Do you observe, they are
made of carriboo, and not moose hide. The former contracts with wet
and the other distends and gets out of shape. Simple as that little
thing is, few people have ever noticed it."
The girl, had she been differently trained and dressed, would have
been handsome, but spare diet, exposure to the sun and wind, and
field-labour, had bronzed her face, so that it was difficult to say
what her real complexion was. Her hair was jet black and very
luxuriant, but the handkerchief which served for bonnet and head-dress
by day, and for a cap by night, hid all but the ample folds in front.
Her teeth were as white as ivory, and contrasted strangely with the
gipsy colour of her cheeks. Her eyes were black, soft, and liquid, and
the lashes remarkably long, but the expression of her face, which was
naturally good, indicated, though not very accurately, the absence of
either thought or curiosity.
After a while objects became more distinct in the room, as we
gradually became accustomed to the dim light of the small windows. The
walls were hung round with large hanks of yarn, principally blue and
white. An open cupboard displayed some plain coarse cups and saucers,
and the furniture consisted of two rough tables, a large bunk,1 one or
two sea-chests, and a few chairs of simple workmanship. A large
old-fashioned spinning-wheel and a barrel-churn stood in one corner,
and in the other a shoemaker's bench, while carpenter's tools were
suspended on nails in such places as were not occupied by yarn.
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