228 HIGHWAYS AKD BYWAYS. 



warm supper, as it was wash-day with the women folks." 

 ]^early another hour and supper was announced, and 

 '^ such a supper ! " not hke Bob Cratchit's, but still, 

 '' such a supper !" Few words would name the dishes, but 

 in the mouth of other than Christians these words would 

 necessarily be strong and emphatic. We only demurred 

 at the tea, and asked for headache's sake that it be a little 

 stronger ; it came back still weaker, when we suggested 

 to the good Avoman — who, by the way, was as thick as 

 the man was thin — that " probably she had forgotten to 

 put the tea in the pot, and had only st'eeped the water;" 

 but like '' Barmody's soup," the hquid seemed to grow 

 thin with each additional cooking. The hair-pin look- 

 ing man, who had hen-hussied himself into the room, 

 catching part of the colloquy, wittily (?) remarked, 

 " This is a temperance house, this is, and probably the 

 women folks are opposed to anything strong." The 

 sickly-looking butter testified otherwise, but like most 

 obituary poetry, the occasion had a ludicrous side that 

 partially made amends for physical discomfort. At a 

 late hour we were shown the room, w^hich had been 

 " put to rights," and preparations were made for slum- 

 ber ; they were onfy preparations, however, for what 

 with unaired feather bed and pillows, whose strength 

 only rivaled the butter and put to shame the tea, and 

 with a swarm of mosquitoes and other hungry little 

 inhabitants, the rest and sleep ^veve not quite what 

 are "promised to the just." One was reminded of 

 the inscription on a Swedish inn, " You will find at 

 Trolhate excellent beds, bread, meat and wine — pro- 



