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 

 rising high 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 

 through 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 remaining wilderness has been 

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



