r's waist, led her
into the private room which she called her parlour. The aspect of this
room was strange in the English girl's eyes. The logs of which the
house was built, showed here and there through the mud plaster,
although before both plaster and logs were hung the skins of many
curious animals,--skins presented to the widow by many a trader of her
acquaintance, just as her sailor guests brought her another description
of gift--shells, strings of wampum-beads, sea-birds' eggs, and presents
from the old country. The room was more like a small museum of natural
history of these days than a parlour; and it had a strange, peculiar,
but not unpleasant smell about it, neutralized in some degree by the
smoke from the enormous trunk of pinewood which smouldered on the
hearth.

The instant their mother told them that Captain Holdernesse was in the
outer room, the girls began putting away their spinning-wheel and
knitting-needles, and preparing for a meal of some kind; what meal,
Lois, sitting there and unconsciously watching, could hardly tell.
First, dough was set to rise for cakes; then came out of a corner
cupboard--a present from England--an enormous square bottle of a
cordial called Golden Wasser; next, a mill for grinding chocolate--a
rare unusual treat anywhere at that time; then a great Cheshire cheese.
Three venison steaks were cut ready for broiling, fat cold pork sliced
up and treacle poured over it, a great pie something like a mince-pie,
but which the daughters spoke of with honour as the 'punken-pie,' fresh
and salt fish brandered, oysters cooked in various ways. Lois wondered
where would be the end of the provisions for hospitably receiving the
strangers from the old country. At length everything was placed on the
table, the hot food smoking; but all was cool, not to say cold, before
Elder Hawkins (an old neighbour of much repute and standing, who had
been invited in by Widow Smith to hear the news) had finished his
grace, into which was embodied thanksgivings for the past and prayers
for the future lives of every individual present, adapted to their
several cases, as far as the elder could guess at them from
appearances. This grace might not have ended so soon as it did, had it
not been for the somewhat impatient drumming of his knife-handle on the
table with which Captain Holdernesse accompanied the latter half of the
elder's words.

When they first sat down to their meal, all were too hungry for much