TWO FOREIGNERS ON COACHING 239 



powering him with questions about home, and with 

 school anecdotes. I looked after them with a feeling in 

 which I do not know whether pleasure or melancholy- 

 predominated; for I was reminded of those days when, 

 like them, I had neither known care nor sorrow, and a 

 holiday was the summit of earthly felicity. We stopped 

 a few minutes afterwards to water the horses, and on 

 resuming our route, a turn of the road brought us in 

 sight of a neat country seat. I could just distinguish 

 the forms of a lady and two young girls in the portico, 

 and I saw my little comrades, with Bantam, Carlo and 

 old John, trooping along the carriage road. I leaned out 

 of the coach window in hopes of witnessing the happy 

 meeting, but a grove of trees shut it from my sight. 



"In the evening we reached a village where I had 

 determined to pass the night. As we drove into the 

 great gateway of the inn, I saw on one side the light of 

 a rousing kitchen fire beaming through a window. I 

 entered, and admired, for the hundredth time, that 

 pidlure of convenience, neatness and broad, honest 

 enjoyment, the kitchen of an English inn. It was of 

 spacious dimensions, hung round with copper and tin 

 vessels highly polished, and decorated here and there 

 with a Christmas green. Hams, tongues, and flitches 

 of bacon, were suspended from the ceiling; a smoke- 

 jack made its ceaseless clanking beside the fire-place, 

 and a clock ticked in one corner. A well-scoured deal 

 table extended along one side of the kitchen, with a cold 

 round of beef and other hearty viands upon it, over 

 which two foaming tankards of ale seemed mounting 

 guard. Travellers of inferior order were preparing to 

 attack this stout repast, while others sat smoking and 

 gossiping over their ale on two high-backed oaken 

 settles beside the fire. Trim housema ds were hurrying 

 backwards and forwards under the direction of a fresh 



