has a good and right constitution of soul, can bear the attacks of anger, and grief, and disappointment, and be rather pleased wlth them than otherwise-that's the way to look at sublunary things."

The station of Three Bridges, as we have said, had been already passed; several changes of carriages had taken place, for passengers going to Epsom, Dorking, Tunbridge, and Horsham, places situated off the main line of route, and as it had been hinted to our travellers that they, too, would have to change once or twice before arriving at Eastbourne, and having no very brilliant organs of locality, or even theoretical knowledge of Sussex geography, they became proportionably fidgetty.

The matter of the tickets now began again to be agitated, and, after due consideration it was determined, on approaching Lewes, that the desperate expedient of confessing their situation should be resorted to, and accordingly, Bob Buggins, deputed as the most staid-looking of the party, hailed a policeman on their arrival at that place, and after a little circumlocution, placed the facts of the case before him.

eye

Unfortunately the blue-coated individual happened to catch the of Widget, which was signifying to Rosa, with a very expressive wink, its owner's confidence in the skill and dexterity of his friend Robert. This little action appeared very suspicious and momentous to one so deeply versed in all the secrets of human nature as the railway policeman in question, and, coupled with the green tie, proclaimed poor Widget to be something suspicious and illegal, not to say decidedly contraband and swell-mobish. He hesitated, fastened a severe scowl upon Whibbleton-imagined himself greater than Fouché-thought it a very bad business, and one that must certainly be referred to the station-master-and was just proceeding to extremeties, to the indescribable horror of Buggins and Widget, when his eye luckily caught that of our poor Rosa, who was looking up with such an impress of true alarm, such a speechless and touching air of consternation, that it completely revolutionised all his ideas-electro-biologized him into a totally different frame of mind; and when, with all the loveliness of conscious innocence (as some of our older moralists would never have failed to say, with so good an opportunity as this before them) when with most beseeching glance she spoke a few words, entreating him to make the best of it, the stern and punctilious guardian changed into a meek and obliging lamb in his manner; something almost approaching to a smile relaxed the grimness of his visage, and in a voice two or three notes above gruff, he politely exclaimed, Well, gents, all as you can do is to pay when you gets to the

end of your journey. Tell the people at the next station how it happened, and you'll have no difficulty."

These words were like a reprieve to our anxious friends. The policeman walked nonchalantly away, sliding his hand along the sill of the door, where his fingers encountered a shilling, which by some remarkable sleight of hand had been conjured there out of Bob Buggins's pocket, without any one knowing anything at all about it. The discovery did not cause a muscle of the blue coat's face to move, as he quietly withdrew his paw and deposited it in a safer position in his pocket, doubtless to keep it out of the way of the train, which just then began to move, and was soon rushing along again at the rate of thirty miles an hour.

Our readers will be indignant to hear, that though Whibbleton very properly persisted in ascribing the lucky escape of the whole party to the influence of charming Rosa, the philosophical and unpoetical Robert dared to ascribe the greater part of their good fortune to the paltry shilling that lay upon the door sill, and the modest girl supported her brother in this opinion, averring that the laws of attraction of metals were something beyond what she had ever before supposed or could have believed, but for this "occular demonstration."

It was nearly 10 A.M. when the carriages stopped at the little Polegate Station, where our friends had to change for Eastbourne. After the carpet-bag and portmanteau had been duly cared for, the matter of the tickets was satisfactorily arranged by Buggins, and the next train enquired for, as no less than three were in waiting, one which was going back again to London; and others on the branch lines for Hailsham and Eastbourne.

The impatient steam hissing and fizzing, sometimes stopping, and then commencing again when any nervous subject wanted to talk-darting at intervals in an insane manner from pipes under the engines-the rush of officials and porters, and shouts of engine-drivers and guards, quite confused poor Widget, who made a point of butting against piles of luggage, being run over by trucks, and asking despairing questions of the least likely persons as to what he was to do next. His appearance becoming heated and decidedly alarming, a porter, who had been looking out for the fussy gentleman's keeper, who, as he declared, had no business to leave him for a moment, seized upon the luggage as a dernier resort, and deposited it in a carriage along with Widget and Rosa, looking upon the latter with an air of commiseration, and shutting the door upon them. Buggins who had been upon an exploring tour quite to another part of the station, came suddenly round the corner, and beholding his friends comfortably seated, soon joined

them, Widget declaring to the last that they were all right, luggage and all, and that he had the authority of a small nurse girl, with a baby in her arms, that they should be at Eastbourne in a quarter of an hour at furthest.

This information, and the distribution of the Eastbourne tickets, which Robert had obtained, completely restored the equanimity of our friends, and Rosa began to think that, after so many disasters, or, as her brother would begin

"Per varios casos per tot discrimina rerum
Tendimus in Eastbourne."

(but here she stopped his mouth); but after so heartrending a commencement, Fate would surely look upon them with a smiling countenance for the remainder of the journey. The short train was rapidly whirled along on the branch, where there was only a single line of rails, and in due time they arrived at the end thereof -an unpretending station-a few hills and trees, and a winding road.

"And this," said Rosa, "is Eastbourne at last!”

"Who would think this was a watering-place?" cried Whibby, "where are the houses? Where is the sea? Ah, well! we shall find them all better after breakfast. Bless me! no conveyances—— why we shall have to walk.”

"No one," said Rosa, "to admire the green tie; but think of the promenade in the evening."

So the luggage was left at the station to be sent for, when our travellers had fixed upon their hotel, and they sallied forth into the fresh, pure air and beautiful warm sun, glad to escape from the confinement of the carriages. The tickets were given to the policemen who asked for them, and who put them into his pocket apparently without looking at them or making any remark; and so, departing from the little railway, and winding up a pretty country hill by a white, broad road, our friends entered the village of

CHAPTER III.

Keep not standing fixed and rooted,
Briskly veuture, briskly roam
Head and hand, where'er thou foot it,

And stout heart, are still at home.

In each land the sun doth visit

We are gay, whate'er betide,

To give room for wandering, was it
That the world was made so wide.

WILHEM MEISTER.

In the last chapter we left our friends Whibbleton Widget, Rosa, and Bob Buggins entering the little village, after between three

and four hours travelling, which had prepared them admirably for a dejeuner a la fourchette, but unluckily, the only house of entertainment which they could find was one of a hybrid character, which certainly did not aspire to the designation of hotel, and only just sustained the character of an inn, from its very homely appearance. However, at entering, they discovered that the place possessed, at all events, a tolerably decent parlour, though it was extremely small, and their first commands were, that chops and coffee should be forthwith prepared. While the necessary preparations were being made, Widget voluntered to go out and have a glance at the sea, and turning to the landlady, he expressed his surprise that no part of it could be perceived either from the windows or the brow of the little hill.

"Bless your life, Sir," exclaimed the good woman, with an amazed expression of countenance, "why it's miles away; you can't expect to catch sight of it all that way off, and before breakfast too!"

"Well," said Buggins, coming to his friend's assistance, “I always understood Eastbourne to be on the coast, and not at all inland. Why I have heard of the encroachments of the winter tides there. Stop a bit-supposing one foot gained in a hundred years, in the time of the Ancient Britons it is probable—”

"Quite right, Sir," interrupted the landlady, giving credence beforehand to anything our friend might be pleased to imagine as to marine matters in general, "quite right, Sir, the Eastbourne houses front the sea, and from all the windows you have no other prospect. Why, at this time in the morning, the noise of the tide upon the beach is quite uncommon."

"That's a bit of a crammer, old lady!" cried Widget, "we've come from London this morning, sharp-set, and no mistake—none of your tricks upon travellers!"

"Well, I'm sure; do you mean to say I don't know what I am about? Hav'nt I lived at Eastbourne fourteen years? was'nt I married to an Irishman there, who built a house right on the very beach, the worse luck to him, as bad as throwing his money into the sea? Don't the waters come up to the very door of it? -Many the time the kitchens have been full, and myself all but drowned."

"There, now," began Buggins, "hav'nt you flatly contradicted yourself? Didn't you tell my friend just now that the sea did'nt come anywhere near Eastbourne, and was many miles away ?" "Never, no such thing; wasn't likely; why of course you can see the water from every one of the windows; I'll defy you to prove to the contrary!"

Here the good lady bounced out of the room, leaving our trio in utter amazement, and staring all round them in the vain attempt to discover the sea, which the landlady had, apparently so emphatically, declared came up to the very doors of the house. There was nothing to be seen from the bow window but peaceful banks of trees, hills, and the blue sky, though Widget declared he could smell the ocean breeze, and Buggins philosophically explained the cause of a thirst which he felt, by ascribing its origin to the invisible salt water which surrounded them. As for Rosa, divers fairy tales came into her head. and she discovered at last something white in the distance which ought to have been a glittering bay or creek, or else a magician with a silver wand at least, but which resolved itself, on more minute examination, into a very unromantic cloth hanging out to dry!

By mutual consent the conclusion that the landlady was certainly incomprehensible and possibly demented, was unanimously agreed to, and very shortly our party were comfortably enjoying their hardearned and well-relished coffee and chops

"Any eggs?" said the landlady, who had re-appeared, “and do you require beds? Do you think of staying long at Hailsham ?" Widget put down his fork, on which was a portentous morsel of mutton, in the greatest dismay, and remained, statuesque, with open mouth.

Buggins, we regret to say, (being so shockingly vulgar) actually choked himself with some coffee that he happened to be drinking at that unlucky moment, and Rosa let the loaf fall, which she was engaged in buttering, upon the milk-jug, causing a terrible "confusion," that was rendered " worse confounded," by Widget stammering out, “ Hail—Hail—Hailsham,—what do you mean by this-eh?" looking ferociously at the poor woman. "Now don't tell me that this is not Eastbourne, you only try, that's all, we've had quite enough humbug already, and I more than half believe you're demented!"

"Upon my word," exclaimed the landlady, aghast at the remarkable sensation she had so soon produced, "demented, indeed! why you're mad! no doubt about that, I should say. Indeed! "surveying Buggins with an apprehensive glance, "I do believe you're all lunatics escaped out of some asylum-of course it's Hailsham, not Eastbourne! what on earth do you expect!"

"Whibbleton!" cried Rosa, "I felt certain there was something wrong when we got into that train at Polegate. Did you ever see such a chapter of accidents ?"

"Say that we're gone to the moon at once," roared Widget,