“What can you give us?” was my next question.
“Anything you please,” replied the boy in broken English.
“We’ll take some ham and eggs, then.”
“We havn’t any, only some eggs.”
“We’ll take some bread and milk.”
“We havn’t any bread, but plenty of milk.”
“Havn’t you any kind of meat?”
“No, plenty of rum! What’ll you have?”
I could stand this no longer, and having expressed my displeasure at the ignorance of the boy, and condemned his father for pretending to keep a tavern, I gave the former a sixpence, and took half-a-dozen eggs, with which we returned to our canoe.
While I was fixing my seat in the boat, and commenting upon wilderness hospitality, my companion amused himself by swallowing four of the purchased eggs in a leather cup of brandy. In two hours after this little adventure, our little canoe was moored above the Falls of the St. John, and we were enjoying a first rate breakfast, prepared by the lady of a Mr. Russell, who keeps a comfortable house of entertainment in this place.