266 MEMOIR OF GEORGE WILSON. CHAP. VI. 



in my ankles, where they manoeuvred last night to an extent 

 that put sleep for a long while out of the question. My ankles, 

 therefore, to your head, tie us neck and heel together, and we 

 would sympathize famously ; as that cannot be very conve- 

 niently done at present, you must take the heart's sympathy in 

 lieu thereof. 



" I have at last seen in the ' Athenaeum' your work an- 

 nounced, and shall look out for it. I hope things mend a little, 

 and the clouds break up ; still I fear you are like myself trad- 

 ing on the future. I have begun new classes ; have got six 

 pupils, one of whom, poor soul, begged a ticket, a deserving 

 widow's son ; it did me good in my present dreariness to be able 

 to give him one. Of the remaining five one has paid me, the 

 others have requested to be excused doing so for some time to 

 come, which is a very pleasant thing for a poor debtor. I do 

 believe I have got two of them solely because they were con- 

 vinced that I was more likely to give credit than the other men. 

 However, they are gentlemen, and will pay. The present dul- 

 ness of my life was most delightfully interrupted last night in. a 

 rather odd way. I have a friend and pupil, a Mr. Da Costa, 

 a Portuguese from Madeira, who has often begged me to accom- 

 pany him to evening concerts. This I always declined, having 

 been positively forbidden to go out at night. Some days ago 

 he came to tell me of a famous concert, and very earnestly 

 begged me to go with him. This I declined again, on the old 

 plea, adding, that I was too poor, moreover, and could not afford 

 the sum. ' Oh then/ said he, ' I'll go for you.' ' Very well/ 

 quoth I, and so the matter was left. I could not understand 

 why he always kept talking about the concert, till last night it 

 came out. At seven o'clock Signor Da Costa makes his ap- 

 pearance, dressed, and acquaints me that if we wanted good seats 

 we must set off immediately. A great deal of confusion and 

 enlightenment succeeded ; in the course of which I said, ' My 

 dear Signor, I told you I could not go/ ' But you said/ re- 

 plied he, ' " very well," when I said I should go for you/ The 

 murder was out ; the Signor intended to say I will come or call 

 for you ; his phrase I interpreted as meaning I will go instead 

 of you. After the kind, good soul had done so much, it behoved 



