• Venice •

Miss Hawkline got up from the chair she was sitting gravely in like a captured child and went over to the fireplace to poke the coal.

Everybody waited for her to finish and come back to the conversation about The Chemicals, the dog being eaten, etc., and what other topics that might be of interest on July 13, 1902.

While they waited Cameron counted the lamps in the room, 7, the chairs, 6, the pictures on the walls, 5. The pictures were of things that Cameron had never seen before. One of the pictures was of a street lined with buildings. The street was filled with water. There were boats on the water.

Cameron had never seen a street with boats on it instead of horses.

“What in the hell is that?” he said, pointing to the picture.

“Venice,” Miss Hawkline said.

Having finished with the fireplace Miss Hawkline sat back down and the conversation was resumed. Actually, something they had talked about earlier was repeated and then they went onto something else.