s were Peter Ferris, Squir Ferris, Claudius
Brittle (Sr.), Claudius Brittle (Jr.), Nathan Smith, Marshal Smith,
Justice Sturdevant, John Ward.]

[Footnote 12: The book in which Nairne kept the accounts, with the names
of the recipients of the king's bounty, is still at Murray Bay.]

CHAPTER V

THE LAST DAYS OF JOHN NAIRNE

Nairne's careful education of his children.--His son John enters
the army.--Nairne's counsels to his son.--John Nairne goes to
India.--His death.--Nairne's declining years.--His activities at
Murray Bay.--His income.--His daughter Christine and Quebec
society.--The isolation of Murray Bay in Winter.--Signals across
the river.--Nairne's reading.--His notes about current events.--The
fear of a French invasion of England.--Thoughts of flight from
Scotland to Murray Bay.--Nairne's last letter, April 20th,
1802.--His death and burial at Quebec.

Colonel Nairne's life was troubled with many sorrows. In 1773, when he
was on a visit to Scotland, Malcolm Fraser had had the painful duty of
writing to tell him of the death of three of his infant children at
Murray Bay from a prevailing epidemic. His daughter, Anne, born in 1784,
was sent to Scotland to be educated. She contracted consumption and
after a prolonged illness died there in 1796. "This event gave me great
affliction," wrote Nairne, "she was always a most amiable child." There
now remained two sons and three daughters,[13] and Nairne may well have
been certain that his name would go down to an abundant posterity. One
of the chief interests of his life was their training and education. All
in turn were sent to Scotland for their chief schooling. The eldest son,
John, born in 1777, and his sister Christine, some three years older,
lived in Edinburgh with aunts who showed exhaustless kindness and
interest. Nairne was grateful, and writing from Malbaie on August 27th,
1791, he says: "[I] am glad of an opportunity, my dear Christine and
Jack, to remind you both in the strongest manner I am able of the
gratitude and assiduous Duty you owe to your Aunts and other Relations
for admitting you into their family and also for the attention they are
pleased to bestow on your education." Upon his children he imposes
indeed counsels of perfection not easy to fulfil; "Remember it's my
injunctions and absolute orders to you both to have always an obedient
temper to your superiors ... to receive every reprimand w