Oh! how indescribably beautiful was this evening and
this walk! At a distance among the houses I could easily descry the
inn where I lodged, and where I seemed to myself at length to have
found a place of refuge and a home; and I thought, if I could but
stay there, I should not be very sorry if I were never to find
another.
How soon did all these pleasing dreams vanish! On my return the
waiters (who, from my appearance, too probably expected but a
trifling reward for their attentions to me) received me gruffly, and
as if they were sorry to see me again. This was not all; I had the
additional mortification to be again roughly accosted by the cross
maid who had before shown me to the bed-chamber, and who, dropping a
kind of half courtesy, with a suppressed laugh, sneeringly told me I
might look out for another lodging, as I could not sleep there,
since the room she had by mistake shown me was already engaged. It
can hardly be necessary to tell you that I loudly protested against
this sudden change. At length the landlord came, and I appealed to
him; and he with great courtesy immediately desired another room to
be shown me, in which, however, there were two beds, so that I was
obliged to admit a companion. Thus was I very near being a second
time turned out of an inn.
Directly under my room was the tap-room, from which I could plainly
hear too much of the conversation of some low people, who were
drinking and singing songs, in which, as far as I could understand
them, there were many passages at least as vulgar and nonsensical as
ours.
This company, I guessed, consisted chiefly of soldiers and low
fellows. I was hardly well lulled to sleep by this hurly-burly,
when my chum (probably one of the drinking party below) came
stumbling into the room and against my bed. At length, though not
without some difficulty, he found his own bed, into which he threw
himself just as he was, without staying to pull off either clothes
or boots.
This morning I rose very early, as I had proposed, in order to climb
the two hills which yesterday presented me with so inviting a
prospect, and in particular that one of them on the summit of which
a high white house appeared among the dark-green trees; the other
was close by.
I found no regular path leading to these hills, and therefore went
straight forward, without minding roads, only keeping in view the
object of my aim.
