consoling pinch, he missed his snuff-box, which, in his
hurry, he had left upon his toilette, at the discretion of the mob.
"Mon Dieu, ma tabatiere!" was his horrified exclamation, as he
deliberated for a moment upon a misfortune so overwhelming.

To go back to Paris was only to risk his life, while to proceed on his
journey was to lose his snuff-box. His philo-tabatierishness triumphed:
he returned, snatched up his beloved box, and made it the companion of
his flight; and, in all his vicissitudes, from exile to a throne, he
considered the possession of his favourite _tabatiere_ as his principal
consolation. The Doctor was no less rash than the French monarch, and
in recovering his _tabatiere_ equally fortunate.

A good fire and some brandy soon made the Doctor all right again, after
his cold bath in the Nith. We now prepared our camp for the night: this
we had no trouble in doing, for we found plenty of poles and bark,
which had been used by the labourers, whilst cutting out the road to
the Huron tract. The Doctor's man had brought a bundle of blankets and
an axe, from Springer's, and I, like Dalgetty, carried the provender.

While Hinds was cooking the supper, I prepared our bed, by breaking a
quantity of fine hemlock-brush to thatch the bottom of the camp, to
keep us from the damp ground, which it did quite effectually. I have
camped out, I dare say, hundreds of times, both in winter and summer;
and I never caught cold yet. I recommend, from experience, a hemlock-
bed, and hemlock-tea, with a dash of whiskey in it, merely to assist
the flavour, as the best preventive.

The Doctor was in first-rate humour, and seemed determined to make a
night of it; and even the Cockney appeared to enjoy himself amazingly.
I knew, by the wicked eye of the Doctor, that he was bent on mischief.
Hinds was kept busy after supper in making brandy-punch, the Doctor
keeping us in a roar of laughter with his amusing anecdotes. I knew by
the long Latin quotations that Smith indulged in, that he was fast
verging on intoxication. For my part, tired and drowsy, I soon fell
into a state of pleasing forgetfulness, leaving my two companions in
the middle of some learned discussion, the subject of which I have long
forgotten.

In the morning we examined the proposed site for building the bridge,
which we found presented no unusual difficulties. I have since been
informed that excellent mills and a thriving village now occupy the
very spot where