136 FRUIT RAXCHIXG. 



down over the ears. It is good to see a party of 

 young Canadians with their bob-sleighs, flexible 

 fliers, and what not, ghding down a steep incline 

 with the speed of the wind, fdling the frosty air with 

 their crisp shoutings and their merry laughter. Their 

 happiness is irresistible ; it sweetens the heart, it 

 beautifies life. If the songs of the angels have any 

 analogies on earth, assuredly it is the gleeful play of 

 children ! 



Now, the wearing of gloves must not for one 

 moment be taken as a sign of effeminacy. Whatever 

 faults may be alleged against the Canadian character, 

 effeminacy is the very last that anybody who has had 

 experience of it would dream of imputing to it. The 

 keynote of the Canadian character, at all events out 

 West, is energy. Your Canadian is always in good 

 spirits, always hopeful, prompt in his decisions, swift 

 to act, full of resource. A distinguished Scottish 

 visitor recently epitomised the practical creed of the 

 West as consisting of faith, hope, and muscle. In 

 this there is not more than that amount of inaccuracy 

 which is the inevitable toll of wit. It is the buoyant 

 spirit of the Canadian which enables him to adapt 

 himself so readily to changing circumstances, and, 

 taken in conjunction with his upbringing in a new 

 country, where personal ingenuity so often has to 

 supply the lack of convenience, it is that same spirit 

 which makes him so capable a man in a sudden 

 emergency. One of his favourite phrases is that a 

 man is " up against it "; it is when he is in such a 

 position, which may be defined as " being in a tight 

 corner," or " with his back to the wall " — it is then 

 that the really great powers of resource lying latent 



