LADIES IN THE FOREST. 199 



a dollar ; in Oiltrove Bottom, only a quarter, corn 

 being cheap there ; further south, the charge was higher, 

 and to the north-east again it was cheaper. 



On my entrance, I perceived that there were ladies 

 in the house. I had been for some time alone, and 

 as it grew dark, having had enough of my own 

 thoughts, I took out my zither, and began to play. A 

 negro boy, enticed into the room by the music, soon 

 ran out again, probably to tell his mistress what a 

 curious sort of instrument I was playing upon. I soon 

 had an invitation to join the ladies ; but my costume 

 was not the most suitable for a drawing-room. For 

 months, neither razor nor scissors had approached my 

 head : my hunting-shirt had been ten months in wear, 

 sorely battered by wind and weather, and not being ot 

 leather, the thorns had left their marks in many 

 places : my leggins and water-proof boots were pass- 

 able : my shirt, of my own washing without soap, in 

 cold water, boasted various shades of red, from turkey's 

 and bear's blood, which is much more difficult to wash 

 out than that of deer. 



The ladies received me very pohtely, almost too 

 politely, and I began to play. The Americans in 

 general have little feehng for German music ; they are 

 a people who live in a hurry, and every thing must go 

 fast, even music: when they hear any which has not 

 the time of a reel or hornpipe, they say that they do 

 not understand it. The more educated class forms an 

 exception, and of such was my audience. The younger 

 lady was the owner's wife, very pretty, though pale ; 

 but, indeed, I should lil^e to know how any one could 

 |jye in these vile swamps without being pale. The 



