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cataract, which bade fair to spoil him of his last drop. The whole morass was a sheet of living wrath, in which the struggling osier beds lay down supinely, whilst the wild birds wheeled about in greater astonishment than ever. In the midst of the turmoil, I heard the vociferations of the conjurer who had brought this wonder to pass, and presently I saw him making his way to the scene of action in a punt, which ever and anon spun round like a teetotum in the petty whirlpools, and obliged him to seek relief in oaths which might have appalled the river itself.

It was not long before the whole ragged population of the bogs came hovering about us in dismay, like ghosts which had been sore pressed by an inundation of the Styx. Carrol rushed to and fro despairingly, exhorting them to set to work and perform impossibilities. The breach could not have been filled up in a month; and, indeed, such an operation, if it could have been performed in a moment, was now too late. The mischief was done, and nothing remained but to stand still and admire it. In this situation of things, the morning broke upon us,

brilliant and sunny, as if on purpose to show the promising state of the park, of which but one small spot was visible, and that was the one whereon the house stood. All other objects were merely indicated by the bustle which they made under the water, which displayed nothing but eddies of white foam.

Carrol ground his teeth and bent his brow at this complete survey, in grim silence, as though he could not invent curses bitter enough to express his feelings. The first words which he uttered were execrations against his wife, for having given him money to gain his lawsuitthen against the water, for not rising, whilst it was in the mood, above his chimney top, and drowning all his plagues together, that he might begin the world afresh-then against all the nations in the globe, for not having furnished a precedent to guard him against such an unlooked-for catastrophe-and, finally, against himself, for not having been satisfied when he was well off, and unshackled by lands, wives, or daughters. As soon as he had uttered this sweeping malediction, and puzzled his busy myrmidons with a thousand absurd and oppo

site directions, he observed that his last spot of earth was growing less and less, and hastened homeward to scowl his household Gods into a panic.

When he arrived, the enraged speculator was doomed to find things worse and worse. The land-springs in his cellars had burst, and inundated all the lower part of the house, kneedeep. The waters were still rising, and Mrs. Carrol and Lucy were hiding themselves in the bed-rooms, in momentary expectation of being swept away. In spite of her terrors, the latter could not restrain a smile of irony and suppressed merriment, when orders were issued for packing up for flight, the increased urgency for which fulfilled her most sanguine wishes. Carrol's mortal enemy, the old river, was remorselessly pursuing him from stair to stair, as he staggered up to deposit his goods and chattels in the garrets, and the chairs and tables were beginning to float topsy-turvy out of the draw⚫ing-room window. The preparations, as may be supposed, were not long in arrangement; and a punt was brought in at the hall door to the foot of the stairs. When I had handed the

ladies in, and was going to push off, I called out to Carrol, to apprise him that every thing was ready.

"Then go along with them," he shouted, from a distant part of the house.

"But whither are we to go?" I inquired.

"To the devil, if you like!" responded the ruffian; and we left him to manage his affairs as he might. As we quitted the devoted walls, the stream was whirling up to their base; and our motion gave them the appearance of having already set sail. Carrol, at the same time, thrust his head from a garret-window, to present a telescope at his cataract, which was running as merrily as ever; and, awful as matters were, there was still something in this great man's washing himself out of house and home, which was mightily ridiculous. Even the melancholy Mrs. Carrol could scarcely help being amused.

As we proceeded towards the dry land, we held a consultation as to what was to become of us; and, indeed, it was something of a mystery-for it was out of the question to suppose that the miserable assemblage of hovels, called

the village, could afford accommodation.

In

this dilemma, we were obliged to call in my travelled friend of the coal-boat, who, as usual, was at no loss. In the course of his summer wanderings, he had pitched his tent on a choice spot of earth, called The Dark Common, from the umbrageous patches of wild oaks, and the ancient furze, which matted over the green roads in endless luxuriance. It was now in all its scented beauty of young leaves and yellow blossoms; and, on a gentle slope, which expanded its bosom to the soft south, stood a small fairy-formed villa, half hidden in the flowers which stole lovingly up its trelliced veranda, and echoing with the concert of a thousand guardian nightingales.

This pretty gem, it appeared, the last time that our friend had inspected the hen-roost, was not inhabited, and the chances were that it was vacant still. Lucy was charmed with the description. The sight of a tree, and the song of a bird, were blessings which she had never expected to enjoy again; and we commenced our voyage down the river with a prospect of reaching our destination in good time.

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