Arthur Stringer

“ But Louis Charland, w'at mak' de canvass for de Greets, he hear 'bout dat trick w'at Mike play, an' he mak' de hurry an' tail all de peep' w'at dat Michael Joulin do. An' de nex' time w'en Mike mak' de solemn face an' tail 'bout hees laig w'at was paralize so bad, de girls all stick de pin in de laig an' say dat it was too bad, an' den de ol' man come an' stick de pin in hees laig, too, an' say dat was fonny he don' feel dat, till Mike he pretty near die, an' yail out, 'Sacre Tonnerre!' an' ron out de house an' say he t'ink he die wit' de blood-poison. ”

“ An' I t'ink dey was mos' starve, for dey won' do no work on de farm, an' w'en dey go on de farm of de habitant an' hax for dose grub, de femme stan' in de door an' she say 'ow two beeg strong men lak' dat mus' be ver' lazy, bigosh, not to do de leetle work sometime. An' den de dog come out, mebbe, an' Mike get so mad inside he 'mos' go crazee on de head, an' say it was de sacredam gouvernement at Ottawa w'at do all dat to ruin de country so de hones' man can't leev nohow. ”

“ This story has an interest quite apart from its own narration. It was founded on a story which I heard told by word of mouth nearly twelve years ago, when along with the late Archibald Lampman, I sat up to the wee sma' hours of the night in the Montreal home of William Henry Drummond, listening to stories of Canada and Canadian life. ”