rying over
the little stove are futile under such conditions. It was demonstrated
that there was not bed-clothing enough, in such an emergency as this;
indeed, an inspection of that which was merely damp, revealed the fact
that but one person could be made comfortable to-night. Our bachelor
Doctor volunteered to be that one. So we bade him God-speed, and
with toilet bag in hand I led my little family up a tortuous path, so
slippery in the rain that we were obliged in our muddy climb to cling
to grass-clumps and bushes. And thus, wet and bedraggled, did we sally
forth upon the Ironton Bottom, seeking shelter for the night.

Fortunately we had not far to seek. A kindly family took us in,
despite our gruesome aspect and our unlikely story--for what manner
of folk are we, that go trapesing about in a skiff, in such weather
as this, coming from nobody knows where and camping o' nights in the
muddy river bottoms? Instead of sending us on, in the drenching rain,
to a hotel, three miles down the road, or offering us a ticket on the
Associated Charities, these blessed people open their hearts and their
beds to us, without question, and what more can weary pilgrims pray
for?

* * * * *

Sciotoville, O., Sunday, May 20th.--After breakfast, and settling our
modest score, we rejoined the Doctor, and at ten o'clock pulled out
again; being bidden good-bye at the landing, by the children of our
hostess, who had sent us by them a bottle of fresh milk as a parting
gift.

It had rained almost continuously, throughout the night. To-day we
have a dark gray sky, with fickle winds. A charming color study, all
along our path; the reds and grays and yellows of the high clay-banks
which edge the reciprocating bottoms, the browns and yellows of
hillside fields, the deep greens of forest verdure, the vivid white
of bankside cabins, and, in the background of each new vista, bold
headlands veiled in blue. W---- and the Boy are in the stern sheets,
wrapped in blankets, for there is a smart chill in the air, and we at
the oars pull lively for warmth. In our twisting course, sometimes
we have a favoring breeze, and the Doctor rears the sail; but it is a
brief delight, for the next turn brings the wind in our teeth, and we
set to the blades with renewed energy. In the main, we make good time.
The sugar-loaf hills, with their castellated escarpments, go marching
by with stately sweep.

Greenup Court House (334 miles) is a brig