travel
in a coach, which, really and truly, did start at five in the morning.
But as the novel-writers of the good old Minerva school used, in similar
cases, to say, "in pity to my sympathising reader's feelings, I must
draw the mysterious veil of concealment over my, oh! too acute
sufferings!" These, I must own, were, in no little degree, aggravated by
the manner of my friend. Mark, as a sort of foil to his many excellent
qualities, has one terrible failing: it is a knack of laughing at one's
misfortunes; or, to use his own palliating phrase, he has a habit of
looking at the ridiculous side of things. Ridiculous! Heavens! as if any
one possessing a spark of humanity could perceive anything to excite his
mirth in the circumstance of a fellow-creature's being forced out of his
bed at such an hour! After exhibiting many contortions of the mouth,
produced by a decent desire to maintain a gravity suitable to the
occasion, he, at length, burst into a loud laugh; and exclaiming (with a
want of feeling I shall never entirely forget) "Well, I wish you joy of
your journey--_you must be UP at four!_"--away he went. It may be
asked why I did not forfeit my forty-four shillings, and thus escape the
calamity. No; the laugh would have been too much against me: so,
resolving to put a bold face on the matter, I--I will not say I
walked--positively _swaggered_ about the streets of Bristol, for an
hour or two, with all the self-importance of one who has already
performed some extraordinary exploit, and is conscious that the
wondering gaze of the multitude is directed towards him. Being condemned
to the miseries, it was but fair that I should enjoy the honours of
the undertaking. To every person I met, with whom I had the slightest
acquaintance, I said aloud, "I start at five to-morrow morning!" at the
same time adjusting my cravat and pulling up my collar: and I went into
three or four shops, and purchased trifles, for which I had no earthly
occasion, for the pure gratification of my vain-glory, in saying--"Be
sure you send them to-night, for I start at five in the morning!"
But beneath all this show of gallantry, my heart like that of many
another hero on equally desperate occasions--my heart was ill at ease.
I have often thought that my feelings, for the whole of that distressing
afternoon, must have been very like those of a person about to go,
for the first time, up in a balloon. I returned to Reeves' Hotel,
College-green, where I was