"The Calthorpes are much regretted by all of us here, as they were
greatly beloved by us. Curiously enough, the wife of Calthorpe's
successor, Captain Victor Stanley, also comes from British Columbia.
"Yours very truly,
"H. Norman.
"Secretary to His Majesty's Embassy.
"I send this by King's messenger as far as London, which will still
further delay it, but the posts are now very irregular and unsafe in
Russia owing to the revolutionary strikes. H. N."
Translation from Catalogue.
"During the tertiary period elephants were very numerous and were
distributed over Europe, Asia as far as the Arctic Ocean, North
America and Africa. By the remains excavated, many species of extinct
elephants are now distinguished, among which one, known under the
name of Mammoth (_Elephas Primigenius_), existed in immense
numbers in Europe and in Siberia as far as its most northern limits.
In Siberia the frozen bodies of these animals have frequently been
found well preserved, with the skin and flesh. On account of the
remoteness of the places where these bodies have been found, not all
the expeditions sent to exhume them have had a successful issue.
In this connection the most successful of all was that organized by the
Academy of Sciences in 1901 to the River Berezovka, in the Yakutsk
district, which consisted of Messrs. O. F. Herz and E. W. Pfitzenmayer.
Thanks to this expedition an excellent specimen of the mammoth was
received by the Academy of Sciences,--rather young, with skin, parts
of the internal organs, some food and almost the whole skeleton.
Unfortunately some of the soft parts of the body, such as the trunk,
were not found. The remains of this mammoth made it possible not only
to set up the skeleton, but to stuff the animal, which is placed in the
position in which it died, suddenly, in all probability, and in which
it was found in a frozen condition."
This story can hardly be called a "reminiscence" of Victoria, but I
thought that it might be interesting to many who, like myself, have a
liking for old and ancient things, as this mammoth most assuredly
was. Also there may be an interest taken in the letter from Mr.
Norman, the secretary to H.M. Embassy, speaking as it does of one who
formerly was a resident and native-born of British Columbia.--E. F.
CHAPTER XI.
MRS. EDWIN DONALD, HON. WYMOND HAMLEY, HON. G. A. WALKEM.
Mrs. Edwin Donald.
"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept
the faith."--Timothy 4:7, 8. Never was there one to whom these words
could be applied with greater truth than to the subject of this
sketch. A faithful servant of her Lord, she was always ready to say a
good word for Him, and took advantage of any and all opportunities to
bring back to Him some friend whom she thought had become careless,
thoughtless, or indifferent in His service.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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