The Encampment.

 

Camping out in the woods at night is truly a delightful¹ thing, and the pleasantest part of it, perhaps, is the lighting² of the fire. Light is agreeable to human eyes and cheering to the human heart. Solomon knew and felt that when he penned the words, “A pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold³ the sun.” And the rising of the sun is scarcely more grateful to the feelings than the lighting of a fire on a dark night. So our friends thought and felt, when the fire blazed up, but they were too busy and too hungry at the time to think about the state of their feelings.

 

The Indian was hungry. A good fire had to be made before the venison could be roasted, so he gave his whole attention to the felling of dry trees and cutting them up into logs for the fire. Jasper was also hungry, and a slight shower had wetted all the moss⁴ and withered⁵ grass, so he had enough to do to strike fire with flint and steel, catch a spark on a little piece of tinder, and then blow and coax⁶ the spark into a flame.

 

The artist was indeed free to indulge in a little meditation⁷; but he had stumbled in the dark on landing, and bruised⁸ his shins, so he could only sit down on a rock and rub them and feel miserable⁹.

 

But the fire soon caught; branches were heaped up, great logs were piled on, forked tongues of flame began to leap up and lick the branches of the overhanging trees. The green leaves looked rich and warm; the thick stems looked red and hot; the faces and clothes of the men seemed as if about to catch fire as they moved about the encampment preparing supper. In short, the whole scene was so extremely comfortable, in reality as well as in appearance, that Heywood forgot his bruised shins and began to rub his hands with delight.

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