PREFACE 



In publishing these notes connected with my father's 

 life, I fear I am undertaking too great a responsibility. 

 This feeling does not arise from any distrust of the 

 truth in this book, but from the fact that my father 

 had a handwriting beautiful to look upon, but ex- 

 ceedingly difficult to decipher ; and when this hand- 

 writing dealt with either Canadian or Polynesian 

 place-names, a stronger form of intellect than my 

 own was required to comprehend exactly what was 

 meant by a capital letter and a terminal letter and 

 in between what might be either a succession of m's, 

 n's, or e's, or, for the matter of that, w's, or a selection 

 of such things, or in fact any mortal letters that kept 

 on the level line. I am, however, thankful to say I 

 found that stronger intellect in Dr. J. W. Gregory, 

 who, armed with a knowledge of geography, could 

 tell what the place-name was likely to be ; and I am 

 deeply grateful for his generously given help in this 

 matter and in the matter of scientific names, though 



