to answer you and your aunt with. Before I left Southwick
Place for Liverpool, I received a letter from Glasgow, saying, "Your
little Emily has been woo'd and married and a'! since you last saw her;"
and describing her house within a mile or two of the city, and asking
me to stay there. I wrote the usual refusal, and supposed Mrs. ---- to
be some romantic girl whom I had joked with, perhaps at Allison's or
where not. On the first night at Glasgow I received a bouquet from ----,
and wore one of the flowers. This morning at the Glasgow station, ----
appeared, and proved to be the identical Miss Emily, of whose marriage
Dolby had told me on our coming through Preston. She was attired in
magnificent raiment, and presented the happy ----.

[Sidenote: Miss Hogarth.]

LIVERPOOL, _Thursday, April 26th, 1866._

We noticed between London and Rugby (the first stoppage) something very
odd in our carriage yesterday, not so much in its motion as in its
sound. We examined it as well as we could out of both windows, but could
make nothing of it. On our arrival at Rugby, it was found to be on fire.
And as it was in the middle of the train, the train had to be broken to
get it off into a siding by itself and get another carriage on. With
this slight exception we came down all right.

My voice is much better, I am glad to report, and I mean to try Beard's
remedy after dinner to-day. This is all my present news.

[Sidenote: The same.]

DOWN HOTEL, CLIFTON, _Friday, May 11th, 1866._

I received your note before I left Birmingham this morning. It has been
very heavy work getting up at half-past six each morning after a heavy
night, and I am not at all well to-day. We had a tremendous hall at
Birmingham last night--two thousand one hundred people. I made a most
ridiculous mistake. Had "Nickleby" on my list to finish with, instead of
"Trial." Read "Nickleby" with great go, and the people remained. Went
back again at ten and explained the accident, and said if they liked, I
would give them the "Trial." They _did_ like, and I had another
half-hour of it in that enormous place.

This stoppage of Overend and Gurney in the City will play the ---- with
all public gaieties, and with all the arts.

My cold is no better. John fell off a platform about ten feet high
yesterday, and fainted. He looks all the colours of the rainbow to-day,
but does not seem much hurt beyond being puffed up