82 NORTH CAROLINA 



was attached to a chain which went round 

 or over the creature's head at the base of 

 the horns. The lads themselves were 

 farther down the street, and the younger 

 one nudged the other's elbow with a nod 

 in my direction as I passed on the opposite 

 sidewalk. They seemed to have sobered 

 down at a wonderful rate since their arrival 

 in the " city." I should hardly have known 

 them for the same boys ; but no doubt they 

 would wake the echoes again on the road 

 homeward. I hoped so, surely, for I liked 

 them best as I saw them first. 



As far as the pleasure of life goes, boys 

 brought up in this primitive mountain 

 country have little to complain of. They 

 may lack certain advantages ; in this 

 imperfect world, where two bodies cannot 

 occupy the same space at once, the presence 

 of some things necessitates the absence of 

 others ; but most certainly they have their 

 full quota of what in youthful phrase are 

 known as " good times." The very prettiest 

 sight that I saw in North Carolina, not 

 excepting any landscape or flower, — and I 

 saw floral displays of a splendor to bankrupt 

 all description, — was a boy whom I met 



