s' leave and come
out to stop with me, but I thought just in time that she'd sink the dory
in a minute. There! seeing her has took away all the fun," said Mrs. Kew
ruefully; and we were all dismal for a while, but at last, after we were
fairly started for home, we began to be merry again.
We passed the Craper family whom we had seen at the store in the
morning; the children looked as stupid as ever, but the father, I am
sorry to say, had been tempted to drink more whiskey than was good for
him. He had a bright flush on his cheeks, and he was flourishing his
whip, and hoarsely singing some meaningless tune. "Poor creature!" said
I, "I should think this day's pleasuring would kill him." "Now, wouldn't
you think so?" said Mrs. Kew, sympathizingly; "but the truth is, you
couldn't kill one of those Crapers if you pounded him in a mortar."
We had a pleasant drive home, and we kept Mrs. Kew to supper, and
afterward went down to the shore to see her set sail for home. Mr. Kew
had come in some time before, and had been waiting for the moon to rise.
Mrs. Kew told us that she should have enough to think of for a year, she
had enjoyed the day so much; and we stood on the pebbles watching the
boat out of the harbor, and wishing ourselves on board, it was such a
beautiful evening.
* * * * *
We went to another show that summer, the memory of which will never
fade. It is somewhat impertinent to call it a show, and "public
entertainment" is equally inappropriate, though we certainly were
entertained. It had been raining for two or three days; the
Deephavenites spoke of it as "a spell of weather." Just after tea, one
Thursday evening, Kate and I went down to the post-office. When we
opened the great hall door, the salt air was delicious, but we found the
town apparently wet through and discouraged; and though it had almost
stopped raining just then, there was a Scotch mist, like a snow-storm
with the chill taken off, and the Chantrey elms dripped hurriedly, and
creaked occasionally in the east-wind.
"There will not be a cap'n on the wharves for a week after this," said
I to Kate; "only think of the cases of rheumatism!"
We stopped for a few minutes at the Carews', who were as much surprised
to see us as if we had been mermaids out of the sea, and begged us to
give ourselves something warm to drink, and to change our boots the
moment we got home. Then we went on to the post-office. Kate went in,
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