And then the time came for us to part.
I need not say that it was a hard trial for my wife; but she bore up
well, for she had made up her mind that it was all for the best, and
that her sons would some day come back to see her. I felt, too, that
with the help of our new friends, we should not miss them so much as we
at first thought, and this we found to be the case.
As the next day my boys were to leave me, I had a long talk with them.
I told them to act well their part in the new sphere in which they were
to move, and to take as their guide the Word of God. They then knelt
down for me to bless them, and went to their beds in Rock House for the
last time.
I got no sleep all that night, nor did the two boys, who were to start
the next day.
As Ernest takes this Tale with him--which I gave him leave to print,
that all may know how good God has been to us--I have no time to add
more than a few words.
The ship that is to take from us our two sons and our fair guest will
sail from this coast in a few hours, and by the close of the day three
who are dear to us will have gone from our midst. I can not put down
what I feel, or tell the grief of my poor wife.
I add these lines while the boat waits for my sons. May God grant them
health and strength for the trials they may have to pass through; may
they gain the love of those with whom they are now to dwell; and may
they keep free from taint the good name of the Swiss Family Robinson.
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