ith me; that will be all right,
won't it?"

"Now, Master James," said Mr. Burr, "I cannot allow this; I must
protest against this going away during school hours. If His
Excellency only knew, what would he say?"

"Oh, that will be all right, Mr. Burr."

"No, no, James, it is not all right, and as for Fawcett going with
you I cannot allow it, Master James; heed me or I must have a word
with Sir James about you."

[Portrait: William Leigh.]

All this time James was standing up at his desk with his riding-whip
in his hand, and making signs for me to follow, which I proceeded to
do, the master protesting all the time. I got my reward next day, but
not as bad as I would have got had not good Mrs. Burr come to my
rescue. We drove to Upland Farm, then the home of City Clerk Leigh
and his family, at Cadboro Bay. Mrs. Leigh was always good to James
and I on these visits to the farm, getting us the best to eat and
plenty of fresh milk to drink. By some understanding between Sir
James and Mr. Burr we continued these afternoon drives, and it may be
imagined how we boys enjoyed them. We continued friends to the last,
and years after I worked like a beaver when he was elected a member
of the Legislature for Victoria City. He was godfather to my eldest
son, who was named after him. I have still a handsome book given
me by Sir James at the last break-up of school before I left.

We now and then hear complaints by prudish people of the boys bathing
on Victoria Arm, on Deadman's Island and elsewhere without a full
bathing suit. What would they say to the boys of my time bathing in
Nature's suit only, and that on the waterfront from James Bay bridge
all around to the Hudson's Bay Company's wharf? We bathed there at
all times, and to our heart's content, and never was exception taken
to it by the authorities, or in fact by anyone. Use is second nature,
and I suppose that accounted for it.

Have any of my readers ever seen Deadman's Island (the island which
is opposite Leigh's mill) when it was covered with trees and shrubs?
Well, up these trees were corpses of Indians fastened up in trunks
and cracker boxes, but mostly trunks, the bodies being doubled up to
make them fit in the trunk, and then suspended like Mahomet's coffin
between heaven and earth. There were also some Indians buried in the
shallow soil and surrounded by fences, and again boxes of corpses
were piled one on top of the other. This island was a favorite place
of th