rough battle of pioneer life
than others, they did not feel, on that account, disposed to treat their
neighbours as their inferiors. Neighbours, they well knew, were too few
and too desirable to be coldly and haughtily treated. Had not all the
members of each community hewn their way side by side into the
fastnesses of the Canadian bush? And what could a little additional
wealth do for them, when the remoteness of the centres which might
supply luxuries, enforced simplicity and made superfluities almost
impossible?

The furnishings of their houses were plain, and the chief articles of
dress, if substantial and comfortable, were of coarse homespun--the
product of their own labour. The sources of amusement were limited. The
day of the harmonium or piano had not come. Music, except in its
simplest vocal form, was not cultivated; only the occasional presence of
some fiddler afforded rare seasons of merriment to the delight both of
old and young.

The motto of "Early to bed and early to rise" was, even in winter, the
strict rule of family life. In the morning all were up, and breakfast
was over usually before seven. As soon as the gray light of dawn
appeared, men and boys were off to the barns, not merely to feed the
cattle but to engage in the needful and tedious labour of threshing by
hand. In the evenings, the family gathered together for lighter tasks
and pleasant talk around a glowing fire. In firewood, at least, there
was, in those days, no need for economy.

We scarcely realize how largely little things may contribute to
convenience and comfort. There were no lucifer matches at that date. It
was needful to cover up carefully the live coals on the hearth before
going to bed, so that there might be the means of starting the fire in
the morning. This precaution was rarely unsuccessful; but sometimes a
member of the family had to set out for a supply of fire from a
neighbour's, in order that breakfast might be prepared. I remember well
having to crawl out of my warm nest and run through the keen frosty air
for half a mile or more, to fetch live coals from a neighbour's. It was,
however, my father's practice to keep bundles of finely split pine
sticks tipped with brimstone. With the aid of these, the merest spark
served to start the fire.

In the spring, tasks of various kinds crowded rapidly upon us. The hams
and beef that had been salted down in casks during the preceding autumn
were taken out of the brine, washed