contest with the ice. As all our Christmas mail was aboard
her, the atmosphere was tense. Then came the news from Croque that she
was there, busily unloading freight. Six hours later her smoke was
sighted, and from the yells my bairns set up, you would have thought
that the mythical sea serpent was entering port. She butted her way
into the standing harbour ice as far as she could get, and promptly
began discharging cargo. Teams of dogs sprang up seemingly out of the
snow-covered earth, and in a mere twinkling our frozen and silent
harbour was an arena of activity. The freight is dumped on the ice
over the ship's side with the big winch, and each man must hunt for
his own as it descends. Some of the goods are dropped with such a thud
that the packages "burst abroad." This is all very well if the
contents are of a solid and resisting nature; but if butter, or beans,
or such like receive the shock, most regrettable results ensue.

During the hours of waiting here she froze solidly into the ice, and
had to be blasted out before she could commence her journey to the
southward. She has taken the mails with her, and this letter must come
to you by dog team--your first by that method.

In the early part of this summer three little orphan girls came to us
from Mistaken Cove. Their names are Carmen, Selina, and Rachel, and
their ages, ten, seven, and five. Their father has been dead for some
years, and the mother recently died of tuberculosis. They did look
such a pathetic little trio when they first arrived. I went down to
the wharf to meet them, and three quaint little figures stepped from
the hospital boat, with dresses almost to their feet. Carmen held the
hands of her two sisters, and greeted me with "Are you the woman wot's
going to look after we?" I assured her that I hoped to perform that
function to the best of my ability, and then she confided to me that
she had brought with her a box containing her mother's dresses and her
mother's hair. I fancy the responsibility of the entire household must
have rested on Carmen's tiny shoulders; she is like a little old
woman, and even her voice is care-worn. I hunted up some dolls for the
two younger kiddies, but had not the courage to offer one to their
elder sister. She evidently felt that dolls were altogether too
precious for common use, and carefully explained to her charges that
they were only for Sundays! When I next went to the playroom it was to
find the three little sis