"Of all odd fellows, this fellow was the oddest. I have seen
many strange fish in my days, but I never met with his equal."
About a month previous to our emigration to Canada, my husband said
to me, "You need not expect me home to dinner to-day; I am going
with my friend Wilson to Y - -, to hear Mr. C - - lecture upon
emigration to Canada. He has just returned from the North American
provinces, and his lectures are attended by vast numbers of persons
who are anxious to obtain information on the subject. I got a note
from your friend B - - this morning, begging me to come over and
listen to his palaver; and as Wilson thinks of emigrating in the
spring, he will be my walking companion."
"Tom Wilson going to Canada!" said I, as the door closed on my
better-half. "What a backwoodsman he will make! What a loss to the
single ladies of S - -! What will they do without him at their balls
and picnics?"
One of my sisters, who was writing at a table near me, was highly
amused at this unexpected announcement. She fell back in her chair
and indulged in a long and hearty laugh. I am certain that most of
my readers would have joined in her laugh had they known the object
which provoked her mirth. "Poor Tom is such a dreamer," said my
sister, "it would be an act of charity in Moodie to persuade him
from undertaking such a wild-goose chase; only that I fancy my good
brother is possessed with the same mania."
"Nay, God forbid!" said I. "I hope this Mr. - -, with the
unpronounceable name, will disgust them with his eloquence; for
B - - writes me word, in his droll way, that he is a coarse, vulgar
fellow, and lacks the dignity of a bear.
