ad been
excessively hot and sultry,and all of us were much fatigued. Starting a fire as usual we < ooked some of our turkey meat, and found it very delicious. As no Indian sign had been discovered through the day, it was i bought unnecessary to set a guard, and accordingly we stretched ourselves upon the earth around the fire, and in a few minutes, with the exception of myself, all were sound asleep.
I 'ould not rest. I tried to, but in vain. The air was tilled with musquitoes, and variciis other insects, attracted hither by the fie-light, and they annoyed me exceed ingly. This was not all. My mind, as in fact it had been throughout the day, was sorely depressed. A thousand thoughts, that I vainly strove to banish, obtruded themselves upon me. In spite of myself, I thought of my dream. Pshaw! why should that trouble me? It could not be true, I knew; and was only caused by the previous remarks of Huntly, my excited feelings, and surrounding circumstances. Still it came up in my mind, as startlingly as I had dreamed it; and, in spite of my scoffings, with every appearance of reality. I was not naturally superstitious, and did not believe in dreams but this one haunt ed me as a foreboding of evil to her Hoved; and as I lay and meditated, I half formed the resolution to set out in the morning upon my return, already sick of my under taking.
It is one thing to read of adventures in others, and another to experience them ourself; and this I felt, oh! how keenly! To strengthen my resolution, 1 pictured the home of my parents, the sadness which I knew must be preying upon them on ac count of my absence, and the flash of joy that would light their faces and warm their hearts on beholding their only son once more seated at their fireside, never to de part again while he or they were blessed with life. I thought over all this, and grew stronger in my new resolve; and had it not been for the whimsical fear of ridi cule the idle jest of some coxcomb fool, for whose opinion or regard in any other way I cared not a straw it is more than probable this narrative had not been written.
What a powerful engine is ridicule! It & the battermg-raui of the mind, and will
often destroy by a single blow the mighti est fabric of reason. It is used by fools and men whose minds are too imbecile ib cope with the edifice of thought which towers above their limited grasp; and y<-t the very architect of such construction fears it, as does the poor red-man the annihila ting artillery of the pale-face.
I lay and thought; and the more I thought, the more restless I became. J rolled to and fro in an agony of mind that at last became intolerable, and I arose. Stealing quietly from the sleeping circle, I proceeded to the creek, and having moist ened my parched and feverish lips, and bathed my heated temples and brow, ] took my way thence to a little bluff on the opposite side, whence I could overlook the valley for a considerable extent.
Seating myself upon a rock, I gazed around. Below was our camp fire, bright ly burning, beside which I could tracw, with a shadowy indistinctness, the outlines ot the sleeper's dark forms. There th.y lay, all unconscious to the outer world, perhaps enjoying the pleasure of some de lightful dream. How I envied them their sleep i Beyond them, by the same light, I could faintly perceive our animals hop pled, but not picketed, the latter being thought unnecessary quietly grazing.
It was a warm, still, starlight night. Above me the heavens were brilliantly studded with myriads of shining orlw whose light fell softly and sweetly upon the sleeping earth. Here, not a scild floated in the clear atmosphere; but in tl*e west I could perceive huge black clouds, lifting their ill-shaped heads above the hor izon, darting forth the red bolts of heaven, while a far-off rumbling sound came jarr ingly upon my ear.
Fixing my gaze at last in this direction, I sat and watched the rapid progress of an approaching storm. On it came like a mighty squadron, a few fleecy clouds as banners thrown out in advance, behind which flashed and thundered its dread artillery, making the very earth tremble beneath the sound.
From youth up, the rapid play of light ning had strongly affected my nervous sys tem, and made me a coward; and now- lonely, sad and gloomy I was in a proper condition to feel its effects mor
