[5] This Sir Harry Airworthy, K.C.M.G., I must forthwith explain, was
that distinguished colonial statesman whose retirement to
the quiet and bizarre enjoyments of life was so sincerely
deplored at the time. His taste for the picturesque characters
of our coast was discriminating and insatiable. 'Twas no
wonder, then, that he delighted in my uncle, whose familiar
companion he was in St. John's. I never knew him, never
clapped eyes on him, that I recall; he died abroad before I
was grown presentable. 'Twas kind in him, I have always
thought, to help my uncle in his task of transforming me, for
'twas done with no personal responsibility whatsoever in the
matter, but solely of good feeling. I owed him but one
grudge, and that a short-lived one, going back to the year
when I was seven: 'twas by advice o' Sir Harry that I was made
to tub myself, every morning, in the water of the season, be
it crusted with ice or not, with my uncle listening at the
door to hear the splash and gasp.