e
children of Israel, which fitted them just as well when they came out
of the wilderness as when they went in. But no incivility is meant.
You may dissect the meaning and grammar of that paragraph alone. You
have had long practice in such puzzles.

_Seventy-five miles later_

We are out of the ice field and steaming past Cape St. John. This was
the dividing line between the English and French in the settlement of
their troubles in 1635. North of it is called the French or Treaty
Shore, or as the French themselves so much more quaintly named it, "Le
Petit Nord." It is at the north end of Le Petit Nord that St. Antoine
is located.

The very character of the country and vegetation has changed. It is as
if the great, forbidding fortress of St. John's Cape cut off the
milder influences of southern Newfoundland, and left the northern
peninsula a prey to ice and winds and fog. The people, too, have felt
the influence of this discrimination of Nature. There is a line of
demarcation between those who have been able to enjoy the benefits of
the southern island, and those who have had to cope with the recurrent
problems of the northland. I cannot help thinking of the change this
shore must have been from their beloved and smiling Brittany to those
first eager Frenchmen. The names on the map reveal their pathetic
attempts to stifle their _nostalgie_ by christening the coves and
harbours with the familiar titles of their homeland.

I fear in my former letter I made some rather disparaging remarks
about certain ocean liners, but I want to take them all back. Life is
a series of comparisons and in retrospect the steamer on which I
crossed seems a veritable floating palace. I offer it my humble
apologies. Of one thing only I am certain--I shall never, never have
the courage to face the return journey.

The time for the steamer to make the journey from Come-by-Chance to
St. Antoine is from four to five days, but when there is much ice
these days have been known to stretch to a month. The distance in
mileage is under three hundred, but because of the many harbours into
which the boat has to put to land supplies, it is really a much
greater distance. There are thirty-three ports of call between St.
John's and St. Antoine, most of which are tiny fishing settlements
consisting of a few wooden houses at the water's edge. This coast
possesses scores of the most wonderful natural harbours, which are not
only extremely picturesq