好吧,杰姆要成为一名士兵,亲眼目睹一场世界上从未有过的更伟大的战斗。但那是遥远的未来。而母亲,也就是他的长子,总是看着她的孩子们,感谢上帝,杰姆所渴望的昔日勇敢的日子已经一去不复返了,加拿大的儿子们再也没有必要骑马去为他们父亲的骨灰和神的庙宇而战了。
(Well, Jem was to be a soldier and see a greater battle than had ever been fought in the world; but that was as yet far in the future; and the mother, whose first-born son he was, was wont to look on her boys and thank God that the brave days of old, which Jem longed for, were gone for ever, and that never would it be necessary for the sons of Canada to ride forth to battle for the ashes of their fathers and the temples of their gods.)