158 BORDER ROADS. 



stump of the tree to be between them, and to be passed over 

 by the body of the carriage and between the wheels. In 

 a dark night this road must have been impassable. Among 

 the many kind civilities shown me in America, a very pretty 

 girl of about 14 or 15 was once permitted to drive me out 

 in what her father called his buggy, but which carriage 

 had four wheels, and was a sort of curricle drawn by a 

 pair of horses, to show me the woods in the full effulgence 

 of their autumnal tints. The afternoon to which I allude 

 was very hot, and the declining sun giving signs of a 

 glorious set in purple and in gold, and the air so hushed 

 that on the road (or no road) in which we were, there 

 was no noise by horse-foot or wheels, and therefore no 

 difficulty in conversation. The pretty, smiling girl was 

 driving, with a mare on the near side, very free to her 

 work, and hot, while on the off side there was a horse as 

 lazy as anything I ever saw. My charming companion 

 was perhaps a little diffident of being able to amuse " an 

 English nobleman," and consequently a little shy and 

 nervous, but still most anxious to keep up the conversation. 

 She kept looking up in my face with her bright, laughing, 

 yet half-timid eyes, while at the same time, with a sort 

 of feverish twitching of the whip in her hand, she never left 

 off touching up the mare, who had already done the entire 

 work, and driving her half mad. The mare at last, lather 

 ed from head to foot, while the horse was as cool as a cucum 

 ber, began to give in, so I said, " I will tell you what, 

 dear, if you keep aggravating the mare in that way, you'll 

 knock her up." 



" Possible ! well ! hum hum, I'd like to know ! " re 

 plied my companion, more bashful than ever ; " but, don't, 

 Lord Berkeley; you you oughtn't; don't, Lord Berkeley." 



" Don't ! " I exclaimed ; " yes, you will, if you keep 



