She had two very pretty daughters, whom she would not suffer to do
any rough work which would spoil their soft white hands. Mrs. S - -,
no doubt, foresaw that she could not expect to keep such fair
creatures long in such a marrying country as Canada, and, according
to the common caution of divines, she held these blessings with a
loose hand.
There was one sweet little girl, whom I had often seen in her
father's arms, with her soft dark eyes, and her long auburn ringlets
hanging in wild profusion over his shoulders.
"I guess she likes pa, SOME," Mr. S - - would say when I remarked her
fondness for him.
This little fairy had a natural genius for music, and though she was
only four years old, she would sit for an hour at a time at the door
of our room to hear me play on the flute, and would afterwards sing
all the airs she picked up, with the sweetest voice in the world.
Humble as the calling of a tavern-keeper may be considered in
England, it is looked upon in the United States, where Mrs. S - - was
"raised," as extremely respectable; and I have never met with women,
in any class of society elsewhere, who possessed more of the
good-feeling and unobtrusive manners which should belong to ladies
than in the family of this worthy tavern-keeper.
