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 Ba 
 
 NARRATIVE 
 
 OF A 
 
 TRIP TO CANADA, 
 
 BY 
 
 HUGH BRYCE. 
 
 (A PAPER READ TO THE MEMBERS OF THE MOSS STREET BRANCH OF 
 
 THE PAISLEY VOUNG MEN's CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION, AT 
 
 THE APRIL AND MAY BUSINESS MEETINGS, 1881. 
 
 ' PAISLEY : 
 
 J. & J. COOK* STEAM PRINTERS, 3 MOSS STREET. 
 
 MDCCCLXXXI. 
 
 
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 v: 
 
 B 
 
 M. 
 
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 ■■■ ' .^-ii: 
 

 NARRATIVE 
 
 OF A 
 
 'J- ^ 
 
 TRIP TO CANADA 
 
 ^'^i- ■* .fw ,t^. 
 
 m 
 
 HUGH BRYCE 
 
 (A PAPER READ TO THE MEMBERS OF THE MOSS STREET BRANCH OF 
 
 THE PAISLEY YOUNG MEN's CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION, AT ^ 
 
 THE APRIL AND MAY BUSINESS MEETINGS, 1881.) 
 
 PAISLEY: ' 
 J. & J. COOK, STEAM PRINTERS, 3 MOSS STREET. 
 
 MDCCCLXXXI, 
 
n 
 
 %f 
 
 ? 
 
 3yf? 
 
\<i 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 « 
 
 Anticipating that the members of two Bocieties 
 with which I am connected would desire an 
 account of my journey to, and short sojourn in, 
 Canada, I resolved when setting out on my trip 
 to spare no pains to make such as accurate, 
 interesting, and instructive, aa possible. My 
 Canadian friends very willingly assisted me in 
 this self-imposed and agreeable task j and by 
 taking notes daily, and collecting statistics from 
 authoritative sources, I have been enabled to 
 produce the Narrative as it stands. Very little 
 of it was written till the month of October of last 
 year, — many things having occurred prior to that 
 date which prevented me from progressing with 
 it as I would have liked ; and, writing at that 
 late period, I preferred to leave out many topics 
 on which I had intended to speak, on account of 
 the particulars not being fresh on my memory. 
 A few corrections were too late in reaching me 
 from Canada to be put right by the printers, and 
 it will be observed that they are made by me in 
 ink. Designed as the booklet is for distribution 
 
iv 
 
 PREPACK. 
 
 amongst a select circle of friends and acquaint- 
 ances, it will no doubt be all the moi-e carefully 
 read by them from their intimacy with the 
 narrator. Its humble jairpose will be served 
 should those who peruse it find it successful in 
 pleasantly whiling away a few hours, and in 
 directing increased attention to that vast do- 
 minion to which Britain is united by the closest 
 and warmest ties. 
 
 HUGH BRYCE. 
 
 16 High Street, 
 J^AiSLEY, September, 1881. 
 
 .. 
 
[printed for private circulation.] 
 
 A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 the ocean passage. 
 
 DE. 
 
 Somewhere about five or six years ago, I bfegan 
 to feel a desire to cross the Atlantic on a visit to 
 my friends in Canada. As Time rolled on and 
 the project became more feasible, this desire grew 
 stronger, till in June, 1878, my health becoming 
 rather feeble, and continuing so for several 
 months, I was induced to ask my employer for 
 permission to make the trip during the months of 
 May and June of the following year, which was 
 kindly granted. 
 
 Preparations over, Wednesday, 7th May, 1879, 
 found me on board the Allan Line steamer 
 Manitoban, which at noon left Mavisbank 
 Quay, Glasgow, under favourable weather, amid 
 the cheers and waving of hats and handkerchiefs 
 of the crowd of friends on shore, — several of whom 
 had, but a minute or so before, shown their ex- 
 treme sorrow at parting with those near and dear 
 to them, whom they might, perhaps, never see 
 upon earth again. There were only about forty 
 passengers altogether on board, — in the cabin, 
 two gentlemen and one lady ; in the intermediate, 
 six males, two females, and five children ; and all 
 the rest were in the steerage. The six males in 
 the intermediate (myself amongst the number) 
 were comfortably accommodated in one apartment 
 containing eight bunks, — ^the two empty ones 
 serving as receptacles for holding the clothes when 
 retiring to rest for the night. All the chests 
 marked ** Wanted " were put into rooms near at 
 
 B 
 
6 A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 hand, and a good number of the passengeni took 
 advantage of this privilege. The ship having 
 been newly painted, the amell and danger of 
 being besmeared with the paint caused a little 
 annoyance for the first day or so ; but the lamp* 
 lighter was always willing to remove the stains 
 from the clothing with his turpentine. Sailing 
 leisurely, the Tail of the Bank was reached about 
 2.30, where the steamer remained till 5.45 to take 
 in three lady passengers and a large cargo of 
 sugar in barrels. The tug-boat on returning to 
 Greenock carried away some hurriedly-written 
 notes to friends, — this being the only stoppage 
 made during the voyage. The operation of 
 hoisting the barrels on board completed, the 
 steamer was finally sent on its way. It had 
 hardly come in sight of the Cumbrae Islands when 
 we were informed that two stowaways had been 
 discovered hiding amongst the coals. Both were 
 young lads, and it was said they were brothers, 
 though so far as I could see there was not much 
 resemblance between them, — if the coal dust 
 about their persons and clothes be not taken into 
 consideration I I heard that they were desirous 
 of visiting Toronto, where a brother of theirs 
 resided. While being taken before the captain, 
 the order was ^ven to lower one of the small- 
 boats with the intention of putting them ashore 
 on the Ayrshire coast. After fully half-an-hour's 
 conversation with them, however, the captain 
 altered his mind, and allowed the lads to work 
 their passage out to Canada. Some money v;as 
 handed to the younger lad by several of the sea- 
 men previous to this interview ; and -^hen it was 
 over, the boys, who were ordered to be fed im- 
 mediately, walked smilingly below, — the elder 
 one being overheard to say to the other very 
 cutely, and with a significant wink, ** Mind the 
 chuck ! " Parading the deck was kept up till the 
 shades of evening fell, when the passengers went 
 down to their quarters in the lower deck, — those 
 belonging to the intermediate to listen to music 
 
 ' 
 
A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 . 
 
 discoursed on the concertina by one of their num* 
 ber, and those in the steerage to enjoy a little 
 singinff. 
 
 Pathetic sounds emanating from a lady troubled 
 with sea-sickness in an adjoming apartment were 
 the first to greet m^ ears on awakening next 
 morning, and, listening intently, I soon made 
 out that she was not the only one affected by the 
 heavy rolling of the ship. Before getting out of 
 mv bunk, 1 also became a victim to the pain- 
 ful complaint, and passed in this state a most 
 miserable day, — at times being rendered so ex- 
 tremely weak as to make the mounting up on 
 deck no easy task. Nearly all the passengers 
 were sea-sick, and some of the ladies aid not get 
 thoroughly free from their illness for three days. 
 
 By (Saturday morning, a happy change had 
 taken place. The stormy weather of the two 
 preceding days had vanished, and the passengers 
 — now recovered from their sickness, and able to 
 take their food well — were up on deck, enjoying 
 the pleasant breeze, and enaeavouiing to be on 
 terms of the closest intimacy with each other. I 
 soon ascertained that the bulk of those on board 
 were workers connected with the building trades 
 — masons, joiners, labourers, &c. — hailing from 
 different parts of Scotland, and bound for Can&la 
 on pure speculation, owing to the wretched state 
 of trade at home. Two agriculturists — an old 
 Canadian gentleman and a young Scotchman — 
 were with us, on their way to Manitoba, — that 
 portion of Canada so highly spoken of as a field 
 for emigration, and which is considered to possess 
 as rich a soil as is to be found in any part of the 
 known world. A Yankee and another Canadian 
 were also on board, both of whom had been on a 
 visit to friends in Scotland. One of the joiners 
 was a native of Paisley, and he and I kept close 
 company throughout the voyage. From this (the 
 third day out) till the steamer reached New- 
 foundland (four days later on), the weather was 
 all that could be aesired, and we had the satis- 
 
A tRl? TO CAIJADA. 
 
 faction of k*"' 
 up for our 
 steadily glir* 
 wa«i iucrea> 
 ship is al' 
 
 -^ i^j from the log-notices posted 
 jjcneii , that the Manitoban — 
 .a comparatively calm sea — 
 ix )ed every day. Life on board 
 'elt CO be dreary ant' monotonous ; 
 
 but the prt dcngers whiled away the time very 
 socially and spiritedly in divers ways, such as- 
 dancing, jumping, pitching, curling on deck, . 
 tening to music discoursed on the concertina and 
 violin, playing at cards and draughts, unravelling 
 puzzles, chatting, reading, and watching for ships 
 m the distance. Several sails were descried, 
 which, remaining in sight perhaps for hours, would 
 rivet our attention till they were entirely lost to 
 view, — so pleased were we, in our present isolated 
 condition, to see anything indicating a connection 
 with the busy world which we had but lately left. 
 One can undoubtedly understand the assertion 
 that a little more than two-thirds of the earth is 
 water, and the remainder land, much more 
 readily after gazing upon the boundless ocean for 
 a few days, than by simply reading about the fact 
 in an inland town. A religious service, which 
 lasted fully half -an-hour, was conducted by the cap- 
 tain in the cabin saloon on Sunday, in the manner 
 of the Episcopalians ; but this style of worshipping 
 did not please the passengers who attended the ser- 
 vice, who would have preferred a short sermon — 
 Scottish Presbyterian fashion. Some hymns were 
 sung — "Kock of Ages" being one of them — which 
 appeared to throw life into the proceedings. A 
 collection was taken at the close on behalf of some 
 Seamen's Orphan Fund. A novel sight was wit- 
 nessed by us towards evening, when the whole of 
 the crew congregated on the forecastle to answer 
 to their names while they v/ere being called out 
 by the first mate, who directed each one to the- 
 small-boat which he was expected to manage in 
 emergencies, — there being six of these small-boats 
 on board. Although the intermediate passengers 
 had no reason to complain of the food they were 
 receiving, those in the steerage were not so fortu- 
 
A TllIP TO CAKADA. 
 
 d 
 
 ed 
 
 frd 
 
 <v.^* 
 
 nate ; so they took occasion one day to state their 
 grievance to the head steward, with a request that 
 more time be given to take their meals, and the 
 change afterwards made in both respects gave en« 
 tire satisfaction. On the whole, the stewards did 
 their work very well ; and this can also be said of 
 all the other ofEcials. Indeed, I was pleasantly 
 surprised at the civility and good nature shown 
 by a few of these men under very trying circum- 
 stances that happened to come within my notice. 
 For two full days, we were enveloped more or less 
 in the dense fog so continually prevailing at New- 
 foundland. At first, it was foggy and clear Iter- 
 nately j but, during the whole of the second uay, 
 it was so hazy that we were not able to see farther 
 than a mile on either side of the steamer, and 
 occasionally not even half that distance. A 
 writer in the Leisure Hour of May 22, 1856, 
 states that the only rational explanation he ever 
 had of the cause of the perpetual reign of these 
 gloomy, piercing, and impenetrable mists, in this 
 spot, is — "that the warm waters of the Gulf 
 Stream here meet with the colder currents of the 
 Polar regions, so that the evaporations of the former 
 are condensed as they rise, and hang — on a surface 
 of hundreds of miles — a watery and chilly cloud." 
 From the time the steamer entered the waters of 
 Newfoundland, the fog- whistle was kept sounding 
 nearly every live minutes, and two men — dressed 
 like Esquimaux — were stationed at the prow of the 
 vessel, whose duty it was to give timely warning 
 when any danger was in its course. Notv/ith- 
 standing these precautions, while the densest fog 
 prevailed, a large ship crossed the track of the 
 Manitoban, in front, — only a few yards' stretch 
 of water separating the two vessels ! During this 
 rather alarming juncture, the captain sounded 
 very frequently, and at each examination the 
 depth of water was found to vary very much, — 
 the greatest depth being 87 fathoms, and the least 
 22 fathoms ; and at these soundings fine amuse- 
 ment was afforded nearly all the passengers in 
 
10 
 
 A TRIP TO CANAbA. 
 
 assisting the seamen to haul in the line. The 
 cold weather made us keep more closely to our 
 quarters below, where, on one of these misty 
 nights, a concert was got up in the steerage quar- 
 ters, to enliven our drooping spirits ; and it proved 
 a great success. Our chairman showed himself to 
 be the right man in the right place. He was 
 called ** The old doctor," and it was said he had 
 been more than once to the Arctic regions, on 
 board of whalers. Be that as it may, he was a 
 jolly old fellow, a fluent speaker, a good singer, 
 and had a kind word for every one. His opening 
 remarks were exceedingly happy and appropriate, 
 and from first to last he kept the company in the 
 best of humour. For two hours, the hilarity was 
 maintained. Several airs were played on the con- 
 certina in fine style ; the Paisley joiner, the "old 
 doctor," and a few others, sang songs so well as 
 to receive hearty encores ; our Yankee friend read, 
 in a very creditable manner, the chapter from 
 *' Oliver Twist " bearing on the murder of Nancy ; 
 and I gave two recitations, — *' The Ruined Cot- 
 tage" and "Kara Avis," with the eflfect that I 
 had to commit both pieces to manuscript for the 
 benefit of two of my fellow-passengers, — the 
 former having been much admired by the Yankee, 
 and the latter — the humorous piece — by the 
 young Scotch farmer. This gave me congenial 
 employment for an hour or so. 
 
 On the morning after the concert (Friday, 16th), 
 all the passengers rose earlier than usual, and 
 were amply rewarded ; for, in the words of the 
 late Sheriff Bell, "the scene was changed," — and 
 truly a happy change it was. Instead of the 
 dismal, cold, foggy weather, the atmosphere was 
 again beautifully clear, and the sun shone forth 
 brightly with a degree of warmth ; so much so, 
 that by nicrhtfall our faces and ears were pretty 
 well scorcaed. Land was sighted to the north, in 
 the dim distance, about eleven o'clock in the fore- 
 noon. A large number of vessels passed on either 
 side of the Manitobau throughout the course of 
 
A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 11 
 
 rer. 
 
 .IT 
 
 this day, and our pleasure was greatly intensified 
 thereby. Two steamers, homeward bound — the 
 Arthur Whyte and the Cybele (both said to belong 
 to Glasgow) — were among them, and, as they were 
 distant nearly a mile, they were spoken to by us 
 by the aid of Captain Marryat's beautiful flag 
 system of signalling. Bird Island — ^with the light- 
 house on its top — was seen about 7 p.m. Early 
 on Saturday morning, it was somewhat foggy ; 
 but it soon cleared up, and we had our first view 
 of the Canadian soil to the south at 7-30 a.m. 
 We had a near view of this side ; but the bold, 
 rugged mountains on the north side were scarcely 
 discernible, — the River St. Lawrence being here 
 so very broad. At its extreme commencement, — 
 where it contracts its expanse from the character 
 of a gulf, — the river is said to be 90 miles broad ; 
 but this breadth gradually diminishes till it be- 
 comes 24 miles, at which point the river character 
 indisputably begins. The land to the south, or 
 New Brunswick side, was woody and hilly at 
 first J by-and-bye, however, it became somewhat 
 flat, presenting a long stretch of uncultivated 
 ground, and having fishermen's shanties and a few 
 villages strewn here and there along the shore. 
 Patches of snow were still visible on the hills. 
 While partaking of breakfast that day, the chief 
 steward informed us that one of the stowaways 
 had died. This announcement took us all by sur- 
 prise, and we were giving vent to our sorrow at 
 the sad occurrence when the steward produced 
 the dead body of the unfortunate stowaway — a 
 foreign bird which had been captured while hop- 
 ping on deck two days previously — for our inspec- 
 tion, and his sly joke evoked much laughter. 
 About 7 p.m., another of the Allan Line steamers 
 — the Peruvian, from Liverpool— passed us on her 
 way to Quebec, and we interchanged signals. An 
 effort had been made to have a parting concert to- 
 night ; but the project fell through in consequence 
 of the weather, which was so fine as to entice 
 many of the passengers to a stroll upon deck. 
 
12 
 
 A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 At four o'clock on Sunday morning (the eleventh 
 day out), we reached Father Point, and stayed 
 there half-an-hour while we took the gentleman 
 on board who was commissioned to pilot the 
 Manitoban through the dangers of that part of the 
 St. Lawrence to Point Levi. This was another 
 lovely morning, the air was bracing, and we noticed 
 that the water in tht river had a yellowish colour. 
 Much the same scenery met our eyes as had been 
 witnessed for the most part of the preceding day. 
 Nearing our destination, many small wooded 
 islands were passed before reaching that of 
 Orleans. This island — said to be twenty-nine 
 miles long, and posses«<ing a few large villages — 
 when seen by that intrepid French mariner, 
 Jacques Cartier, in 1535, was first named the Isle 
 of Bacchus, on account of the foliage of the trees 
 being almost hidden from view by innumerable 
 dark clusters of fast ripening grapes. It is now, 
 however, nearly wholly cleared ; and numerous 
 pretty, flourishing farms, met our admiring gaze 
 as the steamer glided by its side. About 5.30 
 p.m., when we had entered the basin-harbour of 
 Quebec and were only a mile or so from our point 
 of debarkation, a tow-boat came out to us with an 
 order to lie at anchor till the Peruvian, which 
 was stationed at the wharf, sailed across the 
 river to Quebec. The Manitoban was thus 
 stopped till 6.45; but, excepting that some of the 
 passengers were afraid of losing the night train, 
 we were all glad of this opportunity of leisurely 
 surveying the splendid panorama which then lay 
 before our eyes. To our right a nice-looking little 
 village presented itself, near which the Fall of 
 Montmorency — a cataract 246 feet high and 50 
 feet broad — ever and anon claimed our attention 
 as it rolled its mass of water over with a loud 
 noise and dashed its spray up in the air with great 
 force to an astonishing height. Point Levi (or, as 
 it is also called, South Quebec) stood on our left, 
 to all appearance consisting of one street nearly 
 four miles long ; and the setting sun on that calm, 
 
)nth 
 (yed 
 
 lan 
 I the 
 ithe 
 bher 
 iced 
 )ur. 
 ieen 
 lay. 
 Med 
 
 of 
 ine 
 
 38 — 
 
 A TRIP TO CANADA. if 
 
 clear Sabbath evening, imparted a bright silvery 
 light to the tin roofs as well as the windows of 
 some of the houses, the strange exterior of which — 
 some being red, many white, and a few blue and 
 green in appearance — increased our delight and 
 bewilderment : but these feelings were much 
 intensified when we turned our eyes right in front 
 on Quebec proper, — with its Plains of Abraham of 
 historic fame ; with its frowning Cape Diamond, 
 rising to a height of 350 feet (on the summit of 
 which the citadel stands, and on and around 
 which the city is built) ; and with its many im- 
 portant buildings and spacious harbour. This 
 was indeed a rare sight, and one that i shall long 
 remember. 
 
 On landing, all the passengers but myself — after 
 a rough examination had been made of the whole 
 of the luggage by the Custom- House officers — ^pro- 
 ceeded by that night's train to their various 
 destinations. Free through tickets were readily 
 obtained by the emigrants, as they ' ere only 
 asked their names and the places they desired to 
 be taken to. There are two booking offices at the 
 Point Levi Railway Station, — one for emigrants 
 and the other for ordinary passengers. The emi- 
 grant can easily secure a free through ticket to 
 any part of the interior of Canada, and, in what- 
 ever place he means to look for employment, he 
 can be acconunodated with bed and board in the 
 Government Emigration Depot for forty-eight 
 hours, and sometimes longer ; but if he does not 
 succeed in the place he has selected, and wishes 
 to be taken back by train or steamer, he is 
 under the necessity of paying his fare. Before 
 parting with my fellow-passengers, I learned that 
 the old Canadian farmer had had his purse stolen 
 from him on getting ashore, and that he did not 
 recover it by the time the train left for Montreal. 
 After telegraphing my safe arrival in "Fair 
 Canada " to my brother and brother-in-law (both 
 of whom then lived in the city of Hamilton, more 
 than 500 miles distant), I put up in a French 
 
 
 
14 
 
 A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 hotol — the St. Louis — ^for the nieht. The land> 
 lord treated me -with that marked politeness and 
 obliging disposition so characteristic of the true 
 Frenchman; and I heard to my great surprise ere 
 retiring to bed on this quiet, beautiful Sabbath 
 evening, that once popular song in Paisley, the 
 refrain of which commences thus — 
 
 ** A stariy night for a ramble 
 Out in a flowery dell," 
 
 sung by one of his daughters in an exceedingly 
 strong, clear, musical voice, and in a way ^.hat 
 would certainly have done no discredit to a pro- 
 fessional singer. 
 
 \^ 
 
CHAPTER IX- 
 
 TATTHNEY FROM POINT? W5VI TO 
 
 ^ PAY IN Q^^^^-'SlON OF HAMILTON. 
 HAMILTON— PISSCRIPTIO^ 
 
 ^^ . • ^ /.viock I crosBed tne 
 
 NEXT morning, about nine o dock, i ^^ ^^^^^ ^ 
 ri^r in the Wboat to Q^^^^^^^t of the people 
 tiled to do without a juid^ ^^^^^^ extraction, a«d 
 to whom I spoke were ot l!^ ^^^^^ a the 
 
 knew little or no ^f^^^^f^^id^e leading to the 
 wooden stairs on the nver ^^ 
 
 Plains of A^'^^*?^' LSy f rom my elevated 
 ^g the surrounding scenery ^^ gg^ 
 
 Sandpoint, ^VeJ^aJdswSeredintoapuW^^^^ 
 information., ^ ^^t^vtobe the French Cathe- 
 building ^^^«\L*?on^ hi learning that it w" 
 dral, but was not J?^? ^ ^s a monastery. It 
 used by the Roman pa^j^^^^;.^ for visitors, and 
 was a day B^emingly set a^rt lo^ ^ ^, 
 
 There were °^^\ y^^&te^ews with the nuns 
 entrance haU to \*^^l a shSt conversation with 
 when I entered. . I '^^'Le visage was concealed 
 The Lady Supenor-whose VI g ^i t eyes 
 
 behind a long d?^^ JJ^lti^rougl^ a small iron- 
 only beiBg.disceinible tn^ ^^^ ^ oi 
 
 bamd window. . Ox^jX^med me that strangers 
 iiy visit, she oiy^y,To ^; the chapel and 1M 
 were only P®"*^**® V^^^onastery, and that she 
 garden belonging to the rn^ast^ iT^^ through 
 
 would send one o^^ *^®^^r^ female guide, what 
 rhem. While waitmg on my le ^ ^^^^^ 
 
 & I do but «au^3'o J^JJ *^,d a few of the 
 where for a mom^tor^« ^^1^ their friend^^ 
 nuns earnestly c^^J^^^^^hat was divided by a 
 
16 
 
 A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 speakers were subdued, the nuns exhibited much 
 cheerfulness ; but this may be accounted for 
 by the delight felt by them in being privileged to 
 see and chat with their friends. Immediately on 
 leaving this room, I was taken to the chapel, 
 which had no gallery, and would seat about two 
 hundred persons. There were in it a large and 
 small altar, fitted up with the customary em- 
 bellishments ; some ornamental glass windows ; 
 ard a tablet erected to the memory of Montcalm, 
 the French general. I left without seeing the 
 garden ; and soon thereafter engaged an open car- 
 riage, with the driver as guide, to take me to the 
 
 Srincipal places of interest in the city. I was 
 rst driven to the French Cathedral (the oldest 
 one in Quebec), where I saw many large pictures, 
 nearly all of which were illustrative of Christ's 
 Crucifixion. The centre of the three main altars 
 was very large ; and, during the time I re- 
 mained., two or three priests were teaching about 
 forty lad^ dressed in blue suits (the coats being 
 streaked with white at the back, and green bands 
 being worn round the waist) the altar ceremonial, 
 whidi made them look like soldiers on drill. The 
 altars were all really magnificently adorned and 
 imposing, and the place seemed capable of accom- 
 modating upwards of a thousand persons. I also 
 visited the Seminary connected with this cathe- 
 dral. The places afterwards seen were : — Durham 
 Terrace, which is beautifully situated, and a great 
 many summer-seats, mortars, and cannons, are 
 placed on this commanding spot ; the Governor's 
 Garden, where the Wolfe and Montcalm Monu- 
 ment—seventy feet high and erected in 1827 — 
 stands ; the building used as a Skating Rink, 
 where 400 skaters can enjoy themselves safely to 
 their heart's content ; the New Parliamentary 
 Buildings for the Province, then under course 
 of erection, of French design and employing 
 French workmen ; the Citadel (being shown 
 over it by one of the soldiers of the Dominion 
 Jlegiment quartered there <*t the time), which 
 
/^^ 
 
 A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 17 
 
 i» exceedingly w^l^^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 Xding at y anous PmntB over^^^^^ ^ ^ 
 
 I obtained ^^t tW had or could wish, for ; the 
 
 Point Levi that I \*^^?^:chard Montgomery-an 
 ^rBewherethebodyomchard^^ g 
 
 Irishman by birtn, wui .^ ^^^dence of the 
 generals who fou|bt f or the m ^^^.^^ ^ 
 
 orphans and old y«^^^f Jd e^ale orphans ; 
 Catholic Asylum for male ^a ^^^ j^^^, 
 
 the Jail, a huge huildmg of ^^ ^^^^^ ^^ttle was 
 of Abraham, <>» ,^^'^\„ ?v e Bntish and French 
 bought in 1759 ^^^ZTitiheBvi^^^ ^^g bemg 
 forces which 'resulted m^n^ ^^^ 
 Viniated on the citadel ot Viueu ^^^^j^g 
 
 ^Ct of Canada entn^^^Je and Montc^m- 
 ^hich the two leaders---^o^^ ^^^^^^ ^ ^hese 
 
 were kUled; the \«^. ^ gan passages leadmg 
 plains, which ^^^^^^Sie'sMonuinent (enclosea 
 . to the citadel ; Voltes i ^^^ as 
 
 ^^ithin an i^oj^^rtfi!^ Monument, and erected 
 r^'e Wolfe and Montcalm Monu ^^^^^ Battery ; 
 on the spot where he t^{J' J'^^as informed by 
 ?Se Cholera Cemetery, where ^1 w ^^^ ^^^g ^he 
 the guide) the ^«dies of those w 
 great plague more than twenty y although its 
 
 gZl, ^^??LYS&ments(m^^^^^^^ 
 coUection of philosophical ^^ ) ia admitted 
 
 those used in the science of astroB ^^ continent, 
 
 to be one of the l^;g^f^i^%,SoO volumes, 
 its library said to contain ^^^^ ^ i 
 and a museum of the »'i^?° " ^ curiosities are 
 taction of I^^f .TXstaTlong there, as the 
 
 a'xached to it, I ^f^^i^ French language ; the 
 
 names were printed m the^^en^ Cathedral ; 
 
 ^Xce of the Bishop o^^ ^^^^^ ^,^, . and the 
 
 the Custom House , i.u« 
 
f 
 
 11 
 
 A TBI^ TO OAKADA. 
 
 Booky Precipice over which Montgomery, the 
 
 feneral already refeiTcd to, fell on the 3lBt 
 )ecembor, 1775. I paid a dollar and a-half 
 (68. 3d.) for the four houra* drive, and my guide 
 was very civil and communicative. A funeral 
 procession was passed as J was driven towards the 
 ferry, and I noticed that the mourners wore their 
 ordinary working dresses. 
 
 It is said that, when the lofty promontory on 
 which the city remits was first beheld by the 
 French sailors, they exclaimed — "Quel bed" 
 ('* What a beak I ") and thus gave rise to the 
 name " Quebec." But another derivation has 
 come to be generally accepted as the true one. 
 The word hebec in the language of the native 
 Indians signifies "a strait," and this expression 
 might very properly have been applied to the 
 river at this point, as it narrows here to something 
 like a mile in breadth. Quebec is divided into an 
 Upper and a Lower Town. The Upper Town 
 includes the citadel and fortifications, with some 
 of the important buildings ; while the Lower 
 Town is an aggregation of warehouses and shops 
 or "stores" (as they are caUed), wharves, and 
 other adjuncts of trade, with hundreds of dwell- 
 ings for mechanics and labourers. It mav be 
 mentioned here that shipbuilding is one oi the 
 chief bra I jhes of industry, and, according to the 
 Toronto Qiobe, the first steamship that crossed 
 the Atlantic wholly under steam — the Boyal 
 William — was built at Quebec. The population 
 is considerably greater in summer than in winter. 
 At the height of the tourist season, it occasionally 
 reaches 70,000. The people are nearly all 
 French ; the pavements are of wood ; the houses 
 and stores have a foreign and antique look ; the 
 streets are in general very narrow, and a few are 
 so steep that driving from the higher points of the 
 city to Lower Quebec is extremefy dangerous. 
 
 On the same day, at 7.30 p.m., I left Point Levi 
 by thetrain for Montreal. I had been advised by my 
 Canadian friends to purchase my ocean ticket only 
 
A TBIP TO OASADA. 
 
 19 
 
 , OW*. »d to get th. ticket '^H-^rm J 
 ^ S?^X^ that, they loiM J"8°^ that » 
 ^^"? • „f in expreM tram- B»*J i .ecurediny 
 °S °oSdV«^„:"^'The« are only ««« 
 ahtioket^^f^e^:- „„the C^^;Sfe«d 
 
 lO'^':" rnuere were only ^v" v,:„v.Tvra8Beatea, 
 ;^Jblv all the vray.-80 I did no 
 
 duet by the tiolwi J^<,h^,ond, «?* /"T 6.45. 
 tS'^B^-^^ereul-Sf^^gS 
 
 ^^itwhoMe of the Uquor on*^X«l>'. 
 
 »^n^Sr»-%Esnrtt 
 
mmmil 
 
 SD A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 secluded place deyonring the food I had with me, 
 to the no small surprise and amusement of the 
 hostess. I was then ignorant of the fact that 
 tavern-frequenters are obliged to gulp over the 
 drink at the bar. Mastication over, I asked per- 
 mission to wash my hands and face at the water- 
 sink in the kitchen. Again she did not compre- 
 hend my question ; and, when I imitated the act 
 of washing th'^ face, she rather took the breath 
 from me bv pointing to a barber's store on the 
 opposite side of the street ! However, by a little 
 more gesticulating, she became aware of what I 
 wanted, and granted the privilege without any 
 hesitation, — placing the necessary articles beside 
 me, and refusing to accept anything for the favour 
 thus kindly bestowed. 1 left Montreal at 9 a.m., 
 and the train arrived at Toronto at 11.30 p.m. 
 There were three stoppages made to allow the 
 passengers time to refresh themselves, — five 
 minutes being given at two of the many small 
 stations passed on the way, and a quarter of an 
 hour on reaching Coburg — a town of some impor- 
 tance seventy miles or so distant from Toronto. 
 I had only ten minutes to wait on a train for 
 Hamilton, which was reached about 12.45, 
 where I found my brother, sister, and brother-in- 
 law, waiting to welcome me. The railway tra- 
 velling had been extremely wearisome, and it was 
 only in the cars from Toronto to Hamilton that I 
 had had anjrthing like a comfortable nap ; so you 
 may easily imagine how very needful I was of 
 
 " Tired Nature's sweet restorer, balmy Sleep ! " 
 
 after our most friendly greetings had been 
 exchanged. I accompanied my brother to his 
 house ; but we had so much to ask and to tell 
 each other that i^ was nearly four o'clock in the 
 morning ere I go u to bed. 
 
 During one -half of my six weeks* stay in 
 Hamilton, I was accommodated in my brother's 
 house, and the other half in my brother-in-law's. 
 The residences of my relatives were almost 
 
▲ TRIP TO CUTADiL 
 
 tl 
 
 i 
 
 diagonally situated, — the one standing in the 
 ■outh-east and the other in the north-west of the 
 city, about tweni;y-tive minutes' good walk apart. 
 Everything was done by them to make my t.ip a 
 thoroughly enjoyable one, and to assist me in 
 gaining information on a great variety of sub- 
 jeete. 
 
 The "Ambitious City" (as Hamilton is termed) 
 is prettily situated at the western extremity of 
 Lake Ontario, and at its back are the Burlington 
 Heights,— table-land varying from 100 to 300 feet 
 in height, and ertending to the Niagara River, 
 where it forms bhe famous Falls. Since 1841, 
 there have been remarkable increases in the popu« 
 lation of Hamilton. In that year, the population 
 was 3500 ; in 1850, it had reached 10,312 ; in 
 1871, 26,716 ; and at present it is estimated at 
 31,000. The streets are laid off in straight lines 
 the whole length and breadth of the city ; and, 
 unlike many of those in Paisley, each of these 
 long streets has from beginning to end one name 
 only. The principal buildings and most of the 
 stores in the central streets are built of stone, 
 but for private dwellings brick and wood are the 
 materials in general use. The American red 
 bricks are far superior to those in Scotland. 
 They are much smaller and liehter. Seven courses 
 are an inch and a-half higher than five of the Scotch 
 ones. The lime is neany as white as Irish lime ; 
 and the sand, which is very clean, is drawn from 
 Burlington Beach, four or five miles down the 
 lake from Hamilton. With the white lime and 
 beach sand, very white mortar is made, and, when 
 built with nicely-coloured brick, the buildings 
 look exceedingly handsome. The beauty of their 
 appearance is also very much increased by the 
 green blinds, so fashionable fJl over Canada, 
 which are narrower and shorter than, but have a 
 close resemblance to, the Venetian blinds to be 
 seen at home. There are hardly any brick 
 partitions, stone stairs, or stone cornices, put up, 
 as is the case with respect to our buildings. 
 
 P 
 

 22 
 
 A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 Cornices on the outside of buildings, with very 
 few exceptions, are made of wood, which is cut 
 to the pattern that may be required by machinery. 
 As a consequence, these buildings are erected a 
 great deal quicker than ours ; but for sub- 
 stantiality and durability they cannot, of course, 
 stand any comparison with those in Scotland. 
 The roofs of the buildings in Canada are rarely 
 slated. Wooden *' shingles," tin, and zinc, serve 
 the same purpose ; and the weather soon makes 
 these "shingles" appear like slates. Chimney 
 cans are hardly ever used ; for, whatever the 
 reason, a smoky chimney is seldom seen. Unless 
 in the central part of the city, the pavements are 
 all of wood ; and by their side large trees are 
 planted, a few yards apart, which afiford fine 
 protection from the burning heat of the sun 
 during the simimer months. The Town Council 
 only grant a "string road" — that is, a plank, 
 (on which pedestrians have to walk in Indian 
 tile) — in the outlying, scantily-populated places, 
 till the dwellers there, becoming more numerous, 
 apply to them for the benefit of the common 
 *' footpath," which admits of two or three 
 a-breast. The stone pavements in the busiest 
 parts of the city are as wide as our own. 
 Hamilton's citizens having mainly come from 
 England, Scotland, and Ireland, the grocers' 
 stores, dry-goods stores, (or, as we would say, 
 "drapers' shops,") &c., have their windows 
 decked out home-fashion. As families buy in 
 flour in large quantities, and bake it themselves 
 into loaves and several kinds of cakes, only pastry 
 bakers are in demand in Canadian cities, and 
 in their premises customers can have lunch. The 
 barbers' stores belong mostly to French or 
 "coloured" people. The negroes, I may hero 
 remark, generally prefer light work, and obtain 
 employment as waiters, cooks, whitewashers, and 
 barbers. The prices in the barbers' stores in 
 Canada are much higher than they are at home : — 
 For hair-cutting, 15 cents ; for shaving, 10 cents; 
 
 ■. / Ttle 
 
 e4j 
 
 ti 
 
 
 
^A tEIP TO CANADA. 
 
 2d 
 
 
 and hot or cold baths can be had in these places 
 for ih% gnaio pwaa ns iifti> eattiitg. Eather than 
 pay such an exorbitant charge, many of the peo- 
 ple assist one another when requiring to have 
 their hair cut. Amongst the public institutions 
 in Hamilton are — a hospital, a tlinf nrirl Hnmh 
 tsylum, a public library, the St. George's, St. 
 Andrew's, and St. Patrick's Societies (formed fo:* 
 the laudable purpose of rendering pecuniary 
 assistance to emigrants in straitened circum> 
 stances), and a Normal School for Young Ladies — 
 a large majority of the teachers in Canada being 
 females. There are somewhere about twenty- 
 five churches in the city (the Methodist body 
 having the largest number), and they are aU 
 well attended. The preachers are in no way 
 behind their brethren in Scotland as earnest, elo- 
 quent spiritual guides, and their moral teachings 
 are supported by as forcible arguments and 
 upright personal conduct. It is quite a common 
 practice with the ladies in the warm weather to 
 fan themselves while the sermon is being de- 
 livered — ay, even when the preacher is at the 
 best part of his discourse ; and it appeared strange 
 to me to see hundreds doing this when the heat 
 was not so great but that the fans might have 
 been, with good taste, laid aside. In the two 
 churches I attended — the Congregational and 
 Knox's (U.P.) — elders or deacons went round the 
 pews with plates for the collection, before the 
 singing of the last hymn and the pronouncing of 
 the benediction. Divine services are conducted 
 on Sundays at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. in most of the 
 churches, — the children going to the Sabbath 
 Schools at 3 p.m. * The Canadians, as a rule, are 
 a strictly religious class of people, observe the 
 Lord's-Day in true orthodox style, and can and 
 do quote Scripture very frequently for their 
 beliefs. Two daily newspapers are published in 
 Hamilton, — the Times (Liberal), and the Spectator 
 (Conservative) ; and the main manufactures are — 
 sewing-machines, American stoves, tobacco, car* 
 
 cUA/itaticI 
 
24 
 
 A TRIP TO CAK ADA. 
 
 riages, machinery, iron wires, and glass. The 
 hours of labour are from 7 a.m. till 6 p.m. 
 (Saturdays included, unless on rare occasions). 
 The workmen take their breakfast before going 
 out in the morning, and the dinner meal-hour is 
 from 12 to 1 p.m. The piece-work system is 
 much in vogue, and gives good encouragement to 
 those employed under it. So far as I could see, 
 they work harder and more cheerfully than the 
 majority of workmen at home. Indeed, I sup- 
 pose they have to do so, for I understand that m 
 speed the Yankees can outstrip the " old 
 country " people ; but what the latter want in 
 quantity is made up in quality. 
 
 ??i'i? 
 
The 
 p.m. 
 ions), 
 going 
 >ur is 
 Bm is 
 nt to 
 see, 
 the 
 
 lat in 
 "old 
 tnt in 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 GENERAL IKFOBMATION. 
 
 At that time, trade throughout Canada was 
 very dull, and workmen's wages were greatly 
 reduced, and keen competition existed in the 
 ranks of the builders. Notwithstanding this, 
 the ordinary wages received ranged from one 
 dollar and a-quarter (5s. 2id. ) to one dollar and 
 a-half (6b. 3d. ) per day, — even the labourers 
 receiving from 90 cents (3s. 9d.) to one dollar 
 12^ cents (4s. 8|d.) Talking of wages, re- 
 minds me I was told that, owing to the scarcity 
 of money in the country or small villages, 
 much bartering is carried on between the em- 
 ployers and employed. Workmen there receive 
 checks for what provisions or other articles they 
 may require ; and it frequently happens that at 
 the end of the month or months, as the case may 
 be, they have great difficulty in getting a full 
 balance. The cause of this is obvious : — The 
 employer has not a large capital invested in his 
 business, and is supplying the trade with his goods 
 in barter, — what he supplies for cash being at long 
 credit, for you must know the credit system is even 
 more extensive in Canada than with us. Of course, 
 when there is a brisk trade doing and the em- 
 ployer has got a good standing, the workmen are 
 sure to be treated fairly ; but, as a rule, in these 
 
 E laces employers have not got sufficiently esta- 
 lished to give the security of prompt payments. 
 In the cities, it is quite the reverse : no barter. 
 There the employers have mostly large and 
 prosperous businesses ; and, although the credit 
 system applies to them also, they have been esta- 
 blished for years, and have outlived, as it were, 
 these small beginnings, ->bo that, with them, the 
 
^ 
 
 A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 workmen's wages are &s sure as the bank. All 
 the employers are pretty certain to reduce the 
 wages ten per cent, after Christmas or New 
 Year, when trade is generally slack for three or 
 four months. 
 
 Provisions may be slightly altered in price since 
 my visit, but at that time they were cheap, as 
 will be seen from the following brief account of 
 the way they were selling in the public market 
 in Hamilton, which is held every second day : — 
 Potatoes, 2s. 8|d. per bag of 90 lbs., or about 
 6^ stones ; mutton or lamb, from 2d. to 2id. per 
 lb. for front quarters, and from 3d. to 3|d. per 
 lb. for hind quarters; beef, from Ifd. to 2j^d. 
 per lb. for front quarters, and from 2d. to S^d. 
 per lb. for hind quarters ; fresh pork, 24d. per 
 lb. ; smoked hams, 6{d. per lb. ; butter, from 5d. 
 to G^d. per lb. ; eggs, 6|d. per dozen ; cheese, 
 from 5d. to 6d. per lb.; a good variety of fish, 
 proportionately cnei.p; grapes, from Id. to 2d. 
 
 Eer lb.; apples, 2s. per bag of one and a-half 
 ushels, or 90 lbs. weight ; and all other kinds of 
 fruit and vegetables were low in price and 
 plentiful, with the exception of oranges, which 
 were scarce and dear — 2\d.. for one, or three for 
 5d. So, although trade be dull, there is always a 
 likelihood of the working man having a well< 
 spread table. The market-square, which is about 
 the size of County Square in Paisley, is almost 
 wholly occupied by carts and stalls fiUed with the 
 various articles ofmerchandise, through the spaces 
 between which the ladies stroll when making pur- 
 chases,— some of them, who may be termed the 
 Erudent, with their purses clasped tightly in their 
 ands, while others are content with the dangerous 
 practice of carrying theirs about dangling fiom 
 small appendages. 
 
 That you may have some idea of the dwellings 
 occupied by the ordinary artizans, I may state 
 that many of them live in one-storey detached 
 wooden or "frame" houses, consisting of from 
 three to five apartments, with spacioas gardeni 
 
 *l 
 
A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 m 
 
 attached. The brick buildings are generally one 
 or two storeys in height, and may be said to be 
 inhabited by a class of people longer settled in 
 the country or in more prosperous circumstances 
 than the other class just mentioned ; and there 
 are likewise large and beautiful gardens connected 
 with thorn. Grapes andagreatvariety of other fruit 
 and vegetables are reared in these gardens, and 
 the leisure hours of the working people are much 
 taken up at the proper season in their cultivation. 
 
 Goals being dear (five dollars— about a guinea — 
 per ton) and wood cheap, many of the workmen 
 buy in large quantities of the latter article, and, 
 on coming home from their labour in the evening, 
 cut enough firewood for the following day. The 
 American stoves are found in every dwelling, 
 and are highly valued. The ordinary cooking 
 stove has four holes on the top for pots, kettle, or 
 any other cooking utensil. These holes when 
 not in use are covered with lids. The stove 
 has also a large oven for firing or baking bread 
 roasting meat, &c. A stove of this description, 
 with the usual furnishings (that is : two or three 
 differently-sized pots, a kettle, a "spider" or 
 frying-pan, and a boiler for washing clothes — tin, 
 with copper bottom), costs from twenty *our to 
 thirty dollars (£5 to £6 5s.) But there is :. ' other 
 kind of stove manufactured, called the Queen or 
 Self -Feeding Parlour Stove, which requires to be 
 charged with coal only once in the twenty- 
 four hours, — the coal feediig itself from a 
 cylinder above the fire. This stove is not used 
 for cooking purposes. Most people who can 
 afford it have one in their best or sitting-room. 
 It keeps up an aljiost regular heat all the time. 
 It is lighted up when the cold weather sets in, 
 and usually kept going till the winter is over. A 
 Self-Feeding rarlour Stove, with the latest im- 
 provements and of medium size, costs from 
 twenty to twenty-four dollars (£4 Ss. 4d. to £5). 
 
 Petroleum is used in the houses of the working 
 classes instead of gas, as gas is very dear. A 
 
mm 
 
 28 
 
 JL TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 manufacturer in the vicinity of Hamilton of this 
 now universallv used and valuable oil spent about 
 56,000 dollars before he got a barrel of it, and he 
 was, as it were, on his last thread when it was 
 obtained. The soil around Petrolia in the United 
 States (from which place the oil derives its name) 
 is of a bluish clay, but that around this gentle- 
 man's manufactory is of a loamy sand. The oil is 
 sometimes got at a depth of 200 feet, and so on : 
 his is obtained at a depth of more than 1000 feet. 
 When it is solid rock, the manufacturer" get at 
 the oil speedier than when soil intervenes, for the 
 improved tools now in use are best adapted ft.^ 
 cutting through rocks. The Canadian Govern- 
 ment, I understand, have expended a great deal 
 of money in investigating and reporting on proba- 
 ble strata for securing the oil ; but their efforts 
 in this direction have been, so far, attended with 
 little success. The presence of oil in any parti- 
 cular place is usually indicated by its oozing out 
 of the rock. After it is taken out of the weUs in 
 the raw or crude state, the oil is placed in large 
 vats, where it is rehned, — vitriol being the princi- 
 pal factor in this operation. To show you the 
 value put upon this oil as an illuminator, I shall 
 take the liberty of quoting the following account 
 from the Family herald for August, 1880 : — 
 "The production of crude petroleum in the 
 Pennsylvania Oil Fields has been a very pro- 
 gressive business from a very insignificant 
 beginning. * In 1859, when Colonel Drsie sunk 
 the first oil well and obtained a few barrels a-day, 
 he probably had no idea ' — says an American 
 writer — *of the growth and magnitude of the 
 business as it is to be seen at the present day, 
 with its daily production of 60,000 barrels of 
 crude oil ; with its 500 iron tanks ; with storage 
 capacity for 10,000,000 barrels; with 8,000,000 of 
 stock in the tanks ; with its refining capacity for 
 60,000 barrels per day ; with its 3000 milea of 
 pipe lines, for carrying the product to the tanks 
 and refineries; with its 3000 tank cars, with 
 
 p 
 

 ▲ TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 29 
 
 capacity to transport 250,000 barrels of oil ; with 
 its 2000 miles of iron tubing and casing used in 
 and around the wells ; with its 12,000 engines 
 and 10,000 boilers used at the wells ; with its 200 
 miles of rope cable and its 500 tons of iron and 
 steel used in drilling the wells ; with its export 
 trade with all the countries of the world of 40,000 
 barrels per day, and its home consumption of 
 10,000 barrels per day.' " 
 
 People in Canada content themselves with less 
 furniture than we have in our houses at home, as 
 it is very dear ; and, generally speaking, clothing 
 is also a little more expensive, but not anything 
 like what it is in some parts of the United States. 
 It is a great advantage in Canada to have a cellar 
 underneath a dwelling for storing and pre- 
 serving the meat — which is bought in large 
 quantities — both in times of intensely hot and 
 cold weather. Not having a cellar at first, one 
 of my Canadian friends raised his house six feet 
 and shifted it back four feet in order to make one. 
 I fancy this statement will astonish many of you ; 
 but I may add that it is no uncommon thing to 
 see not only houses raised, but moved from one 
 street to another ! — certainly very convenient, 
 especially when the owners cannot get their 
 houses sold readily or satisfactorily. Let my 
 friend (who is a bricklayer by trade) explain the 
 manner in which the work of raising was accom- 
 plished: — "In the first place, the earth was 
 cleared away, and holes dug. Short planks were 
 laid in these holes for the screws to work on and 
 to keep them from sinking in the soil. We then 
 applied three dumb screws to the front of the 
 building, — raising it about a foot ; went to the 
 
 Sack, and raised it eighteen inches ; returned to 
 tie front, and raised it other six inches, which 
 made the building about level. I omitted to 
 state, when we raised a piece we built a large 
 square wood block under it. Our next thing was 
 to run it back the four feet. Having no suitable 
 rollers at hand, I improvised two weaving-beams, 
 
 E 
 
80 
 
 A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 which I cut into three pieces each, and I arranged 
 these pieces under the beam of the house and on 
 the top of other beams. The screws were then 
 placed in a slanting position against the front of 
 the building. Each of the three screws was 
 manned in this way, and we moved it back the 
 four feet in about three hours. Three men besides 
 myself were engaged at the work of raising, which 
 was completed in three days. This is the usual 
 method of raising ; but, when a house is to be 
 moved any considerable distance, it is raised, and 
 placed on strong wooden beams or logs. These 
 rest on wheels two feet in diameter, to each of 
 which a long board is attached, which is used as 
 a helm for steering. Planks are laid under these 
 wheels to get over any unevenness on the streets. 
 Large spikes are driven into the street about one 
 hundred yards ahead of the house, to which an 
 upright windlass is attached. A strong chain is 
 then fastened to the house from the windlass, and 
 a pole is put through the windlass, to which one 
 or two horses are hitched, according to the size of 
 the house that is being moved. The horse or 
 horses move round this in the way that you have 
 seen them at a farmhouse when threshing or 
 churning." 
 
 I consider the school training of the children in 
 Canada to be greatly superior to that at home, 
 because there is not such a multiplicity of sub- 
 jects taken up, and, as a natural consequence, 
 they receive a better grounding in those branches 
 which it is absolutely necessary they should 
 understand pretty correctly, so as to be able to 
 perform their parts in this enlightened age with 
 credit. I highly approve of the way Spelling is 
 taught there. The teacher takes the words from 
 the class-book, and writes them on the black 
 board with their meanings attached, which the 
 scholars have to copy and learn by memory, so 
 that they may be able to give the definitions of 
 the words when the lesson is taken up. In exer- 
 cising the children on words sounded alike, all 
 
^Jl trip to CANADA. 
 
 31 
 
 the different forms and meanings are given. Sup- 
 posing the word "right" were given, the scholar 
 would require to spell and explain it thus : — 
 R-i-g-h-t, right, justice, or the side opposed to 
 <.3ft ; r-i-t-e, rt^e, a ceremonial observance ; 
 w-r-i-t-e, write, to form letters or words with a 
 pen ; w-r-i-g-h-t, vrright, an artificer ; — and so on 
 with words of this description. But the meaning 
 must always be given, let the word be what it 
 may. Of course, this training entails a greater 
 amount of study on the part of the youthful 
 scholars, who, however, are not troubled with too 
 much to learn at a time, and receive good 
 encouragement from their teachers to persevere in 
 their useful, though arduous work. On being 
 asked to spell words when outof school, they answer 
 in the manner in which they have been trained to 
 do — giving the definitions as well. This they do 
 very aptly. The Spelling Book in use is large 
 and gradational, and includes all the rules on 
 Pronunciation. It will be seen how much 
 this system is in advance of ours, and how it 
 must tend to strengthen the children's memories 
 more quickly, and to make them intelligent men 
 and women. Another grand feature of the edu- 
 cation in Canada is its cheapness. The school 
 tax in Hamilton is 3| mills on the dollar (a 
 mill is ^0 of a cent or the t^tt part of a dollar) ; 
 and the fees are — First four grades or classes, 
 10 cents a-month, and 20 cents per month there- 
 after till admitted to the Collegiate Institute, 
 where it is finally raised to 25 cents. This in- 
 cludes books in all the schools except the 
 Collegiate, where the scholars have to provide 
 themselves with some books. Speaking generally, 
 the Canadians can express their thoughts more 
 fluently than the majority of tradesmen at home ; 
 and civility, good manners, and unbounded hos- 
 
 fitality, are their leading characteristics. Hence, 
 found persons exchanging the most pleasant 
 salutations on meeting each other, and ever 
 ready to give neighbourly assistance in fencing 
 
A TRIP to CANADA. 
 
 a property, digging^ well, or any other necea 
 Bary -work, 
 markable for 
 
 e Canadian atmosphere is re* 
 and this may 
 
 1' 
 
 its clearness ; and this may be 
 easily understood when I say that, fiom Hamil- 
 ton, the spires in Toronto — though forty miles 
 distant — are quite visible. There is no 
 "gloamin"' in Canada, — the darkness of night 
 coming on in a very few minutes. ^ 
 
 iirfifiirt" 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 queen's birthday in HAMILTON — BURLINGTON 
 BEACH — "MONSTRE REFORM GATHERING" IN 
 mechanics' hall, HAMILTON. 
 
 Having given yon these particulars, I shall 
 proceed to describe how the time at my disposal 
 was chiefly spent. 
 
 Monday, the 26th of May, was observed as a 
 holiday in Hamilton in honour of the Queen's 
 Birthday, and the citizens put on their best 
 attire for the occasion. Sports under the auspices 
 of the St. George's Society were held in the 
 Dundum Park, and a procession in connection with 
 them paraded through the piincipal street, with 
 a troupe of "Kalathumpians'* — mock Indians — 
 in their midst. Some of the men in the pro- 
 cession had on female dresses, and there were 
 quite a host of boys wearing ** fause faces " 
 (Hallowe'en style), whose antics, however, were 
 rather stiff. This public parade appeared to 
 have been got up to please the juveniles ; but 
 there was not sufficient spirit thrown into it to 
 satisfy or amuse the adult portion of the specta- 
 tors. A splendid brass band accompanied the 
 piocession. Along with my friends, I afterwards 
 witnessed th« laying of the foundation-stone of a 
 new Baptist Church — a very large one — by the 
 Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, M.P. (one of Canada's 
 greatest statesmen), who rejoiced at the religious 
 liberty allowed all over Canada, — no denomination 
 being more favoured than another, — and sincerely 
 hoped that the mother country would speedily 
 improve in this respect. Mr. Mackenzie is a 
 Scotchman by birth, and wrought as a stone- 
 cutter in Irvine. In 1842, he emigrated to 
 Canada, and obtained a seat in Parlmmeut in 
 
u 
 
 A TRIt TO CANADA. 
 
 1861. The Baptist minister and Mr. Copp, who 
 has one of the largest stove foundries in the citv, 
 were the other speakers, and reference was maae 
 by them to the remarkable progress of the Bap- 
 tists in Hamilton during^the past thirty years. 
 The proceedings terminated with the smging of 
 "Goa Save the Queen," — all the gentlemen in 
 the immense assemblage loyally uncovering their 
 heads whilst it was bemg sung. * The rest of the 
 day was passed in walking over the Protestant 
 Cemetery, which is situated on the most westerly 
 part of the city. This cemetery is nearly as large 
 as the Paisley one, and is kept in excellent order. 
 There are many costly monuments and vaults in 
 it ; and I noticed that it is quite the custom to 
 have the surname engraven in large letters at the 
 bottom of the monument in front, aft^r the usual 
 inscription. The Boman Catholics lu.ve also a 
 cemetery of their own ; but I did noi, visit it. 
 
 Towards the end of the same week, I went 
 twice to Burlington Beach, — an open, healthy 
 watering-place ; the resort of numerous excursion 
 parties from Hamilton and surrounding villages 
 m the summer season. Not succeeding m getting 
 a steamer conveniently, I walked to it at first. 
 There being few good macadamised roads out in 
 the country in Canada, pedestrianism is disagree- 
 able, tiresome work, compared with what we find 
 it to be at home. The result of this is, that 
 drivers of vehicles of every description cheerfully 
 give foot travellers what aid they can, and often 
 without their asking it, as I myself expeiienced. 
 While walking along the road, the driver of a 
 "buggy" stopped his horse, and kindly inquired 
 
 * From newspapers received from Canada shortly after my 
 retarn to Paialey, I learned that this has been a most 
 unfortunate edifice; for, while in coarse of erection, three 
 men were killed, five seriously Injured, and some fearfully 
 narrow escapes occurred. By 4th December, 1879, it had 
 fallen in and become a complete wreck ; and the damage was 
 estimated at 16,000 dollars, about £3885. The universal 
 opinion was that the work had been given oat at too low a 
 figure. 
 
A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 85 
 
 if I was going far that way. Having told him 
 where I was oound for, he invited me to a seat 
 beside him, and drove me to the nearest road to 
 the beaoh. The beach is very sandy, and admira- 
 bly adapted for bathing purposes. But the 
 enjoyment of the visitors must be considerably 
 marred by the attention paid them by the myriads 
 of sand-Hies that infest the locality. They 
 literally covered all the unoccupied summer-seats, 
 and annoyed people greatly wnile walking along 
 the shore. The fans of the ladies will be unques- 
 tionably of much use there. There are several 
 summer residences belonging to the wealthier class 
 in Hamilton, a number of fishermen's cottages, 
 a large and commodious hotel called the Ocean 
 House, and a wooden church named "Bethel," 
 at the beach ; as well as two lighthouses and 
 three or four wooden piers, — these piers being at 
 that time in a dilapidated condition. On my 
 second visit, one of the piers was on lire, and the 
 flames arising from it contrasted curiously with 
 the brilliant sunshine of thab afternoon. I have 
 since learned that these piers have been vastly 
 improved. Visitors to the beach who have not a 
 return ticket in their possession are made to suffer 
 for not obtaining one beforehand, as it is exactly 
 the same fare there for a single as for a return 
 ticket, either by train or steamer. 
 
 About this time, I attended a " monstre Reform 
 gathering " in the Mechanics' Hall in Hamilton. 
 The citizens had two candidates before them 
 aspiring for a seat in the Ontario Parliament, — 
 Mr. Gibson (Reform), and Mr. Murray, a native 
 of Paisley (Conservative), — and the object of the 
 meeting was to forward the candidature of Mr. 
 Gibson. This gentleman was the first introduced 
 by the Chairman. His speech, however, was so 
 abusive of his opponent, and so full of self-praise, 
 that I was glad when he resumed his seat. Still, 
 the majority of those present appeared to be satis- 
 fied, and heartily applauded him. Mr. Summerville 
 of Dundas next addressed the meeting, and this 
 
./< * 
 
 36 
 
 A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 speaker coucluded a somewhat boastful harangue 
 with the assertion that '* the Conservatives never 
 passed any useful public bill through either the 
 British or the Dominion Parliament, and it sur- 
 prises me very much how they can have the 
 • cheek ' to come forward at election times to con- 
 test a Parliamentary seat." His remarks were 
 also well received. But the speech of the evening 
 followed, which was delivered by the Hon. 
 Edward Blake, formerly leader of the Reformers 
 in the Ontario Parliament, and perhaps the 
 greatest orator at present in Canada. Mr. Blake 
 riveted the attention of his hearers while he 
 spoke for nearly three hours in a calm, earnest, 
 eloquent way, on the *' burning questions " then 
 affecting the country, — namely, the New Pacific 
 Eailway, Protection, &c. Never had I listened 
 to such a masterly oration. The audience, not- 
 withstanding the oppressive heat in the hall and 
 the great length of the address, sat patiently 
 all the time of its delivery ; and, when 
 it was over, Mr. Blake (who appeared little 
 fatigued) received quite an ovation, — all present 
 rising en masse, and giving vent to their high 
 appreciation by cheering, waving hats, and clap- 
 ping hands, in a thoroughly genuine style. A 
 humorous speech came next from Mr. Joseph 
 Rymal, M.P. for North and South Wentworth, 
 and it had a good reception. The meeting (which 
 commenced at 8 p.m.) separated a few minutes 
 before the hour of midnight, after giving three 
 cheers for the Queen, for Mr. Blake, and for the 
 Chairman. I did not see any lads at it, and all 
 the men were very respectably dressed. The hall 
 — which was crowded — could at least accommo- 
 date 800 persons ; and where I was sitting, in the 
 body of the hall, each person had a cushioned 
 seat to himself. 
 
 11 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 A week's EXCUKSION to MONTREAL AND OTTAWA. 
 
 For a complete week — commencing Monday, 
 2nd June — I was away from Hamilton on a visit 
 to Montreal and Ottawa. I set out at 9 .a.m. 
 on board the Spartan, and procured a return 
 cabin ticket, which cost 174 dollars (about £3 
 13s.) and entitled me to a bed, fourteen meals 
 (seven each journey), and attendance. Those 
 called "deck passengers" have the use of the 
 lower deck — where the heavy ** baggage " 
 is stowed — on payment of four dollars (single 
 fare) ; but this does not include food or a bed. 
 There were only one or two passengers of this 
 class, while the cabin had its full number— above 
 a hundred, amongst whom were live Roman 
 Catholic priests and one Protestant minister. For 
 the most part of the day, dark clouds hung over- 
 head, drizzling rain fell, and a piercing cold wind 
 prevailed, (what is termed "'old country' 
 weather,") as the steamer sped its way down 
 Lake Ontario, — the most easterly of the five great 
 lakes running into the River 8t. Lawrence. This 
 lake is oval-shaped. It is 230 miles long and 60 
 miles broad at the widest part, and has an area 
 of 7300 square miles and an average depth of 
 490 feet. On reaching Toronto, the Spartan 
 stopped for two hours ; and the most important 
 of the other three places it had called at by 
 nightfall was Port Hope, which ninety years ago 
 was the site of an Indian village. In 1877, this 
 town had a population of 5700. The harbour has 
 capacity for holding nearly the entire fleet of the 
 lake. The chief manufactures are — lumber, flour, 
 woollen goods, leather, buttons, iron, CLgines, 
 and machinery. Two weekly newspapers ore 
 
m 
 
 A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 
 published in the town. There are seven or eight 
 churches in Port Hope, the finest of which belongs 
 to the Methodist body, and has a seating capacity 
 for 1500 persons. The town contains several 
 Masonic lodges, a St. George's and a St. Andrew's 
 society, a Young Men's Christian Association, and 
 a Mechanics' Institute and Reading- Room with a 
 good membership. The scenery around is very 
 beautiful, and many elegant private residences 
 are situated on the adjoining heights. At 5.30 on 
 Tuesday morning, as I lay in my bunk, I heard a 
 brass band play two verses of "God Save the 
 Queen " while the steamer lay at Kingston wharf, 
 which was followed by a ringing cheer from a 
 crowd of people on shore. Not till the afternoon 
 did I learn that this was a demonstration of good 
 feeling made jO the Governor-General and his 
 wife, who, with a suite of five or six ladies and 
 two gentlemen, came on board the Spartan at 
 this place, and had separate accommodation pro- 
 vided them at the stern. They were on their way 
 to officiate at some public ceremony in Quebec. 
 The inclement weather of the preceding day had 
 now entirely disappeared, and the sail through 
 the Lake of the Thousand Isles — lying between 
 Lake Ontario and the River St. Lawrence — was an 
 exceedingly delightful one. In point of fact, there 
 are upwards of 1900 islands here (Wolfe's Island — 
 20 miles long and 6 broad — being the largest) ; and, 
 as they present the greatest diversity of state- some 
 being barren, others fertile ; some wooded, others 
 bare ; some inhabited, others uninhabited ; and 
 80 on — the interest and admiration of the spectator 
 never flags. One of the cabin passengers employed 
 himself sketching the scene as long as the islands 
 remained in sight. There are dangerous currents 
 in the narrow channels between some of these 
 islands ; consequently, great care has to be exer- 
 cised at times in steering vessels in this locality. 
 The inhabitants of the several towns and villages 
 that were passed as the Spartan steamed dovm 
 the St. Lawrence— the most notable of which 
 
 IL 
 
A TRit Td CANAtA. 
 
 db 
 
 were Brockville, Prescott, and Cornwall— evi- 
 dently knew that the Vice-Regal party were on 
 board, for they appeared in large numbers at the 
 wharves, and at a few of the places royal salutes 
 were fired. Betwixt three and four o'clock p.m., 
 the distinguished party strolled about on the 
 hurricane deck (which was reserved for them), 
 and I then had an opportunity of seeing both the 
 Marquis and Princess ; the latter, however, was 
 closely veiled. The steamer had to encounter 
 two perilous rapids ; but, the river being calm 
 and the weather favourable, comparatively little 
 excitement prevailed amongst the passengers. In 
 rough, tempestuous times, however, there is a 
 likelihood of the vessels being dashed to pieces on 
 the hidden rocks. The more dangerous of the 
 two was the Lachine Rapid (which we reached 
 when about half-an-hour's sail from Montreal) ; 
 and Jean Baptiste, a renowned Indian pilot (who 
 came out in a small boat from an Indian village 
 in the vicinity), guided the steamer safely over 
 it. Another small boat having accompanied that 
 which brought the pilot, the twenty-four oarsmen 
 in each boat on returning to the village gave a 
 fine exhibition of their style of rowing, which is 
 somewhat different from ours. They seemed to 
 be in high spirits, and we cheered them lustily 
 as they pulled vigorously at an almost equal rate 
 of speed for a considerable distance. In truth, 
 this boat race greatly interested us, and was an 
 exceptional and amusing sight to nearly all on 
 board. Princess Louise had a :iUarter-of-an-hour's 
 conversation with our Indian pilot, and spoke also 
 for five minutes or so to one of the Roman 
 Catholic clergymen — an old, aristocratic-looking 
 man, who appeared to stand high in the estima- 
 tion of the other priests. AH the gentlemen took 
 off their hats while the Princess stood in our 
 midst speaking to the priest, who smiled and 
 bowed to her repeatedly, — showing unmistakably 
 how pleased he was at being thus recognised by 
 Her Royal Highness. Before entering Montreal 
 
m 
 
 A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 if 
 
 harbour, the steamer passed under what has been 
 described as "the eighth wonder of the world," — 
 the Victoria Bridge, named after the Queen, — 
 first planned by Thomas C. Keefer, a talented 
 Canadian engineer, whose scheme, however, was 
 subsequently elaborated and perfected by Robert 
 Stephenson, son of the celebrated George Stephen- 
 son. It was formally opened for traffic by the 
 Prince of Wales about the end of August, 1860, 
 amid much rejoicing. The total length of this 
 tubular bridge (which is an essential part of the 
 railway system in Canada) is 9184 feet. The 
 number of spans is 25, — 24 of 242 feet, and one 
 of 330 feet. The height from the surface of the 
 water to the under side of the centre tube is 60 
 feet ; the height from the bed of the river to the 
 top of the centre tube is 108 feet. There are 
 3,000,000 cubic feet of masonry in the bridge ; 
 and the total cost was about 7,000,000 dollars. 
 The passengers were landed at 8 p.ra., but not 
 until the horses and carriages belonging to the 
 Governor-General had been transferred to the 
 Quebec steamer lying in the harbour. I put up 
 in the Canada Hotel ; but, before going to bed, 
 heard a French candidate for rarliameutary 
 honours deliver an address in his native tongue 
 to an inmiense crowd, who frequently cheered 
 him, and, at the close, dispersed very quietly. 
 
 Next morning, I called on a Mr. Bobert 
 Rowand, a fellow-townsman, to whom I had an 
 introduction, and with whom 1 lived during part 
 of my stay in Montreal. This gentleman directed 
 me how to spend my time to the best advantage, 
 and in many other ways showed me much kind- 
 ness. I afterwards visited the Notre Dame Cathe- 
 dral, the largest Roman Catholic place of worship 
 in the city. It is capable of holding 15,000 per- 
 sons, and has two extensive galleries, a wide area, 
 a very large centre altar (as well as many smaller 
 ones), a number of confessionals, a host of paint- 
 ings, and a life-size sculptured figure of Christ 
 nailed to the Cross. The painters, I was told, 
 
A TEIP TO CAKADA. 
 
 41 
 
 \ 
 
 were employed for several years painting the in- 
 terior of the cathedral, which is altogether got up 
 in the most finished and costly style. By paying 
 25 cents, visitors are permitted to ascend the 
 bell toM'er (an elevation of 260 feet), where they 
 see "the largest bell in the world," as the poster 
 at the entrance-door states, (but this, of course, is 
 untrue,) and obtain splendid views of the city 
 from the four open corners. The bell is II tons 
 1 cwt. 1 qr. in weight, and it takes twelve men to 
 ring it. Proceeding next to the General Post 
 Ofiice, an immense stone structure, I passed a few 
 momonts examining the outside of the office under 
 the portico, which is spread all over with hun- 
 dreds of small brass boxes, about three inches 
 square, for the benefit of business men or those 
 who have much correspondence. The charge for 
 the use of a box is, I believe, five dollars a-year, 
 and they are all numbered. Each person is pro- 
 vided with a key, which will open no box but his 
 own. The end of the box is open in the inside of 
 the office, and when any letters or newspapers 
 come to any number, the officials put them 
 in the box. The possessor of a key can open his 
 box at any time during office hours ; and should 
 it be empty, he, of course, knows that nothing 
 has arrived for him. These boxes are to be found 
 in all Post Offices in America. In the New York 
 Post Office, there are thousands of them. This 
 inspection over, I was driven in an open public 
 carriage to the mountain at the back of the city 
 (750 feet higb\ which was named ** Mont Royal " 
 by Cartier and whence comes the modem name 
 of Montreal. The exquisite view of the largest 
 and prettiest city in Canada here obtained 
 thoroughly interested and delighted me for fully 
 half an hour ; and an intelligent lad I fell in with 
 heightened the pleasure 1 felt by pointing out and 
 briefly explaining many of the principal objects 
 lying beneath, such as — the Reservoir, the 
 Windsor Hotel, the Gasworks, the Colleges, the 
 City Hall, the different churches and hotels, the 
 
4^ 
 
 A TRIP TO CANAbA. 
 
 market-places, St. Helen's Isle (where the soldiers 
 are quartered), and the Nun's Isle (belonging to 
 the Grey Order of Nuns, who have a monasteiy 
 there, where sixty or seventy nuns reside), — both 
 islands being situateti on the River St. Lawrence, 
 east and west of the city, — &c. &c. Two of the 
 six towers of the Notre Dame v thedral rise to a 
 height that makes them conspicuous from what- 
 ever point viewed, no public building equalling 
 them m this respect. I saw some cows grazing on 
 the mountain, one of which had round its neck a 
 small bell that kept continually ringing, to indi- 
 cate to the owner where his herd were. There- 
 after I visited the Protestant Cemetery, which 
 lies a little to the back of the mountain (as does 
 also the Roman Catholic Cemetery), and spent three 
 hours inspecting the monuments and strolling 
 over the variously - termed avenues — Maple, 
 Beech, Hawthorn, Locust, Birch, Elm, &c. I 
 came across two large granite monuments erected 
 to the memory of natives of Paisley, — a William 
 Burnet, who died on the 10th of May, 1876 ; and 
 Andrew and Robert Crawford, the former (a 
 Montreal merchant) having died on 13th January, 
 1870, and the latter on 3rd July, 1873. The 
 English and Scotch people have by far the best- 
 looking monuments. The cemetery is very exten- 
 sive, is well kept, and can boast of a few conser- 
 vatories and many large vaults. 
 
 On Thursday, at 9.30 a.m., I took the train for 
 Ottawa. The land seen on the route was poorly 
 cultivated, the most of it being either used for 
 pasture or under process of clearance. The culti- 
 vated fields appeared like our own during the 
 month of April, but things are ready as early as 
 they are at home ; they ripen so quickly in 
 Canada. It is the universal custom to have the 
 farms enclosed with wooden horizontal fences, on 
 a great number of which "Zododont," "Hop 
 Bitters," *• Smoke Little Joker Tobacco," and 
 such-like advertisements, are painted in white in 
 the most attra'^tive letters, and do not fail to 
 
A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 43 
 
 i5 
 
 catch the eye of railway travellers. Stumps of 
 trees, two or three feet above the ground, were 
 still remaining in fields recently cleared. The 
 train arrived at Hull at 2.15 p.m. The Ottawa 
 Eiver divides Hull from the capital, and a small 
 bridge has to be crossed ere the latter is 
 reached. The cities are so close to each 
 other that I thought myself in Ottawa when 
 taking dinner in a small hotel in Hull. Including 
 its suburbs, the population of Ottawa in 1878 
 exceeded 30,000,— Hull alone having 9000 in- 
 habitants. The lumber trade engages some 5000 
 people ; but the other trades are inconsiderable. 
 Three newspapers are published daily. The most 
 of the streets in Ottawa are badly paved with 
 wood. After seeing a little about the city, I was 
 surprised that it should have been chosen as the 
 capital ; but I understand that it was selected by 
 the Queen (to whom the Canadian Parliament 
 referred the matter in 1857) on account of its 
 central position. When it was fixed on as the 
 permanent seat of Government, 900,000 dollars 
 were appropriated for the erection of buildings for 
 the Legislature. These are three in number, 
 generally known as the Eastern, Western, and 
 Central Blocks. On the 1st of September, 1860, 
 the Prince of Wales laid the _oundation-stone of 
 the Central Block. Subsequently, many unfore- 
 seen circumstances intervened, which prevented 
 the carrying out of the contracts as originally 
 entered into. By the 8th of June, 1866, the 
 work had progressed so far as to admit of the 
 session being held in the new buildings. Work- 
 men, however, were kept employed at them, 
 more or less, up till June, 1879, and the total cost 
 was very nearly four and a-quarter million dollars, 
 or about five times the original appropriation. 
 These buildings stand on Barrack Hill, overlook- 
 ing the river, and are the chief architectural 
 ornament of the city, and peinaps the grandest 
 pile of masonry in America. In tht. Eastern and 
 Western Blocks are the offices of the various 
 
m 
 
 A. TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 departments of the Government ; while the Cen- 
 tral Block contains the Legislative Chambers 
 and Parliamentary offices and Library. The 
 Central Blockj|wa8 then open to the public, and I 
 
 fassed fully an hour examining its interior, where 
 saw life-size oil paintings of the principal 
 Canadian governors, statesmen, and judges ; the 
 Legislative Chamber of the Commons, with the 
 Speaker's Gallery, the Senators' Gallery, the Re- 
 porters' Gallery, the Ladies' Gallery, and the 
 Public Gallery ; the several rooms for the use of 
 the gentlemen of the Press ; the Post and Tele- 
 graph Offices ; the refreshment rooms, smoking- 
 rooms, committee rooms, and retiring-rooms ; the 
 Library, &c. The grounds are beautifully laid 
 out in walks and drives, and a noteworthy adjunct 
 to them is the "Lovers' Walk," a delightful 
 winding path that threads the edge of the preci- 
 pice, half way between its summit and the river 
 below. This walk has many pleasant nooks and 
 sylvan retreats. I aftei'wards got accommodated 
 in the Russell House for the night, where I was 
 charged at the rate of a dollar a-meal ; but so 
 numerous were the dishes, and so daintily were 
 they prepared to anything I had yet experienced, 
 that I did not grudge this sum in the least. A 
 Parliamentary election having taken place in 
 Ottawa that day, I had the privilege — after 
 supper was over — of hearing speeches delivered 
 by the Mayor of the city, the successful candi- 
 dates, the unsuccessful candidate, and several 
 other gentlemen. A Conservative and Liberal- 
 Conservative had defeated the Liberal candidate, 
 and • the Conservative party were much elated 
 with their victory. Three hearty cheers were 
 given for the Queen at the termination of the pro- 
 ceedings. 
 
 On Friday morning, at 9.15, as I left Ottawa 
 on my return to Montreal, I bought the Daily 
 Citizen to see how the election events of the 
 previous day were reported, and was surprised in 
 glancing over its columns to notice that some 
 
A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 4» 
 
 the Cen- 
 hambers 
 f. The 
 ic, and I 
 r, where 
 principal 
 ges ; the 
 mth the 
 , the Re- 
 and the 
 le use of 
 nd Tele- 
 imoking- 
 )ms ; the 
 ally laid 
 r adjunct 
 elightful 
 tie preci- 
 bhe river 
 ooks and 
 modated 
 re I was 
 
 but so 
 ;ily were 
 erienced, 
 east. A 
 place in 
 
 - after 
 lelivered 
 il candi- 
 
 several 
 
 Liberal- 
 
 mdidate, 
 
 h elated 
 
 ; Ottawa 
 le Daily 
 i of the 
 prised in 
 tat some 
 
 of the Canadian newspapers are in the habit of 
 announcing the arrivals in the principal hotels. A 
 cleverly - written burlesque on the addresses 
 usually issued by aspiring candidates at election 
 times also appeared in that day's Citizen, (signed 
 •• Kom Kobb, jun.," — self -nominated,) a few 
 extracts from which might here be given for 
 amusement's sake : — 
 
 " To the Free and Independent Electors of the City of 
 Ottawa: 
 
 " Gentlemen,— I am deeply grateful for this flat* 
 tering token of your confidence and esteem. I have 
 long felt that our noble Capital required a man of 
 unbending integrity, high moral worth, and com- 
 manding intellect, to represent her in the councils of 
 the Province ; and I have much pleasure in congratu* 
 lating yon on having secured such a one. 
 
 " In regard to my political principles, I would 
 state that I am a Moderate Clear Grit Tory Liberal 
 Conservative Beformer. I'm in favour of Sir John 
 Macdonald, Oliver Mowat, Christopher Columbas, 
 Sixteen-String Jack, His Satanic Majesty, and the 
 Hon. George Brown. I'm also in favour of stewed 
 oysters, trial by jury, long credits, pale ale, Mrs. 
 Winslow's soothing syrup, universal suffrage, babies, 
 and the present bankrupt law. 
 
 '* If elected, I shall labour unceasingly for the in- 
 terests of the city. I shall advocate the building of 
 the Coteau Bailwa^, and the immediate construction 
 of a silver-plated bridge across the river at Gatineau 
 Point. 
 
 ** I shall insist on every citizen having a gas lamp 
 at his front door, and a ginger-beer fountain in the 
 back yard, to be paid for by the Corporation. 
 
 ** I shall bring in bills to abolish taxes, bad debts, 
 bailiffs, adulterated whisky (that is, adulterated with 
 water), June frosts, chilblains, old maids, stagnation 
 in lumber, short crops, jails, and policemen. 
 
 " In regard to my religious principles, I would 
 state that my fighting weight is 175 lbs. 
 
 " Gentlemen, it is my wish that this election shouM 
 be carried on fairly and above board. I would scorn 
 to buy any man's suffrage; but, if any intelligent 
 voter wishes to borrow $5 till after election day, he 
 can hftve it by calling at my office." 
 
 a 
 
46 
 
 ▲ TEIP TO OANAOA. 
 
 Montreal was reaohed by 1.30 p.m. Mr. 
 Bowand stopped work this afternoon in order to 
 take me to a number of places I had not yet seen. 
 Amongst these were : — The bottom flat of the 
 Windsor Hotel (the largest hotel in the city), 
 with its tobacco and ban)er stores, its post and 
 telegraph offices, and billiard rooms ; — tho church 
 then being erected by fits and starts, by public 
 subscriptions, for the Roman Catholics, on the 
 model of St. Peter's at Rome j — the City Hall ; — 
 the Young Men's Christian Association Rooms 
 (inferior to those in Paisley, and no amusements 
 are provided in them) ; — and the several flats of 
 the Montreal iVUness, an evening paper. The 
 Witness is printed on one of Hoe's eight-cylinder 
 rotary machines, and is afterwards folded on 
 ■mall presses wrought by the foot, like the 
 Minerva Printing Press. Copper-faced types are 
 used to a considerable extent in this establish- 
 ment, and I there saw electrotyping done for the 
 first time. 
 
 The city of Montreal stands on an island thirty 
 miles long by ten broad, formed by the confluence 
 of the Ottawa River with the St. Lawrence. Its 
 population is somewhere about 120,000, three* 
 fourths of which are French-Canadians. Situated 
 600 miles up the St. Lawrence, it may be said to 
 be at the head of the ocean navigation, and at 
 the end of the mighty chain of lake, river, and 
 canal navigation which extends westward to 
 Chicago, l^X) miles distant. It is also the chief 
 seat of manufacturing operations in the Dominion. 
 Montreal is called '* the city of churches," and it 
 is calculated that there is one church to every 
 600 persons in it. I was sorry to learn that, not- 
 witlustanding this, the citizens are far from being 
 peaceably inclined. My friend Mr. Rowand, 
 then a volunteer, informed me that, during the 
 preceding year, the local force were flirice 
 called out to quell riots between Roman Catholics 
 and Orangemen ; and it is a sad fact that many 
 carry revolvers about with themi although they 
 
 iV' 
 
A TBIt TO CAKADA. 
 
 47 
 
 ran the risk of bein^ heavily fined for doing lo. 
 A murder was committed a day or so prior to my 
 arrival in the city, and the authorities offered 
 two rewards — one of 1000 dollars and another of 
 600 dollars— for the arrest and conviction of the 
 murderers. Several persons were taken into 
 custody; but no one was ever found guilty. 
 Montreal possesses a pretty respectable Theatre 
 Boyal ; but the inhabitants do not sufdciently 
 patronise it to support a stock company. The 
 two travelling companies I saw playing in it 
 acquitted themselves in anything but a creditable 
 manner, — one of them actmg so wretchedly and 
 carelessly that, with others, my friend and I 
 preferred to leave the place before the piece waa 
 much more than half through. Many of the 
 streets in the city are called after some saint or 
 other, and their names are given in both the 
 English and French languages, as are also the 
 public notices put up at the railway crossings in 
 the vicinity. 
 
 At 9 a.m. on Saturd^, I left Montreal lor 
 Hamilton on board the Gorsicau. The steamer 
 had to pass through the Lachine Canal, nine 
 miles long (the making of which cost £80,000), 
 and another canal of greater length and hii,ving 
 numerous locks, in oraer to avoid the rapidi. 
 While the sun was settinff that eveninff, a 
 beautiful red sky overspread uie horizon for niUy 
 two miles. No religious services were conducted 
 on board on Sunday; but, thanks to the Com- 
 mittee of the Montreal Auxiliary Bible Society, a 
 Family Bible and two religious tracts lay on the 
 table in the cabin saloon for the use of the 
 passengers. About one o'clock in the afternoon, 
 the attention of all on board was drawn to a 
 phenomenon in the firmament overhead. A 
 coloured ring a little broader than the rainbow 
 line encircled the sun, which was partly hidden 
 by a cloud ; and I heard the old captain, who 
 was as much interested as any of us, confess he 
 had not seen such a thing before. After another 
 
48 
 
 A. ftat TO CANADA. 
 
 delightful sail through the Lake of the Thousand 
 Isles, Kingston — one of the oldest cities in 
 Upper Canada— was reached, where the Corsicaai 
 waited an hour. The population of this city is 
 about 14,000. The first object of interest on 
 approaching it is Fort Henry, which is connected 
 by a very long bridge with the adjoining village 
 of Bamefield. During the war of 1812, the 
 principal military and naval stores and ec^uip- 
 ments were concentrated here, and the fortitica< 
 tions much enlarged and improved. Kingston 
 harbour is capacious and safe at all times for the 
 largest class of vessels ; and in the city are many 
 large ship-yards, engine-works, foundries, machine 
 shops, tanneries, breweries, &c. Owing to the 
 existence of extensive quarries of limestone rock 
 in the immediate vicimty, the principal edifices 
 are constructed of this material. Kingston con- 
 tains many handsome buildinss ; and a Military 
 College has been erected by the County in it, at 
 a cost of 100,000 dollars, n)r the purpose of im- 
 parting a complete education in all branches of 
 military tactics, fortification, engineering, and 
 ceneral scientific knowledge in the military pro- 
 fession, and for qualifying officers for staff 
 appointments. The Provincial Penitentiary, a 
 larse and massive building, surrounded by a nigh 
 and substantial wall, lies about a mile west of the 
 commercial part of the city. Leaving Kingston 
 betvrixt 8 and 9 o'clock on Sunday evening, the 
 steamer arrived at Hamilton at 3 p.m. on the 
 following day. 
 
 
 f 
 
•n 
 
 Thousand 
 cities in 
 > Corsican 
 lis city is 
 terest on 
 !onnected 
 ig village 
 812, the 
 d e<}uip- 
 fortifica- 
 Kingston 
 
 8 for the 
 ire many 
 machine 
 ; to the 
 one rock 
 
 edifices 
 ton con- 
 Military 
 in it, at 
 
 9 of im> 
 iches of 
 g. and 
 iry pro- 
 r staff 
 iarv, a 
 
 a hiffh 
 
 of the 
 ngston 
 ig> the 
 )n the 
 
 1 ■ 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 VISIT TO THE NEWSPAPET? OFFICES IV nAMILTON — 
 DUNDAS, AND CELEBRATION ( TANNAHILL's 
 ANNIVERSARY THERE— NIAGi\ A FALLS. 
 
 On Tuesday and Wednesday, I visited the 
 Times and Spectator offices, and obtained much 
 interesting information regarding the state of the 
 printing trade in all its departments. The 
 machines used in printing both newspapers were 
 alike, and were made on the same pnnciple as 
 the machine Ip.tely employed in throwing off 
 copies of the Paisley Daily Telegraph. From the 
 specimen books of jobbing work shown me, I 
 observed that curving and colouring are carried 
 on to a mi' ch greater extent in Canada than at 
 home. 
 
 On Friday, 13th June, I went by the street car 
 to Dundas, —a little village lyin^? romantically in 
 a finely wooded nook immediately beneath the 
 Burlington Heights, five miles north-west of 
 Hamilton. There is a stream running through it, 
 upon which are large flour mills, carrying on a 
 considerable business ; but the chief public work 
 is undoubtedly the cotton mill, which gives 
 employment to several hundred men and women. 
 Just then, a dispute was pending in this miU. A 
 band of English workers from Stockport had been 
 induced by the employers to accept engagements 
 and cross the Atlantic ; but, on arriving in 
 Bundas, (according to their address in the public 
 newspapers, ) they found things entirely different 
 from what they had been represented to them. 
 The workers asserted that the employers led them 
 to understand that they were building an addition 
 to their mills, that there was no stnke, and that 
 they were not asked to come to supersede the old 
 
 I 
 I 
 
56 
 
 JL TB1> TO CANADA. 
 
 it 
 
 [ 
 
 hondi? ; while the exact position of affairs was the 
 very reverse of this. I did not learn how this 
 controversy ended. In my wanderings about the 
 village, I came across a small Roman Catholic 
 burymg-place situated on a hill, in which were 
 some dilapidated gravestones erected as far back 
 as the sevent 'onth century. The wording of the 
 inscriptions on a few of the stones that can be 
 deciphered is a little faulty. Take for example 
 the conclusion to one of them : — "Farewell, 
 children, sister, friends, and relations, I hope to 
 meet again never to part no more." I had a 
 splendid view of the country in front for many 
 miles from that point on the Burlington ridge 
 overlooking the deep, wooded ravine, and after- 
 wards wmled away two hours inside the 
 Mechanics' Institute reading newspapers and 
 magazines. Having noticed public bills an- 
 nouncing that the Gale Ionia Club would that night 
 celebrate the anni- ersa^y of Trknnahill, the Paiuey 
 poet, by a concert in tlVe Town Hall, I resolved 
 to attend it. Twenty-five cents was the charge 
 of admission. Only two-thirds of the seats in the 
 hall — which, roughly guessing, would seat 
 between five and six hundred persons— were 
 occupied by an audience that assembled rather 
 slowly. Indeed, the entertainers were likewise 
 to blame in this respect, for the concert was not 
 begun till half -an-hour after the advertised time — 
 8 o'clock. A few Highlanders, dressed in their 
 peculiar garb for the occasion, made the melodious 
 strains of the bagpipe heard as they wended 
 their way to the hall ; and one of them kept 
 playing while he and other three Highlanders, to 
 the great amusement of those assembled, strutted 
 along the passage leading to the ante-room as 
 proud and dignified as though they had been 
 returning from annihilating the Zulu race I 
 There was no Chairman ; and, strange to say, 
 the programme contained none of Tannahm's 
 songs, although it was much varied, and included 
 such well-known songs as ''Tom Bowling," "I 
 
 i 
 
 m 
 
in was the 
 1 how this 
 3 about the 
 n Catholic 
 i^hich were 
 as far back 
 ling of the 
 lat can be 
 r example 
 ' Farewell, 
 I hope to 
 I had a 
 for many 
 [ton ridge 
 md after- 
 side the 
 pers and 
 bills an- 
 that night 
 '•e PaiEuey 
 resolved 
 le charge 
 Etts in the 
 dd seat 
 ns—were 
 d rather 
 likewise 
 was not 
 I time — 
 in their 
 elodious 
 wended 
 im kept 
 iders, to 
 strutted 
 oom as 
 kd been 
 race I 
 to sav, 
 inahill's 
 icluded 
 g." " I 
 
 A TBI^ TO CANADA. 
 
 61 
 
 ti 
 
 Wish My Granny Saw Ye," " The Boy in Blue," 
 "We're a' John Tamson's Bairns," &c. There 
 was singing (sentimental and comic) by two ladies 
 and two gentlemen, piano-playing by two ladies, 
 comet-playing by a bandmaster, and dancing by 
 three Highlanders in costume. A most enjoyable 
 concert was brought to a close with the singing 
 by the audience, led by the singers on the stege, 
 of "Auld Langsyne" and "God Save the 
 Queen," — the latter being sung very fervently. 
 
 Three of my friends accompanied me on Mon- 
 day (16th) on a visit to the famous Niagara 
 Falls. We took the train at 9 a.m. for 
 Clifton, which is situated on the Canadian 
 side of the Suspension Bridge two miles be- 
 low the Falls. The district through which we 
 passed is admitted to be the best fruit-growing 
 m Canada, and it was exceedingly cheering to 
 look out from the car upon the very extensive, 
 finely-kept orchards, that were to be seen nearly 
 the whole of the journey on either side of the 
 railway. From Clifton, the road we traversed 
 was one' hundred feet above the bed of the 
 Niagara River, the water of which appeared from 
 our high prospect perfectly calm, and, save a 
 white streak of whirling foam here and there, 
 gave no indication of its nearness to, or recent 
 leap over, the stupendous cataract. The cabmen 
 (who charge 25 cents for the two miles' drive) 
 greatly plagued us at first, while many shan)ers 
 and extortionists met with at the Falls 
 lessened our pleasure and made us extremely 
 cautious in all our doings there. For neariy a 
 mile of the road, glimpses of the American Falls 
 were obtained through the tall trees that lined 
 the bank ; but I confess feeling disappointed till 
 we reached Table Eock. The Falls are here seen 
 to the best advantage. Admiration, however, in 
 a little gave way to surprise ; for what I had 
 read about them had prepared me for some awe- 
 inspiring spectacle, and as yet I had no such 
 feeling, out was simply much impressed with the 
 
52 
 
 4 TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 surpassing loveliness of the scene. The Falls are 
 broken into three portions by Goat and Luna 
 islands. The Horse Shoe or Canadian Fall is 
 2000 feet wide and 158 feet high. The American 
 Falls are six feet higher and 9C^ feet in breadth, — 
 the smtdler of them (only 100 feet broad) appear- 
 ing as a mere ribbon of water when contrasted 
 with the Great Falls. The roar of this magnificent 
 cataract is sometimes heard at a distance of many 
 miles ; but of course it is modified by the direc- 
 tion and strength of the wind. That day being 
 beautiful and mild, the noise was not great. It 
 is computed that the precipice is worn away by 
 the friction of the water at the rate of about one 
 foot a-year; and it is believed that the Falls have 
 gradutJly receded from Queenston, seven miles 
 below, to their present position. The river above 
 the Falls is studded with islands of various sizes, 
 amounting to thirty-seven in number. The 
 enormous volume of water that gushes over the 
 Horse Shoe Fall is estimated to be fully twenty 
 feet thick in the middle. It is of a pretty light 
 sreen colour, except at the sides, where it is 
 foamy white. While the sun was shining, we 
 saw a fine rainbow, exhibited in the water beneath 
 by the numberless drops of falling spray. Gain- 
 ing admittance to Cedar Island on payment of 
 10 cents each, we ascended the tower tnere, and 
 for a short time marked the turbulence and speed 
 of the water immediately above the Canadian 
 Fall, which gathers strength as it approaches its 
 veree, yet seems to pause ere shooting into the 
 gulf below. The charge for admission to the 
 Clark Hill Islands and the Burning Spring 
 is to strangera exactly the double of what 
 it is to nativeSy—the former having to pay 
 50 cents, and the latter 25 cents. On 
 the collector demanding the greater sum 
 from us, we began to retrace our steps rather 
 than encourage such an extortion, when he 
 hurried after us to make sure we were not natima; 
 and less than a moment's chat set his mind at 
 
 kiir. 
 
A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 Ji 
 
 lie Falls are 
 and Luna 
 ian Fall is 
 B American 
 breadth,— 
 id) appear* 
 contrasted 
 nagnificent 
 ce of many 
 ' the direc- 
 day being 
 great. It 
 I away by 
 about one 
 Falls have 
 yen miles 
 iver above 
 ious sizes, 
 >er. The 
 over the 
 ly tvrenty 
 etty light 
 lere it is 
 ning, we 
 r beneath 
 Gain- 
 lonent of 
 lere, and 
 nd speed 
 I!anadian 
 Etches its 
 into the 
 to the 
 Spring 
 ' what 
 to pay 
 On 
 tr sum 
 rather 
 hen he 
 natives; 
 uiud at 
 
 1/ 1 
 
 rest on that vital point ! In paying him, we 
 unintentionally gave him five cents less than he 
 should have got, even from ** natives," and no 
 complaint was made ; so, perhaps there was a 
 third distinction. Assuredly, visitors who desire 
 to "do " the sights around the Falls economically 
 require to be continually on the alert against 
 over-exactions. The Clark Hill Islands are well 
 wooded and have many pleasant avenues ; and 
 they are connected with the mainland by two 
 handsome suspension bridges. At the bridge be- 
 side the Burning Spring, the current runs at the 
 rate of twenty -seven miles an hour. This spring 
 is to be seen inside of the Mysterious Chamber of 
 the Pretty Lodge nearly two miles above the 
 the Horse Shoe Fall, and is in its way another 
 natural curiosity. It was discovered by native 
 Indians about the beginning of the present 
 century. They accidentally built their camp 
 fire over a fissure in the rock through which 
 the water flows from a bed of coal, iron ore, and 
 sulphur ; and the water became ignited. There 
 is a man in constant attendance here to experi- 
 ment before visitors. Through an opening in the 
 floor, he thrusts a large tubular instrument, which 
 he partly fills with the strange water. He then 
 sets a light to the mouth of the instrument, when 
 a big bluish light is emitted, slightly tipped 
 with red towards the top of the flame. He next 
 holds a handkerchief and then his naked hand 
 over the flame for a few moments, and it does 
 them no harm whatever. Half a tumblerful of 
 the water is now poured out to each spectator, 
 who finds it has a sulphurous and nasty taste. 
 One of the visitors having managed to drink the 
 whole of his share, the experimenter places a light 
 to the mouth of the newly-emptied tumbler, and it 
 burns inside. The water in the othe^ tumblers is 
 also set abuming. A light is afterwards reached 
 down to the spring, when an immense bluish 
 flame is seen, which makes a bright and striking 
 Jinale to the interesting experiments. On our 
 
54 
 
 A TRIP 1 CANADA. 
 
 return, a beautiful rainbow was visible in the 
 atmosphere a little above the Horse Shoe Fall, 
 which we were greatly astonished to see recede 
 from us as we moved towards it till it became lost 
 to view in the river below. There is a Museum 
 on this side of the Falls so arranged as to present 
 a forest scene, and containing a line collection oi 
 birds, beasts, and fishes, which we intended going 
 to see after partaHug of dinner ; but it entirely 
 escaped our memories. For the same fare (25 
 cents), we had our choice of crossing the river — 
 at this point three-quarters of a mile broad — 
 either in a ferry-boat or by the New Suspension 
 Bridge. We chose the sail ; and, for ten minutes, 
 the little boat kept dancing on the agitated stream 
 not much more than a hundred yards from the 
 base of the precipice, guided by one man only, 
 who rsed very long and powerful oars. Keaching 
 the Ame:;ican shore, we were soon standing on the 
 huge rock-masses that lie in chaotic confusion 
 close to the foot of the ^eater Fall ; and now were 
 we thoroughly astounded and overawed by the 
 force and 'majesty of this sublime exhibition of 
 Nature. The roar was deafening ; and on the 
 slightest gust of wind we got drenched with 
 spray. A feeling of profound reverence took 
 possession of us as we gazed up at the powerful, 
 thundering torrent, which had rolled thus for "o 
 many ages — a lasting memorial to the millions oi 
 pilgrims from all climes of the almightiness of its 
 Divine Creator. A few steps to the left brought 
 us to an Inclined Eailway, the bed of which has 
 been cut in the face of the precipice. It is a very 
 remarkable evidence of the inventive mind of 
 man. The upper brow of the cliff is pierced by a 
 tunnel, through which the two commodious and 
 comfortable cars ascend and descend simultane- 
 ously, propelled by water-power and securely 
 worked on a large cable. On gaining the summit, 
 we trod a bajik built with solid masonry, 
 which is projected to the very edge of 
 the cataract and terminates in a low wall, 
 
 y^ 
 
)le in the 
 Jhoe Fall, 
 see recede 
 3came lost 
 )• Museum 
 bo present 
 lection oi 
 tied going 
 b entirely 
 > fare (25 
 le river — 
 
 broad — 
 ispension 
 minutes, 
 'd stream 
 from the 
 lan only, 
 Reaching 
 ag on the 
 lonfusion 
 low were 
 i by the 
 Mtion of 
 
 on the 
 ed with 
 ce took 
 awerful, 
 
 for "'> 
 lions xji 
 38 of its 
 brought 
 ich has 
 
 a very 
 lind of 
 d by a 
 )U8 and 
 ultane- 
 3curely 
 immit, 
 isonry, 
 Ige of 
 
 wall, 
 
 A TAIP TO CANADA. 
 
 65 
 
 80 that visitors are enabled to stand with its 
 nearest waters rushing past their very feet and 
 measure its dizzy depth in perfect safety. Turning 
 to go in the direction of Prospect Park, we saw a 
 neat little edifice before us occupied by a photo- 
 grapher, where thousands of tourists are annually 
 photographed, — the immense amphitheatre of the 
 Falls forming the inimitable background of each 
 
 {>icture. Prospect Park is beautifully laid out in 
 awn and flower plots, has many tasteful walks, 
 fountains, and running streams, and a public hall 
 for concerts, theatrical representations, or the 
 shelter of pic-nics. A party of Germans, accom- 
 panied by their wives and sweethearts, and 
 an excellent brass band, were assembled there in 
 the height of enjoyment, and the majority of them 
 (ladies mcluded) appeared to be indulging freely 
 in lager beer. Crossing the Oast Iron Bridge 
 above the American Falls (which is 360 feet long, 
 has four arches of 90 feet span each, a double 
 carriage-way, and two footpaths, with iron railings), 
 where we had to pay 50 cents each, we entered into 
 a region connected with thrilling incidents of 
 danger, escapes, or death, and in which we got 
 the nearest and best views of the Eapids above 
 the whole of the Falls. To get a sight of the 
 Horse Shoe Fall from below Goat Island, wo had 
 to descend wooden enclosed stairs firmly secured 
 to the cliff (erected in 1829 by Mr. Biddle, presi- 
 dent of the United States Bank, and named after 
 him), and to stumble over slippery boulders of fallen 
 rock. This feat is not unattended with danger, as 
 portions of the rock fall here occasionally, and 
 only so late as the preceding day a piece about 50 
 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 20 feet thick, slid off 
 the bank hereabouts — taking everything in its 
 path— a distance of nearly 100 feet. The sudden 
 change that came over the sky as we ascended 
 Biddle's Stairs was very astonishing and ex- 
 quisitely grand. The sun was setting, and the 
 sky in front for a considerable length had a bright 
 red appearance. Altogether, the brilliant colour 
 
56 
 
 A TBIP TO CANADA. 
 
 of the firmament and the grandeur of the sur- 
 rounding scenery — being a combination of pretfy 
 wooded islands, substantial bridges, foaming 
 rapids, mighty cataracts (with their clouds of 
 spray), pleasure grounds, and cheery, genteel 
 little villages, with elegant hotels — made up a 
 most charming picture, the like of which I had 
 never looked upon. Our next resort was to the 
 small wooded bridge on Goat Island leading to the 
 very brink of the Canadian Fall ; after which, we 
 visited the Three Sisters —small islands connected 
 by bridges in the midst of the rapids above that 
 same Fall. Four days later on, a wealthy French 
 lady (who was on herv bridal trip with her 
 husband) fell into the river from the centrt 
 island while in the act of stooping over the ledge 
 of a rock to obtain a cupful of the water which 
 swept past with great speed about two feet be- 
 neath, and was swiftly carried over the Horse 
 Shoe Fall. A week after the melancholy accident, 
 her body was discovered floating round an eddy a 
 few hundred yards below the Falls, — all the 
 clothing having been torn away, excepting one 
 shoe and one kid glove. Each visitor has to 
 pay a dollar for a yellow waterproof dress and 
 a guide to be taken under the Canadian Fall, or 
 under the " Shadow of the Rock" at the larger, 
 or to the "Cave of the Winds," "Whirlwind 
 Bridge," and " Rock of Ages " at the smaller of 
 the American Falls ; but, excepting these, we had 
 now seen the Falls from all salient standpoints, 
 and had lingered about them from noon till 8 
 p.m. We returned to the Canadian shore by the 
 New Suspension Bridge (said to be the longest of 
 the kind in the world), but did not reach Hamilton 
 till balf-an-hour before midnight. 
 
the sur- 
 of pretty 
 
 foaming 
 clouds of 
 , genteel 
 ade up a 
 ch I had 
 IS to the 
 ng to the 
 'hich, we 
 onnected 
 )0ve that 
 y French 
 with, her 
 e centrt 
 Dhe ledge 
 er which 
 feet be- 
 le Horse 
 a.ccident, 
 n eddy a 
 -all the 
 ting one 
 
 has to 
 ress and 
 Fall, or 
 e larger, 
 tiirlwind 
 laller of 
 , we had 
 dpoints, 
 
 L tUl 8 
 
 by the 
 Qgest of 
 amilton 
 
 * *. 
 
 CEAPTErt VII. 
 
 OPENING OF A GOSPEL TENT IN HAMILTON — TWO 
 FLYING VISITS TO TORONTO — MISCELLANEOUS 
 ITEMS. 
 
 On the following evening, I went to witness the 
 opening of a Gospel Tent under the auspices of 
 the Hamilton Reform Temperance Association. 
 The place of meeting was well filled, and a good 
 many of the city ministers occupied seats on the 
 platform. But I was not at all pleased with the 
 strong, absurd statements, made by the most of 
 the speakers. For instance, one gentleman, in 
 the course of his address, said that, if the 
 Churches had done their work as they ought, 
 there would have been no drunkards at the pre- 
 sent day, and, if they would all work harmoni- 
 ously and determinedly, in the course of three 
 years they might succeed in having drunkenness 
 abolished, ii not entirely forgotten ! Mrs. Van 
 Cott, a noted lady evangelist, (who received three 
 cheers on entering the tent after the proceedings 
 had commenced, and who is possessed of a strong, 
 masculine voice, ) spoke warmly against the great 
 use of strong drink and tobacco amongst men. 
 Having wrought herself up to a considerable 
 degree of excitement, she advised the young 
 women to have nothing to do with the young men 
 who smoked or chewed, and shouted out to the 
 men in the audience to keep their mouths clean 
 * * for God's sake. " She then informed her hearers 
 that, if any man who was in the habit of using 
 the obnoxious weed attempted to kiss her, she 
 would knock that man down, — showing at the 
 same time, by a violent gesture, how easily that 
 could be done. She also advised the ladies pre- 
 sent to continue in their extravagance in dress, 
 
5d 
 
 A TRIf to CAKAD^ 
 
 for she waa sure the men liked to see them 
 fashionably attired, and she could like the men 
 who were of that mind. All thes(» remarks, I 
 am sorry to say, -were enthusiasticall ^ applauded. 
 During the evening, a brass band played several 
 of Moody and Sankey's hymns, as well as a num- 
 ber of common dancing tunes ; five coloured 
 Jubilee singers sang sacred hymns, in their own 
 tjtrange way, to the intense amusement of the bulk 
 of the audience ; and a lady sang two plaintive 
 songs with great taste and effect. I came away 
 from this meeting much dissatisfied, — thinking 
 that, although its object was unquestionably 
 good, there was much need of improvement in the 
 manner of conducting it. Towards the close ot 
 that week, Mrs. Cott was presented with a very 
 flattering address and an envelope containing 200 
 dollars by the treasurer of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, on behalf of the congregation, "for the 
 wonderfully beneficial results of her labours 
 during her short stay in the city." 
 
 Soon after this, I went twice to Toronto. On 
 my first visit, I spent a merry night with one of 
 my late f ellow-pa^^sengers on board the Manitoban 
 and the friends he was then living with, in whose 
 house I was accommodated overnight. Before 
 
 {)roceeding to bed, my friend and his brother-in- 
 aw read a chapter in the Bible, — taking each a 
 verse in turn, — which appeared to be their custom 
 nightly ; and I considered it an excellent one. 
 But I found all the Scotch- Canadians with whom 
 I associated clinging tenaciously to the Christian 
 faith, — ^their daily life and conversation showing 
 that they were 
 
 •* Not ashamed to own their Lord, 
 Or to defend His cause, 
 Maintain the glory of His Cross, 
 And honour all His laws." 
 
 Toronto is the capital ot the Province of Ontario, 
 and has a population of 80,000. It ranks next in 
 importance to Montreal, and is the educational 
 
A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 08 
 
 > i 4 
 
 centre of Upper Canada. Like Hamilton, it has 
 much the aspect of a city at home. No^with* 
 standing its low, flat site, it is a place of striking 
 appearance, — being nicely laid out, with its long 
 streets (some of tnem six miles in length) and 
 broad M'ooden pavements. There are mty-eight 
 churches in the city, many of which have hand- 
 some spires. The well-wooded Queen's Park (in 
 which are imposing University Buildings, a 
 beautiful monument to the Volunteers who fell 
 at Kidgev/ay, and a neat little fountain), — the 
 Young Men's Christian Association Eooms 
 (splendid buildings, where a carefully- prepared 
 Traveller's Guide to the places of interest in 
 Toronto — ^which concludes with a unique friendly 
 welcome to all strangers — can be had from the 
 secretary, who is in constant attendance), — the 
 Provincial Parliamentary Buildings, — the Horti- 
 cultural Gardens, — Knox's College, — Osgoode 
 HaJl (seat of the Superior Law Courts),— and the 
 Normal School and Museum (with its historical 
 and religious pictures, its host of sculptured busts 
 of famous men and women. it«i capital specimens 
 of those things usually found in a museum, and 
 its theatre capable of holding between 200 an^, 
 300 persons), — ^were seen by me at this time. I 
 
 gassed four pleasant hours in the Toronto Qlobe 
 iffice on my second visit. This publication 
 started as a tiny weekly sheet in 1840, with a 
 circulation of under 1000, and employing ten or 
 twelve hands in all its departments. It has now 
 both daily and weekly issues, and gives employ- 
 ment to upwards of 250 persons. The daily 
 paper is printed on one of Hoe's four-cylinder 
 machines at the rate of 15,000 copies an 
 hoivi*, and has a circulation of 28,000. Saturday's 
 Daily Olohe is larger in size, and is printed on 
 another machine of the same description. Three 
 machines of an entirely different structure are 
 brought into requisition to print the enormous 
 circmation of the Weekly Globe, the most popular 
 and perhaps best-conducted newspaper published 
 
60 
 
 A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 in Canada. There are two steam-engines in the 
 machine-room, but only one is kept constantly 
 running, — the other being held in readiness in 
 case of accident. 
 
 Good weather prevailed nearly all the time I 
 was in Canada, though it was occasionally ex- 
 tremely hot — between 80 and 90 degrees in the 
 shade. This heai compelled me to patronise 
 largely the sellers of those summer fruit drinks 
 which cool, but not inebriate. They cost five 
 cents each, but are infinitely superior to fchosa 
 sold at home. The heat during the summer 
 months averages 75, and seldom exceeds 95 
 degrees. Flashes of lightning were seen on 
 several occasions unaccompanied by thunder or 
 rain. Twice or thrice terrific thunderstorms 
 came on, one of which lasted fully an hour, — the 
 lightning flashes occurring every minute or so, 
 and being something fearful to look upon. All 
 the land over which I travelled was low-lying 
 (the highest mountain being that at the back ol 
 Montreal) and was well cleared and cultivated, 
 •specially so in Upper Canada. Consequently, I 
 did not meet in with any ^f those immense 
 forests for which that country is famed. Had I, 
 however, gone northward from Hamilton a little 
 over one hundred miles in the direction of the 
 Muskoka or " bush" district, I would have had a 
 glimpse of one of them. In that wooded part of 
 the country, any person who annually clears three 
 acres of land for five years, and resides on his 
 selected lot six months in each year, can become 
 a proprietor of two hundred acref, of land. 
 Canada is the place for agriculturists ; still, if 
 they proceed to the uncleared districts, they are 
 the better of possessing at least £50, to enable 
 them to manage affairs with some degree of comfort 
 through the first two or three laborious and 
 almost unproductive years. Capitalists are much 
 needed, who could find many w^s of investing 
 their money very profitably. To all kinds of 
 tradesmen who are fairly employed at home, I 
 
 V 
 
A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 ei 
 
 
 wonid say — Be content : for you might go about 
 for months in Canada ere succeeding in getting 
 employment, as it is the exception (not the rule) 
 for emigrants to obtain work at once. I met two 
 of my fellow-passengers — the one a stone-cutter 
 and the other a druggist — a month after parting 
 from them at Point Levi, who had not up till 
 that time been able to obtain a day's work, 
 though I heard that both of them got engagements 
 soon thereafter. It should be borne in mind, too, 
 that it is very difficult for women and boys to find 
 suitable labour in the Canadian cities, where fewer 
 trades are represented than in the towns and 
 cities at home. But two or three years' constant 
 employment in Canada enables workmen to be in 
 a kind of independent position, for, by thrifty 
 habits, they can by that time become owners of 
 the neat, self-contained, one-storey frame houses, 
 which are so plentiful in the cities as well as 
 country-places, and which are not burdened with 
 heavy taxes. The Canadians lead comfortable, 
 peaceable lives, and carry with them an air of 
 activity and contentment very pleasing to note. 
 Those whose prospects of work in the "old 
 country" are not good, and whose line of 
 business may be brisk in Canada, should not 
 hesitate much about emigrating ; for, having once 
 secured a permanent situation, and got properly 
 acclimatised, rapid advancement in life is certain. 
 For the benefit of intending emigrants who wish 
 to protect themselves against possible loss on the 
 journey, I may state that less annoyance is in- 
 curred when drawing money that has been 
 transmitted by postal arrangement than through 
 the bank. In the latter case, it is necessary that 
 some centleman known to the banking authorities 
 should be got to certify that the transaction is 
 hona-fide. The Canadian cities being nearly all 
 situated by the side of fresh lakes or rivers, there 
 is a felt want of saline in the air. In the damp 
 places, ague and rheumatism are the prevailing 
 diseases. The medical profession is a most lucra- 
 
 I 
 
I 
 
 61 A TRIP TO OAKADA. 
 
 tive one—the doctors olxarging a dollw for each 
 yif it from their patientv, and the prioes of their 
 medicines are proportionately high. I may here 
 remark that it u the custom, on the death of an 
 adult, to append from the handle of the door on 
 the outside a long string of orape. Neighbours 
 and friends are Jiereby invited to oome and see 
 the dead body, and to extend their sympathy to 
 the bereaved ones. A small white bow fastened 
 to the crape indicates that it is a young p<)r8on 
 who has died. At funerals, each mourner puts 
 on his best dress without regard to colour 
 (dark shades beinc, of course, preferred), and 
 aress hats are seldom worn. A short service is 
 idmost always conducted at the grave. The 
 practice in Canada is to spare no reasonable 
 outlay in showing respect for the memory of the 
 departed one, and the incidental expenses con- 
 nected with a funeral are generally ^preater than 
 they are at home. I observed that m Hamilton 
 a large numoer of people kept Newfoundland 
 dogs to guard their dwellings during the night ; 
 and I was told that the majority of the housea 
 were more or less insured in case of fire. The 
 Canadians are a sober people. In the populous 
 places through wh^oh I travelled, I only saw two 
 men who stagsered in their sait from the effects 
 of strong drinJc and one drumk man, and I under- 
 stand it is quite lawful for policemen to take 
 such persons into custody, rossibly the Cana- 
 dian drinks m^ be less mtoxicatin^ than those 
 in Scotland. The sale of intoxicatmg liquor is 
 prohibited from 7 p.m. on Saturday tifl 8 o'clock 
 on Monday mo^ ing. Hearing a brass band play 
 through the ^ eets of Hamilton one Sunday, I 
 hurried to tb spot whence the sound proceeded, 
 and saw the Volunteers, dressed in their uniform, 
 return in procession from divine service. They 
 meet in their drill shed, and march in this way 
 to and from church every Sabbath. *' Well, sir, ' 
 "sir," "thank you," "please," "I guess," 
 "yott bet," " Is that so ?" are a few of the words 
 
 t 
 
 S* 
 
 \ 
 
 L IX. 
 
 .^amitiAm 
 
A TRir TO OAKADA. 
 
 68 
 
 I 
 
 And phrases so very frequently vied by all 
 Canaaians. Young or old married couples have 
 " old man " and " old woman " applied to them ; 
 "spapkinff" is the term for courting; sweetmeats 
 are callea "candy"; and, in tne dry-goods 
 stores, trousers fare ticketed "pants." In 
 Canada, steamboat and railway travelling is a 
 little dearer, but much more comfortable and 
 pleasant, than it is in Scotland. In the steamers 
 (so often described as " floating palaces"), chairs 
 — which passengers can place in any position to 
 suit themselves — are scattered all over the main 
 decks, and the food is well cooked and cleanly 
 served. Gon^ are sounded at the railway 
 stations five mmutes before the trains start, and, 
 as there is only one entrance to each carriage, the 
 trains move on quietly — without that bustle and 
 noise made at such tmies at home. Passengers 
 have to take their baggage to the baggage*room, 
 where they receive brass checks, and they then 
 have nothing to do but deliver up these checks at 
 the end of their journey — their bagga^j^e being 
 carefully attended to for them. The carnages are 
 longer than those in Scotluid ; the doors are at 
 the end (the same as the tramway cars) ; and the 
 footboard of each carriage comes close to one 
 another, so that, if they choose, passengers can 
 pass through the whole length of the train. Inside 
 each carriage are a tank r lU of nice cold water, 
 a stove, a urinal, and a w.o. The seats (which 
 are all lined with some soft substance, both 
 bottom and back, and covered with velvet) are at 
 each side of the passage that runs from the one 
 end of the carriage to the other. The ends of the 
 seats are next the passage, and each seat holds 
 two persons. It is customary at home for lady 
 frienrs when parting at the public stations to 
 shake hands ; out kissing is the prevailing form 
 with the ladies in Canada. 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 

 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 KBTURN HOME Via NEW YORK AND LIVSItFOOL. 
 
 I BADE adieu to " Fair Canada" and my friends 
 there on the evening of Tuesday, 24th June. As 
 the train sped on its way, I fell into a most 
 delightful reverie, — recalling to mind many of the 
 scenes in which those from whom I had just 
 parted had figured in bygone years. But I was, 
 alas ! never again to see on earth one of those 
 dear, familiar forms, for j>0 sister-in-law has 
 since died. On entering the American territory, 
 after the train had crossed the Suspension Bridge 
 at Clifton, I had to be at hand while the Custom^ 
 House Officers examined the baggage. They are 
 usually very strict here ; but they merely asked 
 me if I had any contraband goods inside, and, on 
 my answering in the negati^^e, allowed the chest 
 to pass without inspection. At Buffalo, I had to 
 change cars. I had lunch while waiting here ; 
 and, when I put down a British half -sovereign in 
 payment thereof, the waiter told me that he 
 
 "did not know what the d that was !" I 
 
 then gave him a four-dollar Canadian note, and 
 received for change a confusing mixture of 
 Canadian and American money ; ana my ignorance 
 of the t3xact value of some of the latter coin, I 
 subsequently found out, enabled him — allowing 
 a proper discount — to swindle me of at least 20 
 cents : not a great sum, truly ; but this only 
 serves to show bow "greenhorns" require to be 
 ever on the lookout. Starting at ten o'clock, the 
 train rushed through the darkness for six weary 
 hours till it drew near the Susquehanna Valley, 
 when Jaylight set in. From this point, the 
 scenery was very varied and picturesque. Ar- 
 riving at Jersey City between one and two o'clock 
 
 4> 
 
▲ TltlF TO CANADA. 
 
 65 
 
 ^BPOOL. 
 
 ny friends 
 
 Fune. Ab 
 
 ;o a most 
 
 any of the 
 
 had just 
 
 Jut I was, 
 
 of those 
 
 L-law has 
 
 territory, 
 
 an Bridge 
 
 s Custom- 
 
 They are 
 
 ely asked 
 
 , and, on 
 
 the chest 
 
 I had to 
 
 ig here ; 
 
 ereign in 
 
 that he 
 
 ^as!" I 
 
 lote, and 
 
 cture of 
 
 ^orance 
 
 r coin, I 
 
 allowing 
 
 least 20 
 
 lis only 
 
 re to be 
 
 ock, the 
 
 X weary 
 
 VaUey, 
 
 Int, the 
 
 e. Ar- 
 
 o'clock 
 
 in the afternoon, I had to cross the Hudson River 
 in one of the palatial feny-boats that ply to and 
 from that city and New York. New York — ^the 
 commercial emporium of the United States— coven 
 the whole of tne Manhattan Island and a portion 
 of the mainland, and had, at the taking of last 
 year's census, a population of 1,207,216. It is 
 16 miles long, and varies in width from a few 
 hundred yards to 4^ miles. Its area is about 41 4 
 square miles, or 26,500 acres, of which 12,100 are 
 on the mainland. Its location is both beautiful 
 and healthful. The capacious harbour is con- 
 stantly filled with the shipping of every clime ; 
 while unceasing throngs of Usy men and women, 
 loungers and imers, and vehicles of every descrip- 
 tion (including a great number of tramway cars), 
 pass and re-pass suong its streets from earl^ mom 
 till late at night. JBroadway is the principal 
 street, and many princely hotels and large whde- 
 sale warehouses — stately buildings aix and seven 
 storeys in heicht— are located in it. There are 
 over 600 churches in the city ; and chief amongst 
 its prominent buildings are the Post OfEice, 
 2YU)une Office, and City Hall. A fine bronze 
 statue of Benjamin Franklin stands in what is 
 called Printing-House Square. During my short 
 stay in New York, I visited the Central Park ; 
 the Tribune, Times, and herald Printing Offices ; 
 Wallack's Theatre ; the Greenwood Cemetery in 
 Brooklyn ; Clark's Thread Mills in Newark ; and 
 had a six hours' delightful sail on the Hudson 
 Biver to Cornwall and back. Central Park is the 
 great pleasure-ground of New York, and is 
 situated right in the he«rt of the city. There 
 are in it 15 miles of carriage roads, 8 miles of 
 bridle paths for horseback riders, and over 25 
 miles of walks ; as well as the Croton Eeservoir 
 (which contains 100,000,000 gallons of water for 
 the wants of the inhabitants), a pretty winding 
 Lake, and a Museum and Menagerie. In the 
 printing offices, I saw web-printing machines for 
 the first time. Similar machines are used in 
 
 V' 
 

 M ▲ TRI> ¥0 OAKAD^ 
 
 Glasgow ; but, so far as I have ^et learned, they 
 are not so perfect as those used in New York. I 
 had to pay 50 cents to secure a seat in the gallenr 
 of Waliack's Theatre. The seats here were all 
 cushioned, and each visitor received a programme 
 of the entertainment on entering. ** Miss Gwilt" 
 — an adaptation from Wilkie Collins's celebrated 
 novel, "Armadale" — ^was the play; and the acting 
 of Miss Ada Cavendish and the company that sup> 
 ported her in it was careful and good, though not 
 remarkably so. Greenwood Cemetery is the 
 oldest and most noted of all the New York and 
 Brooklyn cemeteries, and covers over 400 acres of 
 land. It is encircled by an iron fence ; and the 
 entrance ways, which are very broad, are marked 
 with rich adornments. The cemetery contains 
 17 miles of carriage roads and 15 miles of foot- 
 paths ; and is adorned with many flowery graves 
 and iiiiely- wrought vaults, and over 2000 monu- 
 ments — some of which have cost large fortunes. 
 About 190,000 interments have taken place in 
 these grounds, and the annual income from the 
 sale of lots is £62,500. Visitors can obtain a 
 carriage and guide to be driven over this cemetery 
 on payment of 60 cents each. While returning 
 to New York from this visit, Talmage's Tabernacle 
 and Henry Ward Beeoher's Congregational Church 
 were pointed out to me ; and I saw the Brooklyn 
 Bridge, which spans the East River, — that great 
 undertaking wmoh is attracting the attention of 
 the civil engineers of the world, and in the suc- 
 cess of which, notwithstanding the odium of fraud 
 in its inception, an entire conmiunity is interested. 
 Several million pounds sterling nave been ex- 
 pended in the as yet unfinished structure, which 
 repreaents more than ten year's labour. Two 
 Paisley gentlemen — a Mr. »fohn M 'Lagan and a 
 Mr. Mitchell — entertained me very hospitably 
 while out in Newark. Clark's Mills are, of 
 course, considerably less in size than those in 
 Paisley. They contain the usual departments of 
 ft thread manufactory, and di£fer only from those 
 
A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 Bed, they 
 York. 1 
 le gallery 
 were all 
 ogramme 
 !s Gwilt" 
 Blebrated 
 he acting 
 that sup- 
 ough not 
 r is the 
 fork and 
 ) acres of 
 and the 
 I marked 
 contains 
 of foot* 
 y graves 
 
 monu- 
 ortunes. 
 place in 
 trom the 
 Obtain a 
 
 smetery 
 itaming 
 )emacle 
 Church 
 rooklyn 
 it great 
 ition of 
 he sue- 
 >f fraud 
 jrested. 
 »en ex- 
 
 which 
 Two 
 
 and a 
 pitably 
 are, of 
 LOse in 
 ents of 
 
 1 those 
 
 at home in having a cotton spinning mill, and a 
 lithographic department, where bronzing is done 
 b machinery. While being shown over the 
 works, I was introduced to six persons belonging 
 to Paisley — four males and two females. I was 
 told that the Paisley women were nearly all 
 married, and had left the mills. Something liLe 
 2000 workers are engaged, — the females attending 
 work with their bonnets on, and otherwise better 
 dressed than those at home. The musquitos and 
 fire-flies were flying about Newark while I was 
 there. The flre-flies emit a bright phosphoric 
 light, and in low grounds, where they abound, it 
 is amusing to see hundreds of them dancing about 
 in the dark like as many sparks of fire. The 
 following story was told me regarding the fire-fly, 
 which is well known in America, but may be new 
 to the most of people at home : — Two Irishmen 
 who had never seen a fire-fly arrived in America 
 during the hot season, and put up in a hotel. 
 Towards night, whilst they sat at the open win- 
 dow chatting under the gaslight, they were groatly 
 pestered by the musquitos, and were kept almost 
 incessantly waving them off and gently rubbing 
 the afflicted parts. On the landlora coming into 
 the room, and seeing how they were enga^^, he 
 exclaimed — ''You fools! Put out the light, if 
 you wish to get rid of them." They soon did so. 
 X^ow, although some fire-flies had been in the 
 room previous to this, they had not been noticed, 
 for they are always best distinguished in the 
 darkness. The eyes of one of the Irishmen light- 
 ing on one of them, the thought of being again 
 annoyed by the musquitos terrified him, and he 
 cried out to his companion — **Och ! shure, Pat, 
 my boy ! there's no use of trying to hide from 
 them muskatos ; for there's one looking for us 
 with a lanthern 1 " At that time, the thermometer 
 indicated 98 degrees, and a number of persons 
 were prostrated in the streets of New York by 
 the intense heat. I saw a middle-aged man 
 working about the crowded piers stripped to the 
 
68 
 
 ▲ TBIP TO CANADA. 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 "vtMst, with nothing but his trousers oi. ; and two 
 young women — one, say nineteen, and the other 
 soyenteen years of age — came into on^ of the 
 street cars with their arms and bosoms bare, and 
 wearing light and gaudy dresses, as if on their 
 way to attend an aristocratic drawing-room 
 assembly. 
 
 I left Kew York at noon on Sunday, 29th 
 June, by the Inman Line steamer City of Berlin, 
 which carried upwards of 200 cabin and 150 
 steerage passengers, besides 86 mail bags and a 
 large cargo of American meat. In the steerage 
 were a strangely- mixed company, comprising 
 English, Welsh, Irish, Scotch, American, Cana- 
 dian, German, Swiss, Dutch, and Spanish people, 
 and a negro ; and our head steward was a tali, 
 powerfully-built Russian. The food served i;^ 
 this part of the ship was of an inferior descrip- 
 tion, — being unclean and hardly eatable, although 
 there was always plenty of it ; and some of the 
 officials were very rough and uncivil, and much 
 addicted to swearing. This state of affairs, with 
 only one day's fair weather, made tli^ passage ol 
 nine days particularly disagreeable to tl e steerage 
 passengers ; and, with many others, J felt truly 
 thankful on getting ashore at Liverpool and 
 having at last a relishable meal. The most of 
 people are unable — for the first two or three days, 
 at least—to take much food while at sea ; and I 
 think it is false economy and anything but 
 creditable on the part of those steamship com- 
 panies that prefer to give an abundance of a very 
 mferior class of meat rather than a more limited 
 supply of that which is wholesome and well- 
 cooked. Very little worthy of mention occurred 
 during the voyage. On 4th July — Independence 
 Day in the States — each of the steerage passengers 
 got a small jugful of rum punch to make merry 
 over that memorable event. A short address was 
 given at the divine service held in the cabin 
 saloon on Sunday, 6th July, by one of the cabin 
 passengers — a Liverpool ministeri in the course of 
 
■\ 
 
 X 
 
 and two 
 bhe other 
 U of the 
 >are, and 
 
 on their 
 ig - room 
 
 lay, 29th 
 >f Berlin, 
 and 150 
 kgs and a 
 I steerage 
 )mprising 
 tn, Cana- 
 ih people, 
 as a tall, 
 served iit 
 r descrip- 
 although 
 me of the 
 tnd much 
 airs, with 
 )assa5e ol 
 e steerage 
 felt truly 
 pool and 
 3 most of 
 iree days, 
 la; and I 
 hing but 
 hip com- 
 of a very 
 e limited . 
 knd well- 
 occurred 
 pendence 
 sissengers 
 ke merry 
 Iress was 
 be cabin 
 he cabin 
 course of 
 
 A TRIP TO CANADA. 
 
 69 
 
 • 
 
 which the captain, officers, and crew, were praised 
 for the attentive way they had kept to their 
 respective posts throughout the dull, wet 
 weather that had prevailed, and for the courtesy 
 they had shown to them. A silver collection was 
 taken at the close of the service on behalf '^ "^ an 
 institution in Liverpool having 600 widows and 
 orphans of sailors under its care. We had a 
 passing glance at a shark ; and a great number of 
 sea-gulls amused us very much while they fought 
 wildly for the waste meat which those passengers 
 who left the steamer at Queenstown threw over- 
 board. I passed a day and a-half in Liverpool 
 seeing its unrivalled docks and a few of its 
 ppincipal places of interest. In the Alexandra 
 Theatre, I was exceedingly well pleased with the 
 acting of Mr. J. K. Emmett and his company in 
 an excellent piece named "Fritz." By this time, 
 I had had enough of the sea, and preferred com- 
 pleting my journey by rail. Accordingly, I went 
 to the Inman Line Office, and, on payment of 4s., 
 received a railway ticket in exchange for the 
 ticket in my possession, which would have taken 
 me to Glasgow by steamer without extra charge. 
 I got to Paisley in this speedier way — after fully 
 nine weeks' absence— greatly improved in health; 
 very thankful to have had such pleasant inter- 
 course with relatives whom I had not beheld for 
 years ; much pleased at having seen and learnet^ 
 so much of Britain's great and thriving colony, 
 in the affairs of which I felt that I would 
 henceforth take a deeper interest ; and with the 
 somewhat gratifying reflection that I had spent 
 no more money during my trip than I had calcu- 
 lated upon. 
 
 THE END.