stuff. The only time I ever drank intoxicating liquor was when I was about fourteen years of age. I was working away from home and a young fellow came to the place one night with a bottle of rum. He and others got me to drink a tablespoonful; it made me drunk and desperately sick. That was my first and last drink and I am ashamed

to tell even of that.

a.

Statute Labour

The highways were kept in repair by statute labour; the men, within an age limit, were each required to give a day’s labour on the roads each year. The time chosen for this was immediately after the seed was sown. The days were long and the weather warm. It was a real enjoyable time; better than golf. It afforded an opportunity for the neighbours to get together in a social way, as well as in work of interest and benefit to all. Their ideas of public service were ex- pressed, not only in conversation but in the quality and amount of their work. M‘ost were very faithful in their share of the work. Some shirked. We had one man on our section who was always a trial to the patience of the road-master. He would not only shirk work himself but would hinder the others. He wasso good-natured that severe measures or any measure, could not be enforced to keep him out of the way of the workers. He was full of fun, and was like the clown in the show, always springing some laughable surprise on the crowd. He would get into a shady nook by the fence, or a tree, and tell jokes and stories and sing. -He could jig with wonderful skill. He was almost equal to a violin in the sweetness and perfection with which he would trill out his lively tunes. He was a good substitute for a fiddle at a dance. When he started up a tune on the road it was difficult for the gang to do statute labour, or any kind of labour, under the spell of his en- chanting music. Everybody liked him and his music and although there was a little less road work done he made the occasion cheerful and memorable. He contributed an important quality to the life of the settlement, and perhaps did as much for its comfort by his cheer- ful music as he could have done by his work. Without some varia- tion labour would become drudgery and soon wear us out.

A proverb says "A merry heart is a good medicine.”

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