6 Memoir of Tom Smith. 



again in liis iisiial bold and straightforward 

 manner ; and as the Colonel was not yet pro- 

 vided with a horse, he most urgently offered 

 to lend him his own, when he was sur- 

 prised by the Colonel holding up both hands 

 as if shocked at the thought, exclaiming at 

 the same time, ^'Eide your hunter ! I would not 

 get on the back of your horse, or any horse in 

 the world, on any account whatever; I have 

 entii'ely lost my nerve ever since my adven- 

 ture in Italy." This he related as follows : 

 '' When travelling in Italy, and sleeping at an 

 inn not famed for its good character, I had 

 fastened my bedroom door by an additional 

 matter of my o^vn, that is, with a stout walk- 

 ing-stick, having a spike at each end, — one 

 stuck into the floor, and the other into the 

 door. After lying quiet, as if asleep, for some 

 time, in the middle of the night I heard a 

 noise opposite the foot of the bed, and saw 

 that part of a panel was gently moving ; next, 

 with my eyes nearly closed, I saw a man come 



