Henry Ross was born in Dunham, July 18th, 1827, his father beiag a pioneer settler described as a quaint, picturesque, good old man." Always of a studious. nature, Mr. Ross improved every opportunity for education within his reach.

When thirty years of age, long before the days of modern surgery, he seriously injured one of his knees, which finally necessitated amputation of the leg. Ás a distraction from torturing pain, and to while away the tedious days of close confinement in a lonely place, he took up the study of botany, the children bringing in from the woods wild flowers for classification. So expert did he become that he was a recognized authority on the flora of this part of Canada.

Unable longer to perform the arduous work of a farm, he started a small grocery at Stanbridge Station, in the meantime learning telegraphy, and for fourteen years he was the faithful and efficient operator of the V.C.R.R. at that place. But he seemed doomed to physical suffering, being obliged several times to submit to surgical operations. Through all these vicissitudes and changes his faithful wife and daughter stood ready to assist him in meeting the extra expenses incurred. Finally the family moved to Stanbridge East, and here Mr. Ross was telegraph operator for the M. P. & B. R. R. For ten years he was secretarytreasurer for the school municipality of Stanbridge, resigning only a few weeks before his death. About three years ago he sustained the greatest sorrow of his life in the death of his only son, C. Sherman Ross, since which time there was a gradual failing

a steady decline-until, finally, on the evening of Sunday, Sept. 9th, he passed away.

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On the following Tuesday afternoon, the funeral services were held in St. James' Church, of which the deceased was a member, the rector, the Rev. R. Y. Overing, officiating. There was a large tendance of friends and neighbors, including the scholars from the elementary and and model schools, who gathered to pay the last tribute of respect to our aged and worthy life-long resident of this community. At his request the worn-out body was laid to rest under the great elm tree in the church cemetery. His aged widow and faithful daughter, Mrs. Emily Ross Perry, of Minneapolis, survive him, and at present remain in the home.

Mr. Ross was greatly interested in local history and had contributed sketches and incidents to different newspapers, in fact he was an authority on the traditions of pioneer life in this country. A collection of all that he has written on this subject would be valuable. The publication of his poem, "Norman Hazard; or, the Fur Trader's Story," was a surprise to many, who had not dreamed of his talent in that direction. called forth favorable comments from recognized critics, and he had. the honor of receiving a letter from His Majesty King Edward. Perhaps that one cannot honor his memory more than by expressing the quality that he most admired, and of which he was a living example throughout his whole life, "He was an honest man."

Stanbridge, Sept. 14th, 1896.

T. M.

St. Hyacinthe-enjoys the unique distinction of being the only institution of its kind in the county or, for that matter, in the District of Bedford. Its object is to afford a refuge for the sick, the poor and the orphans, where they can find a comfortable home, at a reasonable price, and even gratuitously when possible. It is above all a shelter for the unfortunate, and it is only when these are comfortably placed that there is room for patients or lodgers at rates which seem low for the accommodation given. The

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him that credit should here be given him for his zeal and benefactions in these respects. In the first days of the existence of the Hospital he was almost alone its sole support. The worthy sisters were not then located in the cellent edifice, of which the front alone appears in the cut herewith,. but their asylum was part of house situated on the corner of St. Paul and Yamaska streets. It was only in the autumn they were able to take possession of that part of their own building, then completed, to which constant additions have since been made, as necessity for their work required.

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The deserving and self-sacrificing sisters had no means of their own, and, in the first days of their work, had to rely upon their own industry and the alms and presents bestowed from time to time to time by generous persons, who aided them with furniture, provisions, linen, etc., for, in that period of a financial crisis money was scarce. Little by little as the years rolled on the institution grew, until to day the buildings cover many hundreds of square feet, surrounded by a considerable piece of land, from which a part of the subsistence of the Hospital is derived. There is now, as a fair average, 250 persons under the sheltering roof of this well managed Hospital, among whom there are many who contribute nothing for their board, lodging and care, whilst those who pav do so at a modest price. To make up for the deficits the good sisters rely upon Providence and the charity of the public. So well known are their good works that they are welcomed in the localities where they solicit aid as disinterested workers for the relief of the Lord's unfortunate poor. Ordinarily collections are solicited only in the parishes and places from whence have come the

poor, the sick, the orphans and the unfortunates, for relief and help in the Hospital. They have, incidentally, greatly relieved many municipalities from the great expense which public and municipal charity necessarily exacts, thus lessening the burden of the taxpay er. Of late years, one of the prin cipal sources of revenue has been an annual bazaar, held in the month of February each year, in the organization of which the good sisters are ably assisted by the Ladies' Charity Society of Farnham. Thus, this year, so zealously did they work and plan that the receipts, amounted to over $2,000 in the space of only one week.

It should be borne in mind that the doors of this institution are freely opened to all without regard to nationality or religious. faith. If one suffers from hunger or pain, admittance is gained without other qualifications or restraint. Its usefulness has been shown in cases of accidents and particularly those which occur upon the different railways which converge at Farnham. It is not a rare spectacle in Farnham to see the victim of an accident carried through the streets of Farnham from the cars of the C.P.R. or G.T.R. to the Hospital, where wounds are dressed and often serious operations performed. It is to the credit of the medical men of the town that they have, among themselves, arranged to give their services gratuitously, each in their turn, to the unfortunate sick patients of the Hospital, recompensing themselves in part from private patients and those able to pay. The Hospital has a laboratory and pharmacy ample for its needs.

Finally, one may be permitted to say that this is one of the most useful and beneficient institutions

of the district. It is a credit to the town and county. The zealous and self-sacrificing sisters who conduct it are entitled to the kindest appreciation for arduous and ofttimes unpleasant duties always gratuitously performed so far as they are personally concerned. In furnishing this brief sketch of so

deserving a local institution, one cannot do better than to suggest a visit to it. when passing through Farnham, to see the excellent work which is being done. Such visitor will be welcomed and it will be edifying to the visitor. N.

(This contribution to the pages of the annual report is inserted herein at the request of the officers of this Society, dealing, as it does, with the first settlers of the County of Missisquoi. In its original form it was read before historical and other societies in the early years of the organization of the Society. In 1900 a pamphlet edition of some hundred was printed for private circulation, which was soon exhausted, and, there being considerable demand for it by those engaged in local historical research, a like edition was issued in 1906, by a third party, which has nearly shared the fate of the first. Since its publication there has been, in divers ways and from many independent sources, ample corroboration of the views therein expressed. Note of Committee.)

stimulate investigation. There are obvious reasons for this, and it is quite clear, as well, that such value depends not only upon the truth of the narrative, but upon the fair appreciation of the facts.

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The fitful, and, at times, acrimonious controversy of the past, as to the early settlement of the District of Bedford respecting loyalty, has obscured rather than enlightened the subject. There is no lack of traditions-of historical research and investigation in the historical sense, there has been practically none. One result is, that the zeal of uninformed partisans has led to the labelling as U. E. Loyalists, many who came after the fever of loyalty had been replaced by the factor of self-interest, and even of those whose arrival was long subsequent to the necessities of loyal expression. The result has been to create a feeling of doubt or skepticism, as to U. E. Loyalists akin to that expressed by the irreverent pilgrim in Rome, These new saints make one doubt the old." It is not, therefore, a matter of surprise that the unwarranted assertions of such ill-informed advocates have caused a generation, not keenly interested in the U. E. Loyalists, to surmise that these loyalists are an historical mvstery, and as utterly discredited, so far as relates to location, as