Page:The Swiss Family Robinson (Kingston).djvu/321

Rh saw with delight that the third stranger also had returned with a lovely bride, and encouraged by the presence of the first arrivals, they soon made themselves at home.

In a short time nest-building commenced, and among the materials collected by the birds, I observed a long grey moss or lichen, and thought it might very possibly be the same which, in the West Indies, is gathered from the bark of old trees, where it grows, and hangs in great tuft-like beards, to be used instead of horse-hair for stuffing mattresses.

My wife no sooner heard of it, than her active brain devised fifty plans for making it of use. Would we but collect enough, she would clean and sort it, and there would be no end to the bolsters, pillows, saddles, and cushions she would stuff with it.

For the discovery of nutmegs we had also to thank the pigeons, and they were carefully planted in our orchard.

For some time no event of particular note occurred, until at length Jack, as usual, got into a scrape, causing thereby no little excitement at home.

He went off early on one of his own particular private expeditions.

He was in the habit of doing this that he might surprise us with some new acquisition on his return.

This time, however, he came back in a most wretched plight, covered with mud and green slime; a great bundle of Spanish canes was on his back, muddy and green like himself; he had lost a shoe, and altogether presented a ludicrous picture of misery, at which we could have laughed, had he not seemed more ready to cry!

“My dear boy! what has happened to you? Where have you been?”

“Only in the swamp behind the powder-magazine, father,” replied he. “I went in to get reeds for my wicker-work, because I wanted to weave some baskets and hencoops, and I saw such