her thumb and finger a rub on the same cleanser, she sung out the ordinary summons:

"Well! come, sit up."

This sit-up we instantly performed-as well, at least, as we could-while she stood up to pour out the tea, compli menting all the time its quality, saying-" "Tisn't nun of your spice-wood or yarb stuff, but the rele gineine store tea." Nanny remained near the dutch oven to keep us supplied with red-hot pones, or corn-balls-and hard enough by the way, to do execution from cannon. The teacups used, held a scant pint; and to do exact justice to each cup, the mistress held the teapot in one hand and the water-pot in the other, pouring from both at once till the cup was brim-full of the mixture :—an admirable system of impartiality, and if the pots have spouts of equal diameters, the very way to make precisely "half and half." But sorry am I to say, that on the present occasion, the water-pot had the best and easiest delivery.

"And could you eat, Mr. Carlton?"

How could we avoid it, Mr. Nice? Besides, we were most vulgarly hungry. And the consequence was, that, at the arrival of the woodman and his two sons, other cornbread was baked, and, for want of chicken, bacon was fried. "But how did you do about retiring?"

We men-folks, my dear Miss, went out to see what sort of weather we were likely to have; and on coming in again, the ladies were very modestly covered up in bed-and then we-got into bed-in the usual way. I have no doubt Mr. Carlton managed a little awkwardly but I fear the reader will discover, that in his attempts at doing as Rome does, and so forth, Mr. Carlton departed finally from the native sweetness and simplicity of eastern and fashionable life still we seemed to leave rather an unfavourable impression at the cabin, since, just before our setting out in the morn. ing, the landlady told the driver privately-" Well! I allow

e;

the stranger and his woman-body thinks themselves mighty big-bugs but maybe they aint got more silver than Squire Snoddy across Big Bean creek; and his wife don't think nuthin on slinging round like her gal-but never mind, maybe Mrs. Callten or Crawltin, or somethin or nuther, will larn how too."

CHAPTER X.

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness.”

"REALLY, Mr. Carlton, unless you tell us whither travelling we will proceed no further."

you are

And really I could not blame you, friends, since, had it not been for very shame and impracticability, we ourselves, on the third morning, would have imitated Sawney of appleorchard memory, and "crawled back again." But I am on the very point of telling as distinctly as possible about our destination and as you have got thus far, and have paid* (?) for the book, you may as well finish it.

We are proceeding as slowly as we can in search of the Glenville Settlement, a place somewhere in the New Purchase. Among other persons we hope to find there, my wife's mother, my wife's aunt, my wife's uncle, and her sisters and her brother, John Glenville. One of my purposes is to become Mr. Glenville's partner in certain land speculations, and with him to establish a store and also a tannery. Of the New Purchase itself we will speak at large when we reach that famous country-famous in itself out there— and to become so elsewhere when its history is published. As to Glenville Settlement itself, lofty opinions of its ele

* Persons that borrow this work, and all who rent it of some second rate book-establishment at a fippenny-bit a volume, will of course read it through.

gancies began to fall, and misgivings began to be felt, that its houses would be found no better than they ought to be: and in these we were not disappointed, as the reader may in time discover.

The third night of the Searching now approached; and we had come to a very miserable hut, a ferry-house, on the top of a high bluff, and fully a quarter of a mile from the creek below. An ill-natured young girl was apparently the sole occupant; and she, for some reason, refused to ferry us over the water, stating, indeed, that the creek could as yet be forded, but giving us no satisfactory directions how to ⚫ find or keep the ford. Judge our feelings, then, on getting to the bank, to find a black, sullen and swollen river, twenty yards widee-a scow tied at the end of the road-and that road seeming to enter upon the ford, if, indeed, any ford was there! I stepped into the boat and, with its "settingpole," felt for the ford; and happily succeeded in finding the bottom when the pole was let down a little beyond six feet!

No house, except the ferry-hut on the bluff above, was on this side the water for many a long and weary mile back; and beyond the water was a low, marshy and, at present, a truly terrific beech-wood, and, from its nature, known to be necessarily uninhabited: so that, unless we could help ourselves, nobody else was likely to help. With great difficulty, therefore, and no small danger from our want of skill and hands enough, we "set" ourselves over in the scow: and when safely landed in the mud beyond, we at first determined to let the boat go adrift as a small punishment to the villany of the ferry people; but reflecting that possibly some benighted persons might suffer by this vengeance, we tied the scow— (but of course on the wrong side the river)—and splattered on. In half a mile, strange enough, we met a large party of women and children, to whom we told what had happened and what had been done with the scow: on which they cordially thanked us, it being necessary for them to cross

the river, and in return assured us of a better road not very far forward, and which led to "a preacher's" house, where we should find a comfortable home and a welcome for the night.

What the oasis of dry deserts is, all know; but the oasis "of waste woods and waters is a clearing with its dry land and sunlit opening. Such was now before us, not indeed sunlit, for the sun was long since set-such was before us; and in the midst of a very extensive clearing was not a cabin, but a veritable two-story house of hewn and squared timbers, with a shingle roof, and smoke curling gracefully upward from its stone chimney! Yes, and there were corncribs, and smoke-house, and barn and out-houses of all sorts: and removed some distance from all, was the venerable cabin in a decline, the rude shell of the family in its former chrysalis state!

But our reception !-it was a balm and a cordial. We found, not indeed the parade and elegant variety of the East, but neat apartments, refreshing fire after the chill damps of the forest, a parlour separate from the kitchen, and bedrooms separate from both and from one another. There, too, if memory serves right, were six pretty, innocent girls -(no sons belonged to the family)-coarsely but properly dressed; and who were all modest and respectful to their elders and superiors-a very rare thing in the New Purchases, and, since the reign of Intellect, a rarer thing than formerly in most Old Purchase countries. The mere diffusion of "knowledges," without discipline of mind in their attainment, is not so favourable to virtue and good manners as Lyceum men think. Our six little girls were mainly educated on Bible principles-living fortunately in that dark age when every body's education was not managed by legislatures and taxes. The law administered by irreligious or infidel statesmen, or by selfish and sullen demagogues, is always opposed to the Gospel.

No pains were spared by the whole family in our entertainment and all was done from benevolence, as if we were children and relatives. The Rev. William Parsons and his lady, our hosts, had never been in the East, or in any other school of the Humanities; and yet with excep tions of some prejudices, rather in favour, however, of the West than against the East, this gentleman and lady both beautifully exemplified the innate power of Christian principles to make men not only kind and generous, but cour teous and polite.

In my dreams no oasis of this kind had appeared-yet none is so truly lovely as that where religion makes the desert and the wilderness blossom as the rose. I have been much in the company of clergy and laity both, and in many parts of the Union, and my settled belief in consequence is, that the true ministers of the Gospel, in spite of supposed characteristical faults and defects, and prejudices, are, as a class, decidedly the very best and noblest of men.

We discovered that Mr. Parsons, like most located and permanent pastors of a wooden country, received almost literally nothing for ecclesiastical services. Nay, Mrs. Parsons incidentally remarked to Mrs. C. that for seven entire years she had never seen together ten dollars either in notes or silver! Hence, although suspecting he would refuse, and fearing that the offer might even distress him, I could not but sincerely wish Mr. P. would accept pay for our entertainment: and the offer was at last made in the least awkward way possible. But in vain was every argument employed by me, that decorum would allow, to induce his acceptance-he utterly refused, only saying:-"My dear young friend, pay it to some preacher of the Gospel, and in the same way and spirit the present service is rendered to you." And here, in justice to ourselves, we must be permitted to record that we did most gladly,