I soon reached L-, a small but neat town. "Where is the - Arms?"
said I to a man whom I met.

"Yonder, sir, yonder," said he, pointing to a magnificent structure
on the left.

I went in and found myself in a spacious hall. A good-looking
young woman in a white dress with a profusion of pink ribbons
confronted me with a curtsey. "A pint and a chop!" I exclaimed,
with a flourish of my hand and at the top of my voice. The damsel
gave a kind of start, and then, with something like a toss of the
head, led the way into a very large room, on the left, in which
were many tables, covered with snowy-white cloths, on which were
plates, knives and forks, the latter seemingly of silver, tumblers,
and wine-glasses.

"I think you asked for a pint and a chop, sir?" said the damsel,
motioning me to sit down at one of the tables.

"I did," said I, as I sat down, "let them be brought with all
convenient speed, for I am in something of a hurry."

"Very well, sir," said the damsel, and then with another kind of
toss of the head, she went away, not forgetting to turn half round,
to take a furtive glance at me, before she went out of the door.

"Well," said I, as I looked at the tables, with their snowy-white
cloths, tumblers, wine-glasses and what not, and at the walls of
the room glittering with mirrors, "surely a poet never kept so
magnificent an inn before; there must be something in this fellow