Robinatalkedforabouttenminutes。BythetimeshehaddoneshehadpersuadedDickthatlifeinthebackwoodsofCanadahadbeenhisdreamfrominfancy。Sheisthatsortofgirl。
Itriedtalkingreason，buttalkingtoRobinwhenshehasgotanotioninherheadisliketryingtofixahalteronatwo—year—oldcolt。Thistumble—down，six—roomedcottagewastobethesavingofthefamily。AnecstaticlooktransfiguredRobina’sfaceevenasshespokeofit。Youmighthavefancieditashrine。Robinawoulddothecooking。Robinawouldriseearlyandmilkthecow，andgatherthemorningegg。Wewouldleadthesimplelife，learntofendforourselves。ItwouldbesogoodforVeronica。Thehighereducationcouldwait；letthehigheridealshaveachance。Veronicawouldmakethebeds，dusttherooms。IntheeveningVeronica，herlittlebasketbyherside，wouldsitandsewwhileItalked，tellingthemthings，andRobinamovedsoftlytoandfroaboutherwork，thehouseholdfairy。TheLittleMother，wheneverstrongenough，wouldcometous。
Wewouldhoverroundher，tendingherwithlovinghands。TheEnglishfarmermustknowsomething，inspiteofallthatissaid。Dickcouldarrangeforlessonsinpracticalfarming。Shedidnotsayitcrudely；buthintedthat，surroundedbyexample，evenImightcometotakeaninterestinhonestlabour，mightendbylearningtodosomethinguseful。
Robinatalked，Ishouldsay，foraquarterofanhour。Bythetimeshehaddone，itappearedtomeratherabeautifulidea。Dick’svacationhadjustcommenced。Forthenextthreemonthstherewouldbenothingelseforhimtodobut——toemployhisownexpressivephrase——\"rotround。\"Inanyevent，itwouldbekeepinghimoutofmischief。Veronica’sgovernesswasleaving。Veronica’sgovernessgenerallydoesleaveattheendofaboutayear。Ithinksometimesofadvertisingforaladywithoutaconscience。Attheendofayear，theyexplaintomethattheirconsciencewillnotallowthemtoremainlonger；theydonotfeeltheyareearningtheirsalary。Itisnotthatthechildisnotadearchild，itisnotthatsheisstupid。
Simplyitis——asaGermanladytowhomDickhadbeengivingwhathecalledfinishinglessonsinEnglish，onceputit——thatshedoesnotseemtobe\"takingany。\"Hermother’sideaisthatitis\"sinkingin。\"PerhapsifweallowedVeronicatoliefallowforawhile，somethingmightshowitself。Robina，speakingforherself，heldthataperiodofquietusefulness，awayfromthesocietyofothersillygirlsandsillierboys，wouldresultinherbecomingasensiblewoman。ItisnotoftenthatRobina’syearningstakethisdirection：