Thus I was warned, I remember, against the roadside inns of
the Cevennes, and that by a learned professor; and when I reached
Pradelles the warning was explained - it was but the far-away rumour
and reduplication of a single terrifying story already half a century
old, and half forgotten in the theatre of the events. So I was
tempted to make light of these reports against America. But we had
on board with us a man whose evidence it would not do to put aside.
He had come near these perils in the body; he had visited a robber
inn. The public has an old and well-grounded favour for this class
of incident, and shall be gratified to the best of my power.
My fellow-passenger, whom we shall call M'Naughten, had come from New
York to Boston with a comrade, seeking work. They were a pair of
rattling blades; and, leaving their baggage at the station, passed
the day in beer saloons, and with congenial spirits, until midnight
struck. Then they applied themselves to find a lodging, and walked
the streets till two, knocking at houses of entertainment and being
refused admittance, or themselves declining the terms.
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