happy man was Reuben Gray!

CHAPTER XLVII.

RUSHY SHORE.

He feels, he feels within him
That courage self-possessed,--
That force that ye shall win him,
The brightest and the best,--
The stalwarth Saxon daring
That steadily steps on,
Unswerving and unsparing
Until the goal be won!

--_M.F. Tupper_.

The first thing Ishmael did when he found himself again settled at
Woodside, and had got over the anguish of his parting with Claudia and
the excitement of his removal from Tanglewood, was to walk over to Rushy
Shore and inquire of Overseer Brown whether a master had yet been heard
of for the little school.

"No, nor aint a-gwine to be! There aint much temptation to anybody as
knows anything about this 'ere school to take it. The chillun as comes
to it,--well there, they are just the dullest, headstrongest, forwardest
set o' boys and gals as ever was; and their fathers and mothers, take
'em all together, are the bad-payingest! The fact is, cansarning this
school, one may say as the wexation is sartain and the wages
un-sartain," answered Brown, whom Ishmael found, as usual, sauntering
through the fields with his pipe in his mouth.

"Well, then, as I am on my feet again, and no other master can be found,
I will take it myself--that is to say, if I can have it," said Ishmael.

"Well, I reckon you can. Mr. Middleton, he sent his lawyer down here to
settle up affairs arter he had bought the property, and the lawyer, he
told me, as I had been so long used to the place as I was to keep on
a-managing of it for the new master; and as a-letting out of this
schoolhouse was a part of my business, I do s'pose as I can let you have
it, if you like to take it."

"Yes, I should, and I engage it from the first of January. There are now
but two weeks remaining until the Christmas holidays. So it is not worth
while to open the school until these shall be over. But meanwhile,
Brown, you can let your friends and neighbors know that the schoolhouse
will be ready for the reception of pupils on Monday, the third of
January."

"Very well, sir; I'll let them all know."

"And now, Brown, tell me, is Mr. Middleton's family coming in at the
first of the year?" inquired Ishmael anxiously.

"Oh, no, sir! the house is a deal too damp. In some places it leaks
awful in rainy weather. There be a lot of repairs to be made. So it
won't be ready for the family much afore the spring, if then."

"I am sorry to