es, he is regularly
tired out. Let me give him half my supper, and perhaps he can sleep in
the chimney-corner. I don't care about a bed myself; pine branches
will do for me, and an old buffalo robe, which I have in the waggon."

She said nothing, but, returning to the kitchen, which is the common
reception-room in country places, put a few eggs into the pot over the
fire, and got the tea-pot. I saw several fine hams hanging to the
rafters, so I took one down, got a knife, and was about to cut some
slices to broil, when she stopped me. "You haven't got the best," says
the old dame; "I shall cut you one myself." And so she did, spread the
cloth, set two tea-cups, &c., and a capital supper we had, for a fine
fowl was spitchcocked.

After supper, Mother Craig asked me to smoke another pipe with her and
her good man, who was lame and unable to work, and some of her sons,
&c. came in from the fields. I missed her soon afterwards; but, after
a quarter of an hour, she came in again, whispered that she wanted me,
and I followed her. "It is time," said the dame, "for you to go to
bed; for you must be up by candlelight to-morrow morning, as your
journey is a long one; see if this will do." In an inner chamber were
two beds; one a feather bed, the other a pine-branch one, with clean
blankets, snow-white sheets, a night-cap of the best, water, &c.
"That's your bed," said Mrs. Craig; "the other is for the colonel, as
you call him. Good night; I will call you in the morning--take care,
and put your candle out." I laughed in my sleeve, went out, called the
colonel, who would have been otherwise left in the dark, for the
family soon retired for the night, and I need not say gave him the
best bed, as he thought; the best, however, I kept myself, for a bed
of fresh pine shoots to a weary traveller in Canada is better than all
the feather beds in the world, particularly in the New World.

So much for life in the Bush; and I was then not quite so old as at
present; but, even in youth, experience had taught me the utility of
taking the world easy. My friend the colonel, next morning, after a
sound sleep, said, "Whenever I am obliged to travel in the Bush, I
wish you may be with me;" and old mother Craig, who is now no longer
in this world, thought the next morning, as she afterwards said, that,
after all, the colonel was not so bad as she had imagined.

This is, for one may as well deprecate a little in talking about
fastidiousness, not