You haven't really specified what particular warning you
are referring to here, so I have had to assume it is in Chapter 2, when Kit is talking
to John Holbrook about her aunt. Kit tries to recall what she has been told about her
Aunt Rachel, who she has never actually met, by her mother, and paints a romantic
picture of this unknown figure, saying:
"My mother remembered that she was always
laughing."
Yet, at this
stage, it is John Holbrook who injects a more realistic sober note into Kit's
reflections and situation by saying:
"Don't forget, your aunt has been away from
England for a long time."
Kit
picks up an "intangible warning" in these words, even though she is not able to
interpret it. To my mind, John is referring to the realities of Puritan life and the
hard work of settlers who had to toil on the land to make ends meet. Such a brutal,
harsh life would be more than enough to stop people from laughing all the
time.
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