t into Lake Ontario, opposite Toronto, the largest
town in Canada. Then it runs out of the lake's north-eastern corner,
forming winding channels among a number of islands, which are called The
Thousand Islands. Then the river, which is called the St. Lawrence, is
sometimes narrow and rapid and sometimes expands into lake-like reaches.
At the large town of Montreal begins the quiet course, and below Quebec
the St. Lawrence opens out like a huntsman's horn. The river is frozen
over every year, and in some places the ice is so thick that rails can
be laid on it and heavy goods trains run over it. In spring, when the
ice begins to break up, the neighbourhood of the river is dangerous, and
sometimes mountains of ice thrust themselves over the lower parts of
Montreal. It can be cold in Montreal--down to-30 deg. It is still worse in
northern Canada. And the summer is short in this country."

"You have just mentioned Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec. Which is the
capital?"

"Oh, none of these is the capital of the Colony. That honour belongs to
the small town of Ottawa. And now I will tell you something
extraordinary. The Dominion of Canada is situated between two
goldfields. In the extreme east is Newfoundland, in the extreme west
Klondike. I shall never forget the gold fever which seized adventurers
in nearly all countries when it was known that the precious metal
occurred in large quantities in the gravel and sand-beds on the banks of
the Yukon River. I was one of them myself. Men rushed wildly off to get
there in time and stake out small claims in the auriferous soil. What a
wild life! How we suffered! We had to pay a shilling for a biscuit and a
dollar for a box of sardines. We were glad when a hunter shot elk and
reindeer, and sold the meat for an exorbitant price in gold dust. We
lived huddled up in wretched tents and were perished with cold. Furious
snowstorms swept during winter over the dreary country and the
temperature fell to-67 deg. And what a toil to get hold of the miserable
gold! The ground is always frozen up there. To work in it you must first
thaw the soil with fire. By degrees the situation improved and a small
town grew up on the goldfield, and in a few years the gold won attained
to the value of five millions sterling."

"And the other gold mine, then?"

"Newfoundland. A cold polar current brings yearly quantities of seal,
cod, salmon, herring, and lobster down to the banks of Newfoundland,
where more th