160 OUT OF DOORS. 



fern, the primitive independence of being thoroughly 

 wet and caring nothing for it, and the plish-plash of 

 our feet as every step pumped water out of our boots. 

 Back to the house through the rude path, now some 

 six inches deep in red mud, a brief toilet, and a very 

 welcome breakfast. 



Still rain, rain, more rain, and what shall we do ? 

 Cat's cradle afforded a little amusement, uniting the 

 advantages of adventurous combination, unexpected 

 results, and the least possible bodily exertion. Even 

 this recreation, however, is scarcely exciting enough to 

 be continued for any lengthened period, and after a 

 desperate but abortive attempt to play at fives in an 

 empty garret, we extemporised a game at bowls on the 

 floor, the 'jack ' being represented by a bradawl stuck 

 in the boards, and the bowls by two india-rubber balls, 

 one solid and small, and the other hollow and large. 



The beauty of the game was enhanced by the 

 sloping nature of the floor causing the balls to roll 

 away until they were either checked by the wall or fell 

 down the staircase. This difficulty, however, was over- 

 come by the inventive genius of one player whom 

 modesty forbids me to particularise, and a few handfuls 

 of oats scattered over the floor served at once to arrest 

 the ball and to test the player's skill in guiding his 

 bowl neatly into the little hollows left here and there 

 by the grain. This absorbing pursuit carried us over 

 three or four hours, when its course was suddenly ar- 

 rested by a summons to dinner, the greater part of that 



