at seemed most to
bother the farmer's mind. Nevertheless, "there was corn in Egypt yet";
and at the family circle about the board that night a smile of hope
played on the good farmer's face, as in deep sincerity he asked that for
what they had they might be made truly thankful. We learned a lesson of
patience from this family, and were glad that the wind had carried us to
their shore.

Said the farmer, "And you came all the way from Brazil in that boat!
Wife, she won't go to Georgetown in the batto that I built because it
rares too much. And they freed the niggers and had no wah! Well, well, I
d'clar!"

Better folks we may never see than the farmers of South Santee. Bidding
them good-bye next morning at early dawn we sailed before a light land
wind which, however, soon petered out.

The S.S. _Planter_ then coming along took us in tow for Georgetown,
where she was bound. We had not the pleasure, however, of visiting the
beloved old city; for having some half dozen cocoa-nuts on board, the
remainder of small stores of the voyage, a vigilant officer stopped us
at the quarantine ground. Fruit not being admitted into South Carolina
until after the first of November, and although it was now late in the
afternoon of the first, we had to ride quarantine that night, with a
promise, however, of _pratique_ next morning. But there was no steamer
going up the river the next day. The _Planter_ coming down though
supplied us with some small provisions, such as were not procurable at
the Santee farm. Then putting to sea we beat along slowly against wind
and current.

We began now to experience, as might be expected, autumn gales of
considerable violence, the heaviest of which overtaking us at Frying-pan
Shoal, drove us back to leeward of Cape Fear for shelter. South Port and
Wilmington being then so near we determined to visit both places. Two
weeks at these ports refreshed the crew and made all hands willing for
sea again.

Sailing thence through Corn-cake Inlet we cut off Cape Fear and the
Frying-pan Shoals, being of mind to make for the inlets along the
Carolina coast and to get into the inland waters as soon as practicable.

It was our good fortune to fall in with an old and able pilot at
Corn-cake Inlet, one Capt. Bloodgood, who led the way through the
channel in his schooner, the _Packet_, a Carolina pitch and cotton
droger of forty tons register, which was manned solely by the captain
and his two sons, one twelve and the