exactly what we would do to-day, and now I think I’ll let the birthday girl plan. Where will you go, Betty?”
After due consideration, Betty announced that she would choose to visit St. Paul’s Cathedral, and afterwards, by way of contrast, to have lunch at the Cheshire Cheese.
“What in the world’s that?” inquired John.
Mrs. Pitt laughed. “You’ll see, for we’ll go there, as Betty suggests, when we have seen St. Paul’s. I’m not sure whether you’ll care to have lunch there, but we’ll look in, at any rate. It’s rather different from the places where you are accustomed to take your lunch! No, you must wait, John! I’m not going to tell you any more about it!”