May be they'll want one to put their whiskey in.' 'I'm goin
to,' says I; so I cum across with it, an' here it is. But,
mind - don't break it - 'tis the only one we have to hum; and father
says 'tis so mean to drink out of green glass."
My surprise increased every minute. It seemed such an act of
disinterested generosity thus to anticipate wants we had never
thought of. I was regularly taken in.
"My good girl," I began, "this is really very kind - but - "
"Now, don't go to call me 'gall' - and pass off your English airs
on us. We are GENUINE Yankees, and think ourselves as good - yes,
a great deal better than you. I am a young lady."
"Indeed!" said I, striving to repress my astonishment. "I am a
stranger in the country, and my acquaintance with Canadian ladies
and gentlemen is very small. I did not mean to offend you by using
the term girl; I was going to assure you that we had no need of the
decanter. We have bottles of our own - and we don't drink whiskey."
"How! Not drink whiskey? Why, you don't say! How ignorant you must
be! may be they have no whiskey in the old country?"
"Yes, we have; but it is not like the Canadian whiskey. But, pray
take the decanter home again - I am afraid that it will get broken
in this confusion."
"No, no; father told me to leave it - and there it is;" and she
planted it resolutely down on the trunk. "You will find a use for
it till you have unpacked your own."
Seeing that she was determined to leave the bottle, I said no more
about it, but asked her to tell me where the well was to be found.
"The well!" she repeated after me, with a sneer. "Who thinks of
digging wells when they can get plenty of water from the creek?
There is a fine water privilege not a stone's-throw from the door,"
and, jumping off the box, she disappeared as abruptly as she had
entered. We all looked at each other; Tom Wilson was highly amused,
and laughed until he held his sides.
"What tempted her to bring this empty bottle here?" said Moodie.
"It is all an excuse; the visit, Tom, was meant for you."
"You'll know more about it in a few days," said James, looking up
from his work. "That bottle is not brought here for nought."
I could not unravel the mystery, and thought no more about it, until
it was again brought to my recollection by the damsel herself.
Our united efforts had effected a complete transformation in our
uncouth dwelling. Sleeping-berths had been partitioned off for the
men; shelves had been put up for the accommodation of books and
crockery, a carpet covered the floor, and the chairs and tables we
had brought from - - gave an air of comfort to the place, which, on
the first view of it, I deemed impossible. My husband, Mr. Wilson,
and James, had walked over to inspect the farm, and I was sitting at
the table at work, the baby creeping upon the floor, and Hannah
preparing dinner. The sun shone warm and bright, and the open door
admitted a current of fresh air, which tempered the heat of the fire.
"Well, I guess you look smart," said the Yankee damsel, presenting
herself once more before me. "You old country folks are so stiff,
you must have every thing nice, or you fret. But, then, you can
easily do it; you have stacks of money; and you can fix everything
right off with money."
"Pray take a seat," and I offered her a chair, "and be kind enough
to tell me your name. I suppose you must live in the neighbourhood,
although I cannot perceive any dwelling near us."
"My name! So you want to know my name. I arn't ashamed of my own;
'tis Emily S - -. I am eldest daughter to the GENTLEMAN who owns
this house."
"What must the father be," thought I, "if he resembles the young
LADY, his daughter?"
Imagine a young lady, dressed in ragged petticoats, through whose
yawning rents peeped forth, from time to time, her bare red knees,
with uncombed elf-locks, and a face and hands that looked as if they
had been unwashed for a month - who did not know A from B, and
despised those who did. While these reflections, combined with a
thousand ludicrous images, were flitting through my mind, my strange
visitor suddenly exclaimed -
"Have you done with that 'ere decanter I brought across yesterday?"
"Oh, yes! I have no occasion for it." I rose, took it from the
shelf, and placed it in her hand.
"I guess you won't return it empty; that would be mean, father says.
He wants it filled with whiskey."
The mystery was solved, the riddle made clear. I could contain my
gravity no longer, but burst into a hearty fit of laughter, in which
I was joined by Hannah. Our young lady was mortally offended; she
tossed the decanter from hand to hand, and glared at us with her
tiger-like eyes.
"You think yourselves smart! Why do you laugh in that way?"
"Excuse me - but you have such an odd way of borrowing that I cannot
help it. This bottle, it seems, was brought over for your own
convenience, not for mine. I am sorry to disappoint you, but I have
no whiskey."
"I guess spirits will do as well; I know there is some in that keg,
for I smells it."
"It contains rum for the workmen."
"Better still. I calculate when you've been here a few months,
you'll be too knowing to give rum to your helps.
