Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1904-02-11
CHAPTER /
THE RETURNED TRAVEL Err.

over it curiously.
This is that America the speake;
repeated. Here you have it, bar
barrie. wonderful. aboundingl"
With sudden gesture he swept his
hand among the gold coin that lay on
the gaming table. He thrust into the
mouth of the object before him a
handful of louis dor and English
sovereigns. There is your America,
said he. 1T runs over with gold. No
man may tell its richness. It's beauty
you cannot imagine
Faith" said Sir Arthur Pembroke.
bending over the table with glass in
eye, IF the ladies of that land. have
feet for this sort of shoon, methinks
we might well emigrate. Take you
the money of it. For me, would see
the dame could wear such shoe as
this
Bah! Pembroke said Castleton.
pushing up the shade above his eyes
till it rested on his forehead, It's
child's shoe.''
Not so, said the first speaker. Z
give you my word tbs the moccasin OF
my sweetheart, a princess in her own
right, who waits my coming on the
Ottawa. And so far from the shoe
being too small, / say as a gentleman
that she not only wore it so, but in
addition used somewhat of grass there
in in place of hose
The earnestness of his speech in no
wise prevented the peal of laughter
that followed.
There you have it, Pembroke,
cried Castleton. Would you move to
a land where princesses use hay for
hosiery?'
"Tis curious done, said Pembroke.
musingly, none the less
and done by her own hand, said
the owner of the shoe, with q certain
proprietary pride.
Again the laughter broke out. do
your princesses engage in shoemak-
ing?' asked third gamester as he
pushed into the ring Sure it must
be a rare land. Prithee, what doth the
ling in handicraft? Doth he take to
ssdalery, or, perhaps, smithing?"
Have done thy jests. Wilson, cried
Pembroke. sMayhap there is some-
what to be learned here of this new
world and of our dear cousins, the
French. Go on, tell us, Monsieur du
Mesne- as / think you call yourself.
sir?-tell us more of your new coun-
try of ice and snow, of princesses and
little Shoes
Tell We more and if l did, would We
believe it? What if tell we of great
rivers far to the west of the Ottawa;
OF races as strange to my princess
people as we are to them; of streams
whose sands run in gold, where dia-
monds and sapphires are to be picked
up as We like? If l told ye. would We
believer"
The martial hearts and adventurous
souls of the circle about him began to
show in the heightened color and
closer crowding of the young men to
the table. Silence fell upon the group.
I'VE Lnow nothing, in this old rot
ten world, of what there is yet to be
found in America cried Du Mesne.
For myself, have been no farther
than the great falls of the Ontonea-
grea "a mere trifie of a cataract, ger
tlemen. into which We might pitch yosg
| tallest English cathedral and sink 1t
beyond its pinnacle with ease. Yet I
have spoke with the holy fathers who
have journeyed far to the westward,
even to the vast Messasebe, which is
well known to run into the China sea
upon some far-off coast not yet well
charted. | have also read the story OF
Sagean, who was far to the west of
! that mighty river. Did not the latter
see and pursue and kill in fair fight the
giant unicorn, tabled of Scripture? Is
not that animal known to be a creature
! of the east, and may we not, therefore,
be advised that this new country takes
hold upon the stored lands of the
east? Why, this holy friar with whom
| / spoke, fresh back from his voyaging
to the cold upper ways of the northern
tribes, who live beyond the far-ofT
channel at Michilimackinac- he
not tell of river of the name of the
Blue Earth, and did he not himself
! SCi tuiQuOlSSS e1liu Qld4uOuuS dI3u CHI
eralds taken in handfuls from this
same blue earth? All, bah! gentle
men. Europe for you if ye like, bul
| Tor me, back I go, SO soon as may
get proper passage and connection
which will warrant me the voyage.
Back / go to Canada, to America, to
the woods and streams. | would see
again my ancient Du L'hut, and my
comrade Pierre Noir, and Tete Girls.
the trapper from the .Mistasing free
traders all. Life is there for the liv-
ing, my comrades. This old world.
small and outworn, no more of it for
me-"
None Of We know the west, went on
the coureur. sYour Virginia, we know
well Of tia collection of beggars,
prostitutes and thieves. Your New
England-va lot of cod-tishing, starving
snivelers, who are most concerned
| how to keep life in their bodies from