I AM MYSTIFIED. 159 



fidgeting her in that way with the whip you'll assuredly 

 knock her up." 



" Possible ! " rejoined my dear little friend ; " but you 

 shouldn't I'm sure if I thought so I would never touch 

 a whip again. Don't, Lord Berkeley you oughtn't 

 don't" 



Looking into her pretty face, wondering what on earth 

 it was that I could have said, I saw that she was blushing 

 and really embarrassed ; so I changed the conversation, 

 amused, though, by observing that my caution as to the mare 

 was attended to, as my friend carried her whip more erect, 

 waving it after the manner of a fairy's wand. Our most 

 agreeable drive terminated soon after this, and, as I handed 

 her from the buggy, I saw shehad grown so laughingly bash 

 ful that she dared not permit her eyes to come in contact with 

 mine, and I continued to marvel at what it could have been 

 that I had said to make so inexplicable an impression. 



In the evening her mother had a tea party, at which 

 she presided with a long clay pipe in her mouth, an in 

 dulgence frequently luxuriated in by the married ladies 

 of the frontier towns and villages, when after tea she put 

 out her pipe and got up to stand by the door " to receive 

 company." Of course I took my place near her, with a 

 view to observe American frontier usages and manners. 

 Two or three guests arrived, and then a tall, high-shoulder 

 ed, raw-boned gentleman, with a long nose, small eyes, 

 and a high forehead, very upright, very stiff, and very 

 grave, his face decked with a long pointed beard, stained 

 either by the sun or the juices and smoke of tobacco, and 

 redolent of spitting and of pipes. 



" Good evening, Mr Smith," said the hostess; "but 

 where is your good lady ? I had hoped to have seen her 

 with you." 



