, 1861-08-15
A travelling Aeauaintance.

to secure for themselves an agreeable travelling
| companion.
Having to take this journey very often, and
laborIng under the above disadvantages as do,
the practice Of looking out for eligible fellow
passengers, at Kings Cross or Euston Square,
has made me pretty perfect in ny judgments.
Tho most efrsory Of gances sutices to convince
me of Who's Who, in the nine A. NJ, in the case
Of iour.fifths Of its live stock, whose rank and
situation can approximate to with the fidelity
Of Q collector Of income-tax, and whose very
opinions can often predict without giving them
the trouble Of opening theft lips.
FOur.ifhs Of the hiiman race-or at all events,
Of so much Of it as travels in the arst-class by
railway-can be assorted in about half a-dozen
pigeOn-h0les, and when you have seen q speci.
men Of each description, you have seen all, the
rest being but duplicates.
Club f0gy, arm swell, man Of business; coun.
try gentleman, parson, and individual with
grievance-very nice people oil, without doubt
and may they live thousand years at the very
least but just conceive an eleven hours jour
ney in the same carriage with any one Of themi
Of the gentler sex say nothing, save Bless their
hearts, and may they never grow . day olaerl
For ~ to being shut up for eleven hours with
the same female, ain very sure that the honor
would be altogether too much for me.
My sphere Of choice, then, being THUS mar
rowed to one-iiith Of the human race (male) who
travel in frst-class carriages, and my eye being,
as have said unerring, generally choose the
carriage which is occupied by the most intelli.
gent man In the train. | never indeed made 4
mistake that Gun remember, but once, when,
at the same instant 10 which deposited myself
and my carpet bag in carriage, the individual
whose appearance had captivated me, walked
straight out Of il with bis hands In his pockets.
kh0 fra IF IuI ne
occasion to set out northward, as usual, from
Eu ton Square. was little late and hurried,
and there was not very varied collection OF
passengers to choose from. As walked hastily
by the side Of the already occupied carriages,
the unthihkiDg guard would, in his impatiehce,
have twice consigned me to durance vle-once
in company with q whole Juvenile family, who
had already commenced eating and smelling Of
ham sandwiches, and once with no less than five
Celedonians, only waiting for an tngishman
that they might begin to dilate upon the perfec-
tons Of their native land. I cast myself into
the last through carriage in despair, and without
SO much as looking before me. II was probable
that my luck would be better; It could hardly,
as may be imagined, at all events, be much
worse.
Beside myself, the carriage had but one other
occupant; young man Of an altogether gen.
tlemanly appearance, except perhaps, that bis
clothes looked suspiciously new, and his hat
somewhat too glossy. He was not reading the
1imGs so intently but that he could spare scru.
tinizing glance at the new arrival, as Fammed
my carpet-bag under the seat with my hands,
and kept sharp lookout, under my right arm,
on him. When rose, he was again buried in
-yesi-in the advertisement sheet. The gen.
tleman, then, had probably some good reason for
concealing his talent for observation. Nobody
nh Il, ma fnf
up in an advertisement sheet; and my compan-
ion, ! felt sure, was In want Of no such thing
HIS profession, whatever that might be, had been
settled long ago, and the hshing.rod and guide.
book which reposed over his head disclosed Q
young gentleman with money to spare, who vas
about To take q summer holiday among the
trout streams Of the north. One circumstance,
which occurred just after we started, persuaded
me that he must needs be lawyer, land indeed,
as afterwards turned out, his pursuits did some
what partake Of the nature Of that callng,) 80
much did il smack Of ready reasoning and prac.
tised acuteness Leaning out Of the window as
the train began to move, the wind carried away
bis glossy hat; wheTeupon, instead Of sitting
down iorlOrnly, and muttering Good graeiousl
or C0ntOund Il the young man seized upon his
hat-box and launched that after the missing pro.
perty.
"My hat-box,n he explained, in answer to my
stare Of amazement "has got my Edinburgh
address in II, but my hat has not. The one Is Of
little use without the other, and ii is probable,
since We have barely left the station, that they
will both be found and forwarded to me by the
next train"
Here was an orieiDall Here was n grand az.
ception 70 Iiye-iill6s Of the human race who
travel in first.class carriagesi nugsed myself
at the notion OF having secured SO PROMISING a
COMPANION. and that, loo. aIter such 4 couple Of
previous escapes.
"But how do you know" I urged, because
I had nothing better to say, and was determined,
at all risks. not TO suffer the conversation to
drop: chow do YOU know that somebody won't