Payris wor asleep. That rattle an' clang'at had caused a hum to flooat ovver th' city wor silent.--Aw lost misen i' thowt:--aw didnt see a city;--aw saw a wood, an' mi fancy tuk me throo it; all th' singin birds had dropt ther songs an' wor nestlin' i' ther cosy hooams, but ther still wor some lukkin aght for what they could catch--owls,--human owls,--wor nobbut makkin a start. Aw've oft seen th' owl stuck up as a symbol o' wisdom, but aw could nivver understand it: an' aw should be thankful if one o' them cliver chaps'at know soa mich wod kindly point aght to me whear th' sense is, i' sittin an' blinkin all th' day, when th' sun is makkin ivverything lovely, an' turnin aght at neet when all is dark an' solemn, to drop onto some timid little maase at wod ha been aght i' th' daytime if it dar. Noa,--aw nawther see wisdom nor principle ith' owl. Gie me a lark'at shaks his wings as sooin as th' sun sends aght his furst pale ray as an agent i' advance to tell th' world he's gooin to show agean, an' starts towards heaven whear he hings, a dot agean a dull blue dome, an' pours his melody on an awakenin eearth, cheerin the sad an' addin' joy to them whose cup wor full exceptin for those drops ov harmony. Ther's summat at feels heavy o' yor heart when a gurt, bustlin city is asleep,--when th' solitary cab rattles wi a peevish din along a silent street--an' th' quiet steady traid o' th' watchman saands like th' pulse-beeat ov a district lapt i' sleep. We made it up'at we wod have a nod neet aght an' see th' dark side as weel as th' breet. If awd been a praiche'r aw could ha fun plenty o' subjects for a sarmon as we wandered raand. Ommost all th' places wor shut up and nubdy seemed to be abaat. As we slowly trampt along, nah an' then a--(what-do-yo-call-em, we call em Bobbies i' England,) passed us, or we passed him, but Peter sed a word or two an' we wornt interfered wi. We coom anent one grand place whear th' winders wor blazin wi leet an' we went in. It wor another o' them grand shops sich as we'd seen soa monny on, but all along one side wor little raams screened off, an' they called em _Cabinet particulier_ an' we went into one;--ther's noa mistak abaat th' luxury an' beauty o' theas little places, but it doesnt tak th' e'e ov a hawk to see even moor in one nor they'd wish aghtsiders to believe. We had'nt been long an' th' waiter wor nobbut bringin us th' furst cup o' coffee when in coom two wimmen, (aw call em wimmen becoss they wor ith' shape on em,) but Peter gave em to understand'at we did'nt want to add to th' number o' th' compny.