The Log House by the Lake

# The Log House by the Lake

This serialized novel by W. H. G. Kingston concerns a wealthy English family facing financial ruin following an adverse lawsuit. Philip Ashton arrives home to announce the loss of his considerable fortune, but his five adult children respond with cheerful resilience, proposing to emigrate to Canada and establish themselves in the wilderness. With only £1,500 ready money and an annual income of £200, the family boards a transatlantic steamer, where young Charley befriends a mysterious gentleman named Norman who claims experience with colonial life.

The narrative then shifts to a contrasting subplot: Philip Ashton's relative, John Ashton, has won a lawsuit yielding £6,000 yearly. His newly wealthy family pursues fashionable London society with vain ambition, while his daughter Mary secretly becomes engaged to the impoverished Philip Ashton before her father forbids the match.

The bulk of the excerpt describes the Ashtons' Canadian journey upriver via steamboat, detailing the landscape, settlements, and water-vessel construction as they travel toward their backwoods destination.