that, though it was rather late, my friend Cobbett had not arrived; yet,
so thoroughly convinced was I that he would not disappoint me, that
I was determined to wait at the inn for him, and not to go to the
Town-hall, the place of meeting, till he joined me. As I wished to know
what time the business was to commence, Mr. Akerman, at my request, went
down to the Bear Inn, where the Sheriff and my Lord Pembroke, with all
those who had called this meeting to address the Prince Regent upon his
miraculous escape from the potatoe (which I had now ascertained was
thrown by Mr. JOHN CASTLES), had assembled. He very soon came back,
almost out of breath, to inform me, that the party, with the Sheriff at
their head, were just proceeding to the Hall; and with a loud laugh he
informed me that the _Courier_ newspaper, which had just arrived in the
coffee-room of the Bear Inn, had an article in it which stated that
"COBBETT WAS ARRIVED AT LIVERPOOL, AND HAD TAKEN HIS PASSAGE FOR
AMERICA" "I at once," said he, "declared this to be an infamous lie, and
I offered to bet any of the party 50_l._, which I put on the table, that
Mr. Cobbett would be in Devizes, and attend the meeting, within one hour
from that time." Fortunately for my friend Akerman, not one of the gang
assembled had confidence enough in the rascally _Courier_ to induce them
to take the bet; had they done so, my friend would have lost his 50_l_.
note.

_I was thunderstruck_ for a moment, as Mr. Cobbett had never given me
the slightest intimation of his intention, and till I saw the _Courier_
I could not believe it possible that any man could act so treacherously
towards one for whom he had expressed, not only in public but in
private, the most unbounded confidence. For the first time it now
occurred to me, that there was something _mysterious_ in Mr. Cobbett's
conduct when I last saw him, which was a few days before in London. It
was, however, of no use to ponder or to despair, and therefore, I jumped