36 



The Ai}ierica7i Ang-lcr 



of these rivers than I was myself; that 

 I could promise them some good trout 

 fishing- on the tributaries to the 

 Blanche and La Lenore ; that my 

 fishing had been confined principally 

 to the rivers and lakes flowing through 

 these districts, and that I was satisfied 

 with the sport that was always to be 

 had in these waters; that to compass 

 the object they had in view would take 

 at least a fortnight or three weeks. I 

 said I would introduce them to gentle- 

 men (lumber merchants) who, I was 

 sure, would gladly give them the in- 

 formation they required. 



By engagement I met them later on 

 in the day, and we drove to the princi- 

 pal points of interest in the city— the 

 Parliament buildings, the Chandiere 

 falls and mills, and to Rideau Hall 

 and grounds. While looking into the 

 conservatory, the elder gentleman (Mr. 

 Bard) made this remark to his nephew 

 (Mr. Sands): 



"These grapes are not as fine as 

 those I sent Lord L. " 



I soon learned that Mr. Bard had 

 spent large sums in constructing arti- 

 ficial ponds, bridges, conservatories, 

 etc., at his home on the Hudson; that 

 his residence and office was in New 

 York, but that he spent every spare 

 hour in beautifying his country resi- 

 dence. 



I introduced them to several gentle- 

 men, who kindly offered to give them 

 letters to their agents in charge of the 

 lumbering establishments on the upper 

 reaches of the rivers, but they were 

 unable to avail themselves of the cour- 

 tesy, as time would not permit them to 

 be absent so long from home. 



They remained but a short time in 

 Ottawa. I managed to make the time 

 pass agreeably, however, and when 

 they left they urged me to visit them 



in New York and on the Hudson, and 

 very kindly placed their fishing lodge, 

 which they had built on the Little 

 Taguenay, at my service, should I at 

 any time visit those places so dear to 

 memory from old associations since 



1857. 



I mention this incident to show the 

 difficulties of transit in the past with 

 the facilities of the present time. Rail- 

 roads and telegraphs have revolution- 

 ized the world. Time and space are, 

 as it were, annihilated, so that we are 

 led to ask, " Whither are we drifting?" 



Here now is the Gatineau Railroad 

 running some ninety miles through the 

 heart of the woods, surrounded by lakes 

 and streams, with but few miles inter- 

 vening, offering facilities for hunting 

 and fishing that were never dreamed of 

 before. 



The sun peeped through the curtains 

 to tell us of the advent of another glor- 

 ious day, and soon a knock at our door 

 intimated that the breakfast was on 

 the table. We were soon enjoying the 

 large jugs of milk and cream, with 

 other good things that were set before 

 us, while the kind attention of our 

 hostess gave zest to the appetite. 

 Montcrief had made the boat ready, 

 and taking with us a good luncheon, 

 with a can of milk, etc., we were soon 

 paddling up the lake, the day being 

 favorable in every respect. 



The call of the loon told us that it 

 was a favorite spot for these birds, and 

 that they were with their young ones, 

 in quest of their breakfast. We moved 

 gently along, making a cast now and 

 then, while the troll was tempting the 

 fish with a party-colored lure that, in 

 general, was very effective. In this 

 case neither the one nor the other was 

 of any avail imtil at last we had again 

 recourse to the minnow.. We had ex- 



