water to which our ancient groom objected � saying all the wanted was to have her leg dressed every night and morning with a wash that he could make of and and half a dozen other which he affirmed would produce a cure in almost no time a conspicuous and till now somewhat member of the council was a broad shouldered old negro known by the name of uncle who had manifested several decided symptoms of a design to make a speech and now in despite of s cross looks gave his advice in the following terms � one of the things for a that i knows on is this � said he stepping into the ring and laying the fingers of his right hand upon the palm of his left � bless your soul frank i have tried it often and often on people but in upon horses oil of � he continued striking his palm at the of each � oil of a little soap and the best of all put into a bottle and boiled half away � it s how it will cure a my old was sick all last winter with a on her knee and she tried doctor and the doctor and all the folks � but no use tell she some my she said herself � if you believe me � was none on em no touch to my it s frank oh oh � ejaculated in a short surely growl after hearing this wise morsel of experience to the end and looking as an stable wisdom as a vexed bull dog you tell me think i never seed a with a foot all the way up to my time of life off man i knows what i am about turned to me with a look of resignation and said laughing � you see how it is this old will allow no man to have an opinion but himself than disturb the peace i must submit to his authority well je y my old fellow as we can t convince mr i suppose we had better not him angry you know what an obstinate cross old bully he is i am afraid he will take us both in hand if we contradict him so i m for letting him alone his picture said in a low tone of voice accompanied by a laugh in which all the other joined as we broke up the consultation and walked away chapter the having despatched these important matters at the stable we left our horses in charge of the servants and walked towards the which were not more than a few hundred paces distant these with their formed an exceedingly picturesque landscape they were scattered without order over the slope of a gentle hill and many of them were under old and majestic trees the of their construction rather the of the scene some few were built after the fashion of the better sort of cottages but age had stamped its heavy traces upon their exterior the green moss had gathered upon the roofs and the course had broken here and there into but the more lowly of these and the most numerous were nothing more than plain log pretty much on the model by which boys build traps being composed of the trunks of trees still clothed with their bark and knit together at the comers with so little regard to neatness that the being of unequal beyond each other sometimes to the length of a foot perhaps none of these latter sort were more than twelve feet square and not above seven in height a door swung upon wooden hinges and a small win ow of two narrow panes of were the in general the only in the front the intervals between the logs were filled with clay and the roof which was constructed of smaller laid along it and projecting two or three feet beyond the side or walls heightened in a very marked degree the effect the chimneys communicated even a droll expression to these they enough built of of wood having a broad foundation of stone and growing as they rose each receding gradually from the house to which it was attached until it reached the height of the roof these materials were saved from the access of the fire by a thick of mud and the whole structure from its form might be said to bear some resemblance to the of a tea kettle indeed this domestic would furnish no type of the complete cabin from this description which may serve to illustrate a whole species of very common in virginia it will be seen that on the score of accommodation the inmates of dwellings were furnished according to a veiy primitive notion of still however there were little garden patches attached to each where sweet potatoes water and flourished in add to this that there were abundance of poultry about the premises and it may be perceived that whatever might be the of shelter there was no want of what in all tries would be considered a reasonable supply of luxuries nothing more attracted my observation than the of little that on the sunny sides of these and to gaze at us as we surveyed their haunts they were nearly all in that costume of the golden age which i have heretofore described and showed their slim and long heels in all varieties of their grotesque natures their love of sunshine the and ap the quarter parent content to be silently looking abroad might well afford a comparison to a set of in the genial warmth of summer on the logs of a mill pond and there too were the mothers of this brood � a number of stout negro women who thronged the doors of the huts full of idle curiosity to see us and when to these are added a few reverend wrinkled old men with faces 