ad of his Company in the
Battle at Chrysler's Farm in Upper Canada November 11, 1813, aged 26
years.
Also of John Leslie Nairne, great grandson of Colonel Nairne, born July
23, 1842, died March 18, 1845; and of John Nairne, Esq., Grandson of
Colonel Nairne, born at Murray Bay, March 22nd, 1808, died at Quebec
June 8, 1861; and of his Widow, Maria Katherine Leslie, died at Quebec,
August 25, 1884, deeply regretted by her friends and by the poor of whom
she was the constant benefactress.
This monument is erected in affectionate remembrance of much kindness by
one who was privileged to enjoy their friendship during the best part of
his life.]
CHAPTER VIII
THE COMING OF THE PLEASURE SEEKERS
Pleasure seeking at Murray Bay.--A fisherman's experience in
1830.--New visitors.--Fishing in a mountain lake.--Camp life.--The
Upper Murray.--Canoeing.--Running the rapids.--Walks and
drives.--Golf.--A rainy day.--The habitant and his visitors.
In the Middle Ages mankind in pursuit of change of air and scene and of
bodily and spiritual health went on pilgrimage to some famous shrine; in
modern times dwellers in cities, in a similar pursuit, go in summer to
some beautiful spot by sea, or lake, or mountain. To many these places
then become as sacred as was the saint's shrine of an earlier age. Busy
men have leisure there to be idle, to read, to enjoy companionship, to
pursue wholesome pleasures. Such a spot has Murray Bay become to many.
Their intrusion was not looked upon with favour by those who wished to
preserve the old simplicity, but it could not be resisted. More than a
hundred years ago Colonel Nairne and Colonel Fraser had parties of
guests in the summer that must have made the two manor houses lively
enough. The beauty of the place, its coolness when Quebec and Montreal
suffered from sweltering heat in the short Canadian summer, the
simplicity and charm of its life, proved alluring. There was also
excellent sport. Salmon and trout abounded. Though time has brought
changes, in some seasons the salmon fishing is still excellent and, in
all the world, probably, there is no better trout fishing than in the
upper waters of the Murray and in some of the lakes.
Thus it happened that the earliest annals of pleasure seeking at Murray
Bay relate to fishing. It is at least possible that more than two
hundred years ago the Sieur de Comporte tried his fortune as a fisherman
in the lake that bears h
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