scrubbing-pail and brush in hand, plumped down on her knees in the middle
of the floor, and went through a vigorous pantomime of scrubbing. Her
mistress was too astonished to speak for a moment or two, until the girl,
surprised at her silence, looked up, uttering an indescribable "Eh?" of
anxious inquiry, which was well-nigh too much for the gravity of her
listeners.

Often, after ten minutes' patient endeavour to explain something, one was
rewarded by a long drawn out "Ma'arum?" infinitely trying to one's
patience. Yet, in time, they often make excellent servants, and many
people prefer them to Ontario or English emigrants. And certainly in
point of economy they are infinitely superior to both; for not only will
an Iceland maid waste nothing, but she is content with five or six
dollars a month in wages (L1 5s. or L1 10s.), while girls from Ontario or
England expect nine or ten dollars. Servants taken out on the line of
railway demand and receive from fifteen to thirty dollars (L3 15s. to L7
10s.) a month. These exorbitant wages are, however, lessening as
immigration increases.

Society at Winnipeg is very pleasant; composed chiefly of the old
families who formed the Hudson Bay Company and their descendants, many of
whom have Indian blood in their veins. Their education, carefully begun
by their parents, is often completed in Scotland, and they are well-read,
intelligent people, as proud of their Indian as of their European
descent. Many of them are handsome and _distingue_-looking. Their
elegant appearance sometimes leads to awkward mistakes. One of these
ladies, meeting a young Englishman fresh from the old country, and full
of its prejudices, was entertained by him with reflections on race, and
condolences at having to associate with half-castes. At last he inquired
how long she had been in the country? Making him a stately curtsy, she