I heard of Jenny's worth and kindness from the Englishman who had
been so grievously affronted by Captain N - -, and sent for her to
come to me. She instantly accepted my offer, and returned with my
messenger. She had scarcely a garment to cover her. I was obliged
to find her a suit of clothes before I could set her to work. The
smiles and dimples of my curly-headed, rosy little Donald, then
a baby-boy of fifteen months, consoled the old woman for her
separation from Ellie N - -; and the good-will with which all the
children (now four in number) regarded the kind old body, soon
endeared to her the new home which Providence had assigned to her.
Her accounts of Mrs. N - -, and her family, soon deeply interested
me in her fate; and Jenny never went to visit her friends in Dummer
without an interchange of good wishes passing between us.
The year of the Canadian rebellion came, and brought with it sorrow
into many a bush dwelling. Old Jenny and I were left alone with the
little children, in the depths of the dark forest, to help ourselves
in the best way we could. Men could not be procured in that
thinly-settled spot for love nor money, and I now fully realised the
extent of Jenny's usefulness. Daily she yoked the oxen, and brought
down from the bush fuel to maintain our fires, which she felled and
chopped up with her own hands. She fed the cattle, and kept all
things snug about the doors; not forgetting to load her master's two
guns, "in case," as she said, "the ribels should attack us in our
retrate."
The months of November and December of 1838 had been unnaturally
mild for this iron climate; but the opening of the ensuing January
brought a short but severe spell of frost and snow. We felt very
lonely in our solitary dwelling, crouching round the blazing fire,
that scarcely chased the cold from our miserable log-tenement, until
this dreary period was suddenly cheered by the unexpected presence
of my beloved friend, Emilia, who came to spend a week with me in
my forest home.
She brought her own baby-boy with her, and an ample supply of
buffalo robes, not forgetting a treat of baker's bread, and
"sweeties" for the children. Oh, dear Emilia! best and kindest of
women, though absent in your native land, long, long shall my heart
cherish with affectionate gratitude all your visits of love, and
turn to you as to a sister, tried, and found most faithful, in the
dark hour of adversity, and, amidst the almost total neglect of
those from whom nature claimed a tenderer and holier sympathy.
Great was the joy of Jenny at this accession to our family party;
and after Mrs. S - - was well warmed, and had partaken of tea - the
only refreshment we could offer her - we began to talk over the news
of the place.
"By-the-bye, Jenny," said she, turning to the old servant, who was
undressing the little boy by the fire, "have you heard lately from
poor Mrs. N - -? We have been told that she and the family are in a
dreadful state of destitution. That worthless man has left them for
the States, and it is supposed that he has joined Mackenzie's band
of ruffians on Navy Island; but whether this be true or false, he
has deserted his wife and children, taking his eldest son along with
him (who might have been of some service at home), and leaving them
without money or food."
"The good Lord! What will become of the crathurs?" responded Jenny,
wiping her wrinkled cheek with the back of her hard, brown hand.
"An' thin they have not a sowl to chop and draw them firewood; an'
the weather so oncommon savare. Och, hone! what has not that BASTE
of a man to answer for?"
"I heard," continued Mrs. S - -, "that they have tasted no food but
potatoes for the last nine months, and scarcely enough of them to
keep soul and body together; that they have sold their last cow;
and the poor young lady and her second brother, a lad of only
twelve years old, bring all the wood for the fire from the bush on
a hand sleigh."
"Oh, dear! - oh, dear!" sobbed Jenny; "an' I not there to hilp them!
An' poor Miss Mary, the tinder thing! Oh, 'tis hard, terribly hard
upon the crathurs, an' they not used to the like."
"Can nothing be done for them?" said I.
"That is what we want to know," returned Emilia, "and that was one
of my reasons for coming up to D - -. I wanted to consult you and
Jenny upon the subject. You, who are an officer's wife, and I, who
am both an officer's wife and daughter, ought to devise some plan of
rescuing this poor, unfortunate lady and her family from her present
forlorn situation."
The tears sprang to my eyes, and I thought, in the bitterness of my
heart, upon my own galling poverty, that my pockets did not contain
even a single copper, and that I had scarcely garments enough to
shield me from the inclemency of the weather. By unflinching
industry, and taking my part in the toil of the field, I had bread
for myself and family, and this was more than poor Mrs. N - -
possessed; but it appeared impossible for me to be of any assistance
to the unhappy sufferer, and the thought of my incapacity gave me
severe pain. It was only in moments like the present that I felt the
curse of poverty.
"Well," continued my friend, "you see, Mrs. Moodie, that the ladies
of P - - are all anxious to do what they can for her; but they first
want to learn if the miserable circumstances in which she is said to
be placed are true.
