Roughing It in the Bush

Nature! on th

room for thy

ssity has dr

dless. He has n

nd and stronger h

tient toil his

ention. He had under his care a fine pair of horses, a yoke of oxen, three cows, and a numerous family of pigs, besides having to chop all the firewood require

spite of all my boasted fortitude-and I think my powers of endurance have been tried to the uttermost since my sojourn in this country-the rigour of the climate subdued my proud, independent Engli

but he did not complain, and in the meantime commenced an active inquiry for a man to su

the door, almost to the hearth-stone, on which two immense blocks of maple shed forth a cheering glow, bri

rnest request of our homesick Scotch servant-girl, to cheer her drooping spirits by playing some of the touching national airs of the glorious mountain land, the land of chival

eet, an' my puir heart is sair, sair when I thin

veries were alike abruptly banished by a sharp blow upon the door. Bell rose and opened it, when a strange, wild-looking lad, barefooted, and with no o

?" screamed Bell, retreating into a c

his face; while Bell, from her hiding-place, regarded him with unequivocal glances of fear and mistrust, waving her han

crutiny of the strange being before us seemed u

without asking, the country to which he belonged. Then stretching his bare hand

ess here? You must be aware that this is a very

e, and 'tis a thousand pities that I'm alive at all at all, for shure God Almighty never made sich a misfortunate crather afore nor since; I have had nothing to put in my head since I ran away from my ould masther, Mr. F--, yesterda

face with his hand

pboard and get the poor fellow som

lees. He is ane o' those wicked Papists wh

! Do as I

if he bides here, I'll e'en flit

cting like a Christian, or do

band, no longer able to endure her selfish and absurd conduct, got angry in good earnest, and told her that she might please herself; that he did not mean to ask her leave as to w

rose and placed before the lad some cold beef and bread,

your master, my

that my name was John Monaghan. This was all I ever got from my parents; and who or what they were, I never knew, not I, for they never claimed me; bad cess to them! But I've no doubt it's a fine illigant gintleman he was, and herself a handsome rich young lady, who dared not own me for fear of affronting the rich

en in the co

oxen out of the yoke, and Musther William tied me up to a stump, and bate me with the raw hide. Shure the marks are on me showlthers yet. I left the oxen and the yoke, and turned my back upon them all, for the hot blood was bilin' widin me; and I felt that if I stayed it would be

t mistress Bell thought fit to rebel. Having been guilty of one act of insubordination, she determined to be consistent, and throw off the yoke altogether. She declared tha

yourself; and I hope a deuced dale better Christian. You take me for a thief; yet shure a thief would

in his power to supply her place; he lighted the fires, swept the house, milked the cows, nursed the baby, and often cooked the dinner for me, and endeavoured by a thousand little attentions to show the gratitude he really felt for our kindness. To little Katie he attached himself in an extraordinary manner. All his spare time he spent in making little sleighs and toys for her, or in dragging her in the said sleighs up and down th

rs he ever made who can love poor John Monaghan. Brothers and sisters I have none-I stand alone in the wurld, and your bonny

was honest and true. He loved us for the compassion we had shown him; and h

ot, and they commenced a series of petty persecutions that annoyed him great

hay, and as it had diminished greatly in a very short time, he accused him in no measured terms of being the thief. The other very coolly replied that he had taken a little of the hay in order to repay himself for his flax, that Monaghan had stolen for the oxen. "Now by the powers!" quoth

ou ragged Irish vagab

etther shut up yer head, or I'll give you that for an eye-

him, Uncle Joe struck Monaghan over the head with the pitchfork. In a moment the active lad was upon him like a wild cat, and in

thief and a liar,

here's a good lad-let me get up." Monaghan felt irresolute, but after extorting

to turn so black in the face,

as without socks, and I sent him to old Mrs. R--, to inquire of her what she would charge for knitting him two pairs of socks. The reply was, a dollar. This was agreed to, and

w-footed. This was rather too glaring a cheat, and I sent the lad back with them, and told him to infor

on to the natives of his country, he left her under the impression that she was gifted with the evil eye, and was an "owld witch." He never went out of the yard with the waggon and h

me to lave the masther intirely; for shure if I do not, some mischief will befall me or the crather

ext time the old woman commences her reprobate conduct, tell her to hold her to

he clamorous tongue of the ill-natured old jade. The next day he had to pass her door with the horses.

owld one has the grief of ye already, for 'curses, like chickens, come home to roost'; so get in wid ye, and hatch them to yerself in the chiml

ssed with the moral truth of the proverb-for, as I have before stated, she was no fool-i

h another man. A tree in falling caught upon another, which, although a very large maple, was hollow and very much decayed, and liable to be blown down by the least shock of the wind. The tree hung directly over the path that Uncle Joe was obliged to traverse daily with his team. He looked up, and perceived, from t

with a grin. "My wife and children want t

ted to Monaghan, "Hollo, boy! you're wanted here to cut down this tree. Don't you see that your ma

t chance. Why should I risk my life and limbs, by cutting down the t

nd upon you for bread," said Joe, gravely. "We are both famil

re, and his reckless courage, overcame all idea of self-preservation, and raising aloft his slender but muscular arm, he cried ou

ny injury to John. The knowing Yankee burst into a loud laugh

etter not thry that same. You have just seen the strength of my spirit. You had better not thry again the strength of my arm, or, may be, you and

ple sugar. "Did you ever taste any maple sugar, ma'am?" ask

, J

it's myself that will make Miss Katie, t

with great pride of heart. I felt a little curious about this far-famed maple sugar, and asked a thousand questions about the u

igant. It bates all the sugar that ever was made

occasioned by his absence. I reckoned on showing him a piece of sugar of our ow

sap. With great difficulty, Monaghan saved the contents of one large iron pot. This he brought in about nightfall, and made up a roaring fire, in order to boil in down into sugar.

lad so anxious, I said nothing. About twelve o'clock he asked m

hich was half full of a very black-look

to keep the suga

n, I see

e how it sticks to the ladle. Aha! But Miss Katie will ha

r. At breakfast I observed a small plate upon the table, placed in a very conspicuous manner on the tea-tray, the bo

'tis the m

ople ea

ey can; only th

o hard, I ca

child made a horrible face, and rejected it as if it had been poison. For my own part, I never tasted anything more nauseous. It

been first-rate but for the dirthy pot, and the blackguard cinders, and its burning

ke the sugar since you left D--; but let us forget the maple sugar, and think of something

gant tailor. Wasn't I brought up to

did you

w, mane thrade for

d you that you were

fine clothes, and money. Och! that I was but a jintleman! I'd show them what life is intirely

id I, giving him a tailor's needle, a p

t, simple as it may appear, was a perfect type of the boy's general conduct, and marked his progress through life. The present for him was everything; he had no future. While he supplied stuff from the trousers to repair the fractures in the jacket, he

ohn asked me for

u want with

s black as the pots. Sorra a shirt have I but the one, an' it

garment, which was all of it that John allowed to b

leave you the soap

oap it enough, and rub long enough,

He whistled and rubbed, and washed and scrubbed, but as there seemed no end to the job, and he was a long washing this one garment as Bell would have been performing the same operation on

irt by the fire, John? You

gh now. The divil has made t

ned to it? I heard y

ker it got, until I had used up all the soap, and the perspiration was pouring off me like rain. 'You dirthy owld bit of a blackguard of a rag,' says I, in an exthremity of rage, 'You're

ill you do

betther man has done

tantly to the stable, but soon returned, with as much of the linen breast of the garment displayed as his

set him to do something which was rather contrary to his own inclinations; he did not object to the task in words, for he was rarely saucy t

ive, an o

springi

drink, as

can him

MONA

IGRANT

adian

hat girt my

sunbeams tin

seaward,

dazzling g

on that glo

y aching ey

ttle bark

love a l

ores of tha

arms the m

e white sails

gently he

breeze he

ly from her

e stood, as

foam that k

eart with grie

le was min

hunn'd the b

on mine so

message so

voice my s

promised n

wish, my i

weep, though

of recent

a melanc

shallop fro

weep; but oh

than the

ed on my ch

ieu to on

speak-no a

t breathed th

words I st

broken hea

t speak-bu

he deep ligh

sun through

aught a bri

I cried, "we

ther's wrat

tear thee f

th me acros

vulsively s

e mingling fa

trembling o

d out, "For