The Log House by the Lake: A Tale of Canada

by William Henry Giles Kingston

  CHAPTER SIX.

  The south wind blew softly, the air was pure and balmy, the sun shonebrightly, and the waters of the lake vied with the sky in the clearnessof its azure tints. The birds too were warbling forth a happy song;not, however, with the full swelling chorus of spring, but yetsufficiently to give cheerfulness to the otherwise silent woods. It isa calumny on the feathered tribes of Canada to assert that they have nosong; the blackbird can sing when he is inclined, as sweetly as hisbrother in England, and the Canadian robin's notes are as full of gleeas those of his smaller namesake in the old country.

  "By turning our eyes from the bare maples, beeches, and oaks, towardsthe pine trees, we might fancy that summer had come back again," saidPhilip; "the Indian summer at all events. Should to-morrow be likethis, I propose knocking up D'Arcy. It's some days since we heard ofhim, and he will be feeling that we got tired of him with his visithere, poor fellow."

  "Oh! don't let him think that," exclaimed Sophy, earnestly.

  "No, that I will not," said Philip. "Who'll go? A little recreationwill do some of us good, and we'll work all the better when we comeback."

  Something kept Sophy from volunteering to be of the party, but heryounger sisters jumped at the proposal.

  "I know that you are carefulness itself, Philip," said Mrs Ashton; "butI entreat you to have but very little sail set."

  "Indeed, mother, I will carry only what is absolutely necessary,"answered Philip. "We need be in no hurry--if the breeze holds, we shallhave a soldier's wind, fair each way."

  The breeze did not hold, and towards evening a thick fog came on.During the night a curious crackling sound was heard, and when daylightreturned, the whole lake appeared frozen over. The entire household wassoon on foot and braving the keen frosty air, to observe the changewhich a few short hours had wrought. There must have been a perfectcalm when the ice took, for the entire surface of the lake was smooth asa polished mirror and of the same hue; while the surrounding trees andevery shrub and blade of grass to be seen was covered with a coating ofthe purest white. Suddenly the sun rose above the wooded hill to theeast, and the whole side of the lake on which its beams were cast, beganto sparkle and flash as if covered with gems of the purest water. Alight breeze waved the branches to and fro, and now they flashed andshone with increased brilliancy, fresh colours bursting into sight tillnot a gem was unrepresented in this gorgeous display of "nature'sjewel-box," as Harry called it.

  "Well, Fanny," he exclaimed, "you need not regret being unable to go tocourt, for I am very certain that all the duchesses, and countesses, andlady mayoresses to boot, couldn't make such a display as that."

  As the warmth of the sun increased, the trees began to drip, and thelovely spectacle vanished by noon.

  "We need not regret it, for beautiful as it was, I believe that we maysee many more to surpass it before the return of spring," said MrAshton. "Ah! little do our pitying friends at home guess the ampleamends which nature makes to us for what we have lost. I prize theblessings we enjoyed in England; but, after all, we have only exchangedthem for others which our beneficent Maker has bestowed on us of equalvalue."

  The ice, though bearing in some places, could not be trusted, and ofcourse the expedition to D'Arcy's clearing was given up for the present;but in the evening, when work was over, skates were unpacked, cleared ofrust, and fitted to shoes. All hands set to work with increased vigourto fell the trees, that they might be burnt off before the snow shouldmake the operation more difficult. "Another night like the last, and Iverily believe we might skate across the lake," cried Harry, rubbing hishands to restore the circulation of which the cold had deprived them.

  "Look out for frost-bites, my boys," said Mr Ashton; "Mr Normancharged me above all things to see that you kept your hands and feetwarm."

  The ladies of the family were busily employed in lining the boys' caps,and fixing flaps for their ears, and in making mittens and comforters.One point they had not discovered, and had to learn by experience, theuselessness of English boots and shoes, however thick, for the bush inwinter, and that nothing can surpass, and scarcely any foot-gear equal,a light shoe or slipper, with a very thick ribbed worsted sock over it,put into an india-rubber golosh, which is kept on by a high springgaiter. [See Note 1.] There was no longer any doubt about the icebearing, and so, having worked hard all the morning, Philip, Harry, andCharley set off with skates on feet, the two latter in high glee at thethought of going so great a distance over the ice. They had beenpractising for the last three days in a shallow bay near the house, andhad no misgivings as to holding out. Philip would rather have gonealone, or at all events, with Harry only; but Charley begged go hard tobe allowed to accompany them that he did not like to refuse him. Theyexpected not to be more than three hours away at the utmost. The skateswere fixed firmly on the feet. Philip wisely tried his by making two orthree outside edge circles and figures of eight. "Are you ready, boys?Follow your leader, and away we go." Away they went. Right leg--leftleg--resting for fifteen seconds or so on each--their bodies nowslightly inclined to one side, now to the other, like ships making shorttacks. It was exhilarating exercise. Their spirits rose to the highestpitch as they glided on--they shouted and laughed with glee--Charleymanaged to keep up, but what was sport to his brothers, was rather hardwork to him; still he would not beg them to slacken their speed, butkept on bravely till his legs began to ache. They had heard Philip saythat they were not likely to have many such days during the winter forskating; for though there would be no want of ice, it would be soon socovered with snow, that it would be impossible to get over it. Theymight easily, to be sure, sweep a space in the ice clear of snow, butthat would be very tame work compared to flying over miles of ice asthey were now doing. Charley, therefore, would not, if he could helpit, ask his brothers to stop. At last he found himself falling behind.With his utmost exertions he could not keep up with them. While he wasthinking whether he should call out, his foot struck something (it wasthe thick part of a branch which had been floating when the lake froze),and down he came.

  "O, Harry, Harry!" he cried out. Harry heard him, and circling round,skated back to his assistance. Philip had gone some way, when nothearing his brothers' voices, he swept round on a half circle to askthem why they had become so suddenly dull. What was his dismay to findthat they were not near him. Both were stretched their length, as itseemed, on the ice, at a considerable distance. As he turned he wasconscious of a cracking noise, which seemed to pass from one end of thelake to the other. Still he must reach his brothers, or attempt to doso, even should the ice be giving way every stroke he made.

  "Oh, the ice is giving way! the ice is giving way!" cried Charley; butthough the cracking sound increased, Philip did not perceive any othersign of this being the case.

  "What is the matter with you, Harry?" he asked.

  "Oh, I went to help Charley, and tumbled over the same log whichcapsized him," was the answer. "He says that the ice is giving way, andcertainly the water does look terribly near to it." Such, indeed, wasthe case. Philip, from having kept his eyes fixed on the land-marksabout D'Arcy's clearing, had not observed this so much as Harry now did,with his nose close down to it. Wisely keeping at a little distance, headvised them to crawl away from the spot where they had fallen, andthen, a little apart from each other, to get on their feet and proceed.Once more they were on their course, but Philip made them keep one oneach side of him, going at a less speed than before. It was nervouswork, though, for the cracking noise increased in loudness till itrivalled that of thunder--seeming to pass under their very feet. Speedand lightness of tread was everything. For himself Philip had no fear.He dreaded only lest Charley should again fall, and so did his best tokeep up his spirits, and to banish the nervousness from which he sawthat he was suffering. As they neared the shore the noises ceased andtheir spirits rose, though they were not sorry to see D'Arcy standing onthe beach to receive them.

  His greeting was cordial. "I have been
watching you for some time, anddid I own a pair of skates I should have come out to meet you," he said."When you all stopped, I began to form a sleigh to push off to yourassistance, in case any one of you should have been hurt, when Iobserved that you were all on the move again. Instead, therefore, ofgoing on with it, I sent in Terry to cook some dinner, which you will bewanting after your long fly."

  The dinner was the usual bush fare--pork and potatoes (forming an Irishstew), fish, caught before the frost began, and a dumpling, whichprobably had been thought of only when the guests were first descried inthe distance. The young men did ample justice to the feast, and perhapsspent a longer time over it than they intended. They had plenty to say,about their own experiences especially; and when the young Ashtonscompared notes with D'Arcy, they had reason to consider their own trialsfar less than his. He had been left alone to fight the battle of life,or rather with a mother and sister depending on him. After a once fineproperty which he had nominally inherited had been sold in the IrishIncumbered Estates Court, he had found himself with the merest pittanceon which to support them. With a small sum he had embarked for Canada,and was now forming a home for those he loved so well. There werenumbers of men in similar positions, of whom he knew in theneighbourhood and in different parts of the province--not all, however,doing equally well--some were successful, and they were the sober,industrious, and judicious; others were in a bad way, mostly for thebest of reasons, because they were idle, and had taken to drinking--nothard drinking, perhaps.

  "That is not necessary to ruin a fellow," said D'Arcy. "I know severalof the description I speak of,--gentlemen of birth and education. Thereis one especially, who, probably, begins the day after breakfast bysmoking a pipe or two, then takes axe or spade in hand, and coming in toan early dinner feels his solitude, and that he must have a talk withsomebody. Instead of continuing his work, he mounts his cob, aftertaking a glass or two of rum or whiskey grog--the more out of spirits hefeels the stiffer it is--and rides off to knock up some neighbour,perhaps his equal, or perhaps utterly unfit to be his companion, as faras social intercourse is concerned. On the way he looks in at thestore-house; he has an account, and takes a glass or two more, desiringthat it may be put down to him. Of course he never recollects how manyglasses he has had, nor how his account is swelling. He finds hisfriend, brings him in (probably not unwillingly) from his work, and thetwo spend the rest of the day together. He may find his way home atnight, or he may take a shake-down, and, rising with a splittingheadache, find himself utterly unable to do anything. He is going tothe bad very rapidly. His friends in England send him out moneyoccasionally, under the belief that it is spent on the farm, but it allgoes to pay off the storekeeper's account. Had it not been for thisassistance he would have knocked up long ago. As it is, I expect thathe has already mortgaged his farm, for a small amount, may be; but it'sa beginning--a second will follow--it is so easy an operation, and theend cannot be far off. Now poor Jack Mason will go back to England, hisfriends helping him, and abuse Canada, and say that it is a countrytotally unfit for a gentleman to live in--that hardy, rough fellows maysubsist, but that no one can do more--no one can make a fortune."

  "A man must have energy, talent, and perseverance to succeed here, aswell as at home," said Philip. "The difference is, that in England,possessing them, he may not succeed; here, possessing them, he mustsucceed. To commence the life of a backwoodsman, he must have healthand strength, with the other qualifications you have mentioned. Oncehaving got a footing in the country, he must watch the openings whichare sure to present themselves: the man of talent will take advantage ofthem, and rise to wealth; the man without talent will go on slowlyimproving his condition, and will be happy and respected. What more cana man desire?"

  "I agree with you, Phil; at the same time that I intend to look out forthe openings, and walk in if I can," answered D'Arcy. "When myguardians decided that I was to emigrate, or rather that they could donothing for me at home, they liberally gave me the choice of Australia,New Zealand, the Cape, or British North America. I have an idea theycared very little where I went, so that I went away and gave them nofurther trouble. I had been dining the day before, in Dublin, at themess of the --- Regiment, which had just returned from Canada, and theywere all high in its praise;--such pleasant quarters, such gaiety, suchsleighing, shooting, fishing, boating. Several declared that they wouldsell out and settle there. Naturally I chose Canada, without weighingits advantages with those of the other provinces; and though I found thereality of a settler's life very different to the fancy picture I haddrawn, having made up my mind to go through with it, whatever it mightprove, I stuck to it, and have great reason to be thankful that I didso. Still, I fancy that people can make fortunes in Australia muchfaster than one can here."

  "May be so; but fortune is not the only thing desirable," said Philip."All settlers do not make fortunes in Australia,--we hear only of thesuccessful ones; and then I cannot help thinking, that our Canadianclimate, with its wonderful changes, our varied scenery, ourinstitutions, and our society,--I don't mean in such an out-of-the-wayplace as this, but such as are found at Toronto and elsewhere,--areitems which may be placed to the credit of this Province, and give it asuperiority over every other. I have often fancied that there must besomething monotonous and depressing in Australian bush-life; the veryuniformity of the seasons and of the face of the country must producethis effect. However, old fellow, here we are: and whether the land bea good, bad, or indifferent land compared with others, you and I havemade up our minds to make the best of it. But it is time that we wereoff; we had not intended remaining so long."

  Philip and his brothers started up. "You must have coffee before yougo; it is a home manufacture, and so are all the ingredients." Terrypoured it out of a veritable big coffeepot--hot, with plenty of sugarand milk. It was pronounced excellent. "See, Harry, you and Charleymay supply your family with first-rate coffee," said D'Arcy. "We shallhave a thaw before the winter sets in; dig up all the dandelion rootsyou can find; dry them in the sun or in your oven for keeping; roastthem before use; and cut them up and grind them as you wouldcoffee-berries. This is the result. By-the-bye, Phil," he added, "youtold me that you had not caught any fish lately. It is just possiblethat a change may be pleasant; and if you don't mind carrying a coupleeach of you, will you present them to your mother with my bestcompliments? I have got them slung ready for you, so that you have onlyto throw them over your shoulders as you are starting." He did notconsider that even a few pounds weight makes a considerable differenceto a skater. Philip, however, did not like to refuse his kind offer,knowing that it gave him pleasure to send the fish, and would give thoseat home pleasure to receive them. Terry accordingly was directed tobring out the fish, which were hard frozen, and were slung with ropes ofgrass, and packed with pads of grass to keep them off the back.

  D'Arcy assured them that the cracking sound they had heard was no signof danger, but, on the contrary, showed that the ice had taken in everypart.

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  Note 1. An Indian mocassin over two pairs of thick socks is good in ahard frost, but gets wet through with the slightest moisture. The mostimportant objects are to allow no pressure on any part of the foot orankle, to keep the feet warm and protected from fallen branches or anyother hard substance rising above the snow. In thawing weather highwaterproof boots worn over two pairs of thick socks or stockings. Theobject of having the outer sock ribbed is to allow the evaporation fromthe skin to have space between the outer sock and the boot; the foot andinner sock will thus remain perfectly dry. The author has walked longdistances with this sort of foot-gear with the greatest comfort.Perfect freedom for the foot and toes is, it must be repeated, mostessential.