Read "As Luck Would Have It" by Edward Dyson online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
William Higginson left early in the morning, after a breakfast of bread and baked blackfish, intending to call on Alexander Peebles in the hope of being able to hire a horse. He had the good fortune to meet the librarian driving a solemn old bay in a peculiar vehicle, the body of which was built by himself apparently out of kerosene cases, and attached to the springs and wheels of out-worn landau. Peebles was driving to Tadmor, and welcomed William's company on the long road.
Higginson was grateful for the lift, although it proved in the end that he gained little time thereby, Peebles insisting on getting out, and walking a considerable part of the distance, solemnly holding a dilapidated green umbrella over his horse's head to shield him from the rays of a burning sun.