CHARACTERS. 



463 



but in shape much resembling San- 

 cho's ass ; then followed your hum- 

 ble servant on a milk-white pnlfrey, 

 whose reverence for the human 

 kind induced him to be governed 

 by a creature not half as strong, 

 and, I fear, scarce twice as wise as 

 himself. By this enthusiasm of 

 his, rather than my own skill, I 

 rode on in safety, and at leisure, 

 to observe the company ; especi- 

 ally the two figures that brought 

 up the rear. The first was my 

 servant, valiantly armed with two 

 uncharged pistols ; whose holsters 

 were covered with two civil harm- 

 less monsters that signified the va- 

 lour and courtesy of our ancestors. 

 The last was the Doctor's man, 

 whose uncombed hair so resembled 

 the mane of the horse he rode, one 

 could not help imagining they were 

 of kin, and wishing that for the 

 honour of the family they had had 

 one comb betwixt them ; on his 

 head was a velvet cap, much re- 

 sembling a black saucepan, and on 

 his side hung a little basket. Thus 

 did we ride, or rather jog on, to 

 Tunbridge town, which is five 

 miles from the wells. To tell you 

 how the dogs barked at us, the 

 children squalled, and the men and 

 women stared, would take up too 

 much time; let it suffice, that not 

 even a tame magpie, or caged starl- 

 - ing, let us pass unnoted. At last 

 we arrived at the King's-head, 

 where the loyalty of the Doctor 

 induced him to alight, and then, 

 knight errant like, he took his 

 damsels from off their palfreys, and 

 courteously handed us into the inn. 

 We took this progress to see the 

 ruins of an old castle ; but first 

 our divine would visit the church- 

 yard, where we read that folks 

 were born and died, the natural, 



moral, and physical history of man- 

 kind. In the church-yard grazed 

 the parson's steed, whose back was 

 worn bare with carrying a pillion- 

 seat for the comely, fat personage, 

 this ecclesiastic's wife ; and though 

 the creature eat part of the parish, 



he was most miserably lean 



AVhen we had seen the church, 

 the parson invited us to take some 

 refreshment at his house, but Dr. 

 Young thought we had before 

 enough trespassed on the good 

 man's time, so desired to be ex- 

 cused, else we should, no doubt, 

 have been welcomed to the house 

 by Madam, in her muslin pinners, 

 and sarsenet hood ; who would 

 have given us some mead, and a 

 piece of cake, that she had made 

 in the Whitsun holidays, to treat 

 her cousins. However, Dr. Young, 

 who would not be outdone in good 

 offices, invited the divine to our 

 inn, where we went to dinner ; 

 but he excused himself, and came 

 after the meal was over, in hopes 

 of smoking a pipe; but our Doc- 

 tor hinted to him that it would not 

 be proper to offer any incense, but 

 sweet praise, to such goddesses as 

 Mrs. Roll and your humble ser- 

 vant. To say the truth, I saw a 

 large horn tobacco box, with Queen 

 Ann's head upon it, peeping out of 

 his pocket, but I did not care to 

 take the hint, and desire him to 

 put in use that magnificent piece 

 of furniture. After dinner we 

 walked to the old castle, which 

 was built by Richard de Clare, 

 Earl of Gloucester, in William 

 Rufus's days. It has been a most 

 magnificent buildinjj; the situa- 

 tion is extremely beautiful ; the 

 castle made a kind of a half moon 

 down to the river ; and where the 

 river does not defend it, it has been 



