Where no am seen, river very proper place."

We landed, and he took out threepence, and offered it to me. "No, no,"
said I; "I don't want you to pay for saying your prayers."

"No take money?"

"Yes, take money to cross the river, but not take money for saying
prayers. If you want to say them any other morning, come down, and if I
am here, I'll always pull you into the stream."

"You very good man; I thank you."

The Parsee made me a low salaam, and walked away. I may here observe
that the man generally came down at sunrise two or three days in the
week, and I invariably gave him a pull off into the stream, that he
might pursue his religious ceremony. We often conversed and at last
became intimate.

Mr Turnbull was at the bottom of the lawn, which extended from his
house to the banks of the river, looking out for me, when I pulled up.
The basket with our dinner, etcetera, was lying by him on the gravel
walk.

"This is a lovely morning, Jacob; but it will be rather a warm day, I
expect," said he; "come, let us be off at once; lay in your sculls, and
let us get the oars to pass."

"How is Mrs Turnbull, sir?"

"Pretty well, Jacob; more like the Molly Brown that I married than she
has been for some years. Perhaps, after all, this affair may turn out
one of the best things that ever happened. It may bring her to her
senses--bring happiness back to our hearth; if so, Jacob, the money is
well spent."

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE.

MR. TURNBULL AND I GO ON A PARTY OF PLEASURE--IT TURNS OUT TO BE AN
ADVENTURE, AND WINDS UP WITH A BLUNDERBUSS, A TIN-BOX, AND A LADY'S
CLOAK.

We pulled leisurely up the stream, talking, and every now and then
resting on our oars to take breath; for, as the old captain said, "Why
should we make a toil of pleasure? I like the upper part of the river
best, Jacob, because the water is clear, and I love clear water. How
many hours have I, when a boy on board ship, hung over the gunwale of a
boat, lowered down in a calm, and watch the little floating objects in
the dark blue unfathomable water beneath me; objects of all sizes, of
all colours, and of all shapes--all of them beautiful and to be admired;
yet of them, perhaps, not one in a hundred millions ever meet the eye of
man. You know, Jacob, that the North Seas are full of these animals--
you cannot imagine the quantity of them; the sailors call them blubbers,
because they are composed of a sort of transparent jelly but the real