others bent over it ready to fall; and above them the tall hemlocks shut
out the light, except where a few stray beams glittered on the pure
transparent water.

And here it lay in lonely beauty, as it had done for centuries, probably
known only to the old people and to the wandering Indians. In enterprising
England a town would have been built round it, and we should have had
cheap excursions to the "Baths of St. Eleanor's."

In the evening we went to the house of Mr. Oppe at Bedeque, but not
finding him at home we presumed on colonial hospitality so far as to put
our horse in the stable and unpack our clothes; and when Mr. Oppe returned
he found us playing at draughts, and joined us in a hearty laugh at our
coolness. Our fifth and last day's journey was a long one of forty miles,
yet near Cape Traverse our horse ran away down a steep hill, and across a
long wooden bridge without a parapet, thereby placing our lives in
imminent jeopardy. After travelling for several hours we came to a lone
house, where we hoped to get some refreshment both for ourselves and the
horse, but found the house _locked_, a remarkable fact, as in this island
robbery is almost unknown. We were quite exhausted with hunger, and our
hearts sank when we found every door and window closed. We then, as an act
of mercy, stole a sheaf of oats from a neighbouring field, and cut the
ears off for the horse with our penknives, after which we, in absolute
hunger, ate as many grains as we could clean from the husks, and some
fern, which we found very bitter. We looked very much like a group of
vagrants sitting by the road-side, the possession of the oats being
disputed with us by five lean pigs. When after another hour we really
succeeded in getting something more suitable for human beings, we ate like
famished creatures.