52 Lodging* in the Strand. j^JuLY, 



paper in his hand, " his Majesty has accepted the invitation to the civic 

 dinner on the 9th." 



" Gracious me, has he?" ejaculated JMrs. B., Miss Dorothea Matilda, 

 Miss Susanna Augusta, Miss Julia Honoria, Miss Georgiana Monimia, 

 and Miss Angelica Celestina, in a breath. " How delightful \" said 

 Mrs. B. "How charming!" followed Dorothea. "How pleasant!" 

 succeeded Susannah. " How gratifying !" lisped Julia. " How agree- 

 ;ible \" sighed Georgiana. " How fortunate we are," exclaimed An- 

 gelica, " in being acquainted with Mr. , who has ' lodgings in the 



Strand !" 



How unfortunate was it for poor Mr. , how unlucky for him, 



that the King had consented to dine in the City I I was now beset on 

 all sides; not only the three classes co-operated in worrying me to 

 death, to obtain accommodation at my " lodgings" for themselves to 

 view the show, but their relations and acquaintances, and their relations' 

 and acquaintances* sons and daughters, thrust their recognitions and 

 familiarities upon me by dozens — invariably followed by a request to 

 '' let them stand any where, just to have a peep at the procession." 

 Large as my acquaintance necessarily was, I had no idea that I pos- 

 sessed such an overwhelming assortment of friends ; they seemed to 

 start up at every corner of the street, and the cards left at my " lodgings 

 in the Strand," were incalculable. Of those who considered themselves 

 entitled to precedence on this, to me melancholy, occasion, the number 

 was soiTiewhat above two hundred ; these I could not refuse. To each, 

 individually, I was under obligations, and they all expected a return, 

 now that, as they considered, I had it in my power to make one. 



But what was the real state of the case ? My " lodgings in the 

 Strand" consisted of one miserable attic, ten feet by seven, illuminated 

 only (when I was not there myself) by a single window, two feet wide; 

 this latter looked out on the parapet, which indeed commanded a view 

 of the Strand, but my share of which would scarcely accommodate ten 

 persons, with all the ingenuity I could use in their behalf. Add to this, 

 that the favoured ten, when they had succeeded in attaining their dizzy 

 station, would find themselves in very unusual company — the friends of 

 my next-room neighbour, one of Warren's blacking-stirrers, who pos- 

 sessed similar advantages with me, and consequently was entitled to 

 half the parapet. But, independent of this respectable collision, what 

 was I to do with the remainder of the visitors that I calculated upon — 

 between three and four hundred persons ? There were but 146 thrust 

 into the Black Hole at Calcutta, and 123 of them perished in a few 

 hours ; how then should I cram more than double that number into the 

 still smaller space of my attic apartment ? 



Oh ! the days and nights I spent revolving my desperate situation I— 

 no courage had I to explain to a single individual the cause of the utter 

 prostration of mental and bodily energy I exhibited, and which was 

 becoming every day more and more apparent. I still moved among 

 them, but my identity was scarcely discoverably ; my cheeks grew lank 

 and colourless, my eyes sunken and glazy, my figure attenuated, and 

 my dress comparatively neglected — I strove to laugh, but the attempt 

 was hysterical — I listened to the joyful anticipations of young and old, 

 all directed towards the gratifications I was to afford them — I beheld 

 new dresses, pelisses, shawls, bonnets, caps, &c., arrive to each of my 

 female acquaintances, and I was told they were intended to grace my 



