y journey to Paris; and it
required no great powers of penetration to perceive that the elder was
decided upon viewing all with a jaundiced eye, whilst the younger was
disposed to be pleased and in good humour, with all around him. The
conducteur announcing that the Diligence was ready and that we must
speedily take our seats, abruptly interrupted all my physiognomical
meditations, and we quickly repaired to the heavy lumbering vehicle in
which we were destined to be dragged to the gay metropolis. Our names
being called over in rotation, I found that the brothers had engaged
places in the coupe as well as myself, but having priority of claim, had
wisely chosen the two corners, the vacant seat in the middle falling to
my lot; and I believe, as it proved, it was not a bad arrangement, as I
acted as a sort of sand-bag between two jars, which prevented their
_jarring_; in fact I formed a sort of _juste milieu_ between two
extremes, and no sooner were we installed in our respective places, than
my mediating powers were called into operation, as the following
dialogue will exemplify.

"They gave us a very nice dinner, sir," said the good humoured brother
who sat on my left.

I replied that I was very well satisfied with it.

"But you don't know what their messes are made of. For my part I like to
know what, I eat," observed the discontented brother on my right, "and
you don't mean surely, sir, to say that such as they gave us was
anything to compare to a good English dinner."

That, I remarked, was entirely an affair of taste; that I myself was
most partial to the simpler mode of living of the English, but not so
the high aristocracy of our country, with whom French cooks are in the
greatest estimation.

"I was very much pleased with the _vin ordinaire_, as they call it, and
found it a pleasant light wine, particularly agreeable when one is
thirsty," said Good Humour.

"_Light_ enough at any rate," returned Discontent, "and well named _vin
ordinaire_, for ordinary it is in every sense of the word, pretty much
like themselves for that; but if you like to have any when we are in
England, I'll make you some; take a little port wine, put some vinegar
and a good deal of water with it and there you have it at once; is not
that your opinion, sir?"

I replied, that I considered it a beverage well adapted for a sort of
draught wine, but that it certainly had not the body that foreign wines
have that we are in the habit of dri