will never rise to darken its happy
future," after which the learned dominie recited the words of Ducis:--

"_Noble et tendre amitie, je te chante en mes vers_."

"Murder!" cried Coristine, "Do you know that that Miss Jewplesshy, or Do
Please, or whatever her name is, is French?"

"O, Corry, Corry, how could you break in upon a scene of purest
friendship and nature worship like this with your wretched misses? O,
Corry, be a man!"

"The anchor's agoin' out," remarked The Crew, as he passed by; so the
travellers rushed to the capstan and got hold of the spikes. Out went
the cable, as Coristine sang:--

Do! my Johnny Boker,
I'm a poo-er sailor,
Do! my Johnny Boker,
Do!!!

The ship made fast, the captain said, "Sylvanus will take you gentlemen
ashore in the dingy. It only holds three, so I'll wait till he comes
back." The pedestrians protested, but in vain. Sylvanus should take them
ashore first. So they bade the captain good-bye with many thanks and
good wishes, and tumbled down into the dingy, which The Crew brought
round. The captain shouted from the bulwarks in an insinuating way,
"I'll keep my eye on you, Mr Wilkinson, trying to steal an old man's
niece away from him," at which the victim shuddered. Away went the dingy
some fifty yards or more, when Coristine called out, "Have you got the
knapsacks, Farquhar, my dear?"

"Why, bless me, no," he answered. "I thought you had them." "Row back
for your life, Sylvanus, to get the blessed knapsacks;" and Sylvanus,
patient creature, did as he was told. The captain threw them over the
side with another farewell speech, and then the dingy made for the bank,
while Coristine sang in a rich voice:--

Pull for the shore, sailor,
Pull for the shore.

They landed, and, much against The Crew's will, he was compelled to
receive a dollar from each of his passengers.

"I'll see you again," he said, as he rowed back for the captain. "I'll
see you again up in Grey, along of the old man and the gals, mark my
word if I don't."

"Glad to see you, Sylvy, old fresh (he was going to say 'old salt,' but
corrected himself in time), glad to see you anywhere," bawled the
lawyer, "but we've made a vow to dispense with female society in our
travels. Ta, ta!"

CHAPTER II.

Barrie--Next of Kin--Nightmare--On the Road--Strawberries and
Botany--Poetry and Sentiment--The Virago--Luncheon and
Wordsworth--Waterplants, Lee