Reminiscences of a Raconteur, Between the '40s and the '20s

A lively memoir opens with the author’s first steps in 1847‑an Ontario town that would later be commemorated by a hotel, a fitting omen for a life spent among public houses from London to San Francisco. He recounts his father’s shift from country doctor to aspiring lawyer, the brief stints in Kingston and Whitby, and the amusing childhood episode of a kitten disappearing under a pelisse during a military parade.

The narrative then turns to schoolyard adventures: snow‑ball battles that turned into makeshift combat, endless games of football and shinny on frozen bays, and the occasional school fire that gifted unexpected holidays. Through these vivid recollections, he introduces a cast of boyhood companions—future ministers, cartoonists and knights—who would each carve their own paths, hinting at the wide‑reaching network that would later shape his itinerant career.

All of this is told with a gentle humor that captures the rhythm of a bygone era, inviting listeners to step back into a world where the ordinary was extraordinary and every street corner held a story waiting to be heard.