CHAPTER VIII
THE LAST YEARS

ANE the end of 1805 Mackenzie seems to

have determined to leave Canada. He
had made a comfortable fortune, for the fur-
trade had expanded enormously since his first
venture twenty years before. On departing
for England in November he wrote in farewell
to Roderick: ‘Never mind the folly of the
times; for my own part I am determined to
make myself as comfortable as circumstances
will allow. I have a large field before me. I
do not leave Canada without regret.”” Though
he returned to Canada once or twice, there-
after his home was on the other side of the
Atlantic. The call of his native land was
insistent.

From the lone shieling of the misty island
Mountains divide us and the waste of seas,
But still the blood is strong, the heart is Highland,

And we in dreams behold the Hebrides.

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