ier understood;
Behold, I dream a dream of good,
And mingle all the world with thee."--_Tennyson._

In the summer of 1842, our hero stopped once again at the well-known
station; and, leaving his bag and fishing-rod with the porter, walked
slowly and sadly up towards the town. It was now July. He had rushed
away from Oxford the moment the term was over, for a fishing ramble in
Scotland with two college friends, and had been for three weeks living
on oat-cake and mutton-hams, in the wildest parts of Skye.[1] They had
descended one sultry evening on the little inn at Kyle Rhea ferry,
and, while Tom and another of the party put their tackle together and
began exploring the stream for a sea-trout for supper, the third
strolled into the house to arrange for their entertainment. Presently,
he came out in a loose blouse and slippers, a short pipe in his mouth,
and an old newspaper in his hand, and threw himself on the heathery
scrub[2] which met the shingle,[3] within easy hail of the fishermen.
There he lay, the picture of free-and-easy, loafing, hand-to-mouth
young England, "improving his mind," as he shouted to them, by the
perusal of the fortnight-old weekly paper, soiled with the marks of
toddy-glasses and tobacco-ashes, the legacy of the last traveller,
which he had hunted out from the kitchen of the little hostelry,[4]
and, being a youth of a communicative turn of mind, began imparting
the contents to the fishermen as he went on.

[1] #Skye#: an island off the west coast of Scotland.

[2] #Scrub#: stunted shrubs.

[3] #Shingle#: a pebbly beach.

[4] #Hostelry#: inn.

"What a bother they are making about these wretched Corn-laws![5]
Here's three or four columns full of nothing but sliding-scales and
fixed duties.[6] Hang this tobacco, it's always going out! Ah, here's
something better,--a splendid match between Kent and England, Brown!
Kent winning by three wickets. Felix fifty-six runs without a chance,
and not out!"

[5] #Corn-laws#: laws imposing a heavy tax on imported grain.
They made bread dear, and caused great distress among the
laboring classes in England.

[6] #Sliding-scales and fixed duties#: different kinds of
revenue tax.

Tom, intent on a fish which had risen at him twice, answered only with
a grunt.

"Anything about the Goodwood?"[7] called out the third man.

[7] #Goodwood#: a famous annual horse-race.

"Rory O'More drawn. Butterfly