142 AUDUBON 



new gentlemen whose appearance I liked ; we soon com- 

 menced to chat, and before long were wandering all over 

 America, part of India, and the Atlantic Ocean. We dis- 

 cussed the emancipation of the slaves, and the starvation 

 of the poor in England, the Corn Law, and many other 

 topics, the while I looked frequently from the windows. 

 The approach to Lancaster is beautiful ; the view of the 

 well placed castle is commanding, and the sea view bounded 

 by picturesque shores. We dined at Kendal, having passed 

 through Bolton and Burton, but before this my two inter- 

 esting companions had been left behind at a place where 

 we stopped to change horses, and only caught up with the 

 coach by running across some fields. This caused much 

 altercation between them, the driver, and the guard ; one of 

 the proprietors of the coach who was on board interfered, 

 and being very drunk made matters worse, and a complaint 

 was lodged against driver and guard. The tall gentleman 

 was now wide awake; he introduced himself as a Mr. 

 Walton, and knew the other gentlemen, who were father and 

 son, the Messrs. Patison from Cornwall ; all were extremely 

 polite to me, a stranger in their land, but so have I ever 

 found the true English gentleman. 



We now entered a most dreary country, poor beyond 



description, immense rolling hills in constant succession, 



dotted here and there with miserable cots, the residences of 



poor shepherds. No game was seen, the weather was 



bleak and rainy, and I cannot say that I now enjoyed the 



ride beyond the society of my companions. We passed 



through Penrith and arrived at Carlisle at half-past nine, 



having ridden one hundred and twenty-two miles. I was 



told that in hard winters the road became impassable, so 



choked with snow, and that when not entirely obstructed 



it was customary to see posts painted black at the top, 



every hundred yards or so, to point out the road surely. 



We had a miserable supper, but good beds, and I enjoyed 



mine, for I felt very wearied, my cold and cough having 



