Behold Us Then In This
Expedition; Myself Wrapped Up In A Very Heavy Greatcoat, And My
Cane In My Hand.
I did not imagine I could have walked a couple
of miles in this equipage, had my life been depending; my wife a
delicate creature, who had scarce ever walked a mile in her life;
and the ragamuffin before us with our boxes under his arm.
The
night was dark and wet; the road slippery and dirty; not a soul
was seen, nor a sound was heard: all was silent, dreary, and
horrible. I laid my account with a violent fit of illness from
the cold I should infallibly catch, if I escaped assassination,
the fears of which were the more troublesome as I had no weapon
to defend our lives. While I laboured under the weight of my
greatcoat which made the streams of sweat flow down my face and
shoulders, I was plunging in the mud, up to the mid-leg at every
step; and at the same time obliged to support my wife, who wept
in silence, half dead with terror and fatigue. To crown our
vexation, our conductor walked so fast, that he was often out of
sight, and I imagined he had run away with the boxes. All I could
do on these occasions, was to hollow as loud as I could, and
swear horribly that I would blow his brains out. I did not know
but these oaths and menaces might keep other rogues in awe.
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