She will come back to us in a little while as plump as a partridge. From
the sworn testimonial it would appear that she can obtain in America a
marvelous food which will cause her to gain a pound a day. She now
weighs one hundred and eighteen pounds. If she remained there a year she
would weigh, let me see--one hundred and eighteen plus three hundred and
sixty-five--oh, that doesn't seem possible! That is too good to be true!
But even six months, or only three months, would be sufficient. She
_must_ be sent away for a while, in the care of some one who will guard
her carefully. Read up on America to-night, and let me know all about it
in the morning."
Next day Popova, having consulted all the British authorities at hand,
reported that the United States of America covered a large but
undeveloped area, that the population was so engrossed with the
accumulation of wealth that it gave little heed to pleasures or
intellectual relaxation, and that the country as a whole was unworthy of
consideration except as the abode of a swollen material prosperity.
"Just the place for her," exclaimed the Governor-General. "No pleasures
to distract her, an atmosphere of plodding commercialism, an abundance
of health-giving nourishment! Perhaps the mere change of climate will
have the desired effect.
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