"
"Let us hope for the best" said the old lady, "he may do better than you
think, and it's no use to meet troubles half way."
The preceding winter had been one of unusual severity, and, as is
often the case in the climate of Canada where one extreme follows
another, an early spring had given place to an intensely hot summer.
The school had closed, but I was to remain with Uncle Nathan till autumn,
when I was to return to my home at Elmwood for a short time before
seeking a situation. It was the tenth of August, a day which will be long
remembered by the dwellers in and around Fulton. For many weeks not a
drop of rain had fallen upon the dry and parched ground, and the heat
from the scorching rays of the sun was most oppressive. Day and night
succeeded each other with the same constant enervating heat. Sometimes
the sun was partially obscured by a sort of murky haze, which seemed to
render the air still more oppressive and stifling, and all nature seemed
to partake of the universal languor; not a breath of air stirred the
foliage of the trees, and the waters of the river assumed a dull
motionless look, in keeping with the other elements.
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