Whilst living in Fredericton my sister formed many close friendships.
It was here she first met Colonel and Mrs. Fox Strangways. In the
society of Bishop Medley and his wife she had also great happiness,
and with the former she and Major Ewing used to study Hebrew. The
cathedral services were a never-failing source of comfort, and at
these her husband frequently played the organ, especially on occasions
when anthems, which he had written at the bishop's request, were sung.

To the volume of _Aunt Judy's Magazine_ for 1870 she gave "Amelia and
the Dwarfs," and "Christmas Crackers," "Benjy in Beastland," and
eight[14] "Old-fashioned Fairy Tales." "Amelia" is one of her
happiest combinations of real child life and genuine fairy lore. The
dwarfs inspired Mr. Cruikshank[15] to one of his best water-colour
sketches: who is the happy possessor thereof I do not know, but the
woodcut illustration very inadequately represents the beauty and
delicacy of the picture.

[Footnote 14: Letter, Sexagesima, 1869.]

[Footnote 15: Letters, August 3, 1880.]

[Illustration: IN THE DEAR OLD CAMP. NO. 1 HUT, X LINES, SOUTH CAMP.]

Whilst speaking of the stories in this volume of _Aunt Judy's
Magazine_, I must stop to allude to one of the strongest features in
Julie's character, namely, her love for animals. She threw over them,
as over everything she touched, all the warm sympathy of her loving
heart, and it always seemed to me as if this enabled her almost to get
inside the minds of her pets, and know how to describe their
feelings.[16]