nce at the weekly prayer-meeting, which they had formerly
eschewed, still they showed no consequent change of conduct. Sandy's
fiddling and dancing went on uninterruptedly, parallel with his
Christian Endeavour meetings. Wee Andra was even more irreverent than
formerly and Donald showed no signs of an added desire to enter the
ministry. Donald's case was particularly disappointing. He wanted
Donald to sit at his young pastor's feet and learn the lesson of true
consecration. He never dreamed that those two whom he desired to be
fast friends were in great danger of becoming enemies, and that events
were shaping themselves to widen the breach between them.

VII

A DISASTROUS PICNIC.

Dominion Day was approaching, the day upon which Glenoro had held a
picnic in Isaac Thompson's maple grove, about half a mile down the
river, ever since there was a Dominion Day.

The affair was ostensibly for the Presbyterian Sabbath School, but all
Glenoro and the surrounding neighbourhood attended. The people from
the Oa and the Flats and even from over on the Tenth flocked to
Thompson's grove and swung in the trees and joined the swimming matches
and helped on the festivity. Besides the sports and other attractions,
there was always a programme of music and speeches after tea. Andrew
Johnstone, as superintendent of the Sabbath School, was responsible for
this part of the entertainment. The young men erected a platform of
new pine boards from the mill and the young women decorated it with
evergreen boughs and the visiting clergymen and township orators seated
themselves upon it in dignified array. Peter McNabb led the whole
assembly in a psalm or paraphrase and then Mr. Cameron and the
Methodist minister and all others honoured with a seat upon the
platform delivered addresses to the people seated in semi-circles on
the ground. Some of the speeches were sound and edifying, some were of
a lighter tone and were sprinkled with judicious jokes culled from many
sources for the occasion. Old Mr. Lawton, an itinerant Baptist
preacher who, no matter what his peregrinations might be, always
happened to be in Glenoro on Dominion Day, had told the same jokes
annually within the memory of the oldest picnicker, but, as they came
only once a year, they were quite fresh after their long rest and the
audience laughed at them each season with unabated mirth.

When Mr. Watson participated in the Glenoro picnic for the first time,
he w