In the early seventies Donald Smith undertook to raise the very large amount of capital necessary for the new Canadian Pacific railroad across the continent. On more than one occasion the enterprise threatened ruin for those connected with it, but Donald Smith eventually triumphed, and in 1885 the road was completed to the Pacific. The man who had commenced life as an humble trader had become by this time a celebrated and very important man in Canada, and in recognition of his services Queen Victoria bestowed on him in 1886 the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. Upon the occasion of the Queen’s Jubilee in 1897, being then Lord High Commissioner of Canada, Sir Donald was raised to the peerage, and became Lord Strathcona. In commemoration of the Jubilee he gave in the same year, jointly with Lord Mount Stephen, the sum of one million dollars to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, and eight hundred thousand dollars more to endow the institution, which, through his generosity, has become one of the best equipped hospitals on the continent. Lord Strathcona has also given at least a million dollars to education in Canada, most of the money going to McGill University. He has also contributed largely to the Royal Victoria Hospital for Women in Montreal. Lord Strathcona’s philanthropy is made the more notable by the fact that while he has large means, he does not possess the immense wealth of some of the American financiers. In addition to his railway and numerous other interests in Canada, he is president of the Bank of Montreal, which is one of the largest banking institutions in the world. At the outbreak of the war between Great Britain and the Boers Lord Strathcona further increased his usefulness to Canada and the Empire by the organization of a body of mounted troops called “the Strathcona Horse.” These men, many of whom were recruited from the Northwest, and who represented the flower of Canadian horsemanship and valor, went to South Africa, and greatly distinguished themselves in the service of the Queen. Their work at the front was not as important, however, as was their influence in the direction of solidifying the union between the mother country and the colony. In spite of the fact that he is now eighty-four years old, Lord Strathcona is still a restless and energetic spirit. He has residences in Montreal, Winnipeg, Nova Scotia, Scotland and London, and divides his time between them. In London he is fond of entertaining the leaders in political and commercial life. He spends much of his time in Canada, however, and often makes trips across the continent. In many respects he is Canada’s most remarkable citizen. ILLUSTRATORS. WILLIAM DE LEFTWICH DODGE.