ABSTRACT
I had not walked more than a mile, when I was suddenly overtaken by two men on horseback; they slackened their pace as they passed me, and stopping short, entered into conversation. The moon was just beginning to rise, and its faint beams at intervals penetrated the scattered clouds, which were borne rapidly along by a keen and boisterous wind. I could perceive that the horsemen were well mounted; and they had also light sufficient to discover that I was equipped as a pedestrian. Several questions, or rather observations, passed on both sides. I was glad to find companions, and that the strangers seemed inclined to accompany me over the wide and solitary downs which lay before us.
