y remarked.

"No fear of me, mother--I berth under your roof to-night, and so many more
in the bargain, that you'll be glad enough to be rid of me in the end."

I then left the house, followed by Marble, towards the boat. As we reached
the little piece of bottom-land, I heard a sort of suppressed sob from the
mate, and, turning round, was surprised to see the tears running down his
sun-burned cheeks. His wrought-up feelings had at last obtained the
mastery; and this rude, but honest creature, had fairly given in, under
the excitement of this strange admixture of joy, wonder, shame, and
natural emotion. I took his hand, gave it a hearty squeeze, but said
nothing; though I stopped, unwilling to go nearer to Neb until my
companion had regained his composure. This he did, sufficiently to speak,
in the course of a minute or two.

"It's all like a dream-to me, Miles," Moses at length muttered--"more out
of natur' like, than setting up for a hermit."

"You'll soon get accustomed to the change, Marble; then everything will
seem in the ordinary way, and natural."

"To think of my being a son, and having a real, living mother!"

"You must have known that you had parents once, though you are fortunate
in finding one of them alive at your time of life."

"And she an honest woman! A mother the President of the United States, or
the first commodore in the navy, needn't be ashamed of!"

"All that is fortunate, certainly; especially the first."

"She's a bloody good-looking old woman in the bargain. I'll have her
dressed up and carry her down to town, the first opportunity."

"What would you give an old woman that trouble for? You'll think better of
these matters, in the long run."

"Better! Yes, I'll take her to Philadelphia, and perhaps to Baltimore.
There's the gardens, and the theatres, and the museums, and lots of things
that I dare say the dear old soul never laid eyes on."

"I'm mistaken in your mother, if she would not prefer a church to all of
them put together."

"Well, there's churches in all of them towns. Put it on a religious
footing, if you will, and I ought to take my mother as soon as possible
down to York. She's old, you see, and cannot live for ever, just to oblige
me; and here has she been tied down to one church all her days, giving her
no ch'ice nor opportunity. I dare say, now, variety is just as agreeable
in religion, as in anything else."

"You are nearer right there, Moses, than you think yourse