wid de oder one, and I reckon taint
no wuss nor dat."

"The bridge ar carried away, and ye'll hev to swim _shore_," said the
woman. "Ye'd better stay."

"Thank you, madam, I think we will," I replied, after a moment's
thought; "our horse has swum one of your creeks to-night, and I dare not
try another."

Having taken off my coat, I had been standing, during the greater part
of this conversation, in my shirt-sleeves before the fire, turning round
occasionally to facilitate the drying process, and taking every now and
then a sip from the gourd containing our brandy and water; aided in the
latter exercise by the old woman and the eldest girl, who indulged quite
as freely as I did.

"Mighty good brandy that," at last said the woman. "Ye like brandy,
don't ye?"

"Not very much, madam. I take it to-night because I've been exposed to
the storm, and it stimulates the circulation. But Scip, here, don't like
spirits. He'll get the rheumatism because he don't."

"Don't like dem sort of sperits, massa; but rumatics neber trubble me."

"But I've got it mighty bad," said the woman, "_and I take 'em whenever
I kin get 'em_."

I rather thought she did, but I "reckoned" her principal beverage was
whiskey.

"You have the rheumatism, madam, because your house is so open; a
draught of air is always unhealthy."

"I allers reckoned 'twar _healthy_," she replied. "Ye Yankee folks have
quar notions."

I looked at my watch, and found it was nearly ten o'clock, and, feeling
very tired, said to the hostess:

"Where do you mean we shall sleep?"

"Ye can take that ar bed," pointing to the one nearer the wall, "the
darky can sleep har;" motioning to the settle on which she was seated.

"But where will you and your daughters sleep? I don't wish to turn you
out of your beds."

"Oh! don't ye keer for us; we kin all bunk together; dun it afore. Like
to turn in now?"

"Yes, thank you, I would;" and without more ceremony I adjourned to the
further part of the room, and commenced disrobing. Doffing my boots,
waistcoat, and cravat, and placing my watch and purse under the pillow,
I gave a moment's thought to what a certain not very old lady, whom I
had left at home, might say when she heard of my lodging with a
grass-widow and three young girls, and sprang into bed. There I removed
my under-mentionables, which were still too damp to sleep in, and in
about two minutes and thirty seconds sunk into oblivion.

A few streaks of grayish li