Three
People Were Seated At The Bottom Of The Vehicle Upon Straw, Which
Made A Cheap Substitute For Buffalo-Robes.
Perched, as we were, upon
the crown of the height, we looked completely down into the sleigh,
and during the whole course of my life I never saw three uglier
mortals collected into such a narrow space.
The man was blear-eyed,
with a hare-lip, through which protruded two dreadful yellow teeth
that resembled the tusks of a boar. The woman was long-faced, high
cheek-boned, red-haired, and freckled all over like a toad. The boy
resembled his hideous mother, but with the addition of a villanous
obliquity of vision which rendered him the most disgusting object
in this singular trio.
As we passed them, our driver gave a knowing nod to my husband,
directing, at the same time, the most quizzical glance towards the
strangers, as he exclaimed, "We are in luck, sir! I think that 'ere
sleigh may be called Beauty's egg-basket!"
We made ourselves very merry at the poor people's expense, and
Mr. D - -, with his odd stories and Yankeefied expressions, amused
the tedium of our progress through the great swamp, which in summer
presents for several miles one uniform bridge of rough and unequal
logs, all laid loosely across huge sleepers, so that they jump up
and down, when pressed by the wheels, like the keys of a piano.
The rough motion and jolting occasioned by this collision is so
distressing that it never fails to entail upon the traveller sore
bones and an aching head for the rest of the day.
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Words from 83937 to 84206
of 181664
