postillion at the head--assembled before the house to see me off, and
gave me three cheers as I rode away. Perhaps no person ever departed
from an inn with more eclat or better wishes; nobody looked at me
askance, except two stage-coachmen who were loitering about, one of whom
said to his companion, 'I say, Jim! twig his portmanteau! a regular
Newmarket turn out by ---!'

It was in the cool of the evening of a bright day--all the days of that
summer were bright--that I departed. I felt at first rather melancholy
at finding myself again launched into the wide world, and leaving the
friends whom I had lately made behind me; but by occasionally trotting
the horse, and occasionally singing a song of Romanvile, {182a} I had
dispelled the feeling of melancholy by the time I had proceeded three
miles down the main road. It was at the end of these three miles, just
opposite a milestone, that I struck into a cross road. After riding
about seven miles, threading what are called, in postillion parlance,
cross-country roads, I reached another high road, tending to the east,
along which I proceeded for a mile or two, when coming to a small inn,
about nine o'clock, I halted and put up for the night.

Early on the following morning I proceeded on my journey, but fearing to
gall the horse, I no longer rode him, but led him by the bridle, until I
came to a town at the distance of about ten miles from the place where I
had passed the night. Here I stayed during the heat of the day, more on
the horse's account than my own, and towards evening resumed my journey,
leading the animal by the bridle as before; and in this manner I
proceeded for several days, travelling on an average from twenty to
twenty-five miles a day, always leading the animal, except perhaps now
and then of an evening, when, if I saw a good piece of road before me, I
would mount and put the horse into a trot, which the creature seemed to
enjoy as much as myself, showing his satisfaction by snorting and
neighing, whilst I gave utterance to my own exhilaration by shouts, or by
'the chi she is kaulo she soves pre lakie dumo,' {182b} or by something
else of the same kind in Romanvile.

On the whole, I journeyed along very pleasantly, certainly quite as
pleasantly as I do at present, now that I am become a gentleman, and
weigh sixteen stone, though some people would say that my present manner
of travelling is much the most preferable, riding as I now do, instead of
le