20 professors and over 200 students. In the late 1890s the college was prestigious enough to be visited by John Campbell Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair, KT, GCMG, GCVO, PC who was at that time the Governor-General of Canada. The Governor-General arrived at St. Thomas' train station and was followed to Alma College by a crowd of cheering towns-people. He complemented the college's reputation and said to the faculty that, "We all appreciate the important and arduous duties you are called upon to perform". While the inhabitants of the town and the students of the college were greatly pleased by His Excellency's visit, the event was not without problems. The Honourable George E. Casey, M.P. who was to accompany Lord Aberdeen from Ottawa accidentally got off the train at the wrong stop. The train itself was 2 hours late. In addition His Excellency brought neither the medal he was to present to Flora Ferguson for 'general proficiency', nor his wife who was to have been honoured by the students as an example of a fine and educated lady Austin was principal of the school for almost 20 years. He was by all accounts much loved by the students and the greater community. His wife Amanda became a great role-model to the girls and was active in the town's social life. The Reverend resigned, however, from his position as principal in May 1897 so as to continue his literary activities in Toronto Expulsion from the Methodist Church From 1897 to 1899 Austin lived in Toronto and devoted himself to his literary works. He also became more and more interested in the growing Spiritualist movement. Spiritualists believe in the scientific validity of many 'supernatural' phenomena (such as communication with the deceased) and occasionally call for Christianity to be reformed and re-examined to remove what they see as many archaic and illiberal principles. As he continued this period of philosophical re-examination, Austin began giving sermons that deviated more and more from accepted teachings. In June 1899 Austin was tried and expelled from the Methodist Church that he had served all his life. Only three years earlier he had been given a doctorate of divinity from Victoria University in recognition of his services to the Church. On May 27, 1899, one of Austin's more heterodox sermons was reprinted in the Manitoba Morning Free Press. The speech had originally been given at the