BEGINS CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN PLANTS 21? 



Society took place in the spring of 1884, and I took my place with 

 the savants of the Dominion. 



The Marquis of Lansdowne arrived in the fall and took the 

 place of Lord Lome and he carried on the same sports that 

 winter at Government House that Lord Lome had established. 

 There were two large toboggan slides in the grounds and the skat- 

 ing rink under cover. It was a great rendezvous for the 

 young ladies and gentlemen of Ottawa, every Saturday after- 

 noon; that is, if their parents were on the visiting list at Rideau 

 Hall. 



This fall, when Lord Lansdowne came, he encouraged the 

 sports, as he had a number of children, and was at that time a 

 fairly young man himself. He was very democratic in his ways 

 and always walked with a couple of aides when he came into 

 the city and, if he met anyone whom he knew, he often entered 

 into conversation, standing on the sidewalk like a common citizen. 

 At the same time, he was a nobleman in every sense and showed 

 no condescension when anyone was speaking to him, but talked 

 like a common civilian. This winter, his entertainments were 

 largely attended and the young people, both male and female, 

 were busy at the slides, in the afternoon, and on special evenings 

 when the moon was bright. On these evenings, there would be 

 special invitations for the sports and then there was much en- 

 thusiasm and foolhardiness amongst the young people. On one 

 of these occasions, when the temperature was below zero and the 

 moon was very bright, the young people were so exhilarated it 

 became dangerous to go down the slides as they followed each 

 other so quickly. My eldest daughter, Clara, and a young man, 

 went down the slide and were followed immediately by another 

 toboggan. Owing to some cause, they were slow in getting out 

 of the way at the bottom and the other toboggan ran into them 

 and my daughter's cheek was cut open by the impact and she 

 was badly hurt and they had to take her to the Hall and be at- 

 tended to by Lady Lansdowne and Sir James Grant, who was on 

 hand and who sewed up the wound. 



During this time, I was busy with my report and, like all 

 enthusiasts, had no time for anything but the work in hand. 



15 



