OR, THE LAKE LANDS OF CANADA. 87 



delight of his father's heart, just twenty-five years prior to 

 this nuptial celebration, which occurred on the twenty-fifth 

 day of June, 1884. Very little preparation had been made 

 on the island, or, in fact, was needed for the proper cele- 

 bration of this important event, since the underbrush was 

 not, at any point, dense ; consequently the assembled 

 guests could pass readily from one part of the beautiful 

 grove to another without that inconvenience that other- 

 wise might have been felt, especially by the ladies in the 

 party. The trees growing on this island consisted prin- 

 cipally of five varieties : near the water's edge were seen 

 the graceful tamarack and the beautiful balsam, while 

 risino- hieh above the others and near its centre were 

 observed three great white pines, and these were sur- 

 rounded by a heavy growth of white and yellow birch- 

 trees. 



The appearance of the island has changed very little 

 since the first settlers paddled their birch-bark canoes 

 throuQrh the clear waters of Lake Rosseau. 



Fire, the great destroyer of the primitive beauty of 

 the surrounding forest, had left this spot untouched, and 

 here stood to-day the same giant trees which forty years 

 ago had served the groom's father as the beacon-guide to 

 his forest home. Great changes during this period had 

 been wrought on the shores of Lake Rosseau ; the set- 

 tlers at various places had made clearings and built for 

 themselves the primitive log cabins, which had, in some 

 cases, passed away, giving place to beautiful frame cot- 

 tages. Much of the remaininor wilderness has been 

 burned over, killing the great forest-trees, which were. 



