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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Amy in Acadia, by Helen Leah Reed
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Amy in Acadia
+       A Story for Girls
+
+Author: Helen Leah Reed
+
+Illustrator: Katharine Pyle
+
+Release Date: April 28, 2011 [EBook #35985]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMY IN ACADIA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Heather Clark, Sharon Joiner, Carol Ann Brown,
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned
+images of public domain material from the Google Print
+project.)
+
+
+
+
+
+  Amy in Acadia
+
+
+
+
+  [Illustration: "From a drawer behind the counter she drew a small fan."
+  FRONTISPIECE. _See_ p. 25.]
+
+  Amy in Acadia
+
+  _A Story for Girls_
+
+  By
+  Helen Leah Reed
+
+  Author of "The Brenda Books" "Miss Theodora"
+  "Irma and Nap"
+
+  With Illustrations by Katharine Pyle
+
+  Boston
+  Little, Brown, and Company
+  1905
+
+
+
+
+  _Copyright, 1905_,
+  BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.
+  _All rights reserved_
+
+  Published October, 1905
+
+  THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, MASS., U. S. A.
+
+
+
+
+  TO CONSTANCE
+  MY NIECE
+  WHO JOURNEYED WITH ME THROUGH ACADIA
+
+
+
+
+  Contents
+
+
+  CHAPTER                                 PAGE
+
+      I BANISHED                             1
+
+     II LOST AND FOUND                      14
+
+    III TOWARD METEGHAN                     29
+
+     IV YVONNE                              43
+
+      V NEW PEOPLE                          57
+
+     VI PIERRE AND POINT A L'EGLISE         71
+
+    VII DIGBY DAYS                          89
+
+   VIII TWO ADVENTURES                     105
+
+     IX OLD PORT ROYAL                     119
+
+      X EXPLORATIONS                       134
+
+     XI A TEA PARTY                        147
+
+    XII IN THE FOG                         163
+
+   XIII LETTERS AND SOME COMMENTS          178
+
+    XIV AN EXCURSION                       191
+
+     XV WITH PREJUDICE                     204
+
+    XVI EVANGELINE'S COUNTRY               219
+
+   XVII SAFE AGAIN                         236
+
+  XVIII THE RIGHT AND THE WRONG OF IT      249
+
+    XIX A DISCOVERY                        263
+
+     XX FIRE AND FLAME                     279
+
+    XXI OLD CHEBUCTO                       299
+
+   XXII FINDING COUSINS                    315
+
+  XXIII GOOD-BYE TO HALIFAX                329
+
+
+
+
+  List of Illustrations
+
+
+  "From a drawer behind the counter she drew a small
+     fan"                                           _Frontispiece_
+
+  "'Madame Bourque,' she cried, 'I asked him to come to
+     see me'"                                           _Page_ 71
+
+  "'Hello! hello!' she shouted"                            "  170
+
+  "'Why, what is the matter, child?' she asked
+     affectionately"                                       "  246
+
+  "After one ineffectual effort to pry open the lock, the
+     other one had thrown down the scissors"               "  282
+
+  "Behind Lucian stalked Malachai, flourishing his cane
+     after the fashion of a drum-major"                    "  320
+
+
+
+
+  _Amy in Acadia_
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER I
+
+  BANISHED
+
+
+"No, Fritz, I cannot--"
+
+"You _will_ not."
+
+"Well, then I _will_ not ask mother to invite you to go on with us."
+
+Amy spoke decidedly, but Fritz was not ready to give up.
+
+"Oh, Amy, do be reasonable! I cannot say anything more to your mother,
+for you are in an obstinate mood, evidently determined to persuade
+yourself that you do not wish us to travel with you."
+
+"That is true; I do not wish you to go on with us."
+
+"But you and I are _such_ friends."
+
+"So we are, and so we shall continue to be. Because we are such friends,
+I am sure that you will forgive me for being so--"
+
+"So unreasonable."
+
+"No--reasonable. Now just look at the whole thing sensibly. Here we
+are--mamma and I and two girls."
+
+"What do you call yourself? Aren't you a girl?"
+
+"Don't interrupt; perhaps I should have said two _school_girls. We have
+come away partly for rest and change, partly for study. So it would only
+upset all our plans to have you and your friend with us. You'd be
+dreadfully in the way."
+
+"In the way! I like that. Why, you could rest, or study all day, for all
+we'd care, and we'd afford you the change that you would certainly need
+once in a while. Only--if you'll excuse my saying so--who ever heard of
+any one's resting or studying on a pleasure-trip? Just look at the funny
+side of it yourself, Amy--and smile--please."
+
+Whereupon, quite against her will, the smile that twitched Amy's lips
+extended itself into a laugh, in which Fritz Tomkins joined heartily.
+
+"Ah, Amy, that laugh makes me think of old times. So now perhaps you'll
+condescend to explain why two lonely youths may not visit the historic
+Acadia in company with you and your mother, not to mention the other
+members of your party."
+
+Amy made no answer, and Fritz continued:
+
+"Just think what we shall lose! It always benefits me to be with your
+mother, and you are so full of information, Amy, and you so love to
+impart what you know, that by the end of the journey I should be a
+walking guidebook. To go with you would be better than attending a
+summer school."
+
+"There, Fritz," interrupted Amy, with rising color, "you are getting
+back at me for what I have said. But we really mean to make this an
+improving trip."
+
+"So I should judge. Improving only to yourselves."
+
+"Well, then I'll explain, since you find it so hard to understand. You
+surely know that mamma has been overworking, and yet she does not wish
+to waste the whole summer. So, after resting a little, she expects to
+find good sketching-material in Nova Scotia. Then I need more strength
+before the beginning of my Senior year."
+
+"I'll be a Senior, too, in the autumn," murmured Fritz; but Amy, not
+heeding the interruption, continued:
+
+"Then there's Priscilla; she has been rather low-spirited since her
+father died. She is generally in Plymouth in the summer, and this will
+be a change. Besides, she is to read a little English with me for her
+Radcliffe examinations."
+
+"_Rest_--and _change_--and _study_, for three of you. Well, I do hope
+that the other girl is to get some pleasure out of the trip. Didn't you
+tell me that she comes from Chicago?"
+
+"Oh, Martine finds amusement in everything--even in study. She was at a
+boarding-school last year on the Hudson, and she made life there so
+entertaining for herself and her classmates that she had to leave. Her
+parents then decided to have her visit relatives in Boston this spring.
+Next year she's to go to Miss Crawdon's. She's especially in mother's
+care, and I do hope she'll enjoy the summer, for she is worried about
+her mother, who is ill at some baths in Germany."
+
+"Thus far, Amy, you haven't offered a single reason for your desire to
+banish us from your side. Neither Taps nor I will stand in the way of
+your mother's sketches, except to pose for her when she asks. We
+certainly won't deprive the air of its invigorating qualities; and we
+might even study--"
+
+"No, Fritz, you'd simply be in the way."
+
+"I won't admit that, Miss Amy Redmond, and if I should ask your mother,
+she would probably say that you are quite wrong in your opinion. In
+fact, that's why you won't let me talk with her. However, as you've
+extorted a promise from me, Taps and I will go as far away from you as
+we can--in Nova Scotia. We'll travel in the opposite direction from
+Acadia, for Nova Scotia is large enough to contain us all without a
+collision. But mark my words, many a time in the next few weeks you'll
+sigh for a manly arm to pull you out of your difficulties. _Then_ you'll
+remember me."
+
+"I'm not afraid. Acadia has no dangers. Even the Micmacs are tamed. The
+French and Indian wars are over."
+
+"That reminds me,--please excuse me for interrupting,--you will find
+Digby, where you are going to-morrow, very tame compared with Pubnico."
+
+"Pubnico?"
+
+"Yes, Pubnico, a wonderful French village, with Acadians and descendants
+of the old noblesse, and with many interesting things that you'll miss
+altogether in your misguided course. Then we shall go to the deserted
+Loyalist town, Shelburne, which is full of history and haunted houses."
+
+"You seem to have digested a whole guidebook, Fritz. As Shelburne is on
+the opposite side of the peninsula, I suppose that you really have not
+intended to travel with us."
+
+"Oh, I had two strings to my bow, and when I heard of the French
+villages, I decided that to visit them would be the next best thing to
+do." Then, looking at his watch, "But now I really must say good-bye;
+it's past my time for meeting Taps."
+
+"Good-bye, Fritz." Amy held out her hand amicably. "You are not angry,
+are you?"
+
+"No, not angry, only--I may never forgive you. Certainly I shall not
+forget."
+
+Before Amy could reply, Fritz had wheeled away, and, turning a corner,
+was soon lost to sight. As Amy walked a few steps along the hotel
+piazza, suddenly she met her mother face to face.
+
+"Where's Fritz?" asked Mrs. Redmond. "I expected to find him with you."
+
+"Oh, he's gone. It's settled that the boys are not to come with us."
+
+"But, my dear, I hope you have not sent him off. Sometimes you are too
+abrupt."
+
+"Why, mother, I thought that you did not wish them to come with us."
+
+"I was certainly surprised to see Fritz on the boat last evening. But he
+is like my own son, and if he has set his heart on going to Digby, we
+must not keep him away."
+
+"Oh, he's going around on the other coast, he and his friend."
+
+"Did you meet his friend?"
+
+"No, I heard Fritz call him 'Taps'--a perfectly ridiculous name. Do you
+know anything about him?"
+
+"Only what Fritz told me last evening--that he was a Freshman who had
+taken a violent fancy to him. Fritz said that he had agreed to travel
+with the boy this summer from a sense of duty."
+
+"A sense of duty!"
+
+"Yes; 'Taps,' as he calls him, has been trying to shake off some
+undesirable friends. He gave up a trip to Europe that he might avoid
+running across them, and Fritz, knowing the circumstances, thought that
+he could do no less than agree to take some other trip with him. It was
+only on the spur of the moment that they decided to come with us."
+
+"Fritz was terribly cut up to find that we did not care to have them."
+
+"Naturally--and indeed, Amy, if I had had a chance to talk frankly with
+him, we could have had them with us part of the time. His friend was a
+bright, honest-looking lad, hardly more than a schoolboy."
+
+"Oh, mamma, I thought him so dandified!--just the kind to be a nuisance
+in a party that intends to rough it."
+
+"Do you realize, Amy, that you use much more slang than before you went
+to college?"
+
+"That's another reason for not having Fritz with us; it is not _my_
+college, but _his_, that twists my vocabulary."
+
+"Possibly, but I only hope that he is not offended. Well! well! Why,
+Priscilla, why, Martine, where have you been?"
+
+As she spoke two young girls came running up the steps, and one of them
+with a bound flung herself upon Mrs. Redmond's neck.
+
+"Oh, isn't it a perfect morning, so cool and salt-smelling! and it's
+almost as good as Europe to see a foreign flag floating from the
+hotel--even if it is only English. And isn't Yarmouth a dear sleepy old
+town, though it's said to be so American! Some one told me that it was
+the only place in Nova Scotia where they hustled. My, but I wish they
+could see Chicago! Then they'd know what 'hustle' means."
+
+"Yes, my dear," gasped Mrs. Redmond; "but would you move your arm--just
+a little? You almost choke me."
+
+"Please excuse me, but I feel so excited that I must hug somebody, and
+Priscilla and Amy never let me hug them."
+
+"Why, I'm sure--" began Amy.
+
+"Oh, no, you haven't said a word, that's quite true, and I've never even
+tried to embrace you, yet I'm perfectly sure that you would hate it, and
+so Mrs. Redmond--"
+
+"Is the victim," rejoined Amy. "Well, mamma _is_ amiable. Only, while we
+are travelling, do be careful not to squeeze too tightly; it rumples her
+stock. Mamma, you'll really have to put on a fresh one before we start
+out."
+
+During this conversation Priscilla had been silent. She was shorter than
+Martine, and fairer, and her expression was sad, or querulous,--at first
+glance it was hard to say which. Yet her half-mourning costume--the
+black skirt, and the black ribbon at her throat--suggested what was
+really the case--that Priscilla had had some recent sorrow.
+
+"What have you been doing, Priscilla?" asked Mrs. Redmond, noticing the
+young girl's silence.
+
+"Doing!" interrupted Martine, before Priscilla could speak. "Only think
+how silly she's been. This beautiful morning--and in a new place--she
+has spent writing letters. Isn't she a goose?"
+
+"Oh, Martine!" and Amy shook her head in reproof.
+
+Priscilla colored deeply as she turned apologetically to Mrs. Redmond.
+"I promised mamma to write as soon as I could. She will get my letter
+day after to-morrow."
+
+"You were very considerate to write promptly. Your mother will be
+delighted to hear so soon. But where have _you_ been, Martine?"
+
+"Oh, rambling a little; I just couldn't stay in the house."
+
+"It's strange, Martine," added Amy, "but a while ago, when I took a
+stroll down the road, I saw a boy and a girl wheeling down a side street
+together who looked so like you."
+
+"Which, the boy or the girl?"
+
+Disregarding Martine's flippancy, Amy continued: "I realized that it
+couldn't possibly be you, as you know no one in Yarmouth."
+
+"And didn't bring my wheel with me," added Martine. "So please, Miss Amy
+Redmond, don't see double, or else before I know it you'll have all my
+faults magnified to twice their size."
+
+While Martine was speaking, Priscilla looked at her closely. But
+Martine, if she felt Priscilla's eye upon her, showed no embarrassment.
+Instead, she burst into a peal of laughter that woke from his slumbers a
+quiet old gentleman dozing over his newspaper in a piazza chair.
+
+Martine's laughter quickly degenerated into a giggle, and with only an
+"Excuse me, I can't help it," she rushed into the house.
+
+"There, mother," said Amy, "I fear that Martine will be a greater care
+to us than we expected. If she hadn't run off I was going to suggest
+that we all go for a walk, to see what there really is to be seen in the
+town. We'll have plenty of time before dinner."
+
+"I'll get my hat and bring Martine with me;" and Mrs. Redmond left
+Priscilla and Amy by themselves.
+
+A little later the four travellers were walking up the broad street,
+partially shaded with trees, through which they had many glimpses of the
+blue harbor.
+
+"Isn't it strange," said Priscilla to Amy, "to think that this time
+yesterday we were half-stifled with Boston heat! They said that it was
+the hottest day of the season, and it is probably as hot there to-day;
+and here we are--"
+
+"Ready to shiver," interposed Amy. "You should have brought a coat,
+Priscilla, for I almost feel an east wind."
+
+"Oh, the air is soft. There's no danger of catching cold. Do you notice
+all the flowers in these little gardens? It's a pleasant air, like the
+Shoals, and those hawthorn hedges make me think of England,--at least,
+what I've read of it, for I've never been there. We must ask Martine."
+
+"You are almost as eloquent as Martine herself." Amy turned toward
+Priscilla with a smile. "You were so quiet at breakfast, and indeed all
+the morning, until now, that I feared you were not enjoying the trip."
+
+"Well, to be honest, I felt homesick at first. You see, I have never
+been away before without any of my family, and then I hadn't got the
+motion of the boat out of my head. But now I feel perfectly well, and
+perhaps--" but here Priscilla's voice was not quite steady--"perhaps I
+shall not be homesick."
+
+Amy drew Priscilla's hand within her arm.
+
+"Of course not. Naturally, you will miss your mother and the children.
+But you'll go back to them with such red cheeks, and so many interesting
+things to tell, that you will be glad you had courage to come away. You
+mustn't be homesick."
+
+"Oh, I won't be," said Priscilla,--"that is, if I can help it; but if I
+didn't know you much better than Martine, I think that I'd have to go
+home."
+
+Whereupon Amy, perceiving that Priscilla was not yet herself, strove to
+divert her by telling her little incidents of early Nova Scotian
+history. Her device was successful, and by the time they had overtaken
+Mrs. Redmond and Martine, Priscilla was quite cheerful again.
+
+In their walk they had turned aside from the main street, and had
+reached a point on the outskirts where elevated land gave them a good
+view of the water. Mrs. Redmond and Martine had found a large flat rock,
+on which they seated themselves, and Mrs. Redmond was already at work
+with her sketchbook before her.
+
+"I'm glad that you've come, Amy,--I mean Miss Redmond," began Martine.
+"I've been trying to tell your mother about some kind of a queer stone
+that I heard some people talking about at the breakfast-table to-day,
+but I haven't it quite clear in my mind, and so I'm waiting for you to
+help me out."
+
+"Oh, the runic stone?" asked Amy. "There isn't so very much to tell
+about it, except that it was found more than seventy years ago, and is
+thought by some people to be a memorial of the Norsemen."
+
+"The Norsemen in Nova Scotia? But why didn't they discover the stone
+before?"
+
+"It was found by a Dr. Fletcher in a cove on his own property. The
+inscription was on the under side, and showed signs of great age. There,
+I believe I have something about it here;" and pulling a small notebook
+from her pocket, Amy refreshed her memory.
+
+"Yes, it weighed about four hundred and fifty pounds, and some
+antiquarians have translated the inscription, 'Harki's son addressed the
+men.' It seems that there was a man named Harki among those Norsemen who
+sailed along the coast of America in 1007."
+
+"That is certainly worth knowing," said Mrs. Redmond, "and I hope that
+we can see the stone before we go."
+
+"Well, it's only fair," continued Amy, "to tell you that some learned
+people do not believe in the Norse theory."
+
+"Perhaps it's like the inscription on the Dighton rock," interposed
+Priscilla, "that they now think was made by Indians."
+
+"Yes," added Amy, "but the strange thing is that a few years ago a
+second stone was found about a mile away from the other, and the
+inscription on it was almost the same."
+
+"Well," exclaimed Martine, "it doesn't matter whether the Norsemen
+really were here or not, as long as we can imagine that they may have
+been. I like the romantic part of history, if it gives you something
+entertaining to think about. It's all the same whether or not it is
+true."
+
+After which heretical sentiment, Priscilla, Plymouth-born Priscilla,
+felt herself to be farther away than ever from Martine.
+
+When Priscilla nestled down beside Mrs. Redmond to watch the growth of
+her sketch, Martine became impatient.
+
+"Let us go back. We've seen everything there is to see in this part of
+the town, and perhaps I shall have time for a letter or two before
+dinner."
+
+"I'll go with you," responded Amy. "I have some packing to do."
+
+"Packing?"
+
+"Oh, just to rearrange some of my things."
+
+"Very well," said Mrs. Redmond. "Priscilla and I will wait until this
+sketch is finished, and then we'll return by the electric car."
+
+"Any one would know that you and your mother are from Boston," said
+Martine, turning to Amy with a laugh. "I have heard my father say that
+Bostonians are the only people in the world who take the trouble to say
+'electric cars.'"
+
+"What do others say?"
+
+"Why, trolley, of course. They'd laugh at you if you said anything else
+in Chicago."
+
+"You're pretty rapid in Chicago."
+
+"And you are rather--well, rather slow in Boston."
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER II
+
+  LOST AND FOUND
+
+
+Amy's face was flushed, her hat slightly askew, and she felt even more
+uncomfortable than she looked. It was all on account of her lost keys.
+For ten minutes or more she had been bending over boxes, and poking
+among all kinds of things in the shed near the wharf, in the vain hope
+that she might find what she had lost. When she had discovered that the
+keys were missing, Priscilla volunteered to help her find them.
+
+As the discovery had been made at the very moment when the carriage was
+at the door to take them for an afternoon drive, Amy insisted that the
+others should go without her, since it was evidently her duty to search
+for the missing.
+
+"Let me go with you," Priscilla had urged. "When we find the keys we can
+go sightseeing by ourselves. It will be just as good fun as driving."
+Thus Amy and Priscilla made their way by themselves to the wharf, while
+Mrs. Redmond and Martine were driven in the direction of Milton.
+
+"It wouldn't be so bad if it were only my trunk key," Amy had lamented,
+"but there's a key of my mother's on the chain, and several keys of
+little boxes--one or two of which I have with me; the others are at
+home. I am always losing keys."
+
+"You probably lost them after your trunk had been examined this morning.
+What a fuss about nothing it was! Why, the inspector didn't even lift
+the tray from my trunk. But we had all the trouble of unlocking and
+opening our trunks, and in that way I suppose the keys were lost."
+
+Priscilla spoke with more energy than was usual with her. When they
+reached the wharf, the dignified Custom-House official and the small
+boys congregated there and in the neighborhood of the train knew nothing
+about the keys. The inspector remembered seeing them.
+
+"I noticed your party particularly, and you were swinging your keys by a
+long silver chain. Well, they may have slipped through a crack
+somewhere, and so the best thing for you is to get a locksmith to fit a
+key before you go any farther."
+
+Overhearing this advice, one or two of the boys lounging about offered
+to guide the young ladies to a locksmith. Thus Amy and Priscilla, not in
+the best of spirits, with hats askew and shirt-waists somewhat rumpled,
+came face to face with Fritz Tomkins.
+
+"Oh, ho!" he cried mischievously, as the girls drew near. "What a
+procession! All you need is a drum and a flag."
+
+Turning her head, Amy saw six little boys walking behind her in Indian
+file. There wasn't much going on at the wharf, and evidently all had
+thought that there would be some fun in conducting the American young
+ladies to the locksmith's.
+
+Fritz himself, seated in the shade at a shop-door, looked aggravatingly
+comfortable.
+
+"Why, Fritz!" exclaimed Amy, "I thought you were miles and miles
+away,--at Pubnico."
+
+"Don't, don't show your disappointment too plainly. We thought that we'd
+better not start before the train was ready. That will not be for an
+hour yet. In the meantime, is there anything that I can do for you? You
+look a little like a lady in distress."
+
+"Well, then, appearances are deceitful." Amy had recovered from her
+astonishment at seeing Fritz.
+
+"I am sure that you are hunting for something."
+
+"Why are you so sure?" Amy was determined not to tell.
+
+"She _is_ looking for something, isn't she, Priscilla?" Fritz had seen
+more or less of Priscilla in Boston the past winter, and naturally
+called her by her first name.
+
+Priscilla shook her head,--not in dissent, but to show that she had no
+intention of disclosing more than Amy herself chose to explain.
+
+"Very well," continued Fritz, "I am a mind reader. I can tell you all
+about it. You are looking for a bunch of keys."
+
+"How did you know?" For once Amy was off guard.
+
+"Ah! Then it's true."
+
+"Very well, since you know so much, where are the keys?"
+
+Fritz, thrusting his hand in his pocket, drew out a long silver chain,
+which he swung around his head in a circle before laying it in Amy's
+hand.
+
+"There, little boys, you--"
+
+"Don't call them little boys, Amy; remember how I felt when I was ten."
+
+"Here, young men." As Fritz spoke the boys drew nearer, and Fritz,
+drawing from his pocket a handful of silver, laid in each of six palms a
+bright ten-cent coin with the Queen's head stamped upon it.
+
+"But we didn't do anything," one of the six managed to say.
+
+"No, but you _would_ have helped the young lady find a locksmith, and
+besides, you brought her to the particular spot where I was sitting, and
+so you found her keys for her."
+
+This logic was so correct that the six boys, feeling that they had
+earned the money, rushed off with a shout of "Thank you," to find the
+quickest way of spending it.
+
+"You might have brought the keys to the hotel," complained Amy. "Then I
+needn't have had this dusty walk."
+
+"After the summary way in which you banished me this morning I certainly
+could not put myself in your way again. But I knew that when you came to
+dress for the afternoon you would miss your keys, and happen _my_ way.
+Surely you can't object to my being here?"
+
+"Of course not. I am very much obliged to you."
+
+"Besides, I found the keys only this afternoon. They had slipped under a
+board, and when I saw the end of the chain I recognized it at once. May
+I walk with you part way up-town? I'm sorry that I can't go all the way.
+But Taps and I have an errand to do, and it's now within an hour of
+train time. Remember, you have banished us."
+
+As they walked, Fritz, abandoning frivolity, outlined his plans for the
+next week. Priscilla listened with great interest. Nova Scotia was
+indeed a new land to her, and as she had rather suddenly decided to
+accompany Amy and her mother she had read nothing on the subject of the
+province in which they were to spend a few weeks.
+
+Fritz had known little more than Priscilla until he had stumbled on some
+one crossing on the boat the preceding night who had had much to say
+about the old Fort La Tour and its neighborhood.
+
+"Fort La Tour!" Amy exclaimed. "I shouldn't care to discredit your
+history, but I am sure that that was on the River St. John across the
+Bay, in quite the opposite direction from where you are going."
+
+"There, there, my dear Miss Amy Redmond, you are just like other people.
+Because you know _some_ Acadian history you think that you know it all.
+There certainly was a Fort La Tour at St. John, but its remains, I hear,
+are altogether invisible now; whereas the first Fort La Tour can still
+be seen in outline, at least. There isn't any masonry, I believe, yet
+you can trace the outline in the grass. You remember, Amy, it was once
+called Fort Lomeron."
+
+"I'm sorry, Fritz, but I don't remember. You must have taken a special
+course in history lately."
+
+"Yes, this very morning. You see I had time to spare after you sent me
+into exile, and Taps and I were to have our dinner at a private
+boarding-house, where I thought we ought to stay, since you didn't care
+to have us at the hotel. Well, to make a long story short, I found a set
+of Parkman there, and it seemed wise to refresh my memory before going
+down to Port La Tour."
+
+"Do tell us what you learned." Amy spoke eagerly. "I'll admit that I've
+quite forgotten the first Fort La Tour."
+
+"I haven't much time now," said Fritz, "but I'll do what I can to make
+my knowledge yours,--only you mustn't expect me to be perfectly
+accurate. This, however, is the way I figure it out. After that old
+rascal, Argall, attacked Port Royal, in 1613, Biencourt, or
+Poutrincourt, as he was known after his father's death, wandered for
+years in the woods with a few followers, sleeping in the open air, and
+living on roots and nuts like an Indian. In some way or other he managed
+to get men enough, and material enough, to build a small fort in the
+Cape Sable region, that he called Fort Lomeron,--a rocky and foggy
+neighborhood. But there was fine fishing and hunting, and he felt that
+the Fort was a warning to any enemies who might try to take away the
+rest of what his father had left him. Well, among his followers was
+young Charles de Saint Etienne de La Tour, who also had come out to
+Acadia as a boy. When Biencourt died La Tour claimed that Acadia had
+been left to him by his friend. He tried to get Louis XIII. to help him
+against the English, and against Sir William Alexander in particular, to
+whom James I. had granted Acadia. Now young Charles La Tour began to
+have a hard time because his father Claude had married a Maid of Honor
+to Queen Henrietta Maria, and had promised Charles I. that he would
+drive out the French and establish the English in Nova Scotia. But when
+Claude appeared with his two ships before his son's Fort, he could not
+persuade him to turn color and become a Baronet of Nova Scotia. The
+father made great promises in the name of King Charles if the son would
+surrender, but the son withstood the father, and the latter lost English
+support because he had not been able to keep his promise; and so he was
+nothing but a refugee the rest of his life."
+
+"Served him right for deserting his country," murmured Priscilla.
+
+"Well, it's hard to understand just who did what in those days, and why.
+Some say that Charles La Tour was no better than his father, and that
+he, too, accepted from the English the title 'Baronet of Nova Scotia.'
+On account of the conquest of Sir David Kirke, Nova Scotia was English
+for a while, and then again it was under the control of the French after
+Claude de Razilly brought out an expedition in 1632. Charles de Menou
+d'Aunay, by the way, La Tour's great enemy, came with Razilly. But La
+Tour made haste to put himself right with the King of France, and, after
+a visit to Paris, came back to Nova Scotia 'Lieutenant-General for the
+King at Fort Lomeron and its dependencies, and Commander at Cape Sable
+for the Colony of New France.' Doesn't that strike you as quite
+tremendous, when you think of the rocks and the fogs and the seals,
+together with the forests, that chiefly made up his domain?"
+
+"It's very interesting," said Priscilla. "What became of La Tour?"
+
+"It's a long story," responded Fritz. "I'm afraid I haven't time to tell
+it now."
+
+"Oh, I know all about his quarrel with D'Aunay," interposed Amy. "It
+will come in better when we are at Port Royal--or rather Annapolis. But
+I had forgotten this Fort near Cape Sable."
+
+"You shouldn't have forgotten it." Fritz's tone deepened in reproach.
+"For many of La Tour's descendants live near the Fort, and the place
+itself is called Port La Tour. I am astonished that you should have left
+it out of your plan of travel. You can't go there now, because that is
+where Taps and I are bound, and it wouldn't do for us to get in your
+way--I mean for you to get in our way. Beyond the tip end of Nova Scotia
+there's Sable Island, that used to be haunted by pirates and privateers.
+Some of them may be there still, and if Taps and I go there, and if
+anything happens to us, you may be sorry that you drove us away.
+Good-bye, Amy; even a Nova Scotia train won't wait for me;" and before
+the astonished girls could say a word, Fritz, with a touch of his cap,
+was walking rapidly away from them.
+
+"We haven't offended him?" asked Priscilla, timidly.
+
+"No, indeed. His plans were already made to go among the French
+villages. In fact, I thought that he had gone this morning. He started
+off soon after breakfast."
+
+Although Amy spoke thus decidedly, secretly she wished that she had been
+less summary with Fritz. It was not strange, indeed, that her conscience
+should prick her a little. When she and Fritz were not yet in their
+teens they had become acquainted at Rockley, a summer resort on the
+North Shore where Fritz spent the summers with his uncle. Rockley was
+Amy's home all the year, and as not many boys or girls of her own age
+lived near her, she greatly appreciated the companionship of Fritz. The
+latter, for his part, knew that he was very fortunate in having the
+friendship of Amy and her mother; for, like Amy, he had neither brothers
+nor sisters, and although his father was living, his mother had died
+when he was a baby. His father spent little time with him, as he was
+fond of exploring new countries, and his travels often kept him away
+from home two or three years at a time.
+
+Before entering college Fritz had lived with his father's elder
+brother,--a serious, scholarly man. The uncle made little provision for
+amusement in his nephew's life, until Mrs. Redmond had shown him that
+all work and no play would do Fritz more harm than good. Amy and Fritz,
+on the whole, had been very congenial friends, although the latter could
+rarely resist an opportunity to tease Amy. Mrs. Redmond often had to act
+as peacemaker, and Fritz always took her reproofs good-naturedly. No one
+knew him so well as Mrs. Redmond did. There was no one to whose words he
+paid quicker attention. He called her his "adopted mother," and
+naturally it seemed strange to him that she should agree with Amy that
+he and his friend would be in the way on the Nova Scotia tour. Beneath
+the jesting tone that he had used with Amy lay something sharper, and
+Amy, as he finally turned away, realized this.
+
+After the departure of Fritz the girls walked on in silence. Suddenly an
+exclamation of Priscilla's brought them to a standstill. In the window
+of a little shop were two cups and saucers of thickish china, decorated
+in a high-colored rose pattern. The cups were of a quaint, flaring
+shape, and Priscilla announced that she must have them. There were other
+curiosities in the window,--a small cannon-ball, two reddish
+short-stemmed pipes, and many things of Indian make. The shop-keeper
+proved to be an elderly woman, with a pleasant, soft accent. The cups,
+she explained, had belonged to an old couple who had lately died,
+leaving no children. At the auction she had bought a few bits of china.
+
+"I know they are old,--more than a hundred years,--these two cups. I'm
+sorry I haven't any more, but people from the States are always looking
+for old things, and there's been a good many here this summer."
+
+Priscilla bought the cups, and Amy inquired about the cannon-ball.
+
+"It was dug up near Fort St. Louis, as some call it, or Fort La Tour,
+and the pipes too. They say there's many a strange thing buried there
+under the ground, if people only had the patience to dig."
+
+Amy decided that it was hardly wise to burden herself with the
+cannon-ball, and she didn't care especially for the pipes.
+
+"There's something else here," said the woman, "if you won't be offended
+at my showing it. Some Americans--"
+
+"How did you know that we were Americans?" interrupted Amy.
+
+"Oh, as soon as ever a Yankee--there, I beg your pardon--any one from
+the States opens her mouth--"
+
+"She puts her foot in it," returned Amy, with a smile.
+
+"No, no, I wouldn't say a word against the accent, but I can always tell
+it. I have a sister married in the States, and her children speak like
+their father. When they come to visit me I tell them that they are
+regular Yankees. Not that I have anything against that; I hope I'll live
+to see Boston some time."
+
+"Have you never been there?" asked Priscilla, in surprise.
+
+"No, Miss; I know that it isn't so far away, but I was born in the Old
+Country, and when I take a trip, that's where I'd rather go;" and the
+little woman sighed. "But I'll show you the curiosity I spoke of."
+
+From a drawer behind the counter she drew a small fan, one or two of
+whose sticks were broken, while the silk was faded and torn.
+
+"I bought that from an old lady who said that her grandmother fanned an
+officer who was wounded at the Battle of Bunker Hill, while he lay sick
+in her house after the battle. Perhaps I oughtn't to speak of it," she
+concluded apologetically.
+
+"Why not? The war's entirely over, and no one has any feeling about it
+now."
+
+"I suppose not." But the woman's voice carried a question.
+
+"Why, to prove that I have no resentment I'll buy the fan,--even if it
+did once soothe the brow of a hated Britisher." Amy smiled at Priscilla
+as she spoke.
+
+The price named came so well within Amy's means that she half doubted
+the authenticity of the relic. Of her doubts, however, she gave no hint
+to the talkative little Englishwoman. Instead, by what she afterwards
+called a genuine inspiration, she asked some question about the French
+people at Pubnico.
+
+"Oh, they are good enough," said the woman, "and spend plenty of money
+in Yarmouth; and there's many of the young people working here in our
+shops and mills, although many French come from Meteghan and up that
+way."
+
+"Meteghan?" queried Amy.
+
+"Yes, that's a pretty country up North on St Mary's Bay, and all French.
+If you're going to Digby you'd better stop off."
+
+"But we were going straight through to Digby."
+
+"Yes, most people go straight through, and don't know what they miss.
+You see, the natives up there are Acadians, and it's kind of foreign
+like, for they mostly speak only French. My husband and I, we went up
+there once and stayed at the hotel, for he had an order for some goods
+that he had to see about himself."
+
+While Mrs. Lufkins was talking the practical Priscilla had taken out her
+notebook, in which she wrote the name of the station and other things
+that would help them.
+
+"Do you think that your mother would like to change her plans?"
+
+"Yes, indeed; she will think this just the thing. Probably there will be
+good material for sketching,--scenery, and odd people, and all that kind
+of thing. I am sure that she will like it."
+
+"Thank you, Mrs. Lufkins," said Amy, as they turned away from the
+mistress of the little shop; and then in a particularly cheerful tone
+she added to Priscilla, "I feel as if I had found a gold-mine. Fritz was
+so very sure that he was to have a monopoly of the only French in Nova
+Scotia, that it will be great fun to write him about our French people."
+
+"Then you think you will go there?"
+
+"Certainly; mother will enjoy it, and it will be great fun for the rest
+of us. Wasn't Mrs. Lufkins entertaining? If she were Yarmouth-born,
+perhaps she wouldn't speak of us as Yankees. You know the first
+permanent settlement here was made about 1761, by Cape Codders. In fact,
+the name's from Yarmouth on the Cape, not from the English Yarmouth
+directly. I remember the names of two of the first settlers,--Sealed
+Landers and Eleshama Eldredge. Don't they sound like real old Puritans?"
+
+"But how did they come to be English? Why didn't they stay on our side
+in the Revolution?" Priscilla's tone contained a whole world of reproach
+for Sealed and Eleshama.
+
+"Oh, that's a long story. I dare say they were on our side--in their
+hearts; but they couldn't afford to give up all they had worked for,
+after coming here as pioneers. Many of the Yarmouth people were thought
+to be in sympathy with the American privateers that were always prowling
+about the coast. But the English managed to hold Nova Scotia, and in the
+War of 1812 the number of American vessels captured by Yarmouth was
+greater than the number of Yarmouth vessels captured by the Americans."
+
+"When I left home," said Priscilla, "I did not know that there was so
+much history down here. I thought that we were just coming for change of
+air."
+
+"Oh, the place is alive with history; only you must let me know if I
+bore you with too many stories."
+
+"You could never bore me." Priscilla laid her hand affectionately on
+Amy's. She was an undemonstrative girl, though her likes and dislikes
+were well known to herself. But for her fondness for Amy she would
+hardly have made one of this summer party.
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER III
+
+  TOWARD METEGHAN
+
+
+Amy rested her hand on her bicycle, waiting to mount.
+
+"I did not think that it would be quite so lonely; but still, you're
+sure it's perfectly safe?"
+
+"Oh, yes, Miss, and not a long way." There was a trace of accent in the
+speech of the man who replied to Amy's question. He had just deposited a
+pouch of mail in the vehicle in which sat Mrs. Redmond, Priscilla, and
+Martine, and had turned to adjust the harness of his meek-looking horse.
+
+"You are not afraid, are you?" Priscilla's voice was anxious. "I wish
+that I had brought my bicycle, and could ride with you."
+
+"You _do_ look like a maiden all forlorn,--spruce trees to right of you,
+spruce trees to left of you. Excuse my smiling;" and Martine's smile
+lengthened itself into a decided giggle.
+
+"Don't," whispered Priscilla. "The driver will think that you are
+laughing at him." It always surprised her that Martine should show so
+little respect for Amy, who was several years her senior.
+
+"Amy," interposed Mrs. Redmond, "do you object to our driving away and
+leaving you? Doubtless if we tried, we could find some kind of a
+conveyance to carry you and the bicycle."
+
+"Not till after dinner, Madame." Their driver turned toward Mrs.
+Redmond, lifting his hat politely,--"Every horse is away now."
+
+"The only thing for Amy to do is to let you hold her on your lap,
+Priscilla, while I take the bicycle on mine." At which absurd suggestion
+even Priscilla was forced to laugh; for the vehicle sent down to
+Meteghan station for her Majesty's mail was as narrow and shallow as any
+carriage could well be that made even a pretence of holding four
+persons. But with the deftness that comes with experience the driver had
+managed to find room not only for his passengers, but for their suit
+case and bags, for several packages that had come by train, and finally
+for his great pouch of mail.
+
+"There must be a perfect cavern under the seat," whispered Martine to
+Mrs. Redmond. "I am sure that we could put Amy there."
+
+But even as she spoke Amy had mounted, and was up the hill ahead before
+the driver had taken his seat. Yet although Amy had taken the hill so
+well, she was soon out of breath. The road was soft, and the hill
+steeper than she had thought, and when a little chubby boy darted
+directly toward her, she slipped from her wheel and bent down to talk to
+the little fellow.
+
+To her surprise, at first he did not respond to her "What's your name?"
+but hung his head shyly. Then it occurred to her that he did not
+understand, and when she repeated her question in French his "Louis,
+Mademoiselle," showed that her venture had been right.
+
+"Does every one here speak French, Monsieur?" she asked, as the carriage
+approached.
+
+"Yes, all," responded the driver, stopping beside her for a moment.
+
+"And no English?"
+
+"Oh, many, though some have no English."
+
+Martine and Priscilla praised the bright eyes of little Louis. Mrs.
+Redmond handed him an illustrated paper that she had brought from the
+train, and the driver started up his horse.
+
+"You follow me," he called back to Amy.
+
+"Yes, yes," cried Amy, laughing, knowing that she could soon pass him;
+but while she loitered to talk with the child, the carriage was soon so
+far ahead that she could barely discern the fluttering of the long veil
+that Martine held out to stream in the wind like a flag.
+
+After leaving little Louis, Amy pedalled along leisurely. At first she
+passed only one or two houses, but each of them offered her something to
+think of. In front of one, two or three barefooted children were playing
+hop-scotch, with the limits marked out in lines drawn by a stick on the
+dusty road. "I should think they'd stub their toes," she thought, as she
+watched them, "but they're so well-dressed, except their feet, that I
+suppose they prefer to go without shoes."
+
+In the doorway of a second cottage, set like the other, close to the
+road, a mother was standing with a baby in her arms, and a tiny little
+girl clinging to her skirts. These children, like all the others she had
+seen, had the brightest of black eyes. Beside the door was a well,
+boarded in, with a bucket beside it.
+
+The woman looked so friendly that Amy stopped for a drink of water, and,
+making use of her best French, she spent a few minutes talking with the
+woman.
+
+A fine team of oxen hauling an empty hay wagon, beside which walked a
+strapping youth in blue jeans and a flapping straw hat, was the next
+reminder to Amy that she was indeed in a foreign country. After she had
+returned the cheerful _bonjour_ of two or three bareheaded women whom
+she met trudging along toward a hayfield, Amy was recalled to herself.
+Her mother and the others were out of sight. "The driver will think that
+I am not even following;" and making good speed up a long, gradual hill,
+she saw the carriage waiting for her some distance ahead.
+
+"This way, this way," shouted Martine. The driver waved his whip toward
+the left, and when Amy caught up, they had changed their direction, and
+she could feel the soft fresh breeze blowing in from St. Mary's Bay.
+
+"Did you ever see such a clear blue sky?"
+
+"Oh, yes, Martine,"--Amy was thinking of cloudless days on the North
+Shore,--"but none bluer, perhaps."
+
+"But it seems so foreign," interposed Priscilla, in a tone that
+expressed some disapproval of foreign things. "I'm not sure that I like
+it."
+
+"It seems different from other places, though I can't tell why."
+
+"This child is part of the why. Just look at him." Martine pointed to a
+little boy of about eight, dressed in black, with deep embroidered
+ruffles of white falling about his wrists, and a broad ruffled collar on
+his coat. He wore a hat that was something like a tam-o'-shanter, and
+something like a mortar-board, and he carried a large slate under his
+arm.
+
+"He's evidently on his way home from school. See the crowd of children
+behind him."
+
+As the children drew nearer, some stood still, the better to see the
+party of strangers. Thus the latter had a chance to note various
+peculiarities of dress and general appearance. One or two little girls
+wore sunbonnets, one or two wore hats, and several had on their heads
+black _couvre-chefs_, that made them look like little old women. The
+sturdy little boys in blouses were more like other boys, and they indeed
+were too busy racing and tumbling over one another to pay attention to
+the travellers.
+
+"Amy," exclaimed Martine, "you should have kept beside us all the way,
+we have been hearing such wonderful stories. Down there by the bridge
+there are several descendants of the Baron d'Entremont, and other people
+whose ancestors came from France hundreds of years ago."
+
+"The Baron d'Entremont!" Amy felt a thrill of pleasure. Surely that was
+one of the names that Fritz had mentioned in connection with Pubnico,
+and if she too could come across some of his descendants, how delightful
+this would be!
+
+The houses were now nearer together than they had been. At the right
+there was a glimmer of blue water. On the bridge at the foot of the
+decline Amy dismounted to watch the men loading with lumber a little
+schooner at the wharf near-by. The carriage drew up before the tiny
+post-office, where part of the mail was left. A gray-bearded man in the
+door of a small shop caught Amy's eye. With his broad-brimmed hat, loose
+trousers, and slippers,--yes, slippers,--he reminded her of pictures she
+had seen of old Frenchmen. She longed to snap her kodak, to catch him
+just as he stood there, leaning on his cane. But she did not dare, there
+was something so very venerable and dignified in his appearance.
+
+Then her eye fell on the name d'Entremont over the shop. Martine and
+Priscilla joined her. Martine was in great spirits.
+
+"Your mother is writing a post-card in the office. So, while we are
+waiting, let us go in here and try the d'Entremont brand of ginger ale.
+They're sure to have some, and one doesn't often have the chance to
+patronize the descendant of a French nobleman."
+
+Within the dim little shop two or three men were lounging near the
+counter, who probably said to themselves, "Oh, those foolish Americans!"
+
+But their manner showed no disrespect as they moved aside, and the
+proprietor made one or two pleasant remarks as he served the trio.
+
+A few minutes later Amy was again on her bicycle, the others had taken
+their places in the carriage, and the little village was behind them.
+The large farms that they had seen near Meteghan station gave place to
+small gardens. The houses were near together, and they were painted in
+colors that drew many exclamations of approval from Martine. "This is
+great! I never dreamed that I should see a lavender cottage with green
+trimmings,--and what a shade of yellow for a house! Oh, Mrs. Redmond, I
+hope that our water-colors will last the trip. I'm afraid that we'll use
+them all up, painting the wonders of Meteghan. This is Meteghan, isn't
+it?"
+
+"Yes, Mees," replied the driver. "It was all Meteghan, from the station,
+only that was a different name for the other post-office. But there is
+our church; this is the true village."
+
+"Star of the Sea" was an imposing building, but the journey since
+leaving Yarmouth had been long, and they were too eager now to reach
+their destination to give the church more than a passing glance.
+
+Amy's quick eye had noted the swinging sign of the little inn not so
+very far beyond the church, and, hastening ahead, she was the first to
+be welcomed by Madame, wife of their driver, who was also proprietor of
+the small hotel.
+
+Welcomed with ceremonious politeness, they were soon made to feel
+perfectly at home. When the question was pressed, they all admitted that
+they were very hungry. In the pleasant rooms to which they were shown,
+they had barely time to make themselves ready when a loud bell called
+them to dinner. As the four entered the dining-room, they saw that there
+were several other guests at the long table. One, a stout man with a
+fondness for jokes, proved to be the agent for a millinery house in
+Halifax. There were one or two others who said so little that even Amy
+could not tell whether they were French or English; two middle-aged
+ladies near Mrs. Redmond quickly let her know that they were teachers
+from Connecticut, now for the first time making a tour of the provinces.
+They had sailed from New York to Halifax for the sake of the sea voyage,
+and had come down slowly through Windsor, Grand Pre, and Annapolis, and
+were enthusiastic about all these places.
+
+"But if you can," one of them concluded, "you must have a few days at
+Little Brook,--Petit Ruisseau, as some call it. It's the centre of
+everything interesting in Clare; it's really where the first Acadians
+landed after the expulsion, and only a short distance from Point a
+l'Eglise."
+
+Amy listened eagerly. Here evidently was some one who could tell her
+much that she wished to hear about this new country, and later, when
+they were all outside on the little piazza at the front, she learned
+what she wished to know. On consulting her mother, they decided that
+after a day at Meteghan they would go on to Little Brook, and spend at
+least two or three days there--if possible at the Hotel Paris, which the
+teachers recommended.
+
+Missing Priscilla and Martine, Amy found them in the little
+sitting-room.
+
+"Tell me," whispered Martine, "aren't you disappointed?"
+
+"Disappointed with what?"
+
+"Why, in this house--this room especially; it's so--so unforeign."
+
+Amy glanced around her,--at the bright-flowered carpet; the
+marble-topped table, on which was displayed a bouquet of wax-flowers
+under a glass globe; on the two machine-made oak rockers; and then on
+the pictures.
+
+"Where do you suppose they found that picture of the Queen with such
+very pink cheeks, and a mouth as small as a pin, and those wax-figure
+princelings--and those saints? Do you suppose Madame and her children
+know the names of them all?"
+
+At that moment Madame herself entered the door.
+
+"You like pretty things. Ah, you must see my rugs, if you would care
+to."
+
+"Yes, indeed," Amy replied politely.
+
+"Then come with me. They are in my room,--the best,--and the American
+ladies always admire them."
+
+So the two girls followed their landlady upstairs, where she proudly
+displayed rug after rug of wonderful design and still more wonderful
+color. Martine dared not say what she thought,--that it seemed a pity
+that so much time had been put into things that could only dazzle rather
+than please the average beholder. Amy conscientiously praised those that
+could be properly praised,--for here and there was a rug of really
+artistic design,--and Priscilla gave an exclamation of delight as she
+noticed on the bed a really exquisite spread.
+
+"You like that?" asked Madame. "It is good work, all by hand; only two
+or tree women can now make them. My old aunt who made that is dead,
+but--"
+
+"It is like the finest Marseilles, only I never saw so beautiful a
+pattern. I did not know people could make such things by hand."
+
+"On a loom, surely yes; there are only one or two in Meteghan, but you
+can see one work, if you wish, at Alexandre Babet's."
+
+"There, that will be something to see! Is it far?" cried Martine.
+
+"Oh, no. You can find it quickly."
+
+"After we are rested," responded Amy. "The sun is still hot. Your rugs
+and the spread are beautiful."
+
+As the girls sat down on the piazza, Priscilla turned to Amy. "You did
+not think those rugs really beautiful?"
+
+Amy did not resent this slight touch of reproach, even though Priscilla
+was so much her junior.
+
+"Yes, and no. Some of them were beautiful even from my point of view.
+They all were from that of their owner, and since she desired to please
+us by showing them, it seemed only fair to reward her with a word of
+praise."
+
+"But if every one praises her she will go on using those terrible
+aniline colors. They made my head ache just to look at them."
+
+"Oh, Priscilla, you are so precise I'll call you 'Prim' as well as
+'Prissie.'"
+
+"_No_ one else calls me 'Prissie,' Martine."
+
+"No one else dares tease you. Probably your little brothers and sisters
+are frightened to death of you, and then, because you are the oldest,
+you have always been made to think that you are absolutely perfect."
+
+"Oh, Martine!"
+
+"There, there, I know just how it is. It's so in our family; I have an
+elder brother, and he has always been held up as a model, although,
+between you and me, he's far from perfect. It just keeps me busy,
+showing him his faults. So, Miss Prissie, if you are too old-maidish
+I'll have to show you yours."
+
+Priscilla was helpless under Martine's rapid fire of words. In her
+moments of reflection it surprised her that a girl whom six months
+before she had not even heard of, should now venture to say things to
+her that no one in her own family would dare to say.
+
+A little later, Amy and Priscilla and Martine set out to see the loom
+that made the fine quilts. Priscilla had desired to postpone the visit
+until next morning. "It would be better to rest now."
+
+"I'm tired resting," protested Martine. "Unless we move on, I will go
+indoors, and play doleful things on the melodeon. You don't know what I
+am when I'm melancholy."
+
+Unmoved by Martine, when Amy showed that it was better not to spend the
+whole afternoon listlessly, Priscilla objected no longer.
+
+The Babet house was a ten minutes' walk up the street. After mistaking
+one or two houses for the one they were seeking, their third trial
+brought a tall, long-bearded man to the door who answered to the name of
+Alexandre Babet.
+
+"We hear that some one here--your wife, perhaps,--makes those beautiful
+quilts."
+
+"Oh, yes," responded Alexandre, in fair English. "They are good quilts,
+and we have a loom."
+
+Martine pinched Priscilla's arm. "I'm disappointed; I thought that he'd
+speak French."
+
+"Come in, come in;" and Alexandre showed them into the neatest of
+sitting-rooms,--neat, but painfully bare. It was brightened, to be sure,
+by one or two gay pictures of saints in brilliant-colored garments, and
+by two or three geraniums in flower on the window. But the wooden floor
+was unpainted, and on it was only one rug, and there was little
+furniture besides the high dresser and a long table.
+
+Alexandre went off to summon his wife, and soon she came in from the
+kitchen, accompanied by another, whom Alexandre introduced as his
+sister. The girls soon became embarrassed under the piercing gaze of
+their black eyes. The women wore dark calico gowns with little shawls
+over their shoulders, and their _couvre-chefs_ were bound closely to
+their heads. Neither of them understood English, nor spoke it. But
+Alexandre proved as talkative as any two women. Moreover, he
+occasionally translated his own words into French, and in the same way
+made the women understand what the young American girls said--to the
+great amusement of Amy and Martine. Priscilla sat solemnly through the
+conversation, as if she found something pathetic in the aspect of the
+women.
+
+During a moment of silence, when the room seemed rather close and
+uncomfortable,--for the windows were shut, and the blinds were
+drawn,--there came a gentle tapping on the door. Madame Babet sprang to
+her feet.
+
+"No, no, sit still; she can come in." Then turning to the others,
+Alexandre added, "It is Yvonne, our little one. Come in, Yvonne," he
+called in a louder tone; "here are Americans."
+
+Upon this the door was pushed open, and a little girl wearing a pink
+gingham gown and a white sunbonnet, entered slowly, holding one hand
+outstretched, as if not quite sure of herself. Then, walking directly
+toward Madame Babet, she slipped to the floor beside her, and laid her
+head on her lap.
+
+The girls looked from her to Alexandre to read an explanation in his
+face, and he, understanding, raised his hand to his eyes.
+
+"Blind!" exclaimed Martine, involuntarily. "Poor little thing!"
+
+"She understands English," said the man, warningly; "she does not wish
+pity."
+
+"I see much," said Yvonne, proudly, "when the light does not glare. I
+see the American ladies. This one is pretty;" and rising, she made her
+way carefully to Martine, and laid her hand confidingly in hers.
+
+Martine's color deepened; she felt a great tenderness toward the girl,
+and she raised the little hand to her lips.
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER IV
+
+  YVONNE
+
+
+"She is adopted," said Alexandre, "but we know no difference. She calls
+us her parents. Her mother and father are dead, and she makes her home
+with us since she was a baby. When I get my gold out she shall sing, oh,
+so beautifully."
+
+"Your gold out?" queried Amy.
+
+"Ah, yes! Back here on my farm, which looks all rocks, there is much
+gold underneath. I know not how to get it out, but some day I shall find
+a miner who knows. See!"
+
+From a drawer in the dresser he brought out two pieces of quartz, which
+he asked the girls to look at carefully. "It is gold underneath, sans
+doute, and, Mees, if you know a miner in Boston to study this, he could
+have some of my gold when it is dug out, but as for me I know not how to
+get it out, and poor Yvonne cannot have her music."
+
+Gradually the girls gathered that Yvonne had a voice "sweeter than an
+angel's," and that Alexandre had set his heart on giving her a musical
+education. His plans soared far beyond the Western continent. He would
+send her to Paris, to Italy, and she should astonish the world. The most
+of this conversation or monologue took place in the little field back of
+the house that Alexandre dignified as "my farm." The soil was poor and
+rocky, and evidently he had hard work to raise the few patches of
+vegetables needed for his family. There was a tiny orchard,--it had not
+been an Acadian farm without that. The trees were knotty and scrubby,
+and Amy was not surprised that the prospect of a gold-mine offered even
+more than the usual attractions to the visionary Alexandre. But Amy,
+though she knew nothing of mineralogy, thought it most unlikely that a
+gold-mine lay hidden beneath the stony surface in which Alexandre had
+dug a deep, deep hole with a vague idea that it was a shaft. Indeed, Amy
+felt quite sure that even a mineralogist--for such was the meaning of
+his "miner"--would give him little encouragement. Yet as she looked at
+the slender figure of Yvonne walking ahead with Martine, she felt deep
+sympathy with his ambition.
+
+Evidently Yvonne, in spite of her infirmity, was the pride of the little
+household. Her print gown of a delicate pink cambric was spotlessly
+neat, and her white sunbonnet had been laundered with the greatest care.
+Though much shorter and slighter than Martine, the latter was surprised
+to find that the little Acadienne was hardly a year younger, and that it
+was true, as Alexandre said, that she ought soon to have the chance to
+study--if--and here was the question--if her voice was what he pictured
+it.
+
+"Miss Amy," murmured Priscilla, half impatiently, "I thought that we
+came to see the loom."
+
+"Indeed we did, but these people have been so interesting that we have
+spent too much time out here." Then turning toward their host, who had
+fallen back, she asked him to show them the loom.
+
+"Ah, yes, with the greatest pleasure,--the loom, and the beautiful
+quilts that my wife makes, and the lace of Yvonne. The mine did almost
+make me forget, but we shall go in quick."
+
+When they were again in the house he led them up a steep flight of
+stairs to an unfinished room, with great rafters overhead and two small
+windows admitting little light.
+
+There at the loom sat his silent wife, and beside her stood the equally
+silent sister. So it fell on Alexandre to explain the workings of the
+great wooden frame. While he was talking, however, the attention of all
+the girls flagged a little. Amy had never been interested in machinery,
+and made no pretence of understanding it. Priscilla was impressed by the
+quaintness of the scene, but she was weary from her two or three days of
+travelling, and her mind wandered while the voluble Frenchman was
+talking; and Martine, fully occupied with Yvonne, paid little heed to
+any one else. Nevertheless they were all sufficiently impressed with the
+skill with which the rather dull-looking wife of Alexandre managed warp
+and woof, and produced, even as they were looking at her, a fragment of
+pattern.
+
+While Alexandre was in the midst of one of his speeches Priscilla
+whispered to Amy, and Amy, as if at her suggestion, turned to Alexandre.
+
+"We cannot stay much longer," she said politely, "and we are delighted
+to have seen this loom, so that we can understand how these quilts are
+made. It's really quite wonderful, your wife is so clever;" and she
+paused for a moment to watch the busy fingers now flying in and out
+among the threads. "But we came particularly to see some of the quilts."
+
+"Oh, yes, Mees, certainly, we will show you quick;" then with an eye to
+business,--"perhaps you will want to buy."
+
+"Yes," said Amy, "perhaps we may. Come, Priscilla; come, Martine."
+
+The two women followed the girls downstairs, and when they were again in
+the little front room, from a wooden chest in the corner they brought
+out a large quilt of much more beautiful design than any they had seen.
+
+"I must have that," cried Martine in delight; "it is just what I want."
+
+Then, when a second was shown, she was equally enthusiastic, and then a
+third was laid on top of the pile.
+
+"The money from the quilts is saved for Yvonne," Alexandre whispered to
+Amy, and the latter did not protest when four of the quilts were laid
+aside for Martine. Amy also chose one for herself, but Priscilla,
+although she praised them, expressed no inclination to buy. Only when
+some narrow hand-made lace was brought out from the chest did she become
+enthusiastic, or as nearly enthusiastic as was possible for Priscilla,
+and Yvonne blushed under her praise.
+
+"It is an old art," the little blind girl explained; "it was my
+grandmother taught me, and her grandmother taught her, and so on back to
+the days of old France."
+
+"But how can she do it? She is blind!" exclaimed Amy.
+
+"Oh, not all blind, and not always! She can see a little, though
+everything is dim, and the lace it is knitted,--not pillow lace, like
+some,--and she can make her fingers go, oh, so quickly! Ah, she has much
+talent, the little Yvonne, and you must hear her sing."
+
+So Yvonne sang to them standing there in the middle of the room, without
+notes and unaccompanied, and the plaintiveness of the tone and the
+richness of the voice drew tears from the eyes of the three American
+girls, while father and mother and aunt were lost in admiration as they
+gazed at the slender figure in the pale pink gown.
+
+Hardly had she finished when Martine, jumping up, impulsively threw her
+arms about Yvonne's neck.
+
+"You must go back with me to the hotel. You must sing to me again. There
+is a melodeon in the parlor, and I will accompany you. Please, Mr.
+Babet, can she go back with us?"
+
+"It is an honor for Yvonne," he replied politely; "I will ask her
+mother."
+
+"Oh, let me; I will make her say 'Yes'"; and in a few words of rapid
+French Martine asked that Yvonne might go to the hotel as her guest, to
+stay to tea. The mother at once assented, and both of the silent women
+were in a flutter of excitement as they accompanied Yvonne to her
+bedroom to make some additions to her dress.
+
+"Ah," said Alexandre, "she has never been inside the hotel; it will seem
+very grand to her."
+
+Then Yvonne, kissing them all,--the mother, the aunt, and finally the
+tall father,--turned her back to the cottage, and with beaming face
+leaned on Martine's arm as Amy led the way.
+
+A little distance down the road they saw a man standing by a gate.
+
+"Good-day, little one," he called; "where are you going?"
+
+"To the hotel, Uncle Placide."
+
+"How happens it?"
+
+"These American ladies have asked me. I am to have tea."
+
+"Ah, well, she is a dear little one, and you are good to her."
+
+The whole party had now halted in front of the gate, and these words
+seemed to be particularly addressed to Amy; for, standing directly in
+front of her, Placide lifted his hat. "Won't you enter?" he asked
+pleasantly.
+
+"But, uncle," remonstrated Yvonne, "we have no time; we go to the
+hotel."
+
+"Oh, but there is much time; I have been in the States, and I like to
+talk to the strangers, so enter my garden at least, ladies, to taste of
+my cherries."
+
+There was nothing to do but enter the garden. At the mention of cherries
+Yvonne indeed had seemed more willing to halt on her way to the hotel,
+and the others, as Placide thrust upon them liberal handfuls of his
+great crimson cherries, did not regret the delay.
+
+"You are from Boston," he said, after Amy had mentioned her home. "Ah, I
+worked in Boston, that is, in Lowell, which was the same, and then I
+came home when I had saved enough to buy a house. It is not so gay here
+as in Lowell, but it is happier, and I can make a pleasanter living. I
+never did like the mill, but the pay was good."
+
+"What do you do now, Mr. Placide?" asked Amy.
+
+"Oh, I fish. The sea is good to us Acadians; it is better than the
+factory. One gets health here as well as fish, and fish enough to keep
+the house fed. So, with my potatoes and my cherries, I am rich." Then,
+with an afterthought,--"But I hope sometime that little Yvonne can go to
+Boston, where there is much music. She could study and be great singer,
+for the voice it needs teaching. I know that, because I have been in the
+States where people study so much."
+
+The girls found it hard to leave Placide, for he was even more fluent
+than Alexandre, and his years in the States had given him a certain
+amount of information about things American, and he was evidently fond
+of displaying what he knew. But at last they managed to say good-bye,
+and continued their way down the road.
+
+"I am tired," sighed Priscilla, as the four stood at the door of the
+little hotel.
+
+"Then let us sit here on the piazza. Would this suit you, Yvonne?"
+
+Yvonne turned toward Amy with a smile. "I like whatever the other ladies
+like; it is all good for me."
+
+"Oh, yes," added Martine, "it will be great fun to sit here and watch
+the passers-by. Things are rushing this afternoon; two persons are
+entering that shop across the way, and I can count three ox-carts and
+two buggies in sight. Where do you suppose the buggies are going?"
+
+"Perhaps half a mile up the road; perhaps to Yarmouth. You know there is
+a continuous street along St. Mary's Bay, about forty miles from
+Yarmouth to Weymouth."
+
+"One street forty miles long!" Amy's statement roused Priscilla from her
+lethargy.
+
+"The young lady says true," interposed Madame, their landlady, who had
+stepped out on the piazza. "Forty miles, and all Acadians! Is it not
+marvellous that they have grown to be so much, when the English treated
+them so cruelly, long, long ago?"
+
+"Ah, yes, Evangeline," responded Martine, politely.
+
+"Evangeline never came back," said the literal Priscilla.
+
+"That is true," assented the landlady. "But there is more than
+Evangeline to tell about. Little Yvonne here knows many tales."
+
+Yvonne sighed softly. "Ah, yes, very many. But Evangeline lived not in
+Meteghan. Her country was Grand Pre, far north. You will go there,
+without doubt?"
+
+"Yes, Yvonne, we shall spend a week there."
+
+"There are not so many stories about Meteghan, for no one lived here
+until after the exile."
+
+"I remember one," interposed Amy; "the story of Aubrey, who was lost in
+the woods. At least, some writers say that he was lost in the Meteghan
+woods, others that it all happened near Digby."
+
+"Tell us the story, Amy, and we can decide for ourselves where it was."
+
+"How like Martine!" thought Priscilla, "as if a girl could decide where
+to place an historic event!"
+
+"After all," continued Amy, "it's only a little story, but it tells of
+something that happened on that first expedition to St. Mary's Bay, when
+De Monts brought his vessels here in 1604, and Champlain named this
+stretch of water, as he named so many other places. One member of the
+expedition was Aubrey, a priest, with an intelligent love of nature. A
+small party went off from the vessel to look for ore along the shores of
+St. Mary's Bay. The priest was one of the number, but when the boat was
+ready to return he could not be found. He had left his sword in the
+woods, and had gone back to look for it. For four days the others
+searched for him without success, and suspicion fell on one or two
+Huguenots in the party, in whose company he was last seen. With one of
+them he had had some rather violent discussions on religious matters. To
+the credit of all, however, no harm was done to the Huguenots in spite
+of the suspicion. After sailing without Aubrey, the party went farther
+north, and it was nearly three weeks before they returned to the
+neighborhood where he had disappeared."
+
+"Did they find him?" asked Martine, somewhat impatiently. Amy was to
+learn that Martine's temperament led her always to desire the climax
+almost before she had heard the story itself.
+
+"Yes, they found him; for when they were some distance from shore they
+saw something that looked like a flag waving. A boat was sent out, and
+to the delight of those who went in it, they saw that the flag was a
+handkerchief tied to a hat on a stick, that the missing Aubrey was
+holding to attract their attention. Looking for his sword, the good
+priest had missed his way, and for seventeen days he had wandered in the
+woods, living on berries and roots."
+
+"How delighted he must have been to see his friends!"
+
+"Not more delighted than they to see him; for had he not been found, the
+consequences for the suspected Huguenots might have been serious."
+
+"It is Yvonne's turn to tell us a story," said Martine, "but we all need
+to rest before tea, and I want to tell your mother about the quilts. If
+she disapproves of my buying so many--"
+
+"I suppose that you will send them back;" Amy's tone contradicted her
+words.
+
+"Oh, no; I will not send them back. But I do wonder what I shall do with
+them."
+
+Yvonne and Martine went indoors, and Amy and Priscilla soon followed.
+Amy prepared her mother for Yvonne by telling her all that they had
+learned about the little girl.
+
+"I won't discourage Martine's altruism," said Mrs. Redmond. "Her
+impulsiveness in the past has sometimes led her into trouble, but
+Martine herself will be benefited by having this warm interest in
+another. As to the quilts, though we cannot carry them about with us,
+they can be easily expressed home, and the duty will not be large."
+
+After tea the whole party sat in the little parlor, to listen to Yvonne.
+Her first two or three songs were without accompaniment. They were
+plaintive songs with French words, and unfamiliar to the Americans who
+were listening. But a chance question revealed the fact that Yvonne was
+also familiar with much music that Amy knew well. Thereupon Martine
+suggested that if Amy would improvise some accompaniments Yvonne might
+be heard to even better advantage. So Amy, seated there at the melodeon,
+played, and Yvonne continued to sing, and some of the music was rendered
+with a dramatic power that surprised all who listened.
+
+"Ah, she will be great some day," said the landlady, listening
+enraptured to the bird-like tones. "How it had pleased her poor mother
+to know that she was to be a singer!"
+
+While Yvonne sang, various plans were rushing through Martine's busy
+brain. "Yvonne shall have a parlor organ, Yvonne shall have teachers,
+Yvonne shall have her eyes examined by a good oculist. Evidently she is
+not blind,--not really blind."
+
+While she was thinking and planning, her eyes never left the face of the
+little French girl, held there by the wonderfully happy expression which
+lit it. Yvonne's wide, brown eyes, her half-parted lips, the little
+brown tendrils curling around her forehead, all combined to make a
+picture that impressed itself strongly on all in the room. Moreover, the
+gentle and unassuming manner of the young singer, as she received the
+praise showered on her, completely won the hearts of all. Or perhaps it
+would be more nearly true to say that if Priscilla's heart was not
+completely won, she at least had begun to see some reason in Martine's
+infatuation.
+
+"Is it not wonderful?" asked Martine of Mrs. Redmond.
+
+"She certainly sings remarkably well--for a little girl."
+
+Martine looked up quickly at Mrs. Redmond. Was the latter able to find
+some flaw in what she herself considered altogether perfect? She had no
+time just then to question her, for Yvonne herself might overhear the
+reply, and besides, the young girl was about to sing again, and Martine
+could not spare a note.
+
+When at last the tall figure of Alexandre Babet appeared in the doorway,
+they knew that the music must end, and with a protracted farewell from
+Martine, Yvonne and her adopted father started for home before nine
+o'clock.
+
+"Yvonne did not seem as much overcome by the grandeur of the hotel as
+Alexandre prophesied," remarked Amy, as the girls went upstairs.
+
+"Yvonne would never be overpowered by anything," responded Martine; "I
+don't believe she'd be surprised by the Auditorium."
+
+Whereat both Amy and Priscilla laughed loudly. "To compare small things
+with great," said Priscilla, "of course she wouldn't be impressed by
+this hotel. Why, it's smaller than a summer boarding-house."
+
+"I wonder what Alexandre meant?" mused Martine.
+
+"Oh, it was only his way of trying to make you think that you were doing
+Yvonne a great favor by asking her here," responded Amy.
+
+"Yes, the French way of pretending that things are what they are not,"
+added Priscilla, as if the word "French" comprised the very essence of
+deceit.
+
+"Take care," retorted Martine. "I never dared tell you before, but I had
+a French great-great-grandmother."
+
+Although Priscilla made no reply to this, her inward comment was, "That
+accounts for many things that have made me wonder."
+
+At breakfast the next morning, before Martine had come down to the
+table, Amy asked her mother what she really thought of Yvonne's singing.
+
+"I do not profess to be a judge of that kind of thing, but the child
+seems to have a fine natural voice, as well as a musical nature. Yet,
+like all other singers, she must have her tones properly placed, and she
+is still too young to profit by expensive musical instruction. It is my
+own opinion that it would be better for her to sing little for the next
+few years. Some of the things that she sang last evening were beyond
+her, and there is danger of her forcing her voice, and so injuring it."
+
+"Have you said this to Martine?"
+
+"No, for Martine is the type of girl who profits most by finding out
+things for herself. She will learn gradually that everything cannot be
+done at once for Yvonne."
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER V
+
+  NEW PEOPLE
+
+
+"I don't like to."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"It seems strange. They may not care to have us visit them."
+
+"We can only try. If they turn us away why, that is the worst we need
+expect." So, drawing Priscilla's arm within hers, Amy led her up the
+narrow flagged walk toward the Convent School.
+
+A sister wearing a glazed bonnet with a long veil was trimming
+rosebushes in the garden bed close to the house.
+
+"Yes, surely, we are glad to have visitors. The school itself is closed
+now, for the girls have their holidays, but you can see all there is.
+Excuse me for a moment and I will be with you."
+
+In a short time she had joined them in the little hallway to which they
+had been admitted by another sister.
+
+"Would the ladies care to see the chapel?"
+
+"Ladies" had a pleasant sound to Priscilla, and she put aside her
+prejudice against entering churches not of her own faith.
+
+The chapel was simply a large room suitably fitted with altar and seats.
+It had no color, but everything was daintily white, with here and there
+a touch of gold.
+
+The neat dormitory, the pleasant schoolroom, and the spotless
+cleanliness of the whole house appealed to Priscilla, and to her
+surprise she found herself asking the sister questions about her work.
+
+"We are Sisters of Charity, and our headquarters are in Halifax," the
+good sister said gently. "The school is but a little part of our work.
+We go in and out among the sick and the troubled. The Acadians are good
+to their own, and no one need suffer here; but some will make mistakes,
+and some suffer through the fault of others, and often the priest and
+the sisters alone can set things right."
+
+Soon they had seen all that there was to see, and when the sister,
+looking at the clock, regretted that she must leave them to visit a sick
+woman, both girls asked if they might not walk with her.
+
+"With pleasure," she replied. "Indeed, I would take you to the house
+where I am going, were it not that this woman is too sick to see
+visitors."
+
+"We should like to see another Acadian house," said Amy; "we have
+visited only that of Alexandre Babet, and that was so plain."
+
+"Ah, you have been at Alexandre Babet's. Then you have seen the little
+Yvonne. Is she not charming?"
+
+"Yes, charming and talented. We have heard her sing."
+
+"Yvonne sings sweetly. We have taught her some music here, but nature
+has done the most for her, and she is so patient about her eyes."
+
+"Do you think that she will be blind?" asked Amy, anxiously.
+
+"Oh, no, not wholly blind, though it is largely a question of doctors.
+This came to her through an illness a few years ago. She did not have
+the right care. They did not understand. But there is always hope, and I
+think that she is no worse this year or two."
+
+"We have a friend who has taken a great fancy to Yvonne. She preferred
+to go up to Alexandre Babet's this morning rather than to come
+sightseeing with us."
+
+"Yvonne wins the heart of all so quickly, and her good father and
+mother, though adopted, would do everything for her if they could. Poor
+Alexandre looks for a gold-mine."
+
+"Yes, we know," and Amy smiled; "but I am glad to know that there is
+hope for Yvonne's eyes."
+
+"Ah, yes, there is hope. Poor child! She has had a strange history."
+
+At that moment two small girls crossed their path. They looked like
+little old women, with their shawls and _couvre-chefs_. The sister laid
+her hand on the shoulder of one of them.
+
+"Where are you going?"
+
+The girls hung their heads shamefaced, and would not meet the sister's
+gaze.
+
+"Ah, you know; go home and get your hats."
+
+The children ran off without looking back, and the sister turned with a
+smile to Amy and Priscilla.
+
+"You see they are foolish. When they are at school I tell them they must
+wear hats every day; but in holidays they will put on _couvre-chefs_. It
+is an old fashion that I think not good. When they are married--ah! it
+is too bad--at once they put on the _couvre-chef_, the very girls that I
+took such trouble with. It takes long to get the Acadians away from the
+old fashions. But they are good people."
+
+"We should like to see more of them," said Amy. "We should like to see
+another Acadian house. That of Alexandre Babet did not seem typical."
+
+"Then I should be glad to take you to see one. Why, here we are, just
+opposite the house of Madame Doucet, who speaks some English, and with
+her daughter you would see two excellent Acadians. Would you care to
+call there? I will introduce you, though I must go on farther."
+
+Priscilla looked up in protest, but when Amy expressed pleasure at the
+prospect of making the visit, she said nothing in opposition. The
+sister, saying a word or two more in praise of Madame Doucet, and
+leading them across the street, knocked briskly on the door of a small
+pink cottage.
+
+This was one of the brightest of the brightly painted dwellings that Amy
+had noticed when on her wheel the day before,--a pink with pale-green
+trimmings. When the sister had introduced them to the heavy-browed young
+woman who came to the door, she left them, to go farther on her errand
+of mercy.
+
+The young woman, after welcoming the girls heartily, led them to the
+kitchen in the rear, into which the bright morning sunshine was pouring,
+while a tiny canary in its cage sang cheerfully.
+
+In the rocking-chair near a window sat an elderly woman, whom the
+daughter introduced as her mother. She was stouter and stronger looking
+than Madame Babet, and although she could hardly be called of ruddy
+complexion, she was far less sallow. Her face showed signs of age, but
+her hair had hardly begun to turn gray, and she welcomed the two girls
+so cordially that they were at once at their ease.
+
+Amy, while the daughter exchanged a few words with her mother, glanced
+around the room. Its floor was partially covered with a square of
+oilcloth, and the most conspicuous article of furniture was the large,
+highly polished range, on which were several bright pans and kettles of
+tin. There were religious pictures on the wall, and one or two
+rocking-chairs. Evidently it was sitting-room as well as kitchen. A set
+of shelves in the corner laden with dishes attracted Amy's attention.
+Madame Doucet, observing Amy's interest, for she had stepped toward the
+shelves, said to her kindly,--
+
+"Ah, go close, eef you please; you may touch them."
+
+Amy gave an exclamation of delight as she took down a pitcher of copper
+lustre shining like burnished gold.
+
+"How beautiful! I wish I had one like it."
+
+"Ah, that is not to sell; it is family what you call it?"
+
+"Heirloom," suggested Priscilla.
+
+"But yes, that is so, for my grandmere had it long ago. She was daughter
+to an exile."
+
+Amy handled the pitcher carefully as she set it back on the shelf. Few
+of the other dishes were china, though one delicate cup and saucer Amy
+pronounced older even than the pitcher.
+
+When Priscilla complimented the two women on their English, they beamed
+with pride, and explained that they had made a great effort to learn it
+while living in Yarmouth, where the older woman's husband had worked in
+a mill.
+
+"But we see not many English, so we have not much chance to practise.
+That how the sister send you here."
+
+"As a language-lesson," murmured Amy; and even Priscilla smiled in spite
+of herself.
+
+The younger woman was talkative. She took them into her neat bedroom,
+with its floor in two colors,--a yellow geometrical design painted on a
+brown ground,--and showed them with especial pride her dressing-table,
+the frame of which she had fashioned with her own hands and draped with
+white muslin. From the window she pointed out her little garden, with
+its vegetable patch and tiny strawberry-bed, which she worked herself.
+
+"I sell some every year," she said. "That helps keep house. We don't
+need much, we Acadians; we very lazy."
+
+"You don't seem lazy to me," remarked Amy; "certainly you are
+hard-working."
+
+"P'raps lazy is not the word--no, it is content. We Acadians are too
+content with what we have. We want not too much, and so we make not
+money as the Americans."
+
+With some difficulty Amy brought to a close the visit to the cheerful
+mother and daughter. She on her part, and they on theirs, had so many
+questions to ask and to answer.
+
+On their way back to the hotel they stopped for a moment at the
+graveyard in front of the great brick church.
+
+"Let us not go in," urged Priscilla.
+
+"It may not be open," returned Amy, "though this Stella Maris interests
+me because our landlady told me that the whole parish helped build it.
+All saved and saved, and gave what they could, and the men, when they
+came home tired from fishing, would go some distance where the bricks
+were and haul them to the building. But if you don't care to go into the
+church, do spend a few minutes in the churchyard,--I have a weakness for
+studying old gravestones;" and as she spoke Amy's mind went back to a
+day long ago when she and Brenda and Nora and Julia had poked among the
+stones in that old burying-ground overlooking Marblehead Harbor. This
+thought reminded her of Fritz, who had teased her that day in his boyish
+way, and strangely enough these memories took such possession of her
+that she could not put her mind on this little churchyard of the
+Acadians.
+
+Moreover there was less of interest here than she had expected.
+Inscriptions were few, and these were modern and practical. There was
+something pathetic in the general tangle of grass and shrubbery, and in
+the plain little wooden crosses that marked the majority of the graves.
+
+As they approached the hotel a shout greeted them,--"Amy, Amy, Prissie,
+Prissie! Where have you been?"
+
+"How silly Martine is!" Priscilla had barely time to say, when Martine
+herself rushed out of a little building near the house.
+
+"Oh, do come in, Yvonne is with me; I've been buying her a hat."
+
+"A hat!"
+
+"Yes, do come and see. There's a man here from Halifax,--a drummer, I
+suppose,--and he has the loveliest fall styles. I would get one for
+myself if I knew how to carry it."
+
+"An autumn hat in July! Will you make poor Yvonne wear it now?"
+
+When they entered the room where the millinery was displayed, they saw
+Yvonne standing in rapt admiration before the long double row of hats
+that the milliner's man had taken out of his boxes. In her hand she held
+a large shaggy felt, trimmed with rosettes of velvet. The little girl
+was fingering it lovingly.
+
+"I have never had a hat," she explained, "only hoods and sunbonnets, but
+my new friend, she desires that I have one for the winter, and it will
+indeed be a pleasure. I could never wear a _couvre-chef_ like an old
+woman. I do not see these plain, but they feel so soft."
+
+"Put it on, Yvonne, you look so sweet."
+
+So Yvonne put it on, and after trying one or two others, Martine still
+preferred the first one. Accordingly it was packed in a large box, and
+Martine carried it to the hotel, where Yvonne was to stay until Mrs.
+Redmond and her party should start for Little Brook.
+
+The afternoon was warm. Mrs. Redmond went down to the edge of the Bay to
+finish a sketch that she had begun in the morning. Amy and Priscilla sat
+on the piazza, lazily watching the passers-by, and commiserating the men
+mowing grass in the meadow across the road that lay between them and the
+sea.
+
+Martine roamed about the house with Yvonne clinging closely to her, and
+at last sat down for an hour in the parlor, to hear Yvonne sing some of
+her plaintive songs.
+
+After their early tea Alexandre came to claim Yvonne, and the two girls
+fell on each other's necks in a farewell embrace. Though they were less
+demonstrative in their expression, Amy and Mrs. Redmond, and Priscilla
+too, felt some emotion at parting with their new friend.
+
+"It isn't a real good-bye," whispered Martine to Yvonne; "I know that
+Mrs. Redmond will help me carry out those plans I spoke of. So _au
+revoir_."
+
+From Meteghan to Little Brook they were to drive eight miles,--at least,
+all but Amy were to drive, while she, as before, was to wheel beside the
+carriage.
+
+"You will stay in Little Brook a week," said the two Connecticut
+teachers, bidding them good-bye. "Don't forget the Hotel Paris. It's
+smaller than this," they added, smiling, "but you will find it
+entertaining in every way."
+
+"We can't stay a week," Mrs. Redmond had replied; "already we need our
+trunks."
+
+"And our letters," added Priscilla.
+
+"Yes, they are waiting for us in Digby. You see this side trip to Clare
+was as unexpected as it has been pleasant."
+
+But the farewells were at last all said, and with only one backward
+glance at the landlady and her children, the teachers, and the
+commercial traveller, the four turned their faces toward Petit Ruisseau,
+
+                   ... "'when brightly the sunset
+     Lighted the village street.'"
+
+sang Amy as they rode along. "Don't you remember that in 'Evangeline,'
+Priscilla?" she asked, for she was riding close to the carriage.
+
+"It sounds familiar. We must find time to read Longfellow while we are
+at Little Brook."
+
+"Yes, indeed; but now--"
+
+Amy did not finish the sentence, for the driver started up his horse,
+and to show that she did not intend to be outridden she increased her
+own speed, and soon was out of hearing of the others. It was a beautiful
+evening. The gaily painted houses of Meteghan, and even those that were
+dazzling white, all suggested the toy dwellings of the Christmas shops.
+Amy greatly enjoyed the scene as she pedalled along. A girl standing in
+one doorway, knitting busily, called out a cheerful salutation, which
+Amy returned.
+
+At one corner was a little shop, where a few men in blue jeans had
+gathered to talk after their day's work. Soon Meteghan was far behind,
+and Amy had passed the great white church of Saulnierville. As she was
+still some distance ahead of the carriage, she dismounted to speak to a
+group of children playing some kind of a dancing game, to which they
+sang an accompaniment. Making an effort to understand the words that
+they sang to the merry air, she discovered that their French was unlike
+hers.
+
+A little farther on she noticed a boy walking along with the help of a
+crutch. Her first glance made her think of Fritz, whom a slight accident
+had once obliged to limp about in this same way. Something in the boy's
+face when she looked at him a second time rather startled her. He
+certainly resembled Fritz.
+
+"I wonder if he is really lame, or if this crutch means only that he has
+had some slight accident." This was her thought.
+
+Dismounting, she turned back to the little boy.
+
+"How far is it to Little Brook?"
+
+"Oh, not very far on a wheel."
+
+"A mile?" again ventured Amy.
+
+"About a mile--perhaps."
+
+Amy looked back. The carriage was so far behind that it was hardly worth
+while for her to hurry on toward the Hotel Paris. Moreover, if she knew
+just where the house was, she would not care to reach it ahead of her
+mother and the others; so she walked along with the boy.
+
+Although less talkative than some of the older Acadians whom she had
+met, he was not at all shy, this little Pierre, who, after telling her
+his name, confidently asked her hers.
+
+"You speak good English," Amy said in compliment.
+
+"Yes, Mademoiselle, we are taught English in school; we must learn it,
+we Acadians. One often meets the English." The last was said with a
+condescending air, amusing enough in one who was born a subject of the
+Queen of England. "But you," continued Pierre, "are not English. You are
+American,--is it not so?"
+
+"Yes, Americans from the United States."
+
+"Ah! they are strange, the Americans; you are going, perhaps, to the
+Hotel Paris?"
+
+"Yes, but how did you know?"
+
+"Because it is the only place where Americans stay. So late, you would
+be going somewhere. It is a good house, but Madame who keeps it has had
+a death there to-day."
+
+This piece of news disturbed Amy.
+
+"A death! I must tell my mother. She is behind, in the carriage."
+
+"You need not wait for it. It will soon overtake you if you walk with
+me," said Pierre, sadly, glancing down at his crutch.
+
+When, however, the carriage did overtake the two, they were not far from
+the Hotel Paris. Mrs. Redmond heard what Pierre had to say about the
+death of the landlady's sister, and when she learned that it was the
+result of an accident received some years before, she felt less concern
+than at first about approaching the house.
+
+"It is unlikely, however, that Madame will wish us to stay there."
+
+"Oh, she is not so," interposed Pierre; "she will always take money when
+it comes to her."
+
+"But I do not like to stay where there is a death," interrupted Martine.
+
+Priscilla made no comment. But Mrs. Redmond was undisturbed. It was now
+almost dark, and to return to Meteghan would mean a tiresome and
+probably cold ride. Pierre asserted that there was no other house where
+they could stay in Little Brook, and it was doubtful if there was any
+room at Church Point.
+
+"We must at least see Madame Bourque at the hotel. A message was sent
+her last night, asking her to reserve rooms for us, and perhaps she can
+help us out of our difficulty," said Mrs. Redmond.
+
+To the great surprise of all, the Hotel Paris, when they reached it,
+proved to be but a small dwelling-house, larger than its neighbors, but
+even smaller than the inn at Meteghan, for which "hotel" seemed a
+misnomer. As the four sat in the little parlor, Madame Bourque, a
+dignified and even elegant appearing woman, in her black gown and black
+_couvre-chef_, tried to make them feel comfortable.
+
+"Ah, but the death, it makes no difference," she said, after assuring
+Mrs. Redmond that the rooms were in readiness. "It is my sister who has
+been long sick, and was glad to go. Indeed I am sorry that you heard of
+it, for the funeral will be before you wake in the morning, and had I
+thought it would disturb Madame, why, we might indeed have had it
+to-day."
+
+"Business before pleasure," whispered Martine to Amy, who was trying
+valiantly to keep from smiling,--a difficult task, indeed, for any of
+the four.
+
+As they seemed to have no choice in the matter, the girls agreed with
+Mrs. Redmond that they could hardly do better than take possession of
+the large, pleasant rooms that Madame Bourque showed them.
+
+In the early morning, a gray morning, before the others were awake, Amy
+looked from the window. A sad little procession was setting out from the
+door. The plain deal coffin was in an open wagon. Behind it were a dozen
+shabby carriages, with mourners, men and women. They were to drive to
+the churchyard at Point a l'Eglise, three miles away. She did not waken
+the others, but she watched the little procession until it was out of
+sight.
+
+  [Illustration: "'Madame Bourque,' she cried, 'I asked him to come
+  to see me.'"]
+
+
+
+
+
+  Chapter VI
+
+  PIERRE AND POINT A L'EGLISE
+
+
+"Ah, why should she wish to see you, the American young lady? You have
+much conceit, Pierre."
+
+The words were French, the voice was Madame Bourque's, and Amy, quickly
+translating what she overheard, perceived that Madame Bourque was
+throwing obstacles in the way of the little boy's seeing her.
+
+"Madame Bourque," she cried, stepping out into the hall, "I asked him to
+come to see me. It is as he says."
+
+"Oh, then excuse me, Mademoiselle. I did not understand. I did not know
+that you had seen Pierre."
+
+"Ah, yes, he helped me find my way last evening. He may come in, may he
+not?"
+
+"Ah, surely, since you wish it. Pierre talks much, and I have known
+those whom he tired. But enter, Pierre, since you have been invited."
+
+Then Pierre followed Amy into the little sitting-room, where Priscilla
+and Martine were already seated near an open fire; for the gray and damp
+early morning had introduced a foggy day, and at present sightseeing was
+out of the question. Priscilla had been writing letters, Amy had been
+reading a history of the Acadians, and Martine, before Pierre's arrival,
+had been looking through "Evangeline."
+
+"Pierre," Amy asked, not knowing just what to say to the old-fashioned
+boy, "do you care for 'Evangeline'?"
+
+"Surely, yes," he replied, his face lighting up. "Your Longfellow has
+sympathy for the Acadians. A lady who stayed here last summer lent me
+his poems, but best I understand the 'Evangeline.'
+
+  "'Fair was she to behold, that maiden of seventeen summers.
+    Black were her eyes as the berry that grows on the thorn by the
+      wayside,
+    Black, yet how softly they gleamed beneath the brown shade of her
+      tresses!'"
+
+Pierre recited with much expression.
+
+"Ah," he continued, "I can say much of that beautiful poem, and indeed
+it makes me weep to think how they were treated, those poor Acadians, my
+ancestors. The English were most cruel."
+
+"Amy," half-whispered Martine, "my history is a little rusty, so please
+tell me if the Acadians were driven out from Little Brook."
+
+"No, my dear, Little Brook was founded by some who made their way back
+from exile. Pierre," she added in a louder tone, "you are so interested
+in your people, can you tell us about those who founded Little Brook?"
+
+"Yes, Pierre can tell you all the story," interposed Madame Bourque, who
+had entered the room to put wood on the fire. "He knows it all from his
+grandmother, and he remembers."
+
+Pierre, thus commended, flushed even more deeply than he had when Amy
+made her request; but he remained silent until she spoke again.
+
+"Perhaps it is not everything that you would wish to hear," he said,
+"that I shall tell; but my grandmother told me that it was all forest in
+Clare when the Acadians were driven from their homes by the cruel
+English. There were no farms here then, and so Petit Ruisseau has no sad
+memories of poor people driven from their homes. But you know that
+Acadians from Annapolis and Grand Pre and other places farther north
+were carried off to the English settlements that are now the States, and
+were treated like beggars; for they had no money, and spoke but a
+strange tongue. Fathers were separated from children, and brothers and
+sisters were not often in the same ship. But all were strong in their
+hearts, and determined to come back to their beautiful Acadia. Some
+began to come back before the Peace, and walked all the way--hundreds
+and hundreds of miles--from Boston and New York, until they reached the
+coast of the Bay. When the war was over, and there was a great Peace,
+many, many more came, and walked all the way around from New Brunswick
+to Nova Scotia to find their homes again."
+
+"But I thought that all their houses were burned and that they had no
+homes to return to."
+
+"That is true; but some knew not this, and even those who had seen the
+fires from the ships did not believe that everything of theirs was
+destroyed. So they were very sad when they could find no signs of their
+old homes, and saw that everything belonged to the English settlers. It
+was a great crime, sending them away, oh, so many; I am proud my
+great-great-grandparents were exiles and my great-grandmother was born
+in Salem; so perhaps I am half Yankee; that's why I speak some English."
+
+At that moment Madame Bourque took part in the conversation. "Ah, it is
+terrible to think of their sufferings, people of such worth,--it is the
+crime of history. Just think of Belliveau; you tell about him, Pierre."
+
+"Oh, he was very brave, and the first exile to land in Clare. He and his
+wife came across the bay in a little boat, bringing their baby too, and
+they landed safely on the shore that you can see from the window. They
+had a terrible passage--and to think to-day that some people fear to
+cross the bay to St. John, even in a steamboat! At first they did have
+nothing, but they cut wood, and soon other Acadians joined them who had
+walked all the way around on land."
+
+"Pierre," interposed Amy, "you describe things very well; what do you
+intend to be when you grow up?"
+
+A shadow crossed Pierre's face. "I should like to be a sailor, and then
+a great captain, but I am not strong enough, and I shall never grow big;
+so I think I may be a teacher, and that is why I take trouble to speak
+and write English."
+
+"You should be here," interrupted Madame Bourque, whose mind still dwelt
+on the Acadians, "on the fifteenth of August; that is the day of the
+return from exile that all the people in Clare celebrate."
+
+"We shall hardly be in this part of the country then, Madame Bourque,"
+responded Amy, "but we shall try to know all we can about the early
+Acadians before we leave Little Brook. But, Pierre," added Amy, "you
+haven't told us all that you know, have you? Haven't you some stories
+that your mother or grandmother has told you?"
+
+"One about the cane I like much."
+
+"Then tell it to us."
+
+"Well, there was one of our family, a great-grand-uncle, I think, who
+lived down near Cape Sable before the exile; one time he was very kind
+to a shipwrecked captain and took him into his house and gave him
+clothes and food; then when my relative was driven from home they took
+him to Boston, and he had to wander about, begging his bread, for he
+could not speak English. And then he and his three sons with him were
+put in jail; then the captain whom he had been kind to heard that these
+Frenchmen were in jail, and, remembering the kindness he had had, went
+to visit the prisoners. How surprised he was to find his old
+acquaintance who had helped him after the shipwreck! My relative was
+glad to see him too. Then the captain went to the governor and told him
+about the kind Frenchman who was in jail, and the governor said to bring
+him before him and perhaps he would pardon him. As my relative had no
+clothes fit to wear before the governor, the captain bought him a
+beautiful suit and a cane with a large head. Then the governor, when he
+saw my grandfather, pardoned him and his three sons, and they stayed in
+Boston several years, until the Peace, when they all came back to Nova
+Scotia. I know this story is true, because I have seen the cane, which
+one of my cousins owns in Pubnico."
+
+"Do you think that is true?" whispered Priscilla to Martine.
+
+"Oh, true enough; it certainly is not very exciting. It has been handed
+down so long that the point is evidently lost."
+
+Pierre, once started, continued to tell many stories of the hardships
+borne by the early Acadians, beside which the tale of Evangeline seemed
+almost cheerful.
+
+"Now, Priscilla," said Martine, when Pierre paused, "you must admit that
+the English don't show themselves in a very good light compared with the
+Acadians. Did you ever hear of such cruelty?"
+
+"There must have been some cause for it," rejoined Priscilla, stoutly;
+"we have heard only one side thus far. Perhaps the Acadians themselves
+were a little in the wrong."
+
+"They certainly were not perfect," interposed Amy, taking part in the
+discussion, "as you will admit when you have read their history more
+carefully. We have not time to go into things more fully now, and I have
+thought that Grand Pre would be the best place for our study of the
+causes leading to the exile. It's putting the cart before the horse to
+talk too much of the effects before we know the causes."
+
+Had Pierre exactly understood Amy he might have entered into a
+discussion with her, but for the moment he had run to the front door to
+admit Madame Bourque's little daughters, whom he had seen entering the
+yard. When he was again in the room Madame Bourque once more joined the
+group.
+
+"How does it happen, Madame Bourque," asked Martine, mischievously,
+"that your hotel is the Hotel Paris? You should have named it 'Acadia'
+or 'Evangeline,' or something like that."
+
+"Ah," responded Madame Bourque, "it is that my husband is a Frenchman,
+from Paris, and I like my children not to forget that. Some day, when
+they grow up, they shall go to Paris."
+
+"Have Acadians any real love for France?" asked Amy. "It is certainly a
+long, long time since their ancestors left it."
+
+"Yes, indeed," replied Madame Bourque, "just as the Englishman always
+loves England, or the Irishman Ireland; they are still strangers in a
+strange land, though they must call the English Queen their queen," she
+concluded sentimentally. "Some Acadians go back to France to study, and
+some French boys come out to the college at Church Point, and one of
+them--ah, it is so romantic!--married an Acadienne a few years ago."
+
+"Oh, tell us about it," exclaimed Martine; "I love anything romantic."
+
+"Well, then," said Madame Bourque, "there was such a pretty girl at
+Church Point in the convent, and this youth was sent by his parents to
+study at the College of St. Anne. He fell in love with the pretty girl
+and would marry her, and oh, his father and mother they felt so bad, for
+they thought Acadians were something like Indians; and so they hurried
+out to Nova Scotia, and when they saw the girl they fell in love with
+her too, and knew she was no savage, and say their son can marry her.
+But the girl would not leave her people, and as the son would not give
+up the girl, the parents decided to come to Acadia to live, for he was
+an only son and they were rich. So they have bought much land up beyond
+Weymouth, and they call it New France. They have a great mill where they
+cut timber, and a railroad of their own twenty miles long, by which they
+send it to the sea, and good houses and electric lights--all on account
+of a pretty Acadienne."
+
+"That's just the kind of story I like," cried Martine. "I suppose
+history is just as true, but someway I have more interest in things that
+are happening to-day."
+
+Madame Bourque now left the room to make arrangements for the early
+dinner. She had foretold that the fog would lift before noon, and
+accordingly Priscilla, looking out the window, was not surprised to
+catch a fleeting glimpse of the sun through an opening in the veil of
+mist.
+
+"We'll take your word that the sun will shine," exclaimed Amy, "and I'll
+run upstairs and ask mamma if she will drive this afternoon. I imagine
+that the most there is to be seen is at Church Point, and the sooner we
+go there the better."
+
+Madame Bourque, when asked, promised to have two carriages ready early
+in the afternoon, for Amy had not only invited Pierre to dinner, but
+intended to take him to drive with her.
+
+"Mamma," said Amy, as she gave her mother an account of the morning,
+"you will find Madame Bourque very amusing. She evidently believes the
+Acadians to be the salt of the earth; but though I sympathize with their
+sufferings, I do not believe they were quite the superior beings that
+she paints them."
+
+"It might be unkind," replied Mrs. Redmond, "to suggest that this is
+part of her stock in trade; the more remarkable she can represent the
+old Acadians to have been, the more interested will her guests be in the
+places associated with them. They were a good, honest people."
+
+"But they were peasants, were they not, mamma? You would think to hear
+her talk that they were very near nobility."
+
+"Oh, among the Acadians of to-day are doubtless many descendants of men
+of good family in France. Indeed, some of them can claim for ancestors
+Charles de la Tour and Baron D'Entremont; but the peasant blood is in
+the ascendant, and the strain of nobility must be very slight."
+
+At the dinner-table Pierre won Mrs. Redmond's heart by the gentleness of
+his manner, and she told Martine that Amy's protege would be a close
+rival of hers.
+
+"No, indeed," replied Martine; "no one can rival Yvonne. Just think of
+her voice and her little curls and her pink cheeks."
+
+"I'll admit that Pierre lacks these characteristics, though all in all
+they would hardly enhance his value. From what Amy says, however, I
+should judge that Pierre, even if he has neither curls nor pink cheeks,
+has a voice that is very effective when he uses it in telling stories."
+
+Fearing that Pierre might overhear these personalities, Mrs. Redmond
+changed the conversation. "Amy," she said in a somewhat louder voice,
+"where do you suppose Fritz is now?"
+
+"Oh, if Pubnico is as fascinatingly French as he expected it to be, he
+is probably there still. I doubt if he will be better entertained than
+we have been."
+
+"I almost wish he were with us," rejoined Mrs. Redmond, "for he is
+always a fund of entertainment in himself; I have thought of him many
+times this dull morning, and I hope that we shall find a letter from him
+awaiting us at Digby."
+
+If Amy agreed with her mother, she did not so express herself at this
+moment; yet if the truth were known, it must be said that more than once
+since their parting at Yarmouth she had regretted that she had not at
+least given Fritz a chance to join their party.
+
+When the carriages came to the door in the afternoon Amy recognized them
+as having formed part of the funeral procession; they were shabby, with
+hard seats, and the horses, as well as the vehicles, looked as if they
+had seen better days. It was arranged that Amy and Pierre should go in
+the small carriage, as Madame Bourque's husband assured them that the
+horse was perfectly safe for a lady to drive. "Ah, he could not run
+away!"
+
+"I should think not," said Amy. "If he manages to carry us even the
+three miles to Church Point I shall be surprised; he seems so dispirited
+that I imagine the funeral has made more impression on him than on
+Madame Bourque herself."
+
+Mrs. Redmond, Priscilla, and Martine were in the second carriage, and
+Madame Bourque was the driver.
+
+Amy noticed in gardens and windows fewer hollyhocks, oleanders, and
+other bright flowers than she had seen at Meteghan. The houses, too,
+were painted in less bright colors, and the village street had a less
+stirring appearance.
+
+Pierre was a good cicerone; he pointed out near the edge of the sea the
+spot where the first of the returning exiles had landed. He also showed
+Amy a little one-story house on a slight elevation, said to be the
+oldest in the town, and to date but little later than the landing.
+
+"It is hard," he said in his precise way, "to imagine that it was all
+forest here in those first years, since now there is hardly a tree in
+sight except the fruit trees in the orchards. The first comers had large
+grants of land from the government; thus the English tried to make up
+for the wrong they had done."
+
+"But the farms are very small now," ventured Amy. "The yards are so
+close together."
+
+"Ah, yes, that is it; each father had many children and divided his land
+among his sons, and as every one wanted his house to be on the village
+street, they have kept it up, cutting it up into long narrow strips, some
+of them running back one or two miles; and away at the end of the strips
+there are still forests that are worth money."
+
+Some time before they reached Church Point, the lighthouse and the
+college buildings were seen in imposing outline in the distance.
+
+Their horse justified Amy's forebodings, and when they overtook Madame
+Bourque and her party the latter were standing near a monument before
+the large building that Pierre had said was the College of St. Anne.
+Amy, though undisturbed by Martine's gibes at the slowness of her steed,
+was glad enough to get out of the carriage. Both horses were left in
+charge of a boy whom Madame Bourque knew, while the sight-seers started
+to walk to the shrines of the Acadians--for by this term did Madame
+Bourque describe the burying-ground and site of the early houses.
+
+"It is not a long walk," the voluble Frenchwoman had explained, "unless
+you go out to the lighthouse, for which we have not time to-day."
+
+Priscilla lingered behind the others to copy the inscription on the
+monument. It was in honor of the Abbe Sigogne, to whom the Acadians of
+Clare owe more than to any other one person.
+
+Priscilla, reading the inscription, wondered why she had never before
+heard of this man, who evidently had been so much to his own people.
+Acadia is not far from Massachusetts, and yet already she realized that
+this was a corner of the world of which she knew far too little. Amy,
+however, could tell her what she wished to know, and she hurried on to
+join the others, who were now far ahead.
+
+"Amy," she cried, overtaking her friend, "tell me something about the
+Abbe Sigogne; I am ashamed to say that I never heard of him before."
+
+Pierre glanced at the American girl with an expression of absolute
+amazement at her ignorance.
+
+"There is so much to tell," said Amy, "that it would be too long a story
+for the time that we have now; yet as we walk along I can give you a
+little idea of his work. He was a French priest of good family, who
+barely escaped losing his head during the French Revolution. After
+fleeing from France he lived a few years in England. When he heard that
+the poor Acadians of Clare were without a clergyman, he decided to go to
+them, and from that time he made their lot his. This was in 1799, about
+thirty years after their return from exile, and though they had cleared
+the forest and built houses, they had made little progress in other
+ways; they were without schools and almost without religion, but the
+good Abbe built them a church, established schools, and made frequent
+visits to all the little settlements along St. Mary's Bay, often
+travelling along the coast in a small, open boat. He taught them many
+things besides religion. He made them firm in their allegiance to Great
+Britain, and when he died, in 1844, he was bitterly mourned by all who
+knew him, whether English or French."
+
+When Amy and Priscilla and Pierre caught up with the others, they were
+in a large field, looking at a spot of ground on which Madame Bourque
+said had stood the very first house at Point a l'Eglise, built after the
+exile. Near by was a little old graveyard, where the first generation of
+returning exiles had been buried. Only a few graves were marked, and
+these with rough stones without inscriptions. A rude arch of whalebone
+formed the entrance to this little enclosure. It was not very far from
+the point of land on which stood the lighthouse, near which, along the
+edge of the sea, a file of black-coated priests was walking. Though they
+were indistinctly seen in the distance, their large caps and flapping
+surtouts gave them a picturesque appearance.
+
+A strange structure like a shrine of open slats decorated with spruce
+boughs attracted Martine's attention, and she insisted on making a
+sketch of it.
+
+"It is a repository," explained Pierre, politely, "where the priest
+stands, as a station for the procession, on festival days."
+
+When they returned to the College of St. Anne, Madame Bourque grew more
+and more eloquent.
+
+"Is it not wonderful," she said, "that all this great building is
+restored since the fire of two years ago? You will come inside, ladies,
+and see how pleasant the rooms are."
+
+"I will stay outside," replied Priscilla, "and watch the horses," she
+concluded rather lamely.
+
+"Nonsense," began Amy, but looking at Priscilla, she saw that the young
+girl was in earnest, and so insisted no further.
+
+"Amy," whispered Priscilla, as her friend drew near her, "I was sorry
+afterwards that I went into the convent yesterday, and so I would much
+rather not go into a priest's house."
+
+"I had no idea that you would be so narrow," rejoined Amy.
+
+"I don't mean to be narrow," responded Priscilla, "but I really don't
+feel like going inside."
+
+So Priscilla sat down on the grass near the monument and all the others
+went inside the main building of the College of St. Anne. Not very long
+afterwards Mrs. Redmond came out again, with her sketch-book in her
+hand.  "I thought it a good time now to make a sketch of the church.  I
+have seen many other schools like this one, for, after all, it's only a
+boys' boarding-school. The girls enjoy practising their French with the
+Eudist Father, who is taking them about, and it will probably be some
+time before they are ready to leave. I think you make a mistake,
+Priscilla, in not joining them."
+
+"It isn't a very old building," said Priscilla, implying that this was
+sufficient reason for her staying away from the party.
+
+"It is certainly not very old," rejoined Mrs. Redmond; "the college has
+been established less than ten years. It is a great thing to have
+founded it here in the midst of the Acadians, and it has made the boys
+of Clare much more ambitious."
+
+"What good is a college education to them?" asked Priscilla; "fishing
+and farming seem to be their chief occupations."
+
+"This is really only a preparatory school," replied Mrs. Redmond, "and
+the boys who are going into the Church or into the professions enter
+other colleges in Canada or in France. The Father told us with pride of
+the high standing of some of the graduates in their work in other
+colleges."
+
+"If I do not care for the college," said Priscilla, "I love this church
+of Abbe Sigogne's; it makes me think of a New England meeting-house,
+with its white walls and steeple."
+
+Mrs. Redmond's sketch was hardly finished when the others came out from
+the college. Madame Bourque was in her most talkative mood, as she led
+them across the road into the white church. This time Priscilla went
+with them and looked with some interest at the paintings on the wall,
+and the sacred emblems, and the tablet inscribed to the memory of Abbe
+Sigogne.
+
+Martine, it must be admitted, found something amusing even in this
+church, for inside the gallery where the choir boys sat were many
+pictures of little boats, and even of full-rigged ships scratched in
+deeply with a penknife, presumably by the fingers of mischievous young
+singers.
+
+Pierre, who happened to be with Martine when she made this discovery,
+did not laugh with her, but shaking his head solemnly, said, "Ah, those
+pictures show what really fills the heart of the Acadian boy."
+
+Madame Bourque was disappointed that her party of Americans did not care
+to visit the girls' school near by, but the hour was late, and the
+tired-looking horses were not likely to make speed on the way home.
+
+"We have really seen so much," said Mrs. Redmond, "that we shall need to
+think it all over before seeing more, and you have been so good a guide
+that in our one visit to Church Point we have learned as much as most
+persons do in two."
+
+"We have learned a great deal," murmured Priscilla to Amy, "but I always
+feel that Madame Bourque paints the Acadians as much more remarkable
+than they are. But I should like to have seen Father Sigogne baptizing
+Indian pappooses; they say that he used to wipe their faces with his
+gown to find a spot where he could kiss them."
+
+"Yes, and Madame Bourque says that there are people still living who can
+remember great crowds of Indians filing through the woods to Church
+Point that they might receive Abbe Sigogne's blessing on St Anne's Day."
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER VII
+
+  DIGBY DAYS
+
+
+On the way back to Little Brook Amy had a good chance to talk with
+little Pierre about his hopes and ambitions. She found that he was
+extremely fond of reading, and it was almost impossible for him to get
+books such as a boy loves to read. About half a mile from Madame
+Bourque's, Pierre pointed out a small cottage which he said was his
+home.
+
+"My mother will be there now," he said, "and I hope you will come in
+with me to see her. She does not speak so very good English," he added
+apologetically, "but she can understand it."
+
+Though Madame Robichaud greeted Amy warmly and thanked her for her
+kindness to Pierre, there was something pathetic in her manner and
+appearance. She was a tall, thin woman, with a delicate, pale face that
+was made all the paler by her plain black gown and the _couvre-chef_
+that covered her hair. Her husband, Pierre explained, was lost at sea
+when Pierre was five years old, and since that time she had supported
+them both wholly by her own labor.
+
+Madame Robichaud showed Amy with great pride some drawings nailed to the
+wall that Pierre himself had made,--simple drawings of ships and houses
+that showed draughtsmanship rather than imagination. These suggested to
+Amy that Pierre had a talent that might be cultivated to greater
+advantage than his ambition for school-teaching.
+
+She and Pierre parted reluctantly, and Madame Robichaud promised that
+the little boy should be at the hotel in the morning before Amy left
+Little Brook.
+
+All the travellers slept soundly that night despite the huge
+feather-beds that Madame Bourque had provided, as she thought, for their
+comfort.
+
+In the morning they wrote their names in her visitors' book, on whose
+pages were inscribed the names of a number of Americans, some of them
+fairly well known, who at one time or another had been guests at the
+Hotel Paris. Pierre arrived very soon after breakfast with a great bunch
+of hollyhocks or _passe-rose_ for Amy. He had evidently taken a great
+fancy to his new friend.
+
+"She is more beautiful even than my school-teacher," he had said to
+Madame Bourque; a compliment which the latter repeated as of especial
+value, because hitherto Pierre had considered his teacher the model of
+womanly perfection.
+
+"Martine," said Mrs. Redmond, before the carriage arrived, "have you
+written to Yvonne?"
+
+"Oh, no; I meant to, but now I'll wait till we reach Digby."
+
+"I fear that Yvonne will be disappointed. She probably expected a letter
+to-day."
+
+"I know it; I am ashamed of myself."
+
+Martine's tone was penitent, but no one who knew Martine ever expected
+her to do promptly what she had promised. It was always a little easier
+to put off things to another day. Priscilla looked at her scornfully, as
+if to say "How fickle!"
+
+When at last they were ready to start, all felt sad at parting with
+Madame Bourque and her family, for in two days they had come to seem
+almost like old friends. The two little Bourque girls, as the carriage
+drove off, looked with astonishment at the dollar bill that Mrs. Redmond
+had put in the hands of the elder to divide with her younger sister.
+
+Pierre walked on a little way with Amy before she mounted her wheel, and
+on saying good-bye at last he knew that the American lady would really
+send him the books that she had promised.
+
+Their train to Digby was not the famous "Flying Bluenose," but a local
+that made no pretence of hurrying; it instead gave them ample
+opportunity to study the scenery from the windows.
+
+When at last they reached Digby, they were warm and dust-covered, and
+glad enough, too, when they found carriages waiting for them at the
+station.
+
+"It's nothing but a summer resort, this Digby that we have heard so much
+about," complained Martine, as they drove along the main street. "Just
+look at those boys in golf suits, and that crowd carrying shawls and
+wraps as if bound for a sailboat. Why, the town doesn't even look
+English. It makes me think of Blue Harbor in Maine, where we spent one
+summer."
+
+"I noticed a great deal of Philadelphia accent while we were waiting for
+our trunks at the station."
+
+"Oh, don't mention it," replied Martine; "Philadelphians flock
+everywhere, and they are so cliquey that they just spoil a place for me,
+though I'll admit that they know a good thing when they see it."
+
+"Be careful, Martine," cautioned Amy; "no more slang than you can help
+on this trip."
+
+"'On this trip!' If that isn't slang I'd like to know what is."
+
+"No matter now; here's the hotel; mail first and rooms afterwards."
+
+In an instant Amy had hurried to the hotel office, returning to the
+others with a bundle of letters, which she gave to Priscilla to
+distribute while she went ahead with her mother to look at the rooms
+they had engaged. The hotel was like most small summer hotels, and in
+spite of their pleasant remembrance of Clare, Mrs. Redmond and the girls
+had to admit that it was more comfortable than the little French houses.
+
+"'Pubnico!' why, of course;" here Amy stopped as she held the letter in
+her hand, turning it over once or twice as people will before opening a
+letter.
+
+"Of course; don't hesitate to tell us that it's from Fritz. It would be
+very strange indeed if he had not written," cried Martine,
+mischievously.
+
+"'Pubnico,'" said Priscilla, as if the word had just penetrated her
+brain; "why, there were two letters with that postmark, were there not?"
+
+"Oh, no, only one," replied Amy, promptly, "and, as Martine surmises, it
+was from Fritz."
+
+But while Amy was speaking Priscilla looked sharply at Martine, and
+Martine, as if uncomfortable under her gaze, suddenly left the room.
+
+After dinner, as they all sat on the piazza, "Amy," said Mrs. Redmond,
+"you haven't told us yet how Fritz is enjoying his journey."
+
+"Oh, he thinks he has found the only French in Nova Scotia. He describes
+their dress and their houses and their great fat oxen, and speaks of the
+misfortunes of the exiled Acadians as if he were an original discoverer.
+How foolish he will feel when he finds that what he has seen is old news
+to us, for his description reads just like a description of Clare."
+
+"Only I'll warrant that he didn't find any Madame Bourque," and
+Priscilla smiled.
+
+"No, nor an Yvonne," added Martine.
+
+"Not to speak of Pierre," concluded Amy.
+
+"My letter from home," said Priscilla, "mentions that this was the
+hottest week of the season. Just think, only yesterday we were half
+frozen driving home in the fog from Church Point."
+
+After breakfast, on their second morning at Digby, Mrs. Redmond and the
+girls walked the whole length of the tree-lined main street. As Martine
+had surmised, they had indeed arrived at a regulation summer resort. The
+holiday spirit prevailed on all sides; every one was going somewhere, or
+had just been somewhere, on pleasure bent.
+
+In spite of her professed prejudice against Philadelphians, Martine
+almost fell into the arms of a former schoolmate from the Quaker City,
+who rushed out to greet her from the garden of a small hotel near the
+top of the hill.
+
+"Isn't the view fine, and the air just perfect? I'm so glad you're here;
+there's something to do every hour of the day, and we shall be so glad
+to have you join us, you and your friends." And she glanced dubiously at
+Priscilla's mourning dress and serious face.
+
+"Thank you, but I can't make plans just now. There are four in our
+party; the other two have walked ahead. We arrived only on Saturday, and
+yesterday was so rainy that we stayed indoors until evening, when we all
+went to church. Until we really have our bearings I don't think that I
+can make any plans. But you must come to see us. There, I haven't
+introduced you to Priscilla; you must excuse me. Priscilla, the Rose of
+Plymouth, let me introduce you to Peggy Pratt from the quiet city of
+Philadelphia."
+
+"You are the same old Martine," cried Peggy, as they turned away, while
+Priscilla, reddening, added as the two walked on, "Oh, Martine, how
+silly you can be!"
+
+Amy was delighted with everything that they saw in the course of that
+morning walk, from the beautiful view of the Basin, surrounded by hills
+that looked mountains, to the little fish-houses, the quintessence of
+neatness, in front of which quantities of cod were drying. As to the
+Basin, when she said she felt as though she had seen it before, Mrs.
+Redmond reminded her that it resembled closely the harbor of Santiago,
+with which she was familiar through pictures.
+
+"Ah, yes," rejoined Amy, "and that little opening into the Bay of Fundy
+that they call 'The Gut' is like the passage where Hobson tried to sink
+the Merrimac."
+
+"It isn't such a very little passage; somebody told me that it is nearly
+a mile wide; it was there that the ships of De Monts entered the Basin
+in 1604, when they discovered Acadia," Mrs. Redmond added.
+
+"Sixteen hundred and four!" cried Martine. "Oh, dear, we're going
+backwards in our history. It was seventeen hundred and something when
+the Acadians were expelled, and I shall never be able to remember
+earlier dates."
+
+"At present we may put dates aside. For a day or two we can merely enjoy
+ourselves."
+
+"I hope we are coming to some English history," said Priscilla; "I am
+tired of the French. I always supposed Nova Scotia was a British
+province, but this whole week we have heard very little about the
+English."
+
+"I tell you what we'll do, Priscilla," cried Amy; "while mamma and
+Martine sit here to make a sketch of something or other, you and I can
+set out in search of some English history. Undoubtedly there's an
+historic house or two to discover. That's the kind of thing I never let
+escape me."
+
+At first it seemed as if Amy's search would be unsuccessful. One person
+after another whom she asked said that there were no historic houses in
+Digby.
+
+"There's an old shop over across the way," one added, "the frame of
+which, they say, was brought out from England; I'll point it out to you,
+though it doesn't look very old."
+
+This last statement was true enough, for the old house had been
+reshingled and reclapboarded and repainted, so that it retained hardly a
+vestige of antiquity in its appearance. To compensate Amy for her
+disappointment, the obliging native made a suggestion that in the end
+proved valuable.
+
+"What you ought to do is to see Mrs. Sally Tatem; her house isn't much
+to look at, but it's old enough, and she knows more about the history of
+Digby than any one else here."
+
+"Where does she live?"
+
+"Oh, just a little way up that street and round the next corner and up
+the hill and you will see a little cottage at the end of the lane; just
+knock at the door, and if she's at home she'll be very obliging."
+
+So Amy and Priscilla went "up the street and round the next corner and
+up the hill," and at "the end of the lane" they saw a small white
+cottage almost covered with vines. Amy's knock brought to the door a
+little old lady with silvery hair and a tiny ruffled cap, wearing a gray
+gown and, most important of all, a pleasant smile. The hesitation that
+Amy had felt in explaining the object of their visit disappeared under
+the old lady's greeting.
+
+"Dear child, come right in; I'll tell you all the Digby history I know;
+but it isn't so very much."
+
+As Amy sat down in the little sitting-room, she could not help looking
+about, and she was quick to recognize that the two chairs were
+Chippendale.
+
+"They were brought by my grandfather," said Mrs. Tatem, noting the
+direction of Amy's glance. "He was a captain in the Queen's Rangers; you
+know many Americans were on the King's side in the Revolution."
+
+A look of surprise crossed Priscilla's face, but she did not venture to
+raise a question.
+
+"Yes," responded Amy, "I know about the Loyalists."
+
+"Well, my grandfather was a farmer in Westchester County, rich and
+prosperous, but he would not take arms against the King. A friend and
+neighbor of his was tarred and feathered, and he was in some danger
+himself. So he went into the war, and when it was over he couldn't stay
+in New York. With other Loyalists he came down here. Of course it was
+very hard for him to have all his property taken away, but his wife was
+brave and she was willing to suffer."
+
+"Who sent them away?" asked Priscilla, eagerly.
+
+"Why, the Yankees,--the Americans, I mean," said Mrs. Tatem.
+
+"The Patriots," whispered Priscilla.
+
+"Yes, yes," interposed Amy.
+
+"But," continued Priscilla, "I didn't know that there were two sides to
+the story." And as she said this the old lady smiled.
+
+"We have no bitterness now. I ought not to have said 'Yankees.' I have
+many friends in the States, but it was hard for my mother and aunts to
+have to grow up in the wilderness. I used to hear my aunt talk. She was
+an older daughter."
+
+"But how did they live here in those days?"
+
+"Oh, the King gave a large grant of land and provisions for three years
+and some building material. Many who came to settle would not stay, and
+it was harder for those who did remain. There was no church even, for a
+long time, until good Mr. Viets came; he did everything for the white
+settlers, and even held a school for the Blacks."
+
+"The Blacks?"
+
+"Oh, yes; you see many people brought their slaves with them."
+
+"Southerners?"
+
+"No, New Yorkers. Many Northern people had slaves in those days. I know
+that my grandfather had two, but when he died he left them their freedom
+in his will. Out at the Joggins' there are still living many descendants
+of these slaves, and of the Black Pioneers, a regiment of Blacks that
+fought on the English side in the war."
+
+"What you've told us is almost as romantic as the French Revolution,"
+said Priscilla.
+
+"Maybe so," replied the old lady, hesitatingly, "though things probably
+did not seem romantic to the first settlers here; but perhaps it's just
+as well that our lot was cast in this healthy climate. I hear there's a
+great deal of sickness in New York, and it's a great big city where
+people care only for money. I'm sorry our young people go off so much to
+the States; they could all make a comfortable living if they would only
+stay at home."
+
+Amy could not refrain from admiring the china and all the daintiness of
+the little house, plain and unpretending though it was. But the most
+interesting thing of all was the old lady with her charming manner and
+fund of history.
+
+"I've heard my mother say," she remarked before they went, "that the
+first name of Digby was Conway, and it was only after Admiral Digby had
+been here that it was named in his honor."
+
+"Why didn't the French settle Digby?" asked Priscilla; "they seem to be
+everywhere else in Nova Scotia."
+
+"Probably because there are no marshes; they were attracted by the dyke
+lands at Annapolis and Grand Pre."
+
+The girls bade good-bye to Mrs. Tatem with real regret. Before she
+returned to the hotel Amy wandered by herself in a little old churchyard
+where lay many of the first settlers, and as she looked at the
+weather-beaten stones she saw that many of those who lay buried there
+were natives of New York or its neighborhood; closing her eyes for a
+moment to shut out the present, she pictured to herself what life in the
+wilderness must have been to these refugees who had suffered everything
+in a losing cause.
+
+That afternoon Martine's friend, Peggy, from Philadelphia, invited them
+all to join a sailing party; though at first disinclined to go, Amy at
+last accepted the invitation. It was a delightful afternoon, with wind
+and sea in their favor, and the charm of the surrounding scenery was
+increased by a delicate mist that hovered over the North Mountain, as a
+reminder of the Bay of Fundy outside.
+
+For some reason this sail around Digby reminded Amy of some of her
+excursions in Marblehead Harbor, especially of a certain day on the
+"Balloon," and this in spite of the fact that the "Mary Jane" in no way
+compared in equipment with Philip's yacht. No picture of Marblehead
+could of course be complete unless Fritz were in it, and almost to her
+annoyance Amy now found Fritz occupying a large corner of her mind.
+Nevertheless, she was interested in all that was going on around her,
+and once or twice lent a hand to the skipper, when a sudden change of
+wind occasioned a quick shifting of the sails. Then the Bluenose skipper
+complimented the Yankee girl on her skill in handling the ropes, and
+Martine and Priscilla and Peggy expressed their astonishment that she
+should know so much about a boat.
+
+For almost the first time since their departure from Boston Priscilla
+was now in good spirits; she had overcome her original homesickness, and
+her letters from Plymouth had been so cheerful that she was almost ready
+to find enjoyment in the new scenes and faces. Between her and Martine
+there was less intimacy than between her and Amy. Mrs. Redmond was sorry
+to see that, for some reason, Priscilla lacked confidence in Martine.
+This was to be accounted for, perhaps, by the fact that the two girls
+were so unlike in temperament and education. Though reserved in speech,
+Priscilla was uncompromisingly accurate in statement; Martine, on the
+other hand, while apparently unreserved, occasionally lacked frankness.
+No one could accuse her of being untruthful, and yet her exaggerations
+and her occasional concealments were a constant annoyance to the literal
+Priscilla.
+
+On the second day of their stay at Digby, Martine had written a long
+letter to Yvonne, and at the same time had sent her a roll of new music,
+which she had happened to find in a Digby shop.
+
+"If I knew just how long we should be here, I really think I would send
+for Yvonne to spend a week with us."
+
+"We shall not be here a week," rejoined Mrs. Redmond, "and I am afraid
+that Yvonne would rather handicap us if we tried to have her travel
+farther."
+
+On their last morning at Digby, Amy and Martine had a parting walk
+around the wharf. The wharf had been a source of much amusement to
+Martine, and she had sketched it at high tide when it looked just like
+any other wharf, and at low tide when it rose high above the water, its
+sides covered with seaweed and barnacles. Indeed the vagaries of the Bay
+of Fundy tides were an endless amusement to the party, exposing, as they
+did, long, long stretches of reddish mud, and apparently casting up all
+kinds of craft high and dry on the land.
+
+"Now, around by the fish-houses," cried Martine; "how I shall miss the
+cod which we meet here at every turn! Fish flakes, in my mind, will
+always be the emblem of Digby. Priscilla says that she has seen more on
+Cape Cod, but I can hardly believe her. It's strange that no one has
+given us a Digby chicken since we came here. Any one would suppose that
+the Digby chicken is the only fish that grows here; yet really and truly
+we haven't seen one, have we, since our arrival? For it's the cod that's
+everywhere, and it's funny to think that they send so much codfish to
+the West Indies. People there must be thirsty enough without having cod
+sent to tantalize them."
+
+On their way back to the hotel they did an errand in a corner shop. The
+clerk addressed them in rather broken English, and in answer to Amy's
+question said that he was a descendant of an Acadian exile. He told them
+one or two anecdotes, and when he had to turn to other customers Amy
+waited until they were served, hoping to hear more from him.
+
+"That negro," he explained, as a tall Black went out of the shop, "is a
+descendant of one of the slaves of the Revolution."
+
+"Was that other man a negro, too, who went out with him?"
+
+"Oh, no, he's an Indian from the Bear River Reservation. If you go that
+way, you must be sure to visit it."
+
+"I hope that we are going there, for I hear that Bear River is a
+beautiful place. Though I am not particularly anxious to see the Micmac
+on his native heath, it certainly is interesting to have met
+representatives of the four race elements in this little shop," said
+Amy, as they turned away.
+
+"Four race elements?" asked Martine, not quite understanding her.
+
+"Yes, of Nova Scotia Loyalists, Acadians, Indians, and negroes. To be
+sure Pre-Loyalists would be more representative than negroes--but the
+former did not settle Digby."
+
+"Let's go up on Cannon Hill for a last look. Your mother just loves it.
+We have made some fine sketches of those crooked apple-trees and that
+old house."
+
+"And the cannon? They are certainly unlike any others you will come
+across."
+
+"I have photographed the cannon," replied Martine, with dignity, "and if
+I had time, I might sketch them."
+
+"I love it here," cried Martine, as they stood on the hill. "One gets
+such a splendid view of the entrance to the Basin,--I can't bring myself
+to say Gut. When I stand here, I just close my eyes, and then fancy how
+these steep shores must have looked to the Frenchmen, Champlain and the
+others, who came sailing in through the passage that June morning so
+long ago. Then when I open my eyes I can actually see them out
+there--and if I were a poet, like you, Amy, I would write something
+worth while."
+
+"I a poet! what nonsense! What put that into your head?"
+
+"As if I didn't know all about you, Miss Amy Redmond," and Martine
+quoted a line or two of verse that brought the color to Amy's cheeks.
+
+"That isn't poetry," she said with a smile. "But you are in a mood that
+shows me we ought to go home."
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER VIII
+
+  TWO ADVENTURES
+
+
+"Oh dear," sighed Priscilla three hours later, as she strapped her
+valise, "I believe I'd rather stay in one place all summer than move so
+often. I shall miss the pier and the barnacles. When we came in from the
+boat at low tide the other day, it seemed like one of the caverns of
+fairyland--so dark and mysterious."
+
+"Yes, and you'll miss the codfish, too. Amy and I have been going
+through the missing agony this morning. But I have a fish story that
+will please you, Puritan Prissie. Though curing codfish is a leading
+occupation here six days of the week, on Sunday that man is fined who
+even sticks a pitchfork into a helpless cod--except,--and here I am
+afraid that this covers a quantity,--that if there has been a week of
+wet weather, if Sunday is sunny, then the gentle codfish may be turned
+over. This is merely a humane provision for the comfort of the cod, who
+otherwise would become unduly weary lying so long on one side."
+
+"We shall become unduly weary waiting for you," cried Amy, who had
+entered the room during the latter part of Martine's speech. "I hope
+that you are both ready, for it is almost train time."
+
+"All aboard then," cried Martine. "If my hat is on straight, nothing
+need delay us. Let me help you with your valise, Priscilla. My luggage
+has gone on."
+
+When they reached the station Mrs. Redmond and her party found that
+after all they had some time to spare. At five minutes past the hour
+they took their seats. "Standard time, Halifax time, hotel time, local
+time," hummed Martine. "I wonder which we're starting by."
+
+Presently the conductor walked along the station platform to the little
+waiting-room, and from the open window they heard him speak to some one
+inside.
+
+"Have you made up your minds yet, ladies, about going?" he asked in a
+polite tone.
+
+"Oh, gracious, yes," exclaimed a shrill voice. "We were waiting for the
+bell;" and two elderly women hurried toward the train with their
+knitting in their hands. Amy had noticed them busily knitting there, in
+a corner, when she passed. It seemed, by the conductor's subsequent
+explanation, that knowing they were uncertain whether to go by that
+train or the next, he had patiently waited for them to decide.
+
+Bear River was one of the places where Mrs. Redmond had planned to stay.
+After a short railroad journey that included a passage over some
+wonderful bridges, beyond which was a great extent of water, and after a
+drive of five or six miles, they found themselves gazing down at
+picturesque Bear River. The beautiful town sloped to a broad stream, its
+white houses and spires half hidden by trees.
+
+"It reminds me of Switzerland," cried Martine.
+
+"It's a dream," exclaimed Priscilla.
+
+"I don't believe Fritz has seen anything more beautiful," added Amy.
+
+"It deserves a more beautiful name," said Mrs. Redmond.
+
+"But, really, mamma, it's named for Imbert, the explorer, and the name
+doesn't seem so bad when we think of that."
+
+Their day in Bear River proved to be a gala day of the town. They had
+arrived at the height of the Cherry Carnival, and games and boat-races
+and other festivities had been arranged as part of the celebration. The
+girls were up very early that first morning, and soon after breakfast
+Martine was out with her camera, taking snapshots in every direction. A
+fat old squaw in a red jersey pretended to be afraid of the kodak, and
+turned her head; but there was a grin on her face as she looked around,
+which Martine quickly caught. Another squaw, also fat, with a little
+pappoose in her arms and another clinging to her skirts, begged Martine
+to take her.
+
+"Where you live?" asked Martine, as if talking to a child.
+
+"Up there," pointing vaguely in the distance.
+
+"Where?"
+
+"Reservation; you come see."
+
+Martine was interested.
+
+"Is it far?"
+
+"Oh, no."
+
+"What's your name?" asked Martine.
+
+"Marie Brown. You find my house."
+
+Though the name didn't seem to fit the Indian, Martine was glad that it
+was one that she could remember; for all in a moment she had made up her
+mind to visit the Reservation.
+
+During the morning, while she watched the sports and chatted with the
+bystanders and ate dozens and dozens of the famous Bear River cherries,
+Martine said nothing to the others of her intention of visiting the
+Reservation. It would be easy enough to borrow Amy's bicycle and say
+that she did not care to drive with the others.
+
+Everything happened as she planned.
+
+"Bear River is so hilly," said Mrs. Redmond, "that you will hardly wheel
+very far. But yet it's a quiet little place, and there is no risk in
+your doing some sight-seeing by yourself."
+
+Martine soon found herself on a road leading toward the Micmac
+Reservation; she had asked her way once or twice, and felt lonely as
+houses and shops were left behind; but though she was going in the
+direction of the Reservation, she saw nothing to remind her of Indians.
+
+"Where are the wigwams? Surely with so many Indians around there must be
+wigwams somewhere."
+
+Martine looked about anxiously at trees, bushes, and at one or two small
+wooden houses. She had been riding for half an hour, and she felt that
+she had not taken the wrong way. There was nothing to do but to inquire
+at one of the little houses. As she approached it, she realized that it
+was an Indian dwelling; three pappooses were playing in front of it, and
+a tall, thin squaw, in a purple calico gown, came out to the door as she
+entered the gate.
+
+"Marie Brown," said the woman; "oh, that far away. Too far for you; you
+better go home; it's late."
+
+Martine knew that this was intended as advice, not as discourtesy, but
+Martine was not fond of advice, and she decided that if she could not
+see Marie Brown she would visit the chapel, of which she had heard some
+one speak at dinner that day.
+
+When she asked the way, the woman drew her one side to an open space
+behind the house, where, on a hill that did not look too remote, she saw
+a small, square building with a cross on top for a steeple; so after a
+little conversation with the squaw about her people and their way of
+living, Martine pushed on toward the hill. She soon found that she must
+leave her bicycle behind, as there was no good road and the path was
+steep, and finding a spot that was screened by bushes, she left her
+wheel there; so on she went on foot until she had come to the enclosure,
+in the centre of which stood the Micmac Chapel.
+
+Seen at close range, it looked like a toy church, built plainly of wood,
+absolutely simple and bare on the outside. Martine raised herself on a
+ledge of wood so that she could look in through the windows. There was
+something almost pathetic in the tawdry attempts at decoration--the
+little altar draped with old lace curtains and gold lace and some faded
+flowers. On top there was a silver cross within a white canopy, and a
+small altar with a canopy in the corner. Walking around the graveyard,
+Martine noticed that there were French names on almost all the stones.
+
+Suddenly she was disturbed by the barking of a dog, and, following the
+direction of the sound, she saw a house on a hill high above the chapel.
+The dog was running up and down in front of the house, and barking
+loudly, as if he detected the presence of a stranger near the church.
+Martine remembered that the Indian woman in the cabin below had spoken
+of the chief's house near the church, but this did not reassure her.
+Perhaps the chief, himself, would object to the presence of a young
+American girl, and she began to wonder how she should make her peace
+with him if he should interfere; she was less afraid of the possible
+chief, however, than of the very real dog, whose barking still
+continued. To leave the enclosure by the way she had come would bring
+her out in full view of the creature. To avoid this, therefore, with
+some difficulty she climbed a fence at the other side, believing that
+she was going straight in the direction of the bicycle. But alas for her
+miscalculations! She was in a tangled thicket of shrubbery; she tore her
+dress and scratched her ankles, and she could not get back to the
+bicycle nor even find the cabin from which she had been directed to the
+chapel.
+
+When at last she reached the broad road, she sat down disconsolately by
+the side of a fence.
+
+"Why was I so foolish as to borrow Amy's bicycle?" Had it been her own
+wheel, so reckless was Martine's disposition, she would have left it
+behind without a qualm. Yet though it was quite possible for her to buy
+a new one for Amy, it did not seem quite right to return to the hotel
+without it. While she was pondering, without seeing any way out of the
+difficulty, she heard a shrill voice crying,--
+
+"Hi, lady, hi!"
+
+Turning about, she saw the tall, thin Indian woman in the purple gown
+walking down the hill and guiding the bicycle beside her.
+
+"Why, how did you know I was here?" asked Martine, after she had thanked
+her profusely.
+
+"Oh, I could see the way you start from the chapel, and I thought you
+not find your wheel, so I thought I bring him."
+
+Martine, thanking the woman warmly, gave her all the silver that she
+happened to have in her purse,--not a very large sum from her point of
+view, but magnificent from that of the Indian.
+
+The squaw then walked with her down the hill and into the village,
+saying that young ladies should not go so far alone. As they walked,
+Martine asked several questions about Indian life, and was told that, in
+the summer, many were away selling baskets or fishing; they would be
+coming back soon, she said, and even as she spoke Martine looked toward
+the river on which two canoes were gliding, each containing two or three
+Indians and their numerous belongings.
+
+"They are coming back for St. Anne's Day," said the woman; "great time
+then at the chapel."
+
+They had not gone very far together when, turning a corner, the two came
+suddenly on Priscilla and Amy.
+
+"Oh, Martine," cried the latter, "where have you been? We have had our
+tea, and mother is so worried about you."
+
+"I hope it was a good tea and that you saved me some," rejoined Martine;
+"for now that you mention it, though I hadn't thought of it before, I
+realize that I'm half starved."
+
+"But where have you been?"
+
+"Oh, I've been a kind of babe in the woods, only there weren't any
+berries for me to feed on, and all that I have to show for my adventure
+are these tears in my gown."
+
+"Good-bye, ladies," said the Indian woman, while Martine was talking,
+"and I thank you much," she concluded, holding out her hand to Martine.
+
+In a moment she had disappeared.
+
+"Is that another protegee?" asked Priscilla, a little sharply.
+
+Martine did not answer. She had already plunged into a lively account of
+her afternoon, omitting nothing, not even her own carelessness in
+relation to the bicycle.
+
+At the hotel Mrs. Redmond spoke to Martine more seriously about the
+danger in expeditions by herself. "I had no idea that you thought of
+doing anything beyond wheeling around the town," she said; "and if you
+had met any real mishap, it would have been very hard for Amy and me, in
+whose care your father and mother put you."
+
+So Martine promised that in the future she would be less thoughtless.
+"Although to be honest," she added, "my thoughts are so apt to come
+afterwards that it is almost dangerous to promise anything."
+
+That evening, in the little hotel parlor, when Martine narrated her
+adventure, an old gentleman who was a permanent boarder there told her
+many anecdotes of the Micmacs.
+
+"In the early days, as you know, they were very friendly to the French.
+They were early baptized and became Roman Catholics, and as they began
+to be civilized, they liked to be known by French names, and many
+married with the French. The Canadian Government is very good to them,
+and provides for them on reservations or encourages them to own land for
+themselves. The children all go to school, some in reservation schools,
+and some attend the ordinary day schools with white children. While some
+of them still prefer to live by hunting, fishing, and Indian
+handicrafts, others work in mills and on railroads; and, on the whole,
+they compare well with the lower class of white citizens, for they _are_
+citizens with certain voting rights."
+
+"I thought they'd be more picturesque and like real savages," said
+Martine. "I was so disappointed. There's something attractive in the
+name 'Micmac,' and I supposed that at least they'd live in wigwams."
+
+"Considering the way in which you rushed in among them," interposed Mrs.
+Redmond, "I should think you would be glad that you met only tame
+Indians to-day."
+
+"Very tame," rejoined Martine. "Only a tall, thin Indian woman in a
+purple calico gown."
+
+"There are certainly not many of the original red men left in Nova
+Scotia," said Mr. Dolph, the gentleman who had been talking to them.
+"There are some collections of their legends that are interesting to
+read, and the names of many Nova Scotia places are of Indian origin."
+
+"Oh, yes," said Amy; "I came across some lines to-day that I copied,"
+and she began to recite:
+
+  "'The memory of the Red Man,
+        How can it pass away?
+    While their names of music linger,
+        On each mount and stream and bay?
+    While Musquodoboit's waters
+        Roll sparkling to the main,
+    While falls the laughing sunbeam
+        On Chegoggin's fields of grain?'"
+
+The next morning, when they were ready to leave Bear River, Amy decided
+to wheel rather than drive to the station. It was hardly five miles,
+over a main road, and she felt that she needed exercise.
+
+"Keep us in sight, Amy."
+
+"Oh, yes, if I don't pass you," she replied.
+
+But Amy at first lagged behind,--there were so many lovely points of
+view, and she stopped several times to enjoy them to the utmost. What a
+curious effect, to look down on the river, or rather to look down from a
+hill, and see a ship apparently moored among trees! Of course the
+explanation was that the beautiful Bear River lay in a narrow valley,
+surrounded by hills that descended sharply to its very margin, with
+trees so close together on its banks as to produce the strange effect
+that Amy had noted.
+
+The carriage was out of sight when Amy finally pushed on. Shortly she
+realized that pedalling required great effort. At first she ascribed her
+difficulty to the hills, but a slight grating of the wheel made her look
+at her tires, and, to her dismay, she found a small puncture. What
+should she do? She glanced at her watch, and was surprised to see how
+much time she had lost. One or two wagons had already passed her on
+their way to the train, and she regretted that she had not called for
+help. It might have been ignominious--it certainly would have been more
+discreet--to make her appearance at the station carried in a wagon
+rather than to lose her train altogether, as now appeared probable. She
+stopped a boy whom she met walking toward her.
+
+"How far is it to the station?" she asked.
+
+"Only a little way," he replied, after the fashion of boys, and she
+pushed on hopefully. She heard wheels in the distance, and made up her
+mind to humiliate herself to the extent of asking the new-comer to
+assist her; but when the vehicle came in sight it proved to be a narrow,
+one-seated buggy, and its three passengers seemed more than enough for
+it. A little farther on she heard an ominous whistle. The train was
+nearing the station. She felt indignant.
+
+"Why should this particular train be on time on this particular day?
+Nova Scotia trains are not noted for hurrying."
+
+Now she was walking and dragging her bicycle along. She met a number of
+persons who evidently had left the train at the Bear River station and
+were walking up to their homes. Then she heard the engine whistle again
+as the signal for starting on, and she knew that it was useless to go
+down to the station itself. She stood still for a moment, half
+paralyzed. Of course there was no special danger; her mother and the
+others might go on to Annapolis without her, and she could return to
+Bear River for the night; but it was all very mortifying. Then a sudden
+thought came to her; in fact, it had occurred to her when she first
+discovered the punctured wheel.
+
+"If Fritz were with me, he would have found some way of mending the
+puncture; in fact, one man is almost necessary on an excursion." That
+was what Fritz himself had said to her.
+
+She recalled his very words, and the remark with which he had
+ended,--"Then you'll remember me."
+
+But there was no time for reflection now. The train was coming slowly
+along the bridges; Amy could see the smoke from the engine. Between her
+and the track lay an open space--a slight decline from the point where
+she stood on the road--covered with long grass and bushes. A quick
+impulse urged her on; at the worst she could only fail; Nova Scotia
+conductors were very obliging, and there was more than half a chance
+that she might succeed. She lifted her bicycle across her arm, managed
+to climb over the low fence, and was pushing her way down the hill as
+the train drew near. A man, probably the conductor, was standing on the
+platform of a car; she waved her hand violently. The train seemed to
+move more slowly; a man thrust his head out of the engine cab; he, too,
+had seen her. She was now not far from the track; the train stood still;
+the conductor leaped down from his post, plunged into the shrubbery,
+relieved her of her wheel, and she followed him without a word; then one
+or two passengers pulled her on board the train, the signal was given,
+and the engine started on.
+
+"Lucky it wasn't a flying express," said one of the passengers.
+
+"I guess they wouldn't do that in the States," said another.
+
+Red-faced and crestfallen, Amy found herself a moment later in the bosom
+of her family.
+
+"A punctured tire," she began.
+
+"Yes, yes; don't try to talk."
+
+Amy sat still.
+
+Martine fanned her.
+
+Priscilla brought her a glass of water.
+
+Her mother asked for no explanation.
+
+The passengers stared at her; the majority as if amused, though. One or
+two talked as if they thought their rights had been infringed.
+
+"We were sorry," Mrs. Redmond said later, "to go without you, but it was
+better for you to be left than for the rest of us to lose the train; we
+knew you could go back to Bear River, and we could have telegraphed you
+what to do; we knew you would be equal to the occasion."
+
+"So I was."
+
+"Well, we hardly expected you to stop a train."
+
+"Oh, the train stopped me."
+
+"'All's well that ends well'"
+
+Later in the day Martine came over to sit beside Amy.
+
+"I'm afraid, Amy, that I may have punctured your tire yesterday; the
+road to the chapel was so very stony."
+
+"Tires are bound to be punctured," replied Amy, "and if this hadn't
+happened when it did, I shouldn't have had the fun of stopping a train."
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER IX
+
+  OLD PORT ROYAL
+
+
+At Annapolis, the old Port Royal, Amy and her party were to stay longer
+than at any other place. They had engaged rooms at a pleasant house
+where there were no other boarders, and when they had unpacked their
+trunks, began to feel as if they were really away for the summer.
+
+"We have a fine view of the river," said Mrs. Redmond to Martine the
+morning after their arrival, as they looked from the windows of her
+room, which was at the rear of the house.
+
+"River!" sniffed Martine; "I see nothing but red mud and green marshes;
+I wonder where the water is."
+
+"You won't ask that question at high tide; you'll find water enough to
+float a small vessel," she replied, "and if you look a little beyond our
+immediate neighborhood, you can see the whole Basin, and far, far away
+there in the distance, I suppose, that land is Digby. I am going out to
+sketch immediately after breakfast; I've seen several photographs of the
+old fort, and I have special reasons for wishing to make a sketch of it;
+and you, Martine, will get plenty of inspiration for your water-colors."
+
+Amy was in her element at Annapolis. She had already given some time to
+the history of the old town, and anticipated great pleasure in retracing
+the steps of the brave Frenchmen who had made it famous.
+
+"More French history!" Priscilla exclaimed, when Amy began to talk about
+De Monts and Poutrincourt; "when shall we hear about the English?" and
+Priscilla, with a wry face, continued, "I'm so tired of the French."
+
+"All in good time," responded Amy; "but now we must take things in due
+order and not skip about as we did. Let us go with the others into the
+port to-day, and while they are sketching I'll talk a little about its
+history."
+
+So it was that, while Mrs. Redmond and Martine were making sketches of
+the sally-port and old officers' quarters, Amy, seated near them, played
+the part of historian and guide.
+
+"This fort, you know, is from Vauban's plans, with four bastions and
+connecting curtains."
+
+"Do you suppose there's a moat?" interrupted Priscilla; "it looks as if
+there should be one here."
+
+"There used to be a wet ditch in the eighteenth century, and I suppose
+that was much the same thing, though it's dry now."
+
+"Oh, I can tell you something more entertaining than that," interposed
+Martine. "They used to have logs on the top of the parapet ready to roll
+down on the heads of assailants. But tell me, Amy, I've forgotten; did
+Champlain build this fort?"
+
+"My dear Martine, where is your history? Vauban and Champlain; oh, no.
+Champlain's fort is six miles down the river, opposite Goat Island."
+
+"Then who first built this fort?"
+
+"Probably D'Aunay first planned it, and it was improved by Brouillan and
+Subercase. You must remember that it has suffered twenty attacks and ten
+regular sieges. There's little good in talking about it until you know
+the history of the times better."
+
+"Oh, dear," murmured Martine, "of course I knew this was to be an
+improving trip, and yet I do think it's hard to have to learn history in
+the summer."
+
+"I'm afraid there's no escape for it," said Amy; "the fog is rolling in,
+and this afternoon I will tell you once for all certain things that will
+give you great interest in Annapolis during your stay here."
+
+So, undisturbed by further historical information during the morning,
+Martine, under Mrs. Redmond's direction, completed her sketch of the
+officers' quarters within the fort,--a quaint old building, with its
+thirty-six chimneys and thirty-six fireplaces, every one of which had
+probably been needed in the long and cold winters of old Acadia.
+
+As Amy had prophesied, the afternoon was foggy, and she felt little
+compunction in insisting that Martine as well as Priscilla should join
+her before her open fire while she talked to them of Port Royal history.
+
+"Although some French," she said, "may have visited Acadia as early as
+1504, our starting point is 1604, when De Monts, who was a nobleman of
+the Court of Henry Fourth, and Champlain, and Poutrincourt, and
+Pontgrave came out on a voyage of exploration. Poutrincourt seems to
+have been the one most anxious to make a permanent settlement here.
+Champlain was the geographer and map-maker of the expedition, and was
+also on the search for ores. The grant of the land known as Acadia had
+been given by Henry Fourth to De Monts. He, as well as Pontgrave had
+been on a previous expedition to the New World. At first they were
+delighted with Acadia. They saw fine opportunities for fur-trading as
+well as for a permanent settlement. But after visiting the shores of the
+Annapolis Basin, they made a mistake by going farther south to the St.
+Croix River, and they spent their first winter on an island some
+distance from its mouth. This proved a bad thing, for the climate was
+severe and many of the colonists died; so when the weather permitted
+they went back to the neighborhood of Port Royal and set up their houses
+and built a small fort on Goat Island.
+
+"They found the Indians everywhere very friendly, especially the old
+chief, Membertou, who was said to be nearly one hundred years old.
+
+"When their buildings were finished, De Monts sailed back for France,
+knowing that he could be spared until after the harvests were gathered.
+Pontgrave was left in charge of the colony in his absence, assisted by
+Champlain and Champdore. When the spring of 1606 came and De Monts had
+not returned, the colonists were alarmed. They needed the supplies that
+he had promised to bring them, and they were afraid that something had
+happened to him. So, late in July, Pontgrave started off to see if he
+could not find some fishing-vessel to take them all back to France.
+
+"In the meantime, De Monts in France had had trouble in getting people
+to interest themselves in the Port Royal Colony. But Poutrincourt, who
+had returned with him, proved his best friend, and helped in fitting out
+a vessel called the 'Jonas,' and promised to return to Acadia with De
+Monts, and take his family with him, to establish a permanent colony.
+
+"With them came Lescarbot, an advocate of Paris, who afterwards wrote a
+full account of his residence in Acadia, from which we learn many
+interesting details that, but for him, we would not know. Pontgrave fell
+in with a shallop from De Monts' vessel and all returned to Port Royal.
+De Monts wasn't perfectly satisfied with Port Royal for a permanent
+settlement, and he persuaded Poutrincourt to make a journey farther
+south to find a better place; but this expedition ended badly, and
+Poutrincourt returned, convinced that he could be better off at Port
+Royal than anywhere else in the New World.
+
+"Unluckily, the merchants in France who had supplied money for this
+trading colony sent word that they had decided to give it up. Without
+money with which to trade, the colony could not prosper, and so the
+majority of the colonists decided to go back to France. Poutrincourt,
+however, was determined to come back, and he took home with him
+specimens of grain grown in Acadia, and various animal, vegetable, and
+mineral products, to show the King what could be raised in Acadia. The
+King encouraged him to go back, and ratified the grant of land that De
+Monts had given him.
+
+"So Poutrincourt returned to Acadia, and it is greatly to the credit of
+the Indians he had left in charge that all the buildings were unharmed.
+A new crop of grain, planted by the Indians, was growing finely, and
+Membertou and savages welcomed him very cordially.
+
+"The King had given him a grant of money to be used for the Church and
+he brought with him a Jesuit priest, who baptized the savages by
+wholesale.
+
+"In the summer of 1610, Poutrincourt sent his son, Biencourt, back to
+France to report the conversion of the savages and the general
+prosperity of the colony. Things in France were not going to be very
+favorable now for Poutrincourt. When Biencourt arrived in Paris, it was
+not long after the assassination of Henry Fourth. The Jesuits were now
+anxious to get control of Acadia, and, to make a long story short,
+Madame De Guercheville obtained a grant from the King of the very land
+that De Monts had granted to Poutrincourt; Biencourt had to take certain
+Jesuits back with him to Acadia; and there was much dissension in the
+little colony. But what really proved its downfall was an attack made in
+1613 by the Virginian Argall, who killed and captured many of the
+inhabitants and burnt all the buildings to the ground. Poutrincourt made
+no effort to re-establish Port Royal, but Biencourt, his son, remained
+in the woods, living, with a few companions, the life of an Indian."
+
+"Oh, yes, it was he, was it not," said Priscilla, "who was the friend of
+Charles La Tour down at Fort St. Louis?"
+
+"The very man," replied Amy. "I often think that if Biencourt had left a
+record of his wanderings we should have something very interesting. He
+and his father made a good fight for New France, but circumstances were
+too strong for them."
+
+"Thank you," said Priscilla. "I understand better than I did before how
+the French happened to settle Port Royal."
+
+"Why," asked Martine, "did that Virginian--Argall, I think you called
+him--wish to interfere with the French? Jamestown had been settled only
+six years when he came up here and attacked Port Royal, and there wasn't
+any Plymouth, then, Priscilla."
+
+"He had no real right to interfere, but the English, even then, claimed
+the whole coast of North America, basing their claims on the discoveries
+of the Cabots; Argall himself, however, is considered little more than a
+pirate, and no Englishman justifies his destruction of the prosperous
+and peaceful colony at Port Royal.
+
+"The next settlement here was under the auspices of Sir William
+Alexander, a friend of James the First. You remember that he made La
+Tour a Baronet of Nova Scotia. He had great plans, and his colony was
+near Goat Island. I am told that some people here in Annapolis still
+speak about the Scotch fort, some trace of which is yet to be seen.
+
+"War between France and England finally put an end to Sir William
+Alexander's colony, and it was Charles La Tour who did more than any one
+else to make Acadia of some importance to France. He claimed that
+Biencourt, Poutrincourt's son, when he died in 1623, had left all his
+claims to Acadia to him, including the position of Governor."
+
+"Amy," said Martine, yawning slightly, "this is all very interesting,
+but unless I have time to digest it I shall forget it entirely. Let us
+put history aside until another day and see if we cannot find something
+more amusing."
+
+"I'm going downstairs for a moment," said Priscilla; "I have an idea the
+mail has come."
+
+In a moment she returned with a handful of letters.
+
+"Boston, Plymouth, two from Shelburne--where's that? I suppose that I
+may look at the postmarks?"
+
+"Give, give," cried Martine, and Priscilla put a couple in her hand.
+
+"Only one for me," said Amy, "and it's from Fritz; he's at Shelburne.
+Did you have one too, mamma?"
+
+"No," replied Mrs. Redmond, who had just entered the room.
+
+"Oh, I thought there were two Shelburne postmarks."
+
+Priscilla noticed Martine's heightened color, and an idea that had come
+to her at Yarmouth now returned. As it was a matter in which she had no
+real right to meddle, she said nothing.
+
+"What does Fritz say?" asked Mrs. Redmond, turning to Amy.
+
+"That he's having the time of his life, that he and Taps have found the
+best fishing in the world, and like Nova Scotia so much that they may
+bring a party of their own here next summer. What he writes about the
+French of Pubnico sounds exactly like Meteghan and Church Point, so I'll
+skip all that; Shelburne seems more romantic, and I almost wish it had
+lain in our path. He says it has one of the finest harbors he ever saw,
+but I will read you a little in his own words.
+
+"'Shelburne, my dear Amy, is like the ghost of a city, to one who has
+imagination. It was planned to be the chief city of Nova Scotia, and
+there is something rather tragic in looking at the broad streets that
+were meant for a larger city. Hardly one of the fine old houses remains.
+They say that twelve thousand Loyalists came here just after the
+Revolution, and most of them were rich and influential. The frames of
+large houses were brought and set up here; people tried to live as they
+would in a great city, with servants and every luxury. With such a great
+harbor they expected to have a great seaport; but the trouble was, there
+was nothing in the country back of them. There was no farming land, and
+no farmers to supply produce for the ships in the harbor to carry away
+in exchange for other goods. After a while people found they had used up
+the money they had brought with them from New York and other places.
+Then those who could left Shelburne. Some went away leaving their houses
+fully furnished, and they never came back. They went to Halifax, to
+Annapolis, or even back to New York and Boston after the bitter feeling
+over the war had gone down.
+
+"'If you were here, Amy, you'd find plenty of material for poems in
+Shelburne, especially on moonlight nights like last night, when Taps and
+I wandered up and down the broad streets, trying to imagine what
+Shelburne must have been in the days of its greatness. I hope that you
+and the others are enjoying yourselves as much as you expected to,
+without me or any other masculine disturber of the peace. I haven't a
+doubt that your mother thinks we've been pretty badly treated. She
+always was an unusually sensible woman, and we'd have been useful to
+carry your bags, if nothing more; however, mark my words, before your
+journey is over you will sigh for me more than once, and the day will
+come when you'll really need me.'"
+
+"He thinks enough of himself, doesn't he?" said Martine.
+
+"Oh, he's not really conceited," replied Amy, "and I dare say that he
+would liven us up a little; but on the whole things are best as they
+are."
+
+"Aren't you quieter than usual, Martine?" asked Amy that evening.
+
+"Well, I had a letter from papa to-day," she said, "and he says that
+mamma is really very ill, and that they may have to stay abroad all
+summer. I have just written him about Yvonne; but of course it will be
+some time before I can get an answer."
+
+"What do you want him to do?" asked Amy,--"to let you adopt her? She's
+almost as tall as you are."
+
+"Well, I'm not sure what I want, but I know that if Yvonne should have
+her voice cultivated she'd be a great prima donna, and what a feather in
+my cap to have been her discoverer!"
+
+"I fear that your father would need more than your opinion to enable him
+to decide a matter like that. In fact, only an expert musician could
+make a safe prophecy about Yvonne."
+
+"Well, at least, I hope that he will consent to letting her go to Boston
+to study next winter. We could find a doctor to help her eyesight."
+
+"Why not ask your father to invest in Alexander's gold mine?" asked Amy,
+with a smile; "then he could do everything for Yvonne himself."
+
+"That isn't the point. I've really taken a great fancy to Yvonne, and I
+want to have her near me. Have you written to Pierre yet?"
+
+"Oh, yes; I went out this morning and bought him a copy of Longfellow.
+He had never owned one himself, and was anxious to have it. I have asked
+him to write us so that we shall get the letter at Grand Pre."
+
+"It's time Priscilla had a protegee," said Martine, "though she doesn't
+seem the kind of person to adopt anything very warmly except her own
+opinions."
+
+This was a rather sharp remark for Martine to make, and it convinced Amy
+of something that she had tried to doubt--that the two girls were really
+rather far apart, "and both such charming girls," she said to herself.
+
+Martine's letters with the Pubnico and Shelburne postmarks had given
+Priscilla considerable concern. Though not a meddler, she yet saw
+Martine's lack of frankness about those letters. Priscilla knew that
+neither was in the handwriting of Fritz Tomkins, and she was sure that
+they were written by the Freshman with him whom she knew only by the
+name of "Taps." She was now quite convinced, also, that it really was
+Martine whom Amy had seen wheeling through the streets of Yarmouth with
+this same youth. That it was no concern of hers she realized perfectly;
+and yet, she wondered if it might not be her duty to tell Mrs. Redmond
+what she knew. Priscilla was over-conscientious; she was always more
+ready to disclose her own faults than to conceal them,--to disclose, at
+least, faults that she herself recognized. She did not altogether
+realize that a certain form of censoriousness was growing upon her; that
+she was too much inclined to measure all people by her own standard.
+
+Thus many little things that Martine did quite innocently and naturally
+seemed to Priscilla bits of affectation. Martine's hand was ever in her
+pocket. When it was a question of buying books or fruit or some other
+little thing for the traveller, Martine always managed to pay for it,
+and Priscilla thought that her readiness to do this came from a desire
+to display the size of her allowance. Priscilla herself, on the other
+hand, had to be careful about little expenses, and while their present
+trip called for no great expenditure, she hated to be obliged so often
+to thank Martine for small luxuries. Then, too, Martine had an
+extravagant way of talking that disturbed the serious Priscilla. She
+could not say that she had ever found Martine in a real untruth. Still,
+Martine's way was not her way, and instead of drawing nearer together as
+the journey progressed, the two girls were farther apart.
+
+Martine, on her part, thought Priscilla rather old-fashioned, but
+accounted for the seriousness of her dress and her manner by the fact
+that she was still in mourning for her father, who had died of fever
+contracted in Cuba at the beginning of the late war.
+
+Perhaps it was because she realized that her prejudices were a little
+unreasonable, that Priscilla hesitated about speaking to Amy or Mrs.
+Redmond regarding the suspicious postmarks.
+
+The long "historical disquisition," as Martine called it, that Amy had
+given them on their first day at Annapolis, was not immediately followed
+by another. Their mornings were spent in sketching in the neighborhood,
+and their afternoons in driving. One day they crossed the Grandville
+Ferry and went down to the old fort near Goat Island. But though they
+all professed to see slight traces of the earthworks, it required
+imagination rather than eyesight to discern even a slight trace of
+Poutrincourt's fort.
+
+"It's one of the ironies of history," said Amy, "that tradition should
+speak of this as a Scotch fort, for the Scotch were here so short a time
+before the French were again in power."
+
+"What became of the Scotch?" asked Priscilla.
+
+"It is supposed that most of them went back home, and that the few who
+stayed intermarried with the conquering French. Sir William Alexander
+and his Baronets of Nova Scotia made little impression on Acadia."
+
+"Amy," said Martine, "of all the people you've told us about the most
+interesting to me is young Biencourt, wandering about in the woods and
+living like an Indian; I even dreamt about him the other night. How did
+he happen to escape when Argall destroyed the fort?"
+
+"Oh, he and some of his companions were up there where Annapolis now is,
+working in their grain fields; you know they had a mill up there, and
+rich fields of grain. The fort itself was not in a good location,--at
+least for farming. It is said that Argall and the other Virginians were
+not aware of the existence of the mill and the fields, and when they had
+destroyed the fort, thought that there was nothing left for the French."
+
+"You may be pretty sure," said Martine, "they wouldn't have let anything
+escape if they'd known; the English are always greedy."
+
+"They are not a bit worse than the French," retorted Priscilla. "Just
+think how cruel the French were during the Reign of Terror."
+
+"Oh, that's an entirely different kind of thing; the French are never
+half as anxious to grab other people's land as the English are."
+
+"There, there," interposed Amy, "I'll have to be a Board of
+International Arbitration; in other words, let us have peace. There's
+one thing," she continued, "I feel as if young Biencourt kept alive the
+love of the French for Port Royal. Charles La Tour was himself only a
+boy like Biencourt when he first came to the New World. The King had
+certainly given Poutrincourt rights in Acadia, and he had passed them on
+to his son. Poutrincourt was killed at the Siege of Marye in 1610,
+scarcely three years before Argall's destruction of Port Royal."
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER X
+
+  EXPLORATIONS
+
+
+"How very gay your attire, Martine! Do you think of paying afternoon
+visits?"
+
+"No, my dear Amy, I do not, because I know no one to visit; but I'm
+tired of cloth skirts and a shirt-waist, and I thought I would like to
+see how it would feel to wear something decent."
+
+Martine's gown was a pale blue voile, made up over a bright blue lining,
+with a delicate white insertion on the waist; her hat, a blue chip,
+trimmed with white flowers, and she carried a parasol to match.
+
+"Is your gown quite suitable for a walk on a dusty road?"
+
+"Perhaps it isn't," responded Martine, "but sometimes one must live up
+to her feelings, and this is how I feel to-day,--like wearing my very
+best; besides, this is nothing remarkable, this dress, but it happens to
+be the best I have with me."
+
+"Very well," and Amy sighed; "it's no use to argue with you, and as soon
+as Priscilla comes downstairs we'll set off."
+
+When Priscilla appeared, she, like Amy, had a short cloth skirt and
+shirt-waist, but she made no comment on the elegance of Martine's
+appearance.
+
+There was one thing rather incongruous in Martine's aspect,--she carried
+a small shovel, which looked as if it had never been used; such, indeed,
+was the case, and as she brandished it she said cheerfully, "I hope we
+shall go somewhere where we can dig. I hear there's any amount of hidden
+treasure around Annapolis, and I am anxious to get some of it for
+myself."
+
+The girls walked a good while before they saw anything likely to reward
+an amateur antiquarian. Then, in a field quite outside the town,
+Martine's sharp eyes saw something that interested her. In a moment she
+was over the fence, with the others following.
+
+"There," she said excitedly, "you see these very old, gnarled
+apple-trees and this clump of willows; I'm perfectly sure that this used
+to be an Acadian farm."
+
+"That's a safe guess," rejoined Amy, "for all the land about here was
+once in the hands of the Acadians."
+
+"Yes, but I think from this little mound and that hollow beside it that
+there was a house on this very spot. I noticed what Dr. Gray said when
+he was talking to your mother last evening, and that was what decided me
+to do some digging for myself."
+
+"In a blue voile dress," responded Amy, in a tone of disapproval. "Ah,
+Martine, you are so absurd!"
+
+Even while Amy was speaking Martine had begun to dig,--aimlessly, of
+course, although in a few minutes she had made a fairly large hole. When
+her shovel struck something hard she was delighted, but, digging deeper,
+she brought up only a piece of broken brick. Undiscouraged, she dug one
+side of the first hole, and presently she held out to Amy what at first
+puzzled them both. It looked like a mere bit of rusty iron, but later
+they decided that it was probably part of an old lock.
+
+"Which I shall label 'Exhibit No. 1' in my museum of curiosities," said
+Martine.
+
+"Let me see what I can do," cried Amy; "you must be tired."
+
+So Martine surrendered her shovel, and in a quarter of an hour Amy
+brought up an old bottle, not at all remarkable in shape, but very
+valuable from Martine's point of view, because it was undoubtedly an
+Acadian trophy.
+
+Priscilla contented herself with some slips from an ancient willow-tree.
+
+"It is not the best time of year for making cuttings," she said, "but
+these French willows cling to life as closely as the proverbial cat. I
+heard of a man who had a walking-stick cut from a willow-tree. It looked
+as hard and dry as a bone, but one day he happened to stick it in the
+ground near a spring and forgot all about it. Some time afterwards, when
+he passed, the walking-stick was sending out little shoots, and in time
+it became a full-fledged willow-tree."
+
+"That's a very good story," commented Martine, "and as we know you never
+tell anything but the exact truth, Priscilla, neither Amy nor I would
+think of doubting it."
+
+As the trio were walking back toward town they met Mrs. Redmond,
+driving.
+
+"Come," she cried, "which two of you will drive with me? You slipped off
+this afternoon without my realizing that you were going away, and now I
+want company."
+
+"I would rather stroll along," replied Amy, "but I am sure that Martine
+and Priscilla would enjoy the drive. Martine is turning antiquarian, and
+if your driver can take you to some old grave or Indian mound, she will
+be delighted to use her shovel."
+
+"I don't know what I can promise in the way of graves and mounds, but if
+Martine comes with me I can offer her a lovely view."
+
+"If you please, Mrs. Redmond," said Priscilla, "I would rather walk back
+home than drive."
+
+Although Amy tried to make her change her mind, Priscilla was firm, and
+the discussion ended by Amy's getting into the carriage with Martine and
+Mrs. Redmond.
+
+As she walked along the main street, where the houses were still rather
+far apart, Priscilla noticed a little graveyard in a corner of a garden.
+As the gate was open, she felt at liberty to walk inside. The stones at
+which she glanced were of marble, and the inscriptions were well cut.
+The names on two or three of them were French, and the men who bore them
+had evidently been officers in the English army. This interested her,
+and when she saw a girl of about her own age standing at the door of a
+cottage near by, she felt emboldened to speak to her.
+
+"They were not really French," said the girl, in answer to her question,
+"but of Huguenot family, who fought for the King in the Revolution. I've
+heard my mother say that one of them was a cousin of her grandmother's,
+and they all came here together at the close of the war."
+
+Priscilla was delighted. Here, perhaps, was a person who would tell her
+something about the Loyalists of the Revolution.
+
+"Were your people Loyalists?" she asked.
+
+"Why, of course," was the reply, as if anything else were unsupposable.
+
+"Oh, I'm so glad!" responded Priscilla. "I've been waiting to hear more
+about the Loyalists."
+
+"You are an American?" questioned the girl. "Americans are not apt to
+care about Loyalists; they seem to think only about the Acadians; but my
+ancestors were all Loyalists, and if you will just come into the house
+my mother would love to talk to you."
+
+So Priscilla followed her new acquaintance indoors. Outside, the house
+looked small, but within she found many rooms opening one into another,
+none of them very large, and all of them with low ceilings.
+
+"My mother's great-grandfather built this house when he first came from
+New York. He was an officer in the Loyal American Regiment. There is his
+commission; we framed it to hang on the wall."
+
+"By His Excellency Sir Henry Clinton, K. B., General and
+Commander-in-Chief of all His Majesty's Forces within the Colonies lying
+on the Atlantic Ocean, from Nova Scotia to West Florida inclusive, etc.,
+etc., etc.
+
+"By Virtue of the Power and Authority in Me vested, I DO hereby
+constitute and appoint You to be Captain of a Company in the Loyal
+American Regiment commanded by Colonel Beverly Robinson."
+
+Priscilla read the whole commission in which the duties of the newly
+made captain were defined, to the very end where the signature of Sir
+Henry Clinton still stood out clearly.
+
+While the new acquaintance went to call her mother, Priscilla looked
+around the pleasant sitting-room. There was a high, old-fashioned
+bookcase filled with books, many of them in dingy calf bindings. The
+young girl returned while she was looking at them, expressing her regret
+that her mother was not at home.
+
+"My grandfather brought many of these books from New York," she said;
+"he was a nephew of the rector of Trinity Church, and was himself a
+graduate of King's College, New York."
+
+"I don't see how they had the courage to give up everything and come
+down here so far away. Even if they did not like the new government, I
+should think they would rather have stayed where most of their friends
+and relatives were."
+
+"Oh, it wasn't always a matter of choice," rejoined Eunice, for this,
+Priscilla discovered, was her new friend's name; "some had to come,
+because they had been too active in the King's cause and the other side
+would not forgive them. Even after the Peace many were in danger of
+imprisonment; and then a great many had had all their property
+confiscated, and thought it would be easier to start over again down
+here than to live in poverty among their old friends and neighbors."
+
+Priscilla looked in amazement at Eunice. She expressed herself so much
+more carefully than most girls of her age.
+
+"Martine would call her quaint," thought Priscilla, looking at her, "and
+if she knows as much about other things as she does about history, she
+must be a wonder."
+
+"I wish my mother were here," said Eunice, politely. "She gets quite
+worked up when she talks about the Loyalists."
+
+"I should think she would," responded Priscilla. "They certainly had a
+hard time."
+
+"She thinks that we have been cut off from things that really are our
+own, and now, when we have so little money that I can't even afford to
+go away to college, she feels more and more indignant at the injustice
+of it all."
+
+Priscilla did not know exactly what to say. In her mind there was a
+struggle between her feeling of patriotism and her sense of justice. As
+Eunice had put it, it did not seem fair that the Loyalists should have
+lost everything, simply because they had had the courage to hold out for
+the King. But a phrase came into her mind that she had often heard, and
+for the moment it seemed the only sentiment that she could express.
+
+"After all," she said gently, "I suppose it was the 'fortune of war'
+that your people suffered so much."
+
+"Oh, yes," responded Eunice, "that is what I often say to my mother; and
+then I tell her too, that in one hundred and twenty-five years the
+family probably would have lost all the property they had before the
+Revolution."
+
+Finding that the subject was getting a little beyond her, Priscilla
+ventured a more general remark.
+
+"There must be many interesting historical incidents connected with
+Annapolis; I mean, incidents that are not French," she concluded
+hastily. "I am just a little tired, myself, of the Acadians."
+
+"I don't know of many very entertaining things," responded Eunice, "but
+I remember one story that might amuse you. During the Revolution, the
+people of Annapolis were awfully afraid of attacks from Privateers. You
+see, after the Acadians were driven out a large colony from New England
+came down here. They received grants of land from the government, and
+were very prosperous when the war began. Many were on the side of the
+Yankees, but in the end England was able to hold Nova Scotia. However,
+the small privateering vessels were constantly coming into Nova Scotia
+ports, and even Annapolis wasn't perfectly safe. One night two rebel
+schooners came up to the mouth of the river; they had about eighty men,
+and landed them safely, because the sentry at the fort was asleep. They
+entered the houses and stirred people up immensely; they seemed more
+bent on making mischief than in doing any real violence. There were not
+many citizens here in the town then, but one of them, looking from the
+window when he heard a noise in the street, saw two of the rebels
+disputing over something they had stolen; when they saw him at the
+window, they dashed into his house, and a minute or two afterwards
+another Annapolis man, only half dressed, rushed excitedly into the room
+to tell his friend that the Yankees were plundering the town; this was
+unnecessary information, because, as I have said, two rebels were
+already in the house. He discovered them with their bayonets pointed at
+him just as he had finished telling his story, and he was so surprised
+that he fell backward over a cradle, with his feet in the air. His
+comical appearance made the rebels laugh so, that he afterwards said
+that this saved his life, for before they had recovered he had jumped to
+his feet and run away. But later he and all the other able-bodied
+citizens were shut up in the fort, while the men from the schooners went
+through the houses and carried away everything movable. They allowed the
+ladies to keep their shoes, though they first removed the silver
+buckles. The schooners disappeared in the morning, when the report was
+spread around that the militia of the county were gathering and coming
+to Annapolis. That, I believe, was the only attack on Annapolis during
+the Revolution. It happened two or three years before the arrival of the
+refugees, and the accounts of it that have been handed down always
+represented it as a very comical affair."
+
+"Did you say 'Yankees'?" asked Priscilla. "Did you mean--"
+
+"Oh, I meant schooners from New England; I've heard they were from Cape
+Cod," replied Eunice.
+
+"It was pretty small business," said Priscilla, almost apologetically.
+"I don't believe that the men on the schooners were either soldiers or
+sailors. I am sure that Washington wouldn't have approved if he had
+known."
+
+"You don't think that all on your side were good, do you," asked Eunice,
+"and that all on ours were bad?"
+
+Priscilla hardly knew what to reply. She was getting again into deep
+water, for she saw that although the war was long over, Eunice was still
+a strong partisan. So, as a kind of peace-offering, she asked Eunice if
+she would not walk back home with her.
+
+"I should like to have you meet my friends whom I am travelling with,"
+she said. "We are going to stay in Annapolis a week or more. Mrs.
+Redmond is making some beautiful sketches, and her daughter Amy is just
+dear; she is older than Martine and I, but she never makes us feel the
+difference in our ages, and she knows more than almost anybody I ever
+saw."
+
+"I should love to walk back with you," said Eunice, "though I cannot
+stay very long. What is Martine like?" she asked abruptly.
+
+"Oh, Martine,--well, Martine is different. She always sees the funny
+side of things, and she doesn't care what anything costs if she happens
+to want it. She's perfectly devoted to the French, and I'm so terribly
+tired of her Acadians that I want to find out what the English did in
+Annapolis."
+
+"I will be glad to do what I can to help you," responded Eunice, "only
+you mustn't be too touchy about things; for you see we're still all
+English down here."
+
+As Priscilla walked back to the boarding-house she congratulated herself
+on her new friend; for although she had known Eunice so short a time,
+she already regarded her as much more than an ordinary acquaintance.
+
+"I can always tell," she said to herself, "whether any one is going to
+wear well. Mother says that that is the only test for real friends, and
+I can see that Eunice and I are likely to be more than acquaintances. I
+feel as if I had known her a long time. Now it wasn't so with Martine,
+and even though we have been together so much this summer, some way I
+don't feel perfectly comfortable with her. I'd like to be fair, but
+still--"
+
+Yes, Priscilla meant to be fair, but still--what was the trouble? It is
+to be feared that she had not yet learned the real meaning of tolerance.
+Martine's point of view was often so unlike hers that Priscilla did not
+make enough effort to put herself in her friend's place. While believing
+herself just, she certainly permitted herself to be biassed little in
+her judgments. Nor did she realize that Martine herself often spoke in
+an exaggerated tone, chiefly for the purpose of seeing to what extent
+she could impose on Priscilla; for Martine, discovering Priscilla's
+attitude toward her, liked to say things to surprise her,--"Puritan
+Prissie," as she called her at these times.
+
+It would not be quite true, perhaps, to say that Priscilla distrusted
+Martine's interest in Yvonne, although she had a strong conviction that
+it was merely impulse that had led her to promise so much.
+
+"For the day that we spent at Meteghan, Yvonne was like a new plaything
+to her. Had Martine been with Yvonne a week, it would have been the
+same; she would have lavished things on her, and would have been ready
+to promise her anything. But 'out of sight, out of mind;' I believe that
+that is always the way with her. I am not even sure that she is as fond
+of Mrs. Redmond and Amy as she seems to be."
+
+Poor Priscilla! she was really borrowing trouble needlessly, and yet in
+more senses than one it was real trouble to her, because she was never
+sure just how she ought to respond to the more flippant remarks made by
+Martine. They were often so witty that she could not help laughing, even
+when she felt the greatest need of preserving her own dignity.
+
+Another grievance was Martine's way of addressing Amy. Priscilla herself
+had begun by trying to say "Miss Redmond;" occasionally she slipped into
+"Amy," but more usually "Miss Amy" was her form of address. Martine had
+laughed loudly at this, and one day she said, "It is what I call too
+servile. Amy is not greatly our superior, but still I'd rather call her
+Miss Redmond. I notice that Fritz Tomkins in some of his letters says
+'Miss Amy Redmond.' I wonder if that would do for us?"
+
+"Oh, Amy--that is, Miss Redmond--explained that it was just his way of
+making fun of her when he says 'Miss Amy Redmond.'"
+
+"Probably, but when I can't think of anything else I will say that,
+though generally Amy is good enough for me, and here she is, looking as
+sweet as a rose." Whereupon, without the slightest regard for the
+dignity with which Priscilla would have liked to hedge Amy, Martine had
+thrown herself upon the older girl's neck, to the destruction of
+something less ideal than her dignity; to wit, the freshness of her
+muslin stock.
+
+Thinking of this scene, Priscilla sighed. "Eunice would never do or say
+anything silly." This goes to show that she did indeed regard Eunice as
+a kindred spirit.
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER XI
+
+  A TEA PARTY
+
+
+"Prissie, Prissie," said Martine, in a teasing tone, "you are altogether
+too enthusiastic; I don't believe in these perfect people, and your
+little Tory must be rather a prig, from what you say."
+
+When Martine called her "Prissie," Priscilla knew that she meant
+mischief, and though in her inmost heart she admitted that Martine's
+teasing carried no real sting, she never stood this teasing with very
+good grace.
+
+"She isn't a Tory," she replied rather sharply; "there are no Tories in
+these days, and Eunice Airton is not a prig."
+
+But Martine only laughed; perhaps she retained too firmly in her mind
+the remembrance of Priscilla's indifference to Yvonne and was now trying
+to pay her back. Priscilla had just given an enthusiastic account of her
+new acquaintance, and Mrs. Redmond and Amy had listened with great
+attention. Mrs. Redmond, indeed, was pleased that Priscilla had found
+something really to interest her. Although away from home not quite two
+weeks, Priscilla had begun to show the good effects of the trip in round
+and rosier cheeks, and in a slightly more animated manner. Yet it had
+seemed to Mrs. Redmond that she was not quite as pleased with things in
+general as the other two girls. She was sorry too to note the growing
+antagonism between Martine and Priscilla, though its cause was hard to
+discover. At first Martine's teasing had proceeded from the merest love
+of fun, and she thought that Priscilla took it all too seriously. Amy
+had already cautioned her that she could soon disarm Martine, by
+receiving everything she said as if said in pure fun. But Priscilla was
+sensitive, and she was just conscious enough of certain little foibles
+of her own to realize that sometimes Martine was laughing at her.
+
+"Even if Eunice were a Tory, I shouldn't care," she continued. "I never
+heard any one talk as well as she does."
+
+"Ah, that's just it, my dear Miss Prissie Prunes," retorted Martine;
+"I'll warrant that she's just as prim and precise as--"
+
+Martine did not finish the sentence, but Priscilla realized well that
+she meant to say "as prim and precise as you are."
+
+The day after this conversation Mrs. Airton called on Mrs. Redmond and
+the girls. Martine was not at home, but the others were pleased with the
+delicate little woman, in rather faded black, who was particularly
+cordial and anxious to have them see Annapolis at its best.
+
+As she talked, it was easy to understand how Eunice came by her precise
+manner and language, for there was a certain bookishness in her choice
+of words, and correctness of expression, that, although not really
+subject to criticism, might become tiresome. Mrs. Airton had heard more
+or less about Mrs. Redmond and her party from Dr. Gray, to whose family
+Mrs. Redmond had brought an introduction.
+
+"Now I hope," she said, toward the end of her visit, "that you will give
+us the pleasure of spending to-morrow afternoon with us and staying to
+tea. I suppose 'tea' has gone out of fashion in the States, but it's
+just the height of the strawberry season now, and perhaps you'll accept
+high tea in place of a late dinner."
+
+"We shall be delighted to accept your invitation," Mrs. Redmond replied,
+"and as for tea, why, we never have late dinner at home in summer. We
+shall enjoy your hospitality."
+
+Now it happened, unfortunately, that on the morning of Wednesday, the
+day for which Mrs. Airton had invited them, Martine and Priscilla had
+their first falling out. Like most fallings out, it began in a very
+trivial way. Among Martine's belongings was an elaborate toilet set of
+silver-mounted brushes and boxes; she had had the good sense not to
+carry them in her travelling bag, but at Annapolis, where they were to
+stay longer than at some places, she had unpacked them all from her
+trunk, and they were spread out in elaborate array on her bureau. Amy
+had planned an excursion for the morning to Granville across the
+Granville Ferry to a certain picturesque spot on the other side. When
+she and Priscilla were ready to start, they knocked at Martine's door,
+thinking that she too would be ready. To their surprise, they found her
+in a loose dressing-sack, busily engaged in polishing her silver.
+
+"There, I forgot all about going with you," cried Martine; "the damp air
+has blackened my brushes so that I just thought the best thing was to
+sit down and polish them."
+
+"Oh, dear," rejoined Priscilla, "we are late as it is; for if we miss
+this ferry-boat, we'll have to wait so long for another that we won't
+have any time on the other side."
+
+"I can't help it," retorted Martine; "you can go without me if you like,
+though I'll drop what I'm doing and hurry to get dressed; but if you do
+not want to wait, it's all the same to me."
+
+"Of course we'll wait," said Amy, gently. "I particularly wish you to be
+with us, Martine, and though it will shorten our time a little, we must
+make the best of it now."
+
+Priscilla looked at her watch. "We ought to take this next ferry-boat,
+and if we wait for Martine we shall lose it. Cleaning silver seems such
+a waste of time when we're travelling."
+
+Priscilla's manner rather than her actual words irritated Martine.
+
+"I am the best judge of what wastes my own time," she said with unwonted
+sharpness, "and as a matter of fact, I'd rather stay here than go with
+you."
+
+Amy, looking at her earnestly, realized that this was not the time for
+further argument.
+
+"Very well," she rejoined. "Priscilla, let us go on. Martine is
+certainly the best judge of what she ought to do."
+
+"I know I shouldn't have criticised Martine," apologized Priscilla, as
+they walked along; "but it seems so silly to me that she should carry a
+valuable set of silver like that on a trip of this kind. I spoke before
+I thought."
+
+"Martine has always been greatly indulged," said Amy. "At least, I've
+been told that she sets no value on money, and so what would seem a
+little extravagant to us does not seem so to her."
+
+"Well, good taste is good taste," rejoined Priscilla, "and if I had ten
+times as much money as I have, I'd never carry jewelry about with me
+travelling, nor expensive toilet-sets."
+
+Amy did not reply to this. Her own view was much the same as that of
+Priscilla, but she realized that it was not for her to criticise either
+girl.
+
+The trip to Granville proved less satisfactory than she had hoped. The
+town itself, though small, was attractively situated, and she identified
+one or two historical spots that she had hoped to see; but she missed
+the particular road for which she was looking, and on account of their
+engagement at Mrs. Airton's, she had to hurry back to Annapolis without
+accomplishing what she had set out to do. The mid-day sun was very hot,
+and she and Priscilla reached the house dusty and tired, to find Martine
+looking tantalizingly cool and comfortable, seated on a rustic bench
+under a tree in the orchard, busily working at a water-color sketch.
+
+After their early dinner, Mrs. Redmond took Amy aside and said rather
+anxiously:
+
+"I wish you could persuade Martine to go with us this afternoon."
+
+"Go with us?" returned Amy. "Why, of course. Mrs. Airton expects her."
+
+"I don't quite understand it, but she says that she does not care to go,
+and in fact she has engaged a horse for a ride."
+
+"On horseback! Who is going with her?"
+
+"No one. She says that it's perfectly safe for her to go alone, and
+though I tried to dissuade her, I can see that she is determined to have
+her own way."
+
+"I suppose that's what they mean by Martine's being difficult to manage.
+Thus far I had thought her remarkably amiable."
+
+"There's one thing about it," rejoined Mrs. Redmond, "it may be better
+to let her have her way this time than to have her take it without our
+permission. I have learned that the horse she is to have is perfectly
+safe,--so safe in fact, that I fear she'll find it rather a bore,--and
+she says that she'll only go over the road where we drove the other
+afternoon, every step of which she knows; but I must say that I regret
+her discourtesy to Mrs. Airton, for her refusal of her invitation must
+seem very strange. Why do you suppose she is unwilling to go?"
+
+"I'm afraid it's because she and Priscilla had a little disagreement
+this morning. It was so slight that I wouldn't have attached any
+importance to it, but apparently Martine has taken it more to heart."
+
+When Priscilla learned of Martine's change of plan, she made no comment,
+believing in her inmost heart that Martine had taken this way to show
+her real distaste to those whom she called Priscilla's "Tory friends."
+When Mrs. Redmond and the other girls reached Mrs. Airton's early in the
+afternoon, they found their friend Mrs. Gray there, and one or two young
+girls of the neighborhood. For a while they sat in the low-studded
+sitting-room where Priscilla had looked at the commission signed by Sir
+Henry Clinton. Their conversation did not concern itself entirely with
+the past, but there were many questions about the present, of Nova
+Scotia in general and Annapolis in particular, that the Americans were
+anxious to ask and the others glad to answer.
+
+Later, however, they got back to the subject in which Priscilla was
+especially interested,--the Loyalist refugees and the hard times they
+experienced. Eunice had shown her, among other things, her
+great-great-grandfather's silver breastplate, with his monogram and a
+crown finely engraved upon it, and one or two of his letters, the paper
+yellow with age and the ink faded.
+
+"Since you are interested in such things," said Mrs. Airton, "perhaps
+you would like to see some other letters. You might show her, Eunice,
+that one that we have that is a copy of the one that my great-grand-aunt
+Hester wrote to Sir Guy Carlton, when she was trying to arrange to leave
+New York. You know, my dear," she continued in explanation, "in those
+days people almost always made copies of their letters, and we have a
+good many that are really very interesting. I believe this letter
+contained a request from Hester and her sister, Anne, whose husbands had
+both been killed toward the close of the war."
+
+So Amy, taking up the paper, read without difficulty the clear, round
+handwriting:
+
+    "'The Memorial of Hester Danforth, widow of Benjamin
+    Danforth, late captain of the Prince of Wales' American
+    Regiment and Anne Dutton, widow of Josiah Dutton, Lt. in
+    said Regt.
+        Humbly sheweth
+                That your Memorialist, Hester Danforth
+    has two sons, one fourteen and the other twelve years old,
+    and Anne Dutton three children, oldest son fourteen,
+    youngest son seven and her daughter ten years old--That as
+    they purpose to go to Nova Scotia with their children--
+
+    They wish to go on the ship with Dr. Peter Brown, who is
+    about going with a company of refugees to St. Johns River.
+
+    That they may be indulged with drawing the land's Government
+    may allow them in that quarter and with the company that
+    goes under the direction of Dr. Brown or such other company
+    of refugees as may appear to your Memorialists more
+    eligible.
+
+    That they may be indulged with the liberty of taking with
+    each of them a man and woman servant and allowances of
+    provisions, clothing, etc. as to your Excellency may seem
+    meet.
+
+    That, should your Excellency graciously order six months
+    advance upon their pensions to be paid previous to their
+    sailing, it will be very thankfully received as indeed their
+    circumstances are such as they cannot go with reasonable
+    Comfort and Decency without it.
+
+    As your Memorialists sufferings have been very long and
+    great--They humbly ask as many Favours and Indulgences as to
+    your Excellency shall appear anyways reasonable and fit, and
+    as in duty bound they will ever pray etc.
+
+                    HESTER DANFORTH
+                    ANNE DUTTON
+
+    NEW YORK, _June 2, 1783_.'"
+
+"I always think that an interesting letter," said Mrs. Airton, "because
+both of those ladies who signed it were brought up in the greatest
+luxury; their father had one of the large estates on the Hudson and
+their mother was of English birth and an heiress; but the family saved
+not a single shred of their fortune and it is rather touching to read
+behind the lines of this letter and to see that both these young women,
+for they were under thirty-five, had for some time been suffering for
+the necessities of life."
+
+"'The fortune of war,'" commented Priscilla, in the very words that she
+had used on her first visit to Eunice.
+
+"I hope," added Amy, "that they found life comfortable after they came
+here."
+
+"Ah," said Mrs. Airton, shaking her head, "at first life here could
+hardly be called comfortable. Imagine twenty-five hundred people crowded
+into this little town, which had not rooms for one tenth the number.
+Often a whole family had to content itself with one room, and delicately
+reared women and children had to spend at least a part of that first
+winter in tents. Several hundred, it is said, were herded together in
+the church. Of course, after a few months they began to distribute
+themselves through the country. Sometimes they had great trouble in
+taking possession of the land granted them, because it was already in
+the possession of the New Englanders who had settled on the farms of the
+Acadians twenty years before. Usually these pre-Loyalist settlers had a
+rightful title to the land they claimed; then the refugees had to apply
+for other lands. Many of these refugees were professional men or
+merchants from New York City, and they found it hard in middle life to
+become farmers; but, as you say, my dear, it was the fortune of war, and
+in time they adapted themselves to the new conditions. In the course of
+a few years some went back to New York, others sailed over to St. John,
+where, from the beginning, city life prevailed, and those who stayed
+here in Nova Scotia seemed to be contented with their lot; although I
+for one feel very bitter when I think of all that my family in its
+various branches lost. I feel it the more because I'm able to do so
+little for my children, and they are reaching an age when a little money
+would mean so much."
+
+"Ah, yes, mamma," interposed Eunice, "but if the money had stayed in the
+family after the Revolution it might all have been lost before this, and
+besides, Balfour and I do not care half as much for wealth as--" and
+here she stopped, for at this point Mrs. Gray interrupted her.
+
+"Indeed, I think it a greater privilege to have grown up in Annapolis
+than to have lived in the finest city of the United States. Why, I can
+assure you, Mrs. Redmond," turning to the latter, "that few places of
+its size have had so many distinguished residents. When the fort was
+garrisoned, it was quite like an English town, and I've heard my
+grandmother speak of the parties that were given here when she was
+young; not to mention the Duke of Kent, who was here before her day,
+there have been such men in the garrison as Sir Colin Campbell,
+afterwards Lord Clyde, while Sir Fenwick Williams, the defender of Kars,
+was a native of the town, and surely no literary man in America has a
+wider reputation than Judge Haliburton, whose house was just down there
+beyond the hotel. I often think of the lines by Oliver Goldsmith, who
+lived here,--a grand-nephew, my dear," laying her hand on Amy's, "of the
+great English poet, who himself wrote 'The Rising Village,' describing
+Annapolis."
+
+"Oh, can't you recite a part of it?" asked Amy. She had already
+discovered a vein of sentimentality in Mrs. Gray, and she was right in
+judging that the request would please her.
+
+"I'm sorry to say," replied Mrs. Gray, "that my memory is not what it
+used to be, and the only lines I recall do not touch on the social so
+much as the natural charms of Annapolis."
+
+"Oh, but please do say them." This time it was Priscilla, and Mrs. Gray
+began:--
+
+    "'Here the broad marsh extends its open plain,
+    Until its limits touch the distant main;
+    There verdant meads along the uplands spring,
+    And grateful odours to the breezes fling.
+    Here crops of grain in rich luxuriance rise,
+    And wave their golden riches to the skies;
+    There smiling orchards interrupt the scene,
+    Or gardens, bounded by some hedge of green;
+    The farmer's cottage bosomed 'mong the trees,
+    Whose spreading branches shelter from the breeze;
+    The winding stream that turns the busy mill,
+    Whose clacking echoes o'er the distant hill;
+    The neat, white church, beside whose walls are spread,
+    The grass-clad hillocks of the sacred dead.'"
+
+"It sounds like 'The Deserted Village,'" said Priscilla, politely; "that
+was one of the poems that we studied at school last year; you recite
+this beautifully."
+
+"Ah, well, I'm aware that the first Oliver Goldsmith's poem is greater
+poetry, but here in Annapolis people were very fond of Oliver the
+younger, and if ever you've time to read the whole poem, you will find
+that he thoroughly appreciated Acadia."
+
+But all the hours of that pleasant afternoon were not spent in
+historical conversation. Priscilla and Eunice, arm in arm, wandered out
+in the pleasant orchard, and, swinging together in the hammock, talked
+about all kinds of things, more frivolous than serious, such as girls
+care to talk about. In appearance the two girls were not unlike, though
+Eunice was a little the taller, despite the fact that she was a few
+months younger; her eyes were the same gray-blue and her hair the same
+pale brown as Priscilla's; not quite fair enough to be called golden,
+and hardly dark enough to be called brown.
+
+"It is strange," Amy had said to her mother, after Eunice had first
+called on them, "that Eunice Airton reminds me of some one I have known;
+I cannot say just who, but it is one of those resemblances that worry
+one; you feel as if you must decide whom it is she resembles, yet try as
+I can I cannot think."
+
+While the girls were in the orchard, Eunice pointed out to Priscilla the
+various additions that had been made to the house. Little ells and rooms
+had been added, some of them only one story high, and the original
+house, built by her Loyalist ancestor, was the very smallest part of the
+present dwelling.
+
+"I thought it strange," said Priscilla, "when you said that this house
+was built just after the Revolution, that it should have been so large,
+but now I understand."
+
+"Oh, there's been an ell added for nearly every generation. To tell you
+the truth," she concluded, "although my mother speaks so despondingly
+now, the family have seen better days, even in Annapolis. My grandfather
+Balfour was a very successful lawyer, and in spite of the
+Revolution"--here she smiled--"we might have been rich to-day if he had
+not sunk his money in unlucky speculation."
+
+"Balfour?" queried Priscilla. "Where have I heard that name?"
+
+"Oh, the name itself is not so very uncommon. There must be many of the
+name somewhere, although our family was the only one down here."
+
+A little later the girls were looking over some of the old books on the
+bookshelves; they were chiefly history and poetry. There was Robertson's
+"Charles Fifth," a fine set of Pope's Complete Works, and Dodsley's
+"Miscellany," with the gilding on its calf binding not yet quite worn
+off. Priscilla looked at these books with less interest than Amy showed
+for them; she was not as ardent a lover of things ancient, although her
+respect for Eunice increased when the young girl told her that she had
+read nearly every book in the house.
+
+"We have long winter evenings," she said, "and fewer amusements, I
+suppose, than you have in the cities; and really I would rather read
+than do anything else."
+
+"But these books are so very old-fashioned, and Pope's poetry, don't you
+find it pretty dull? I didn't care so very much for 'The Rape of the
+Lock,' though some people call it amusing."
+
+"I prefer Tennyson," replied Eunice, in a judicial tone, "but I feel
+there are certain things one must read some time, and mother says that I
+might as well read them now, while I have the books. Some time," and
+here she sighed, "we may have to break up our home, and that might mean
+packing away all our books; so it's well to 'make hay while the sun
+shines,'" she concluded with a bright smile that was in marked contrast
+with the sigh of a moment before.
+
+In the meantime Amy, in looking over some of the books, gave an
+exclamation of surprise; she had opened a large Bible, on the fly-leaf
+of which was written "Audrey Balfour, Her book."
+
+"There is something very familiar in that name," she cried, "Audrey
+Balfour, and yet for the moment I can't recall any one to whom it
+belongs."
+
+"It's a family name," said Eunice, "and I've always wished that it had
+been given to me, for there has always been an Audrey in the family for
+each generation until now."
+
+At last supper was announced, and if any of the party had lacked
+appetite, the sight of the long table, with its delicate china and
+old-fashioned silver and glass, would have been an inspiration. The
+silver spoons, to be sure, were very, very thin, and the cups and
+saucers were not without cracks, and here and there showed other
+imperfections; but these things only emphasized the fact that silver and
+china were really old; and the large silver dish, heaped with great
+strawberries, was of a style that Mrs. Redmond said would make it almost
+worth its weight in gold to a collector.
+
+"I am so sorry," said Mrs. Airton, politely, "that Miss Martine is not
+with you. I have seen her passing two or three times, and she is a
+particularly attractive girl."
+
+"She is indeed very attractive," responded Mrs. Redmond, "and on this
+account we regret her occasional wilfulness; she had planned a ride to
+the Bay Shore and we could not induce her to give it up. But she wished
+me to thank you for her invitation, and she said that if she possibly
+could, she would be here in time for tea; but it seems now as if she has
+been unable to carry out this part of her plan."
+
+"Oh, if she really goes to the shore," interposed Mrs. Gray, "I am sure
+she will hardly be back in Annapolis before dark. It's a long ride, and
+I only hope she doesn't find the road too hard."
+
+"Martine is a good horsewoman; her father told us that we might trust
+her on any horse, and had I not known this, I should have hesitated to
+let her go."
+
+"She did not go alone, I hope," said Mrs. Airton, anxiously.
+
+"Oh, no; she consented rather reluctantly to an escort, and from the
+stable they sent a Mr. Frazer, an elderly man, who promised to look
+after her."
+
+"Mr. Frazer!" Eunice laughed as she uttered the name. "Well, if he's on
+his own horse and if Miss Martine keeps beside him, she'll certainly
+have a slow, safe ride."
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER XII
+
+  IN THE FOG
+
+
+In the meantime, where was Martine? When Mr. Frazer and his staid sorrel
+steed appeared in front of the hotel, Martine had smiled inwardly.
+
+"His horse certainly looks safe, and the man himself,--well, he may be a
+good guide, as they say, and perhaps he can tell me about everything we
+see in passing; but if he proves a bore, as I am perfectly sure he will,
+I'll contrive some way to rid myself of his company."
+
+It was a perfect afternoon for a ride, mild and windless, with just
+enough sun to relieve the landscape of the monotony by creating artistic
+effects of light and shade. Martine was in great spirits, for, like most
+persons from the inland cities, she loved the sea even more deeply than
+those who dwell beside it.
+
+"The Annapolis basin is tame," she had said the day before. "I am tired
+of the still, blue water and the red mud and the marshes and the
+meadows, and I long for a breath of the real ocean."
+
+"We're some distance still from the ocean," Amy had rejoined. "The
+nearest to it is the Bay of Fundy."
+
+"Well, from all I've heard, the Bay of Fundy is fiercer than the ocean
+itself, and I must see it; for I've been tracing our route on the map,
+and it seems to me that we've left out the Bay of Fundy altogether; we
+are curving away from it all the time."
+
+"Perhaps we can have a picnic on the Bay Shore before we leave."
+
+"Oh, no, my dear Miss Amy Redmond; we won't have many days, and 'a bird
+in the hand is worth two in the bush.' Just as soon as I can manage it,
+I'm going to the Bay Shore myself."
+
+So Martine had "managed it" by giving up the afternoon at Mrs. Airton's,
+and now, as she rode along toward the North Mountain, she had a certain
+feeling of triumph.
+
+At first she and her guide kept very close together. He felt it
+incumbent on him to give her as much information as he could about the
+country and its history. Even when his tale concerned the Loyalists,
+Martine did not assume the air of indifference that was always hers when
+Priscilla touched on the same subject.
+
+"It's a pity," said Mr. Frazer, "that there is nothing to be seen now of
+all the wonders that old General Ruggles did in his time. He had one of
+the largest grants of land hereabouts, away up over the top of a
+mountain, and though he was past seventy when the war ended, he set to
+work clearing forests and laying out his grounds like a young man. He
+imported all kinds of trees from Massachusetts, and his place was a
+model for the whole county. He found a deep gulch on his land that was
+sheltered from the winds and yet sunny, and there he planted some rare
+trees,--black walnut and peach and other things that generally grow only
+in the far south."
+
+"Was he an English general?" asked Martine, listlessly.
+
+"Oh, I've heard," replied Mr. Frazer, "that though he was bred a lawyer
+in Massachusetts, he became a colonel in the wars that the Americans
+fought against the French, and was high in command at Ticonderoga and
+Crown Point; it was in that war that he got his title of Brigadier
+General, and so he might be called an American officer."
+
+"Then what was he doing down here in Nova Scotia?"
+
+"Oh, when the Revolutionary troubles began he wasn't in favor of
+breaking off from the mother country; he was a Chief Justice of Common
+Pleas, and he wrote and spoke against separation. So at last he and his
+family had to give up everything and take refuge with the British in
+Boston. He doesn't seem to have been a fighter against his countrymen,
+but he preferred exile to sacrificing his principles. I've always been
+interested in the old general," added Mr. Frazer, apologetically,
+"though I don't just know why, for he was dead long before my father
+even was born. But I've read a lot about him, and people here still tell
+many stories of him, and altogether he seems something like those heroes
+we hear of, working so energetically to keep his spirits up."
+
+"Yes," said Martine, "I agree with you that it does seem rather heroic,
+only it's a pity that he was on the wrong side." Then, lest Mr. Frazer
+should be inclined to argue with her, she quickly changed the subject.
+
+"This road over the mountain is pleasanter than I thought it would be; I
+mean, everything looks so cultivated and prosperous."
+
+"Oh, there isn't a better section anywhere than this," he replied. "The
+orchards and farms all pay well; why, there's a place up beyond," he
+continued, "that they call Paradise; and if it wasn't for winter, which
+I suppose they don't have in heaven, I should say that the name just
+fitted."
+
+Mr. Frazer was so pleased with his own wit that he chuckled softly, and
+so far forgot himself as to urge his horse forward.
+
+"Let's stop here," cried Martine, "for a moment; I never saw so many
+beehives."
+
+"I don't know," replied Mr. Frazer, timidly, "as it's hardly safe;
+sometimes, when they're swarming, they are apt to sting if you go too
+near them."
+
+But Martine was already off her horse and over the low fence, and Mr.
+Frazer could only follow her example. The farm was situated at the
+junction of two roads. Martine had taken the precaution to tether her
+horse to a hitching-post, but Mr. Frazer, trusting too implicitly to the
+sedateness of his steed, had left it unfettered to nibble the grass by
+the roadside. The hives that had attracted Martine's attention proved as
+harmless as she had prophesied, so she wandered on toward an
+old-fashioned garden, blazing with mid-summer blossoms. Now Jill, the
+sorrel that Mr. Frazer had ridden so proudly, proved less reliable than
+might have been expected from the character of its owner; for, in the
+course of its nibbling, it wandered down the road, passing back of the
+farm, and Mr. Frazer was so intent upon telling Martine all that he knew
+about bees and flowers that he quite forgot to keep his eye on his
+horse. Thus it happened that the animal found itself near some hives
+whose occupants were changing habitations. Then, at the very moment when
+Mr. Frazer bethought him of Jill, to his horror and great surprise he
+saw her starting on a run down this back road. He did not wait to
+explain matters to Martine; he knew by the cloud of bees in the distance
+that the horse had undoubtedly been stung. "Wait until I come back," he
+shouted, as he started in pursuit of his horse.
+
+Martine smiled as he leaped over a fence, his coat tails flying in the
+air.
+
+"Unseemly haste," she murmured, "for so dignified a person. I wonder how
+long he can keep it up."
+
+For five or ten minutes Martine continued to wait in the old-fashioned
+garden; then she looked at her watch. It was later than she supposed;
+the sun was less bright, and a slight chill in the air warned her of
+approaching fog.
+
+"I didn't promise to wait," she said to herself, "and after all the
+bother of arranging it I can't be cheated out of my sight of the Bay.
+It's a straight road and perfectly safe, and my horse hasn't shown a
+sign of a trick; so in five minutes, if my guide hasn't returned, I
+shall go on alone."
+
+At the end of five minutes Mr. Frazer had not appeared, and Martine,
+remounting her horse, resumed her way toward the Bay Shore. She set off
+at a speed that would have quite shaken the breath out of Mr. Frazer,
+and she was really surprised to discover how much life her animal had.
+Thus it happened that in spite of the delay she really had a glimpse of
+the Bay of Fundy before the fog had hidden it. It is true that already
+there was a thin veil of mist floating about her and permitting her to
+see rather dimly the rocky shore, and the scattered hamlet that lay at
+her feet.
+
+Martine felt most uncomfortable. Her situation was certainly lonely, and
+she would gladly have borne the rather tiresome conversation of her late
+guide for the sake of his protection. But though she waited as long as
+she dared, he did not appear; nor did she meet him as she turned about
+toward Annapolis.
+
+Toward Annapolis--but where was Annapolis? For all at once she seemed to
+be riding through a cloud, and she recalled a day when she and a party
+of friends had thought themselves lost on one of the highest of the
+White Mountains, pushing their way vaguely through the cloud that
+enshrouded them. Of one thing, however, she now felt sure. When she
+reached the crossroads and the farm where the beehives were, she would
+have no difficulty in continuing her way.
+
+But, alas for all calculations! how it happened she never knew, but soon
+she realized that she was on a road quite different from the one by
+which she had travelled to the shore. In the fog she had turned
+somewhere, and the new road was lonely in the extreme. There were no
+houses near; at least, she judged there were not, for the road itself
+was rough, more like a forest road, and both sides seemed to be lined
+with trees. For a short time she went on cautiously; then a line of
+verse came into her mind that she had heard Amy quote only the day
+before,--
+
+    "'When once a man hath missed the right way,
+      The farther he doth go, the farther doth he stray.'"
+
+So she brought herself to a full stop and, slipping from her horse,
+stood beside him, gently stroking his side.
+
+"Good old fellow," she said gently, "if I'd leave you to yourself, I
+dare say you'd carry me home safely. Perhaps in a few minutes we can
+turn round and make a fresh start; but now I want to think."
+
+So she stood for five minutes or more, and among the many thoughts that
+flew across her brain was one that, if shaped into words, would have
+been: "I wish that I had gone with the others to Mrs. Airton's." But she
+could not remain inactive.
+
+"Whatever happens, I won't be lost on the mountain," cried Martine,
+emphatically. "It's always better to go on than to stand still, and
+especially as the fog is so thick that I'm likely to be drenched to the
+skin if I stay here much longer."
+
+At this moment the surrounding stillness was broken by a sound; she
+listened intently, and in a very short time realized that what she heard
+was really the noise of approaching wheels. She drew her horse close to
+the side of the road; a vehicle of some kind was near her.
+
+"Hello, hello," she shouted, picturing herself at the moment as a
+stranded mariner on a shipwrecked vessel. The vehicle was close upon
+her; the driver drew up his horse; Martine approached him.
+
+"What on earth--" he began.
+
+"Yes, on earth," responded Martine. "I shouldn't like to be at sea, lost
+in the fog."
+
+"So you're lost, are you?" replied the driver of the wagon, in a brisk,
+cheerful voice. "Well, there's one thing, you needn't stay lost."
+
+Martine looked at the speaker, who had now jumped down from his seat and
+was standing beside her. He was a tall youth, with reddish brown hair
+and a frank, pleasant face, and she judged that he was two or three
+years her senior.
+
+"It's fortunate," he said, "that we happened to have an order for some
+groceries up beyond at the Jones farm. I don't come this way once a
+month, and there is very little passing any day; so if you had waited
+for some one to rescue you, you would have had to wait a long time."
+
+Martine was not sure that she liked the word "rescue." All her life she
+had prided herself on her independence, and it irritated her to realize
+that she had put herself in a position that obliged her to depend on a
+stranger.
+
+  [Illustration: "'Hello! hello!' she shouted."]
+
+"Perhaps I shouldn't have said 'lost,'" she responded; "I've only just
+missed my way a little, and if the fog should lift I could easily find
+my way back to my friends."
+
+"If the fog should lift!" The boy laughed heartily. "Are you acquainted
+with the habits of fogs? Or perhaps it behaves differently in the
+States; but in this part of the world, when it sets in late in the
+afternoon, it generally stays all night. But come," he continued more
+gently, "you'll catch cold if you stay here much longer. I'm on my way
+to Annapolis myself, and I'll very gladly take you there. Come," he
+continued, holding out his hand; "you'd better get into the wagon here,
+and I have a rope by which we can lead the horse behind."
+
+"Oh, no," said Martine; "I can ride just as well. I don't mind the fog,
+if you will let me follow your wagon."
+
+"Nonsense!" protested the boy; "you can't go fast enough to keep warm,
+and your horse might make a misstep; and besides," he concluded, "I have
+a sister about your age and I know what's best for girls. Come, jump
+in."
+
+To her own great surprise Martine found herself obeying the strange
+youth; perhaps, after all, she felt that there would be more comfort for
+her in his covered wagon than in picking her way through the fog, over
+the rough road. When she was seated, he handed her a carriage robe which
+he bade her wrap around her; then he tied his rope to the horse's
+bridle, saying as he did so:
+
+"I know this animal well, and he'll follow us like a tame cat."
+
+Then he took his seat beside Martine and they drove along slowly. After
+a turn or two they came to the place that Martine called "the beehive
+farm." Already she had related the story of Mr. Frazer's adventure, and
+her acquaintance had laughed heartily at her account of the good man's
+flight after the recreant Jill.
+
+"I didn't suppose even a swarm of bees could put any speed into Jill,
+but Frazer himself is so conscientious that I wonder that he isn't
+sitting here on the fence waiting for your return."
+
+As they talked Martine wondered and wondered who her rescuer could be.
+Both his language and his subjects of conversation were not what she
+would have expected from a grocer's boy, for that was what he called
+himself once or twice, and in the back of the wagon there was a large
+kerosene can, with one or two empty boxes, as well as some packages that
+certainly looked like groceries. But she did not waste much time in
+speculating, because she found so many things to ask that she had never
+thought to ask any one else before.
+
+"Didn't realize that the first mill on the Continent was built at
+Annapolis?"--said her companion, "and you from Chicago, where people are
+supposed to think and dream about flour and grain? I am surprised. And
+you didn't know that Membertou, that old Indian, is reckoned the first
+convert made in America? Dear me, where have you been brought up?"
+
+"Oh, I'm learning," responded Martine. "I'd never heard about the
+Acadians until we came down here. But now I think they're just great;
+don't you?"
+
+"I should hardly call them great," returned the other, with a smile,
+"although there's any amount of interesting history connected with them;
+but I've always taken more interest myself in the early days of Port
+Royal than in the exile of the Acadians. I wish they'd change the name
+of Goat Island back to Biencourtville, for that's what it's called on
+Lescarbot's map."
+
+"Oh," replied Martine, not knowing what else to say.
+
+She knew nothing about Lescarbot and less about his map, but she didn't
+wish to display her ignorance.
+
+"I remember Biencourt," she added meekly; "he had a very hard time,
+hadn't he?"
+
+The face of the other brightened.
+
+"Oh, I'm glad you remember him; he's my idea of a hero. I believe if he
+had lived Port Royal would have fared much better. Charles La Tour was
+not at all the same kind of man. But Madame La Tour, ah, she was the
+right sort! Perhaps you know her story."
+
+"No," replied Martine, meekly, "I do not, but probably Amy does."
+
+"Who is this paragon, this 'Amy'? You've spoken of her several times;
+she seems to know everything."
+
+"I really think she does," replied Martine--"know almost everything. But
+I wish you could tell me about Madame La Tour."
+
+"There won't be time now, but I could lend you a book, if you stay here
+longer. She doesn't exactly belong to Annapolis; it was the fort at the
+mouth of the St. John that she defended. But here we are fairly in the
+town, and you can consider yourself saved," he concluded with a smile.
+
+"Why, there's Mrs. Airton's house!" exclaimed Martine in surprise; "I
+didn't know you were coming this way."
+
+The boy looked at her curiously.
+
+"Do you know Mrs. Airton?"
+
+"Well, not exactly, for I was out when she called, but she was kind
+enough to ask me to tea to-day, only I thought I'd like to ride instead.
+I thought that perhaps I'd be back in time for tea."
+
+"You were right in that," rejoined her companion, pulling up his horse.
+"I'm sure they're not through tea yet; I can leave you and take your
+horse on to the stable. Here, jump out."
+
+But Martine hesitated, and for the moment she was annoyed at her
+rescuer. If Priscilla or Amy should look from a window, how mortifying
+it would be to be seen driving in a grocer's cart with a riderless steed
+tagging on behind.
+
+"No, thank you," she said; "I would rather go on to my boarding-house;
+please drive on."
+
+She never knew whether her new acquaintance would have heeded her
+request or not, for hardly had she spoken when from a side door Eunice
+Airton and Priscilla rushed toward the wagon.
+
+"Where's Martine?" cried Priscilla, excitedly; "we recognized the
+horse."
+
+"Oh, Balfour," began Eunice, "what--"
+
+Without further ado Martine jumped down from the seat. The girls had
+approached the wagon from the rear, and at first had not seen her. Her
+sudden appearance surprised them. By this time Amy had reached the
+group.
+
+"What happened?" and she looked on Martine for an explanation.
+
+"Nothing, nothing," replied Martine, "only I was caught in the fog."
+
+Amy laid her hand on Martine's arm.
+
+"Your clothes are damp; you may take cold."
+
+"Come into the house," added Eunice; "we are not yet through tea."
+
+Martine saw that protest could not avail. As a matter of fact, she was
+not only cold but hungry, and the prospect of something to eat was one
+that she could not resist.
+
+"You said that you might come to tea," remarked Amy, "and so Mrs. Airton
+will not be altogether surprised."
+
+Had any one but Amy said this, Martine would have suspected her of
+sarcasm; but even if Amy would inwardly smile at her ignominious return,
+Martine could bear ridicule from her better than from any one else.
+
+When Martine had replaced her waist with a drier one belonging to
+Eunice, Eunice led her to the dining-room, where the others had resumed
+their seats. Mrs. Redmond and Mrs. Airton made little comment on her
+misadventure, and never did hot biscuit, and strawberries, and
+chocolate, and cookies seem more appetizing to Martine than they did on
+this occasion. Later, when Amy and Priscilla were helping Eunice clear
+the table, Mrs. Airton sat down beside Martine.
+
+"I am glad it was Balfour who found you," she said, "though I am sorry
+that he could not come in to tea with you. It is his night at the store,
+and he usually waits for his tea until late in the evening."
+
+"Balfour?" asked Martine; "who is Balfour? Of course I know he drove me
+home, but who is he?"
+
+"Balfour," replied Mrs. Airton, "why, Balfour is my son and Eunice's
+brother."
+
+"Ah," cried Martine, "I did not realize that; now I understand."
+
+But what she understood she did not then explain.
+
+Not long after tea Mr. Frazer rushed excitedly into Mrs. Airton's
+sitting-room.
+
+"I'm so glad the young lady's safe," he cried, "though indeed I thought
+she'd wait for me; but the sorrel led me a long chase, and when I got
+back to the farm she wasn't there. But I never thought of her going to
+the Bay Shore with the fog rolling in so thick, and when I found she
+wasn't at the house, I went back again to the farm, thinking she'd taken
+a wrong turn somewhere. At last I met some one who had seen her driving
+with Balfour; then I knew she was safe. So I must apologize again for
+the behavior of my sorrel, though it was all the fault of the bees."
+
+Martine forgave the sorrel as readily as she forgave Mr. Frazer, for her
+adventure had ended so pleasantly that there was no occasion for blaming
+any one.
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER XIII
+
+  LETTERS AND SOME COMMENTS
+
+
+"Do you realize that we have only a day or two longer in Annapolis?"
+asked Amy, one soft afternoon in July, as she sat with Martine and
+Priscilla within the walls of the old fort.
+
+Mrs. Redmond, seated some distance from them, was sketching a bit of
+far-off shore that came within her range of view. Martine had her hands
+folded idly in her lap, though the sketching-block and materials that
+lay beside her showed that at least she had made some pretence of work
+that day.
+
+"Yes, I realize it all too well," she responded. "I wish we could stay
+here all summer."
+
+"It has been so much pleasanter since we knew the Airtons that we shall
+find it very hard to go," added Priscilla.
+
+"Of course we might stay here the rest of the summer," replied Amy,
+"only, since we had a definite route planned out it would be a pity not
+to follow it."
+
+"The other places may be very stupid," murmured Martine.
+
+"Not Grand Pre," rejoined Priscilla. "You'll probably enjoy that far
+better than Annapolis; you seem to forget that it is full of memories of
+the expelled Acadians."
+
+"Oh, yes, the Acadians; but do you know they don't seem half so
+important to me as they did when we were in Clare. I've really grown
+tremendously interested in those first Frenchmen, who had such an
+unlucky time here at Port Royal. Annapolis has memories enough for me."
+
+"What a fickle creature you are, Martine! Surely you haven't forgotten
+Yvonne."
+
+"No, no," and Martine sprang to her feet. "I'm only waiting for a letter
+from my father and then you shall know what is going to happen to
+Yvonne. Why, I've written her three times since I left Meteghan; I
+thought you knew that, Amy."
+
+"Yes, but don't excite yourself unduly, child; only, when you expressed
+your indifference to Acadians I wondered whom you included. Nothing
+would make me forget little Pierre. Here's a letter that I received from
+him to-day."
+
+Amy drew from her pocket a half-sheet of paper and read its contents to
+her friends:--
+
+    "'MY DEAR MADEMOISELLE, AMY REDMOND,--It gives me great
+    pleasure to think that you and your beautiful mother and the
+    charming young ladies like so well our historic Annapolis. I
+    once it visited with my uncle, to view the fort that was
+    built in the days of the greatness of Acadia; it was sad to
+    me to know that now it belongs to the cruel English, who
+    drove my ancestors from their happy homes. When I am a
+    learned man, I shall teach history in a great school, and I
+    will write books to make all know the truth; but now I am
+    only a little boy, and I thank you for your letter and the
+    book you sent me that will ever keep your lovely face fresh
+    in my mind. So with her best duty from my mother, I
+    subscribe myself,
+
+           "'Your humble friend,
+                    "'PIERRE ROBICHAUD.
+
+    "'P. S. Please write soon again.'"
+
+Martine and Priscilla smiled at the quaint letter, with its curious
+mingling of pride and humility and its touch of French gallantry.
+
+"Pierre seems quite sure of his own future,"--and Amy replaced the sheet
+in her pocket. "With his aim so firmly in view, it's quite probable that
+he'll attain his ambition."
+
+"'Best duty,'" observed Priscilla, "isn't that a strange expression?"
+
+"It certainly isn't French; he has picked it up from some of the 'cruel'
+English."
+
+"He probably had an old-fashioned school-teacher at some time. I hope
+that we'll see both Pierre and Yvonne before we return home; but now we
+must keep our minds on Annapolis. I'm so afraid that you haven't got all
+you might of its history."
+
+"Oh, my dear Amy, Priscilla is just brimful of the Loyalists and their
+sufferings; you ought to hear some of the stories that she has gathered
+up. Show her your note-book, Priscilla."
+
+Priscilla reddened and shook her head, while Martine continued:
+
+"And as for me, I'm so charged with historical associations that I feel
+as if I'd give them out in electric sparks if any one should rub me the
+right way. Of course I know that this is not the original French fort,
+but when one is dreaming, she needn't be so very particular about facts;
+so if I shut my eyes, here on this very spot," and Martine suited the
+action to the word, "I can see Poutrincourt and Lescarbot and all the
+others who were here that long winter when De Monts had gone back to
+France, leaving Pontgrave in charge. I just imagine that the old
+barracks over there is the great hall where they used to have their
+feasts, and I can see them all marching in with the fifteen gentlemen at
+the head who sat at Poutrincourt's table, the Grand Master strutting in
+front, with his staff of office in his hand and his napkin over his
+shoulder. L'Ordre de Bon Temps--that was a capital idea of Lescarbot's,
+to keep them all in good spirits and make each man think himself of
+supreme importance for a day."
+
+"Tell me about it," said Priscilla. "If I ever knew, I believe I've
+forgotten what it was."
+
+"That's it, my dear; you have been so very full of the much less
+important English history of Annapolis that you've overlooked the more
+romantic French." Then pointing toward the Basin, Martine chanted:
+
+  "'Sing on, wild sea, your sad refrain,
+    For all the gallant sons of France
+    Whose songs and sufferings enhance
+    The romance of the western main.'"
+
+"Well, if this is a wild sea I wonder what you'd call the Bay of Fundy,"
+said Amy, laughing.
+
+"Oh, dear! You are so very practical; but I can't argue with you now,
+for I must make Priscilla understand just what 'The Order of the Good
+Time' was. During the long winter Lescarbot suggested that each of the
+fifteen gentlemen of greatest importance in the settlement should be
+appointed caterer for a day at a time; so they took turns, and each one
+tried to outdo the others in providing as many delicacies as possible.
+The steward of the day was called the Grand Master, and fish and game
+were so abundant here that often the table was supplied with food that
+the King of France might have envied. In order to keep up their dignity,
+they all observed a very formal ceremony, entering the hall at each meal
+just as I told you a little while ago. At the close of the day, after
+grace, the Grand Master removed his collar and placed it on the neck of
+the one who was to do duty the next day, while they drank each other's
+health in wine and recited appropriate verses. No wonder the Indians
+thought it great sport to watch the white men dine, for they crowded the
+hall at every meal, and Membertou, their Chief, was often at the
+Governor's table."
+
+"I hope the other Indians had something to eat."
+
+"Oh, yes indeed; they were always well fed by the French, and well
+treated; so that from the very beginning the French and Indians were on
+the very friendliest terms."
+
+"You must have done a deal of reading, Martine, you know your subject so
+well," said Amy, quizzically.
+
+"Oh, I haven't read so much," she began.
+
+"No, it's all Balfour Airton," interposed Priscilla. "He talks like a
+book, and he's discovered that he can make Martine listen to him."
+
+"Any one would like to listen to him," rejoined Martine, "and I'm glad
+to say that though he is of English descent, he doesn't consider the
+English absolutely perfect."
+
+"There, there," said Amy, throwing oil on the waters, "our acquaintance
+with the Airtons has certainly added to the pleasure of us all. Balfour
+seems a plucky fellow, for it can't be particularly pleasant to him to
+serve as a grocer's clerk in the summer holidays."
+
+"But he needs the money."
+
+"Oh, yes, Martine; but I know boys who would remain idle rather than do
+work that they thought a little beneath them."
+
+"To tell you the truth," added Priscilla, "I'm afraid that the Airtons
+have very little money indeed. Eunice says that there's a mortgage on
+their house, and that they may have to give it up before long. Balfour
+has offered to stay out of college and look for work in Halifax, but his
+mother will not listen to this; she wishes him to be a lawyer like his
+grandfather."
+
+"He has a scholarship at college, and he earns more or less money all
+the year, so that really his education costs his family nothing."
+
+"I fear our conversation is too personal," interrupted Amy, "though it
+has certainly been a pleasure to meet two people so free from
+self-consciousness as Eunice and Balfour. That reminds me," concluded
+Amy, "that I had a letter to-day from my friend Brenda, Mrs. Weston. She
+is surprised that we find so much to interest us in Nova Scotia. She
+made a trip this way one summer with her parents, but they travelled
+rather hurriedly through the province and made their longest stay at
+Halifax."
+
+"Oh, Halifax," interrupted Martine. "Nothing but English; only fancy,"
+with a true English accent, and she raised her hand toward her eye as if
+holding a monocle. "If there's anything in the world I dislike, it's the
+real English. Excuse me, Priscilla; I did not mean to hurt your
+feelings."
+
+"My feelings? Why, I'm no more English than you are, Martine. You won't
+deny that you have some English blood in your veins?"
+
+"Unluckily, I can't deny it; but I'm glad that they named me Martine;
+that at least is un-English."
+
+"It certainly is a queer name."
+
+"Not queer at all, Priscilla. My grandfather was Martin, and Martine is
+the French feminine for it. If I'd been a boy, I would have been named
+Martin. Unluckily I wasn't, and so Martine was the best that could be
+done. My elder brother had been named for my father; Lucian, you know,
+is his name. I never heard any one else call 'Martine' a queer name;"
+and the Chicago girl turned away petulantly.
+
+Noting again the signs of a coming storm, already too frequent on this
+trip, Amy hastened to change the subject.
+
+"I don't know why I should have so many letters in my pocket to-day, but
+since I brought my mail with me, let me read you a little from Brenda's
+letter; you know her, Priscilla?"
+
+"Yes, indeed."
+
+"Oh, Brenda,--Mrs. Weston," cried Martine, eagerly, all trace of
+annoyance disappearing from her face and voice. "I've never talked with
+her, but I've seen her several times; I think she's just fine. She isn't
+a bit prim and stiff like most Bostonians. Why, she has as much style as
+a Chicago girl."
+
+"My dear," interposed Amy, "remember that Priscilla and I are from the
+neighborhood of Boston."
+
+"Oh, yes, but you don't set up for style--there, I don't mean that, of
+course; I only mean--"
+
+But Martine was getting herself into deep water, and her floundering
+amused Amy, although she maintained a grave face, as she said:
+
+"Style is not confined to dress; other things are considered just as
+important by the true critic. However, I'm glad that you admire Brenda,
+for you'll be the more interested in her letter.
+
+    "'Your account of what you have seen in Nova Scotia is
+    perfectly fascinating. But you haven't told me how you like
+    those funny little brown fish that they call Digby chickens,
+    that have a flavor made up of smoked ham and salt cod; you
+    can fancy how surprised I was when I ordered them, for I
+    thought they'd be real chickens. We didn't see any French in
+    Nova Scotia; I can't imagine where you found them. Are they
+    the real thing? or do they speak with a Stratford atte Bow
+    accent?
+
+    "'How different this summer is from last, when we were all
+    so worried about Arthur and the Spanish War,--at least, I
+    was. It is just a year since I was so very ill, and now I am
+    perfectly happy. I feel quite ridiculous when they ask me to
+    chaperone parties of girls who are older than I until I
+    remember that I am really an old married woman and quite
+    settled.
+
+    "'It is all I can do to prevent Arthur's going to the
+    Philippines; he really has the war fever, and I wonder what
+    will come of it all. Next month he is to make an address at
+    some reunion of Spanish War Veterans; doesn't it seem absurd
+    to call him a veteran? Tim McSorley is at Manila. Maggie is
+    down here at Rockley with us this summer, and you haven't an
+    idea how useful she is. My mother says that the way she does
+    things is recommendation enough for the Mansion School, and
+    that if Julia needed to earn money she would make a small
+    fortune training girls.
+
+    "'I had a letter yesterday from Happy Hill,--you know that's
+    the name of the farm where she has the girls this summer.
+    They are nearly all new girls, who do not interest me as
+    much as the others who were there my year. Norah is with
+    Julia this summer; but there, I'm telling you things that
+    are no news to you, and in fact I have very little news of
+    any kind to write; but I hope you'll give my love to your
+    mother and Priscilla, and Miss Stratford and I only hope
+    that you are as strict with them as you can be some times,
+    when you want people to get all the information they can out
+    of a trip.
+
+    "'Oh, that reminds me. I hear that Fritz Tomkins is in Nova
+    Scotia; you do not mention him in your letter, but you must
+    be delighted to have him with you. Of course four women can
+    get along perfectly well, but if anything should happen, it
+    is so much better to have a man in your party; and Fritz is
+    so like a brother that I'm sure you can make him very
+    useful. With love to all,
+
+                    "'Sincerely,
+                      "'BRENDA WESTON.'"
+
+Amy had read the whole letter aloud without realizing how personal it
+was, for her original intention had been only to read that part relating
+to Nova Scotia.
+
+"That sounds just like Brenda," she said to the girls, "and I'm glad
+that she's so happy, for last summer was a miserable one for her."
+
+"It was for all of us," murmured Priscilla.
+
+And then Amy suddenly realized that the Spanish War was a subject too
+sore for her to touch on in Priscilla's presence.
+
+"Come," she said, "one last look at old Port Royal. We shall have
+several farewell calls to pay to-day and to-morrow, and we may not have
+time to return to the Fort."
+
+"Amy," said Martine, "I know I'm very stupid, but I'd really like to
+know where Port Royal ends and Fort Anne begins. Some one told me that
+this is really Fort Anne, but you always speak of it as Port Royal; so
+just to gratify my curiosity I'm willing to listen to a little more
+history."
+
+"Then I'll give you as much, or rather as little, as I can to make you
+understand some of the happenings at this Fort in the early days. I am
+sorry that I cannot go at all into details about the many sieges and
+expeditions against the Fort in the seventeenth century. The quarrels of
+D'Aunay and Charles de La Tour form a most exciting series of episodes,
+and you must read them at length in Parkman or some other history.
+Although theirs was not warfare between French and English, La Tour was
+a Huguenot, and in a general way the English were on his side. In fact,
+he once came down to Boston and interested Winthrop and others in his
+cause. In the end I suppose La Tour may be considered to have been the
+conqueror; at least, he survived D'Aunay, and later married for his
+second wife D'Aunay's widow. Port Royal was captured by Cromwell's fleet
+in 1654, and a few years later, in the reign of Charles II, was given
+back to France. In 1690, when England and France were again at war, De
+Menneval, the governor of the Fort, had to surrender to Sir William
+Phipps, and the account of this expedition you will surely read
+sometime, for Phipps was a New Englander and his career most
+interesting."
+
+"The New Englanders seem to have had a special spite against Acadia,"
+said Martine; "so it isn't strange, Priscilla, that you have inherited
+part of it."
+
+"Oh, no, I haven't; only if I must choose I naturally prefer what is
+English to what is French."
+
+"After all that Phipps thought he had accomplished," continued Amy,
+"Acadia was again handed back to France; but I will pass over other
+attacks to remind you of what you have doubtless read many times in your
+school histories, that, when the Treaty of Utrecht settled the wars
+between Queen Anne and Louis XIV, Acadia was given to the English. Since
+that time the fort has been Fort Anne and the town Annapolis."
+
+"It's no wonder," said Martine, "that the Acadians hardly knew whom to
+obey, when they'd been handed over from one side to another so often."
+
+"This does account for much of the misunderstanding that finally led to
+their deportation. They trusted too implicitly in the French King, and
+for a long time vainly hoped that he would conquer the English and make
+them again his subjects."
+
+Hardly had Amy finished when a boyish voice was heard crying,
+"Good-morning, good-morning. Is it really true that you're starting
+North to-day?"
+
+"No, not to-day; we have still a day or two left before we set out for
+Grand Pre; we are going over to see your mother this afternoon."
+
+"I'm glad of that," responded Balfour, "for I'm to have a day off, or
+rather an afternoon, and I wanted to be sure of your plans."
+
+Balfour did not explain that he had asked for this special holiday in
+order to have some time with his new friends.
+
+"You won't spend the whole afternoon with my mother," he began
+awkwardly,--"at least, not all of you,--and so I thought that perhaps
+some of you would go for a drive with me."
+
+"I am going to stay with Eunice," said Priscilla; "it will be our last
+day together."
+
+Martine said nothing.
+
+Then Balfour turned to Amy:
+
+"Would not you and Miss Martine drive with me? I can take you to one or
+two out-of-the-way places that you probably haven't visited."
+
+"Surely," responded Amy, "that will be delightful. I can go, and with
+pleasure. As for Martine, she must speak for herself."
+
+Amy had no doubt as to Martine's desire, so that it was hardly necessary
+for her to await a reply.
+
+"Why, of course," replied Martine; "there's nothing I'd like so well."
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER XIV
+
+  AN EXCURSION
+
+
+Balfour, when the three started on their afternoon expedition, was in a
+particularly happy frame of mind.
+
+"There's one advantage in working all summer--a half holiday seems ten
+times more valuable now than usually. Not that I'm working hard this
+summer, only my days are not my own, and I can seldom make plans;
+besides, I do begrudge the time that I have to take from study."
+
+"Then you will probably think to-day wasted."
+
+"No, indeed; besides, we are going to study nature, and--"
+
+"A little French history," interposed Martine. "Did you not say that you
+would take us to an old battleground?"
+
+"Yes, I hope to, for my steed is not like Jill. We can depend on getting
+somewhere with Lion, whereas Jill--"
+
+"Mr. Frazer would say that she went fast enough the day he rode her in
+my company."
+
+"It's a great thing for a horse to know when to stop, as well as when to
+go on. Whoa, Lion! There, we can leave him standing while we go up that
+little hill. It's said to be the site of an ancient French church. It
+may interest you."
+
+Amy and Martine loudly praised the beauty of the scenery as they stood
+on the elevated land above the narrow, winding river.
+
+"They say that a church stood here in the earliest French days, with a
+set of silver bells that rang out most musically over the water. Then,
+when the church fell to pieces, the bells sank into the earth, and are
+hidden somewhere underground,--and any one who likes may dig for them."
+
+Martine began to prod in the earth with her parasol.
+
+"Come, my dear, we won't have time to-day, and you need a crowbar rather
+than that tiny stick. If you found them they would be rather too clumsy
+to carry home;" and Amy laid her hand on Martine's arm.
+
+"I'd rather look for Apostle spoons," replied Martine. "I heard of a
+woman who dug up two in her garden, and when she saw how dirty they
+were, threw them into a kettle of lye that she happened to have boiling
+for soap, or something of that kind. She almost lost her head when the
+ugly lead things came out looking like gold, for they were silver washed
+with gilt. If she found such things, why not I, for it's a true story,
+isn't it?" turning to Balfour.
+
+"Oh, yes, fairly true, and there's always a chance of finding something
+by digging long enough. But I would never waste my time digging, except
+with hoe and spade, for fruit and vegetables. There's good money," he
+concluded, "in strawberries here in Nova Scotia. In Annapolis I know a
+man who has several acres, and in good seasons he gets two thousand
+boxes a day."
+
+"Strawberries! Aren't apples the prize crop here?"
+
+"Yes, and more certain than anything else. A man can get $300 an acre
+from a good orchard. If money were the only thing I'd rather be a farmer
+than a lawyer down here."
+
+"That's better than some gold mines," said Amy, as they turned and
+walked down the hill to the carriage.
+
+"When I was a small shaver," continued Balfour, "and had plenty of time
+to spare, I used to walk there along the top of the dykes of Annapolis.
+From the base of seven or eight feet it narrows to hardly a foot at the
+top, and I can tell you that it was ticklish work keeping a footing."
+
+"Why didn't I know of that before?" cried Martine. "I certainly should
+have tried it. I love to walk on railroad tracks, and dyke-walking must
+be almost the same."
+
+"You can't try anything of that kind while you are in my care,"
+interposed Amy. "The river is probably deeper than it looks, and if you
+should go too near the edge--"
+
+"Oh, I can swim, my dear Miss Amy Redmond, though, to put your careful
+soul at ease, I'll promise not to go near the water. All the same, I
+wish that I were an Indian, at this very moment gliding down from Minas
+to Digby. Didn't you tell me that this was one of their favorite
+routes?" and she turned to Balfour for a reply.
+
+"Why, yes," he replied, "from any point outside Minas they used to glide
+over to French Cross, then by a portage of four miles to Aylesford, and
+they would be borne on by the current down the Annapolis River,
+sometimes as far even as Digby."
+
+"French Cross?" asked Amy. "What have I heard of French Cross?"
+
+"Perhaps of the awful winter there that some of the Acadians passed
+through, just after the deportation."
+
+"Tell me about it," cried Martine, eagerly. "I never heard of it."
+
+"Well, after the Acadians had been put aboard the ships at Grand Pre,
+some friendly Micmacs hurried down secretly to warn the French at the
+eastern end of Annapolis. When they heard the news, about sixty Acadians
+decided on flight, and with a Micmac guide began to make their way
+north. They hoped to reach a point on the shore where the English would
+not see them, from which they could cross over to New Brunswick, and
+then get the protection of the French at Quebec. But when they reached
+Aylesford they did not dare try to cross. Their food was poor, sickness
+broke out among them, many died, and were buried in the soft Aylesford
+sand. The others went on to French Cross, but still did not dare cross
+the Bay. During the bitter cold of December, while they were suffering
+everything, they saw the last of the transports pass down the Bay,
+carrying their countrymen to the southern colonies. Many died during the
+winter, and when spring came the friendly Indians made birch-bark canoes
+for the remainder, who then crossed in safety to the New Brunswick
+shore."
+
+"Man's inhumanity to man," sighed Amy, sentimentally.
+
+"What wretches the English were!" exclaimed Martine, more energetically.
+
+"Remember, please, that I am English;" and Balfour raised his hand in
+remonstrance. "Besides, the persecutors of the Acadians were not
+English, but your fellow New Englanders, who took the whole matter on
+themselves, without asking leave of any one else."
+
+"But I am no New Englander," objected Martine.
+
+"Oh, it's all the same. Some of your ancestors were from New England
+undoubtedly, unless you are different from most Chicagoans. But if you
+repudiate New England, you cannot object to my arousing your sympathies
+for some of those exiled Loyalists who suffered quite as much as the
+over-pitied Acadians."
+
+"It's a shame Priscilla is not here," murmured Martine.
+
+Now Balfour was not likely to speak idly, and in a moment he had begun
+his recital.
+
+"The old lady who told this story to my mother was visiting Annapolis
+from Fredericton, and her mother, the daughter of an officer in a New
+Jersey regiment, experienced all the hardships that she described. The
+vessels with these New Jersey officers and soldiers and their families
+went up the St. John River in early October, and landed at a place
+called St. Ann's, that later became Fredericton, the capital of the
+Province. It was a wet, cold season, and the people had no shelter but
+tents, that they tried to cover with spruce boughs. Their floor was the
+ground, and when snow fell in early November the old lady's mother said
+that her family tried to shut it out by putting their one rug against
+the opening. Often a part of the family had to sit up all night to keep
+the others from freezing. When everything else failed they would heat
+boards at the fire, and hold them over the children to give them needed
+warmth."
+
+"A likely story!" and Martine smiled.
+
+"Indeed, it is perfectly true," rejoined Balfour, gravely. "Many men and
+women died of exposure and lack of food that terrible winter. Their
+graves were dug with pickaxe and shovel, in the hard ground not far from
+the tents. Like the Acadians at French Cross, they had no clergyman to
+pay the last rites. They had been used to comfortable and pleasant
+homes, and many of them had had wealth; so it was doubly hard to have to
+live in Indian fashion on fish, and moose, and berries. In the spring
+they made maple sugar, and killed pigeons. There was great rejoicing
+when the first vessels came with corn and rye. They were in constant
+fear of the Indians, and it was long before they could live even half
+decently."
+
+"I have always sympathized with the Loyalists," said Amy, quietly.
+
+"Oh, well, it's all over now," returned Balfour, bitterly. "But it must
+have been hard for many of them to remember that their houses and lands,
+and even their personal property, had been passed over to people who to
+them seemed to have no shadow of right to it."
+
+"Do you care now?" asked Martine, gently.
+
+"Oh, no;" but Balfour's tone belied his words. "My family did not suffer
+so much as some, though we had to start here in Annapolis with little
+besides the land that the King granted."
+
+"Back to the soil is a good thing sometimes."
+
+"Oh, yes, and Nova Scotia was very hospitable to the poor Loyalists; but
+still--to tell the truth, sometimes I wish that I had grown up on the
+other side of the line. There seems to be more chance in many ways;" and
+Balfour sighed.
+
+Amy looked at Balfour in surprise. He was evidently considerably her
+junior, yet he talked like one much older.
+
+"I should like to see him and Fritz together," she thought. "I believe
+that Fritz would appear five years younger, for he always persists in
+talking like an overgrown boy."
+
+"There," concluded Balfour, "I have said too much. On the whole, I am
+contented, and the Province offers more than many corners of the world
+to an ambitious young man, so enough said. Now, just see, I was so
+absorbed in harrowing your feelings over the Loyalists that I have taken
+a wrong turn, and we are now so far from the battleground that we'll
+have to give it up this afternoon."
+
+"'All roads are alike to me,'" hummed Amy, while Martine added, "But the
+scenery here is lovely. Just see how the North Mountain stands out, with
+that little fringe of mist hanging about the top, and I've never seen so
+many fine orchards. Oh, I wouldn't have missed this particular drive for
+anything;" and her flushed cheeks and beaming eyes showed that she had
+meant what she said.
+
+"The drive has been full of pictures, too," added Martine. "I've seen a
+great many things even that you have not spoken of, and whenever I look
+over there toward the woods I fancy I see an Indian creeping along; not
+an unfriendly savage, but one with a smile on his face, hoping perhaps
+to be asked by Lescarbot to stay to dinner at the Fort."
+
+"Yes," rejoined Balfour, "one of those jolly fellows who objected to the
+wording of the Lord's Prayer in asking for bread, saying that bread
+alone wouldn't do for him, as he needed moose, and fish besides."
+
+"Yes, and some of the French dishes that they favored him with
+occasionally."
+
+"Well, I have heard many things that make me believe that the Indians of
+Acadia were jokers. Some of the stories would shock you, I am afraid;"
+and Balfour hesitated.
+
+"Oh, we are not so easily shocked. Tell us, do."
+
+"Very likely you've heard this particular thing. But it is said that one
+of the men in that first expedition of the French undertook to make a
+dictionary, and when he tried to get some of the natives to give him the
+Micmac for various sacred names, the Indian gave him words that were
+just the contrary,--almost profane, in fact,--so that the Frenchman made
+himself very ridiculous when he tried to make use of his new
+vocabulary."
+
+"Which shows," said Martine, "that the Micmac Indian was not such a
+serious and solemn creature as those that used to appear in our school
+histories bewailing the advance of the white man. I always thought I'd
+like to meet one of them."
+
+"Why, Martine?"
+
+"Yes, just for the pleasure of sticking a pin in him. He would never
+have had spirit enough to turn his tomahawk against me. But these
+Micmacs knew how to enjoy life. The dictionary maker was probably a
+prim, conceited fellow, who deserved to be laughed at. Of course, in a
+general way," she concluded hastily, "I am always on the side of the
+French, and I love to remember that the old Fort once belonged to them."
+
+  "'When from Port Royal's rude-built walls
+        Gleamed o'er the hills afar,
+    The golden lilies on the shield
+        Of Henry of Navarre.
+
+  "'A gay and gallant company,
+        Those voyagers of old,
+    Whose life in the Acadian Fort
+        Lescarbot's verse has told,'"
+
+recited Balfour, as they turned into St. George's Street, "and here we
+are in sight of Fort Anne, and it pleases my soul that the flag floating
+above is the flag of Great Britain."
+
+"We won't quarrel about that now," said Martine, "for you have given us
+the very pleasantest afternoon we've had."
+
+"Yes," added Amy, "it has certainly been delightful, and so it is all
+the harder to remember that this is probably our last excursion around
+Annapolis,--at least, for the present."
+
+"You are very good to appreciate our old town so, and I hope that you
+will find Wolfville almost as attractive. I am sorry enough, however,
+that you are going away. We shall miss you all;" and though emphasizing
+"all," Balfour looked directly at Martine as he spoke. "My sister has
+grown so fond of Miss Priscilla that she has forgotten her inborn hatred
+for New Englanders, and I hope you'll understand that we all appreciate
+your interest in Acadian history. I only trust I haven't bored you and
+Miss Martine by my facts and reminiscences. I fear that I've been almost
+garrulous."
+
+"Oh, no, indeed, far from that;" and Martine's emphasis showed how
+deeply she meant what she said.
+
+At this moment they had reached their own door and the last good-byes
+had to be said.
+
+"I cannot come again this evening," Balfour explained, "but I'll see you
+for a moment at the train."
+
+Then, thrusting his hand into his pocket, with an exclamation he drew
+out a small object that he held toward Martine. "I had almost forgotten,
+but if you would take this," he cried, "for your collection, I would be
+so pleased. It's in a better condition than most things they dig up;"
+and as Martine took it, she saw that it was a small trowel, remarkably
+bright, yet of a curious shape.
+
+"Another Acadian relic. How kind you are!"
+
+"This fork is for you, Miss Redmond. Even if you have not a collection,
+it will interest you. The trowel," Balfour continued, "was almost as
+bright as this when it was dug up, it had been buried so deep, and the
+fork is of an odd shape. Of course they haven't any great value," he
+concluded, "only they are genuine relics, as I know, for I dug them up
+myself. I might have brought you a gridiron with a long handle and four
+feet, but you would have found some difficulty in carrying it about, and
+the little spade can be carried in your travelling-bag for use in
+mending a broken dyke, or shaping bricks, if you happen to wish to mend
+or build on the way. That at least was its original use, and the
+fork--well, you can find many uses for it;" and he turned from Martine
+to Amy.
+
+Both girls found it hard to bid good-bye to Balfour. In spite of the
+shortness of their acquaintance he was already an old friend, one whose
+friendship they particularly valued.
+
+"How sensible he is," sighed Martine, as they went indoors, "and to
+think that he's only a year older than Taps!"
+
+"A year older than--who?" asked Amy, thinking that she must have
+misunderstood. "What did you say?"
+
+"Oh, nothing--really nothing," replied Martine, hastily, with a
+heightened color. "I was only thinking that Balfour Airton seems so very
+much older than most boys of his age, and he knows so much more than
+most students." Martine's words were hurried and nervous, and Amy
+decided that she was more disturbed than she had expected her to be at
+parting with her Annapolis friends.
+
+But if Amy only suspected Martine's feelings, she had no difficulty in
+deciding how Priscilla felt. She and Eunice had formed a most romantic
+attachment for each other, and made no effort to hide the tears that
+fell freely as they bade good-bye at the station. At the final parting
+each threw her arms around the other's neck, and the bystanders tried
+not to laugh when Eunice in her emotion knocked off Priscilla's hat and
+entangled the cord of her eyeglasses in Priscilla's belt. But the
+bystanders, if amused, were sympathetic, consisting as they did chiefly
+of Dr. and Mrs. Gray, Balfour, and Mrs. Airton, and one or two other
+friends whom the travellers had met during their weeks in Annapolis.
+
+"Your tears, my dear Eunice," said Dr. Gray, "exactly express the
+feelings of all the rest of us; and while we wish you, Mrs. Redmond, a
+safe journey, it is perhaps not too selfish to hope that you and the
+young ladies may look back to Annapolis as the brightest spot on the map
+of your travels."
+
+"Indeed, we shall," said Mrs. Redmond, cordially, "and--"
+
+"All aboard!" called the conductor; "Good-bye," shouted Balfour; "Write
+soon," sighed Eunice.
+
+"Come back next summer," cried Dr. Gray.
+
+"Perhaps sooner," responded Amy, and with a puff and a shriek the
+"Flying Bluenose" glided off toward the real land of Evangeline.
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER XV
+
+  WITH PREJUDICE
+
+
+"Priscilla," said Amy, as they finished breakfast on their first morning
+at Wolfville, "you are no longer homesick."
+
+"Did I say I was homesick?"
+
+"Perhaps not in words, though you have looked it a great many times. But
+I noticed a change during our last week in Annapolis; you have seemed
+perfectly cheerful ever since."
+
+"Oh, I'm sorry," responded the over-conscientious Priscilla, "if I
+seemed less than cheerful before; it was really very wrong in me, for
+you and your mother have been so kind, and Martine is so very--" here
+she hesitated for a moment--"so very lively."
+
+Amy smiled at Priscilla's earnestness.
+
+"To most persons you would have seemed perfectly cheerful, but little
+things have shown me that your heart was not wholly with us."
+
+"That was only because I had never before been altogether away from my
+family. But if there has been any change lately, it has been on account
+of Eunice. She seems to me the most sensible person I have ever known,
+and I hope that she can carry out her plan of going to college. If papa
+had lived I could have done something for her, but now I can't make any
+promises for the future, because mamma says that we shall have to be
+very careful about spending for a few years."
+
+"I'm glad, however," responded Amy, "that you have this interest in
+Eunice, even if you cannot do all that you would like to do for her; it
+is rather curious that each of us should have found a protege in the
+course of our travels; Yvonne, Pierre, and Eunice, each one so unlike
+the others, and yet all of them rather interesting."
+
+"Martine, of course, can accomplish the most," and Priscilla sighed. "I
+imagine that her father and mother never say 'no' to her."
+
+"Money isn't everything," replied Amy, "and you and I can do more or
+less for Eunice and Pierre in spite of the fact that time and thought
+are the most we can give. I have often noticed that the person who has a
+real interest in the welfare of some one else can really accomplish
+things in better ways than by spending money."
+
+"Balfour wouldn't let any one spend much money on Eunice; he is so very
+independent, and wishes always to stand on his own feet. I never saw any
+one just like him."
+
+"I agree with you, Priscilla, and I feel that we owe much to him for all
+he did for us in Annapolis; besides, he has given mother one or two
+letters to people in Wolfville, so that I fancy we shall be somewhat
+indebted to him here."
+
+A few moments later Amy, in her little bedroom, reread a letter received
+from Fritz that morning. Its tone was so cheerful that it ought to have
+had an exhilarating effect on her; on the contrary, she was now less
+happy than before she received it. Fritz and his friend had already
+reached Chester on the east coast, and he wrote most enthusiastically of
+the charms of this little watering-place. Not one word of regret did he
+utter now over his separation from Mrs. Redmond's party. His time was
+apparently fully occupied with boating and driving excursions and other
+pleasures of the conventional summer resort. One sentence only, at the
+end, suggested that he had not forgotten what he had previously said to
+Amy.
+
+"I am surprised that you have travelled so comfortably, with not a
+single accident to interfere with your pleasure; but if anything
+disagreeable should happen, then perhaps you will wish that you had some
+stronger person to help you out of your difficulty."
+
+With a sigh Amy laid the letter in her bureau drawer, and as she did so
+her eye fell on an envelope addressed to Martine. Evidently she had
+picked it up with her own letters when she had brought them upstairs.
+The envelope was empty and hardly worth returning, but as she took it to
+drop into the waste basket, she looked, as one will, at the postmark. To
+her surprise, it was the same, "Chester," as on her own letter from
+Fritz. Then her mind flew back to the morning at Yarmouth, when she
+thought she had seen Martine wheeling down the side street with an
+unknown youth. The inference was now plain--in some way Martine had made
+the acquaintance of Fritz's friend, and was keeping up a correspondence
+with him. There was nothing very wrong in this in itself, except that it
+implied on Martine's part a certain amount of deception. "Taps," as
+Fritz called him, might have been a perfectly desirable friend for all
+the girls, and Fritz himself might have introduced him to Martine. She
+had had no opportunity to meet him on the boat. Yet even had he been an
+old friend of hers, there seemed to be no reason why she should not
+speak frankly about him. The discovery of this envelope reconciled Amy
+completely to Fritz's banishment. It was just as well that he and his
+friend had been sent off by themselves.
+
+As to Martine, Amy decided that at present it was hardly well to speak
+to her of the letter, or even mention it to Mrs. Redmond. But for the
+rest of the day she was less cordial than usual toward Martine, and the
+young girl felt the change.
+
+When Amy returned to the piazza, where she had left the others, she
+found only her mother and Martine. In a moment Priscilla joined them,
+looking bright and happy, and with unusual color in her fair cheeks.
+
+"I've been down the street," she said, "and the town is so attractive
+that you must all come with me on an exploring tour; I can't tell why,
+but I feel more at home here than in most places. Wolfville seems less
+English than Annapolis; in fact, it is more like one of our own New
+England towns."
+
+"That, I dare say," rejoined Mrs. Redmond, "is partly because it is a
+college town, but more likely because it was settled by Americans. I
+have an idea that hardly a Loyalist came here after the Revolution."
+
+"Settled by Americans?" cried Martine. "Wasn't this all French country
+through here?"
+
+"Yes--once--my dear. You remember, however, that after the French were
+deported, their lands were granted to colonists from New England. Those
+who came to this part of Nova Scotia were chiefly from Connecticut, and
+Wolfville is named for a well-known family of these colonists, named De
+Wolfe."
+
+"Then this isn't Grand Pre?"
+
+"Oh, no; there is still a Grand Pre two or three miles to the west, with
+relics and memories without end, of Evangeline and Basil."
+
+"Let us go there, then, as soon as we can," cried Martine.
+
+"Not yet, my dear. We would better first see something nearer at hand;
+Mr. Knight, Balfour's friend, has offered to drive us to Grand Pre this
+afternoon, and if this suits you all, I will send him a reply at once."
+
+The three girls, agreeing that they should enjoy the afternoon drive,
+fell in with Mrs. Redmond's suggestion for a morning walk.
+
+"I have been advised," said Mrs. Redmond, "to take a road behind the
+college, leading to the top of the ridge, where we can get a fine view
+of the Gaspereau Valley."
+
+Though it was a steep hill, the view from the summit repaid them by its
+surpassing beauty. The deep valley, bordered with trees of varying
+shades of green, the blue river flowing between, and toward its mouths
+winding in and out among the marshes, formed a scene long to be
+remembered.
+
+"If we could see to the very mouth," said Mrs. Redmond, "and bring our
+imagination into full play, we could picture the poor Acadians gathered
+in forlorn groups waiting to be dragged away to the English transports.
+Their pleasant homes were found all along the sides of this valley, as
+well as at Grand Pre. Undoubtedly it is Longfellow's poem that has given
+the latter place its greater prominence."
+
+Some distance along the ridge the four Americans continued to walk,
+until they reached a point from which they had a wider view; then for
+the first time their eyes fell on the clear waters of Minas Basin. On
+its farther shore rose a high, red bluff.
+
+"Bluff," at least, was what Martine called it, but Priscilla, repeating
+her words, exclaimed:
+
+"No, no, it's a mountain; it must be."
+
+Mrs. Redmond smiled at the emphasis that each girl threw into her words.
+
+"My dear children," she exclaimed, "I should think that you'd at once
+know Blomidon; surely you must often have seen it pictured. Blomidon,
+you remember, was the home of Glooscap, the deity of the Micmacs, and
+Minas Basin was his beaver pond. Poets and painters have been inspired
+by Blomidon, and I imagine, Martine, that you and I will even make some
+attempt to reproduce its beauty."
+
+"Ah," sighed Martine, "but we could never give the effect of that light
+and shade on the side of the mountain, for it really is a mountain, as
+Priscilla says; and there's something quite wonderful in that deep red
+that stands out so between the sky and the water."
+
+"From Grand Pre we'll have an even better view, I'm told, of Blomidon.
+You are so fond of jewels, Martine, that you'll be tempted to cross the
+Basin to hunt for amethysts."
+
+"That reminds me," said Amy, "of something I read the other day; when De
+Monts visited the Basin, he called Blomidon, 'Cap d'Or.' Among the
+amethysts that he found on an island near by was one of extraordinary
+size, which he took back to France and presented to the King and Queen,
+who had it set among the crown jewels."
+
+"We cannot linger here much longer," said Mrs. Redmond; "if we take this
+lower road, it will probably bring us into the business section, and
+then we can walk back home, along the main street."
+
+When they had done their errands and were perhaps half-way home, Mrs.
+Redmond, who was ahead, looked back for a moment.
+
+"Here, Amy, is something especially for you."
+
+Amy hurried on and found herself at the entrance of a little graveyard.
+
+"Oh, mamma, you are laughing at me."
+
+There was a suspicious smile on Mrs. Redmond's lips as she said:
+
+"Every one, my dear child, knows your _penchant_ for old graveyards, and
+this one is so bright and cheerful that you might have missed it had I
+not called your attention to it."
+
+Following Mrs. Redmond and Amy, the others entered the enclosure. It
+was, as Mrs. Redmond had said, "bright and cheerful," with neatly kept
+walks, and a little fountain playing in the centre. Evidently it was no
+longer a place of burial. Many of the stones were more than a hundred
+years old, and marked the resting-place of the first Connecticut
+settlers.
+
+"How far away they were," said Amy, "from their real home. After all, in
+spite of the rich dyke-lands given them here, I wonder if many of them
+did not regret the homes they had left."
+
+"That reminds me," said Priscilla, "of some lines I copied from a poem
+the other day; Eunice had the book," and she turned over the leaves of
+her note-book.
+
+"Read them, please," said Mrs. Redmond. So Priscilla began rather
+timidly, "The poem is 'The Resettlement of Acadia,' but I copied only
+parts of it," and then she read with expression:
+
+  "'But the simple Norman peasant-folk shall till the land no more,
+    For the vessels from Connecticut have anchored by the shore,
+    And many a sturdy Puritan, his mind with Scripture stored,
+    Rejoices he has found at last "the garden of the Lord."
+
+       *     *     *     *     *
+
+    They come as Puritans, but who shall say their hearts are blind
+    To the subtle charms of nature, and the love of humankind?
+
+       *     *     *     *     *
+
+    And tears fall fast from many an eye, long time unused to weep,
+    For o'er the fields lay whitening the bones of cow and sheep.'"
+
+"I know that you'll think me frightfully stupid," was Martine's comment,
+as Priscilla finished reading. "That is delightful poetry, but it isn't
+clear in my mind who the Connecticut Puritans were. Were they exiles,
+too, like the Acadians and the Loyalists?"
+
+"Only by their own will. But you are not stupid in failing to understand
+about the resettling of Acadia. Many Nova Scotians know very little
+about it. After the French had been deported in 1755, this fertile
+Province would have been of little service to England without
+inhabitants. The simplest way to repeople the land was to attract
+colonists from the older colonies. So Governor Lawrence sent a
+proclamation to Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, stating
+the terms on which the Government would grant land to settlers. As a
+result three separate groups of settlers were formed. The Massachusetts
+families came to Annapolis; the Rhode Islanders to the country North of
+Grand Pre, where there is now a Newport; and the Connecticut settlers,
+as Priscilla has just read, to Grand Pre. These people were of the
+highest character. Many of them had considerable property of their own,
+and they came down here in the spirit that took so many sturdy New
+Englanders West a generation or two ago."
+
+"Thank you, Mrs. Redmond; I am glad to know that they didn't drive the
+French out."
+
+"Oh, no, many of them had undoubtedly seen the fertility of Nova Scotia
+during the long French and Indian Wars, in which they had fought; the
+richness of the country was pretty well understood. But they themselves
+had nothing to do with deporting the Acadians. Dr. Gray explained all
+this at Annapolis. But come, girls! You can copy these inscriptions some
+other day, Priscilla. We must rest a little now, if we expect to enjoy
+the afternoon."
+
+When Mr. Knight called for them that afternoon the girls were surprised
+at his appearance. Mrs. Redmond had forgotten to say that he was an
+extremely young man, whose youth seemed all the greater because he tried
+to assume the manners and aspect of a much older person. He had been
+graduated from Acadia College a few years before, the youngest of his
+class by more than a year. He was now a teacher in the neighboring
+school that fitted boys for Acadia, and on this account perhaps felt the
+need of maintaining a dignity of demeanor that should make them forget
+his youth.
+
+His friendship for Balfour and his sincere admiration of the whole
+Airton family ought to have saved him from Martine's ridicule. But from
+the moment that her eye took in the details of his costume,--his
+high-standing collar, his round-headed walking-stick, his monocle, and
+his hair neatly parted in the middle (though this was hardly a detail of
+costume), she was convulsed with laughter. The carriage that Mr. Knight
+had brought was two-seated, but each seat was wide enough for three, and
+the pair of horses looked capable of travelling many miles without
+fatigue.
+
+Martine and Priscilla begged for the front seat with the driver, and Mr.
+Knight, accordingly, sat on the back seat with Amy and Mrs. Redmond.
+
+The party was soon outside the more closely built streets, on a broad
+road that for the time offered little outlook. Mr. Knight, with the
+evident intention of doing his full duty by Balfour's friend kept up a
+monologue whose steady current afforded great amusement to Martine.
+
+"Talk of babbling brooks," she murmured; "did you ever hear anything
+like it?" and she gave Priscilla's arm a gentle pinch that made her
+squirm.
+
+"He's taking any amount of trouble to make history clear," rejoined
+Priscilla, who, as usual, was not ready to accept Martine's point of
+view.
+
+"Yes, but he's beginning at the wrong end. We know all about Champlain,
+and De Monts, and the Scotch Fort, and all that; what we want is how the
+Acadians were treated at Grand Pre, and where--"
+
+"Oh, he'll get there."
+
+"Yes, if we give him time. But I am going to make him change the
+subject." So, leaning back, Martine turned to Mr. Knight, "You are a
+great friend of Mr. Airton's, I believe."
+
+"Oh, yes, indeed; that is--but of course you know--well, Mr. Airton
+is--ah, not exactly a contemporary of mine--that is, he is--I am older."
+
+Mr. Knight, as he spoke, grew rather red in the face. There seemed to be
+no excuse for his embarrassment, except the one that Mrs. Redmond gave
+later, that he regarded Martine's question and her way of putting it
+much in the light of a question from an _enfant terrible_.
+
+Realizing, however, that he had not said just the right thing, the poor
+young man next began to stammer in his effort to explain himself.
+
+"Balfour certainly is a great friend of mine, and one of the finest boys
+I know."
+
+This ought to have been sufficient to please even the critical Martine,
+and had Mr. Knight not used the word "boy" she might have been quite
+content. As it was, this word happened to irritate her, and she
+responded in a tone that disturbed Amy:
+
+"Oh, did you say that Mr. Airton is younger than you? Isn't he
+considerably taller?"
+
+If Mr. Knight's face had been red before, it now became almost a deep,
+deep crimson. Amy, rejoicing that her mother's seat was so far from
+Martine's that she had not heard this remark, resolved at the earliest
+opportunity to have a word alone with Martine.
+
+The opportunity, however, did not come for some time, and meanwhile Mr.
+Knight talked enthusiastically of the apple crops of Cornwallis, and of
+the fortune that any man might gather who would deal intelligently with
+the Gravenstein.
+
+"The Cornwallis Valley," he said, "is one of the finest farming regions
+in the world. You will see what I mean when you go to the Look-off, as
+you will while you are here. But now--"
+
+"Oh, is this an old French church?" asked Martine, excitedly, as they
+approached an ancient wooden structure half hidden by Lombardy poplars.
+
+If Mr. Knight heard her, he did not reply, but he jumped to the ground,
+even before the driver had fairly pulled up his horses, and then, when
+the carriage came to a full stop, offered to assist Mrs. Redmond to the
+ground.
+
+"This," he began, "is sometimes incorrectly called an Acadian church."
+
+"Does he mean to snub me?" whispered Martine to Priscilla.
+
+"Yet it is merely an old Scotch church," continued Mr. Knight, "built
+about a hundred years ago. A service is held here two or three times a
+year, but the building receives no great care, and, as you can see, even
+some of its windows have been broken by mischievous boys."
+
+"Such as Balfour Airton?" suggested Martine. But Mr. Knight took no
+notice of her flippant criticism of his previous remark about Balfour.
+
+"It is like a New England meeting-house," said Amy, with a tinge of
+disappointment, as they looked inside the old building, noting its high
+pews, and sounding-board, and unadorned walls. Then, as she saw Martine
+standing apart from the others, she remembered the words that she had
+meant to say to her. So, drawing near, she took the young girl's hand in
+hers. Martine looked up at her with a smile.
+
+"I know that you have a scolding tucked away somewhere, but I just won't
+let you give it to me. It won't do me the least little bit of good, and
+you wouldn't waste even a scolding, would you?"
+
+"Oh, Martine, you are incorrigible; you surely realize that you need at
+least a reproof. Mother would give it to you if she had heard."
+
+"Mrs. Redmond is too sensible to overhear disagreeable things."
+
+"Very well, Martine; but tell me honestly, wouldn't you prefer to sit
+with mamma? She always has a soothing effect on you."
+
+"That would bring me beside Mr. Knight. No, thanks. Surely, Amy, you
+realize how ridiculous he is, talking in that patronizing way of
+Balfour, who is a whole head taller than he."
+
+"You forget, my dear child, that if he were not a great friend of
+Balfour's we should not have had the pleasure of his escort this
+afternoon. He is certainly most kind in taking all this trouble."
+
+"I'll admit that he is very kind, though I dare say that we could have
+found our way around without him. But he is ridiculous, isn't he, with
+his walking-stick, and his English accent in an out-of-the-way place
+like this?"
+
+"As Wolfville has always been his home, Mr. Knight probably feels that
+he has the right to a walking-stick or an English accent. If he had a
+French accent you would perhaps make greater allowances for him. But for
+the sake of peace, if you don't object, I'll have Priscilla change
+places with you. If you overhear anything you dislike, you may vent your
+anger on me. I do not wish Priscilla to be a victim."
+
+"A victim! She doesn't realize that she is a victim now. Just look at
+her. She is hanging on every word that Mr. Knight utters--and it's all
+on account of his English accent."
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER XVI
+
+  EVANGELINE'S COUNTRY
+
+
+"I will admit that what he is saying is perfectly true."
+
+"And absolutely necessary, Martine, to our understanding properly this
+land of Evangeline."
+
+"But he needn't talk so conceitedly, as if he were the only one in the
+world who knows that there was no real Basil, nor Gabriel, and that
+Evangeline herself was somebody else. Why, even in Chicago, where we are
+farther away from Acadia than you are in Massachusetts, we know that.
+But just listen,"--and as Martine and Amy stood there in silence a few
+feet from the willows, they heard Mr. Knight's rather shrill voice
+saying:
+
+"I am aware that you Americans have mapped out almost every inch of
+Grand Pre, and that you can point out the site of Basil's smithy, and
+Gabriel's house, and the old church, although as a matter of fact only
+the last is at all certain. It is quite natural that you should accept
+your Longfellow as real history, but--"
+
+Here Martine could restrain herself no longer. Stepping forward she
+faced Mr. Knight, who stopped talking in his surprise at her sudden
+appearance from the background; and in a clear voice she began to
+recite:
+
+                            "'with a summons sonorous
+  Sounded the bell from its tower, and over the meadows a drum beat.
+  Thronged erelong was the church with men. Without, in the churchyard,
+  Waited the women. They stood by the graves, and hung on the headstones
+  Garlands of autumn-leaves and evergreens fresh from the forest.
+  Then came the guard from the ships, and marching proudly among them
+  Entered the sacred portal. With loud and dissonant clangor
+  Echoed the sound of their brazen drums from ceiling and casement.'
+
+Isn't that history," she asked gravely, "as well as Longfellow?"
+
+"Why, yes, in a general way," responded Mr. Knight, with an amused
+smile. "As to details, why, I am not quite so sure, though I can assure
+you I have no intention of questioning Mr. Longfellow's accuracy. Far
+from it. His picture of the deportation is wonderfully complete."
+
+"Yet you were criticising him."
+
+"Oh, no, only the tendency of some tourists to connect everything in the
+neighborhood of Grand Pre with something mentioned by Longfellow."
+
+"But if it makes the place more interesting," began Martine.
+
+"Oh, certainly, that is one of the uses of poetry, and really, Miss
+Stratford, I intended no criticism of 'Evangeline,' only--" and again
+that smile of amusement--"you will pardon me when I say that these are
+not Evangeline's willows, as some call them, except in the poetic
+sense."
+
+"They are very picturesque," said Amy, in an effort to turn the
+conversation. "Until I came to Nova Scotia I had never thought of
+willows as so strong and sturdy. In fact, I had in mind only the weeping
+variety."
+
+The line of willows, a dozen or so beside the rail fence, with two or
+three cows grazing in their shade, formed a picture so tempting that
+Priscilla turned her camera upon it, and with a wave of her hand pointed
+to something beyond. In a minute or two Mrs. Redmond and Amy were beside
+her, with Mr. Knight and Martine but a step behind.
+
+"Shall you object if we call this Evangeline's well?" asked Martine,
+with a touch of scorn in her voice.
+
+"Ah, call it what you please, Miss Stratford. It is certainly an old
+French well. Evangeline may have drunk from it."
+
+"Is it quite safe to drink from an old well?"
+
+"Oh, mamma, you are not usually so anxious."
+
+"I can assure you, Mrs. Redmond, that this is pure water. The wall was
+built a few years ago, and you will find the water deliciously cold.
+This well, by the way, is probably near the site of the priest's house;"
+and involuntarily he glanced toward Martine.
+
+"Oh," she rejoined, as if in answer to his glance, "I thought that there
+was no priest--except in the poem."
+
+"Ah, surely there had been a priest, though not Father Felician; and
+indeed at the time of the deportation the priest was away from Grand
+Pre, a prisoner at Halifax, and so he could not exhort the people. But
+these are mere matters of detail. Undoubtedly we are now standing very
+near the site of the church."
+
+"I wonder if the bells are hidden in the earth like those we heard of at
+Annapolis," and Amy turned to Martine with a smile, hoping to divert her
+from quizzing Mr. Knight.
+
+"Ah, the bells!" exclaimed the offending young man. "There is a
+story--if you should care for it."
+
+"By all means," replied Mrs. Redmond; and under the embarrassing gaze of
+four pairs of eyes Mr. Knight told his tale.
+
+"It isn't a remarkable story in any way, only they say that when the
+Acadians saw that they were prisoners, some of them managed to take down
+the bell and wall it up in one of the vaults under the church, while the
+church treasure was put in the other. Years afterwards, in the days of
+the English settlers, a strange vessel was seen in the Basin one night.
+People who passed this way thought they heard queer noises during the
+night, and in the morning the ground near the site of the old church was
+disturbed. Some people said that in the night they had heard a bell
+ringing. That night there came a terrible storm, and soon bits of
+wreckage drifted in that must have come from the strange vessel. In this
+way every one believed that the theft had been avenged--if the strangers
+stole the bell and the treasure. It is only fair to say," continued Mr.
+Knight, "that some believe that the bell was taken by returning Acadians
+who wished to set it up in an Acadian chapel on the Gaspe coast. At any
+rate, there are people still living who have heard their parents say
+that at certain times they can hear the distant ringing of this Grand
+Pre bell."
+
+"How weird!" cried Martine. "Are there any more stories like that? I
+love them."
+
+"Oh, there are some others connected with buried treasures, but an evil
+fate was usually supposed to attend those who grew suddenly rich by
+unearthing Acadian treasure; and there are tales of ghostly fires on St.
+John's eve; and other stories used to trouble me very much when I was
+small and had to pass lonely places in the night."
+
+"Oho," thought Martine, though she said nothing, "then it is as I
+thought; he is easily scared."
+
+"At the time of the deportation," said Mr. Knight, as they took their
+places again in the carriage, "the water came much nearer the village.
+Since the days of the Acadians thousands of acres of dyke-lands have
+been reclaimed. When the Connecticut settlers came they found many dykes
+broken, through which the sea was rolling in, and they might have had a
+hard time repairing them if they had not found a few Acadians still left
+in the country, who had managed to escape the English and were lurking
+in the neighborhood of their old homes."
+
+"That reminds me," said Priscilla; "who were the Acadians, that is,
+where did they come from in the first place? I have never thought of
+this before."
+
+"Why, Priscilla, they were--" then Amy stopped, not feeling quite sure
+of her ground.
+
+"Oh, they were French, from--" and Martine could get no farther.
+
+"Of course they were French, but why did they know so much about dykes
+and such things?"
+
+When no one else seemed inclined to answer the question, Mr. Knight
+undertook to reply.
+
+"The Acadians of Grand Pre, like the Acadians of Annapolis, were nearly
+all descended from a group of peasants from Rochelle, Pictou, and
+Saintonge, who came out with D'Aunay and Razilly about 1630. They came
+from a region of marshes, and they brought with them the art of building
+dykes. The _aboiteaux_ that they built were marvels, and before you go
+we must try to show you one of the dykes at low tide, when all the
+wonderful method of building will be displayed. Pierre Terriau, by the
+way, was the name of the first Acadian to settle in the Grand Pre
+region. He came to the shores of the Habitant in 1671. Others soon
+joined him. The people at Minas were so shut off from Port Royal that
+they grew very independent. Indeed, this desire to escape the close
+observation of those at the Fort was what sent Acadians from Port Royal
+to this new region. In time there were three parishes in Minas,--St.
+Joseph, St. Charles, and Grand Pre,--and the people were like one great
+family, constantly inter-marrying, and always ready to help one another.
+
+  "'Neither locks had they to their doors, nor bars to their windows;
+    But their dwellings were open as day and the hearts of the owners;
+    There the richest was poor, and the poorest lived in abundance,'
+
+as your Longfellow says;" and Martine, had she been inclined, might have
+taken this as an apology for the disrespect she had imagined cast on her
+poet a little earlier.
+
+But there was no time now to discuss either Longfellow or the Acadians.
+Before the party stretched the broad dyke-lands, where already many
+farmers were cutting hay, while here and there were mammoth haystacks.
+
+Priscilla snapped her camera at a hay wagon with a larger load than any
+she had ever seen, drawn by two of the heaviest, sleekest oxen; Amy made
+a few notes in her diary; Mrs. Redmond sighed for her palette and
+sketch-book; and Martine exclaimed loudly on the richness of color, the
+vivid green of the marshes, the unclouded blue of the sky, and the
+richer blue of the water, with a glimpse here and there of reddish
+shores, and above all Blomidon, the magnificent, showing up in the
+distance, like a veritable giant.
+
+"Have you seen all that you care to see at Grand Pre?" asked Mr. Knight,
+politely, with a "Here, driver, draw up for a last look at Blomidon
+before we turn toward Avonport."
+
+"How dark it looks now!" exclaimed Amy, pointing to the promontory.
+
+"That is because the sun no longer shines on it," replied Mr. Knight
+"Listen to one of our poets:
+
+  "'This is that black bastion, based in surge,
+    Pregnant with agate and with amethyst,
+    Whose foot the tides of storied Minas scourge,
+    Whose top austere withdraws into its mist.
+
+       *     *     *     *     *
+
+  "'Yonder, across these reeling fields of foam,
+    Came the sad threat of the avenging ships.
+    What profit now to know if just the doom,
+    Though harsh. The streaming eyes, the praying lips,
+    The shadow of inextinguishable pain,
+    The poet's deathless music, these remain.'"
+
+"Have we seen all that we can see?" interrupted Martine, untouched by
+the poetical tribute to her Acadians. She was determined to show no
+appreciation of anything said by Mr. Knight.
+
+"Have we seen all that we can see?" repeated Martine, adding with some
+sharpness, "I thought that there would be much more."
+
+"Well, I am sure--" and Mr. Knight hesitated, "I am sorry--but there
+isn't so very much--you know all the Acadian houses were burnt, and it's
+just a modern village--the old Covenanter Church is perhaps the oldest
+thing--and you've seen the old well and the willows and the things that
+we point out to Americans."
+
+"There it is!" thought Martine, "that same patronizing tone when he
+speaks of Americans."
+
+"Oh, there is one thing," continued the unhappy young man, conscious
+now, as at all times, of Martine's disapproval, "I should have shown you
+the little ridge near the station where Colonel Noble and one of his
+soldiers were buried, after that terrible fight in 1747. You remember
+the French had only seven killed to the one hundred English who were
+slaughtered."
+
+"That was a cowardly attack," said Amy, warmly.
+
+"But it was the real French, and not the Acadians, who were
+responsible," interposed Martine.
+
+"Yet the Acadians helped--at least as guides."
+
+"This pleasant country has certainly witnessed a great deal of tragedy."
+Mrs. Redmond's voice was that of the peacemaker.
+
+"Yet through it all Blomidon has remained there calm and placid." Up to
+this time Priscilla had had little to say.
+
+"But Glooscap, the deity of the Micmacs," responded Mrs. Redmond,--"you
+remember that after the white men came to Minas, displeased with their
+teachings, he fled away, and has never been seen since.
+
+  "'You can see yourself Five Islands Glooscap flung at him that day,
+    When from Blomidon to Sharp he tore the Beaver's dam away.
+    Cleared the channel, and the waters thundered out into the Bay.
+    Here he left us--see the orchards, red and gold in every tree!
+    All the land from Gaspereau to Portapique and Cheverie,
+    All the garden lands of Minas and a passage out to sea.'"
+
+"Why, mamma, I never heard you quote poetry--at such length."
+
+"Perhaps you thought that I couldn't, but this is a Canadian poet, and
+later you must read more of the myths grouped around Glooscap."
+
+"Oh, I know that Blomidon was his home, and Minas his beaver-pond, and
+Spencer Island used to be his kettle that he tipped upside down when he
+deserted Acadia, and two rocks there in the Bay were once his dogs that
+he turned to stone at the same time. He never was cruel, never grew old,
+and was never to die, and so I suppose that the Indians are looking
+constantly for him to come back and restore their own to them."
+
+"As to that," said the serious Mr. Knight, "the Indians in Nova Scotia
+are much better off than in the days of Glooscap. They may sit side by
+side with white children in almost all the schools of the country. Many
+of them live on land of their own, and raise live stock--though
+unluckily they prefer ponies to heifers, and in every way the government
+is fitting them for the full responsibilities of citizenship."
+
+"Oh, dear," sighed Martine, laying her hand on Amy's and leaning forward
+so that those on the back seat might not hear. "What a regular
+schoolmaster he is! He is more improving even than you, Miss Amy
+Redmond. But listen--how much more appreciative is our dear Priscilla."
+
+In spite of herself Amy could but smile as Priscilla's gentle voice came
+to her. "Thank you, Mr. Knight; the present condition of the Indians
+interests me very much, and I have made a note of what you have said to
+report at one of our Indian Aid Association meetings when I return
+home," whereat the driver of their vehicle laughed, chuckled, and shook
+his head.
+
+"I'd like to show her some specimen Micmacs," he said to Martine, "that
+come round here oftener than once in a while, and have some distance to
+travel before they are fully fitted for the responsibilities of
+citizenship."
+
+"Now, ladies, a last look at Blomidon," cried Mr. Knight, as the
+carriage took a sharp turn, and then, after one long, backward look,
+they pressed on and drove westward toward Avonport.
+
+"Dear Prissie," said Martine, when at last they stood on the broad
+beach, "you have been a very good girl to-day." Priscilla, reddening at
+her words, made no reply.
+
+"Yes, you have been very good," continued Martine, "and when Mr. Knight
+recalls this afternoon he will remember with pleasure the close
+attention that you have given to his every word."
+
+"Oh, Martine, how absurd you are; I never heard you talk so pompously
+before."
+
+"This is the effect of a few hours spent with an eloquent guide,
+philosopher, and friend. Poor Amy is under the spell now; he seems to be
+teaching her geology."
+
+Looking in the direction of the spot where they had left Mrs. Redmond
+and Amy, Priscilla saw that Mr. Knight was pointing at the stones with
+his walking-stick, as if they were diagrams on a blackboard.
+
+"He is probably explaining the rock formation," said Priscilla,
+solemnly. "My guidebook says that the region has great geological
+interest."
+
+"Then let us go off by ourselves somewhere, for if he gets the chance he
+will try to teach us all he knows, and really, I could not stand any
+more instruction to-day. Come, Prissie."
+
+At first Priscilla hesitated.
+
+"Do come; we'll have such a good chance to study those rocks and crags
+by ourselves."
+
+"I'd rather wait for the others, but still--"
+
+"That's a good girl;" and, half dragging Priscilla by the arm, Martine
+set off rapidly toward the bold cliffs that promised them more
+entertainment than they had had that afternoon.
+
+"There are sure to be shells," said Martine, "and perhaps curious
+seaweeds in some of the little pools. The tide is so high that
+undoubtedly there are many strange things washed up here."
+
+Martine was correct in her surmises, and for half an hour the two felt
+like explorers as they picked their way from stone to stone, filling
+their hands with trophies.
+
+"Isn't it fun?" cried Martine. "I feel as if we were quite alone in the
+world. We can just enjoy ourselves without thinking of history or
+geology, or anything else."
+
+"I wonder if the others will be worried," said Priscilla, who herself
+was not quite sure that she enjoyed this sensation of being quite alone
+in the world, with nobody near but Martine.
+
+"Of course they won't be worried. We shall be back before they even miss
+us. Besides, I'd like to worry Mr. Knight."
+
+Priscilla looked at her watch. "I think that we ought to return now; we
+have been gone more than half an hour."
+
+"Oh, not yet--but listen; some one is calling. It is Mr. Knight. 'Young
+ladies, young ladies,'" and Martine mimicked the tones that now were
+borne quite clearly to their ears. "I just won't have him find us, and
+lead us back as if we were two children who had done something that we
+shouldn't; let us hide behind these rocks until he passes."
+
+Somewhat against her will Priscilla allowed herself to be led into a
+rocky nook where a jutting ledge hid them effectually from any
+passer-by.
+
+So Mr. Knight, walking along the cliffs above them, even had he peered
+down to the lower level, could hardly have seen them. His "Young ladies,
+young ladies, we're starting home now," grew feebler and feebler, and
+when Martine had assured herself that he was really a safe distance
+away, she came out from her hiding-place with a cry of "Danger past."
+
+"We mustn't stay here too long," remonstrated Priscilla; "Mrs. Redmond
+will be worried."
+
+"I am perfectly willing to go now," replied Martine, "since Mr. Knight
+won't lead me by the nose. We had a hard climb to this grotto, but it
+will be much easier going down."
+
+Hardly had Martine spoken when Priscilla, who was a few steps ahead of
+her, turned back with a cry of alarm.
+
+"Look, Martine; what shall we do?"
+
+Stepping up beside her friend, Martine too exclaimed in surprise.
+
+"Do you suppose it will come any higher? I have heard of the rapid rise
+of the tide, but this has just rushed in."
+
+Even in that first quick glance both girls realized that they were in a
+critical position. In going up to the "grotto," as Martine called it,
+they had taken no notice of tide-water marks, such as both of them might
+have observed. The rocky arms by which they had ascended were now
+covered by water, and an incoming wave dashed over Priscilla's feet as
+they stood there, uncertain what to do.
+
+"Will it come all the way in? We shall be drenched if it does."
+
+"No," said Martine, turning about and inspecting the nook where they had
+been standing when they heard Mr. Knight's voice.
+
+"You can see that if the last high tide had come in lately as far as
+that little hollow, there would be some water there now. Instead, it is
+perfectly dry. You can prove that for yourself."
+
+"Yes, yes, you are right; by standing back here we can at least keep
+dry, but oh, dear, when shall we get out?"
+
+"Probably not until Mr. Knight rescues us," replied Martine, cheerfully,
+"and even he will hardly come to our relief until low tide, which is
+probably some hours away."
+
+Whatever the real danger, Priscilla and Martine saw at once that they
+were in a very disagreeable predicament. The little niche in which alone
+they could have a dry footing on three sides had steep walls, whose
+height at the lowest was surely twenty feet. Martine scanned the sides
+carefully, but the stone surface was perfectly smooth. Nowhere was there
+a projection that offered the least foothold. It was in no way possible
+for either girl to climb to the top. Toward them flowed the advancing
+tide. It had entirely cut them off from the path by which they had
+reached the grotto, and though it might not be dangerously deep at every
+point of the beach and rocks that it now covered, neither girl had
+courage to venture into the water.
+
+Martine indeed had proposed to wade as far as it seemed safe, and then,
+if necessary, swim to some point where she might get a footing.
+
+"No, no," Priscilla had remonstrated, "you might in some way miss the
+others, and if you had to wait around for some time in your wet clothes
+you would be really worse off than you are now--and besides, I should
+hate to be left here all alone."
+
+"It might be a waste of energy," replied Martine, "for surely the tide
+cannot come up to this little hollow; so it is only a question of time
+when we shall get out of this. But it does seem to me that so unusually
+clever a person as that Mr. Knight thinks himself might have found us
+before this."
+
+"You aren't quite fair, Martine, for he certainly was just above us
+here, calling with all his might. I dare say that he even looked over
+the edge. You hid yourself so completely, and made me hide too, so that
+when he looked he could not see us. He must think that we went in
+exactly the opposite direction, and he and the others are probably a
+mile away now, searching for us."
+
+"I do not care how much bother Mr. Knight has, but I do regret putting
+Mrs. Redmond and Amy to such trouble. Why did you come with me,
+Priscilla? If you had refused we shouldn't have got into this scrape."
+
+"Oh, Martine, when you fairly dragged me here! Surely you are unjust."
+
+Martine knew that she was unjust but like many persons who realize their
+own foolishness, she experienced a certain relief for the present in
+blaming some one else.
+
+"It will be hours," she grumbled, "before the tide will be low enough to
+let us out for it is still coming in, and we shall be kept here for some
+time after it turns."
+
+"If we get out before dark I shall be thankful. It will be terribly
+disagreeable to find ourselves alone here in the dark."
+
+"Oh, it won't be as bad as that!" Martine's voice became suddenly
+cheerful. Self-reproach had taken hold of her. What if Priscilla should
+really suffer from this escapade? As if in answer to her thoughts,
+Priscilla coughed once or twice.
+
+"There it is," thought Martine; "Priscilla is away for her health, and I
+may undo all the good of the summer. It will be a great disappointment
+to Mrs. Redmond, as well as to Priscilla's mother. They both expected so
+much from this trip." Which reflections showed that Martine was
+certainly not a villain of the deepest dye. Had she been hardened in
+perversity she could not so soon have reached a state of repentance.
+
+But repentance without works avails little, and when Priscilla coughed
+for a fourth time Martine became quite feverish with anxiety.
+
+Two large clouds in the distance seemed to her to indicate a coming
+storm. Wretched enough would their condition be if they should be caught
+by a heavy rain while they were in this exposed position.
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER XVII
+
+  SAFE AGAIN
+
+
+Time passes slowly when one has nothing to do, and although the fact
+that their situation was equally disagreeable to both should have drawn
+Martine and Priscilla closely together, they now found even less than
+usual to talk about. Yet strangely enough, without blaming the other
+each was heaping mental reproaches on herself,--Martine saw her own
+folly in running away from the others, and Priscilla was conscious that
+she had been too easily led.
+
+"We might help time pass by reciting poetry," said Martine.
+
+"Or discussing history," rejoined Priscilla.
+
+"This might be a good time to settle the respective merits of the
+Loyalists and the Acadians."
+
+"With the tide coming in so fast I should hardly dare get into a
+discussion; there'd be no one to help pull us in if we fell out. But
+listen, isn't that some one calling?"
+
+"I believe it is, although the sound doesn't come from above. Don't you
+hear it?"
+
+"Yes, I do; it's some one calling 'halloo, halloo.' Perhaps--"
+
+"Yes, it may be some one searching for us."
+
+Any doubts that Martine may have had were soon removed by the sight of a
+small dory gliding into their field of vision some distance below them.
+There were two men in the dory, both hatless and in their shirt-sleeves.
+In an instant both girls were on their feet, waving their handkerchiefs.
+In the same instant the men in the boat caught sight of them, and one of
+them lifted his oar and flourished it two or three times in the air.
+
+"How will they get here?" asked Martine.
+
+"Oh, probably the water isn't very deep; they can push up part way, and
+then wade."
+
+"If they can wade, we might have ventured."
+
+"It would not have been safe for us. See, they are pushing the boat up
+all the way."
+
+The water, indeed, was deep enough to let the boat come up into the
+hollow--now filled with water--between the two arms of rock, whereby the
+two girls had climbed to their present position. While the boat was
+still some distance away Priscilla and Martine had recognized the
+immaculate Mr. Knight as the man who was steering. Mr. Knight, however,
+was immaculate no longer; he was hatless and coatless, his hair somewhat
+tumbled, and his face very red from the unwonted exertion.
+
+From the moment of recognizing him until the moment when the side of the
+boat grazed the ledge was a very short time indeed.
+
+"We thought we'd find you somewhere near here; at least, we hoped so,"
+said Mr. Knight, looking from one girl to the other as if to decide
+which was the real culprit. "But how in the world did you get here?"
+
+"Walked," replied Martine, laconically; "hadn't time to swim."
+
+"But if you walked why didn't I see you when I looked an hour or two
+ago? I remember standing above this particular place and calling.
+Perhaps you weren't here then."
+
+Martine said nothing. If it should be necessary to confess she could
+attend to this later. At present she had enough to think about.
+
+"Is Mrs. Redmond worried?" asked Priscilla, anxiously.
+
+"Yes and no," replied Mr. Knight, "though she'll be glad enough to see
+you."
+
+"Must we go in the boat?" Priscilla spoke as if she dreaded the
+experiment, and she added, "It looks so very wobbly."
+
+"Oh, that boat, she's as steady as a setting hen," exclaimed Mr.
+Knight's companion. "Just you look out, though, and don't wet your
+feet."
+
+"I'll go first, Priscilla, and if I survive, why, then you can follow."
+
+But before Martine had attempted to take her place Mr. Knight turned to
+Priscilla, "Of course, if you would rather not go in the dory we could
+wait here until the tide ebbs. I could stay with you while Mr. Sands
+rows back to report to Mrs. Redmond. But the boat is perfectly safe, I
+can assure you."
+
+"Of course it is perfectly safe," exclaimed Martine, angrily; "I never
+heard such a silly idea." But whether she meant to apply "silly" to
+Priscilla's timidity or to Mr. Knight's suggestion she did not deign to
+explain, and the young man, after one curious glance in her direction,
+did not address her again.
+
+It was but the work of a minute or two to get the girls aboard the dory,
+and soon they were at a landing-place from which they could reach Mrs.
+Redmond and Amy.
+
+"You ain't the first people that's got caught in that way on the rocks,"
+said Mr. Sands as they rowed along, "only generally it's some romantic
+couple that rather likes to stay there till the tide goes out. But your
+ma was afraid that if you was there you might try to wade, and so catch
+your death of cold, and besides, she wasn't sure you were anywhere, as
+long as Mr. Knight couldn't find you; so when they all seemed so
+concerned the only thing was to haul out the dory, though it wouldn't
+have hurt you a mite if you'd had to stay."
+
+"I would as soon have stayed," said Martine, coldly; "it was a good
+view, and I rather enjoyed sitting there in that little grotto."
+
+"Grotto," Mr. Sands laughed loudly, and Martine fancied that a smile
+flickered at the corners of Mr. Knight's lips. "Grotto," repeated Mr.
+Sands. "Well, I never heard that name used before in these parts. I
+thought a grotto was foreign, but you've said something now that I won't
+forget. Here, Mr. Knight, you help the young ladies out, while I steady
+the boat," and in a second the two girls were running up the beach,
+where Mrs. Redmond and Amy greeted them with open arms.
+
+It was now after sunset, and all were hungry and cold. In aspect they
+were wholly unlike the party that had set out from Wolfville that
+afternoon. All seemed quiet and subdued,--Martine and Priscilla, because
+they had really been more fatigued by their little adventure than at the
+time they had realized; Mrs. Redmond and Amy, because they had been most
+anxious at the prolonged absence of the girls, and Mr. Knight--well,
+perhaps inwardly he was blaming "those Americans" for giving him much
+more trouble than was his due. Whatever his thoughts, however, he made
+no criticism, and any perturbation that he may have felt was shown only
+by his silence.
+
+What was most to the point, however, the horses and the driver were in
+good spirits, and set out for Wolfville at a fine rate. While the others
+had been looking and waiting, man and beast had had food and drink, and
+this accounted for their energy.
+
+"Grotto," cried Mr. Sands, as the party drove away, "well, that does
+beat all."
+
+Once on the way back to Wolfville they stopped before a house, after Mr.
+Knight had had a word with the driver. Then the young man, excusing
+himself, went within, returning soon with a small package. This he
+opened after he had resumed his seat, and distributed to each of the
+party a bread and butter sandwich and two or three cookies. "I might
+have brought more," he explained, "but it would be a pity to take away
+all your appetite for your supper at Wolfville."
+
+The sandwiches and the cakes seemed to promote conversation, and in the
+remaining half hour the party was as bright and cheerful as a party of
+young persons ought to be after a summer excursion. When they reached
+the house Mr. Knight declined the invitation that Mrs. Redmond gave him
+to stay to tea, though he promised to call on her the next day.
+
+"While we are in Wolfville," said Mrs. Redmond, as he turned away, "we
+may not be able to show you how thoroughly we enjoyed the delightful
+afternoon you have given us, but if you come to Boston we will do our
+best to make a return."
+
+"I can assure you that the pleasure has been altogether on my side,"
+responded Mr. Knight.
+
+"And I can assure you," added Martine, who had now fully recovered her
+spirits, "that Priscilla was an unwilling accomplice of mine this
+afternoon, and that you were very good to rescue me as well as
+her--everything considered."
+
+"Oh, but I can assure you," began Mr. Knight, "that I didn't mean--that
+is, I--" and here realizing that the more he tried to say the more he
+might blunder, the poor young man backed down the steps with a polite
+bow and a single "good-night."
+
+"Priscilla," said Amy, that evening, as she handed the former her mail,
+"here's a funny little package for you, half open at one end, and a
+letter directed in the same handwriting. Excuse my noticing that the
+letter is post-marked 'Meteghan.'"
+
+"Why shouldn't you?" responded Priscilla. "We all have acquired the
+habit of looking at one another's post-marks."
+
+"Open the parcel," cried Amy; "I'm curious to see what it is." Priscilla
+glanced at Martine, who was deep in a letter from one of her
+boarding-school friends. Then she cut the string, and, loosening the
+paper, handed the package to Amy while she glanced over the Meteghan
+letter.
+
+"Why, it looks like Yvonne's lace," cried Amy, and at the word "Yvonne"
+Martine joined the group.
+
+"Why, it is Yvonne's lace," she exclaimed. "How did you get it?"
+
+"I sent for some," replied Priscilla. "I thought that it might help her
+if I should buy it. I could not buy much, but it has pleased her to sell
+it. Read her letter."
+
+Tears came into Martine's eyes as she read the simple letter of thanks
+that seemed to come straight from the heart of the little French girl.
+"She remembers us all, though she doesn't spell the names just right,
+and she sends the best love of Uncle Alexandre, Uncle Placide, and aunts
+Mathilde and Marie. Well, we must have made an impression." Then, after
+glancing at the letter a second time, Martine continued: "But you are a
+brick, Priscilla. How did you happen to think of sending for the lace? I
+had forgotten all about it, though I was anxious to help Yvonne."
+
+"She writes a good letter, considering that she sees so dimly;" and Amy
+called Martine's attention to the clear, round hand. "The convent
+sisters have certainly done a great deal for the child."
+
+When all had admired the strip of lace, Priscilla folded it up neatly
+and laid it with her letters. She was relieved that Martine had not
+taken offence at her writing for it. Though Priscilla had not intended
+this to be a silent reproof to Martine, it had somewhat this effect, for
+too frequently in Martine's life "out of sight" meant "out of mind," and
+though she had no desire to break the promises that she had made so
+freely when in Meteghan, still, but for Priscilla's reminder she might
+have been long in keeping them. At the same time it is but fair to say
+that already without Priscilla's knowledge she had taken steps toward
+carrying out the larger plan that she had conceived regarding Yvonne's
+future.
+
+"Mamma," said Amy, after she had shown Mrs. Redmond Yvonne's letter, "I
+have just had a letter from Julia."
+
+"Ah, that is delightful," said Mrs. Redmond. "I am always so pleased to
+hear from Julia."
+
+Julia Bourne, the cousin of Amy's friend Brenda,--Mrs. Weston--was
+little older than Amy or the other girls in Brenda's group. Julia, on
+being graduated from Radcliffe, had decided to spend most of her time
+and a fair share of her income on a Domestic Science School for girls.
+
+The experiment carried on in the Mansion, a stately West End house
+belonging to her former teacher, Miss South, during its two years of
+existence, had proved most successful. The work at the Mansion had been
+in the nature of social settlement work, and Amy, with little money to
+give, had been glad to enroll herself as a voluntary teacher.
+
+But for the Nova Scotia trip Amy would have been one of Julia's
+assistants this very summer at Happy Hill. Often, indeed, in the course
+of her travels she had thought of the work going on there, and had
+indulged in a little self-reproach that she should be spending her own
+holidays in idleness. Most persons, even those inclined to be critical,
+would have said that Amy had really enough work on her hands in the five
+or six hours of tutoring that she tried to give Priscilla every week.
+
+Yet even granting that her time was not sufficiently occupied, there is
+a kind of idleness that in the end is more beneficial to the individual
+than any amount of work. Although Amy had not been in danger, perhaps,
+of breaking down during the past season, still, Mrs. Redmond realized
+that she had been working up to the limit of her strength, and she had
+planned the Nova Scotia trip in such a way that Amy should be unable to
+withstand going. That Amy would need all her strength for her senior
+year at Wellesley had been Mrs. Redmond's strongest plea. Every day of
+this summer had been a proof to Amy of her mother's wisdom.
+
+    "Of course we miss you [wrote Julia], and I am glad to say
+    that no one else can exactly take your place. But I honestly
+    believe that in a certain way you can do almost as much good
+    in Acadia as here; for it will be a great thing to inspire
+    Priscilla with more confidence in herself, and tone down
+    Martine a little.
+
+    "Here at Happy Hill we have two or three of the girls who
+    were at the Mansion its first year. We have been able, I am
+    glad to say, to imbue them with some sense of
+    responsibility. Each of them in turn is called housekeeper
+    for a week, and although things are not really altogether in
+    her hands, the effect on her is really the same, and we
+    older people merely act as a check to prevent matters from
+    going too far out of line.
+
+    "It is very amusing to see these older girls take charge of
+    the younger, and instruct them in all the details of country
+    life. They have some gardening to do, and they make butter
+    and cheese, and each one is shown how to drive, and is
+    permitted at intervals to drive down to the village. Then
+    they have open-air gymnastics in addition to the very
+    considerable amount of exercise that goes with their
+    housework, and they have just enough study from books every
+    day to prevent their growing altogether rusty.
+
+    "Mr. and Mrs. Elton--it doesn't seem quite natural yet to
+    speak of Miss South as Mrs. Elton--are now, I suppose, in
+    Norway. They sent the girls a box of unmounted photographs
+    last week, showing the most picturesque scenery in Greece
+    and Italy, where they were in the early spring. Nora is to
+    be with me part of the summer, and Anstiss Rowe, as perhaps
+    you know, is giving all her time to Happy Hill. Brenda
+    undoubtedly keeps you informed about affairs at Rockley. She
+    is perfectly happy, and altogether different from the Brenda
+    of a year ago.
+
+    "When your Acadia days are over, I hope that you will have a
+    week to spare for Happy Hill before Wellesley opens again.
+    With my best regards to your mother and the girls,
+
+                    "JULIA."
+
+
+When Amy had finished this letter Mrs. Redmond glanced through it.
+
+"I should like to go up to Happy Hill for at least a week," said Amy.
+
+"It is altogether probable that you can. We shall be at home by the
+first of September. Why, what has become of Martine?"
+
+Amy looked toward the chair where Martine had been sitting a few minutes
+before. It was certainly empty.
+
+"I'll run up to her room;" and, suiting her action to her word, in a
+moment Amy was knocking at Martine's door.
+
+In answer to a feeble "Come in" she entered, only to find Martine lying
+face downward on the bed.
+
+"Why, what is the matter, child?" she asked, affectionately stroking
+Martine's hair.
+
+"Oh, nothing," came in muffled tones from the prostrate Martine, "only
+this has been such a long day."
+
+"You are tired," responded Amy, "and probably you were more excited than
+you realized when you and Priscilla were lost."
+
+"We weren't lost"--Martine threw considerable spirit into her voice,--"I
+knew just where we were."
+
+"But we did not--" Amy, though amused, tried not to show her
+amusement--"we were rather alarmed, so really my mother and I ought to
+be the persons to collapse. Come, Martine, even if you are tired, you
+must cheer up, and go to bed."
+
+  [Illustration: "'Why, what is the matter, child?' she asked
+   affectionately."]
+
+"It isn't because I'm tired," and Martine's tears flowed afresh, "but I
+thought that to-night there would be a letter from my mother. There must
+be a mail in, and I have counted up the time from New York. There ought
+to be a letter to-night. I am sure that she's worse."
+
+"Nonsense, child. Probably she does not feel quite well enough to write,
+and your father has overlooked the mail. You know how apt men are to
+forget."
+
+So Amy tried to pacify Martine, and at last succeeded in getting her to
+look at things more cheerfully. She had never before seen Martine in low
+spirits, and she felt quite sure that fatigue, even more than
+disappointment, had caused the tears.
+
+"I will admit," she said, "that this has been a trying day, beginning
+with--"
+
+"Beginning with Mr. Knight,"--and now Martine was smiling. "Wasn't he
+funny, with his 'you Americans,' as if we were some strange species?"
+
+"But in the end don't you think that Mr. Knight did pretty well? I think
+that he more than redeemed himself by his kindness."
+
+"Well, as he is a friend of Balfour Airton's I suppose that I ought not
+to criticise him. There, don't shake your head, Amy. Yes, I do think
+that he was very kind--in the end. But the day has been fearfully long.
+We ought not to have taken that walk this morning."
+
+When at last Martine went to bed Amy sat beside her until she fell
+asleep. There was a strange mingling of childishness and womanliness in
+this little Chicagoan to which Amy could not accustom herself. Her
+worldly wisdom and grown-up air of womanliness were quite as hard to
+understand as the extreme childishness in which she sometimes indulged.
+The more equable Priscilla was much easier to comprehend, and yet Amy
+was not altogether sure that Priscilla, under stress of circumstances,
+would be the easier to manage.
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER XVIII
+
+  THE RIGHT AND THE WRONG OF IT
+
+
+"For my own part," said Martine, "I am just as firmly on the side of the
+Acadians as ever. They may have been stupid about the oath, and probably
+they were too easily influenced by Le Loutre, but they had been handed
+from England to France and from France to England so often that I don't
+see how they could consider themselves English when really they were
+French."
+
+"You must have had Irish ancestors as well as French," said Amy, with a
+laugh. "Your remark sounds almost like a bull."
+
+"Well, I mean to take the bull by the horns," replied Martine; "you can
+blame any one else for the deportation, but not the poor Acadians. They
+certainly did not in the least know who they were. But I am glad," she
+concluded, "that you have taken so much trouble to explain it all to me,
+Miss Amy Redmond, for I have never before understood why the English
+were so cruel."
+
+"It is surely a fact"--Amy spoke decidedly--"that the English Government
+would have preferred to keep the Acadians their subjects. They needed
+them to supply provisions, and to man their garrisons. With their
+knowledge of woodcraft, and of the Indians, the Acadians would have been
+invaluable on the English side."
+
+"But you couldn't expect them to fight against the French, who were
+their own flesh and blood!" and Martine cast a glance of reproach at her
+friend.
+
+"That, of course, was the chief point in the dispute. The Acadians
+claimed to be neutrals, when really they were sending their produce to
+Louisbourg, or to the French in other places, to help them continue
+their war with the English. Yet they expected the protection of the
+English when in trouble, and they always had it, although their only tax
+was the tithe that they spent for the support of their own church."
+
+Amy and Martine were sitting on the broad sands of Evangeline's beach,
+looking toward Blomidon, and waiting for Priscilla, who had strolled
+some distance away. They had driven over from Wolfville in the omnibus,
+and were to have an hour or two at the edge of the Basin before they
+need return. In the midst of the discussion Priscilla rejoined them.
+
+"More Acadians!" she cried with a smile. "Let me ask you a favor--"
+
+"To say no more about them?"
+
+"No, not that. When we leave the neighborhood of Wolfville we shall
+think of other things; so, once for all I, for one, should be glad to
+have the whole story straightened out. We know what happened after the
+expulsion, for we've been at Clare, and we know about the earliest
+French; we heard all that at Annapolis. But now, my dear Miss Amy
+Redmond, you have been looking into this thing thoroughly, and if--"
+
+"Yes," urged Martine, "if you'll please tell us what happened in the
+years between, it will save our reading, and you will make it much
+clearer to us than any book."
+
+"Down with your flattery," rejoined Amy; "yet as there's no time like
+the present, I will tell the story briefly. We might as well pass over
+the various transfers of Acadia from France to England, and from England
+to France, before 1710. But the conquest of Annapolis by General
+Nicholson in that year gave Acadia finally to England. The change of
+Government was confirmed by the treaty of Utrecht in 1713, and all
+Acadians who did not wish to be subject to England were given time to
+leave. Those who remained were required to take an oath of fidelity to
+King George, and England on her part agreed to let them exercise their
+own religion under their own priests. In spite of these arrangements
+many of these simple-minded Acadians still considered themselves
+subjects of the King of France, even up to the time of the expulsion.
+Perhaps the priests encouraged them in this and delayed their taking the
+oath of allegiance. By 1730, however, nearly all had signed the oath,
+and if war had not broken out later between France and England there
+might have been no further trouble. But when it was found that many of
+the Acadians, instead of remaining neutral, were joining with French and
+Indians in attacks on the English, Lord Cornwallis, the Governor at
+Halifax, required them to take the oath again. This was necessary
+because a new generation had grown up who had been encouraged by the
+priests and politicians in enmity to England. Most of them would not
+take the new oath, because it required them to defend Acadia against the
+enemies of England, and this, they said, would oblige them to fight
+against the French, their kinsmen. In 1751 there was a large immigration
+of Acadians to Ile St. Jean, then in the hands of the French. These
+exiles suffered much, but they were encouraged to hope that when France
+reconquered Acadia they could go back to their deserted homes.
+
+"Cornwallis continued firm, and at last the Acadians were informed that
+all who would not take the oath must leave Nova Scotia. In the very
+beginning deputies from the Acadian villages had gone to Halifax to say
+that it would be impossible to take the oath and ask permission to
+dispose of their farms and leave the country."
+
+"Why didn't they go? It would have been so much better in the end."
+
+"It is hard to say, Martine. Friends of the Acadians claim that the
+English put all kinds of obstacles in their way, first refusing them
+transportation in English vessels, then preventing their buying rigging
+at Louisbourg for vessels of their own. But, as I have said, more than a
+thousand did eventually pass over to the Ile St. Jean, and some of these
+took part in the defence of Beausejour."
+
+"Well, they were surely very conscientious," said Martine, "for they
+knew that by taking the oath and becoming British subjects they could
+live in comfort on their farms. It was very brave in them to choose
+poverty and exile."
+
+"It might seem braver, if behind it all they had not had the feeling
+that the time was near when the French would drive the British from Nova
+Scotia and so restore them to their own."
+
+"It was all that Le Loutre, I suppose," commented Priscilla; "he was
+responsible for so much."
+
+"Whether he was really as bad as some represent him would be hard to
+say; but this missionary to the Micmacs had great influence, and it was
+all used against the English. We pity the Acadians, but we ought to pity
+the innocent English settlers on the outskirts of Halifax, and at other
+places, who were tortured and murdered by the Indians whom Le Loutre and
+other French had stirred up. Now, to keep to our story without making it
+too long, the Acadians dallied and dallied. They did not take the oath
+of allegiance, and they did not seem to be preparing to leave the
+country. At last Lieutenant-Governor Lawrence gave them only a short
+time to decide.
+
+"Well, the French and Indian War continued, and the English were
+generally more successful than the French. At last Beausejour was
+captured, chiefly by the help of a body of troops commanded by Colonel
+Winslow. These men were New Englanders,--sturdy, conscientious men from
+country towns, a large number of whom had been farmers and small
+tradesmen.
+
+"Beausejour fell the middle of June, and it may interest you, Priscilla,
+to know that Le Loutre, rather than fall into the hands of the English,
+fled to Quebec, where he was coldly received. Later he went to France,
+and died in obscurity.
+
+"In July, 1755, a memorial was sent to Lieutenant-Governor Lawrence,
+signed by twenty-five leading Acadians, on the subject of the oath, and
+requesting the return of their guns that the Government had obliged them
+to give up on account of their sympathy with the French. When Governor
+Lawrence sent for the signers to come to Halifax, fifteen appeared
+before them. He pointed out the insincerity of their memorial, and when
+he desired them to sign the oath they flatly refused. Finally, on the
+twenty-eighth of July, these deputies and others from Annapolis appeared
+before the Governor and Council, and although warned that the
+consequences would be serious, they declined to take any oath differing
+from that taken under Governor Phillips; that is, they were unwilling to
+bear arms for the English against the French."
+
+"That, I must say, seems noble to me, since they knew what risks they
+were running," cried Martine.
+
+"That is to an extent a matter of opinion. But their refusal decided
+Governor Lawrence what to do. He immediately wrote to Colonel Monckton
+that enough transports had been ordered up the Bay for the Acadians, and
+that he must remove them. He was told that all the property of the
+Acadians was now forfeited to the Crown, and that they would be allowed
+to take on board ship only their money and their household goods."
+
+"It is a wonder he left them anything," said Martine, sarcastically.
+
+"He wasn't absolutely heartless, and he gave careful directions for
+provisioning the transports for their long journey."
+
+"I am sorry that it was a New Englander who had to carry out these cruel
+orders," said Priscilla.
+
+"Yes, it fell on Lieutenant-Colonel Winslow, and a detachment of those
+New England troops that had fought at Beausejour to attend to the
+deportation at Grand Pre. It was Tuesday, the second of September, when
+he ordered all the male inhabitants from ten years upwards to assemble
+on the following Friday in the church at Grand Pre, to hear what his
+Majesty had to say to them. Then--but really I think one gets the story
+better from Longfellow. It is from this point that we have our
+sympathies so deeply touched, and we are willing to forget that the
+simple-minded Acadians had brought much of their trouble on themselves."
+
+"It doesn't make their sufferings less, even if they were to blame,"
+interposed Martine.
+
+"That is true. They may have been less peaceable and amiable than they
+have been represented by the poet, and their homes and their ways of
+living may have been less--less--"
+
+"AEsthetic," suggested Priscilla, with a smile.
+
+"Well, aesthetic, then. But all this does not alter the fact that they
+deserved the greatest pity. Many of them, indeed, honestly believed that
+they were still the subjects of Louis XV, and that to take the oath
+required by the English would be a great crime."
+
+"What they needed was a really good and disinterested man to advise
+them; some one like Paul Mascarene, who was partly French, and yet could
+get the English point of view," said Priscilla. "Some way I can't feel
+that the English were altogether disinterested--although," she concluded
+hastily, "I am more on the English side than the French,--and I am very
+sorry that it was a man of Plymouth descent who carried away the
+Acadians from Grand Pre."
+
+This, in view of Priscilla's previous prejudice against the Acadians,
+was really a very liberal statement, as the others realized.
+
+"It should console you, then, to remember that Colonel Winslow was
+simply a soldier acting under orders, and we have no reason to think
+that he used needless cruelty. 'It hurts me to hear their weeping and
+wailing,' he said in his journal, and this shows that he had a tender
+heart."
+
+"But I can't see why families were separated, and why all these Acadians
+couldn't have been sent up to Upper Canada to the other French;" and
+Martine sighed deeply.
+
+"You forget that France and England were still at war, and to have put
+so many able-bodied men at the service of France would indeed have been
+madness. Governor Lawrence explained all this in letters to the
+governors of the different colonies to whom he sent the Acadians. They
+were sent to as many different colonies as possible, and broken up into
+small groups, so that they could not unite in any plan for return."
+
+"I suppose that Governor Lawrence thought it better for them to become
+public charges,--people who had always been perfectly independent."
+
+"Oh, well, there is a bright side. Many of them never lost hope for a
+minute, and even those who went to the French West Indies soon began to
+plan to get back to Acadia. In the end, after the Peace, they began to
+take the oath, and receive their new grants of land, and since then
+England has had no more devoted subjects--as we saw for ourselves in
+Clare."
+
+"All the same," said Martine, "this must be a haunted region around
+here, and I can tell you I should hate to walk through Grand Pre alone
+after dark, or even drive through."
+
+"Speaking of haunted regions," said Priscilla, "though I don't know why
+I think of him just now, what do you suppose has happened to Mr. Knight?
+No one has seen him since our adventure."
+
+"_We_ haven't seen him," responded Amy, "but I sincerely hope that he is
+in the land of the living. I must have forgotten to tell you that mamma
+had a letter from him the day after our drive, telling us that he had
+been suddenly called to New Brunswick, and expressing his regret that
+probably he should not see us again."
+
+"That must have been a great relief to him," murmured Martine, "that
+call to New Brunswick. Otherwise he might have had to see us again."
+
+"Oh, he expressed great regret at having to go without doing so."
+
+"That was kind in him, even if it wasn't quite sincere. It is my own
+opinion that he went away on purpose. He couldn't bear to see us again
+when he remembered how his hair was tumbled--not a sign of the
+parting--and his cuffs wet. But _we_ remember, don't we, and I hardly
+blame him for running away."
+
+"Martine, my dear child, you are very absurd. No man could possibly be
+so vain."
+
+"Especially, my dear Miss Amy Redmond, one whose business is the
+instruction of youth," rejoined Martine, flippantly.
+
+"I had a letter from Eunice this morning," interposed Priscilla, "and
+she said that Balfour had had a letter from Mr. Knight, who thanked him
+for the introduction he had given him to us. She said that he had
+written about our trip to Grand Pre, and was surprised to find Americans
+so much interested in Acadian history."
+
+"That is all very well. People always write that way after a letter of
+introduction; they feel that they must. You cannot persuade me that Mr.
+Knight had any other reason for running to New Brunswick except to avoid
+us."
+
+"Perhaps he wished to escape our thanks for the rescue."
+
+"Rescue!" Martine's tone was scornful enough. "We weren't in the least
+little bit of danger."
+
+"We weren't exactly comfortable," responded Priscilla. "I was thankful
+enough, I can tell you, when Mr. Knight and the dory came in sight. Why,
+we might have had to stay there for hours."
+
+"Oh, no; there would have been some way. The tide goes out as rapidly as
+it flows in."
+
+"Well, leaving out individuals, who certainly have been very kind to
+us," interposed Amy, "considering that in their hearts many of them
+think of us as 'those Yankees,' Wolfville has been fairly worth while."
+
+"Yes," replied Martine, "though I haven't been able to paint Blomidon, I
+have captured the Grand Pre willows. The subject may be trite, but I've
+managed to give it a touch of individuality by adding a tree or two and
+lopping off a branch or so, here and there, and this will set some
+persons guessing as to what my view is."
+
+"Oh, Martine!"
+
+"But the artistic reputation of the party is kept up by your mother's
+sketches. That one of the marshes is simply perfect. No one who had not
+seen the colors could believe that nature up here in the north is so
+brilliant. The water is so blue,--and she has caught it exactly,--and
+the bright red of the shore at low tide, and the vivid green of the dyke
+grass, varied here and there with clumps of yellow--"
+
+"Stop, stop; you make me fairly dizzy."
+
+"But it's a true picture, isn't it? and your mother has reproduced it to
+perfection, and if she doesn't sell it before Christmas I shall get papa
+to buy it for me."
+
+So the three friends sat and chatted on this their last afternoon in
+Evangeline's land, half regretting that the time was near when they must
+bid good-bye to Acadia.
+
+Though they had not tried to do all the things possible for the tourist,
+they had gone to the Look-off, the highest part of the Blomidon ridge,
+and from this spot had had a magnificent view of the Annapolis and
+Cornwallis valleys, and the six rivers flowing into Minas, and the
+hundreds of fertile farms and the picturesque seaports lying almost at
+their feet; and they had made also several side trips.
+
+Priscilla had slaked her thirst for information by setting down in her
+note-books many facts about the productiveness of the region, and
+declared that in future if she should meet a boy anxious to become a
+farmer she would send him to Nova Scotia rather than to the unknown
+West.
+
+"Ah, but there's no government land for him to take up here, and farms
+don't go for a song. Every inch is cultivated," rejoined Amy.
+
+Thus at last, when Amy with her mother and her friends were ready to
+leave Wolfville and Grand Pre and their neighborhood, their minds were
+filled not only with the history of Acadia and the memories of the past,
+but with pictures of the present that seemed likely to be lasting.
+
+Mrs. Redmond, moreover, in balancing her accounts,--not a reckoning of
+money, but of something more precious--counted as the greatest gain the
+improvement in health made by Priscilla and the improvement in
+disposition made by Martine.
+
+Priscilla's gain was easily recognized. Even she herself could see it
+when she looked in the glass, and she was daily growing more and more
+conscious of it. But Martine's gain,--perhaps she herself did not
+realize it. Perhaps she had not known in the beginning how much she
+needed improving. Yet Mrs. Redmond, realizing it, had observed with
+pleasure that Martine was not nearly as self-willed, was not nearly as
+ready to ridicule the foibles of others as at the beginning of the trip.
+Just as the angles of Priscilla's disposition were rounding off to a
+certain degree, so Martine was much less likely than formerly to fly off
+in a tangent. Although it could hardly be said that the two girls
+understood each other perfectly, it was yet the fact that wishes
+collided far less often than in the past. When Priscilla yielded, she
+did so with a smaller show of helpless resignation than had been her
+wont, and Martine no longer thought it clever to laugh at every
+suggestion made by Priscilla.
+
+As to Amy, her mother saw with pleasure that to her the summer had been
+one of real refreshment. If she had been absolutely idle she could not
+have been half as happy as now, with the sense of responsibility that
+was hers in having the care, or at least the partial care, of Martine
+and Priscilla; moreover the trip itself, opening as it did to her a
+country of which previously she had known so little, was in every way a
+delight to her. It had shown to her a world of history and poetry with
+which she had not been familiar, even though she had known something
+about it, and this in itself was worth much to her.
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER XIX
+
+  A DISCOVERY
+
+
+"I almost wish," said Amy to her mother, as their train was speeding
+away from Wolfville, "that we were going direct to Halifax."
+
+"That _is_ a concession," responded Mrs. Redmond, with a smile, "for if
+you had been less anxious to see Windsor we should have passed on
+without stopping there. Perhaps even yet it is not too late to change
+our plans."
+
+"Oh, no; I am just as anxious as ever to visit King's College, and
+Martine and Priscilla, if not enthusiastic, still feel pleased at the
+prospect of seeing one more town before we reach Halifax. I've had to
+use some persuasion to get them to take this point of view, and it would
+be very foolish indeed for me to be the one to change plans now."
+
+A moment later Martine and Priscilla, who had been looking from the
+window on the opposite side of the car, returned to their seats.
+
+"Would you care to give up Windsor now?" asked Mrs. Redmond.
+
+"No, indeed; since I realized that Windsor is the old Piziquid of the
+Acadians I have been crazy to see it, for I read a story the other day
+whose scene was laid there; and besides, I've heard that Windsor has one
+of the queerest harbors in the world, with water in it hardly two or
+three hours a day, and only red mud the rest of the time."
+
+"That's nothing very new," interrupted Priscilla; "we've seen enough of
+that kind of thing already in Nova Scotia."
+
+"Oh, but the difference is that the harbor of Windsor is so large that
+they say it is very amusing to see so many great vessels stranded in it
+I'm quite reconciled now to spending a day or two there; it's only
+Priscilla who objects, Mrs. Redmond."
+
+"I don't really object" responded Priscilla, "but I'm afraid we won't
+have all the time we need at Halifax."
+
+"After all, we shall not be limited in our stay there. Unless those
+letters that I expect insist on my return at once I shall be quite
+willing to stay away until after the first of September."
+
+"Who is it then, besides Priscilla, who wishes to cut Windsor?"
+
+"No one but me, Martine," returned Amy; "and this is only because I have
+a little feeling that I can't explain that we might better go through
+directly to Halifax. It's the kind of feeling that leads people
+sometimes to give up a particular train from fear that some accident
+will befall it."
+
+"Ugh!" and Martine held up her hands in protest. "I never knew before,
+Miss Amy Redmond, that you could be superstitious, for that's what
+'having feelings' amounts to."
+
+"Well, at least I'm strong-minded enough to disregard these
+premonitions. In my heart of hearts I believe that we shall not only
+escape from Windsor alive, but enjoy our stay there thoroughly."
+
+Not so very long after leaving Wolfville the travellers were within
+sight of Windsor. They had passed through beautiful farming regions with
+occasional glimpses of river and marsh; and there across a stretch of
+yellowish water they caught sight of the town which the Indians had so
+correctly named Piziquid, "the meeting of the waters." This first
+glimpse showed a town built up on the sides of leafy hills and
+stretching down to the water, bordered with many wharves, at which lay
+three-masted schooners and craft of every size.
+
+Their rooms had been engaged at one of the smaller hotels. It was
+delightfully situated on a side street, and within seemed pleasant and
+homelike. Already their bags had been taken to the rooms assigned them,
+and Martine and Priscilla lingered a moment to speak to the landlady's
+little daughter, a child of five or six, who was playing in the hall.
+
+"How red her cheeks are! I must kiss her;" and Martine bent down to suit
+the action to the word. But the little girl was coquettish, and,
+slipping away, stood at some distance, staring at the strange young
+ladies. Priscilla looked sharply at the child.
+
+"I wouldn't kiss her," she remonstrated. "Her cheeks are flushed; they
+are almost feverish. I believe she's not well."
+
+"Nonsense," rejoined Martine, with a laugh. "Every one down here has red
+cheeks;" and she took a few steps forward in pursuit of the child.
+
+Priscilla laid her hand on her arm "No, no, she looks just as my little
+sister did after she had scarlet fever; promise me you won't kiss her."
+
+"I don't see why you should care," said Martine; "but you seem so in
+earnest that for once I'll do what you wish."
+
+At this moment Mrs. Redmond approached the girls, in company with the
+landlady, who had been showing her her room. She, too, looked keenly at
+the little child.
+
+"Is this your little girl?" she asked her companion.
+
+"Yes, my only child."
+
+"Is she,--is she quite well?"
+
+The woman hesitated for a moment.
+
+"She has been sick, but she's almost well," she replied.
+
+"What was the matter with her?" asked Mrs. Redmond, pleasantly.
+
+"She has had scarlet fever, but--"
+
+"Girls," said Mrs. Redmond, "have your bags brought from your rooms."
+
+Then she turned to the landlady.
+
+"I can understand now why you can offer us a choice of so many rooms;
+the fever, I suppose, drove your guests away. I'm sorry, but we, too,
+must look farther."
+
+In a few moments the four had called a carriage and were on their way to
+seek a new abode. Martine saw the ridiculous side of the whole affair
+and made the others laugh at her account of the way Priscilla had saved
+her from the fatal kiss.
+
+"It is no laughing matter," protested Mrs. Redmond; "the child was
+evidently in that condition when the disease is particularly contagious,
+even though she herself is not especially ill. I shall have to watch you
+all very carefully, and shall be thankful enough if you do not suffer
+from this exposure."
+
+"There, Amy," cried Priscilla, "the worst is over; your premonitions are
+justified, and another time we won't laugh at your superstition. Though
+you hadn't scarlet fever in mind, this was the danger which we were to
+pass through."
+
+"I hope that the worst really is over, but it is rather curious that
+this particular incident should have happened here after what I said."
+
+Under the guidance of their driver the party soon found a boarding-place
+in a large wooden house, attractively situated on a hill.
+
+On the morning after their arrival Mrs. Redmond advised the girls to
+make the most of their time.
+
+"I'm told that we can visit the college and return in time to take the
+afternoon train for Halifax, but perhaps it will be as well to do things
+a little more at our leisure and go on to-morrow."
+
+"Oh, far better," said Martine; "it would be so tiresome to go on
+to-day; besides--" and here she stopped as if she had almost disclosed
+something that she should not speak about.
+
+Soon after breakfast Martine and Amy strolled off to the grass-grown
+ramparts of Fort Edward, the defence that had been built by the English
+against the French when Acadia came into their possession. An old
+blockhouse was the most interesting thing to be seen from the Fort;
+interesting at least from the historical point of view.
+
+"What makes Windsor seem so very new?" asked Martine. "Every one speaks
+of it as such an old town, and it seems to be full of new brick
+buildings that look as if they'd been finished hardly a week."
+
+"It's the fire," replied Amy. "The greater part of Windsor was destroyed
+by fire a year or two ago. It used to be much prettier, they say, with
+its old wooden buildings and tree-lined streets. The trees and the
+old-fashioned dwellings have all been swept away,--at least in this part
+of the city. When we go to King's College this afternoon we shall see
+what is left of the older section."
+
+"Martine," said Mrs. Redmond, when the two returned, "I'm sorry to have
+to reprove you."
+
+"If any one is to reprove me you are the one, Mrs. Redmond, whom I
+should prefer to administer the reproof; but what is the trouble now? Am
+I in danger of catching anything new?"
+
+"No, my child, but see!"
+
+Mrs. Redmond held up before Martine a small chamois bag.
+
+"Oh, dear, did I really leave it lying about?"
+
+"Yes, Martine, and had any one else found it you might have been put to
+considerable trouble to recover your rings."
+
+Taking the little bag from Mrs. Redmond's hands, Martine emptied its
+contents on a table. There they were,--not only the four beautiful
+rings, but the diamond star that her father had given her the preceding
+Christmas. Ever since Priscilla had expressed her contempt for those who
+wore expensive jewelry while travelling, Martine had carried her rings
+in the little bag in which she kept the star and one or two other
+valuable pins.
+
+"It seems to me," said Mrs. Redmond, "that it would have been wiser to
+leave these valuable things in Boston."
+
+"But I always have them with me, and nothing has ever happened."
+
+Mrs. Redmond hesitated as to what she should say. Although she was
+Martine's temporary guardian, she believed that it was not her place to
+instruct the young girl on points that would naturally come within the
+observation of her parents. If they had established no rules regarding
+the times when she should or should not wear jewelry, it was hardly the
+duty of another to interfere. Yet she saw that a word or two now might
+prevent further complications while she and Martine were travelling
+together.
+
+"It is true," she said, "that people must judge for themselves when they
+shall and when they shall not wear jewels. But your rings, I can see,
+are all valuable, especially the emerald, and it is so easy to mislay
+such things when dressing, or when leaving a boarding-house, that if I
+were you I would put them safely away."
+
+Though she did not express it, her real thought was that in travelling
+there is seldom an occasion when a young girl needs to wear jewelry.
+
+"Thank you, Mrs. Redmond," said Martine, pleasantly. "I am truly sorry
+that I brought these things with me, although at home I always wear my
+rings without thinking about them. The diamond star I thought might be
+worn if we were invited to a party or a reception while away, but I see
+now that it would not be the thing for me to wear it at all this summer.
+In fact, when papa gave it to me he said that he did not expect me to
+wear it often until I was eighteen, but I thought I would like to have
+it with me, and it seemed safe enough in this bag."
+
+"Yes, when you wear the bag around your neck; but if you leave it
+carelessly lying about, you'll have only yourself to blame if you lose
+it."
+
+"Thank you, Mrs. Redmond," responded Martine; "after this I will see
+that it is put away."
+
+Martine had received Mrs. Redmond's words so well that the latter was
+more than ever impressed with the young girl's amiability, and she
+wondered that between her and Priscilla there could still exist any
+antagonism.
+
+There was no evidence, however, of anything but good feeling when the
+four set out for their drive to King's College. Amy had told them that
+they were to drive also near the grounds of the old home of that Judge
+Haliburton whose other home they had seen at Annapolis, explaining:
+
+"Some persons call him 'the father of Canadian literature,' because his
+'Sam Slick' and his history were almost the first books written in
+Canada to attract the attention of people outside."
+
+King's College, in a certain way, offered rather less than the girls had
+expected, though its chief college building was an imposing structure,
+with great columns in front. The grounds were extensive, and the gently
+rolling lawns suggested an English landscape.
+
+"King's is an old college for this part of the world," said Mrs.
+Redmond, "and though I cannot remember all I have heard about it,
+various old forms and ceremonies are kept up here, I believe, and
+commencement is always very interesting."
+
+"It isn't as old as Harvard, is it?" asked Martine.
+
+"What a question!" interposed Priscilla. "No college is as old as
+Harvard--at least, in this country. Just see how small this is, too!"
+
+"Yet you ought to be especially interested in King's College,
+Priscilla," said Mrs. Redmond, gently, "for it was founded by exiled
+Loyalists almost immediately after the Revolution. Indeed, plans for the
+college were made in New York even before the close of the war, when it
+was seen that large numbers of educated men and women would probably
+have to bring up their children in a new country, where it would take
+time to establish even ordinary day schools."
+
+"After the Revolution! That seems young compared with Harvard. But come,
+let us see what there is in this ancient-looking library. The driver
+says it's the only building open to visitors now," said Amy, who had
+been leading the way.
+
+There were some entertaining books and portraits in the old library, and
+after lingering over them a little while, the girls prepared to return
+to the town. They took a last look at the old college before the
+carriage drove away.
+
+"Its surroundings are beautiful," exclaimed Amy, "but it doesn't compare
+with Wellesley;" and before her eyes rose a picture of the College
+Beautiful, with its lake, its hills and groves, and its many fine
+buildings.
+
+"I'm very glad, however," she added, "that we came here, for I have got
+a certain impression from King's College that is quite worth having."
+
+"So say we all of us," added Martine. And thus in an amiable frame of
+mind the party returned to their boarding-house, pleased with their
+sightseeing. Although none of the girls would admit that they were
+tired, Mrs. Redmond suggested that all go to bed early.
+
+"I'll agree," responded Martine, "if you'll come up first to my room."
+
+Martine's room was large and pleasant, and even for so short a stay she
+had thought it worth while to give it a few homelike touches.
+Photographs of her parents and of one or two of her friends in
+ornamental frames were on the mantelpiece, and over the mantelpiece
+itself she had draped a soft foreign scarf. Her silver toilet articles
+occupied the top of the bureau; for in spite of Priscilla's disapproval,
+or perhaps because of it, she now carried these things in her suit case.
+Slight though these little touches were, Martine had contrived to
+relieve the room of its purely boarding-house aspect.
+
+The house itself was plain, and both inside and out had a certain aspect
+of flimsiness. This had been accounted for by some one who had told Mrs.
+Redmond that it had been put up very hastily, immediately after the
+recent fire. It had been built for a boarding-house and pretended to be
+nothing else. It was airy and clean, but neither its landlady nor the
+other boarders attracted the travellers sufficiently to incline them to
+stay downstairs in the general sitting-room; so the three girls and Mrs.
+Redmond sat and chatted in Martine's room, enjoying the box of
+chocolates that she had opened for their especial pleasure.
+
+"They ought to be good," she said, when Mrs. Redmond praised them. "They
+came from Halifax;" and she glanced mischievously at Priscilla.
+
+"From Halifax?" repeated Amy. "I suppose that's where most shopkeepers
+in Windsor get their goods."
+
+"Halifax by way of Windsor."
+
+"No, no," retorted Martine, "not by way of Windsor at all; they came to
+me by mail. You know I went down to the post-office the last moment
+before we left Wolfville."
+
+The others made no comment, but Priscilla and Amy exchanged glances, and
+Priscilla's seemed to say:
+
+"I told you so."
+
+Before, however, anything could be said, Martine rushed to her bureau.
+
+"I received a letter, too, at the same time," she cried, "and except for
+these chocolates I never should have thought of it again."
+
+Lifting the cover of the candy box, she took from it a large square
+envelope, which for safe keeping, perhaps, she had placed under the lace
+paper that lined it.
+
+"What next?" thought Amy. "If the letter is from either Fritz or Taps, I
+wonder if she'll venture to read it."
+
+Then Martine, with the utmost unconcern, opened the envelope, saying as
+she did so:
+
+"It's from Mrs. Blair; you know she's a cousin of mamma's, and she often
+gives me good advice; I suppose this letter is full of it. That's one
+reason I left it to read on the train. I knew it would keep till then;
+and, after all, I entirely forgot it."
+
+"Mrs. Blair would feel complimented," interposed Amy.
+
+"Oh, she knows me; I never hide my feelings."
+
+"Do you ever try?"
+
+"Yes, my dear Mrs. Redmond; I've never dared let you know just how much
+I care for you."
+
+Thus effectually silenced, Mrs. Redmond waited for Martine to read her
+letter.
+
+"You ought to like Mrs. Blair," said Amy, for Martine still held the
+opened envelope in her hand without attempting to read its contents.
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because she has style, Martine, and you generally put that before
+everything else; but read your letter, I would like to hear where they
+are, for I am always interested in Edith's doings."
+
+"Yes, yes," yet Martine did not take the letter from the envelope; "but
+people need something besides style. I get so out of patience with Mrs.
+Blair when she and mamma are together. She always has the air of
+disapproving of mamma for having married a western man. She makes me
+think of the New Yorker who said to a Chicago woman, 'How can you bear
+to live so far away?' 'Away? From what?' asked the other. And the New
+Yorker couldn't say a word."
+
+"But that isn't like Mrs. Blair, for she always has a word ready for
+everything. Do read your letter, Martine," continued Amy.
+
+So Martine glanced hastily over the pages, making comments as she read.
+
+"Oh, it's a kind of duty letter. She wants me to think it a great
+privilege that you have allowed me to travel with you this summer. She
+seems to have an especially high regard for you, Priscilla. I won't
+flatter you by reading what she says. Oh, yes, and she wants to give me
+some bad news. She has seen mamma at Carlsbad and thinks her looking
+very miserable. Well, that's about all, except that she wishes Edith
+cared more for Europe."
+
+"Yes," interposed Amy, "Edith was very anxious to go West this summer
+with Philip and Pamela; they're having a fine trip over the Canadian
+Rockies."
+
+Martine evidently was not listening to Amy. Her face wore an expression
+of great bewilderment, and then, with an exclamation of surprise she
+thrust the letter into Amy's hand:
+
+"Read it," she cried; "isn't it extraordinary?" and she pointed to the
+signature. "'Audrey Balfour Blair!' Did you know that was her name?"
+
+"Why, I'm not sure," responded Amy. "I never had a letter from Mrs.
+Blair."
+
+"Nor I," responded Martine, "though Edith often writes to me."
+
+"That's why Balfour and Audrey seem so familiar to me," added Priscilla,
+whose family were on rather intimate terms with Mrs. Blair.
+
+"I never heard even mamma speak of Mrs. Blair by her first name,"
+continued Martine. "Of course I must have known that it was Audrey, but
+I had never noticed the Balfour before."
+
+"Well, if Balfour is a family name of Mrs. Blair's it must be of your
+mother's also; or at least it probably is."
+
+"In that case," said Martine, "then Balfour and I may be cousins."
+
+"I wish that Eunice and I were cousins." Priscilla's wistful tone was in
+contrast to the brighter one in which Martine had spoken.
+
+"What's in a name?" continued the latter. "I dare say it's only the
+merest happening that these names are alike."
+
+"I was going to suggest," commented Mrs. Redmond, "that it might be
+wiser not to build your hopes too high, although I'll admit that there
+may be some connection between the two families."
+
+"What pleases me the most," said Martine, "is to think of Mrs. Blair's
+disgust when she hears that her family names belong also to people in
+Nova Scotia."
+
+"And one of them a grocer's clerk," added Amy, whereupon Martine colored
+deeply.
+
+"Balfour's just as good as Philip Blair, and he won't have to leave
+college without taking his degree." Then, as if ashamed of her
+petulance, she added: "To find out how things really are I suppose that
+after this I'll have to take an interest in genealogy. Mrs. Blair
+belongs to the Colonial Dames and offered to have mamma's name put
+through, and I think she would have consented to this if I hadn't
+laughed so at the idea. I dare say the Dames are different from the
+Daughters. I hope so at any rate, for the Daughters are always waving
+their ancestors in one another's faces, especially at their meetings,
+which I am told are like real battles."
+
+"Oh, no," protested Mrs. Redmond, "not always. I've been at some that
+were very pleasant."
+
+"Well, before long," concluded Martine, "you'll find me climbing family
+trees in a way that will make you dizzy; in fact, I feel a little giddy,
+as the English say, at the very prospect of having--Eunice for a cousin.
+Indeed, I believe I'll not sleep a wink to-night in my effort to settle
+the question."
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER XX
+
+  FIRE AND FLAME
+
+
+Long after the others had left her Martine sat alone. She was restless
+and wide-awake, and any one looking at her would have seen that her face
+was far less cheerful than usual. Her thoughts, indeed, were disturbed,
+and one or two tears fell as she held her mother's portrait before her
+and looked earnestly into the deep blue eyes.
+
+The portrait was a miniature, painted in the days when her mother was
+almost as young in appearance as Martine herself, though in fact she had
+been married for several years. The young girl especially valued it
+because she could remember perfectly when her mother had been very like
+the lady in the picture, and also because this miniature had not been
+copied. It was too valuable a thing for Martine to carry with her when
+travelling.
+
+Mrs. Blair's letter, with its mention of her mother's poor health, had
+stirred her deeply. She had concealed her feelings in the presence of
+Mrs. Redmond and the girls; or rather, for the moment she had been more
+impressed by the suggestion that came to her, through Mrs. Blair's
+signature, of a connection between her family and the Airtons. Now,
+however, she began to dwell on the significance of the news from
+Carlsbad, and the conclusion was hard to set aside that her mother's
+condition was even worse than her father's brief letters had given her
+to understand. Putting away the miniature with a sigh, she drew the last
+two letters from the portfolio, reading and re-reading them in a vain
+effort to decide whether her father had written briefly merely to
+conceal his feelings.
+
+"It's strange that men always write so little in a letter. Though papa
+would always rather telegraph than write, still, when he does write, I
+_do_ think that he might say something. Now if it were mamma, why, she
+would tell me everything;" and upon this, with the knowledge that it
+might be long before her mother could write to her, Martine burst into
+tears. As she tossed the letters aside Martine threw herself on her bed,
+and then--
+
+How long she had lain there she did not know, although rising with a
+start, she realized that she had fallen asleep, and almost as quickly
+she perceived a strong smell of smoke in the room.
+
+Opening her door, she turned toward the ell where Mrs. Redmond and the
+two girls had their rooms. The smell of smoke was stronger there, and in
+the darkness some one brushed against her, crying, "The house must be on
+fire." With a leap Martine reached the top floor where her friends were.
+Mrs. Redmond's door opened to her knock, and then she rapped loudly on
+the door of the room that Amy and Priscilla occupied together.
+
+"Fire, fire!" she called, and in a moment Mrs. Redmond's voice was added
+to hers.
+
+"Open the door, Amy; don't wait to dress. Come, come, don't you
+understand? The house is on fire."
+
+"Yes, yes, we are dressing."
+
+"Unlock the door; I can help bring out some of your things."
+
+The hall was thick with smoke. Mrs. Redmond and Martine knew that the
+fire was near. Amy's voice was heard from the room--or was it
+Amy?--speaking almost in terror, "I cannot open the door; I have mislaid
+the key."
+
+"Why did you take it from the lock? Oh, Amy!"
+
+Mrs. Redmond uttered no further reproof now. It was a time for action.
+"Martine," she cried, "we must go for help." But Martine made no reply.
+Already she was far on her way downstairs. All the people in the house
+were now evidently aware of the fire. Doors were slamming, and she heard
+steps and voices ahead of her. In spite of her difficulty in making her
+way through the thick smoke, Martine soon found herself near the broad
+front door. Here two or three men were standing.
+
+"Please help me quickly," cried Martine, breathlessly; "my friends are
+in a room in the wing, and cannot open the door. Come, I will show you."
+
+Leading the way, Martine was soon at Amy's door again. She could see no
+one, for there were no lights in the hall, but she recognized Mrs.
+Redmond's voice.
+
+"I found a pair of large scissors in my valise; perhaps with them the
+lock can be pried open."
+
+One of the men who had come with Martine was already pounding on the
+panels of the door to learn where it could most easily be broken in.
+After one ineffectual effort to pry open the lock, the other one had
+thrown down the scissors that Mrs. Redmond had handed him. Both of these
+things had occupied seconds rather than minutes,--seconds that seemed
+hours to Martine and Mrs. Redmond,--and then, before further violence
+had been done to the door, there was a click, a turn of the lock, and
+Amy and Priscilla stood before the four others. Their appearance showed
+that they had indeed dressed hastily, but they made no apologies as they
+hurried on.
+
+When they reached the street Mrs. Redmond drew a breath of relief. "Oh,
+Amy," she cried, "how could you be so careless?"
+
+"I took the key from the door absent-mindedly, and had set my
+travelling-bag on it. I'm thankful enough that I found it, for the door
+might have been hard to break in."
+
+"Look, look!" cried Priscilla, excitedly. "We are out none too soon."
+
+As she spoke flames were bursting from the wing of the house that they
+had so lately left, and men and women were pouring in and out of the
+main building, removing furniture, pictures, and clothes.
+
+"Let me count you," cried Mrs. Redmond. "I am not sure--"
+
+"It's Martine, mamma,--she is not with us. Where did she go?"
+
+  [Illustration: "After one ineffectual effort to pry open the lock,
+  the other one had thrown down the scissors."]
+
+"Perhaps she has gone back to her room for her things. She had left
+everything behind when she came to rouse us."
+
+"Impossible! She would not be so foolish. The fire is close to her room.
+Here are the engines. Why were they so long in coming?"
+
+"Where is Martine? We must find her."
+
+"No, no, Amy," and Mrs. Redmond laid her hand on her daughter's arm.
+
+"But, mother, if she had not called us--"
+
+"Yes, if she had not called us we might be in there now. She did not
+think of herself, and now she has gone to her room for some of her
+things."
+
+"Her diamond perhaps;" and then, as if ashamed of her words, Priscilla
+added, "But I can help Amy, Mrs. Redmond. You cannot hurry as we must."
+
+As Mrs. Redmond watched Amy and Priscilla running into the house she
+wished she had gone with them. Uncertainty was harder to bear than any
+effort she might have made. Her suspense, however, was not long, for to
+her relief she heard Amy's voice.
+
+"Here's Martine, mamma. We had barely time to reach her. Look, look!"
+
+This latter exclamation was called forth by the rapid spread of the
+flames. It was a beautiful sight--beautiful yet terrible to those who so
+lately had been within the walls that now seemed to be melting in the
+heat. Yet even as they gazed Martine began to laugh hysterically. "You
+look so--so queer--Priss--Prissie," she cried, and again she laughed.
+The light from the fire enabled them to see one another plainly, and as
+the others glanced at Priscilla they saw a black streak across her
+forehead that altogether changed her expression.
+
+"It's a case where the pot can't call the kettle black," rejoined Amy;
+"your own complexion is not milk-white at the present moment, Martine."
+
+"You are the only one who has her hair properly arranged, Miss Amy. Even
+your mother has a hasty coiffure, and no collar. Oh, Mrs. Redmond!" and
+again Martine laughed nervously.
+
+"It matters less how we look than how we feel. I wish that you, like
+Priscilla, had brought your coat, though I fear there is only one hat
+among us."
+
+"What a noise the engine makes! Can't we get away soon?"
+
+"I hope so. If we only had a man with us we could send him off for a
+carriage. Even Fritz would be useful now."
+
+From her mother's tone Amy could not judge whether or not she was in
+earnest, though in truth the same thought had come to her.
+
+"After all," cried Martine, holding up her watch, "it is not half-past
+eleven. I had begun to think that to-morrow had come. The flames are not
+so bright. I believe that the fire is dying down. It started in so well
+that I almost hoped that we'd see the house in ashes."
+
+"Oh, Martine!"
+
+"But nearly all the furniture has been saved, and the house is probably
+insured, and--"
+
+"You are shivering, Martine. Come, we must make our way through the
+crowd. Even if we have to walk down to the large hotel near the station,
+that will be better than staying here."
+
+So they made their way through the crowd. Heaps of household goods and
+pieces of furniture were scattered over the lawn, and even on the
+sidewalk in front. The engine was still hissing, flames were still
+darting from back and sides of the house that had so lately sheltered
+them.
+
+Hardly had the four reached the street when a man's voice called, "Stop,
+ladies, for a moment." As they halted, the man, whose outline they could
+barely distinguish, overtook them. "You are the American ladies whose
+doors I tried to break open a little while ago. I would have helped you
+further, but I had to return immediately to my sister, who has been ill,
+and who is now in a neighbor's house. I have been anxious about you, for
+you are strangers. Have you plans, or will you permit me to make a
+suggestion?"
+
+"We shall be only too happy to hear your suggestion, Mr.--"
+
+"Taunton," quickly rejoined the stranger, as Mrs. Redmond paused,
+adding, "I would suggest that you come with me to the house where I have
+taken my sister, and I may say that I have been asked to bring you back
+with me. The house is large, and you can all get a good night's rest."
+
+It is needless to say that Mr. Taunton's invitation was gratefully
+accepted, and soon the four found themselves in a warm room, where a
+hospitable little hostess bustled about, offering them tea, and bread
+and butter, though after all it wasn't a meal-time.
+
+"She's very good," murmured Martine to Amy, "not to mention how queer we
+look. For my own part, I haven't dared look a mirror in the face, though
+there are two in the room. How much has happened in the last hour!--for
+it is only a little more than an hour since we knew of the fire; that
+is, since I smelled smoke."
+
+"I hope that it wasn't long enough for you and Priscilla to catch cold.
+We shall never forget how chilly the air of an August midnight can be."
+
+"Oh, I am all right," responded Martine. And then, as if to disprove her
+own words, she sneezed violently.
+
+"Why did you go back to your room, Martine? It was a dangerous thing to
+do. You brought nothing out with you but that little bag."
+
+"Oh, I had barely time to get that. The room was so hot and smoky that I
+quite lost my head, yet I got what I especially went for;" and she
+opened the little bag and drew from it a small velvet case.
+
+"Your diamond!" cried Amy. "Ah, Martine, how foolish to have had it with
+you!"
+
+"No, Amy, not my diamond pin;" and snapping a spring she disclosed the
+miniature of her mother.
+
+"That is more to me than ten diamond pins. I had barely time to snatch
+it from the bureau and pick up this bag."
+
+"Then you left the pin behind!"
+
+"No, child, no; it is safely hung around my neck. But one of my rings
+was on the cushion, and it will delight Priscilla's heart to know that I
+did not save a single brush or silver-topped bottle. It will be rather
+hard for papa, for he'll have to replace them all next Christmas. But I
+do wish that I had my hat and my suit case. Until we overtake our trunks
+at Halifax we can't make ourselves perfectly respectable."
+
+"But still," rejoined Amy, "I am thankful that we have a place where we
+can sleep to-night--and mamma is beckoning us, so let us follow."
+
+It was nine o'clock, and the sun was streaming brightly through their
+windows before Mrs. Redmond and the girls left their rooms next morning.
+All but Priscilla had slept well, but the latter had tossed about all
+night, with her thoughts dwelling more on Martine even than on the
+exciting events of the fire. Clearly Martine had acted very generously
+in the efforts she had made to awaken the others. She had had ample time
+to save all her own possessions, yet quite neglectful of herself, her
+one thought had been for others. If Priscilla was sometimes harsh in her
+criticisms, she at least wished to be fair. After her night of confused
+thoughts, it was not strange, perhaps, that Priscilla awoke heavy-eyed
+and dull, thus causing Mrs. Redmond to wonder whether this one
+experience might not undo all the good accomplished during their weeks
+in Acadia.
+
+Martine was still inclined to sneeze, but she laughed when caught in the
+act.
+
+"It sounds like hay fever, doesn't it? I have never had a fashionable
+ailment before, and if it is hay fever, why, I am in the part of the
+world where patients are often sent, and my recovery will be rapid."
+
+After breakfast Mr. Taunton, their new acquaintance, offered to help
+Mrs. Redmond in any way that she might suggest. "You may wish your
+luggage or your tickets attended to--or, or your shopping," he
+concluded. "My sister and I saved both our trunks, and she is resting so
+comfortably this morning that I can put myself at your service."
+
+"I do not wonder that you speak of shopping. We could hardly go even as
+far as the station without buying a few necessary things. If we could
+have a carriage in about an hour we could do some errands. We are going
+to Halifax by the afternoon train."
+
+"You have lost more than most of the other boarders, in proportion to
+what you had in the house," continued Mr. Taunton. "Our late landlady is
+the heaviest loser, but she is a cheerful little body, and consoles
+herself with the thought that she is well insured."
+
+"Don't forget to pay our board bill, mamma; it just occurred to me that
+we left so unexpectedly that we forgot even to mention it to her,"
+interrupted Amy.
+
+Mr. Taunton laughed heartily at her suggestion, and then began an
+earnest plea for his own city, St. John, in contrast with Halifax.
+
+"If you can visit but one, St. John is the better worth seeing. We come
+to Nova Scotia occasionally to rest, but St. John is wide-awake, and its
+churches and public buildings will compare favorably with any in the
+United States. Then you have heard of our wonderful reversible falls,
+that flow with the tide one way and with the river the other, and the
+beautiful Kennebecasis--"
+
+"You would make a good tourist agent," interrupted their amiable
+hostess, Mrs. Andrews, entering the room at this moment. "But if I
+should begin to paint the charms of the Citadel, and old St. Paul's, and
+the Northwest Arm, and--"
+
+Mr. Taunton laughed. "It's a feud as old as the hills, this rivalry
+between St. John and Halifax, and a stranger can settle the matter for
+himself only by seeing both places; but if you must give up either, I
+honestly believe that you can best spare Halifax."
+
+Before Mrs. Andrews could protest, a violent ringing of the doorbell
+called her from the room. A second later she returned to the
+sitting-room, followed by two young men.
+
+In an instant half a dozen tongues were loudly exclaiming, "Why, Fritz,
+how in the world did you find us?" Mrs. Redmond held the hand of one of
+the new-comers while she looked affectionately up into his face; Amy,
+drawing back a little, appeared far from displeased at this sudden
+appearance; and Martine,--Priscilla could hardly believe her eyes,--yes,
+Martine had certainly thrown her arms around the neck of Fritz's
+companion, who was no other than the Freshman "Taps," of whom Priscilla
+had had a passing glimpse on the Yarmouth boat.
+
+While Priscilla gasped in amazement Mrs. Redmond and Amy could not
+conceal their surprise at Martine's demonstrativeness. But they had not
+to wait long for the explanation, which Martine herself saw was due
+them.
+
+"There, there, Lucian, don't be too affectionate until I explain--"
+
+"Explain what?" asked the so-called "Taps."
+
+"Wait, listen;" and slipping her arm through that of Fritz's friend,
+Martine turned with a bow toward Mrs. Redmond.
+
+"Let me introduce to you and Amy and Priscilla, as well as to the rest
+of the company, my brother, Lucian Stratford, otherwise 'Taps.' There,
+Lucian, don't say a word. Let me explain how it was. Of course at first
+we didn't mean to make any secret of it, but Lucian and I thought it
+would be fun to see whether you could tell whether we were brother and
+sister, and he made Fritz--I mean Mr. Tomkins--promise not to tell you.
+It seemed rather funny that you hadn't heard. Then when Amy was so
+sniffy--excuse me, Amy--about having boys in the party, why, I had to
+promise not to tell. It was hard at first, but I got interested in
+keeping it up when I found that Priscilla was so suspicious."
+
+Priscilla, coloring, looked more and more uncomfortable, Mrs. Redmond
+was slowly grasping the situation, and only Amy appeared to be angry.
+
+"It's like you, Fritz," she exclaimed, "to go out of your way to play a
+practical joke on me, but I did expect something better from Martine."
+
+Martine's face grew serious.
+
+"I can't see that the joke affects you, particularly, Miss Amy Redmond!"
+rejoined Fritz. "To be sure, you have had various accidents that might
+not have happened had we been with you to protect you, but as to knowing
+that 'Taps' was Martine Stratford's brother, why, you could have found
+that out for yourself, or at any rate I should have told you only too
+gladly had you given me a chance. But when you banished me so
+completely--"
+
+"Come, come, children, no quarrelling. We won't banish you again, Fritz,
+and if you feel like going on with us we shall be only too happy to have
+your company. Your coming now is certainly most opportune. You can do so
+much to help us; we have shopping--But first let me introduce you to Mr.
+Taunton, who has been so kind to us, and to Mrs. Andrews, our hostess,
+and to the others."
+
+After the introductions Fritz explained why they had come to Windsor.
+
+"Halifax may be slow, but it is reached by telegraph, and the daily
+papers contain some news, so when I saw the headlines 'Fire at Windsor,'
+I naturally read the whole thing, for, according to the schedule which
+Lucian had from his sister, you were due here yesterday, or the day
+before, and we had even thought of running up to meet you."
+
+"Though we decided it would be better sport to take you by surprise at
+Halifax," interposed Lucian.
+
+"Yes, and when we read that some American ladies had barely escaped with
+their clothes--"
+
+"Not all of their clothes," murmured Martine.
+
+"We thought," continued Fritz, "that we'd risk it by rushing up here."
+
+"So we bolted our breakfast," interposed Taps, "and made the 'Yankee'
+and--"
+
+"We poked among the ruins," added Fritz," and when we didn't find any
+remains, we asked a few questions of some others who were poking there."
+
+"And here we are," concluded Taps, "and from this on I'm going to keep
+my eye on Martine. You didn't set the fire, did you, sister?"
+
+"There, Lucian, if you tease like that you'll be banished."
+
+"No more banishment for either of us," cried Fritz, boldly. "You've all
+had accidents enough to show you the need of adequate protection."
+
+"Perhaps you could have prevented the fire," said Amy, with some
+sarcasm.
+
+"I could have prevented your staying at any house but the most
+fire-proof hotel in the town, and that I believe is still standing."
+
+"What did you save?" asked Lucian, in an effort to turn the
+conversation.
+
+"Oh, my mother's picture," said Martine, softly. And then, as if afraid
+of seeming sentimental, "But I lost an emerald ring and all my silver
+brushes, and a pair of slippers, and one of my gloves, and a dozen
+postage stamps."
+
+"Stop, stop, Martine."
+
+"Well, I saved my best stock, and Mrs. Redmond saved her umbrella, and
+we--"
+
+"Are all clothed and in our right minds, excepting you, Martine, who
+seem in danger of losing yours," interrupted Amy. "I believe that
+carriage at the door is the one that Mr. Taunton telephoned for; so, if
+we are going to Halifax to-day, it is surely time to start on our
+shopping expedition."
+
+Acting on this suggestion, Priscilla and Martine helped Amy gather
+together their few remaining possessions, while Mrs. Redmond discussed
+her plans with Fritz.
+
+When at last the moment came for the few words of farewell, Mrs. Redmond
+and the girls felt that in bidding good-bye to Mrs. Andrews and the
+Tauntons they were parting with friends whom they had known for weeks
+instead of hours.
+
+Mrs. Redmond and the girls drove to the station, where Fritz and Lucian
+met them after a brisk walk down town.
+
+"Fritz," said Amy, as the two stood together in the hotel sitting-room,
+"I have a confession to make."
+
+"Open confession is good for the soul, so out with it at once, fair
+lady."
+
+"It is simply this: I am really glad that you are here to take charge of
+things. Even in travelling mamma, you know, hates to attend to practical
+details. Now of course we have got on very well, barring one or two
+little things."
+
+"Fires and such." There was a mischievous twinkle in Fritz's eye.
+
+"Oh, well, even that might have been worse; so now, until we reach
+Halifax, I do wish that you would take charge of everything."
+
+"With pleasure," responded Fritz. "Especially will I see that you do not
+mislay your keys. But you look tired, Amy. Come, sit down."
+
+Whereupon Amy sank wearily upon a sofa, only too glad that for the
+present her responsibility was shifted to some one else.
+
+There was a funny side, however, to the zeal displayed by Fritz and
+Lucian. They insisted, with an emphasis that no one dared oppose, that
+the girls and Mrs. Redmond should rest quietly while they went out to
+shop.
+
+"My dear boys," Mrs. Redmond had protested, "there is hardly a thing
+that we shall really need before we reach Halifax. In the parlor cars we
+shall be unnoticed and perfectly comfortable, and after we have opened
+our trunks we can tell what we most require."
+
+"Oh, Mrs. Redmond, there must be some errands for us to do. Can't you
+trust us?"
+
+Lucian's face was so expressive of disappointment that Mrs. Redmond was
+glad that she had made out a small list.
+
+"Of course there are some things--and we are ever so much obliged to you
+and Fritz for your willingness to do errands."
+
+"You see," continued Lucian, confidentially, and dropping his voice that
+his sister might not overhear him, "I didn't ask Martine what she
+needed. That would have started her off to suggest no end of
+things,--you know what girls are. I can tell pretty well what she ought
+to have, so we'll just slip off before she can say anything."
+
+Fritz had condescended to accept a few suggestions from Amy, and the two
+boys rushed off in high spirits. An hour later, when they returned,
+their arms filled with packages, followed by a grinning hotel boy who
+was dragging a large parcel, Mrs. Redmond lifted her hands in amazement.
+
+"Two hats!" she exclaimed, in still greater surprise as they undid the
+strings of the larger package, "but only one was really needed. Martine
+left hers behind, but Amy--"
+
+"Now, Mrs. Redmond," said Fritz, "perhaps you didn't observe Amy's. Why,
+some one must have turned the hose on it; the flowers were all
+bedraggled, and the ribbon--Mrs. Redmond, surely you must have noticed
+its condition. But these are so pretty that I couldn't let Lucian be the
+only one to buy a hat."
+
+"It's certainly very thoughtful in you, Fritz, but still my list--"
+
+"Oh, we've got everything that was on the list, only these little extras
+were just to amuse ourselves."
+
+"Six stocks! you extravagant boy!" Martine, arriving on the scene, had
+opened one of her brother's parcels.
+
+"Six stocks!" he repeated. "Why, that's only one and a half apiece!"
+
+"And gloves; well, we could have waited until we reached Halifax. They
+are probably better there. I wish I had thought to speak of shirt
+waists," continued Martine. "This is hardly respectable."
+
+"Oh, I thought of that, too," replied Lucian; "at least, I remembered
+you hadn't a coat, so I supposed some sort of a wrap would do. Coats
+have to be kind of tailor-made and fitted, don't they?" While he spoke
+Lucian was undoing the largest package, from which he drew out a Scotch
+shawl of brown and yellow plaid.
+
+"There, that's the thing!" he exclaimed with pride. "It looks as if it
+had come straight from Edinburgh. You can throw it over your shoulders
+instead of a coat."
+
+"Oh, Lucian," cried Martine, "you can't expect me to wrap myself up like
+that, especially on a warm August afternoon!"
+
+"Why shouldn't it be all right travelling?" asked Lucian, with less
+elation. "You wouldn't have to think about the fit."
+
+But when he saw that all the others were laughing at him, he walked off
+toward the window, murmuring what sounded like "There's no pleasing some
+people."
+
+"Come back, come back," cried Martine, as he turned away; "the shawl
+will be very useful if we go yachting at Halifax, and no one but you
+would have thought of these delicious boxes of chocolates. We all thank
+you very, very much; see, there's a box for you and Priscilla, Amy, as
+well as for me."
+
+Lucian's face brightened under his sister's praise, while Amy and
+Priscilla thanked him for their chocolates.
+
+"You were dreadfully worried, weren't you, Prissie," said Martine,
+mischievously, "over the chocolates that I offered you last evening? But
+though Lucian was the giver in that case, perhaps you will enjoy these
+better, knowing where they came from."
+
+"Shall I put this magazine in your bag?" asked Priscilla, hoping thus to
+divert Martine from further teasing.
+
+"Certainly," replied Martine. "Let Lucian help you with the catch. It is
+hard to open."
+
+"The magazines are Fritz's contribution," explained Lucian, as he worked
+with the spring of Martine's bag. "There's one for each of the party.
+But hello, what's this? Did you think of digging a grave, or anything of
+that kind, sister, when you brought this along? It's a strange thing to
+have saved from a fire;" and before Martine could protest Lucian had
+withdrawn his hand from the bag in which he had been fumbling, and
+before the gaze of the whole party held up a queerly shaped little
+trowel.
+
+"I didn't ask you to meddle with things in my bag," cried Martine,
+excitedly, after the manner of sisters.
+
+"Well, what's the matter with the little spade?" asked Lucian, looking
+from one to the other.
+
+No one replied as Amy snatched it from his hand. In fact, Amy was the
+only one to recognize it as the Acadian relic that Balfour Airton had
+given to Martine.
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXI
+
+  OLD CHEBUCTO
+
+
+So slightly had the travellers really suffered from the fire that they
+soon recovered from the effects of that exciting night, yet they were
+glad enough to reach Halifax and open their trunks.
+
+"It seems better than luck that we sent these trunks ahead to Halifax.
+If they had been burned--"
+
+"We should have had great fun shopping, my dear Miss Amy Redmond,"
+responded Martine; "as it is, we shall just have to pretend that we need
+things when we see any startling bargains in the shop-windows."
+
+"If you should try to replace what you have lost you could keep yourself
+busy for a day or two," rejoined Amy.
+
+"No, thank you. The things that I lost I can wait for until Christmas. I
+have bought some inexpensive brushes, plain enough for Priscilla to
+approve; but at Christmas--well, perhaps I can persuade papa to get
+tortoise-shell, or something more elaborate than the simple silver set
+that melted away at Windsor."
+
+In this way Martine always turned aside the sympathy that the others
+tried to offer her for her losses.
+
+Fritz and Lucian had taken the travellers to the small Halifax hotel,
+where they themselves had been staying for two or three days before
+their sudden flight to Windsor. It was a cheerful, homelike place, and
+in its little garden the girls spent more or less time resting after the
+exertions of their later days in Acadia.
+
+The fire and the events immediately following it had seemed to bring
+Martine and Priscilla more closely together,--at least, for the time
+their lack of sympathy was less plainly evident.
+
+One day the two were sitting in the garden.
+
+"I almost wish we had been a week longer in Acadia," Priscilla said.
+
+"Why, we are in Acadia still!" rejoined Martine. "Don't speak of Acadia
+as so far away."
+
+"Oh," responded Priscilla, "perhaps all Nova Scotia is Acadia; but
+really, when we use the word we mean where the French settled. Halifax
+is thoroughly English. On that account I do prefer it, though Acadia was
+certainly interesting."
+
+"Thanks!" said Martine, "but I am going to prove that Halifax also was
+settled by the French. Amy laughed at me yesterday when I tried to prove
+my case. But listen; it was Amy herself who told me that no one had
+thought seriously of making a settlement here until D'Anville's fleet
+took refuge here after their defeat near Louisbourg. The ships were safe
+enough, but the men died by hundreds, and were buried on the beach.
+Well, after they had gone away, some sort of a petition was sent from
+Boston to England, asking that a settlement and fortifications be
+established to prevent the French from coming into Chebucto again and
+interfering with New England ships. The English thought this a good
+plan, because the Acadians at Annapolis and other places would be kept
+down if there was a strong town on the coast. So, you see, if it hadn't
+been for the French, Halifax might never have been settled. Have I
+proved my case?"
+
+Priscilla shook her head. She could not quite tell whether Martine was
+in fun or in earnest.
+
+"It seems to me that if Massachusetts men suggested the plan to England,
+you could just as easily say that Boston men settled Halifax."
+
+"That's just what 'Taps'--I beg his pardon--Lucian said when I explained
+my theory to him. But then, he can't be expected to share my feelings
+about the Acadians,--at least, not yet,--although on the whole he is
+pretty sensible, isn't he?"
+
+Priscilla found it difficult to answer this question directly, so, to
+conceal her embarrassment, she propounded another question.
+
+"Why do they call your brother 'Taps'?" she asked abruptly.
+
+"For no reason whatever, that I could ever see. But you know how boys
+insist on nicknaming one another. Mamma just hates it; and, if you
+notice, I always say 'Lucian.'"
+
+"'Lucian' is such a good name," said Priscilla.
+
+"Yes, and don't you think that Lucian himself is a dear?"
+
+"I like him very much," responded Priscilla, simply. She would hardly
+have applied Martine's term to him, but she had found Lucian helpful and
+entertaining during their three or four days in Halifax.
+
+"I believe," continued Martine, "that I might have told you something
+about Lucian before, except that I thought you might be prejudiced."
+
+"Prejudiced!"
+
+"Yes, a month ago you were much narrower-minded than you are now, and of
+course you and Amy had heard that Fritz Tomkins had charge of a Freshman
+who had been in rather bad company last year; and so if you had heard
+that it was Lucian before you had seen him, why, you might have had the
+queerest notions about him."
+
+"You have the funniest way of putting things;" and Priscilla smiled
+again.
+
+"Well, really," continued Martine, "there was nothing wrong with Lucian,
+only he is rather too good natured, and papa might as well give him a
+smaller allowance. But I heard Fritz Tomkins telling Mrs. Redmond that
+Lucian had kept a very good standing last year, but he wanted to break
+off with one or two men who were not going just the right way, and they
+wanted him to go to Paris and Vienna, and the only way was to plan some
+other kind of a trip. But there's really no harm in Lucian."
+
+"Oh, no," said Priscilla, "I am sure of that; he has such a good face.
+It is curious that, with his blond hair and blue eyes, he still reminds
+me of you, and you are almost a brunette."
+
+As Priscilla paused for a moment, the latch of the iron gate clicked
+sharply, and as a step sounded on the flagged walk, Martine rose quickly
+to her feet.
+
+"Why, Mr. Knight!" she exclaimed, and in a moment Priscilla, too, was
+welcoming the new-comer.
+
+"But we thought you in New Brunswick!"
+
+"So I was a day or two ago. Certain business has brought me now to
+Halifax, and it is rather singular that we should be staying at the same
+hotel. I saw your names on the book this morning, and wondered if I
+should see you before my departure."
+
+Mr. Knight's manner was so unaffected that Martine at once reproached
+herself inwardly for having imagined that he had run away from Wolfville
+to escape Mrs. Redmond's party.
+
+"I am to be here only a day or two," he continued, "but if there's
+anything I can do--"
+
+"In the way of rescuing," interrupted Martine.
+
+"Oh, please," he protested, "don't mention that; it was so slight."
+
+"You know," continued Priscilla, "we've been rescued once more,--at
+least I have been, for really it was Martine who was the rescuer." And
+then, when the young man seemed mystified by their words, the two had to
+tell him the story of the Windsor fire, of which, it seemed, he had not
+heard.
+
+After Mr. Knight had congratulated them on their escape and condoled
+with them on their losses, he said:
+
+"In case I have no other chance, I must tell you that my chief regret in
+leaving Wolfville so unexpectedly was the fact that I had no chance to
+show you through Acadia College, or tell you much about it. I know that
+that was one of the things Balfour had in mind when he wrote to me that
+I should present Acadia College in the best possible light."
+
+"Oh, indeed," responded Martine, with a slight touch of impatience, "we
+have heard quantities about it,--that it offers the same advantages to
+women as to men; that a great many distinguished college men in the
+'States,' as you say down here, were graduates of Acadia; that it has a
+lovely situation, and plenty of time to grow," she concluded suddenly,
+for, after all, though truce had been declared, Martine could not resist
+the opportunity of teasing Mr. Knight.
+
+"I saw Balfour Airton," continued Mr. Knight, apparently undisturbed,
+"when at Annapolis the other day, and he is to be one of the
+distinguished graduates of Acadia."
+
+"Did he say so?" Martine did not try to conceal her genuine surprise.
+
+"Oh, no; Balfour thinks of nothing now but hard work, and he's likely to
+have his share of it the next few years."
+
+A little later Mr. Knight excused himself for leaving the two, on the
+plea of letters to write, and during the two remaining days of his stay
+they saw little of him.
+
+"He's afraid that he may have to rescue us again," Martine confided to
+Amy, though secretly she was a little piqued by his indifference. Fritz
+and Lucian, however, pronounced Mr. Knight a brick, and spent one
+afternoon with him in a long tramp to a place called Herring Cove, the
+description of which filled the girls with envy.
+
+During their whole stay in Halifax, however, the boys went off on few
+excursions by themselves.
+
+"You have been left too long to your own devices," Fritz would say,
+solemnly shaking his head, "and the punishment for your rash deeds is
+that you are now to be forever in our care and protection. Until you are
+safely back in Boston I hardly dare let you out of my sight, for fear of
+fire and flood."
+
+"Do you consider this sail-boat especially safe just because you are in
+it?" asked Priscilla. "If my mother could behold us now she would think
+us in the greatest danger. In spite of spending all her summers at the
+edge of the sea, she is always afraid of a sail-boat."
+
+"But I would rather run some risk than miss this sail around the
+Northwest Arm. In fact I wouldn't have missed it for the world;" and Amy
+glanced gratefully in Fritz's direction, for it was he who had planned
+this particular excursion, and had gained Mrs. Redmond's rather
+reluctant consent. "This narrow arm of the sea is so picturesque," she
+continued, "with its wooded shores, and the harbor is so interesting
+with its islands and its shipping."
+
+"Just like any harbor," cried Martine.
+
+"Oh, I don't know. One has a sense of its greatness here. No wonder even
+the Micmacs called it Chebucto, which I believe is a word of theirs for
+'Great harbor.'"
+
+"Please, Amy, this is a pleasure trip with no instruction. You mustn't
+tell us the size of the dry dock, nor the number of guns mounted on
+George's Island or on York Redoubt, or on any other of the harbor
+fortifications."
+
+"Nor the time of day," retorted Amy, looking at her watch, "though all
+the same, Captain Fritz, it is time to turn about, for I absolutely
+promised that we'd be at home by five o'clock."
+
+"Your word is law," responded Fritz.
+
+"Tell me a little history," urged Lucian; but Amy refused to do anything
+but enjoy the sail, and Martine, looking at her closely, wondered if she
+had taken her words as criticism.
+
+"There's one bit of harbor history that I shall speak of," said Lucian,
+as they turned homeward. "No, Martine, you needn't try to stop me.
+Everybody remembers Captain Lawrence and his 'don't give up the ship.'
+Well, do you know that he died here in Halifax? The 'Shannon' brought
+the 'Chesapeake' as a prize into this very harbor where we are now
+sailing. It was the first Sunday in June, 1813, and the town was in the
+greatest excitement. The news of their coming went quickly through the
+town, and every one who could get hold of a small boat pushed out to see
+the ships. The men were swabbing the decks, and the scuppers ran red
+with blood."
+
+"Don't, Lucian," cried Martine.
+
+"Oh, but this is history, and the kind you should remember. The
+'Shannon' had set out from Halifax but a short time before, and when the
+two ships met in Boston Harbor they fought a fierce duel. The 'Shannon'
+had less than a hundred in killed and wounded, and the 'Chesapeake'
+nearly two hundred, all in about twenty minutes; so no wonder it's
+called one of the bloodiest fights on record. The ships must have been a
+sight to the quiet Haligonians. Then," continued Lucian, "Captain
+Lawrence and Lieutenant Ludlow were buried with high honors in the old
+English burying-ground here, and there was a great procession from the
+King's Wharf, with the coffins covered with our flags, and six British
+post captains bearing the pall."
+
+"You'll have to visit the grave, Amy," said Martine, mischievously.
+
+"Can't be done. An American brig with a flag of truce came for the
+bodies in August, and they were carried back to their native country."
+
+"How in the world did you remember so much?" asked Martine. "I never
+realized before that you took an interest in history."
+
+"This is the result," retorted Lucian, "of travelling with an
+intelligent companion," and he pointed to Fritz.
+
+"No, I didn't do it; don't blame me," rejoined Fritz. "He ran across a
+history yesterday, or book of annals, or something of that kind, and
+naturally the mention of the 'Chesapeake' and the 'Shannon' interested
+him."
+
+"Enough said--in excuse," replied Martine, while Priscilla added, "I
+wonder if we shall visit Melville Island before we go. You know that is
+where they kept the American prisoners during that war. I had a
+great-grand uncle who was taken prisoner, and I've always remembered
+that he was at Melville Island, Halifax. My mother has his diary."
+
+"Why, that is interesting," said Amy. "Perhaps it may sound like wishing
+ill to my forebears, but I'd even be willing to have had a relative or
+two imprisoned here, just for the sake of having a closer association
+with Halifax."
+
+"That's a very silly remark, Miss Amy Redmond," cried Fritz,
+disapprovingly.
+
+"Yes," added Martine; "I might as well wish that some of my French
+ancestors had been among the exiled Acadians, so that I could take a
+deeper interest in Clare. Not that I need a deeper interest--but that
+reminds me," and she turned to her brother. "It's strange, Lucian, that
+I hadn't thought to tell you before, but I believe I've found some new
+relations in Nova Scotia; at least, I hope so. Do you know whether we
+had any Tories in our family?"
+
+"Tories! I should hope not," and Lucian's voice rang with patriotism.
+
+"Oh, they are all dead now, so don't excite yourself. But two things
+equal to the same thing are sometimes equal to each other. We are
+certainly cousins of Mrs. Blair's. You'll admit that?"
+
+"Yes, worse luck to it," grumbled Lucian. "She is such a--such a--"
+
+"You mean so conventional," interposed Martine, sedately; "but that's
+very proper for a Bostonian. Well, Mrs. Blair's name is Audrey Balfour
+Blair."
+
+"Why not?" asked Lucian.
+
+"Well, we met a girl this summer whose grandmother's name was Audrey
+Balfour, and what I want to know is--are we related to her?"
+
+"To the grandmother?" exclaimed Lucian. "How in the world should I know?
+and if we are, what's the difference? Probably the old lady's dead by
+this time. Most grandmothers are."
+
+"Oh, Lucian, do be serious."
+
+"You'd better be serious yourself--say, look out for the boom, or you'll
+lose your head as well as your temper."
+
+"I haven't lost my temper. There, I'm glad we're putting in for shore
+now, if Lucian is going to be so disagreeable."
+
+Thus the conversation drifted from Audrey Balfour, and for the present
+Martine's question was unanswered.
+
+This afternoon was only one of several that they spent on the water, and
+when the conditions were favorable, sometimes Amy, sometimes Martine,
+had a chance to show her skill as skipper, while the boys approved or
+made suggestions, and Mrs. Redmond and Priscilla sat back, trying not to
+show the timidity that they felt.
+
+On shore as well as at sea they found much to occupy them, and as
+conditions for picture-taking happened for the time to be particularly
+favorable, each one added largely to her own collection of photographs.
+Each of the girls had a camera with her; but at first Priscilla had been
+the only one really zealous for photography.
+
+When they visited the Citadel Lucian and Fritz had managed to intimidate
+them by telling them of the fearful fate that might be theirs should
+their cameras be seen in its neighborhood; so the cameras were hidden
+until the girls were far from what Martine called "the sacred
+precincts," until, indeed, the sight of a redcoat on Barrington Street,
+standing where the sun illuminated his whole figure, caused her to shout
+in delight:
+
+"There, my camera, quick, Lucian. Here's my chance to catch one of those
+crazy little caps. How do they manage to make them stay on one ear?
+Quick, before he moves, or sees us," and then the click of a spring
+showed that she had accomplished her aim.
+
+       *     *     *     *     *
+
+One dull afternoon Amy and Priscilla, wandering about, found their way
+into the Parliament building, and after admiring the stately old
+portraits in the rooms of the historical society, spent an hour or two
+over some of the old books and papers in the archives. This was
+especially gratifying to Priscilla, because she was thus able to satisfy
+her curiosity about the exiled Loyalists. Their sufferings seemed all
+the more real when written out in detail in these old manuscript
+volumes, and as she read, she sighed. The sigh was not wholly for the
+miseries of the past. That very morning she had received a letter from
+Eunice that had set her thinking.
+
+    "I am so glad [wrote Eunice] that you like Halifax. But it
+    there--in the capital of our Province? Sometimes it seems as
+    if I should never go anywhere, though Balfour says that he
+    will send me to college, that I can depend on that. But that
+    will be only to Acadia, and I shall have to wait so long,
+    until he has a law practice--and when will that be? Besides,
+    he thinks now that he may have to stay out of college a
+    year, if not give it up altogether. It's the mortgage on the
+    house. There's some kind of trouble about it, and Balfour is
+    determined not to let it go. It would just break mother's
+    heart. But I oughtn't to make this a complaining letter,
+    when one of the pleasantest things this summer--or any
+    summer--has been my acquaintance with you,--and the others,
+    too, of course, though I didn't know them so well. Please
+    give them my love, but the most for yourself.
+
+                "Your affectionate
+                    "EUNICE."
+
+Now Eunice was really so fond of Priscilla that nothing was farther from
+her thoughts than to make her friend unhappy. Yet such was Priscilla's
+sympathy for her Annapolis friend that the remembrance of the letter
+made her feel sad, even as she sat with Amy in the old library.
+
+"If papa had only lived," she thought, "I could have asked him to do
+something, but now,--why, Eunice herself would be surprised to know how
+little pocket money I have. Not that Eunice wants anything, but it would
+be so delightful to pay off that mortgage, and then make sure that
+Balfour could get through college, and then see him put Eunice through
+college, and then perhaps she could come up and take post-graduate work
+with me at Radcliffe." Then, amused at the rapidity with which her
+thoughts were running away with her, for Priscilla had not yet passed
+her own finals for college, she laughed aloud. Unexpectedly the clouds
+had been chased away.
+
+"Priscilla," said Amy, "I am delighted to hear you laugh. You have been
+altogether too quiet to-day. Surely you are not homesick again."
+
+"Oh, no, not homesick, only thinking."
+
+"Tell me then, so that I may laugh too,--unless it's a secret."
+
+"Oh, no, it's hardly worth mentioning; besides, it has ended in a
+foolish wish--if only I had money like Martine!"
+
+"Martine cares little for money," responded Amy, with some sharpness.
+This was not the first time that she had thought Priscilla too ready to
+criticise Martine.
+
+"I know that. She is surely very generous, only it would be so easy to
+do things for others if one had as much money as she has."
+
+"I know what you think, Priscilla; but still Martine's way of spending
+money is not altogether extravagance. She has had more in her hands than
+most girls we know, and rich Chicagoans are fonder of spending than
+hoarding. It's in the air. Martine does not care for money in itself,
+but for what money buys."
+
+"But she surely throws it around without getting full value."
+
+"That's a matter of temperament."
+
+"Yes," but Priscilla's voice sounded as if she were not sure of this. To
+herself, indeed, she was saying, "It is strange that Martine has not
+talked of making plans for Yvonne. Ah, if I had as much in my power I
+certainly wouldn't let Eunice worry about mortgages and going to college
+and all that kind of thing."
+
+"Priscilla, Priscilla, wake up," cried Amy, a moment later. "Look at the
+citadel. It's hard to realize that this is the greatest fortress in
+America, and that only a few generations ago it was nothing but a
+stockade, a defence against the Indians."
+
+"A few generations ago!" repeated Priscilla. "Why, it must be--"
+
+"A bare hundred and fifty years, my dear child, since the English ships
+with their two or three thousand settlers came sailing into the harbor."
+
+"A bare hundred and fifty years," echoed Priscilla, "and yet that is
+rather a long time, and Halifax isn't a large city yet."
+
+Before Amy could reply she felt her arm seized from behind. Turning
+about, she found herself face to face with Martine, who held a letter in
+her disengaged hand. Priscilla, not hearing the steps, had walked on a
+little before she discovered that Amy was not with her. But a moment
+later she too faced about, and, as her eye fell on Martine, she could
+not help seeing that the latter was holding her finger on her lips with
+a warning glance at Amy, as if between the two there was some secret
+understanding.
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXII
+
+  FINDING COUSINS
+
+
+In the end it had been much better for Priscilla if she had at once
+retraced her steps. Instead, while Amy still had her back to her, while
+Martine stood with her finger on her lips, Priscilla, with a rapid step
+that was almost a stride, walked farther away from them. Turning first
+one corner and then another, she indulged herself in her unreasonable
+annoyance with Amy and Martine. For a minute or two she continued to
+walk briskly, wondering all the time if the others would catch up with
+her. At length, when her curiosity overcame her pride, she did turn
+around, only to discover that her friends were nowhere in sight.
+
+"I shouldn't think Amy would have acted so," she said to herself. "Of
+course I can't expect much from Martine, but Amy is different."
+
+Yet if any one else had put the question to Priscilla she would have
+found it hard to say wherein Martine was at fault. It was only that in
+that fleeting glance she had gained the impression that the two were
+trying to hold some secret from her.
+
+Priscilla had not walked very far when another turn brought her in front
+of a small wooden building that reminded her at once of a child's toy.
+
+"Is it a school, or a church?" she wondered, and she glanced up at the
+little steeple.
+
+"Hello, Miss Denman;" and Priscilla, lowering her gaze from the steeple,
+saw in front of her Martine's brother, Lucian Stratford.
+
+"I didn't expect to see you here by yourself," continued Lucian. "I
+thought that you girls were off somewhere together."
+
+"We were," replied Priscilla, "but I just thought I would--do a little
+sightseeing alone."
+
+"Well, I don't blame you," rejoined Lucian; "it's sometimes so hard to
+get Martine to take an interest in things. It used to be just so in
+Europe. We could never depend on her, so I don't blame you for keeping
+by yourself."
+
+Priscilla made no reply. She really had no explanation.
+
+"This is a funny little church, isn't it?" continued Lucian. "Fritz and
+I were over here the other day. Some one had told him about it. It's a
+little Dutch church, and almost as old as the city itself. It was built
+for the Lutherans, for in the beginning there were a lot of German
+settlers here in Halifax."
+
+"Thank you," said Priscilla. "You are as good as a guide-book; one never
+expects a boy to take an interest in such things."
+
+"I can't say that I do generally, only you remember that foggy afternoon
+when you girls were all so busy writing letters? Well, Fritz and I got
+tired of staying indoors browsing over books, so we started out. We went
+down to the great dry dock--though I don't suppose that you girls would
+care for that,--and we had a chance to go into old St. Paul's,--that's
+about as old as the city too, and makes you think of one of the queer,
+dingy London churches. It has any number of interesting tablets and
+memorials, and we planned to take you girls there before we go, and then
+walking about we just chanced on this little toy building. But I've got
+a suggestion for to-day," concluded Lucian. "You see, it's Saturday, and
+one of the market days, so if you'd like to go, I'd be happy to take you
+down there. What do you say?"
+
+"Why, yes, of course I'd like it. You are very kind to think of it."
+Priscilla remembered that Amy had spoken of going to the market, and for
+a moment she regretted her absence.
+
+Lucian Stratford, however, proved a surprisingly agreeable guide, and
+even before they had reached the Green Market Priscilla was quite
+ashamed of the little prejudice that she had once held against him.
+
+"It's an old custom," Lucian explained, as the two stood in the middle
+of the street, "for the country people to drive in with their produce."
+
+The market was in Post Office Square, and almost every foot of space was
+occupied by some man or woman with something to sell. Indians, negroes,
+country people--it was a motley crowd and well worth seeing. The Indians
+for the most part sat on the sidewalk, bent over their wares, though
+here and there one or two leaned back against a building.
+
+"We saw Indians like these at Bear River," said Priscilla, "only a
+little better dressed,--perhaps because it was a holiday. But these
+baskets are the best I've seen this summer."
+
+Baskets and sweet grass were the stock in trade of these Indians, and
+some of the baskets were of odd designs and really artistic shapes.
+
+"Do you really like them?" asked Lucian, and almost in the next breath
+he had laid three or four of the prettiest in Priscilla's arms.
+
+"For Martine?" asked Priscilla.
+
+"No, no, for you,--if you'll take them. There, let me carry them. I did
+not mean to load you down. Only I thought I might see something else."
+
+"Oh, nothing more now, thank you. You are very kind, but these are
+really almost too much, and I can carry them myself--"
+
+An old negro at this moment crossed their path, swinging a cane. They
+realized his nearness only when a sudden flourish of the stick sent
+Priscilla's baskets flying into the street. The negro, apologizing
+profusely, hastened to help Lucian collect the baskets, and Priscilla
+was pleased that Lucian showed no anger at the man's carelessness.
+Instead, he began an animated conversation with the old fellow, and
+returned to Priscilla's side smiling broadly.
+
+"The old man has been praising his son's wife's vegetables so warmly
+that we'll just have to go over there to see them. She is the fat darkey
+sitting in that cart yonder, and I hope we'll get off without buying her
+out."
+
+The next moment Lucian was laughing and chaffering with the old negro's
+son's wife, and Priscilla gasped as she saw him pointing out turnips,
+carrots, and even summer squashes. She did not know him well enough to
+protest, and she only wondered how he meant to get the things home.
+
+"They're all mine," he called to Priscilla, as she waited for him a
+short distance from the cart. Then he leaned over toward the old man and
+said something, and the negro hobbled off, smiling. In a moment he
+returned with a large pail, into which his son's wife heaped Lucian's
+purchases.
+
+"There," said Lucian, as he returned to Priscilla's side, "won't Mrs.
+Redmond and the others stare when they behold this load?" and he lifted
+the pail that Priscilla might the more readily admire its contents.
+
+"But you don't intend to carry it through the streets?" There was a
+question in Priscilla's tone. Lucian glanced at her curiously. He had
+just been thinking how companionable she was, and now this Plymouth girl
+was going to show herself as narrow and conventional as others.
+
+"I needn't carry it," he responded. "Perhaps Sambo here--is your name
+Sambo?"
+
+"No, sir, my name's Mr. Malachai Robertson."
+
+"Oh, excuse me, Sambo--I mean, Mr. Malachai Robertson--could you find me
+a good smart boy to carry this pail?"
+
+Malachai looked at his stick--symbol of dignity--then at the young man,
+but at the same time he probably reflected that a fair fee was in sight;
+so he straightened himself up, reached over toward the pail, and with an
+"I'll carry it, sah," fell into line behind Lucian and Priscilla. Before
+the two, however, were quite ready to turn homeward, they lingered to
+watch the shoppers patronizing the Green Market, and buying supplies of
+vegetables and fruit.
+
+"I only wish that Mrs. Redmond had come. It will be too bad if she
+misses it altogether--and Amy; the sun has come out so bright that she
+ought to be here to photograph some of these groups of colored people."
+
+"Oh, the chance is that you will all be here in Halifax next Wednesday
+morning. The Market is here twice a week," responded Lucian. "Just now I
+suppose we ought to be turning home, as they are horribly prompt about
+meals at The Mayflower."
+
+As the two walked up Hollis Street Priscilla noticed that some whom they
+met looked at them curiously. But only after she herself had thrown a
+backward glance over her shoulder did she realize the cause, for
+straight behind Lucian stalked Malachai, flourishing his cane after the
+fashion of a drum-major with his baton, while with the other hand he
+supported on his shoulder the pail of vegetables, balancing it with such
+a nicety that the carrots and squash and the large bunch of radishes
+kept their place on the top, though to the casual observer they seemed
+on the point of falling to the ground.
+
+  [Illustration: "Behind Lucian stalked Malachai, flourishing his cane
+  after the fashion of a drum-major."]
+
+Had Priscilla been able to see herself she would have discovered that
+she, too, added to the gaiety of the group, for her baskets were even
+more brilliant in coloring than the vegetables, and as she had to carry
+them in her arms they made a rather startling display. Lucian had
+offered to take her load, but she had waved him away.
+
+"No, a boy always finds it much harder to manage clumsy packages. These
+are not heavy; it's merely that they look awkward."
+
+So Lucian had contented himself with buying three or four bouquets of
+the brightest flowers,--dahlias and garden asters chiefly,--and with
+both hands thus filled he made the procession more brilliant.
+
+When they reached the house none of their party happened to be in sight,
+so, at Lucian's suggestions, Priscilla left her baskets on the
+sitting-room table while she went upstairs to find Mrs. Redmond. Amy's
+room adjoined her mother's, and as Priscilla stood there at Mrs.
+Redmond's half-open door the sound of voices in the inner room floated
+out to her. For a moment she stood there listening, quite unconscious
+that she was eavesdropping, until a sentence in Martine's clear voice
+came to her.
+
+"She certainly is a terrible trial, narrow minded and priggish, and I
+don't wonder, Amy, that you dislike her."
+
+When Priscilla grasped this sentence in its entirety she turned about
+instantly.
+
+"Did you find them? Are they coming down?" asked Lucian, cheerfully, as
+she rejoined him.
+
+"I--I didn't; that is, I'm not sure," stammered Priscilla. "If you don't
+mind, I'll leave the baskets here. Perhaps you would give them to the
+others;" and before Lucian could stop her she had run upstairs again.
+
+At the dinner-table Lucian looked anxiously at Priscilla. When she
+thought that no one was observing her, he caught her wiping away a
+surreptitious drop of moisture. What could be the matter? Lucian racked
+his brains to decide if by any mischance he had in word or act offended
+Priscilla; but his conscience reassured him. He could not recall
+anything that might have annoyed her. On the contrary, up to the moment
+of their return to the house they had got along swimmingly--the latter
+phrase was his way of putting it.
+
+"There's no accounting for girls," he said to himself. "I've known
+Martine to get dreadfully excited about nothing; but Priscilla Denman
+seemed such a sensible girl that I don't quite understand what the
+trouble is."
+
+Before dinner had ended, however, Lucian decided that whatever it was
+that had disturbed Priscilla she did not blame him; for she turned to
+him with the utmost friendliness when he made some allusion to their
+morning walk, and between them they soon had the others at table
+laughing at their account of Malachai and the Green Market.
+
+"I hope you paid the old man well for his trouble," said Martine; "for
+it probably was a great favor on his part to walk up Hollis Street
+toting a pail."
+
+"Probably he paid him too well," rejoined Fritz, "unless he has changed
+his habits within the week. On our way from Yarmouth I tried to make
+Lucian see how demoralizing it would be to the natives to introduce the
+habit of tipping here."
+
+"Oh, but one ought to pay for benefits received," said Lucian, "and I
+really do try to be prudent."
+
+When dinner was over Lucian noticed that, as they left the room,
+Priscilla seemed to be trying to avoid Martine. She hardly replied to
+some question that the latter addressed her, and he saw other evidences
+that Priscilla did not care to speak to her.
+
+After dinner Martine ran up to her brother.
+
+"Oh, Lucian," she cried, "here's the most exciting letter from papa! I
+can't tell you all that's in it now, for it must be kept secret a little
+longer. But aren't you glad that mamma is better? I know you had a
+letter from her this morning. To think they'll be home in September! Oh,
+Lucian, I'd like to hug you, I'm so happy!"
+
+"Please, please, not now," begged Lucian; "we couldn't explain to people
+that I'm your brother;" and he pointed to several passers-by on the
+sidewalk just outside the garden.
+
+"Then sit here with me in this little arbor. I have several questions,
+and this is the first good chance I've had. Did you ever hear the name
+'Balfour' in our family--in mother's family, I mean?"
+
+Lucian shook his head. "'Balfour'?" he repeated. "I've certainly heard
+the name somewhere--lately, too, I should think."
+
+"Yes, of course, dear stupid. Balfour Airton; that's the nice boy we met
+at Annapolis. Mr. Knight's friend, you know, the one we've talked
+about."
+
+"Oh, yes, of course; do you mean to ask if he is in our family? Strange
+I never heard of it."
+
+"There, listen, Lucian; this is what I mean. Mrs. Blair is mother's
+cousin, and her name, you know, is Audrey Balfour Blair."
+
+"Has she a first name, and one so frivolous as 'Audrey'? How did that
+happen?"
+
+"That's just what I wish to know. I thought that perhaps you would
+remember whether her name was Balfour before her marriage."
+
+For a few minutes Lucian seemed lost in reflection, then looking up he
+exclaimed,--
+
+"Yes, Martine, I am sure; Mrs. Blair's name was _not_ 'Balfour,' it was
+'Tuck.' I once met a brother of hers. He was visiting Chicago. But, I'll
+tell you what--I am pretty sure that her grandmother was a Balfour.
+That's where the relationship to mamma comes in. You know that _her_
+grandmother was a Balfour, and that's what makes them cousins; their
+grandmothers were sisters."
+
+"Why, Lucian," cried Martine, jumping to her feet in her excitement,
+"that's just what I wanted to know. I don't care anything about Mrs.
+Blair's grandmother, but if there's a Balfour in mamma's family, don't
+you see how splendid it would be?"
+
+"Can't say that I do," responded Lucian; "but if it pleases you, it's
+probably all right." Lucian had often said confidentially to his friends
+that the ways of girls were past finding out, and he did not except his
+sister from the general rule.
+
+"Oh, but can't you see, Lucian, that if I could prove that Balfour
+Airton is a cousin to Mrs. Blair, and if mamma is a cousin of Mrs.
+Blair's, which--"
+
+"Which she is, without doubt," said Lucian.
+
+"Why, then, don't you see--"
+
+"Oh, yes, I see," cried Lucian. "Why, then, you would be cousin to
+Balfour Airton and his sister. Well, perhaps there's no harm in that, if
+it pleases you; but what is there in it for me? I might not like either
+of your prodigies, and so I am not ready to be made a cousin to people I
+have never seen."
+
+Yet a good-humored twinkle in Lucian's eye seemed to say, "If I would I
+could tell you something that would please you mightily--and perhaps I
+will."
+
+Now Martine, understanding her brother pretty well, saw that he was
+really more sympathetic than he professed to be, so she wisely decided
+to wait until he was quite reedy to tell her what she wished to know;
+and to change the subject she pulled a letter from her pocket.
+
+"If you hadn't had a letter from mamma by the same mail I would show
+this to you," she said. "It's the most delightful letter papa has ever
+written me, though I won't tell why--at least not just now," and she
+waved the closely written sheet rather tantalizingly before him.
+
+"Oh, ho, child, you cannot tease me at this late day; and besides, I
+know why you try. Put your letter away, little sister; I can wait until
+you choose to read it to me. But I know what you want, and I am willing
+to gratify your curiosity. Yes, there was an Audrey Balfour in mother's
+family; but you may be less interested in her when I tell you about her.
+She was a Tory."
+
+Lucian uttered the last word with all the scorn of one who has studied
+American history built on the most thoroughgoing anti-British basis.
+
+"Oh, that's nothing," responded Martine; "at least, Priscilla would call
+it nothing. Each of us likes both Acadians and Tories, though I am
+supposed to care only for Acadians, and Priscilla for Tories. But how do
+you happen to know about this Audrey Balfour?"
+
+"Through the Colonial Dames, my dear. You see, mamma had to have some
+papers filled out last spring. It was while you were at school, and she
+asked me to get a genealogist to copy certain things for her. Well, I
+found that mother's great-grandfather was a Tory, who was driven from
+his home and went to England or to Canada to live. One or two of his
+elder children were married before the Revolution, and their husbands
+were on the patriot side. One of these was Audrey, who was the
+grandmother of Mrs. Blair; another was our great-grandmother Edmonds.
+She was Martha Balfour."
+
+"I see," interrupted Martine. "Our great-grandmother! Then it isn't so
+strange that I didn't remember the Balfour in our family; it is so far
+away. I think it's just wonderful that you remember it."
+
+"Oh, it only happened so because I had had to have it looked up. I had
+the whole line typewritten for my own benefit, and I looked at it
+several times this year. I noticed the Tory Thomas and Audrey
+especially, and I wondered if they would effect my eligibility to a
+patriotic society that I am anxious to join. But I believe that I am all
+right because I am the loyal descendant of a Tory ancestor."
+
+"Dear me!" cried Martine, when Lucian had finished this long speech.
+"You really sound quite learned! I believe that college has done you
+some good after all."
+
+"After all! If you look up my record you'll find that I took all the
+history last year that Harvard allows a Freshman, and it's because I
+have a bent that way that I can remember these things."
+
+"Well, Lucian, you've proved yourself a brick. I hope Priscilla won't
+object to this. Sometimes she is a little jealous--but there, don't
+repeat it--perhaps jealous is not just the word; but somehow, she
+doesn't always approve of me."
+
+"She's fighting rather shy of you to-day," responded Lucian, "and I
+can't help wondering what you've been up to. Miss Denman doesn't seem to
+me an unreasonable girl. She and I had a fine time to-day at the market.
+I'm afraid that you have been teasing her, Martine."
+
+But Martine continued to insist that her conscience was quite clear, so
+far as Priscilla was concerned, and that Lucian must imagine any traces
+of ill-feeling.
+
+Nevertheless, she could but observe that Priscilla seemed to be avoiding
+her; for, in the afternoon, when Amy and Fritz went off on their
+bicycles for a spin through the Park, Priscilla declined Martine's
+invitation to go with her and Lucian to the Public Gardens to hear the
+band play.
+
+"I have letters to write," she said, "and--well, on the whole, I really
+can't go."
+
+"Very well," rejoined Martine, rather shortly, as she left Priscilla's
+room to report to Lucian that her invitation had been so scorned.
+
+"You must have done something to offend her; think it over carefully,
+Martine, and then confess," urged Lucian. Priscilla had made so good an
+impression on him that he was unable to consider her wholly in the
+wrong.
+
+
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXIII
+
+  GOOD-BYE TO HALIFAX
+
+
+Lucian's well-meant advice shared the fate of most advice volunteered by
+brothers. Martine, unconscious of offence, had no intention of
+apologizing to Priscilla for things she had not done. Instead, she began
+to feel annoyed with the latter for her unfairness; for certainly,
+Priscilla, in giving Lucian the impression that he had received, must
+have been unfair.
+
+"But if she has been unfair," said Martine, "she can just wait for my
+news. It's too bad, for when I first read papa's letter it seemed as if
+I could hardly wait to go downstairs to tell the others."
+
+Now Martine, though impulsive, was not naturally vindictive, and it
+would have been almost impossible for her to keep her secret from Amy
+and Priscilla had she not, immediately after reading her letter,
+confided its contents to Mrs. Redmond. Somebody knew; and in the course
+of two or three hours that they all passed together on Saturday evening,
+Martine more than once changed her seat to have a whispered word or two
+with Amy's mother.
+
+On Sunday they all set out for the Garrison Church. "We make almost as
+imposing an array as the troops themselves," said Amy.
+
+"Perhaps we might if we were stretched out in single file. Since the
+boys joined us we are really a regiment; but Halifax people are so used
+to seeing strangers that I am afraid that they won't take any special
+notice of us," responded Martine.
+
+"I should hope they wouldn't. How well we should have to behave if we
+felt that all eyes were upon us," replied Amy.
+
+After service they pushed their way through the crowd waiting outside
+the churchyard to see the troops form in line.
+
+"It doesn't seem quite the thing on Sunday, does it?" murmured Priscilla
+to Amy; whereat Martine, laughing loudly, cried:
+
+"But surely it is better for the soldiers to turn out to church in a
+body than to sit in their barracks moping."
+
+"Soldiers moping!" and Fritz laughed.
+
+"Perhaps it isn't the soldiers, but the people crowding to stare at
+them, who take away the Sunday feeling," continued Priscilla.
+
+"That's just what we are doing ourselves," retorted Martine, "and I
+don't feel very wicked."
+
+"Come, come, children, don't quarrel," cried Lucian. "You are both
+probably right, and both probably wrong."
+
+Neither girl replied, for the troops in their brilliant uniforms were
+beginning their homeward march to the inspiring music of a fine band.
+
+As they walked homeward Martine, slipping her arm through Amy's, drew
+her one side.
+
+"Tell me," she said, "and please don't let the others hear or they will
+laugh--is Halifax the capital of Canada?"
+
+"No, my dear, it--"
+
+"There, I thought it couldn't be; I knew it must be Montreal. But I
+asked Priscilla why that old gray building was called Government House,
+and she said because Halifax was the capital. I never expect Priscilla
+to make a mistake;" and there was a slight touch of sarcasm in Martine's
+tone.
+
+"She was not wholly wrong," rejoined Amy, "for Halifax is the capital of
+Nova Scotia. Canada itself is composed of several provinces, of which
+Nova Scotia is one. The provinces are united under a general government
+with Ottawa the capital--not Montreal--as you suggested. All the
+provinces send representatives to the Parliament that assembles every
+year at Ottawa."
+
+"Oh, I see--like our States and Washington."
+
+"Yes, the general plan of government is much the same, and each province
+has its own Parliament. Priscilla and I were in the Parliament building
+here the other day. It is really a State House."
+
+"I've noticed the Parliament building, but what is the Government
+House?"
+
+"Oh, that is the residence of the Governor of Nova Scotia. His real
+title is Lieutenant-Governor, because all Canada has a Governor-General,
+who lives at Ottawa."
+
+Both girls had been so interested in this little conversation that
+unconsciously they had lagged, and the others were now far ahead of
+them.
+
+"Martine," said Amy, "as we have a few minutes alone now, do let me
+influence you to make up with Priscilla--not that any little
+misunderstanding is wholly your fault, but it is so much harder for
+Priscilla to give in than it is for you."
+
+"But honestly, I haven't said or done a thing to offend her,--at least,
+not a thing that I know of, though of course for a day or two I have
+seen that she was trying to be particularly stiff with me."
+
+"Well, then I wouldn't notice her stiffness. Just act as if you were the
+best friends in the world, and things will soon straighten themselves
+out."
+
+"That certainly would be the most agreeable way, and to please you, Miss
+Amy Redmond, I will follow your advice. Besides, I have something very
+exciting to tell you and Priscilla, and I really cannot wait longer than
+this afternoon."
+
+"Hurry, young ladies, hurry, hurry!"
+
+It was Lucian calling to them. He had turned to meet them.
+
+"What kept you so long, Martine? What have you been doing?"
+
+"Nothing, only talking."
+
+"Oh, that accounts for it. When once Martine begins to talk in earnest,
+she takes no heed of time."
+
+Martine replied lightly to her brother's badinage, and the three reached
+the house in great spirits. With Amy's caution before her Martine
+avoided collision with Priscilla during the dinner hour. After dinner,
+while they were all sitting together in the little arbor,--Mrs. Redmond
+as well as the girls,--Martine drew a letter from her pocket.
+
+"Listen," she cried; "I have something to read you--no, I can tell it
+better in my own words, although it is nearly all in papa's letter. So
+listen, Amy; it's for you,--and it's for you, Priscilla, as well as for
+me."
+
+"And for me, too?" asked Lucian, trying to throw great expression into
+his voice.
+
+"No, no, of course not. Mrs. Redmond knows, and she thinks it fine, so
+listen. In the first place, papa feels much obliged to every one for
+keeping me contented. You know I tried to make a fuss when they wouldn't
+take me to Europe, and he says that it's a splendid thing for me to get
+so interested in history. This is what he says:--
+
+"'When you get back to Chicago you'll find that there's a lot of history
+there that is worth studying--not entirely about the great fire, and
+part of the history of Illinois is French.' I never knew that before,"
+interpolated Martine. Then she continued to read, "'Your mother and I
+think that you owe much to the young ladies who are with you, as well as
+to Mrs. Redmond, to whom I am also writing this mail. We are much
+gratified by what you write about the various young people in whom you
+are interested. Although I cannot promise, without knowing more about
+her, to launch your special protegee, Yvonne, on a prima donna's career,
+it seems right that you should be helped to do something for her, so I
+am enclosing a check for three hundred dollars.'"
+
+Amy started; Priscilla gazed in astonishment.
+
+"'This,'" Martine continued to read, "'is to be divided into three
+parts. Your third is for Yvonne; a second third is for Miss Amy to use
+as she sees fit for the little French boy--I forget his name; and though
+you haven't said so, I am sure that Miss Priscilla hasn't been behind
+her friends in adopting somebody. Perhaps I ought to have sent more, but
+it will do for a beginning, and I shall be glad to hear that the money
+does some good.'"
+
+"There's more about mamma's getting better and coming home soon, that I
+needn't read. But isn't it splendid? You can't think how hard it was for
+me to keep it to myself a whole day."
+
+Upon this there was a small Babel for a second or two, until, after a
+moment of silence, Priscilla, in words that showed some slight
+hesitation, spoke,--
+
+"I must thank you, Martine, as much as your father. You must have made
+him think very pleasantly of us all. But I wonder if I ought to keep the
+money?"
+
+"No, my dear Puritan Prissie, you mustn't keep it. It's for you to give
+away as quickly as you can to your protegee, and we all know who that
+is."
+
+"Yes," added Mrs. Redmond; "you need have no hesitation in using it for
+Eunice. Mr. Stratford has written me fully on the subject. He says that
+this summer has cost him so much less than Martine's vacations usually
+cost, that his gift is only a part of what he has saved."
+
+"He hasn't heard yet about the Windsor fire," murmured Martine, "or he
+might feel differently, though the silver and the jewelry will be a
+Christmas matter," she concluded hastily. "Shall I send all the money at
+once to Yvonne, Mrs. Redmond?"
+
+"Oh, no, my dear; we must talk things over and make careful plans for
+Yvonne and Pierre. A little money will go a good way with both of them."
+
+"Oh, of course, Mrs. Redmond, whatever you say will be the thing. That
+isn't slang is it, Miss Amy Redmond? There's a pained expression at the
+corners of your mouth; but never mind, you can't deny that I've improved
+this summer--to beat the band;" and with this shot Martine, darting
+forward, laid her hand on Amy's arm.
+
+"As an impartial judge I can say that you all have improved this
+summer,--at least, speaking for the three girls," said Mrs. Redmond.
+"Although I haven't commented on it, it has pleased me greatly to
+observe the rounding off of several sharp corners."
+
+"'Speaking for the three girls,'" quoted Fritz,--"but where do we two
+come in? Didn't we banish ourselves when we were bid, and keep out of
+sight, until we heard that you had been almost destroyed by fire? Our
+improvement has been quite remarkable, though I don't see any one paying
+premiums to us; and if we had proteges whom we wished to protect we'd
+have to go deep into our own pockets for the wherewithal."
+
+"Yes," added Lucian, "I was thinking of that myself. It's a good thing
+that we haven't found any one to be interested in."
+
+"Oh, but you have, Lucian; at least, I have found some one for you.
+Don't you remember our new cousins, the Airtons? How stupid! I haven't
+told any one else." And hereupon, without further delay, Martine plunged
+into an account of the discovery that she thought that she had
+made--that Eunice Airton and her brother were cousins in the third or
+fourth degree to her and Lucian.
+
+"I feel as if we ought to wait until we can make sure, but Lucian says
+that he can put his hand on the papers when he returns to Cambridge--and
+at any rate mamma will know. I'm awfully sorry, Prissie dear, that they
+are not your cousins too; but perhaps we can find a link somewhere back
+among the Mayflowers--just large enough to join you and Eunice."
+
+Priscilla, not knowing what to reply to Martine's fun, wisely chose the
+golden mean of silence. If Martine had not said "Prissie" she might have
+thought her wholly in earnest.
+
+"But oh, dear," reflected Priscilla, "I do wish that Eunice had turned
+out to be my cousin instead of Martine's. It doesn't seem fair that she
+should have everything." This thought, however, had hardly shaped
+itself, when Priscilla put it far from her. Martine had certainly been
+generous, and Priscilla, if narrow in some ways, meant never to be
+unjust.
+
+Martine, however, had other things than Priscilla's attitude on her
+mind.
+
+"So you see, Lucian," she concluded, "there is some one for you to
+help,--not that Balfour Airton wishes any one to do anything for
+him,--but if he's a cousin, you'd naturally want to help him save his
+time for study in the summer holidays."
+
+"I study so diligently myself in the summer," commented Lucian, "that
+I'd be a fine one to lay down the law to my new cousin! No, poor fellow,
+if I have anything to do with him, I'll certainly not advise him to lay
+himself out on summer study."
+
+"Oh, Lucian! If I didn't know that you'd take an interest in Balfour,
+I'd try to persuade you; but just think how Mrs. Blair will feel!"
+
+"Mrs. Blair! What in the world has she to do with--anything?" concluded
+Amy, vaguely.
+
+"Why, if Eunice and Balfour are our cousins, then they are her cousins,
+and as she doesn't like people who work, it will be great fun to tell
+her about Balfour, for probably he'll get through college much better
+than Philip did--"
+
+"My dear Martine, did Mrs. Blair ever harm you?"
+
+"No, except to say that what a pity it is that I am not at all like
+Edith."
+
+"There! Eunice Airton reminds me of Edith; that's the resemblance that
+puzzled me;" and Amy seemed pleased with her discovery.
+
+"Oh, if they're at all alike, I won't object to this Eunice as a cousin,
+for Edith isn't half bad, and--"
+
+Lucian's speech was cut short by the appearance on the scene of the
+little buttons of the hotel, who happened to know Lucian rather better
+than the rest of the party.
+
+"If you please, sir," he said, "here's a telegram for one of the ladies,
+and I don't know which is which, though her name--it seems to be Mrs.
+Redmond," and he handed an envelope to Lucian.
+
+In an instant Mrs. Redmond had read the despatch, while Amy asked
+anxiously, "Is it anything serious, mamma?"
+
+"No, no, my child, far from it. I told you there was a probability that
+certain business would call me home a little earlier than we had
+planned. Well, the summons has come, and I ought to start to-morrow."
+
+"Oh, I am so glad!" exclaimed Priscilla, with an expression of real
+delight.
+
+"Why, I thought that you were enjoying yourself."
+
+"Yes, Mrs. Redmond, so I am, but I shall be so happy to see mamma again,
+and the children. I had a letter from the twins yesterday, and they miss
+me dreadfully."
+
+"Shall we go home through Clare? Shall we have a chance to see Yvonne?"
+
+"And Pierre?" added Amy.
+
+"And Eunice? Of course we could stay over one train at Wolfville,"
+pleaded Priscilla.
+
+"My dear children," remonstrated Mrs. Redmond, "I fear that you did not
+understand me. I must be in Boston as quickly as possible, and that
+means that we must take the direct boat from Halifax."
+
+"All of us? Then Lucian and I will return to New England with hardly a
+glimpse of the real Acadia."
+
+"I have no control over your movements. You and Lucian must do whatever
+seems best for yourselves."
+
+"Whatever you advise is best," interposed Lucian, gallantly, "but I am
+pretty sure that Fritz will agree with me that it would be much
+pleasanter for us if you would permit us to return with you."
+
+"Not only pleasanter, but much safer for some of the members of your
+party;" and Fritz assumed an air of importance.
+
+"Yes," added Lucian, "there's my sister. Suppose she should accidentally
+fall overboard, or--"
+
+"Or suppose Amy should lose her keys," interrupted Fritz, "or--"
+
+"There, there, if the girls never suffer greater mishaps than those that
+have come to them this summer, they will do very well. We call this a
+pretty successful trip."
+
+"And really," added Martine, "nothing that has happened was anybody's
+fault. Those things were simply adventures, and besides, I might easily
+have had scarlet fever; so congratulate me on my escape. Even a trip
+through Acadia would have been just a little dull without some mishaps."
+
+When Mrs. Redmond had left the young people to themselves, they
+separated into two groups, Martine and Priscilla and Lucian in one, and
+Amy and Fritz in another.
+
+"Now, Priscilla," cried Martine, "since we are friends again, perhaps
+you will not object to telling me why you were annoyed with me
+yesterday. Even Lucian noticed it."
+
+Priscilla, coloring at this abrupt question, glanced shyly at Lucian.
+
+"Oh, you needn't mind Lucian," said Martine, noting the direction of her
+glance. "He doesn't count."
+
+Thus Priscilla, feeling less afraid of Lucian's criticism than of his
+sister's reckless tongue, admitted that her feelings had been hurt by
+the glimpse that she had had of Martine with her finger on her lips.
+
+"I always have hated secrets," she admitted, "especially when it seems
+as if some one is trying to keep something from me. I thought that if
+you and Amy didn't wish me to know anything,--I mean, if there was
+anything that you didn't wish me to know,--why I wouldn't intrude; but I
+realize now how foolish I was, especially as the secret was something
+pleasant for me."
+
+"After all, I didn't tell it to Amy then, so you might as well have
+stayed with us."
+
+"Oh, no, she mightn't, for then Miss Denman and I wouldn't have had that
+visit to the Green Market. You, by the way, will miss it, because you
+won't be here next Market Day," interposed Lucian.
+
+"It certainly was great fun, especially Mr. Malachai Robertson," added
+Priscilla, with a smile, "and I have learned one thing--not to indulge
+myself in any little jealous feelings, particularly on this trip."
+
+"On this trip;" and Martine shook her finger at her friend. "To think
+that Puritan Prissie should break forth into slang!" But the only effect
+of her ridicule was to make Priscilla smile too, and open her heart a
+little wider.
+
+"I haven't quite finished my confession," she continued. "You know
+yesterday morning, when your brother and I came home from the Green
+Market, I overheard you talking to Amy about some one who was
+'narrow-minded and conventional,' and you didn't wonder she disliked
+her, and I thought it was me," concluded poor Priscilla, with an
+apparent disregard of grammar.
+
+"Of course we didn't mean you," responded Martine, "although at this
+moment I don't quite--oh, yes, I do remember. It was Miss Belloc, one of
+Amy's classmates. Amy was telling me of some priggish things that Miss
+Belloc had said, and I did use those very words yesterday. But if you
+had listened longer you would have heard Amy say, 'not that I disliked
+Miss Belloc, but her narrow views.' Then you would have known that we
+didn't mean you."
+
+"Oh, I know that you didn't, and I realize now that I have been very
+unfair."
+
+"Oh, no, only a little unfair," rejoined Martine, "but 'least said,
+soonest mended,' and the most important thing is that now we are both
+going to be perfectly fair after this."
+
+Meanwhile Amy and Fritz were discussing various practical matters.
+
+"Your mother and I have been talking over this letter of Mr.
+Stratford's, and we both agree that you probably will not disagree with
+us--in other words, we think it would be wiser for you girls not to send
+money to your protege Pierre, or to Yvonne, or Eunice, until after we
+have reached Boston." Fritz had assumed a manner of unwonted dignity,
+and with difficulty Amy refrained from laughing at him.
+
+"Delay will give Martine time to find out if it is best to put part of
+the money in the hands of some one to spend for Yvonne in Clare, or
+whether it would be better to have her come to Boston to have her eyes
+treated. Then, after you have talked with one or two teachers, you can
+judge whether Pierre is too young to have a course of manual training.
+You don't know what you want yourself yet."
+
+"Really, Fritz!"
+
+"Yes, really, Miss Amy Redmond, I think that the poor little beggar
+ought to have some fun with his hundred dollars, instead of being ground
+down to more education. Then, as to Eunice Airton and her brother, why,
+if they really are cousins of Martine's, Priscilla Denman needn't have
+them on her mind any longer. Mr. Stratford will come down with something
+handsome, so they might have this hundred as an instalment to get some
+fun with at once."
+
+"You don't know Balfour Airton. I shouldn't be surprised if he should
+insist on his sister's returning Martine's present."
+
+"Then the sooner Martine proves her cousinship the better. The money can
+wait until that is accomplished. Now a word especially for you, Miss Amy
+Redmond. Please admit that Lucian and I are very magnanimous in making
+so few reflections upon our banishment. Also admit, please, that you
+would have had a much better time if we had been with you."
+
+"We couldn't have had a better time," averred Amy, stoutly. "We've
+enjoyed every minute of it, and I shall return to college a new person.
+Why, I've gained ten pounds in these few weeks."
+
+"Ah, Amy," sighed Fritz, "you are as practical and unsentimental as ever
+you were at Rockley. Yet you love old graveyards, and can write poetry.
+Here I would have saved you from fire and flood, could have kept your
+keys in my care, and still you say that by yourselves you have had a
+better time than if we had been with you!"
+
+"Oh, no, I didn't say that, only that we have had so pleasant a time
+that it couldn't have been better."
+
+Here Amy stopped. She saw that she had involved herself in a
+contradiction; so with Fritz's laughing voice ringing in her ears she
+hastened indoors to talk over with Mrs. Redmond the various arrangements
+for their departure from Acadia.
+
+
+  THE END
+
+  [Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+  HELEN LEAH REED'S
+  "BRENDA" BOOKS
+
+
+  BRENDA, HER SCHOOL AND HER CLUB
+
+  Illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith. 12mo. $1.50.
+
+    _The Boston Herald_ says: "Miss Reed's girls have all the
+    impulses and likes of real girls as their characters are
+    developing, and her record of their thoughts and actions
+    reads like a chapter snatched from the page of life. It is
+    bright, genial, merry, wholesome, and full of good
+    characterizations."
+
+
+  BRENDA'S SUMMER AT ROCKLEY
+
+  Illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith. 12mo. $1.50.
+
+    A charming picture of vacation life along the famous North
+    Shore of Massachusetts.
+
+    The _Outlook_ says: "The author is one of the best equipped
+    of our writers for girls of larger growth. Her stories are
+    strong, intelligent, and wholesome."
+
+
+  BRENDA'S COUSIN AT RADCLIFFE
+
+  Illustrated by Alice Barber Stephens. 12mo. $1.50.
+
+    A remarkably real and fascinating story of a college girl's
+    career, excelling in interest Miss Reed's first "Brenda"
+    book. The _Providence News_ says of it: "No better college
+    story has been written." The author is a graduate of
+    Radcliffe College which she describes.
+
+
+  BRENDA'S BARGAIN
+
+  Illustrated. 12mo. $1.50.
+
+    "The fourth and last of the 'Brenda' books," says _The
+    Bookman_, "deals with social settlement work, under
+    conditions with which the author is familiar." The _Boston
+    Transcript_ adds: "This book is by far the best of the
+    series."
+
+
+  LITTLE, BROWN, & COMPANY, _Publishers_
+  254 WASHINGTON ST., BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
+
+
+
+
+  _A Story for Younger Girls_
+
+  IRMA AND NAP
+
+  By HELEN LEAH REED
+
+  Author of "Amy in Acadia," The "Brenda" Books, etc.
+
+  Illustrated by Clara E. Atwood. 12mo. $1.25
+
+
+    A brightly written story about children from eleven to
+    thirteen years of age, who live in a suburban town, and
+    attend a public grammar school. The book is full of incident
+    of school and home life.
+
+  [Illustration:]
+
+    The story deals with real life, and is told in the simple
+    and natural style which characterized Miss Reed's popular
+    "Brenda" stories.--_Washington Post._
+
+    There are little people in this sweetly written story with
+    whom all will feel at once that they have been long
+    acquainted, so real do they seem, as well as their plans,
+    their play, and their school and home and everyday
+    life.--_Boston Courier._
+
+    Her children are real; her style also is natural and
+    pleasing.--_The Outlook_, New York.
+
+    Miss Reed's children are perfectly natural and act as real
+    girls would under the same circumstances. Nap is a lively
+    little dog, who takes an important part in the development
+    of the story.--_Christian Register_, Boston.
+
+    A clever story, not a bit preachy, but with much influence
+    for right living in evidence throughout.--_Chicago Evening
+    Post._
+
+
+  LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY
+  254 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON
+
+
+
+
+  ANNA CHAPIN RAY'S
+
+  "TEDDY" STORIES
+
+
+    Miss Ray's work draws instant comparison with the best of
+    Miss Alcott's: first, because she has the same genuine
+    sympathy with boy and girl life; secondly, because she
+    creates real characters, individual and natural, like the
+    young people one knows, actually working out the same kind
+    of problems; and, finally, because her style of writing is
+    equally unaffected and straightforward.--_Christian
+    Register_, Boston.
+
+
+  TEDDY: HER BOOK. A Story of Sweet Sixteen
+
+  Illustrated by Vesper L. George. 12mo. $1.50.
+
+    This bewitching story of "Sweet Sixteen," with its
+    earnestness, impetuosity, merry pranks, and unconscious love
+    for her hero, has the same spring-like charm.--_Kate
+    Sanborn._
+
+
+  PHEBE: HER PROFESSION. A Sequel to "Teddy: Her Book"
+
+  Illustrated by Frank T. Merrill. 12mo. $1.50.
+
+    This is one of the few books written for young people in
+    which there is to be found the same vigor and grace that one
+    demands in a good story for older people.--_Worcester Spy._
+
+
+  TEDDY: HER DAUGHTER
+
+  A Sequel to "Teddy: Her Book," and "Phebe: Her Profession"
+
+  Illustrated by J. B. Graff. 12mo. $1.50.
+
+    It is a human story, all the characters breathing life and
+    activity.--_Buffalo Times._
+
+
+  NATHALIE'S CHUM
+
+  Illustrated by Ellen Bernard Thompson. 12mo. $1.50.
+
+    Nathalie is the sort of a young girl whom other girls like
+    to read about.--_Hartford Courant._
+
+
+  URSULA'S FRESHMAN. A Sequel to "Nathalie's Chum"
+
+  Illustrated by Harriet Roosevelt Richards. 12mo. $1.50.
+
+    The best of a series already the best of its kind.--_Boston
+    Herald._
+
+
+  NATHALIE'S SISTER. A Sequel to "Ursula's Freshman"
+
+  Illustrated by Alice Barber Stephens. 12mo. $1.50.
+
+    Peggy, the heroine, is a most original little lady who says
+    and does all sorts of interesting things. She has pluck and
+    spirit, and a temper, but she is very lovable, and girls
+    will find her delightful to read about.--_Louisville Evening
+    Post._
+
+
+
+
+  New Illustrated Editions of
+  Miss Alcott's Famous Stories
+
+
+  THE LITTLE WOMEN SERIES
+
+    By LOUISA M. ALCOTT. Illustrated Edition. With eighty-four
+    full-page plates from drawings especially made for this
+    edition by Reginald B. Birch, Alice Barber Stephens, Jessie
+    Willcox Smith, and Harriet Roosevelt Richards. 8 vols. Crown
+    8vo. Decorated cloth, gilt, in box, $16.00.
+
+
+    Separately as follows:
+
+  1. LITTLE MEN: Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys
+  With 15 full-page illustrations by Reginald B. Birch. $2.00.
+
+  2. LITTLE WOMEN: or Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy
+  With 15 full-page illustrations by Alice Barber Stephens. $2.00.
+
+  3. AN OLD-FASHIONED GIRL
+  With 12 full-page pictures by Jessie Willcox Smith. $2.00.
+
+  4. JO'S BOYS, and How They Turned Out
+  A Sequel to "Little Men." With 10 full-page plates by Ellen Wetherald
+  Ahrens. $2.00.
+
+  5. EIGHT COUSINS; or, the Aunt-Hill
+  With 8 full-page pictures by Harriet Roosevelt Richards.
+
+  6. ROSE IN BLOOM
+  A Sequel to "Eight Cousins." With 8 full-page pictures by Harriet
+  Roosevelt Richards. $2.00.
+
+  7. UNDER THE LILACS
+  With 8 original full-page pictures by Alice Barber Stephens. $2.00.
+
+  8. JACK AND JILL
+  With 8 full-page pictures from drawings by Harriet Roosevelt Richards.
+  $2.00.
+
+    The artists selected to illustrate have caught the spirit of
+    the originals and contributed a series of strikingly
+    beautiful and faithful pictures of the author's characters
+    and scenes.--_Boston Herald._
+
+    Alice Barber Stephens, who is very near the head of American
+    illustrators, has shown wonderful ability in delineating the
+    characters and costumes for "Little Women," They are almost
+    startlingly realistic.--_Worcester Spy._
+
+    Miss Alcott's books have never before had such an attractive
+    typographical dress as the present. They are printed in
+    large type on heavy paper, artistically bound, and
+    illustrated with many full-page drawings.--_Philadelphia
+    Press_.
+
+
+  LITTLE, BROWN, & COMPANY
+  _Publishers_, 254 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON, MASS.
+
+
+
+
+
+  Transcriber's Notes:
+
+  Obsolete and alternate spellings were retained.
+  Punctuation was standardized.
+  Regional dialect was retained, e.g. 'tree' instead of 'three'
+  'hat' changed to 'that' ... think that she is no worse ...
+  'yo'd' changed to 'you'd' ... if you'd had to stay ...
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Amy in Acadia, by Helen Leah Reed
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMY IN ACADIA ***
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