er to his place one day to speak to him on some business,
and found him very busy in his garden, driving into the ground a great
quantity of short sticks.

I asked him "what all those sticks were for."

"Why you see, sir, I have planted part of my garden with Indian corn,
and I am putting sticks down to mark the places where I have planted
them."

A day or two afterwards I met him wearing his coat turned inside out,
the rough seams and red-edging of which had a very curious effect. I
inquired "what might be his reason for going about in such a costume?"

"Well, you see I call this my morning attire; in the evening I have
nothing to do but turn my coat, and, lo! I am dressed; a very capital
arrangement, and quite good enough for the Bush. Do not you think so?"

"As far as regards economy," I replied, "it may do well enough, and as
you do not appear to care about being laughed at, your plan will
answer: and who knows but that you may have the pleasure of introducing
a new fashion into the colonies?"

Amongst other odd characters I had to deal with, was a Mr. W-----, I
believe a portrait and miniature painter by profession, who had
travelled a good deal in Russia, and understood that language well. He
purchased a lot of land from the company on the Waterloo-road, about a
mile from the village. Under the ground-plot chosen by him to build on,
he found there existed a good quarry of limestone; so he made up his
mind to build a stone-house, although he had spent his last dollar, and
his profession in a new and poor settlement would avail him very
little.

However, he went to work, excavating the stone which he had found when
digging his cellar, for building the walls of his house: his only
assistant in the undertaking was a delicate ladylike young woman, whom
he had married in the United States, and brought here as a bride. He
treated his unfortunate partner like a slave. She had to mix and carry
all the mortar, and help him to raise the stone.

I often, on an evening, walked down to see how they were getting on
with their job, and was quite astonished to find how well they
progressed. But, at the same time, I pitied the poor wife exceedingly,
whom the neighbours said he treated very harshly, notwithstanding her
conjugal devotion to him.

At the end of three months his creditors began to threaten him. His
land was still unpaid for, and the walls of his house unfinished. When
too late, he counted the cost of complet