"It is so easy to form wrong ideas of people of different nations through superficial knowledge. The more one has travelled the broader one's mind becomes."—J.M.

Mr. Mackintosh considered that the attitude of the missionary to foreign lands afforded a parallel for the business man's attitude to foreign trade. "One cannot wait," said he, "until the home Church has brought everyone into its fold before sending out missionaries into other lands, or the missionary cause would never have begun; and so also in business, you must reach out abroad while extending at home, if you are to be first in the foreign field as well as in your native Land."

Naturally, his thoughts turned to the mighty United States Republic, with its eighty millions, or more, of potential customers. When the American is not smoking he is chewing gum or candy, and his wife and children willingly assist him in the consumption of sweetmeats. What an opportunity was thus presented to a toffee manufacturer blessed with faith and vision!

In the autumn of 1903, in company with his brother-in-law, he undertook a lightning tour through America and Canada, exploring these countries for the purpose of ascertaining their business possibilities. Men of adventurous spirit have gone to America prospecting for gold or other precious metals, but surely this was the first occasion on which a man ventured to the other side of the world prospecting for business in such a simple homely thing as toffee. All the principal cities were visited from New York to San Francisco, from Montreal to Vancouver. For a month nearly every night was spent in the train, but during the day the travellers would alight and make careful observations. Gradually the conviction was formed in Mr. Mackintosh's mind that he could establish his business in America, and he determined to make a bold bid for trade in the West. The heavy duty on confectionery imported into the United States made it impossible to compete with Americans by goods manufactured in England. It was necessary to erect factories and produce the toffee on the spot. These difficulties did not appeal him, as they certainly would have appalled a less determined man.

His Notes of travel in America are so full and so suggestive that we cannot do better than to print them as they are written, adding little by way of comment. He went to America when he was thirty-four years old, and though the primary purpose of the visit was for business, his Notes are far more than a bare record of business transactions. They are full of items of general interest; they are written in a clear, trenchant style, and they reveal in every line the kindly personality of the writer. Here we have vivid pictures of all happenings from the time he steps on board the great ocean liner until his eyes are again gladdened by the sight of his beloved Halifax.

He was a poor sailor, and from childhood dreaded the sea.

"In my boyhood's days," he writes, "I had an aunt who went to live in America. Her letters told of the voyage, its storms, inconveniences and terrors; and subsequently, when she was on a visit to England, her relation of these experiences, with added effect, made me determine that America should be one of the last places I would visit. I never did like being on the sea. Whenever I heard people speak of it as the 'beautiful, bounding ocean,' in my own mind I added a few adjectives of a different nature. My aversion for the sea has grown up with me, and whenever I have to take a journey that entails a sea trip I look out for the shortest possible passage. I have, however, long since learned that if a man is to be a man he must face sometimes that which he does not like, in spite of pre-conceived ideas, and he has to be determined to overcome the difficulties that would retard his progress. Therefore, when I felt it necessary for me to make a business journey to America, I put aside my repugnance for the sea, to do as a duty what I am sure I never should have done for pleasure. Like most people who act in this wise, I got a great deal more pleasure out of the sea than ever I anticipated. Difficulties that look like mountains, or oceans, are often not nearly o formidable when challenged. Fortunately for me, I lived a generation later than my aunt, who crossed the Atlantic long years ago."

His first voyage was on board the White Star Liner "Cedric." Here is a vivid picture :-

"Now the very last trunk is on board, the gangways are lowered. Look at that little midge of a tug-boat; surely it is not going to try to pull this giant round? A great crowd of people assemble to watch the giant off. It was at this moment that we on board appreciated the red coat worn by one member of the party seeing us off, for as the little bantam of a tug-boat pulled and pulled, we gradually ran out into the river, and the people on the shore dwindled from grown-ups to children, then into dwarfs, then into shrimps, then into flies, then midges, then specs, then mist! Out came our glasses and lo! there was the red coat again with handkerchief waving. A minute longer and even the glasses failed to locate the coat, and we turned our faces towards our state-rooms to make preparations for the long voyage."

"As we lay in Queenstown harbour a small steamer raced out to us bringing more luggage, more emigrants, and hiore mails, and last but not least, the Irish-lace women. These women came on board the moment the gangway was lowered. In fact one buxom girl did not even wait for that, but was hoisted up by the luggage rope. We had a lively half-hour. Their tongues never stop for a moment; yet they are keen on business, and they know that their time is short. Evidently many ladies on board knew these women, and gathered round for the liveliest bit of 'shop-talk' I ever heard. The sales were brisk, and as the time got shorter the prices broke in an alarming manner. One American lady evidently had been here before, and she knew the ropes. She had set her heart on a lovely lace collar and cuffs, and fifteen yards of ' insertion,' whatever that may be. The Irish woman wanted £15, and would not budge until the whistle blew, warning all to leave the vessel. An officer was already coaxing off the women, and ours was the last to go. At the last moment she said to the American lady,

'Sure I likes the look of your lovely face, and it's meseif that has spicial raysons for wantin' your money. I'll be afther takin' £3 10s., my lady, and by our dear Saint Pathrick the price won't pay for pratees for the poor colleen that worked it.'

"The lady had the money ready in her hand, and the purchase was hastily concluded ; then the lace-seller added—

'My lady, I sold that cheap to yez bekase ye have the red hair, and sure it's meself will be having a bit of luck to-day.'

'Now then, Mollie,' said the ship's officer, 'you'll be off to New York in half a minute.'

'Arrah, now be aisy,' retorted Mollie, 'phat would become of all the babies wid Mollie away?'

The gangway was already adrift when Mollie ran down. She had to jump the last yard, and she fell all in a heap into her basket of lace. It was a very near shave. As we sailed away the Irish lace-sellers held up long pieces of lace and expensive shawls, and the wind catching them made streamers of them. This was their adieu, and the ladies who had been customers waved back again. For some time afterwards the ladies could not resist the temptation to try on their purchases, and when the gentlemen were not supposed to be looking the lace was held up against their dresses in dainty festoons.

On fine days it is most exhilarating to sit on deck protected from the keen winds with an overcoat and rug, reading, writing home to one's friends, or perhaps building castles in the air of what you will do at the end of the journey. And after all it does one no harm to do a little building of this nature, providing the castles are designed properly with the intention of serving as an incentive to greater activity and more service to mankind; and not as castles of despair, or forts built in which to conceal ourselves and all that is best in us. There is also a fascination in watching your fellow-passengers. There was a fat, lazy, 'fetch me carry me ' sort of man, Captain Blank, who always lolled the day long in his deck-chair full length, tucked in like a child in bed on a winter night, while he left other folk to look after his wife. Then there was dashing Captain Bland, who spent all his time in the smoke-room. No game of cards for high stakes left out the Captain. Then there was the fat man with a dark brown soft hat, down at the front and up at the back, whose moustache is always brushed up. He is a German. He wears his hairy decorations like his emperor, and the up-turned ends of the moustache nearly touch his bushy eyebrows. He is calm and collected; no bustle. He has been here before. He is going to America to sell Munich beer. Then there is the gushing Miss Gosling. How 'chic' were all her gowns! Her little red satchel matching her hat of the same shade. I know her picture-hat was a dream! What rings! Two on every finger. I would not wonder if she had rings also on her toes, lut of course we cannot enquire too minutely. I can only guess by the way she waddled. Stout ladies, thin ladies, tall ladies, short ladies, nice ladies and the other sort. The men were also a mixture, but on the whole our fellow-passengers were a well-behaved crowd."

"Strange to say, as we drew near to New York on that Saturday morning and saw the huge piles of masonry, as the sky-scrapers towered against the sky-line, the story of Gulliver amongst the Brobdingnagians came to my mind. It was easy to imagine that we were approaching a city of giants, and we felt very small in consequence. And yet these great buildings, and all the wonders of New York which I was to see later, were the result of the untiring energy of a people who were in themselves as mere pygmies beside their giant works. Each country has something to teach another. No one place has all the wonderful things. God has blessed every nation, and as one trav1s about it becomes more apparent that the various nations depend upon each other, and reciprocity is essential for the good of the whole."

A second visit was paid in the spring of the following year, and business began to assume a tangible form. A consignment of toffee had been taken over on the first prospecting tour, and the reports received were very encouraging.

Mr. Mackintosh, himself an advertising genius, had heard much of American enterprise in this department, but it is certain that he had the surprise of his life as the "Cedric" drew near Sandy Hook on the morning of April 15th. A tug-boat was seen making out from New York harbour. The boat was gaily decorated with flags and bunting, a huge Poster was displayed running from stem to stern, bearing on both sides the words, "Welcome to the Toffee King." Monster flags streamed from the mast-head bearing the same legend, and the Union Jack and the Stars and Stripes floated side by side at the stern. On board there were twenty or thirty journalists. As the tug-boat drew alongside, the giant "Cedric" was hailed through a megaphone, and the captain was informed that a special permit had been obtained and special Customs officers were on board to take off John Mackintosh of Halifax. With that the great liner hove-to the gangway was lowered, and Mr. Mackintosh in much confusion and embarrassment made his way into the waiting tug-boat. With syrens blowing, general commotion, and nearly two thousand passengers looking on, this most modest and unassuming of men made his noisy, and to him, most uncomfortable entry into the American business world. It was a pure American advertising stunt. Photographs of the seen; together with "An interview with the ' Toffee King,' appeared in most of the American newspapers and magazines. Suppressing his annoyance, he smiled at the authors of this novel advertisement. But he began to wonder, "If this was a sample of American advertising methods, to what would it eventually lead him?" Photographs of this incident are reproduced on another page. The title of "Toffee King" was now given him everywhere he went in the United States. It was the kind of label that delighted the American advertiser, who revels in forms of advertisement that would be impossible, and even resented, in our more sober-minded England.

Within an hour after landing in New York Mr. Mackintosh was at his agent's office, formulating plans for firmly establishing his business in the United States. The same night he left for Philadelphia, to inspect premises that promised to be suitable for a factory. During this period, and until the American factory was running the toffee was imported from England, and the sale grew rapidly. After a long search and many disappointments, a suitable factory was bought at Asbury Park, a little sea-side town within easy distance of New York. The factory was quickly equipped, and staffed partly by employees brought over from the English works.

It was now necessary to create the demand for his goods, and this Mr. Mackintosh accomplished in his own way. Shops were opened in the principal cities throughout America. Samples of the new English candy were freely distributed, and the goods themselves were their best advertisernent. To an American interviewer Mr. Mackintosh said "I build up my business by giving away my toffee. If I can get a sample into the mouths of the people, I can safely rely upon securing a customer."

Strange as it seems, however, the Americans were not familiar with either the word toffee nor the article, except those who had come across it in England, and these were eager to renew their acquaintance with the well-remembered sweetmeat of earlier days. Canada was much quicker in responding to Mr. Mackintosh's toffee crusade but the genuine American had to be converted to the toffee-eating habit, just as much as the Russian or the Dutchman.

Many unexpected difficulties were encountered through the great climatic extremes between winter and summer. In winter the toffee would keep well and command a large sale, the factory being unable to keep pace with the demands of the trade. But in the hot summer the goods deteriorated, and the Ice-cream shop and the Soda fountain got all the attention. The trade dwindled to nothing, making it difficult to keep the factory running and the organisation intact. The long distances which the goods had to traverse also created further difficulties. However, Mr. Mackintosh believed that 'difficulties exist to be conquered,' and eventually he found the remedy and applied it, producing a toffee that would keep in almost all conditions in any climate.

By the time that the second visit to America ended trade began to move steadily upward. He entered into large advertising contracts, and soon his name became as familiar to the American as it was to the Englishman. He had to lay aside some of his prejudices against personal display, for in America the personal element counts for much. He was induced to take his own photograph as his Trade-mark, an idea that he would have promptly turned down in England. But he found that it was common practice in the States, and as his agents pointed out, "Your own face is the only thing that your competitors cannot copy." This photo, with the label, "I am the 'Toffee King,'" was printed in every magazine and newspaper throughout America. His portrait also appeared upon the gable-ends of twenty-story sky-scrapers. At that time it was said that Theodore Roosevelt and John Mackintosh were the most widely photographed people in the United States. Music also lent its aid to the ingenious American advertiser, and the following effusion appeared in the magazines.

Of the American habit of constantly chewing something more or less spicy, he writes :-

I find the following notice in all trains and public conveyances: - Spitting, five dollars.' I soon saw the need of this caution, for the average American chews continually. There was also a large poster asking all and sundry to 'Chew Bob's tobacco.' Then, sad to relate, the ladies chew not tobacco of course, but chewing gum. I was shocked times without number to see most respectable and attractive looking women and young girls spoiling all their natural beauty by chewing gum as if their lives depended on it. I confess that later this habit gave me some little consolation, for I thought if they will chew that stuff, surely I can get them to chew my toffee."

Mr. Mackintosh set himself against the American advertiser's habit of exaggerating and distorting facts, and it needed constant vigilance on his part to keep his agents within reasonable bounds.

Here is a typical piece of American copy put forward for Mr. Mackintosh's consideration, but which he turned down as being too far-fetched altogether but it is perhaps worth reproducing for it will draw a smile from the reader, if nothing else.

"THE TOFFEE KING'S PROCLAMATION.

"I am John Mackintosh—The Toffee King— Sovereign of Pleasure—Emperor of Joy. My Old English Candy—Mackintosh's Toffee—tickles the palates of my millions of subjects. I was crowned by the lovers of good things to eat. My Court Jester's name is Appetite. My most loyal subjects are the dear little children. I rule over the Kingdom of Health and Happiness. There is no oppression in my domain. My regime is one of enjoyment and delight. My throne is guarded by an Imperial Unarmed Army of Candy-makers. My coronation took place many years ago. I am an unusual monarch—all my subjects are knighted. Those who become members of my Royal Court must eat Mackintosh's Toffee at least once each day in the year.

"My recipe for the manufacture of Mackintosh's Toffee is unequalled. My candy kitchen is the largest in the world. Hundreds of tons of Toffee are sold each week in England. Think of it! I am the world's largest consumer of butter. My own herd of prize cattle grazing on the Yorkshire hills supply me with my milk. I buy sugar by the train load.

"I have a legation in all parts of North America. Ask your dealer for it. If he does not sell it, show him this decree. If you will do this for me I will confer upon you the Order of the Milk of Human Kindness.

I am,
John Mackintosh,
The Toffee King of England,
and I rule alone."

Mr. Mackintosh kept this as an example of what American advertisers would have done if he had let them have their way.

While this work is in preparation, a copy of an American Confectionery Journal comes to hand, containing a notice of Mr. Mackintosh's decease. It is flamboyant and very American, but the intention is wholly kind, so we give it here for the reader's amusement and instruction in regard to journalistic methods out West.

"There are more ways of achieving fame than by just getting yourself elected President of a Republic, or throwing the plumber out on his back and finishing the job yourself. One only needs to go into the candy-making game in England. Old John Mackintosh, J.P., of Halifax, knew considerable about candy. In fact what he did not know about it you could load on a flea's back. He started fooling with toffee when he was twenty-one, in a little kitchen, with a brace of antediluvian frying pans that mother used to cook the rashers in. But he was sound in the upper storey, with pints of business acumen, and he cottoned on to advertising as a medium for business building, like a coon kid getting acquainted with a water-melon, and so perhaps it is only natural that John should build up one of the biggest candy businesses in this little 'Old Island.' He was fifty-one when he passed on; he was twenty-one when he began roasting sugar. So that left him thirty years to do it in."

Shortly before Mr. Mackintosh was to have embarked for England, on his second visit to the States, he had a mishap in which he narrowly escaped with his life, and from the consequences of which he never thoroughly recovered. He visited a dentist who claimed that all his operations were painless. He thought he would surprise his friends by returning home with a new set of teeth, but the result was a surprise of a very different character. He was given an over-dose of cocaine, and after returning to the hotel he was taken violently ill. Fortunately his brother-in-law, who had arrived from England a few days previously, was able to get immediate medical assistance. It was only the fact that the skill of the hotel doctor was available on the instant that saved his life. The issue was doubtful for several days, and it was 'many weeks before he was so far recovered as to be able to undertake the journey home. When he reached Halifax again, after four months' absence, he was a very different man from what he was when he left home. For twelve months he was an invalid, and his nervous system had sustained a. shock from which he never afterwards entirely recovered. This was the origin of the affliction from which he suffered for the remainder of his life.

After resting for a year at home, undeterred by this painful experience, he again visited the United States, and subsequently he crossed the Atlantic every year for a long period of his life.

Mr. Mackintosh was never so immersed in business as to forgetre1igious and social claims. He was a sincere and enthusiastic worker in the Church and Sunday school. On hearing him talk of his experiences in America, the impression received from the drift of the conversation, and the detailed information he gave, was that he had gone specially to investigate the American Sunday school system.
Every Sunday, when in America, he visited some Sunday school, occasionally addressing the scholars, but always carefully observing the methods of work adopted, and gleaning information that might be useful to the schools at home. He promptly accepted unfamiliar methods when he saw that they were successful elsewhere, and adopted them when they were practicable.

On one occasion, a business friend invited him to a little town in the country, about fifty miles from New York, and asked him to address the Sunday school on the following Lord's Day. It was "Thanksgiving Day" in the States, and therefore a great day at the school. When he arrived on the Saturday evening, he was startled to see his name placarded in huge letters, together with the following announcement:-

"JOHN MACKINTOSH, THE MILLIONAIRE CANDY KING FROM ENGLAND, WILL ADDRESS THE SUNDAY SCHOOL ON THANKSGIVING DAY."

On reading this specimen of American hyperbole, he was tempted to take as his subject Truthfulness."But after a night's rest, recalling the fact that he was in America, he submitted with a good grace, and spoke of "How to get rich by giving things away." To illustrate and illumine his subject, he told the following appropriate parable

"It was the eve of 'Thanksgiving Day' in New York, and Mr. Brown was hurrying home from his office, when passing a poulterer's shop he remembered that he had not sent the usual 'Thanksgiving' present to his cashier, Mr. Jones. So at the risk of missing the last train home, he stopped and ordered a turkey to be sent along to Mr. Jones' address. The turkey arrived somewhat late in the evening. Mrs. Jones had given up all hope of the usual gift coming along, and had therefore bought a goose for the occasion. Not wishing to keep all the good things for herself, she passed along the goose to Mrs. Smith, who used to come and help them with their domestic cleaning. When Master Jones arrived at Mrs. Smith's with the goose still later in the evening, it was only to find that Mrs. Smith had made a rabbit pie for their 'Thanksgiving dinner.' But being touched by the generosity of Mrs. Jones, she racked her brains to discover someone to whom she might pass on the rabbit- pie. Eventually she thought of poor Joe who used to sweep the crossing on Broadway, and she trotted off to his wretched attic with the rabbit-pie. On the morrow what was left of the rabbit-pie was given to the birds, so they too had their 'Thanksgiving' feast. And so quite a lot of different people were made richer and happier by Mr. Brown's first gift."

On another occasion, being in the West End district of New York, he was attracted to a palatial Sunday school, and entering with the others, he found himself occupying a front seat in a large Bible class for adults. The teacher, who was quite a young man, took the whole of the service, and expounded the lesson quietly but clearly, and with just that touch of feeling that made it effective. Mr .Mackintosh was afterwards invited to meet the teacher, whom he discovered, to his surprise, was the son of Mr. Rockefeller the "Oil King." Young Mr. Rockefeller was naturally pleased to show an enthusiastic English Sunday school worker all the machinery of an up-to-date American school, which never had to wait for what was requisite for lack of funds.

The next morning a New York paper contained the following item of information in a report of the meeting of the Bible class:- "The usual detective sat on the front row of the class, who afterwards joined Mr. Rockefeller in the vestry." So for once an American reporter was caught napping.

Among other well-known Sunday school workers whose acquaintance Mr. Mackintosh made during his travels was Mr. John Wannamaker, then the greatest shop-keeper in the world.

They met at a Sunday School Convention, and Mr. Mackintosh asked Mr. Wannamaker to write and send a message to Sunday school workers in England. Mr. Wannamaker promised to do so, and said that he attended Sunday school every Sunday morning. Shortly after Mr. Mackintosh's return home he received the following interesting communication from Mr. Wannamaker:

"I take pleasure in affirming my belief that the bet expression of God's love to men is the cross of Jesus Christ, and the fact that there are three sure roads that lead straight to it:—the Sabbath, that God made for man; the Book of God, to be man's lamp ; and the Sanctuary, to be God's schoolhouse. Scientic enquiry has done much to bless the world, but no discovery it has made can help men so much as these three paths. JOHN WANNAMAKER."

But Mr. Mackintosh never forgot Queen's Road Church and Sunday School wherever he might be, and on Sundays his thoughts were always drawn to the place which had for him so many tender memories. Here is a typical letter home

Sunday, May 8th, 1904.

To-day is the first Sunday in May, the Sunday School Anniversary, It is about 2 o'clock by American time, about 8 o'clock in the evening by English time. You will be just singing the last hymn at the evening service. My mind conjures up the scene of all the happy children arrayed in their Sunday best, now getting rather tired but still singing lustily; and the fore-gathering of so many old friends and scholars. How I long to join in singing that hymn! I am far away here in America, but wherever I go, and whatever new scenes I see, or people I meet, nothing takes the place, or is more beautiful, than the old place and the old friends at Queen's Road. No business nor worldly success can holdout such pleasures as these."

The overflowing good nature of the man was evident in the trouble he took, and the time he spent, looking up relations of friends at home who had removed to various parts of America. Nothing delighted him more than to visit them in their homes in the new world, no matter how. humble they might be. He was always welcome, for the prosperous business man was the unchanged friend whom they had known in former years.

When he was in Philadelphia he visited the grandmother of one of the Queen's Road girls. When he arrived at the house the door was opened by the old lady herself.

His greeting was—

Are you Nellie's grandmother?"

Without asking the name of her visitor she replied—

"Aye, lad, I am; come reight in."

He followed her into her spotlessly clean and tidy kitchen. Then without speaking another word, she drew a big chair to the fire for him, placed the kettle on the hob, spread the white cloth on the table, got out the tea things, took off her apron, and sitting down in a chair by the hearth, she said in the broad Doric of her native county—

"Well, lad, I dunnot knaw who tha' art, but if tha' comes fra' Halifax tha'rt reight welcome. Eh ! but tha' knows I left mi heart i' Queensbury."

Queensbury is a small township perched on the Yorkshire hills a short tram-ride from Halifax. It was sweet to hear the familiar dialect and to receive such a hearty and homely welcome, and Mr. Mackintosh felt repaid for all the trouble he had taken to visit the old exile from home.

Another touching incident occurred during this tour. Two factory girls who hailed from Halifax saw him passing through the works where they were employed, but they were afraid to speak to him, "because he was with the 'Boss.' " These exiles were so bitterly disappointed that, as they afterwards said, they went home and "had a good cry." When the circumstances came to the knowledge of Mr. Mackintosh, busy as he always was, he found time to write them a personal letter expressing his regret that he had missed seeing and speaking to them, and promising to call at their home and have a chat with them on the first opportunity that occurred. He kept his word, and for a short time they had him all to themselves, to their boundless delight. There are few among the great Captains of Industry who would take so much time and trouble simply to cheer the lonely hearts of two poor working girls.

Of the American in some businesses he says:

"I came across some delightful people. Of course most of them hang on like glue if there is any money about. I mean business people; for out of business hours the American and his lady are the soul of good fellowship, and generous to a degree; but during business hours they are on the dollars and no mistake. "

He told a delightful tale of an American lawyer :-

"Our lawyer is a splendid man, quiet, unassuming, never mentions money, will smoke a good cigar with anyone. One evening I invited him down to my hotel to join me at dinner, and afterwards for cigars. There was a magnificent orchestra provided by the hotel, and we had a very pleasant evening. On leaving, the lawyer remarked, 'Well, Mr. Mackintosh, it was very kind of you to invite me down here. I shall not forget your splendid hospitality. I want you to come up to my club on Saturday evening, and I shall be delighted to play the host.' I accepted the invitation. But when the next bill came in for services rendered by the lawyer he charged in full for that banquet, even to the tips he had given to the waiters, and for his time in attending my little party. Smart, was it not? But then we must not judge the average American by the smart New York lawyer, and I have many good friends, and most delightful remembrances which linger, and always will, in my memory."

Among the sights of New York Mr. Mackintosh was induced to visit China Town.

I was indebted to a business friend for some of the strangest sights I ever saw. He was anxious that I should see Chinatown at nighttime, for then they are seen at their liveliest, as they sleep during the day and work or play at night. We arranged a meeting place, which was none other than the Police Office nearest the Chinese quarter. Here our friend arranged for a detective to accompany us. We noticed that his pocket bulged out to a considerable extent and decidedly took the shape of a revolver. Eventually we ran full tilt into Chinatown. Here was to be seen, a whole street of genuine Chinese, with sleepy eyes, and wearing queer shoes and clothing, and with black pig-tails hanging down to their ankles. The shops were all Chinese, from the names on the doors to the men behind the counters. It was the queerest place imaginable, and one forgot one was in the heart of New York. We felt rather creepy as we elbowed our way through the crowds of these sleepy Chinamen. Some would say things to us which we could not understand, others looked round at the inquisitive infidels that were invading their territory. We visited first the 'Joss House,' the Chinese name for their temple. This was at the top of a three-storeyed building, and the temple was more like a show at the Halifax Fair than anything else. Faded tinsel trimmings, rusty ornaments, worm-eaten Oriental rugs. The altar where the people knelt to pray was a dirty, dismal affair, and the gods were dirtier still. We did not remain long, I assure you, and the visit, I am sure, did not convert us to Confucianism."

"We next went to the Opera House. This was a large building, again reminding one of the wooden shows of the fair-ground. We paid our seventy cents and entered. We had a box reserved for us. This was nothing more than a bench on a raised platform with a wooden railing. From our 'box' we saw a thousand sleepy eyes staring at us out of expressionless faces. We wondered if they liked us coming into their places of resort, out of mere curiosity. We looked cheerful and talked to one another as if we owned the place, but I believe most of us were chicken-hearted. What a strange sight is a Chinese play A Chinese actress was on the stage. She was slowly moving her body to and fro, raising her hands slowly, and slowly letting them fall again. Her slow sing-song was very little better than a cat's concert, and not half as exciting. Every now and again she clutched an imaginary object, supposed to be a bird or a fly I should think, for after pretending she had caught it, she would lift it out of her hand and let it fly away again. These movements would continue for nearly an hour together. Of course they were accompanied by musicians of the Chinese variety. The music was similar to what we have heard many times from a boy's impromptu band, furnished with such instruments as an empty can, the bottom of a tub, and a comb. We endured it as best we could. It was truly novel, and if it was not to our taste it gave us a very good idea of the things that appealed to the people in far-off China. Our guide told us that all Chinese plays are historical, and as they often last for many weeks, the Chinaman has to do a lot of reading of his country's history to understand the meaning of the play. The large audience never took their eyes off the players, and seldom was any expression seen on their faces. Now and again some special point of interest sent the ghost of a smile across their faces, only to be immediately lost again.

"After leaving the Opera House we followed our leader down dirty alleys, mounted a flight of steps, and went along a passage that contained the accumulated dust of years. A door was opened in answer to a regulation knock on the panel, which was understood by the door-keeper. What a sight met our eyes as we entered! We were in an opium den. On beds of straw round the room men were smoking the poisonous opium. What a sight! Some of them had been imbibing the fumes of the deadly narcotic until they were in a state of unconsciousness; with glassy eyes, drawn faces, clutching nervously at their pipes with the long stems and small heads and so they dreamed and dreamed while their bodies were going to the grave. The abominable stench of the whole place was turning me sick.

Our next visit was to a Chinese Restaurant. For Chinese it was clean. It was well fitted up, but, of course, in the Chinese fashion. A fussy little Chinaman brought us the menu. We first had some real China tea and some chop-sewie; or, rather, we ordered it. Do you think we ate it? If so, you are mistaken. Had we not still the smell of Chinatown in our nostrils? No we paid for supper, but personally I had no appetite for anything to eat for hours after I left.

It was in the early hours of the morning when we at last left Chinatown behind us. For days after these sights haunted me. I am not quite sure whether when I got into bed .I did not pull the clothes up higher than usual. I know I was glad I was born in England and am an Englishman.."

Mr. Mackintosh was in the States during one of the Presidential elections. Of American politics at that time he says :-

"There are scarcely any independents in the States. Either you are a Republican or a Democrat. The method adopted by each side working for votes is, first to look up carefully the records of the opposing candidate or any of his chief supporters, then to circulate all the stories they can possibly manufacture about them. If such language were used in England I am afraid there would be many libel actions, but here it is the man who can do most damage to the other man that wins. One side is represented by large posters as being a tiger ready to tear the country to pieces. In great letters under the picture of this tiger appear the words, 'Do you want to let the tiger loose again? If not, vote for John Jones, who drew the tiger's claws.' In a shop window on one of the main streets of New York was a great cage with iron bars. Inside the cage was a huge tiger pacing restlessly. A placard contained the words, 'Do not let the tiger loose again!' In another part of the window was a tray full of tigers' claws, and the injunction to, 'Vote for John Jones, who pulled these claws at the last election and will do it again."

This is what Mr. Mackintosh has to say of his first view of Niagara:-

"As one looks at this mighty mass of water as it thunders over the ,precipice, the sight grows on one and you feel Niagara. There is always a great cloud of mist rising in front of the falls, and as the sun shines through it the most perfect and beautiful rainbows form. With every changing light the falls present new beauties. Now the waters are green as grass : then in the shimmering light, silver ; again, they are as black as ink. As you look intently into the spray flashing back the light you can see angels dancing on the waters; or if you are in a despondent frame of mind, you may see chariots, with demons driving black horses to the bottomless abyss. You feel you want to laugh and. sing one minute, and the next to sob I At one time you think the river belongs to God, and the next it seems too terrible, and must be the work of the devil. Here on the Canadian side is a 'Cliff Railway' that takes people down below, and enables those who are hardy enough to go right under the falls themselves. We were quickly accommodated with water-proof suits, and a guide accompanied us as we descended into the depths below. The roar of the falls from above was as a whisper compared with what we now heard, as we crept along the foot of the precipice towards the cave through which we were to go a hundred feet behind the terrible falls. We found the need of the waterproof clothes very soon, for the wind moaned and groaned and blew the spray over us, making us dripping wet. We 'felt Niagara' now in more ways than one. It was easy to imagine ourselves one of Dante's party, as we followed our guide over the rocks and across the abyss, on the way to the land of lost souls. As we entered the cave, even the small light we had failed, and our guide picked up a lighted lantern and led us on. The only possible way to see the falls is to approach them from the cave.

"When a good distance in we came to a hole in the side of the rock, and we approached tremulously and looked out. A great gust of wind sent the spray into our faces, and we stepped, back gasping for breath. Still, with the water streaming from our oilskins we go on, until the cave suddenly opens and we are in front of strong protecting rails. So far and no farther! There is no need for warning notices. Ten thousand lions in our path could not be more terrible than this fall of water. All the beauty is lost in the terrifying spectacle! You feel your flesh creep and the hair on your head rise. I hear that sometimes people looking on Niagara lose their reason and jump into its terrifying depths and now, after seeing it from beneath, I have little wonder that such strange things should happen. This experience is fit only for people with strong nerves. To those who can stand the test it reveals another world. We presented a sorry spectacle as we ascended, dripping wet and begrimed with clay, but in a few minutes we were in our carriage, dry and happy once more."

Of the dangers of New York he writes home:-

"New York is the noisiest city in the world, and yesterday I was reminded that this is a land of risks. I travelled on the railway over a spot where an accident happened an hour later, several being killed. I crossed the river in a large ferry-boat half an hour before a serious accident had happened to one of these boats, through the man at the engine dying suddenly at his post. I was passing down Broadway later in the day when a man was run over by anelectric street car and killed, and when I got nIcely to bed at night I was awakened with fire-engines flying through the streets ; a great factory was burnt down to the ground, and many firemen were killed. I am, however, missing all these things, and I am glad to say I am keeping very well."

The Notes contain an account of Mr. Mackintosh's unpleasant experience in a terrific blizzard. He was returning from Montreal to New York, with just sufficient time to complete the journey and catch the Liner home, when the blizzard overwhelmed the train, and after struggling many hours to get through they were completely snowed up. Help was obtained, and after immense labour the drifts were sufficiently reduced to enable the train to be moved to the nearest wayside station, where it remained for forty-eight hours, until the blizzard had blown itself out. On arriving at length in New York three days late, the Liner had sailed, but he was able to book a passage on another boat the following day. Early on the voyage an incident took place which he used subsequently as an illustration in his addresses.

"Some twenty-four hours after leaving New York we were at breakfast, when suddenly every passenger on the ship was aware that there had been a distinct change in the throb of the engines. People stopped eating and looked wonderingly about, for it is an almost unheard of thing for those mighty engines to cease their steady throb when once the vessel gets under weigh for its three thousand miles' trip. Another minute or two and the engines ceased altogether. That was too much for the composure of even the most experienced traveller, and within two minutes the dining-room was deserted, and all the passengers were out on the decks. Seeing nothing, all eyes were turned to the bridge, where the captain was looking anxiously through his glasses. Over two thousand pairs of eyes followed the direction of the captain's search of the ocean, and there, sure enough, could be seen a small object on the water about a mile away. Eventually it turned out to be a raft, on which were what remained of a ship-wrecked crew of a small schooner. As the ship came near the raft the life-boat was lowered, and two men, a woman and a little child, all in an exhausted and almost dying condition, were brought aboard the vessel, the raft being allowed to drift away after having done its work. It turned out that this little schooner had been caught in the same blizzard that had held our train up some days previously, and these were all that were saved, the woman being the wife of the skipper. It was great excitement for all on board, and we all felt somewhat proud of the rescue, as if we had had something to do with it. I could not help thinking how sacred human life is; for had that raft contained only one little child, perhaps only a few days old, yet this mighty vessel with thousands of souls on board, which in the ordinary way nothing could ever have induced to alter its relentless course, would have stood away and spent hours, if need be, in the rescue of that dying baby. This is just what our Sunday schools and kindred institutions are striving to do—to save the children and put their feet on the safe and sure path. Can any work be more worthy pf man's endeavour? I think not!