his first lot, of 100 acres, and added time by time to his property; and he is this day the possessor of 900 acres of as good land as any in Canada, as well as the owner of saw-mills and grist-mills, in which the inhabitants of the neighbourhood may grind their corn. Toronto was over twenty miles distant from his log cabin, and when he first settled in the bush it was only at rare intervals that he had a visit from the priest. It was his custom to go to the city as often as he could, to perform his religious duties; and as, for the first years of his settler's life, he could not afford to purchase a horse, he was compelled to walk the whole of the way. When he brought one of his children with him to Mass, which it was his habit to do, in order, as he said, to make a strong religious impression on their youthful minds, he would divide the journey into two stages, and making the house of a friend his resting-place for the Saturday night, would set out at break of day on Sunday morning, holding his boy by the hand, or bearing him on his back. He would thus arrive some time before Mass commenced, so as to prepare for Communion, which he received with edifying piety; and after a brief rest and refreshment he would face towards his friend's house, his resting-place for the night. Nor was the good Irish father disappointed in his hopes of his children, all of whom grew up strong in the faith. Three of his sons received a collegiate education, and are now amongst the most respected members of the society in which they creditably move.
Father Gordon spent half his time in the saddle; and though he spared neither himself nor his horse—but himself much less than his horse—it was with the utmost difficulty that he could visit the more distant portions of his mission oftener than twice or thrice a year. Many a time did the active missionary lose his way in the midst of the woods, and after hours of weary riding find himself, in the dusk of the evening, in the very same spot from which he set out in the morning! His safest plan was to leave
