ful
that we have been able to secure Dr. Little's invaluable assistance
and advice on our Board of Directors in Boston. This coast and this
hospital owe him a tremendous debt which can never be repaid, for it
was he who put this clinic in a position to hold up its head among the
best of medical work, and offer to this far-off people the grade of
skilled assistance which we should wish for our loved ones if they
were ill or in trouble. For Dr. Little offered not only his very
exceptional skill as a surgeon, but also the gift of his inspiring and
devoted personality.

The winter of 1917-18 was extremely severe, not only in our North
country, but in the United States and Canada also. I was lecturing
during this winter in both these latter countries, though during the
months of December and January travelling became very difficult owing
to the continuous blizzards. I was held up for three days in Racine,
Wisconsin, as neither trains, electric cars, or automobiles could make
their way through the heavy drifts. Had I had my trusty dog team,
however, I should not have missed three important lecture engagements.
Life in the North has its compensations.

At Toronto I was unfortunate enough to contract bronchitis and
pleurisy, and I understand from competent observers that I was an
"impossible patient." Be that as it may, so much pressure was brought
to bear on me that at last I was forced to obey the doctors and leave
for a month's rest in a warmer climate.

Owing to ice and war conditions we did not arrive in St. Anthony until
the first of July. In arriving late we were all spared a terrible
shock. The previous day some of the boys from the Orphanage had gone
fishing in the Devil's Pond, about a mile away, and a favourite
resort with them. Unfortunately that afternoon they were seized
with the brilliant idea of kindling a fire with which to cook their
trout. Greatly to the astonishment of the would-be cooks, the fire
quickly got beyond the one desired for culinary purposes, and,
panic-stricken, they rushed home to give the alarm. Every man ashore
and afloat came and worked, and the obliteration of the place was
saved by a providential change in the wind and wide fire-breaks cut
through few and ill-to-be-spared trees. Everything had been taken from
our house--even furniture and linen--and dragged to the wharf head,
where terrified children, fleeing patients, and heaps of furnishings
from the orphanage and elsewhere were all