Page:The Homes of the New World- Vol. III.djvu/292

Rh eyes and fair hair. His grandmother was a Swede, and he bore her name of Rudolph. Feeble as he was, it yet seemed to give him pleasure to see his distant country-woman. He was now bent on returning to Philadelphia, and believed that he should be able to get there; but Miss Dix, always tenderly watchful over the sick, took the young man's address in Philadelphia in order to inform his relations of his danger.

We were at Pulatki delivered over by St. Matthew to the care of the little, ugly Sarah Spalding, which made me this evening almost repent of my undertaking, at least on account of my friends. Everything was in the highest degree uncomfortable and poor, and our cabin swarmed with cockroaches. But, I have scarcely ever laughed more than I did this evening. Miss Mac I. entered the cabin in a sort of merry rage against the disturbers of our peace, and pursued them with a comic fury; Mrs. W. H. too, like this splendid young girl, was so resolved to look at all our difficulties on the amusing side that—everything became a subject of mirth.

The moonlight nights were glorious, and we sate out till late on the little triangular piazza aft of the steamer, and two young sisters with sweet voices, sang “Dearest May,” and other delightful negro melodies; the scenery of the banks assumed more and more of a tropical character. We then slept a little, and I, for my part, soundly, spite of the cockroaches. Our dominant lady, however, who considered it her duty to watch over our comfort, and who was very uneasy all night, made horrible tigers out of little mice.

Early the next day, we lay to land, to take in fuel, and I went on shore to refresh myself after the uncomfortable night. The country seemed altogether uncultivated and wild. A little foot-path, however, wound into the woods, and along it I went, à la bonne aventure, on an expedition of discovery, and as I wandered