ly here and there, at wide intervals, a
similar clearing, or a natural glade to speck the boundless green.

Now Sprigg, you must know, happened to be an only child--a most uncommon
circumstance in backwoods life--your backwoodsman, like your poor
woodcutter, who makes such a figure in old-time story-books, rarely
stopped short of a baker's dozen, as a replenisher of the earth. Such
being the case, "Pap" and "Mam" must need, of course, do their very
utmost to make their one chub as troublesome as six, in order to
realize, so it would seem, how much kind Providence had done for them;
_i. e._, by overdoing the thing to make him happy; underdoing the thing
to make him good enough to be what they most desired. To exemplify: If
there chanced to be a little bread in the cupboard and a little milk in
the springhouse (these were luxuries then in the Hunter's Paradise), all
of it, though there might be quite enough for two, was sure to find its
way to Sprigg's tin cup and pewter spoon; and Sprigg's pewter plate
always received the tit-bits of venison and bear's meat. The best
feather bed in the house was Sprigg's; so was the warmest place by the
fire, which he would share with nobody, but Pow-wow, the dog--the only
creature, four-footed or two-footed, with whom he could be in contact
for a whole day without coming to hard rubs. If a deer-skin proved,
upon dressing, an uncommonly nice piece of buckskin, fine, fair and
soft, straight, it was cut up and made into moccasins, breeches and
hunting shirt for Sprigg; and should a fat raccoon take a fancy to
quarter himself for the night in "Pap's" trap, its fresh, sleek skin
would be seen in less than a fortnight thence on Sprigg's head, in the
form of a cap, with the ringed tail left on behind, as ornamental there
as a cue, if not more so. In short, there was nothing rare, or choice of
its kind and within the bestowal of the Hunter's Paradise, which did
not, sooner or later, find its way to the hands or feet, to the head or
back, or to the selfish little belly of master Sprigg. But these were
trifling indulgences compared with others, and would, in all likelihood,
have left upon his disposition no other lasting evil effect than to
render him overwatchful of his own ease and comfort. What was far worse,
he was allowed to say, with his saucy young tongue, whatever he should
choose to say; and to do, with his meddling young hands, whatever he
should choose to do; and to go, with his wayward