That little boy is to bring added honour to old Berkeley; and one day, as General William Henry Harrison, president-elect of the United States, his love for this mother shall bring him back to this home of his boyhood to write, amidst the tender associations of “her old room,” his inaugural address.

After passing Berkeley, we left the buoyed course and ran the rest of the way to Eppes Creek in a narrow side channel that threads among the shallows close along shore.  It is what the river-men call a “slue channel”; and we had to take frequent soundings to follow it.  Looking back at dejected old Berkeley, we were glad to know that a new owner of the place was about to restore it.

Gadabout soon approached an opening in the river bank that we knew was the wide mouth of Eppes Creek.  We were going to turn into this stream, not merely for the stream itself, but for a convenient anchorage from which to reach the last of the noted river homes that we should visit—­Shirley, the colonial seat of the Carters.  Our chart showed the mansion as standing just around the next bend of the James.  But we were not going around that bend, because the chart showed also this little creek cutting across the point of land lying in the elbow of the river and apparently affording an inside route to Shirley.  We should soon learn whether or not Gadabout could navigate it and how near it would take her to the old home.

As we moved slowly into the creek it was between banks in strange and attractive contrast.  The starboard side (that from which we hoped to find a way to Shirley) was high and covered with trees of many kinds.  The bank to port was low and covered with a marsh forest of cypresses.  It was a dark and gloomy forest, but the spell of its sombre depths drew our eyes quite as often as the cheerfuller charm of the woodland on the other side; and so was equally responsible for the zigzag course that Gadabout was taking.

But it was the high bank that, after a while, was responsible for Gadabout’s ceasing to take any course at all.  We came about a bend and saw, just ahead, a little cove.  There were trees crowding close, rich pines and cedars and bright-beaded holly.  One tree leaned far out over the water, and beneath it two row-boats were drawn up to the bank.  We thought it must surely be the landing-place for Shirley.  Gadabout sidled to starboard, and grapnels were thrown up into the trees to hold her alongshore.

Stepping out on the bank we went up the hill through the woods.  On the way we turned and glanced down upon the houseboat.  She looked pretty enough, little white and yellow cottage, snuggling close to the bank with a holly tree at her bow and her flags stirring gently in the warm sunny air.

At the top of the hill, we came out upon the edge of a cornfield.  Everything was cornfield as far as we could see.  No house, no road in sight.  Back aboard Gadabout, we got under way again.  But the creek soon lost even its one solid bank and, finding ourselves running between two lines of marsh woods, we turned about and headed back for the place where we had stopped, “Leaning Tree Landing,” as we called it.