ed
every part of Spain, the doctor bowed and said he was right, for that he
believed no people in general possessed such accurate information about
countries as those who had travelled them as bagmen. On the Lion asking
the doctor what he meant, the Welshman, whose under jaw began to move
violently, replied that he meant what he said. Here the matter ended,
for the Lion, turning from him, looked at the writer. The writer,
imagining that his own conversation hitherto had been too trivial and
commonplace for the Lion to consider it worth his while to take much
notice of it, determined to assume a little higher ground, and after
repeating a few verses of the Koran, and gabbling a little Arabic, asked
the Lion what he considered to be the difference between the Hegira and
the Christian era, adding that he thought the general computation was in
error by about one year; and being a particularly modest person, chiefly,
he believes, owing to his having been at school in Ireland, absolutely
blushed at finding that the Lion returned not a word in answer. "What a
wonderful individual I am seated by," thought he, "to whom Arabic seems a
vulgar speech, and a question about the Hegira not worthy of an answer!"
not reflecting that as lions come from the Saharra, they have quite
enough of Arabic at home, and that the question about the Hegira was
rather mal a propos to one used to prey on the flesh of hadjis. "Now I
only wish he would vouchsafe me a little of his learning," thought the
boy to himself, and in this wish he was at last gratified; for the Lion,
after asking him whether he was acquainted at all with the Sclavonian
languages, and being informed that he was not, absolutely dumbfoundered
him by a display of Sclavonian erudition.

Years rolled by--the writer was a good deal about, sometimes in London,
sometimes in the country, sometimes abroad; in London he occasionally met
the man of the spectacles, who was always very civil to him, and indeed
cultivated his acquaintance. The writer thought it rather odd that,
after he himself had become acquainted with the Sclavonian languages and
literature, the man of the spectacles talked little or nothing about
them. In a little time, however, the matter ceased to cause him the
slightest surprise, for he had discovered a key to the mystery. In the
meantime, the man of the spectacles was busy enough; he speculated in
commerce, failed, and paid his creditors twenty pennies in the pou