THE FIRST DEATH IN THE CLEARING. 153 



him! The ready meals for the men must not be 

 neglected, and she must attend to and fulfil her cove- 

 nanted duties, babe or no babe. 'His hard heart was not 

 softened by the sight of the poor mother's yearning, tear- 

 ful eyes as she turned them so sadly on her dying child ; 

 but some of the more sympathetic among the men tried 

 to cheer her by saying the child might yet recover, and 

 though they knew the hope was not to be realized, it 

 was kindly spoken. 



As night drew on I knew the child must die, and as I 

 had not the heart to leave the poor mother alone with 

 her great sorrow, I despatched a messenger to my own 

 house to say I should not be home till morning. I 

 prevailed on Jessie to lie down on her bed while I kept 

 vigil, and glad I was to see the weary heart at rest after 

 the day of toil and grief. 



The infant slept, too, its last sleep on earth, to waken 

 to a new life in heaven. 



The first grey streaks of morning light found me 

 still a watcher. The frosty air blew bleak and chill 

 through the chinks in the imperfect wooden walls of the 

 barrack-like building. Carefully replacing my sleeping 

 charge in the cradle, I opened the door and went forth 

 to look upon the face of the earth and the heavens, for 

 my eyes were weary and my heart was sad! 



Truly a lovely sight it was that met my view. The 

 frosted ground was gemmed with countless mimic stars, 

 glittering beneath as brightly as the stars in the blue 



