the coast offered us work that would not be done unless we
did it. Here was real need along any line on which one could labour,
in a section of our own Empire, where the people embodied all our best
sea traditions. They exhibited many of the attractive characteristics
which, even when buried beneath habits and customs the outcome of
their environment, always endear men of the sea to the genuine
Anglo-Saxon. They were uncomplaining, optimistic, splendidly
resourceful, cheerful and generous--and after all in one sense soap
and water only makes the outside of the platter clean.

I confess that we had greatly enjoyed the adventure _qua_ adventure.
Mysterious fjords which wound out of sight into the fastnesses of
unknown mountains, and which were entirely uncharted, fairly shouted
an invitation to enter and discover what was round the next corner.
Islands by the hundred, hitherto never placed on any map, challenged
one's hydrographic skill. Families of strange birds, which came
swinging seaward as the season advanced, suggested a virgin field for
hunting. Berries and flowering plants, as excellent as they were
unfamiliar, appealed for exploration. Great boulders perched on
perilous peaks, torn and twisted strata, with here and there raised
beaches, and great outcrops of black trap-rock piercing through red
granite cliffs in giant vertical seams--all piqued one's curiosity to
know the geology of this unknown land. Some stone arrow-heads and
knives, brought to me by a fisherman, together with the memories that
the Norse Vikings and their competitors on the scroll of discovery
made their first landfall on this the nearest section of the American
coast to Europe, excited one's curiosity to know more of these shores.
The dense growth of evergreen trees abounding in every river valley,
and the exquisite streams with trout and salmon and seals attracted
one whose familiarity with sport and forests was inseparably connected
with notices to trespassers.

It only wanted an adventure such as we had one day while sailing up a
fjord on a prosaic professional call, when we upset our cutter and had
to camp for the night, to give spice to our other experiences, and
made us wish to return another year, better equipped, and with a more
competent staff.

I am far from being the only person from the outside world who has
experienced what Wallace describes as "the Lure of the Labrador." It
was a genuine surprise to me one morning to find ice