^Nimrod ' 



Comet, at least three miles quicker than the Regulator ; 

 and she performs more than half her journey by lamplight. It 

 is needless to say, then, our senior soon finds out his mistake ; 

 but there is no remedy at hand, for it is the dead of the night, 

 and all the inns are shut up. He must proceed, or be left 

 behind in a stable. The climax of his misfortunes then 

 approaches. Nature being exhausted, sleep comes to his 

 aid, and he awakes on a stage which is called the fastest on 

 the journey — it is four miles of ground, and twelve minutes 

 is the time ! The old gentleman starts from his seat, having 

 dreamed the horses were running away with the coach, and 

 so, no doubt, they might be. He is, however, determined 

 to convince himself of the fact, though the passengers 

 assure him ' all 's right.' ' Don't put your head out of the 

 window,' says one of them, ' you will lose your hat to a 

 certainty ' ; but advice is seldom listened to by a terrified 

 man, and next moment a stentorian voice is heard, crying, 

 * Stop, coachman, stop — I have lost my hat and wig ! ' The 

 coachman hears him not — and in another second the broad 

 wheels of a road waggon have for ever demolished the lost 

 head-gear. But here we must leave our adventurous Gilpin 

 of 1742. We have taken a great liberty with him, it is true, 

 but we are not without our precedent. One of the best 

 chapters in Livy contains the history of * an event which 

 never took place.' In the full charm of his imagination, the 

 historian brings Alexander into Italy, where he never was in 

 his life, and displays him in his brightest colours. We 

 father our sins, then, upon the Patavinian. 



199 



