d destruction to the brittle ware that may chance to
travel through our roads. Lucky, indeed, are we if, through the superior
carefulness of the person who packs them, more than one-half happens to
arrive in safety. For such mishaps we have no redress. The storekeeper
lays the accident upon the teamster, and the teamster upon the bad
roads, wondering that he himself escapes with whole bones after a
journey through the bush.

This is now the worst season of the year;--this, and just after the
breaking up of the snow. Nothing hardly but an ox-cart can travel along
the roads, and even that with difficulty, occupying two days to perform
the journey; and the worst of the matters is, that there are times when
the most necessary articles of provisions are not to be procured at any
price. You see, then, that a settler in the bush requires to hold
himself pretty independent, not only of the luxuries and delicacies of
the table, but not unfrequently even of the very necessaries.

One time no pork is to be procured; another time there is a scarcity of
flour, owing to some accident that has happened to the mill, or for the
want of proper supplies of wheat for grinding; or perhaps the weather
and bad roads at the same time prevent a team coming up, or people from
going down. Then you must have recourse to a neighbour, if you have the
good fortune to be near one, or fare the best you can on potatoes. The
potatoe is indeed a great blessing here; new settlers would otherwise be
often greatly distressed, and the poor man and his family who are
without resources, without the potatoe must starve.

Once our stock of tea was exhausted, and we were unable to procure more.
In this dilemma milk would have been an excellent substitute, or coffee,
if we had possessed it; but we had neither the one nor the other, so we
agreed to try the Yankee tea--hemlock sprigs boiled. This proved, to my
taste, a vile decoction; though I recognized some herb in the tea that
was sold in London at five shillings a pound, which I am certain was
nothing better than dried hemlock leaves reduced to a coarse powder.

S------ laughed at our wry faces, declaring the potation was excellent;
and he set us all an example by drinking six cups of this truly sylvan
beverage. His eloquence failed in gaining a single convert; we could not
believe it was only second to young hyson. To his assurance that to its
other good qualities it united medicinal virtues, we replied that,