Young man, in less than twenty years, by which time I
shall be dead and gone, England will be surrounded with roads of
metal, on which armies may travel with mighty velocity, and of
which the walls of brass and iron by which the friar proposed to
defend his native land are the types." He then, shaking me by the
hand, proceeded on his way, whilst I returned to the inn.
CHAPTER XXVII
Francis Ardry--His Misfortunes--Dog and Lion Fight--Great Men of
the World.
A few days after the circumstance which I have last commemorated,
it chanced that, as I was standing at the door of the inn, one of
the numerous stage-coaches which were in the habit of stopping
there, drove up, and several passengers got down. I had assisted a
woman with a couple of children to dismount, and had just delivered
to her a band-box, which appeared to be her only property, which
she had begged me to fetch down from the roof, when I felt a hand
laid upon my shoulder, and heard a voice exclaim, "Is it possible,
old fellow, that I find you in this place?" I turned round, and,
wrapped in a large blue cloak, I beheld my good friend Francis
Ardry. I shook him most warmly by the hand, and said, "If you are
surprised to see me, I am no less so to see you; where are you
bound to?"
"I am bound for L-; at any rate, I am booked for that sea-port,"
said my friend in reply.
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