PUNCH,
OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
Vol. 93.
October 29th, 1887.
QUITE A LITTLE HOLIDAY.
Extract from a Grand Old Diary. Monday, Oct. 17.
Self, wife, and Herbert started early to escape our kind-hearted, clear-headed admirers; so early, that I scarcely had time before leaving to write thirty post-cards, seventy-six pages of notes for my next magazine article, and to cut down half-a-dozen trees. Train announced to leave Chester at 10:30, but got off at the hour. This little joke (Watkin’s notion) caused much amusement. Through opera-glasses we could see bands of music, deputations, &c., constantly coming to the railway-stations to meet our train after it had passed. Too bad! However, to prevent disappointment, and as Chamberlain has been imitating me and vulgarised my original idea, I knocked off some speeches, in pencil, and Herbert threw them out of the window as fast as I could write them. So far as we could make out with a telescope, some of them reached their destination, and seemed to be well received.
