and ten
o’clock
By attaching this beautiful instrument to his boots , any Bank or public-office clerk could transport himself from his place of residence to his place of business , at the easy rate of sixty-five miles an hour , which , to gentlemen of sedentary pursuits , would be an incalculable advantage . ` THE PRESIDENT was desirous of knowing whether it was necessary to have a level surface on which the gentleman was to run . ` PROFESSOR QUEERSPECK explained that City gentlemen would run in trains , being handcuffed together to prevent confusion or unpleasantness . For instance , trains would start every morning at eight , nine , and ten o'clock , from Camden Town , Islington , Camberwell , Hackney , and various other places in which City gentlemen are accustomed to reside . It would be necessary to have a level , but he had provided for this difficulty by proposing that the best line that the circumstances would admit of , should be taken through the sewers which undermine the streets of the metropolis , and which , well lighted by jets from the gas pipes which run immediately above them , would form a pleasant and commodious arcade , especially in winter-time , when the inconvenient custom of carrying umbrellas , now so general , could be wholly dispensed with . In reply to another question , Professor Queerspeck stated that no substitute for the purposes to which these arcades were at present devoted had yet occurred to him , but that he hoped no fanciful objection on this head would be allowed to interfere with so great an undertaking . ` MR. JOBBA produced a forcing-machine on a novel plan , for bringing joint-stock railway shares prematurely to a premium .