Page:The Swiss Family Robinson - 1851.djvu/392

Rh impress upon their young minds the great truths of our holy religion. By bringing this constantly before their unsophisticated understanding, I might hope they would drav from it the necessary virtues of resignation and contentment. I was only twenty-three years of age, and might hope, by God's mercy, to be spared to them some time, and in the course of years who knew what might happen? Besides we were not so far from the sea but that I might visit it sometimes, if it were only to seck for turtles' eggs. I remained then under our fig-tree at night, and by day on the borders of the stream."

"It was under a fig-tree, also," said my wife,"that I have spent four happy years of my life. Unknown to each other, our fate has been similar; but henceforward I hope we shall not be separated."

Madame Hirtel embraced her kind friend, and observing that the evening was advanced, and that my wife, after such agitation, needed repose, we agreed to defer till next day the conclusion of the interesting narrative. My elder sous and myself followed the missionary to his hut, which resembled the king's palace, though it was smaller; it was constructed of bamboos, bound together, and the intervals filled with moss and clay; it was covered in the same way, and was tolerably solid. A mat in one corner, without any covering, formed his bed; but he brought out a bear's skin, which he used in winter, and which he now spread on the ground for us. I had observed a similar one in the grotto, and he told us we should hear the history of these skins next day, in the continuation of the story of Emily, or Mimi, as she was affectionately called by all. We retired to