"The first faint gleamings of thought in its mind are but the reflections from the parents' own intellect,the first manifestations of temperament are from the contagious parental fountain,the first aspirations of soul are but the warmings and promptings of the parental spirit.

"The first faint gleamings of thought in its mind, are but reflections from the parents' own intellect; the first manifestations of temperament, are from the contagious parental fountain; the first aspirations of soul, are but the warmings and promptings of the parental spirit.

One of these functionaries grew brisk again, with a wan factitious briskness, at sight of Gilbert, made haste to redecorate one of the tables, and in bland insinuating tones suggested a dinner of six courses or so, as likely to be agreeable to a lonely and belated diner; well aware in the depths of his inner consciousness that the six courses would be all more or less warmings-up of viands that had figured in the day's bill of fare.

Log-rollings, house-raisings, house-warmings, corn-shuckings, quiltings, and the like were occasions when all the neighbors came together to do what the family itself could hardly accomplish alone.