ht he read again; and also on Thursday and Friday; on
Wednesday he had rested; and on Saturday he travelled to New York.

He had written, the day before he left, that he was making a clear
profit of thirteen hundred pounds English a week, even allowing seven
dollars to the pound; but words were added having no good omen in them,
that the weather was taking a turn of even unusual severity, and that he
found the climate, in the suddenness of its changes, "and the wide leaps
they take," excessively trying. "The work is of course rather trying
too; but the sound position that everything must be subservient to it
enables me to keep aloof from invitations. To-morrow," ran the close of
the letter, "we move to New York. We cannot beat the speculators in our
tickets. We sell no more than six to any one person for the course of
four readings; but these speculators, who sell at greatly increased
prices and make large profits, will employ any number of men to buy. One
of the chief of them--now living in this house, in order that he may
move as we move!--can put on 50 people in any place we go to; and thus
he gets 300 tickets into his own hands." Almost while Dickens was
writing these words an eye-witness was describing to a Philadelphia
paper the sale of the New York tickets. The pay-place was to open at
nine on a Wednesday morning, and at midnight of Tuesday a long line of
speculators were assembled in _queue_; at two in the morning a few
honest buyers had begun to arrive; at five there were, of all classes,
two lines of not less than 800 each; at eight there were at least 5000
persons in the two lines; at nine each line was more than three-quarters
of a mile in length, and neither became sensibly shorter during the
whole morning. "The tickets for the course were all sold before noon.
Members of families relieved each other in the _queues_; waiters flew
across the streets and squares from the neighbouring restaurant, to
serve parties who were taking their breakfast in the open December air;
while excited men offered five and ten dollars for the mere permission
to exchange places with other persons standing nearer the head of the
line!"

The effect of the reading in New York corresponded with this marvellous
preparation, and Dickens characterised his audience as an unexpected
support to him; in its appreciation quick and unfailing, and highly
demonstrative in its satisfactions. On the 11th of December he wrote to
his daughter: "Am