round, give him two or three good, sound, solid kicks. "Dare," said he, lettin' him go, "you is emancipated you is free nigga now; dat is ablution. Clar off, you pork and cabbage nigga you. Take dat for de onarthly scream you woke me up wid, and frightened de lady to de winder da. So make tracks now, and go dine wid massa gubbernor. Yah! yah! yah!"

"Do you feel better now?" sais I," Kate, I told you I had no doubt, when you diskivered what that noise was you would laugh at your own fears."

"Oh, yes!" she said, "but I must say I was awfully scared at first. That fellow jist got what he wanted, a good kickin'. I hope it will cure him of makin' such unairthly noises.

Those free

Yankee niggers are curses to the country. We should have no poor rates if it wasn't for them."

"It sarves colonists right," sais I, "they talk of emancipatin' our slaves, why don't they emancipate themselves."

"Oh," said Mrs. Van Dam, "I was awfully scared by the nigger."

"Well," sais I, "if you was frightened, you weren't half so much as I was, when you kinder fainted on my shoulder that way. Oh dear! Goose flashed across my mind jist then, and his

great big fists, and I felt a buzzin' kind of noise in my ears, and the jumpin' tooth-ache came, and I saw the sparks flyin' out of my eyes; if he had a come in, he'd a chawed me right up, I do suppose, afore I'd had time to explain. What a pity it is, he should be so jealous, for there is no happiness where that is."

“I know it to my sorrow," she said.

"Well then, do you just try the receipt I gave you yesterday," said I. "Put him on the defensive at once. He knows how little cause you have, and will soon begin to see how little room there is for his fears either. I told him so this mornin'. Goose,' said I, 'don't be foolish; I see you are a little jealous.'

"I shouldn't wonder,' said he, 'if I was.'

"Well I'll tell you how it will eventuate,' sais I; "you've got as nice a little wife as there is in the provinces, and there's no harm in her; but if you treat her suspiciously, you will put harm into her head in no time, and she'll get jealous of you, and mind what I tell you, a jealous woman is the devil; and besides,' sais I, 'Goose,'” and I gave her a wink, "when you consider what a handsome feller you are, you ought to be ashamed.'

"Well,' said he, 'I shouldn't wonder. It shan't happen agin, Mr. Slick.'"

"Well you have done me a rael kindness," she said, "and I never shall forget you."

"At the same time," sais I, "it's nateral for him to be jealous too."

"How so?" said she, a colourin' up.

'Any man," sais I, "that has such an ever

lastin' handsome wife-"

"Phoo," sais she, risin' up, "don't talk nonsense, I must go and see after dinner," and she pinched my ear, as she passed, and said, "any woman that marries you will have good reason to be jealous, I know; for I never saw such a flirtin', gossipin', flatterin' sort of a man coquette in my life. I believe in my heart it's nothin' but the fear of Goose that kept you in order to-day."

"I shouldn't wonder," said I.

"Nor I either," said she, " for there's many a true word said in jest."

CHAPTER IX.

OUR COLONIES AND SAILORS.

LATE in the afternoon, a light sea-breeze sprung up and cooled the heated air of the narrow valley of Petite Rivière. Lightin' a cigar, I strolled

down to the beach to await the return of Van Dam.

There was a large oak tree a little above the landwash, and underneath it was a pile of deals that had been sawed at the mill near the bridge at the main road. Mountin' this for a seat, I sat down in the shade, and was off in a day-dream about Jordan and Sophy in little less than half no time.

I was soon so deep in these thoughts, that I did not hear the approach of a sailor, who now stood before me, and touchin' his hat, said:

offend you for the world.

"No offence, Sir, I hope, for I wouldn't Can you tell me the best road to take to St. John, New Brunswick? I have had the misfortune to be shipwracked, and want to get back to England. St. John is one of our colonies,' ain't it?"

66

"but

'Yes," sais I, for it would have been a long lockrum to have told him who I was; sit down here, and tell me about your shipwrack." Our colonies. Come, that's pretty well. Every Englishman, from a member of parliament that addresses you by letter, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Upper Canada, and a governor that has nothin' to do now but sign his name to papers, and talks of his measures, who has no measure but what he left at his tailor's in London, down to Jack Tar, says "our colonies," and thinks he is part owner of these possessions, and looks down on the poor outlandish provincials with a condescendin' air of superiority.

Well, the colonists look upon all these wiseacres with the same feelins of pity as men who are not only thick-headed and wrong-headed, but simple people who don't know what they are talking about. Such folks with such feelins ain't likely to benefit each other much. The organization is wrong. They are two people,