A Neighbour Had Undertaken To Build This Rude Dwelling By Contract,
And Was To Have It Ready For Us By The First Week In The New Year.
The Want Of Boards To Make The Divisions In The Apartments Alone
Hindered Him From Fulfilling His Contract.
These had lately been
procured, and the house was to be ready for our reception in the
course of a week.
Our trunks and baggage had already been conveyed
thither by Mr. D - -; and, in spite of my sister's kindness and
hospitality, I longed to find myself once more settled in a home
of my own.
The day after our arrival, I was agreeably surprised by a visit from
Monaghan, whom Moodie had once more taken into his service. The poor
fellow was delighted that his nurse-child, as he always called
little Katie, had not forgotten him, but evinced the most lively
satisfaction at the sight of her dark friend.
Early every morning, Moodie went off to the house; and the first
fine day, my sister undertook to escort me through the wood, to
inspect it. The proposal was joyfully accepted; and although I felt
rather timid when I found myself with only my female companion in
the vast forest, I kept my fears to myself, lest I should be
laughed at. This foolish dread of encountering wild beasts in the
woods, I never could wholly shake off, even after becoming a
constant resident in their gloomy depths, and accustomed to follow
the forest-path, alone, or attended with little children, daily.
The cracking of an old bough, or the hooting of the owl, was
enough to fill me with alarm, and try my strength in a precipitate
flight.
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Words from 88222 to 88506
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