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were told. I venture to reproduce one which I thought worthy of being remembered. The famous orator Webster on the occasion of his candidature addressing a huge concourse in the open air, had some of his majestic periods spoiled by an enemy from Buffalo, who, amid the admiring silence of the rest of the audience, kept shouting "Louder! louder!" Of this Webster took no notice till he came to his peroration, which was somewhat like this:

"And now, my countrymen, as I draw to a close this speech to which with your wonted indulgence you have so kindly listened, I find myself oppressed with thoughts too big for words. Somehow the breathless attention of this vast assemblage, realising as it does the fateful occasion on which we have met, causes another scene to rise before me—a greater concourse before which we shall stand face to face to answer as I have answered to you for my actions in the past. As I think of that final scene in the catastrophe of the world, when the volumes of history shall be for ever closed, and the recording angel shall have laid down his pen, I am filled with awe. But I can imagine that in that tremendous moment, when all creation shall bow down in silence before its God, and when the mighty

archangel shall stand with one foot on the earth and the other on the ocean, and shout in a voice of thunder, that shall echo from pole to pole, that time shall be no longer,-even in that sublime, that awful moment, there will be some darned skunk from Buffalo shouting out Louder ! louder!!""

It is told of Sir John Macdonald, Premier of Canada, that when on one occasion in Montreal he presided over a large meeting of Scotsmen resident in Canada, the majority of the audience, Lowland and Highland alike, appeared arrayed in the kilt in recognition of the Celtic origin of their chairman. Sir John observing this remarked with characteristic humour that at all other meetings with his fellow-countrymen people were in the habit of taking off their hats to him, but he saw that to-night they had taken off The rest of the sentence was drowned in roars of laughter.

On my journey to the Rocky Mountains I heard from a fellow-traveller whom I did not know a marvellous, and what I thought an incredible, account of the expedition with which fire-engines could be got ready for action in American and Canadian towns. A short stay was made at Winnipeg, where fire-brigade drill

SIR JOHN MACDONALD.

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was practised twice every day in order to keep horses and men thoroughly up to the mark in a town built almost entirely of wood. The late Rev. Mr Brooke Lambert, rector of Greenwich, and I resolved to see for ourselves how far the account was correct, and went to the fire-station, watches in hand. It may seem incredible, but it is strictly true, that between the time when the signal of the supposed fire was given and the readiness of the fire-engine to rush out for its extinction exactly seven seconds passed. A short explanation may make this credible. The electric signal intimating the fire opens at the same instant the stable doors, which are just beside the engine. The horses are trained to rush out and of themselves take their places one on each side of the pole; the driver jumps on to the box; others run some to the front of the pole, some to each side; the driver on the box pulls a string, the harness suspended above drops on to the backs of the horses, one click of a spring fixes it in position, one or two other clicks complete the fastenings of the traces, reins, and headstalls, and all is finished. I forget how many men were employed, but there was a man at every point where he was required. It must be borne in mind that the work of each was approxi

mately simultaneous.

The fire being merely imaginary, the horses are at once unharnessed and return to the stable. The only awkwardness connected with such perfect drill is said to be, that as this is gone through twice every day, the horses are so accustomed to return to their stable after the drill, that when the fire is a real one they sometimes refuse to leave the station.

I went to see the principal school in Winnipeg, but I could not do so in school hours. Its plan and equipment seemed in no respect behind those of good schools in Scotland.

I

Fire-drill is regularly practised in school. had not an opportunity of seeing it in operation, but an inspector of schools informed me that a school of 400 pupils can be emptied in threequarters of a minute. The drill is very accurate. Every door and block of benches are put in charge of selected pupils, whose duties are so specific and intelligible that crowding is practically impossible and the means of rapid exit fully available.

The temptation to lay under contribution my notes and recollections of other incidents in American and Continental tours is great, but considerations of space forbid me to yield to it.

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CHAPTER XXVIII.

INTERCOURSE WITH THE DEPARTMENT PLEASANT - MY CONNECTION WITH IT SLACKENED, NOT BROKEN

RELATIONS

WITH MANAGERS AND TEACHERS.

In view of the enormous amount of correspondence which passes daily between a large body of inspectors and the Department, in much of which there are abundant possibilities of error and oversight, it is, so far as I know, extremely seldom that the correspondence is marred by anything irritating or unpleasant. Accuracy is of course imperative, but any departure from it is pointed out for correction with genuine unfailing courtesy. I know of only two noteworthy cases, and they are now many years old, in which there was a savour of smart but not ill-natured persiflage. In the first case the examiner in London indulged in needless sarcasm, and as usually happens when one is tempted to use that untrustworthy weapon, the recoil of which, like that of a boomerang, is dangerous, he came