The Canadian Brothers (Volume I) or The Prophecy Fulfilled

ersation; and a variety of conjectures, more or less probable, regarding the American lady, were hazarded

mands for solids and liquids, during the interesting period devoted to the process of mastication,

Captain of Grenadiers, measuring six feet two in his stockings, "yon geerl has a bit of

stoun?" asked

and, to gi' the witch her due, beauty enoof to mak

utely hot in his presence-a sensation that was by no means diminished by his nasal tone and confident manner; "I have no fancy for your pale faced people who, even whil

arity of the recently-joined Ensign's address; "however, be that as it may, I will wager a score of flour barrels, or even pork barrels, if you prefer them, that you cannot s

two or three young and joyous voices, amid the loud clapping of h

remark, and without seeming to notice the flush upon the red face of Ensign Langley, which momentarily increased until it finally assumed a purple hue-"What the devil should I do with a wife. Nay, even if I f

," was the

ht to have toasted your brother's gallant exploit-Gentlemen, fill your glasses-a

in Molineux- His glass had been filled and

ain Molineux at the time, of course detected the slight-He sat for some minutes conversing with an unusual and evidently forced

Courcy?" inquired Captain Cranstoun, interrupting the short

I calculate as how I have introduced Ensign Paul, Emilius, Theophilus, Arnoldi, of the United States Michigan Militia, into pretty considerable snug quarters-I have bille

in of Engineers-"I am not at all surprised at Major Montgomerie

ng struggle, for, since we have been driven into this war, it will be a satisfaction to fin

example, Major Montgomerie and the person just alluded to. Last winter," he continued, "there was a continued interchange of hospitality between the two po

utenant Villiers with a malicious laugh, and

rted Cranstoun, who did not seem to relish t

re from Cranstoun's manner," eagerly asked the aid-de-camp, his

toun?" asked Villiers in

egs under the table, and turning his back upon the questioner he joined, or affected

are drawn, not as otherwise customary, by the fast trotting little horses of the country, but by expert natives whose mode of transport is as follows: A strong rope is fastened to the extremity of the shafts, and into this the French Canadian, buried to the chin in his blanket coat, and provided with a long pole terminating in an iron hook, harnesses himself, by first drawing the loop of the cord over the back of his neck, and then passing it under his arms-In this manner does he traverse the floating ice, stepping from mass to mass with a rapidity that affords no time for the detached fragment to sink under the weight with which it is temporarily laden-As the iron-shod runners obey the slightest impulsion, the draught is light; and the only fatigue encountered is in the

Courcy, with something of the nervousness, w

they ever entertain an anxiety on those occasions, it is either least the absence of one of these formidable masses should compel them to abandon an enterprize, the bare idea of e

why, I say, is Villiers like a man of domestic habits? Do you g

that excited a general laugh at his end of the table- "Come, Villiers, never mind his nonsense, for your premise

t the very close of the season, and it chanced that, on the preceding night, the river had broken up, so that the roar and fracas of crashing ice, might have been likened, during forty eight hours a

adier; but Cranstoun, insensible to the appeal, and perhaps unwilling to listen to a story that occasio

him to confess his penchant; and, on this occasion, he had attached himself to their immediate sleigh. Provided, like the Canadians, with poles terminated by an iron hook at one end and a spike at the other, we made our way after their fashion, but in quicker time than they possibly could, harnessed as they were in the sledges. With the aid of these poles, we cleared, with facility, chasms

racked a hickory nut, "and the balls reserved for us th

- either to attempt the crossing before further obstacle should be interposed, or to remain in Detroit until the river had been so far cleared of the ice as to admit of a passage in canoes. With our leaping poles, we were not so much at a loss, but the fear entertaine

tive nod was given by De Courcy,) well: in this formidable covering had he encased himself, so that when he quitted the town, surmounted as his head was moreover with a fur cap, he presented more of th

length noticed Cranstoun, wheeling round and regarding the narrator with a

Villiers, amid the loud laugh which was now raised at Cranstoun's e

in turned his back

ers p

ith incessant and ungovernable laughter. Checking our course, and turning to behold the cause, we observed, about a hundred yards below us, the sledge of the D'Egvilles, f

for a heavy grenadier, buttoned up to the chin in a ponderous bear skin coat. He succeeded in gaining the opposite piece of ice, but had no sooner reached it, than he fell, entangled in such a manner in his covering that he found it impossible to extricate himself. To add to his disaster, the force of his fall broke off, from the main body, the section of ice on which he rested. Borne down by the current, in

ould belong, each pursuer claiming to have seen it first. Nay, more than one gun had been levelled with a view of terminating all doubt by lodging a bullet in the carcase, when, fortunately for the subject in dispute, this proposal was overruled by the majority, who were more anxious to capture than to slay the supposed bear. Meanwhile the Canadian, harnessed to the sleigh of the D'Egvilles, roared out with all his lungs for the two parti

astonished peasantry had of their supposed prize being a human being, instead of the fat bear they bad expected. Poor Cranstoun was of course liberated from his 'durance vile,' but so chilled from long immersion, that he could not stand without assistance, and it was not until one of their companions had app

did every-narration of the anecdote, was not to be shaken from his equanimity. H

voking banter, "what an unfortunate leap that was of yours; and how

fixed upon him in expectation of what was to follow, "for Julia D'Egville ca

tham, had been sitting with his arms folded, apparently buried in profound thought, and taking no part either in the conversation or the laughter which accompanied it. A faint smile passed over his features, as, after having read, he returned, it with an assentient nod to Middlemore. Shortly afterwards, av