Ĕs pīed´: saw. Kīne: cows. Tĕt̶h´ẽred: fastened by a rope for feeding within certain limits. "If nature to her tongue could measured numbers bring": if she could write verse. Pēers̝: equals. Cȯv´ẽrt: shelter. "The dam that did thee yean": The mother that reared thee. Bē̍ līke´: perhaps.
The Story of Florinda
By Abby Morton Diaz
Mrs. Abby Morton Diaz (1821—): An American author who married a Cuban gentleman. She has written many popular books for the young: among these are "The William Henry Letters," "William Henry and his Friends," "Polly Cologne," and "The Cat's Arabian Nights."
I
1. Nathaniel Bowen came over from England with his family in the bark "Jasper" more than two hundred years ago. The country was covered with woods then. Indians, buffaloes, deer, wolves, and foxes had it pretty much to themselves.
2. Mr. Bowen built a one-roomed hut in a clearing in the woods. Its walls and ceiling were made of logs; there were square holes for windows, with wooden shutters inside. One of the windows had four small panes of glass brought from England; the others were covered with oiled paper. At one end of the room was a large stone chimney; at the other a ladder ran up into the loft above. The hut was furnished with a bed, a great chest, a spinning wheel, a bench or two, and a few chairs.
3. There was one house besides Mr. Bowen's in the valley, and only one, and that belonged to a man named Moore. It stood nearly an eighth of a mile off.