THE LAKE SHORE DIVERSION 103 



friends often have to drive for a long distance in 

 order to keep the link of friendship and social order 

 from hopeless rust. Occasionally they gave bridge 

 parties, and on great occasions a dance. Bridge 

 parties are in general the special form of entertain- 

 ment, but where there are younger members of a 

 family the evening usually ends with a dance. 



I was included in the invitations which came to 

 the Millingtons, but excused myself from social 

 amenities on the plea of literary work, as I wasn't 

 sufficiently devoted to diversion to care about 

 driving or walking in the open with the temperature 

 at anything below zero to the hospitality of a 

 Canadian house, which on gala occasions is usually 

 set at about 90 without any prospect of shade. But 

 on a day in December Mr. and Mrs. Millington 

 and the lady-help gave such an interesting account 

 of the festivities of the night before that I found 

 myself sharing Heriot Hylton-Cave's frankly ex- 

 pressed regret that he hadn't been there. The 

 occasion had been a dance given by our nearest 

 neighbour a bachelor. An Englishman and his 

 wife were keeping his house and farmstead in order 

 just then, and the arrangement of the evening had 

 been left entirely to the lady, who had not been 

 long in the country. 



The dance had been a success, but the supper a 

 triumph absolutely supreme in the annals of dance 

 suppers in the Qu'Appelle Valley, barring the fact 

 that the shack was of very slender accommodations 

 and none of the guests could get into convenient 

 touch with the supper stuffed turkey, galantines, 

 Charlotte Russe, &c. &c. The expression on the 

 face of my hostess, taken into consideration with 



