CHAPTER IX.

NURSE TELLS LADY MARY ABOUT A LITTLE BOY WHO WAS EATEN BY A BEAR IN THE
PROVINCE OP NEW BRUNSWICK--OF A BABY THAT WAS CARRIED AWAY, BUT TAKEN
ALIVE--A WALK IN THE GARDEN--HUMMING-BIRDS--CANADIAN BALSAMS.


"Nurse," said Lady Mary, "did you ever hear of any one having been eaten
by a wolf or bear?"

"I have heard of such things happening, my dear, in this country; but
only in lonely, unsettled parts of the country, near swamps and deep
woods."

"Did you ever hear of any little boy or girl having been carried off by a
wolf or bear?" asked the child.

"No, my lady, not in Canada, though similar accidents may have happened
there; but when I was a young girl I heard of such tragedies at New
Brunswick; one of the British provinces lying to the east of this, and a
cold and rather barren country, but containing many minerals, such as
coal, limestone, and marble, besides vast forests of pine, and small lakes
and rivers. It resembles Lower Canada in many respects; but it is not so
pleasant as the province of Upper Canada, neither is it so productive.

"Thirty years ago it was not so well cleared or cultivated as it is now,
and the woods were full of wild beasts that dwelt among the swamps and
wild rocky valleys. Bears, wolves, and catamounts abounded, with foxes of
several kinds, and many of the fine furred and smaller species of animals,
which were much sought for, on account of their skins. Well, my dear, near