ATRIP TO THE ISLE OF MAN.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2516, 25 August 1888, Page 1 (Supplement)

ATRIP TO THE ISLE OF MAN.

[Continued.] It was just about half past nine when we reached the door, and we found the landlord, the parent of Bella and Sarah, in the act of putting up the shutters. " Good evening," said Walter, " I see we are just in time; yoa seem to keep early hours in Douglas. Half-past nine, and every shop closed; lights in the bedroom windows, and scarcely a soul to be seen in the street#.' "Yes," he replied, "we go to bed early, but then, I for one, have to rise early, or people would get 110 hot rolls for breakfast. I get up every morning at 4 o'clock, so you see 10 at night makes a longish clay of it." " By jove ! yes," said Walter ; I should not like that getting up ; if the day has to be lengthened, I prefer putting it on at the other end." Wo now entered the shop together, and a lamp on the counter, partly turned down, gave just sufficient light to show that the landlord and ourselves were its only occupants. The ladies had vanished. On opening the door at the back we were met by the landlady, with a candle. She informed us the lamp was lighted in the room upstairs, and wished to know if we required anything in the way of supper. We both declined the offer with thanks, and Walter added—" Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof : but you might provide us with a jug of water, and the sugar basin, for Charley here was saying something about a cigarette and a glass of sherry. I don't altogether approve of smoking, but I shall, upon this occasion, sit with him, just to see that the one cigarette is not exceeded." " Well," I said, " that's cool, when the cigarette was his own proposal, and the bottle of sherry is, at this moment, in your own coat pocket." " He is quite correct, madam, in his last remark. The bottle is in my posses, sion. ' Lead us not into temptation'— you understand." So saying, he mounted tho stairs three at a time, and I followed in more decorous fashion. When I entered the room Walter was seated, and appoared to be in 11 brown study. He motioned to me to close the door, and when this was done said in a melodramatic tone. " Now, Charley, which of those gals will bring up the sugar basin ? That's the question." " Why, neither of them, probably," I answered. " Your freo and easy manner is not exactly calculated to inspire confidence in the maternal breast. I expect [ she already begins to doubt whether she may not have inadvertantly admitted a long-legged wolf into her sheepfold." " Poof! nonsense," lie said, "and yet, perhaps, it would be as well to pull up, and drive in another direction. I'll ask who she considers the most gifted, divine in Douglas, as I am anxious to get my money's worth in theology whilst I am here." I was about to reply, when we heard

steps ou the staircase, and presently the door opened, and in came the landlady, bringing in a tray with water jug, sugar basin, and glasses on it. Setting it down on the tilile, she turned to Walter and said—"My daughter informs me that you were asking about our time for closing. We usually go to bed about ten, and 1 don't think you will be able to find much harmless entertainment after that hour in Douglas ; but if you should wish to go to the theatre, or concert, which we have here sometimes, I can give you a latch-key for such an occasion; but • I hope, for your own sakes, that you will not require it very often." She said all this in a kind motherly way," and we both thanked her and said—that probably we might not require the latch-key at all. She smiled, wished us good-night, and left the room. When she was gone, I turned ter, and said—" Well Walter, how about the guardian of unsophisticated youth ? The landlady seems scarcely satisfied that you have arrived at years of discretion yourself yet." Yes," he acknowledged, " there appears to be a lack of faith atpresent ; but she is evidently not a bad sort, is she ?" I acquiesed in this remark, and we had sat silently smoking for a few minutes, when we heard the noise of a door being opened and shut; followed by the sound of footsteps on the stairs. "Hark!" said Walter, "thegirls are going to bed. What do you say to a bathe before breakfast to-morrow ? I'll just open the door and ask tbeui to give us a call about seven, shall I ?" "Oh ! by all means," I said, "we must have a bath every day." Hereupon, he opened the door, and then the footsteps became more audible, accompanied by whispering and subdued laughter. Walter gave a loudish " hem | ana

stepped out of the room, As ho did so, tho sisters appe-ired on the landing. •' I beg pardon, ladies," ho said, "but if either of you should be passing our door about seven in tho morning, would you be kind enough to hit it pretty hard, or shout Fire ! or Murder ! or something of that sort, to rouso us up. Charley is a heavy sleeper at all times, and I feel so awfully tired myself, after the cares and toils of this day, that I am afraid I should never awake again without assistance." Here I went out on to the landing, and said, Wo wish to have a bath before breakfast, if you will be kind enough to call us." " Oh '. ccrtainly ! I will do so with pleasure," said Sarah, and added, looking at Walter, "we have a rather largo hand-bell in the house; do you think if I rang that at your door it would be sufficient." " That's tho very thing," said Walter ; " I shall think its the firo bell; and that generally wakes me, even if it is a loDg way off. What a happy thought it was; we shall he called by the house bell, rung by a belle of the house, if your sinter would only chime in, there would be peal of belles. Yes! that will be delicious to be roused from slumber by tho music of the belles." " I don't think yon would much admire the tone of ouis," said Sarah, "bo we won't resort to the bell until all else fails. Good night gentlemen. We bade them good night, and went back to our rourn. As I was proceeding to light my cigarette Walter said, "That's what I call ringing the changes ; but, I say, don't sit down again ; let's go to bed, for I'm awfully tired." As I could scarcely keep my own eyes open, I was not sorry to hear him say this ; so we lighted our candle, and went straight to our bedroom, and I think in ten minutes from that time we were both fast asleep. CHAPTER 11. Did you ever notice how dreams are sometimes modified by, and take their shape from what is going on around üb, especially just before waking? Next morning I lay in bed, dreaming that I was at home, and in the old, familiar sitting room. I was seated on one sido of the fircplaco, and my mother on tho other. I had made some remark, or asked 60ine question ; but about what, I can't/emember, when my mothef looked up, and somewhat to my astonishment, answered quite sharply, 7 o'clock. I was puzzling myself to know what she could mean by this, when a parrot, whose cage always hangs in the room, struck his beak several time against the door of his cage, and repeated 7 o'clock. This surprised me even more, as, although the bird could imitate all sorts of sounds and repeat many Jsentences, yet, I thought I had never heard him say anything quite so plainly before, then another parrot appeared iu the cage, and the two birds fluttered their wings, aud I distinctly heard them whisper to each other, though I failed to catch what they said. Then they both hammered the side of the cage, and repeated louder than ever, 7 o'clock. I woke with a start, and plainly heard a rapping at the door of the room, and the voice of the cider sister say once more— 7 o'clock. I sprang at once into a sitting posture, and said. " Thank you ; I am afraid I have given you some trouble f" " Oh ! no," she replied : " no trouble ; only I began to be afraid that 1 should have to fetch tho bell after all." And then I heard laughing, aud the footsteps of raoie than one person move away from the door ; so the whispering of the parrots in my dream was accounted for. The sound of my voice woke Walter, who lazily opened his eyes, and wanted to know what was the matter? Then he sat up in bed, stared confusedly about tho room for a moment, and suddenly realised where he was, and what haij happened. Down ho fell again, flat on the bed "with—"l say Charley, that bath don't seem so desirable this morning as it did last night. I vote for another snooze, and poslpone the confounded thing till after breakfast." "Oh," I said, "that would never do after giving the girls the trouble to call us up. Come, tumble out, old fellow, a swim will do you all the good in the world." " Will it though ?" he regained, " but I don't know that I want any good to be done to me ; I am very well as I am. Oh ! you mean to go, do you ? Well then I suppose I must turn out, but mind this is not to bo repeated. We have no right to make rash promises over night of what we will do next morning ; the feelings and conditions are not the same at early dawn as they are at Funset. I see clearly now what an act of folly it is now to turn out of a warm bed at such an unearthly hour just to get into the sea, getting deeper inch by iuch, aDd gasping for breath at every step. It seems little short of insanity. After a good breakfast, aDd towards the middle of tho day, tho thing might be endurable—nay, perhaps desirable—but, depend upon it, that bathing first thing iu the morning is altogether a mistake. ' He hud been slowly putting on his clothes, notwithstanding ail this grumbling, and was ready to start almost as soon as myself. We walked down stairs, and into the shop, I first, and Walter following, muttering and growling all the time. No oue was there, so wc passed through and started at a brisk pace towards the beach. (To be continued).