ALONE IN THE FOREST. 171 



and turned my honest old Irishman into a brigand ; but 

 my intercourse with the Irish immigrants has taught 

 me that there is little cause for fearing them, and my 

 husband tells me that their wild passions are chiefly 

 roused by insult to their country or their religion, or 

 when excited by spirituous liquor, and that such an act 

 as robbing or murdering the stranger who seeks shelter 

 under their roof is unheard of in Canada. 



"The old man's frank, good-humored manner and 

 pressing hospitality soon reassured me, and I would not 

 have hesitated to take him as my guide through the 

 lonely woods. He told me, however, that his boy Mike 

 knew every step of the road, and he could trust him to 

 take care of me and he'd ' be proud to do it.' 



" The good woman soon bestirred herself to get break- 

 fast, and I was hungry enough to take a share in the 

 ' praties and pork ' and to drink a cup of tea, though 

 there was only maple sugar to sweeten it and no milk 

 to soften its harshness ; but I had become used in my 

 own home to privations in food and many common 

 comforts, as you well know. 



" One by one the three ragged urchins came stealing 

 shyly from their bed ready dressed for the day, and I 

 verily believe their garments did duty instead of bed- 

 clothes. The boys, Mike, Patrick and Jonas, had all the 

 same smoke-dried skins, grey eyes and black hair, with 

 a certain shrewd expression in their faces that one often 

 sees in the Irish cabins. They cast furtive glances of 



