Pearls and PebblesHow fitting to close out the 20th century with a brand new edition of Pearls & Pebbles by the noted chronicler of pioneer life, Catharine Parr Traill. Published in 1894, Pearls & Pebbles is an unusual book with a lasting charm, in which the author's broad focus ranges from the Canadian natural environment to early settlement of Upper Canada. Through Traill's eyes, we see the life of the pioneer woman, the disappearance of the forest, and the corresponding changes in the life of the Native Canadians who have inhabited that forest. Editor Elizabeth Thompson reminds us of the significance of the writings by Traill, the aged author/naturalist, who felt that the hours spent gathering the pebbles and pearls from her notebooks and journals written in the backwoods of Canada was not time wasted. |
From inside the book
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... light . Through a reading of Pearls and Pebbles we meet a happy , practical and devout woman ( who frequently cites from or paraphrases the Bible , prayer book or hymnal ) , a woman who is infinitely curious about the world around her ...
... light mirrored in the lake . Almost unconsciously the inspired words rose to my lips , " The heavens declare the glory of God , and the firmament showeth His handiwork . " 5 my Wrapped in my ample Scotch tartan cloak , I lay with head ...
... to be recalled in after years when musing over past scenes of a life where lights and shadows form a mingled pattern of trials and blessings . MEMORIES OF A MAY MORNING * " Sweet day , SUNRISE AND SUNSET ON LAKE ONTARIO : A REMINISCENCE 13.
... light warm air ; every breath sets the delicate thready stalks in motion , and the sun- beams brighten the flowers to gold against the blue of the May - day sky . Truly the trees are a sight to gladden the eye. 22 PEARLS AND PEBBLES.
... of twigs , grass , strips of bark , leaves , etc. and placed in a bush . Eggs , two to five , light greenish - blue . — McIlwraith , Birds of Ontario . The common name " Rain Crow ” was given the 24 PEARLS AND PEBBLES.
Contents
3 | |
5 | |
9 | |
14 | |
21 | |
MORE ABOUT MY FEATHERED FRIENDS | 32 |
A DEFENSE | 45 |
NOTES FROM MY OLD DIARY | 49 |
THOUGHTS ON VEGETABLE INSTINCT | 109 |
SOME CURIOUS PLANTS | 115 |
SOME VARIETIES OF POLLEN | 120 |
THE CRANBERRY MARSH | 123 |
OUR NATIVE GRASSES | 126 |
INDIAN GRASS | 132 |
MOSSES AND LICHENS | 136 |
THE INDIAN MOSS BAG | 141 |
THE SPIDER | 58 |
PROSPECTING AND WHAT I FOUND IN MY DIGGING | 62 |
THE ROBIN AND THE MIRROR | 65 |
IN THE CANADIAN WOODS | 67 |
THE FIRST DEATH IN THE CLEARING | 82 |
ALONE IN THE FOREST | 90 |
ON THE ISLAND OF MINNEWAWA | 99 |
THE CHILDREN OF THE FOREST | 103 |
SOMETHING GATHERS UP THE FRAGMENTS | 144 |
APPENDIX A | 151 |
APPENDIX B | 181 |
APPENDIX C | 183 |
ENDNOTES | 187 |
ILLUSTRATION CREDITS | 199 |
INDEX | 203 |