The Remarkable History of Sir Thomas Upmore, bart., M.P., formerly known as Tommy Upmore""

of the air, through the sudden expansion of my heart and system, at the thought of three days' holiday. In the interval, there had

snow, and Jack Windsor came up to me, and said, "plum-pudding for dinner, at your house, Tommy; I smelled it, as I came up the Lane"-I was all on the flutter to fly, and astonish the people, who were putting skates on; and I coul

adly have kicked Grip, if prudence had permitted it; "oh, Tommy, do go u

nd there is very little doubt, that I should have escaped from the c

along, without any sense of the situation; "if you don't move on, and ta

yle, "if you knew who we are, you'd employ your cheek to kee

wer was gone-so sensitive has it always been-and instead of going up to

ncerning what had happened to me, at an early age, and being rebuked, and jeered, and scoffed at-sometimes for having this gift, and sometimes for not making

poreal part, and then to relieve that affliction, in some measure, by the gift of a buoyant and complacent mind; so that I was able-unless a bad cold, or measle

would be little less than an insult to him, and to the great race of which he was one; but it is not so wholly a matter of course, that his mind was still ardent, and his spirit lofty. Very few "Scientists" of any candour coul

too persistently to one theme-bone. But let that pass; it is quite impossible to explain everything that happens; all I know is that Grip set off from the porch of the Twentifold Arms Hotel, with a flourish, and a scurry, a

ng, or staring, or mooning, or being bemooned-for the things were done to me, without my doing any one of them. Behind me, shone the low summer

he ground. But being as I was, away I went, starting, at a height of about ten feet above the level of Spring-tides, with a moderate Westerly breeze behind me, and the light of the sinking s

wned; and if I thought at all (which I disremember doing) that alone would have reassured me. At any rate, I looked around, as calmly as if I were sitting down to dinner; but with this disadvantage, that I could not keep my gaze very firmly fixed upon anything, because of the rotation of my body. For instance, I was able to shout down to Grip (who was howling most mournfully in the gap, and making sad jumps to come after me) that I was

r pleased me, and improved my flight (which depends very much upon the approval of mankind), and I was beginning to practise movements, which I had thought of, and heard of from Jack Windsor. Jack had been taking swimming lessons, and being a wonderfully heavy fellow, had tried very hard to keep his head up. He had learned the whole theory of it beautifully, and showed me how easy it was to do; but as yet he had never been able to do it. Wha

careful aim at me! I endeavoured to scream out-"I am Tommy; only Tommy Upmore going for a fly; if you shoot me, you will be hanged for murder!"-but I give you my word that my fright was so great, that no sound of any use would

sunset cloud, they say, but was now standing out, like a badger's, with alarm) a heavy charge of duck-shot, that would have killed Grip dead

ration, almost vertically, (though my head, the lightest portion of my system, still was up) ins

yle of my visit to them; while I was not only embarrassed by shyness, at finding myself among great people, but also to some extent confused in mind, from the many gyrations of my upward

a beautiful lady, who had been sitting on a fur, and looking at me with surprise and interest, ar

least-one of those wonderful things they invent, to do almost anything, nowadays. Whatever you are, you can speak, I am sure; and I am not going to be afraid of you. Where do you come from? And what is your nam

play, several times; "I was trying to think, what question you would please to like me to begin with answering. I'm afraid that I c

lloon, or how can you have done it? Sit down and rest; I am sure y

ip, still howling now and then, and striving with all his eyes, and heart, to make sure what was become of me. She replied that, even so, it was in her opinion wonderful; and she doubted if she could have been brought to b

k, with their frank faces wrinkled, as a puzzle is) that they might come forward, and be kind to me. It was not in their power to do t

thought it was some new kind of bird. And so you are-a boy bird! Roly, and Laura, let me introduce you to this young gentleman. There is nothing about him to be afraid of, although he has come down from the clouds, or ra

or two older he might be; but pounds, and tens, and twenty pounds, heavier, and an inch or two taller, and many shades darker. I was as fair in complexion, before a great mob of troubles came darkening me, as if I had sprung from a boil

e to bear it without a squeak. He had been at the helm, as they call it, to direct the boat the right way to catch me; and although he was grea