tween it and the sea. My grandparents (my mother’s parents) lived over there and owned nearly all the land. This land was given by King George III, as pay, or in lieu of pay, to one of the retiring offi- cers of his army. My granduncle was this officer’s body servant. When the officer was about to return to live in England he trans- ferred all this land to my granduncle. He sent for his youngest brother, who with his wife came over in 1803. These were my grand- parents. My granduncle was killed by a kick from a horse and all the property came into the possession of my grandfather. With the exception of small clearings made by early French settlers, the whole Island was a vast forest. A poet says: uI think I shall never see a poem so lovely as a tree.” The vast forest was a volume of poems. The lake abounded in fish: trout, smelts, herring, gaspereaux and perch. The shores were the summer resort of a great variety of game birds. There were many wild birds and beasts on the shores and in the woods. Iwill tell about them in a separate chapter. A road crossed the Island from the one lake to the other.» On the north end it made a loop around the lake. The distance across is about three miles. The road was at first only a foot path, and was crooked. It is an outstanding illustration of how crooked ways at the beginning are likely to be followed through life. It will require great effort to straighten them after they are well established.

About midway on this road a settlement was formed and named “Portage.” We pronounced it “Portash”. To reach this settlement from either side the road ran through nearly a mile of thick woods or forest; this woods was infested with bears that were a terror and dan- ger, especially to women and children. We had to pass through this woods to get to school. In the chapter on “My School Days” I will tell you of the alarms and hair-breadth escapes we had. Half way through the woods a brook crosses the road. Along the brook many kinds of water-loving animals lived and roamed, of which I will tell you soon.

On entering the settlement from the South at the edge of the clearing, there is a slight rise of 'ground'from the top of which my home stood in full view.

These are the surroundings and some of the scenes of my boy- hood. My feelings are well expressed in the charming lines of “The

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