HVILESTED. THE UPPER WATER 155 



laid upon my shoulders and I awoke with a start. 

 It was not burglars or ghosts it was only my wife 

 who had been aroused by a stream of water suddenly 

 descending upon her face and pillow. In less than 

 a minute a similar cascade was pouring down on 

 my head, and I shouted for a basin, which was given 

 me, and afforded some temporary protection, but a 

 short reflection convinced me, even in my semi- 

 somnolent condition, that I could not go to sleep 

 holding a basin over my face, and that some other 

 expedient must be devised to secure a dry night's 

 rest. Evidently our pillows were in a position of 

 danger, and our first idea, good as far as it went, 

 was to push the bed a little further into the room 

 and transpose our heads to the position usually 

 occupied by our feet. But when we had moved the 

 bolster, and pushed the heavy piece of furniture 

 nearly into the centre of the room, we found that 

 we had only opened another leak in the roof, and 

 that more streams were pouring down upon us. 



At this point, and only just in time, we bethought 

 ourselves of the perilous position of the clothes we had 

 taken off, and took steps to remove them from the 

 drip that had just begun to fall upon them, and to put 

 them away in a place of safety. All this time we 

 could hear perfect torrents of water splashing down 

 upon the roof, and dashing against the windows, 

 while two or three loud peals of thunder indicated 

 that the tempest included an electrical as well as 

 an atmospherical disturbance. I had been dead 

 sleepy, but now began to awake to the position. 

 At first I felt very cross, but fortunately a saving 

 sense of humour came to my rescue, and relieved 



