Nine o’clock
Ten minutes to nine , and the committee embarked in a body . There was Mr. Hardy , in a blue jacket and waistcoat , white trousers , silk stockings , and pumps -- in full aquatic costume , with a straw hat on his head , and an immense telescope under his arm ; and there was the young gentleman with the green spectacles , in nankeen inexplicables , with a ditto waistcoat and bright buttons , like the pictures of Paul -- not the saint , but he of Virginia notoriety . The remainder of the committee , dressed in white hats , light jackets , waistcoats , and trousers , looked something between waiters and West India planters . Nine o'clock struck , and the company arrived in shoals . Mr. Samuel Briggs , Mrs. Briggs , and the Misses Briggs , made their appearance in a smart private wherry . The three guitars , in their respective dark green cases , were carefully stowed away in the bottom of the boat , accompanied by two immense portfolios of music , which it would take at least a week 's incessant playing to get through . The Tauntons arrived at the same moment with more music , and a lion -- a gentleman with a bass voice and an incipient red moustache .