62 [NCIDENT 



man's family. After calling him by name, he would say, 

 " How's the good lady, sir ? " Sometimes he would go 

 so far as to ask after them individually. " How's Master 

 John or Master George ? " chancing the individual having 

 any such ties, or indeed any ties at all ; and if it proved 

 so, this civilest of porters was never in any way abashed. 



We had not ascended Henley Hill before I discovered 

 that the two gentlemen were not on the best terms with 

 each other — the one endeavoured to impart his feelings 

 on the beauty of the scenery, while ^Dointing out familiar 

 objects of admiration ; the other would pout, and frown, 

 and snub — sometimes looking on with a sulky and in- 

 sulting air, at others denouncing in gross language the 

 kind and conciliatory manner of his senior. 



It did not take me long to discover that they were 

 father and son, and with some reason I surmised that 

 the father was a clergyman, and had been to Oxford to 

 remove his hopeful, who had been placed under the ban 

 of the University. All attempts on the part of the one 

 to divest or allure the thoughts of the other from the loss 

 of some fancied selfish enjoyment, or the sense of deserved 

 degradation, were only met with angry and evil looks, or 

 downright abuse, till at length the former was silent from 

 despair, perhaps from fear that his fellow-passengers 

 might take notice of his reiterated insults ; and with a 

 severe, though softly spoken remonstrance, his eyes 

 swimming in tears, he closed a most painful dialogue. 



During the journey my heart alternately rose in 

 indignation at the perverse conduct of the son, and sank 

 in the deepest sympathy with the heart-broken feelings 

 of the parent, ex]pressed in his sad and rueful countenance. 



