One
of the Aides-de-Camp had arrayed himself in white silk as Romeo;
being only just out from England, he was anything but firm on his
skates. Some malicious young Montrealers of tender age, noticing
this, deliberately bumped into him again and again, sending his
conspicuous white figure spinning each time. Poor Romeo's
experiences were no more fortunate on the rink than in the tragedy
associated with his name; by the end of the evening, after his
many tumbles, his draggled white silk dress suggested irresistibly
the plumage of a soiled dove.
A hill (locally known as "The Mountain") rises immediately behind
Montreal, the original Mont Real, or Mount Royal, from which the
city derives its name. This naturally lends itself to the
formation of toboggan slides, and one of them, the "Montreal Club
Slide," was really terrifically steep. The start was precipitous
enough, in all conscience, but soon came a steep drop of sixty
feet, at which point all the working parts of one's anatomy seemed
to leave one, to replace themselves at the finish only. The pace
was so tremendous that it was difficult to breathe, but it was
immensely exciting.
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