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Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure ere filmed beginning in the upper left hend corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diegrems illustrate the method: Les certes, planches, tebieaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmAs A des taux de rAduction diff Arents. Lorsque le document est trop grend pour Atre reproduit en un seui ciichA, ii est fiimA A partir da I'engle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de heut en has, an pranent la nombre d'imeges nAcesseire. Les diagrammes suivants iiiustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 1852.] Forest Life in Canada Went. f SM 'U[ 355 I * FOI!i;sT l.Il'K IN CANADA WKST. \ Lapies of Brit;iin, dt'flly cinhioi- (Iciiinr ill ciirpeted saloun, , hundred and fifty .'icri'.s, about liity of which were cleared, wa.s pur- chased by Captain .Moodie tor JC30(.>, t)f a certain Q . a landjobber. '■ (i ," ?ay.-j the Captain, who iias eontiibuled two or three chapterd to bis ■wiib's boolc, "held a mortgage for £150, on a farm belongiu;;; to a certain Yankee settler, namc- V "'So many things, that! scarce know where to begin. Ah, what a thing 'tis to be poor! First, I want you to lend me ten pounds of flour to make some Johnnie cakes.' " ' I thinight they were made of Indian meal V " ' Yes, yes, when you've got the meal. I'm out of it, and this is a new fixing of my own invention. Lend me the flour, wouum, and I'll bring yon ono of the cakes to taste.' " This was said very coaxingly. " ' Oh, pray don't 'rouble yourself. What next V I was an.xioiiS to see how far her iinpudenee would go, and deter- mined to affront her, if possible. " ' T want you to lend me a gown and a pair of stockings. I have to go to O8wog(\ to see my husband's sister, and I'd like to look decent.' '"Mrs. Fye, I never lend my clothes to any one. If I lent them to you, I should never wear them again.' " 'So nuich th»! better for me' (with a knowing grin). 'I guess if you won't Lnd me the gown, you will let me have some black slack to quilt a stutt' j)etti- eoat, a quarter of a pound of tea and some sugar ; and I will bring them back as soon as I can.' "'I wonder when that will be. You owe me so many things that it will cost you more than you imagine to repay me.' " 'Since you're not going to mention what's past, I can't owe you much. But [ will let you off the tea and the sugar, if you will lend me a live-dollar bill.' " This was too much for even Mrs. Moodie's pationoc. She read the in- corrigible Betty a sharp lecture upon her system of robbing under colour of borrowing, and concluded by saying she well knew that all tiie things slic had lent her would be a debt owing to the day of judgment. " ' S'pose they are,' quoth Betty, not in the least abashed at my lecture on honesty, ' You know what the Scripture saith, " It is more blessed to give than to receive." ' " ' Ay, there is an answer to that in the same book, which doubtless you may have heard,' said I, disgusted with her hypocrisy, ' Tlio wicked borroweth, and payetli not again." "Never shall I forgot tht fnrious paa- bion into which this too a])t quotation threw my unprincipled applicant. She lifted up her voice and cursed me, using some ofthe big oaths temporarily discard- ed for conneience' sake. And so she left me, and I never looked upon her face again." Uncle Joe was another pleasant neighbour, and brought up liis chil- dren to resemble himself. i\[rs. Joe would occasionally stroll over to visit Mrs. Moodie, and e.\ult over the un- accustomed toils to which the youn; English wife and mother submittei with a cheerfulness tiiat did her infi- nite honour. It was a rough and hard life, even for men, in tliat Canadian loghouse ; much worse, then, for a deli- cate woman, and worst of all for one who arrived there witli an infant, and whose family rapidly augmented. "For a wt'ck I. was alone," writes Mrs. Moodie, in the early davs of her exile, " my good Scotch girl having left me to visit her father. Some small baby- articles were needed to bo washed, and after nuiking a great preparation, I de- termined to try my unskilled hanil upon the ojieration. Ihe fact is, I knew no- thing abctut the task I had inq)osed upon myself, and in a few minutes rubbed the skin ort" my wrists, without getting the clothes clean. The door was open, as it generally was, even during the coldest winter days, in order to let in more light and let out tlie smoke, which otherwise would luive enveloped us like a cloud. I was so busy that I did not perceive that 1 was watched by the cold, heavy, dark eyes of Mrs. Joe, who, with a sneering laugh, exclaimed, 'Well, thank God! I am glad to see you brought to work at last.' " Further, the amiable Mrs. Joe de- clared her intense hatred of all Bri- tishers, aiul her hearty wish that her unoffending neighbour might be brought down upon her knees to scrub the flooi'. Mrs. Moodie hud sense and dignity enough merely to smile at her vulgar malignity. The impudence of these people knew no bounds. The same evening, Mrs. Joe sent over two of her offspring to borrow something she needed of the woman she had spitefully abused in the morning. During Mrs. Moodie's abode near C , Old Satan got married for the 358 Forest Life in Canada West. [i\raich fourth tiiiio. This was tho oceiisioii ot' 11 charivari, a custuiii datintr I'ruin thi> Fronch occupation of Caiuiua, aiul still Uopt up thero. IMrs. Moodic has an aniusin<,'ly naif chapter on this subject, conccniini,' which sho has col- IcH'tod somu curious anecdotes. It is hardly necessary to e.\])lain that a mis- match — of a vounj,' and an old j)crson — is the usual pretext fur a charivari. "The idlo y(jun>i follows of llu- iiciith- boiirlu)(iildisi^ui»('tht'ni.-i('lv<'s, hliicki'iiiiiL; tlu'ir (ncvn, |>uttiii^ thfir clothes on liiiiil part before, and woariuij Iion'iblo nuwks, with t;rotcs(pi(> cnjis on ihcir lu-iuls, adorned with coclw' feather:*, unitiil. Tlio iiiiKtuko ho mndo in imrtiny with his lialf-iKiy was tiio causo of jfi'cat }iiivatioiis and anxiety. " It wiirt a hrijrlit frosty niorniiip," Hiiys Mrs. Mo;iilii', " when I hiiilc adieu to tlie farm, the hirtlipliipc of my little Aiiiieo, who, ncstlcil hcDoalh my elonk, was sweetly slcepiiiji^on mvkiice, uiieonseious of the loiifi journey oeforo us into thi; wilderness. . . If was not, without refcret thtit I hit Mels^ttcr, for so my hushand had e.'illd the jdace, after his father's estate ill Orkney. It was n heautifnl, ]ricturt'S((ue spot; and, in spite of the evil nei;thlionrho()d, I had learned to love it ; indeed, it was niueh ajiainst my wish that it was K(dd. 1 had a j^reat dislike to re- moving, whieh invcdves a noeessary loss, ami is apt to <;ive to the emigrant roving and unsettled hahits. But all regrets were now useless ; and, happily uneon- scious of the life of toil and anxiety that awaited us in those dreadful woods, I tried my hest to he cheerful, and to re- gard the future with a hopeful eye." Most noldy, when the toil and anxiety eanu', did this high-hearted woniMU hear up against thoni. tSovercr hardships and trials wore perhaps never endured, for so long a period, hy one of her dcdicato sex. At first, ailhirs looked promising in the forest. A tinu'ly legacy sujtplied means to pnrehasH' and clear land and to build ji house ; a considerahle sum still remained in lumd, and a good income from the steamboat stock was hmked ujion as certain. The iirst spring in the forest was spent in comparative ease and idleness. "Those were the halcyon days of the hush. Aly hushand had ]>urchased u veiy light cedar canoo, to which he attached a keel and a sail ; and most of our leisiu'e hours, directly the snows melted, were spent upon the water. These fishing and shooting excursions were delightful. . . . Wo felt as if we were the first discoverers of every l)eautifid flower and stately tree tint attracted our attention, and wo gave names to fantastic rocks and fairy isles, and raised imaginnry houses on every ]>ietures(jue spot wliich we floated past during our aquatic excur- sions. 1 learned the use of the paddle, and hecame quiet a proficient in the gentle craft." They received visits from the In- dians, a number of whom (of the Chippewa tribe) frequented a dry cedar-swamp hard by, fishing, shoot- ing, and making maple-sugar, baskets, and canoes. They were friendly and eonununicative, grateful for the slightest kindness, never intrusive or offensively familiar; in short, lliey were born gentlemen, and in every respect a jierfect contrast and inimea- ' surahly superior to the Yankee squat- ters at C . Mrs. Moodie devotes the greater ))artofamost interesting chapter to stcu'ies ami traits of \wx red friends. No attention, however small, was lost upon these warm- hearted people. One cold night, late in autumn, six squaws asked f-heltcr of Mrs. Moodie. It was rather a large party to lodge, but forest hospi- tality is not stinted. There was "Joe IMuskrat's squaw" and "Betty Cow," and an old white-liaired wo- man, whose f-enrlet endiroidered leg- gins showed her to be a chiefs wife. After they had all well .supped, mat- tresses and blankets were spread on the parlour floor for their use, and Mrs. Moodie considerately told her servant to give the aged sciuaw the best bed. "The old Indian glanced at mo with her keen, bright eye ; hut I had no idea that she comprehended what I said. Some weeks after this, as 1 was swcejuitg my ]iarlour floor, a slight taj) drew me (o the door. ( )n oiiening it I perceived tlie old scpiaw, who immediately slipj^cd into my hand a set of lieantifully eml)roi(lered hark trays, iitting one within the other, and exhibiting the verv best samjile of the ))orciipine-(Hiill work. While I stood wondering what this might mean, the good old creature fell upon my neek, and kissing mo, exclaimed, 'You remember old s([uaw — make her eomfortal/.e ! Old Sfjuaw no forget you. Keejt them for her sake,' and before I eonhl (letaiu her she ran down the hill with a swiftness which seemed to bid defiance to years. I never saw this interesting Indian again, and 1 concluded that she died during the win- ter, forshe must have been of agreatage." When fortune frowned on Nanty- cosiqvi, " the humming-bird," (the name given to Mrs. Moodie by the Indians, in allusion to the pleasure she took in painting birds,) when her purse and pantry were alike empty, and, in Indian phrase, " her heartfi- stone was growing cold," many an acceptable supply of much-needed food was brought to her by her red friends. j 360 Forest Life in Canada West. [^fjirch, "Tlicir ilclioacy in conferring tlu'Rc fnvours WHS not tlic lrinj? n fine Inincii of •luclis, nntl drop tlioin at nty foot, ' for tlio j)ai>ooBo [cliiW,] ' or loiivo n lftrj{i' mnBliinonjfo on tno tiill of llio door, or |>lnoe a qnnrtor of venison just within it, nnd slip nway withotit snying n word, thinkin;lit linrt our feelings, nntntooH, iiiul t'liccrtiilly Hliarinjj with her Imslmnd the riulo toils (if the field. " Wo rnnfj tho chnnijcs i>n peppermint nod m<^(', tftkiiij; the one nerli nt our hrenkl'uHt, the other at onr tea, until I found an oxoelieiit Hubstituto for both in tlio root (if tlie dandeliiMi." This root, roast4.'d cri-sp, and ^rround, proved a very ^itod imitation of otitVec. iS<|uirrcl — stewed, roast, and in pies — was a Ntandiird dinli at th(! diimer-tahht in the LuhIi. Tr> n trap set near tlie barn, often ten or twelve wero. caiifjht in a day. But tho lake was the irreat resource. "Moodie and I imod ti> rise by day- bronk, mid finli f))r an lioiir after niiiirisV, wluM we rcturnod, be to the field, and 1 t<» dresH the little ones, eloari u|) the houne, nmM. with tlie milk, and | r.pare iJu' breukfa.st. Oh, iiow 1 enjoyed llioso t'xeiirsions on the hike! — the Very idea of our (liinu r depeiidinjj ujton our Bueeess adtten the existence of poor Whisky, wlien a nei<;hbour called and told Moodie that his yearling was at J' — 's, and that lie would advise liini to get it back as soon as jtossible. Moodie had to take some wlieat to Y — 's mill, and as the s(juatter lived only a mile fartlier, lie called at his house; and there, sure enough, he found the lost iininiiil. With the greatest dittieulty lie Hueeeeded in regaining his pro[)erty, but not without many threats of vengeance from the parties who liad stolen it. To these he paid no regard ; but a few days after, six fat bogs, on which we depended for all our winter store of animal food, were driven into t)ie lake and destroyed. Th(! death of these nnimala deorivod im of three tMirrelsof pork, and half-starved tm through tli(« winter. That winter of ''M\, how heavily it wore away I Tho grown flour, frosted potatoes, and scant quantity of animal fooil, rendered us all weak, and the children sutft^-ed much from tho ague." Tinder those circiimstances, ffroat was the fjlee when a ^tray buck wan shot. Snot, Kiltie's jiet pi;,', had to be killeu, in spite of the tears and entreaties of its liltle owner, for the family were craving after a morsel of meat. Here is a melanclioly note in the diary of the emigrant's wife :— "On the '21st May of this year, my second son, Donald, was born. The jioor fellow came in hard times. The cows bail not ('alved, and our bill of fare, now minus the deer and Spot, only con- sisted of bad potatoes, and still worse Iiread. I was rendered so weak by want of projier nourishment that hit dear husband, for my sake, rivereiime hm aversion to borrowing, and procured a (piaiter of mutton from a friend. 'Jliis, with kindly presents from neighbours — often as badly off as ourselves — a loin of a young bear, and a basket containing a loaf of bread, some tea, fresh butter, and oatmeal, went far to save my life." Think of this, ye dainty dames, who, in like circumstances, heap your beds with feathers, and strew tho street wit'.: .-traw. Think of the chilly forest, the windy log-house, the frosted potatoes, llie live children, the weary, lialf-famislied niotlier, tho absence ci' all that gentle aid and comfort which wait upon your slightist ailment. Think of all these 'hi'igs, and, if the picture move you, remember that tho like snU'erings and necessities abound nearer home, within scope of your charity and relief. Quitting, for u while, the sad catalogue of her woes, Mrs. Moodie launches forth into an episode which fills ono of the most characteristic chapters of her work. In the midst of these hard times, an Englishman — with whom Cai)tain Moodie had once travelled in the mail to Toronto, and whom ho liad invited to call on him, should he come into his part of tho country — dropped in upon them one evening, proposing to remain for tlio night. He was their inmate for nine months. Mrs. Moodio disliked liiin noa Vurcnl h'fe in Canada Went. \ Nfnrol), Irom llii! vt'ry (irnr diiy, for lie wim ii Niirlvt iiil : and ho ^ruinhli'd ahiMmt diiilv. until tlin ha|t|iy iiiornin^r wImmi )ii> left tlictn lor ^'ood and all. Malcolm (mh Mis. Moodlif ('liofmcH to call liini) t(dd liis lumt. that he uaH in hiditijf I'roni tin* Hhcrifr'H oIlicci'M, and Mhoiild cMtccni it a (Treat favour to lut allowed to remain a few weckn at liin Iiouhc. The captain was far too ;foo children. It in out of our power to make you comfortahle, or to keep an additional hand, without liu is willing; to reiidir nome littlu ludp on the farm. If you can do lIuM, I will endeavour to fjet a few JioceHHarieH on credit, to make your hU\)' more a;,'reealile." 'I'lie proposi- tion Huited Malcolm to a hair. My workin}.' for his keep, he fjot rid of Mic ohli^Mition, and aci|uired a ri^fht to (rrumhie. As to the work he did, it real!)' was not worth Hpenkitijf of. Mrs. Aloodie liiid a sort of rude lu'd- st<'ad made for him out of two lar<(e chests, and put \\\) in a coriu'r of thu parhuir. Upon that he lay, dnrin*,' the first fortnight of hisstiiy, readiuf,', Hm had none, lit- kIuin'ciI hut once a wcel:, never conilied hi.' hair, ami never waslieil liiin- cclt'. A dirtier oi' more Kh>veidy crtiitnre never liel'ore wax di'^nitlc'd liy tin' title of a ;;cntleman, lie was, Imwever, a iniin of (rood education, of exeelleiit nliililic.^, and posxcsficd a liitler narcastic know- h'dire of the world; li\lt he was rii'llinh and unprincipled in the hiv;hcntde;^reo." This piratical sea-lcir (piarnlled with .Mrs. .Moodie's servanls, disifusted and oll'euded her hy Ins uiii^'entK luaniy haliit of swearin^f, luid hehaved alto- (.'ether HO outrajfcously that any on« less forhcariu'^ and odod-tempered than Ciptain Moodie, would havo turned him out of the house hel'ore ho had Iteen n month in it. But tlio vi\\)- tain, who lacked not spirit on occa- sion, had Ilijjhland notions of hospi- tality; and, moreover, ho piiied the. uiih.'iiipy Hcapeiirace — whose vile ten\- i)er was his own (freatest eiuse — and l)ore with his infirmities. Alalcolm (jot the ajfue, and poor Mrs. Moodicj nursed him. " l)uriii|u«i. OiM' (liiy, liowt'Vt'r, 11 iiickiiaiiui iipplii'd t(t liiiii liy I\IrM. MooiIIo'h I'Idt'sl ji'irl put liiiii III a t'inioiis paHMioii, and ho look liiiiiMilfotV ttir cviT, as IiIh oiili'i"- taiiiiTH lin|)((l. Tlii'v wiTo inistaki'ii. "Two jimnlliH aft' r, \\\i wito takiiij^ ten \\ itii 11 iici^lilM)!'.!', who lived ii iiiik' Ik'Iciw un (III thi' ^iiiiiil hiko. Wild kIiiiiiKI walk ill l)iit Mr. AlnliMiliii ? lie ^riTtcd us with jrroiit, wariiitli, fur him ; niid whuii wo r(;t<(' to lake toavc, ho ro!ido. ' Siiroly tlio littlo rrio oaii cdiitnin, and llalcdim was oiio of tlio (xlilest of liorodd spt'cic's, 'lliat ni;j;lit ho nlopt in liin old lii'il Ix'jow tlio parldr wiinlnw, and fur lliri'o inontliH aftorward.-i he i^tiick to ns liko a Loavor." Tlio nifinnor of this Htraii;.fo lioinfr'n tiiial do|mrtiiro was as firoritrio as tliat of his iirst ooiiiiiiH". On Clirist- liias ovo ho sfartod at'lor liroakl'ast to walk into lVtorlioroiit,'li to t'otoli raisins t'lr next «iay's piiddinjf. Mo novor oaiiio haok, Init left I'otoiliov(ni(,di tiiii sanio day with a stran;,'or in n wa<^'oii. It was al'tiTwards said tliat lie had ^'0110 to 'J'oxas, nnd liooii kiilod at San Antonio do IKxar. Whatovor bcoaino ol' him, ho novor ai^'iiii w;.s scon in th.it part of ('aiiada. iMrs. Moodie's aoooiint id' his rosidoiioo in hor lioiiso is t'lill of ohaniotor, and ad- miialilo for its (|iiiotiioss and tnitii to iiiitun'. "Firintr the. Fallow," and '•Our Lojrjiiny' lU'o," aro alM), rpart from thoir oonnoolion with tlio oini- yraiit's fortnnos, Mtiikiiijj and intoiost- inu' skotolios of Canadian forest life. Wo are iiiiahio to dwell upon or ox- tract from tlioin, and must hasten to ooiR'ludo our notice of this really fas- eiiiatinjf hook. Holiellion broke out in Canada. Captahi Moodio, altlioujfh sulVorinj^' from a severe accident ho had mot with whilst p]ou{T|iin}r, f(.lt his loyalty and soldiership irresistibly appealed to by the Queen's proclamation, call- inij upon all loyal jfontlomoii to join in suppressing the insurrection. To- ronto was threatened by the insur- {fcnts, and armed bands were onthcr- ing on all sides for its relief. {?o Captain Moodio marched to the front. Uogiinonts of militia wore formed, nnd in one of tlioni hit rocoivod command of a company. l(o loft in .laniiary, and Mrs. .\lo(idi(t n-maincd aloiio with hor children and Jenny — :i faithful old Irish sor^'aut — to take care of tlio honso, It was a dull and choorlosH time. And yet her hiislmnd's a|»- pointmont was a groat boon and relief. His full pay as captain en- abled him to remit money homo, and to !i((ni(hito debt-". His wife, on lior Kulo, was not liiactivo. "JiiHt at this period," she sii}'*', "1 rocoivod a lettir from a i^ontloiiiaii, ro- fiiiostini,' mo to write for a iiiii!.(ay,ini' (the Liln-avy (Inrliiinl) just, Htartod in Mon- treal, with pidiiiiso to roiiiunerato mo for my lahoiirs. .Such an appliciitinn was liko a j,'leiim of light spriiigiiy up in the darkness." When the day's toils — whioli wore not trilling — wore over, she rohhod herself of sleoi) — which she greatly needed — to labour with hor pen ; writing by the light of what Irish Jenny cillod '-sluts"' — twi>ti'd rags, dipped in lard, and stuck in n bottle. Jtiiny viewed those literary pursuit)* wiili lingo discontent. " You wore thin oiioiiu;li liofnio yon took to llie pel'," f;ruiiib!od tho alfo(V tioiiato old eioiituio — " wiiiit good will it bo til tho chililhion, dear heart 1 if you dii; afore your t me by waiting- your ^trengtll afther that t■a^lli(ln ;" Rut I\Irs. .Moodio was not to be dissuaded from hor nov/ pursuit. t!ho perseveied, and with salirliidory re- sults. "J actually," Am says, '• shod tears of joy over the llrsi twenty-dollar note I re- ceived from Montreal." I'mnlous of her mistross's activity, Jenny undertook to nniko "a good lump" of iuniilo-sng;ir, witli the aid of littlo Sol, a hired boy, whom she grievously cuifod and ill-treated, when be ujisot tho kettle, or committed other blunders. Every evening dur- ing the sugar-making ]\lrs. Moodio ran up to see Jeimy in tho bush, singing and boiling down the sap in i'ront of her littlo sliaiity. " Tho old woman was in her element, and afraid of nothing under the stars ; s-lio slept lioside her kettles at night, and snapped Jier fingers at the idea of the least danger." 3C4 Forest Life in Canada Wesf. [Murcli, The sugar-making was a hot and wcarlsomo oeeupation, but tliii result was a good store of sugar, molasses, and vinegar. " Besides gaining a little money with my pen," writes Mrs. Mooclic at about tliis time, " I practised a method of painting birds and butterflies upon the white vel- vety surface of the large fungi that grow plentifully upon the bark of the sugar maple, lliese had an attractive appear- ance ; and my brother, who was a cap- tain in one of the provisional regiments, sold a great many of them among the officers, without saying by whom they were painted. One rich lady in Peterborough, long since dead, ordered two dozen, to send as curiosities to Eng- land. These, at one shilling each, enabled me to buy shoes for the children, who, during our bad times, had been forced to dispense with these necessary coverings. How often, during the winter season, have I wept over their little chapped feet, literally washing them with my tears. But these days were to end. Pro- vidence was doing great things for us; and Hope raised at last her droojjing head, to regard with a brighter glance, the far-off future. Slowly the winter rolled away ; but he to whom every thought was turned, was still distant from his luunble home. The receipt of an occasional letter from him was my only solace during his long absence, and we were still too poor to indulge often in the luxury." The spring brought work. Corn and potatoes must be planted, and the garden dug and manured. By lending her oxen to a neighbour who had none, I\Irs. jMoodie obtained a little assistance ; but most of tiio la- bour was performed by her and Jenny, the greatest jewel of an old woman the Emerald Isle ever sent forth to toil in American wildernesses. A short visit from the captain cheered the fa- mily. In the aulunm, he expected, the regiment to which ho belonged would bo reduced. Tiiis was a me- lancholy anticij)ation, and his wife again beheld cruel poverty seated on their Ihrej-hold. After her liusband's departures tlie thought struck her tliat she would write to the Governor of Canada, plainly stating her circum- stances, and asking him to retain Cajjtain Moodie in the militia service. She knew nothing of Sir George Ar- thur, and received no reply to her application. But the Governor acted, though ho did not write, and acted kindly and generously. "The Hitli of October my third son was born ; and a few days after, my husband was appointed payma.ster to the militia regiments in tho V district, with the rank and full pay of captain." The appointment was not likely to be permanent, and Mrs. Moodie and the children remained at their log-cabin in the woods din-ing the enstiing win- ter. Malignant scarlet fever attacked the whole family ; a doctor was sent for, but did not come; Mrs. Moodie, herself ill, had to tend her five chil- dren ; and when these recovered, she was stretched for many weeks ui)on a bed of .sickness. Jenny, the most attached of humble friends, and u greater heroine in her way than numy whom poets have sung and historians lauded, alone kept her suffering mis- tress company in the de])ths of the dark forest. " Men could not be procured in that thinly-setted spot for love nor money ; and [ now fully realized the extent of Jenny's usefulness. Daily she yoked the oxen, and brought down from 'the bush fuel to maintain our fires, which she felletl and cliopped up with her own hands. She fed the cattle, and kept all things snug about the doors ; not forgetting to loud her mju«ter's two guns, ' in case,' as she said, ' the ribels should attack us iu our retrate.' " What says the quaint old song? that— " Th(! poor man alone, when he hears the poor motui, Ot his morsel a morsel will give, Wel!-n-day !" It were a libel to adopt the .sentitncnt to its full extent, when we witness the large measure of charity which the n)ore prosperous classes in this cotmtry are ever ready to dispense to the poor and suffering. But doubt- less the sympathy with distress is apt to be heartiest and wannest on the part of those who themselves have experienced the woes Ihey witness. It is very touching to contemj)late Mrs. Moodie walking twenty miles through a bleak forest — the gnunid covered with snow, and the thermo- meter far below zero — to minister to the necessities of one whose suffer- ings were greater even than her own. t 1852.] Forest Life in Canada West. 365 Still more touching is the exquisite delicacy with which she and her friend Emilia imparted the relief they brought, and strove to bestow their charity without imposing an obliga- tion. " The Walk to Dummer " is a chapter of Mrs. Moodie's book that alone would secure her the esteem and admiration of her readers. Captain N. was an Irish settler in Canada, who had encountered similar mishaps to those Captain Moodie had experi- enced — but in a very different spirit. He had taken to drinking, had de- serted his family, and was supposed to have joined Mackenzie's band of ruffians on Navy Island. For nine weeks his wife and children had tasted no food bnt potatoes ; for eighteen months they had eaten no meat. Be- fore going to Mrs. Moodie, Jenny had been their servant for five years, and, although repeatedly beaten by her master with the iron ramrod of his gun, would still have remained with them, would be have permitted her. She sobbed bitterly on learning their sufferings, and that Miss Mary, " the tinder thing," and her brother, a boy of twelve, had to fetch fuel from the bush in that " oncommon savare weather." Mrs. Moodie was deeply affected at the recital of so much misery. She hud bread for herself and children, and that was all. It was more than had Mrs. N. But for the willing there is ever a way, and Mrs. Moodie found means of doing good, where means there seemed to be none. Some ladies in the neighbourhood were desirous to do what they could for Mrs. N. ; but they wished first to be assured that her condition really was as represented. They would be guided by the report of Mrs. Moodie and Emilia, if those two ladies would go to Dummer, the most western clearing of ('anada's Ear West, and ascertain the facts of the case. 7/'tlioy would ! There was not an instant's hesitation. Joyfully they started on their Samaritan pilgrimage. Ladies, lounging on damask cushions in your well-luing carringcs, read this account of a walk through the wilderness ; read the twelfth chapter of Mrs. Moo- die's second volume, and — having read it — you will assuredly read the whole of her hook, and rise from its perusal with full hearts, and with the resolution to imitate, as far as your opportunities allow — and to none of us, who seek them with a fervent and sincere spirit, shall opportunities be wanting — her energetic and truly Christian charity. Le diable ne sera pas toujours der- ricre la porta, says the French pro- verb. The gentleman in question had long obstinately kept his station be- hind Mrs. Moodie's shanty door; but at last, despairing, doubtless, of a triumph over her courage and resig- nation, he fled discomfited. The militia disbanded, Captain Moodie's services were no longer needed. But his hard-saved pay had cleared off many debts, and prospects were brighter. " The potato crop wn.s gathered in, and 1 had eollect^'d my store of dandcliou roots for oiu- winter sup])ly of coffee, when one day brouglit n letter to my husband from the Governor's secretary, offering him the situation of Sheriff of the V distriet. Once more he bade us farewell ; but it wna to go and make ready a home for us, that we should no more lie sepni'ated from eaeli other. Heartily did I return thanks to God tluit night for all bi.s mercie.s to us." Short time sufficed for preparation to quit the dreary log-house. Crops, furniture, farm-stock, and implements, were sold, and as soon as snow fell and sleighing was practicable, the family left the forest for their snug dwelling in the distant town of V . Strange as it may seem, when the time came, Mrs. Moodie clung to her solitude. "I did not like," sl»o says, "to be drajiged from it to niin^lo in gayscene.>», in ft l>nsy town, and with gaily-dressed people. 1 was no longer fit tor the world. I bail lost all relish for the piu'suits and pleasures which are so essential to its A'otaries ; T was contented to live and die ill obse\u'ity. For seven years I bad lived out of the world altogether ; my person bad been rendered coarse by bard work niid exposm-e to the weather. 1 looked double the agi' 1 really was, and my hair was already sprinkled with grey." Honour to such grey hairs, blanch- ed in patient and courageous suffering. More lovely they than raven tresses, to all who prefer to the body's per- ishable beauty the imperishable quali- ties of the immortal soul I