" She understood me, and promised not to
discourage them, only fearing the excessive fatigue of these
undertakings.
Our boys returned from the magazine, delighted with what they had found,
and loaded with work-tools. Those of the masons,--the chisel, the short
hammer, and the trowel, were not to be found, and rarely are taken out
to sea; but they had collected a great number of carpenters'
tools,--saws, planes, rules, &c. And now that Fritz was a smith, he had
no difficulty in making any tool he wanted. He was loaded on each
shoulder, and in each hand he brought a specimen of gunpowder; one sort
was in good condition, and they had found a barrel of it; the other was
much damaged by the water. Jack and Francis were also bending under the
weight of various articles; among which I saw some pieces of the
hand-mill Fritz wished to examine. Ernest, always rather idle, came
proudly on, with a leather belt across his shoulders, to which was
suspended a large tin box for plants, and a leather portmanteau for
stones, minerals, and shells. His brothers, even Francis, rallied him
unmercifully on his immense burden; one offered to help him, another to
go and bring the ass; he preserved his grave and thoughtful air, and
extended himself on a seat near his mother, who was occupied with his
specimens of natural history.
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