To the unhappy sufferer, and the thought of my incapacity gave me
severe pain. It was only in moments like the present that I felt the
curse of poverty.
"Well," continued my friend, "you see, Mrs. Moodie, that the ladies
of P - - are all anxious to do what they can for her; but they first
want to learn if the miserable circumstances in which she is said to
be placed are true. In short, my dear friend, they want you and me
to make a pilgrimage to Dummer, to see the poor lady herself; and
then they will be guided by our report."
"Then let us lose no time in going upon our own mission of mercy."
"Och, my dear heart, you will be lost in the woods!" said old Jenny.
"It is nine long miles to the first clearing, and that through a
lonely, blazed path. After you are through the beaver-meadow, there
is not a single hut for you to rest or warm yourselves. It is too
much for the both of yees; you will be frozen to death on the road."
"No fear," said my benevolent friend; "God will take care of us,
Jenny. It is on His errand we go; to carry a message of hope to one
about to perish."
"The Lord bless you for a darlint," cried the old woman, devoutly
kissing the velvet cheek of the little fellow sleeping upon her lap.
"May your own purty child never know the want and sorrow that is
around her."
Emilia and I talked over the Dummer scheme until we fell asleep.
Many were the plans we proposed for the immediate relief of the
unfortunate family. Early the next morning, my brother-in-law, Mr.
T - -, called upon my friend. The subject next to our heart was
immediately introduced, and he was called into the general council.
His feelings, like our own, were deeply interested; and he proposed
that we should each provide something from our own small stores to
satisfy the pressing wants of the distressed family; while he
promised to bring his cutter the next morning, and take us through
the beaver-meadow, and to the edge of the great swamp, which would
shorten four miles, at least, of our long and hazardous journey.
We joyfully acceded to his proposal, and set cheerfully to work to
provide for the morrow. Jenny baked a batch of her very best bread,
and boiled a large piece of beef; and Mr. T - - brought with him, the
next day, a fine cooked ham, in a sack, into the bottom of which he
stowed the beef and loaves, besides some sugar and tea, which his
own kind wife, the author of "the Backwoods of Canada," had sent.
I had some misgivings as to the manner in which these good things
could be introduced to the poor lady, who, I had heard, was reserved
and proud.
