Year: 1870




dian village, and one of those singula


mounds that are occasionally seen il


the West, I determined to foot it, as


was only ten miles, and considering


myself pretty good pedestrian, I cal


culated on making the end of my jour


ney in two hours and q half, or three
hours at the utmost. 1t had beer


promising rain all day, and as 1 starred


black clouds covered the sky, and the


distant mutrerings of thunder betOken
C.i the coming storm. However, un-


daunted at the prospect of a ducking


[ put out my best foot and moved for


ward at rapid pace. But notwith,


standing my utmost endeaVOrs the


rain caught me before I had proceeded


four miles, and L was obliged to press
forward through one of the worst


storms it had ever been my lot to be


out in. The rain fell in torrents, the


mud stuck tony feet and retarded my
progress. / had no uE1bHs p, s&6nse-
quently / was soon wet through, but j
stood it like q veteran and pressed on
! towards my goal. And l was right
| glad after walking another hour to see
! the promise of shelter in the friendly
/ form of an old red tavern that stood by
| the roadside. AS it was the only
/ house had seen since the rain COM
]
! that to me, dripping with water, and
almost used up with travel, the old
/ buildTng almost seemed a palace of en-
chantment raised for my personal bene-
| fit by some good genie. Vide " Beau
/ ty and the beaStn) | sailed into the
bar-rOOm in every sense of the word,
and ordered hot rum, which l drank
with great gustO, and asked if l could
have a change of clothing. I" Most
certainty" was the response, and short
ly I was rugged with suit of the land
lords which, though several sizes too
large, suited me admirably at that mo-
ment. l believe I would have been
satisfied with most anything in the
shape of clothing, in order to have got


rid of my dripping habiliments, which


cIung to me closer than the bathing


dresses of blondes at Long Branch last


summer. ! found, on inquiry, that l


was still some two miles from W., and


as there was little if any prospect of a


let-uD in the storm, for that night at


least, and as it would require some time


to drV my wet clothes, besides being


assured that / could have good accom-


mOdatiOns for the night, | concluded to


make the best of a bad job, and not to
proceed further until the next morning.
The promises were SubStantIated in
every particular, for | had an excellent
supper, and found some of the latest
New York papers, over which, with
the aid of a good cigar, / managed TO
pass the time agreeably until i was
ready to proceed to bed. l also found
nv host to be a first-rate cOmpaniOns
and enjoyed one or two OF his merry
stories so heartily, that l almost
thought I should die laughing.


On expressing n desire to proceed to
nv. couch, the landlord took up tin
candlestick, which ShCne like silver,
and in which there was "A tallOW dip,
and lighting it, escorted me up stair
way, we'll worn with service, to my
room, which was on the second floor.
1t was one of those large, Old-tashiOned
tbs-S one sees nowadays
only in the bSNS country hOuseSsfyhich
are rapidly falling into decay; Curious.
Iy panneIed, with oak TaftGTs over
head, quaint old furniture of y aytiOw-
er pattern, mantle-shelf OF the same
mi eerial; and it being lat Septemzs 4
ber, sIge pine wood tirC~LaN bee.&
made hd cracked and blaZed on
antiuuated Dutch andiTOns, with br


lv polished brass tops, in the wide q


Fireplace beneath. The high, que


shaped, OId-fashiOned clock standing
the corner with its bright open face anCS
hands, sparkled in the fire.
light with a genial glow Of welcNIe,
and ticked out its approbatiOn--2SJlly
coming, and the clean, white, uncarp-
eted floor resOunded beneath my feet
with an elastic response, as if answer
ing to their greeting, with " glad to
see you come again ~ There was
nothing gloomy or ghOstly about that
room, YOU would remark, to inspire a
person with a dread of spirits, even if
he had any belief in such midnight
and [ never had. The land
lord pointed to my bed with an honest
expression of pride, which might have
well been pardoned, for a softer, bigger
feather bed and pillows / had never
seen before, nor whittier or sweeter smell (
ling sheets. After inquiring if there
was anything else he could do for me,
and being assured on the contrary that
I was more than satisfied with the ac-
furnished, he placed the
on the mantle-shelf, and
bidding me "gOOd night" left the
room. =


[ secured the door and4OOked around
the room again after he had withdrawn.
and was better pleased at the second
glance at my quarters than before.
There was a certain air of home COM
fort prevailing that soOthed me. After
seeing that my revolver was all right,
I placed it under my pillow, and as d
a chair in front of the blazing logs that
filled the fireplace, set the candle on
stand near at hand, and seated myself
to think over the affairs of the day,
and watch the playful fire as it gently
crept out of the wood in little tongues
of flame, wits a simmering sound, or
flashed and blaZed up in the broad,
open chimneyGDvith Il roar of delight
as if glad to escape from its bonds. /
could we'll afford to sit there, in the
front of that warm fire, and shake my
fist ut the tempest that held sway out
side. "Blast it, let it blast ~ What
cared ] so long as | was comfortable?
| was even selfish enough to smile at
the idea of some other poor fellow be-
ing out III the tempest and undergoing
what ! had gone through that after
noon; but l cOnsOled myself for this
with the wish that any such sufferers
might have it all end as well as had my
Journey. | thought of New York and
my friends there, looked at my out
Iandish big suit, and laughed outright
at the idea of how amused they would
be to see me i'll my present plight; then
I thought of a certain darling little
woman who was perchance thinking
of me. I thought her arms were round
my neck, felt the pressure Of her warm,
red lips against mine, the fragrance of
her breath famed my temples-and
then l didn't think of anything for
while; l must have fallen asleep where
/ sat, and how long l slept 1 do not
know. I had an idea that it was about
half-past nine or ten O'Clock when 1
came up to my room; but was awake
again, and felt chilled through; the fire
had burned down, and the backlog
fallen in two pieces from the andirOns,
formed two great red eyes that glaTed
at me frOn the darkness of the fire
place in manner weird and fantastic
al. like some of those hideOus Ogres1