journey the party camped on the present site of London, which Governor Simcoe then pronounced to be an admirable position for the future capital of the province. One important result of this long and toilsome journey was the construction of Dundas Street, or as it is frequently called, “the governor’s road.” Lieutenant Talbot was delighted with the wild and primitive aspect of the country through which they passed, and expressed a strong desire to explore the land farther to the south, bordering on lake Erie. His desire was gratified in the course of the following autumn, when Governor Simcoe indulged himself, and several members of his suite, with another western excursion. During this journey the party encamped on the present site of Port Talbot, which the young lieutenant declared to be the loveliest situation for a dwelling he had ever seen. “Here,” said he, “will I roost, and will soon make the forest tremble under the wings of the flock I will invite, by my warblings, around me.” Whether he was serious in this declaration at the time may be doubted; but, as will presently be seen, he ultimately kept his word. In 1793 young Talbot received his majority. In 1796 he became lieutenant-colonel of the fifth regiment of foot. He returned to Europe and joined his regiment, which was dispatched on active service to the continent. He himself was busily employed during this period, and was for some time in command of two battalions. Upon the conclusion of the peace of Amiens, on the 27th March, 1802, he sold his commission, retired from the service, and prepared to carry out the intention expressed by him to Governor Simcoe nine years before, of pitching his tent in the wilds of Canada. Why he adopted this course it is impossible to do more than conjecture. He never married, but remained a bachelor to the end of his days. The work of settlement cannot be said to have commenced in earnest until 1809. It was no light thing in those days for a man with a family dependent upon him to bury himself in the remote wilderness of Western Canada. There was no flouring mill, for instance, within sixty miles of his abode, which was known as Castle Malahide. During the American invasion of 1812-13-14, Colonel Talbot commanded the militia of the district, and was present at the battles of Lundy’s Lane and Fort Erie. Marauding parties sometimes found their way to Castle Malahide during this troubled period, and what few people there were in the settlement suffered a good deal of annoyance. Within a day or two after the battle of the Thames, where the brave Tecumseh met his doom, a party of these marauders, consisting of Indians and scouts from the American army, presented themselves at Fort Talbot, and summoned the garrison to surrender. The place was not fortified, and the garrison consisted merely of a few farmers, who had enrolled themselves in the militia under the temporary command of a Captain Patterson. A successful