The Adventures of Mr. Ledbury and His Friend Jack Johnson (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: road, whilst he had been connected with the diligence, some of which he had related so often, that he actually believed them to be true. However, they had the effect of beguiling time; and, as Jack Johnson never allowed himself to be outdone, he also told some extraordinary stories ; so that the journey passed very pleasantly on all sides. As evening approached, and darkness gradually stole over the bare and expansive tract of country on each side of them, the conversation became less animated, and, under the combined influence of travelling, weariness, eating, and drinking, our two friends bethought themselves of trying to catch a little slumber. The conducteur routed out two or three sheepskins from under the seat of thebanquette, which proved very acceptable, as the evening air was rather chilly. Mr. Ledbury shrank into a corner of the vehicle, and, taking off his spectacles, shut his eyes by main force, and fell into the monomania usually attendant upon night-travelling, of endeavouring to make himself think that he was going to sleep. Mr. Johnson, on the contrary, crept over the back of the seat under the luggage-tarpaulin, and, by changing the positions of sundry boxes and portmanteaus, cleared a space sufficient for him to recline in nearly at full length, wedging himself in with stray carpet-bags, and using a sheepskin as a coverlid. When he had arranged himself to his satisfaction, and lighted his pipe, he called out: ' Halloo, Leddy! how are you getting on ?' ' I am very comfortable, thank you,' replied his companion, sorry to find that he himself was not asleep. ' How are you ?' ' Oh! all right?look here.' ' You seem very strangely situated,' cried Mr. Ledbury, peering into the space behind, wherein all he could see were Jack Johnson's boots up in the air...