Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal 323 



and farsightedness. The fuller intercourse he had 

 with mankind developed his instinctive politeness 

 which rested on consideration for others. He became 

 affable to a degree and no one had a finer courtesy. All 

 these qualities he early showed, and the influence of the 

 culture he acquired in his many-sided reading in the 

 wilds of Labrador continued perceptible throughout his 

 long life. 



Two useful habits he formed at that time which were 

 of service to him ever afterwards. One was that of 

 composition. He became master of a terse, incisive style 

 ■of writing. Twice a year, when the semi-annual mail 

 arrived and departed, he sent long letters to his mother 

 in Scotland, detailing his experiences and giving an 

 account of how he passed his time. It is to be hoped 

 that these communications have been preserved, and, 

 when his full biography comes to be written, their publi- 

 cation will be of the greatest interest. 



The other valuable habit which he early formed was 

 the saving one. There were, of course, few temptations 

 for the spending of money at Hamilton Inlet in any 

 case; but he made it one of his maxims to lay by one- 

 half of his earnings, even when, in the period of his 

 apprenticeship, his salary was only two shillings a day. 

 Thus was laid the foundation of his subsequent fortune. 

 His fellow-employees in the Hudson Bay Company, per- 

 ceiving his financial capacity, and greatly trusting his 

 honesty, made him their adviser in the use to which they 

 put their money, and this gave him influence with bank- 

 ing institutions, the final outcome of Which was his be- 

 coming President of the Bank of Montreal. 



After leaving Labrador, he spent ten more years on 

 the shores of Hudson's Bay, and was then raised to the 

 dignity of Chief Factor in the company's service. In 

 1868, his thirty years of faithful and efficient service was 

 requited by the great corporation and he was made 

 chief executive officer of the company, with headquarters 

 at Montreal, taking the place so long occupied by Sir 



