But our excursion turned out somewhat of a failure, in an opposite way to Gilpin's.

Whereas he went too fast, we went too slow.

First we took coach and went through Cheapside to take omnibus at (strange misnomer!) the Flower-Pot.

But Gilpin could never have had his race through Cheapside as it is in its present crowded state; we were obliged to proceed at a funeral pace.

We missed the omnibus, and when we took the next one it went with the slowness of a "family horse" in the old chaise of a New England deacon, and, after all, only took us half-way.