Thursday, 21st.—­I took a long ride to-day all through some new woods and fields, and finally came upon a large space sown with corn for the people.  Here I was accosted by such a shape as I never beheld in the worst of my dreams; it looked at first, as it came screaming towards me, like a live specimen of the arms of the Isle of Man, which, as you may or may not know, are three legs joined together, and kicking in different directions.  This uncouth device is not an invention of the Manxmen, for it is found on some very ancient coins,—­Greek, I believe; but at any rate it is now the device of our subject Island of Man, and, like that set in motion, and nothing else, was the object that approached me, only it had a head where the three legs were joined, and a voice came out of the head to this effect, ’Oh missis, you hab to take me out of dis here bird field, me no able to run after birds, and ebery night me lick because me no run after dem.’  When this apparition reached me and stood as still as it could, I perceived it consisted of a boy who said his name was ’Jack de bird driver.’  I suppose some vague idea of the fitness of things had induced them to send this living scarecrow into the cornfield, and if he had been set up in the midst of it, nobody, I am sure, would have imagined he was anything else; but it seems he was expected to run after the feathered fowl who alighted on the grain field, and I do not wonder that he did not fulfil this expectation.  His feet, legs, and knees were all maimed and distorted, his legs were nowhere thicker than my wrist, his feet were a yard apart from each other, and his knees swollen and knocking together.  What a creature to ran after birds!  He implored me to give him some meat, and have him sent back to Little St. Simon’s Island, from which he came, and where he said his poor limbs were stronger and better.

Riding home, I passed some sassafras trees, which are putting forth deliciously fragrant tassels of small leaves and blossoms, and other exquisite flowering shrubs, which are new to me, and enchant me perhaps all the more for their strangeness.  Before reaching the house, I was stopped by one of our multitudinous Jennies, with a request for some meat, and that I would help her with some clothes for Ben and Daphne, of whom she had the sole charge; these are two extremely pretty and interesting-looking mulatto children, whose resemblance to Mr. K——­ had induced me to ask Mr. ——­, when first I saw them, if he did not think they must be his children?  He said they were certainly like him, but Mr. K——­ did not acknowledge the relationship.  I asked Jenny who their mother was.  ‘Minda.’  ‘Who their father?’ ‘Mr. K——.’  ‘What! old Mr. K——?’ ’No, Mr. R. K——.’  ‘Who told you so?’ ‘Minda, who ought to know.’  ’Mr. K——­ denies it.’  ’That’s because he never has looked upon them, nor done a thing for them.’  ’Well, but he acknowledged Renty as his son, why should he deny these?’ ’Because old master was here