o' wood thrown on to the deck of a vessel. 'Eugh!' says
he, and he cut himself with the broken glass quite
ridikilous.

"'Why,' sais Everett, 'as I am a livin' sinner this is
"the Grave-digger," he'll kill you, man, as sure as you
are born, he is the wickedest hoss that ever was seen in
these clearins here; and he is as blind as a bat too. No
man in Nova Scotia can manage that hoss but Goodish
Greevoy, and he'd manage the devil that feller, for he
is man, horse, shark, and sarpent all in one, that
Frenchman. What possessed you to buy such a varmint as
that?'

"'Grave digger!' said doleful Steve, 'what is that?'

"'Why,' sais he, 'they went one day to bury a man, down
to Clare did the French, and when they got to the grave,
who should be in it but the pony. He couldn't see, and
as he was a feedin' about, he tumbled in head over heels
and they called him always arterwards 'the Grave-digger.'"

"'Very simple people them French,' sais I, 'Elder; they
don't know nothin' about hosses, do they? Their priests
keep them in ignorance on purpose.'

"Steve winced and squinched his face properly; and said
the glass in his hands hurt him. Well, arter we sot all
to rights, we began to jog on towards Digby. The Elder
didn't say much, he was as chop fallen as a wounded moose;