CHRISTMAS AND 95 IN THE SHADE. 191 



site direction. We spent a very pleasant fortnight at 

 Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. 



We visited the Industrial Exhibition, which may 

 be regarded as very creditable for a colony founded 

 just fifty years ago. Adelaide is much more beautiful 

 than Melbourne as regards natural scenery. The city 

 is almost completely surrounded by lovely and pictur- 

 esque hills. We were there on Christmas, and had, at 

 a Christmas family dinner to which we were kindly 

 invited, ripe figs, strawberries, apricots, cherries and 

 plums, all just fresh from the garden. 



Christmas with the thermometer at 95 in the shade 

 was quite a new experience. Although anything may 

 seem all right when we get used to it, yet it seems to 

 me nothing could ever reconcile me to 95 above zero 

 at Christmas times. To crown all, I saw in the win- 

 dows of the shops here old Santa Claus clad in his 

 sheepskin, long-woolled coat. Such contradictions as 

 there are in this world any way ! The old chap did 

 not appear to look anything like so happy as we have 

 seen him in the pictures, with his reindeer and his 

 sledge and robes, down in the street, while he is on 

 the roof in the light of the moon fighting with the 

 cats for the right of way down the chimney. Shortly 

 after reaching Adelaide I received a note from a gen- 

 tleman whom I met in Montreal four years ago, T. 0. 



