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the door of a little alehouse, in the form of a large-bellied, white-aproned host, who demanded whether there was any room, for that there was a "gemman" there who wanted an inside place? The lord of the whip gladly replied, that there was plenty of 'commodation, for that he had but two insides. The traveller accordingly produced himself, and in a minute or two was borne along in rapid progress towards Exeter.

The moment a stage-coach stops, and the little external circumstances of trunks, greatcoats, &c. give notice that a new denizen is about to be admitted into the rolling fraternity within, a certain projecting motion of the neck, a sharpening of the eyes, and slight elevation of the eyebrows, give instant indications of the curiosity excited in the bosoms of each individual of that portable microcosm, to know the character of the stranger, as far as it can be learnt from exterior; and when once he has shuffled himself into a comfortable

fortable seat, stretched out his feet to their most convenient extension, and, in short, arranged the minor economy of his jour ney, the new-admitted traveller himself generally begins to practise on his compa nions the same sort of every-day physiog nomy, and seeks internally to discover, as soon as possible, whether his day is to be spent pleasantly or not, from the assimila tion of those around him with his own previous sentiments and ideas.

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The stranger who entered the Exeter coach, presented to the occupants the ap pearance of a man nearly thirty years of age, though perhaps he was not so much, for there was a kind of shadow on his brow, and a melancholy languor about the eyes, that took away the lightness of youth from a countenance eminently handsome. In height he was about five feet ten, or perhaps more, and in proportion strongly made; but so easy was the line of his figure, that he appeared altogether less tall and less robust than he really was:

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his hat was pressed down on his forehead, and a plain brown greatcoat, buttoned close over his chest, offered nothing in point of dress worthy of remark. This was all that his companions could discern of him, while to his eyes they presented a very different appearance. The first person that attracted his attention was a young man seated on the opposite side of the coach; his dress was in the extreme of vulgar dandyism-vulgar it certainly was, for although as stiff as any exquisite peer in the country, he wanted that air of nonchalance, which shews that the clothes are made stiff for the man, not the man for the clothes. His form was square and inelegant, and his face, though as unmeaning as the rising sun on a signpost, had withal an expression of hard impudence, seemingly intended to bully one out of the civility and consideration he knew he did not deserve.

As far as she could get from her dashing stage-companion, was a young lady,

in

in deep mourning, which accorded well with the melancholy expression of a countenance too beautiful, or rather too interesting, to be easily forgotten. The stranger, as soon as he was placed in the coach, cast a cool, quiet glance at the young man opposite to him, but very soon withdrew his eyes and fixed them on the other traveller, where they rested longer, and seemed for a moment to light up with some agreeable feeling; but soon the heavy dark lashes fell over them again, and leaning back in the vehicle, he fell into a deep fit of thought, while the others. did not break in upon the silence to which his entrance had given rise, but for a few minutes. The young man remained in taciturnity, which his companion gave him no encouragement to cease; for by keeping her eyes fixed upon the prospect as they passed along, she plainly intimated that she did not desire conversation.

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continued for about a quarter of an hour, when the youth, seemingly

VOL. I.

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encouraged

encouraged by the gravity of the stranger, dashed at once into a strain of observations, which, neither from their nature, nor the language in which they were couched, could be particularly agreeable to refined or delicate ears.

Perhaps that chivalrous respect, which once every lady expected as her due, and which every gentleman was proud to of fer, as much from consideration to himself as to her, perhaps in this age it is gone by. But there are still some bosoms, to which the least indelicacy, where the fair and good are concerned, comes with that revolting harshness, that makes them start from the person using it, as they would from contamination. Of this kind seemed the stranger; for suddenly darting a glance of surprise at the speaker, he turned to the young lady, and seemed to inquire by his eyes, if she could listen to such language with complacency. But there was an indignant scorn, almost amounting to anger, in her countenance, that instantly

repelled

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