New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-02-14
MIDWINTER IN MONTREAL.

-, w.pN-HEARTED PEOFLE.
vpov AN occAsrosAL CORRESPONDENT OF rHE TRIBUNE
MONTREAL Feb Elf the charms of winter In
c.nada were understood iu The States" and IL
amer1oaus had any idea of the health and pleasure
and comfort which are to be found u cold climate,
where 10 is really cold and not raw as 1t Is IN New
York the Dominion would become rs popuiar q WIN
ter resort as Florida and Montreal and Quebec woud
be as crowded as Jacksonville or st. Augustine wltn
peopIe-a large class-who prefer any place In WIN
ter to their homes. Most people who go away ln
search of health would be far better OIL In sucn
clear crisp, bracng air this. which acts on the
nerves as quickly and as decidedly as draught OF
champagne. than in the warm. enervating breezes OF
the South There one is lazy first last and all the
time. One cares for little more than lying on his
back looking out over the blue of the sunset seas or
gazing lstlessly up into the branches OF some
peupt old live-oak, with its garlands OF gray moss
swinging gently to and fro in the sleepy breeze, as
the alligator more lazy still than he, floats on the
current of the muddy St. Johns. and the unmusical
sandhill crane, going home to his dinner and h's
family, emits overhead the hideous noises which
pass with those mistaken birds for twilight sere-
made. But up here. where the thermometer habitu-
allv marks such small number of degrees that
that Objectionable instrument seems to have sur
yyed its usefulness one is anything but lazy. Out
Aoor life Is Just as delightful rs 1t is when the
mercury abides among the Dneties. There are no
alpators In Canada and one does not lie on his back
IN snow-drift looking up at the trees, partly be-
cause it would be chilly pastme; partly. Also be-
cause the bare and leafess branches not pretty
TO look at but chiefly because, with the blood rush
ing through ones veins, with every nerve
tinging, and breathing an air which is
crisp and bracing enough to revive the
Seven Sleepers, lying still is about the
last thing that one thinks of. No matter how worn
by illness or tortured by shattered nerves may
be, week of such air will make him feel as he has
not felt since he was school-boy. and If he Will
give it O week more, his growing strength and in-
creasing vitality will inevitably impel him to work
of some of his surplus energy in one or another OF
the outdoor sports which abound in this delightful
country. Then he will become willing victim to
the charms of Canadian life. and long to stay on,
after he Is quite cured and set on his feet gain
until the snow goes. And he will
not find any trouble in induging
his fancy for outdoor amusements. Sleigh
ing, tobogq aiming, snow-shoeng. skating and curling
are all easily to be had, and can be enjoyed in the
pleasantest of company, for 1t will be strange II be
does not meet one of those kindly, warm-hearted,
hospitabe Canadians, whose greatest pleasure seems
to be to initiate their cousins from tho South into
the mysteries of their national pastimes, and who.
with grace and courtesy all their own, seem never
to tire in their efforts make ones time pass pleas
antly and proftably
If the tourist be really an invalid. he will prob
ably confine himself to sleghlng for the first week
but seighing is from the excellence of the seighs
or the beauty of some of the drivers an immense
pleasure, and one in which, from its cheapness,
one has no compunctiOns of conscience about i'll
dulgng No matter where the mercury may have
gone to- even though it may have sunk clear out of
sight il is never too cold for sleigh-ride, for
every one expects it to be cold, and Is prepared
for it, Fur cloaks and clouds for the ladies' and
heavy coats warm gloves and fur for the men.
are simple necessity. One never meets Canadian
woman without cloud or some other feminine con-
trivance wound about her head and neck; and a
chmney-pot hat In Canada in winter is as great
curiosity as an ornithorhynohus, while its wearer
would not only be laughed at but would |
have his ears frozen in the bargain thereby having
insult added to bis Injuries With little |
care however, one need have no difficulty in keep
ing out the cold. especially If he remembers one |
hin git is the last that one learns-t0 wrap up |
warmly before lie starts no matter now uncomtOrt- |
able he may be at first and not to trust to putting on
additional wraps after he has started If he feels cold
for Canadian cold has this popularity that IL it has
once gotten into mans bones a slegh-ride no |
amount of added coverings will make the victim |
comfortable again, but he will suffer helplessly till
he has come to the end of his drive and been thawed
out before a warm fire.
After the patient las been sleighing for about |
week he will probably find his body in trim and his
mind in tune for something different and better. |
Shall it be tobogganing or those, queer hat sieds,
with their turnover prows, which are equally |
adapted for going over hard or soft snow! There |
are plenty of bills about-though sliding on the |
straets has been forbidden because Of a series of |
fatal accidents caused by running into lamp-pOsts |
and teegraph-poles and such triflinR distractions
and one of the amable clerks at the windsor Will be
clad to direct him to the nearest BILL and obtain to-
boCcan for him. unless he prefers to invest couple
of dollars in one of those inexpensive luxurles Tor
himself which ne may take home and exhibit as |
proof of his boldness, and anent which he may |
spin any number OF yarns about thriilhg |
slides and narrow escapes whose force need be |
gagged only by the credulity Of his auditors. Or |
shall il he skating? There is the Victoria Rink. |
with its band and its half acre of glare ice, only
stones throw from the Windsor Hotel Or curling |
There are Kinks in abundance where he may, with |
little trouble enjoy himself to his hearts content at
this delightfully."- exciting Scottish game; where he |
will find plenty Of kindly gentlemen to
instruct his ignorant mind and train |
bis unskled hand IN the mysteries of the borrow"
and the "in-turn" aud the "out-turn"; where he
nav wear out his heart and strengthen his back in
futile attempts to place his stone on the Tee" and
where. too. he will hear such a charming Gaelic |
"burrD as is not often met with outside the land o.
cakes For most of the curriers' are Scotchmen or
the sons of Scotchmen, and something Of the honest
accent of their home still cngs about their speech
But if the traveller. be he an invalid or not, Is
wise he will turn his attention to snow-shoelng |
most fascinating and most distinctlvely Canadian |
of all the sports. He will have no manner OF
trouble about 1t. Everybody in Canada is more OF
less Of q snow-shoer, without respect to age |
sex, color or previous condition of serVi- |
tude; and there IS the mountain, with its |
pleasant public park, Just back OF the |