food--fish, fowls, and fruit, and some of my wife's choice jam--whilst
our burnt clay plate made a great show on the board, for it was set out
with some taste. We had a wish to show Jane that, though the coast was
a wild kind of place, still there were means to make life a joy to
those who dwelt on it, if they chose to use them. As for Jane, the
sight of our home, the style of our feast, and the kind words of the
boys, were things so new to her, that she knew not what to say.

"I shall tell no more than the truth," she said, "when I say that what
you have shown me is of far more worth than all the wealth I have seen
in the East, and that I feel more joy this day than I have felt in all
the days of my life. I can use no terms less strong than these to show
how much I thank you."

This was just the kind of speech to please the boys, for there had been
no one to praise their work till now. When the meal was done, my wife
brought out some of her best wine, and we drank to the health of our
guest in great state, and with loud cheers. We then made a tour of our
house and grounds, that Jane might see the whole of the place that from
this time she was to make her home. It would take me a long time to
tell what she thought of all she saw, or the neat things she said in
praise of our skill, as we took her from place to place. My wife's
room, in which were kept the pots and pans to dress our food, and the
plates, bowls, and cups, out of which we ate, took her some time to
view; for she had long felt the want of such things as she now saw we
had made for our own use out of what we could find.

The next day we all went to The Nest, and when the rainy season came
round, Jane knew the place quite as well as we did. My wife found in
her a true friend, for she soon took a large share of the work off her