114 MOBNING IN THE NORTH WOODS. 



One thing I soon perceived : the rain had 

 left the roads in a condition of unspeaka- 

 ble adhesiveness. The red clay balled up 

 my heels as if it had been moist snow, till 

 I pitched forward as I walked. I fancied 

 that I understood pretty well the sensations 

 of a young lady in high-heeled shoes. One 

 moment, too, my feet were weighted with 

 lead ; then the mass fell off in a sudden big 

 lump, and my next few steps were on air. 

 A graceful, steady, self-possessed gait was 

 out of the question. As for abstaining 

 from all appearance of evil — well, as 

 another and more comfortable Scrij)ture 

 says, "There is a time for everything." 

 However, I was not disposed to complain. 

 We read much about the tribulations of 

 Northern soldiers on the march in Virginia, 

 — of entire armies mud-bound and helpless. 

 Henceforth I shall have some better idea of 

 what such statements mean. In that part 

 of the world, I am assured, rubber overshoes 

 have to be tied on the feet with strings. 

 Mother Earth does not believe in such 

 effeminacies, and takes it upon herself to 

 pull them off. 



The seventeen-year locusts made the air 



