there is no indication of a
judgment. The chairman of the Powhead's line, which on the whole has had
the worst of it in evidence, begins to gain confidence from the delay.
Whispers arise and circulate that the committee are two to two, the
chairman not being able to make up his mind either way; but as his wife
is a third cousin of a Powheads director, there may yet be balm in
Gilead. Hark! the tinkling of a bell--there is a buzz as of a hive
overturned, the doors are opened, and the whole crowd rush elbowing in.
How provokingly calm are the countenances of the five legislators! Not a
twinkle in the eye of any of them to betray the nature of their
decision--nay, with a refinement of cruelty positively appalling, the
chairman is elaborating a quill into a toothpick until order shall be
partially restored. Now for the dictum--"The Committee, having heard
evidence, are of opinion that the preamble of the Dreep-daily Extension
Bill has not been proved, and further, that the preamble of the Powheads
Junction Bill has been satisfactorily proved, and they intend to report
accordingly." One second's pause, and a triumphant cheer bursts from the
dignitaries of Camlachie. The five-and-twenty speculators darting at
once to the door, choke up the entrance for a time--divers coat-tails
give way, and hats disappear in the scuffle--at last they break out from
the Cloisters like so many demoniacs, fling themselves into
four-and-twenty cabs, and offer triple fares for immediate transmission
to the City. One, more knowing than the rest, sneaks down to Westminster
Bridge, finds a steamer just starting, makes his way by water to the
Exchange; and five minutes before the earliest cab, obstructed by a
covey of coal-carts in the Strand, can fetch its agitated inmate to his
broker, his speedier rival has sold several thousand Dreep-dailys to
unwitting and unfortunate purchasers, and has become the coveted
possessor of every Powhead scrip then negotiable in the London market.
If there is any caricature in this sketch I shall submit to do penance
in the pillory.

I think I have now bored you sufficiently with railway matters: being a
literary character, you may like to know how I otherwise employ my time.
_Imprimis_, I have not attended a single debate in the House of Commons.
It is quite enough to spell one's way through the dreary columns of the
_Times_ after the matutinal muffin, without exposing the mind to the
cruelties of a Maynooth debate