Georgies Present | Page 4

of
fifteen he solemnly devoted himself to the service of God his Saviour."
"Dear Grandmamma, I should like to know more about him. You
promised to tell me about one of his journeys in Newfoundland; and
now here we are, home again, and tea is set out in readiness, as I can
see through the open window." The little party was soon comfortably
seated at the social meal, when Master George's health was pledged in
the cup "that cheers but not inebriates;" and he regaled himself on
choice plum-cake made by the dear old lady herself for that special
occasion, taking care, every now and then, to break off a bit and throw
it to Boxa, who sat by his side, wagging her tail, in evident expectation
of tit-bits.

"Shall we have candles?" asked Mrs. Ward, when the tea-things were
being removed, "or would you like best to sit in the twilight and watch
the rising moon?"
"I vote for twilight and the moon," said George, placing his
grandmother's arm-chair in a cozy nook, from which she could see
abroad; and then, seating himself on the stool at her feet, he waited till
she should begin the promised story.
"It was in the spring of the year, 1835, when your grandfather
undertook a tour of visitation to the southern and western shores of
Newfoundland, for the purpose of ministering to the scattered families
in the remote settlements of that region. He left me at St. John's in the
month of March, as travelling over the snow in the island is considered
less difficult in that month than walking overland is at any other season
of the year. When we parted I knew that he was going on a laborious
and painful journey, but I had formed no idea of the dangers to which
he would be exposed, or my heart would indeed have sunk within me.
He took with him a guide to pilot him through the country; a man who
was reckoned very skilful and experienced, and who had lived some
time with the Micmac Indians, one of the aboriginal tribes. They had
not advanced far on their way when they missed the route, and could
only ascertain the points of the compass by observing the inclination of
the topmost branches of the juniper or larch trees."
"How could they know by that means, grandmamma?"
"Because the juniper or larch always points to the east, thus affording
them a secure indication, by means of which they regained the path
some time after night-fall.
"This was rather a bad start, and as it turned out, seemed ominous of
evil to the travellers. As they proceeded on their way, your grandfather
stopped at various places to preach, administer the sacraments, and visit
the sick; and, in many instances, the poor people received him gladly,
being like sheep scattered without a shepherd in solitary places, far
from the means of grace. In one house which he visited he was moved
with compassion at the sight of the poor ailing mother of the family.

'Ah sir!' said she, 'if any of us be sick or sore, there is no one to come
near us, or to care for our souls.'
"I doubt not you have often heard the saying, 'One half the world little
knows how the other half lives;' and, indeed, we have but little idea of
the shifts to which thousands of our fellow men are put, and of the
discomforts and troubles of their daily life. These people lived, for the
most part, in wretched cabins, which swarmed with men, women, and
children, while every nook and corner not thus occupied was filled with
pigs, fowls, sheep, or dogs; and the thick smoke, or, as the people
emphatically call it, 'cruel steam,' is most distressing to the eyesight,
which suffers greatly in consequence."
"But, why don't they make chimneys, and let it out grandma?"
"They have a sort of rude chimney constructed of upright planks
stuffed between with moss; but the danger of the fire is great; indeed it
is always a necessary to have buckets of water at hand ready to throw
upon the flames. In some places the chimneys were fortified against
this danger by being lined all the way up with a coating of tin, which is
found to last some years."
"I should be very sorry to have to live with the Newfoundlanders if
they have such houses as these; it seems more like what we read of the
savages in their wigwams."
"Well, George, your grandfather fell in with some of these people, a
party of Indians from Canada; and, as it was late at night when he
reached their wigwams, the guide begged to be allowed to pass the
night with them. This they courteously permitted,