Winter Festivities 



quite a festive feeling in the air as we crossed 

 the frozen lake, thick enough now to bear three 

 times the weight of our team and bob-sleigh. 

 Thence we wound up among the hills and in and 

 out among the bluffs, which stood dark against 

 the snow, with such brown, withered leaves as 

 remained rustling in the icy blast which swept 

 across the wide expanse of rolling hill and dale. 

 Here and there we passed a settler's sod-lined 

 shack, with a thin wreath of smoke blowing 

 away from the bit of stove-pipe protruding from 

 the roof, which told us the Christmas dinner, 

 even if only consisting of a bit of pork, was cook- 

 ing inside. Most of the occupants were known 

 to us, and had we noticed one which we knew 

 to be occupied without smoke, we should have 

 made a point of investigating further ; for, as many 

 settlers live alone at considerable distances from 

 neighbours, such a one may easily be lying in- 

 jured or ill, and lack of smoke may be a sign that 

 this is so. 



Arrived at om* friend's house, we found a jolly 

 party gathered, including several women and 

 children, the former busy with preparations for 

 the feast, while the men smoked and discussed 

 one another's stock, or politics all the world over ; 

 for in the cosmopolitan population that prevails, 

 talk is apt to range over a very wide area. One 



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