About seven o'clock in the evening of the 20th of February
-- into what strange holes and corners it is thrust ! The same phenomenon will happen in life . Once start a being out of the usual course of existence , and many and strange will be his adventures ere he once more be allowed to regain the common stream , and be permitted to float down , in silent tranquillity , to the grave common to all . About seven o'clock in the evening of the 20th of February , 17 -- , a post-chaise with four horses drove with fiery haste up to the door of the Crown Inn , at Reading . The evening had closed in bitterly . A continuous storm of mingled sleet and rain had driven every being who had a home , to the shelter it afforded . As the vehicle stopped , with a most consequential jerk , and the steps were flung down with that clatter post-boys will make when they can get four horses before their leathern boxes , the solitary inmate seemed to shrink further into its dark corner , instead of coming forward eagerly to exchange the comforts of the blazing hearth for the damp confinement of a hired chaise .