the wherries came in as far as they could, and were met by a horse and cart, which took out the passengers and carried them through the mud and water to the hard ground.  Well, when I pulled in, the man was there with his horse and cart, and I paid my fare, and stepped out of the wherry, expecting the man to drive off and put me on shore; but he, seeing that there was another wherry close at hand, says he must wait for her passengers, and make one trip of it.  I did not care how soon we met, and waited very patiently until they pulled up to us.  They were not a little surprised to see me, and not a little annoyed either.  As for Peggy, she colored to her elbows, and then tried to put up an impudent face on the matter.  He looked both foolish and angry.  They were both very smart.  She had on a white gown with a yellow handkerchief on her shoulders, a green silk bonnet and blue feathers, and he was figged out as fine as fivepence, with white jean trousers, and rings and chains, and Lord knows what.

“‘Well,’ says Peggy, as bold as brass, ’who’d have thought to have seen you here?’

“‘I did not say that I was going to see my aunt,’ replied I; ’but as you did, who would have expected to see you here?’

“‘Don’t talk to me, young man,’ said she, as red as fire, and turning away to her beau.

“Just as she said this, the cart drove off, the horse floundering through the mud, which was about three feet deep, with a matter of six inches of water above it.  As she turned away aft, I turned forward, thinking what I should do next, and then I cast my eyes down, and observed that it was a tilting cart as they use for carrying out manure, and that if I took the two pegs out it would fall right back.  I thought this a capital trick.  The carman was sitting on his horse, and it couldn’t matter to him, so I stepped out on the front of the cart, and standing on the shafts, I first pulled out one peg and then another, while they were busy talking to each other, with their heads so close that his face was under her bonnet.  As soon as the second peg was out, I helped up the front of the cart a little, and back it went, shooting them out right headforemost in the mud.  You never saw such a scramble, for they had caught hold of each other in their fright, and they rolled and floundered, and were half smothered before they could recover their feet; and then a pretty pickle they were in, wet to the skin, and covered with mud from one end to the other; they could not see out of their eyes.  Peggy did nothing but scream and flounder—­she was frightened out of her wits—­while the carman and I laughed ready to split.  I gave him half a crown to drive on shore without them, which he did, and we left them to make their way out how they could; and a pretty pickle they did come out at last.  Thus was their day’s pleasure, as well as their clothes, all spoiled; and instead of dancing at the fair and seeing all the sights, they were shivering in their wet clothes, and the laughingstocks to all that saw them.