he had never seen such a thing on St. Simon’s in his life—­as who should say, such a thing was never seen in Hyde Park or the Tuileries before.  You may imagine my amusement, but presently I was destined to shock something much more serious than poor Israel’s sense of les convenances et bienseances, and it was not without something of an effort that I made up my mind to do so.  I was standing at the open window speaking to him about the horses, and telling him to get ready to ride with me, when George, another of the men, went by with a shade or visor to his cap exactly the shape of the one I left behind at the north, and for want of which I have been suffering severely from the intense heat and glare of the sun for the last week.  I asked him to hand me his cap, saying, ‘I want to take the pattern of that shade.’  Israel exclaimed, ’Oh missis, not to-day; let him leave the cap with you to-morrow, but don’t cut pattern on de Sabbath day!’ It seemed to me a much more serious matter to offend this scruple than the prejudice with regard to praying in a riding habit; still it had to be done.  ‘Do you think it wrong, Israel,’ said I, ‘to work on Sunday?’ ‘Yes, missis, parson tell we so.’  ’Then, Israel, be sure you never do it.  Did your parson never tell you that your conscience was for yourself and not for your neighbours, Israel?’ ’Oh yes, missis, he tell we that too.’  ‘Then mind that too, Israel.’  The shade was cut out and stitched upon my cap, and protected my eyes from the fierce glare of the sun and sand as I rode to church.

On our way, we came to a field where the young corn was coming up.  The children were in the field—­little living scarecrows—­watching it, of course, as on a weekday, to keep off the birds.  I made Israel observe this, who replied, ’Oh missis, if de people’s corn left one whole day not watched, not one blade of it remain to-morrow; it must be watched, missis.’  ‘What, on the Sabbath day, Israel?’ ’Yes, missis, or else we lose it all.’  I was not sorry to avail myself of this illustration of the nature of works of necessity, and proceeded to enlighten Israel with regard to what I conceive to be the genuine observance of the Sabbath.

You cannot imagine anything wilder or more beautiful than the situation of the little rustic temple in the woods where I went to worship to-day, with the magnificent live oaks standing round it and its picturesque burial ground.  The disgracefully neglected state of the latter, its broken and ruinous enclosure, and its shaggy weed-grown graves, tell a strange story of the residents of this island, who are content to leave the resting-place of their dead in so shocking a condition.  In the tiny little chamber of a church, the grand old litany of the Episcopal Church of England was not a little shorn of its ceremonial stateliness; clerk there was none, nor choir, nor organ, and the clergyman did duty for all, giving out the hymn and then singing it himself, followed