evening, and was caught in the very act, nearly
strangled, and flung out of the window, where it alighted in safety on
the snow, and fled, a wiser, and, we trust, a better cat. We would
recount all this to you, reader, and a great deal more besides; but we
fear to try your patience, and we tremble violently--much more so,
indeed, than you will believe--at the bare idea of waxing prosy.

Suffice it to say that the party separated at an early hour--a good,
sober, reasonable hour for such an occasion--somewhere before midnight.
The horses were harnessed; the ladies were packed in the sleighs with
furs so thick and plentiful as to defy the cold; the gentlemen seized
their reins and cracked their whips; the horses snorted, plunged, and
dashed away over the white plains in different directions, while the
merry sleigh-bells sounded fainter and fainter in the frosty air. In
half an hour the stars twinkled down on the still, cold scene, and threw
a pale light on the now silent dwelling of the old fur-trader.

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Ere dropping the curtain over a picture in which we have sought
faithfully to portray the prominent features of those wild regions that
lie to the north of the Canadas, and in which we have endeavoured to
describe some of the peculiarities of a class of men whose histories
seldom meet the public eye, we feel tempted to add a few more touches to
the sketch; we would fain trace a little further the fortunes of one or
two of the chief actors in our book. But this must not be.

Snowflakes and sunbeams came and went as in days gone by. Time rolled
on, working many changes in its course, and among others consigning
Harry Somerville to an important post in Red River colony, to the
unutterable joy of Mr Kennedy, senior, and of Kate. After much
consideration and frequent consultation with Mr Addison, Mr Conway
resolved to make another journey to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to
those Indian tribes that inhabit the regions beyond Athabasca; and being
a man of great energy, he determined not to await the opening of the
river navigation, but to undertake the first part of his expedition on
snowshoes. Jacques agreed to go with him as guide and hunter,
Redfeather as interpreter. It was a bright, cold morning when he set
out, accompanied part of the way by Charley Kennedy and Harry
Somerville, whose hearts were heavy at the prospect of parting with the