The Sun.
London, England, 1842-11-02 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 2, 1842.

leave London before the mail, in which' very plhee'
had been secured. Perplexed, and by this time some-
what alarmed, he readily seized the only chance left
for him, and paying part of his fare, was booked
forthwith in a feigned. name. Being now more at
ease, he had opportunity for contemplating the proba-
bi:ities of his incarceration in this rotatory lazaretto.
The " Invalid " professedly travelled-, slowly for the
benefit of its ailing inmates, taking them only part
of the journey on the first, day, and concluding it
late enough on the second, so that it was a coach
which really performed what it professed to &---
namely, " slept on the road." Evidently waiting
the arrival of the said " Bath Invalid," a hackney
vehicle was drawn up to the office, containing an
elderly gentleman, who, as it transpired, bast taken
one place for his body, and another for his legs,
which were swaddled in flannel, as he sat at that
moment writhing under a severe paroxysm of gout.
With a sigh did our young friend gaze upon a
face in which was the mingled expression of
pain arising from disease, and fury the re-
sult of pain. "My penance is likely to go
' hand in hand with my offence," mentally eja-
culated he, as he contemplated two long days
in all the horrors of this " middle passage !"
The " Bath pair-horse Invalid" now drew up as so-
lemnly for the elderly gentleman as that still gloomier
vehicle, which, in all probability, would be the next
and last in his mortal service. The operation of
transferring him from one body to the other was in
progress, which, to the adagio of a volley of curses,
was at length accomplished. Rewarding his atten-
dants with a look of renewed fury, he pulled up the
glasses with all the violence he could master, and was
heard no more—for the present. It was now within
ten minutes of the professed time of starting, and as
poor Elliston was speculating on the next character he
might be introduced to in this drama of " The Bath
Road," the coach-door was again opened to the ap-
proach, "with lingering steps Wand slow," of a tall
female, labouring under a sharp attack of inflamed
eyes, and conducted by a footboy, who was beguiling
his tortoise pace by licking what still adhered to the
paper wrapper of some baked treacle. The ceremony
of conveying this sufferer to the interior of the coach
was nearly as tedious, but a far more grateful task,
than the former; and though our young runaway had
still less and less reason to congratulate himself on
his fortune of the morning, he could not help feeling
some sympathy with the unsightly lady, as she timidly
took her place to the serenade of the only language
the rabid gentleman seemed to have retained the
slightest recollection of. Faithful on the pavement to
the very last, though he had heard twenty times the
coach was then starting, EllistOn, the third patient,
entered the narrow ward of this migrating hospital.
Placing himself next to the swaddled feet of the raving
mar yr, and opposite to two faces, one the largest he
had ever gazed on 0.. t of a masquerade shop, and the
other the longest he had ever seen out of the convex
of a silver spoon, he was conveyed by degrees from the
rugged pavement of Piccadilly to travel one hundred
and ten miles at the same rate of enjoyment.

The " Persian Poet's Tomb" is from the pen of
Miss Catherine Parr. The versification of the
poem is sweet and unaffected.- The " Cholera in
Ireland" is sufficiently explained by the title;
some of the descriptions are vigorous and impres-
sive. " Dix, the Younger," is a lively sketch of
an elderly dandy, who is anxious to be consi-
dered—a weakness by no means confined to,
dandies—infinitely more juvenile than he is ;
who " intends in a year or two, to retain but a
vague remembrance of the Reform Bill struggle;
and to fix with a graceful loyalty his first firm
recollection on the coronation of Queen Victoria."
" Purchasing a Property" is a passable tale,
showing how one Mr. Launcelot Barham was in-
veigled into the purchase of—to quote the auc-
tioneer's words—" an elegant and substantially
built stone residence on' the banks of the
Thames," which on inquiry he found was no
other than the abandoned Toll-house at Staines-
bridge ! The " Duke of Wellington and Richard
Coeur De Lion" is a ridiculous attempt to insti-
tute a parallel between these two warriors, who
are as much opposed to each other as light to
shade. Richard's chief peculiarity was the high
and chivalrous tone of his sentiments; the Duke
has not an atom of sentiment or chivalry in his
composition. Richard was a rash, headstrong
soldier—the Duke remarkable for his patience
and caution.