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'\ r>■s^ 11 PRICE 18. ^D. , 1 1 *s*s JM^ 7^ JSi^AAA-^ii'tt^rt ^wiiKiii^iiyw>- '"^^^u ''^<^""% m »•*«sflC«•■■>'-«••«^^««■« j# -'•>•>«»« ><«f a mat ««t«AJMf|*i|ti «a <-«!,,' off r i*ctfti9iv.»*« s i k ttcx.tiwskn* rj >-«««&%• L4 Kai>MU «»«■«-%»«' W., j':\rLiL' A lit.)^ -«..- J.V' ,/-*-, ■ y,-; ^1/' t^i^j i-; viVTUi'Hs i)!; I: A ;SI>\]-..\;> AfJ i'VjtFlT \H: L'lXhTITUTLON ]. KS AVKUiJii! S, I'Kix 15 Cis. ■■' : »■ ;> fv Jfi> IW0IVTRE4L I ? li U!' S' 0, 8 tt 10. *•> 'i "-^W; ^, :-. :Z S510 - # • ' m» • 1 f t i It' • ' r wm lll i l H P « ig i W I I Mjl,j^j-;[.-n. . I u I III ' U"-' ' , ' ^ t ij f uinwmwiao"* griss^ <» A i i . i n ii WM i ii. iii ; ' i r i -nvrn , .. On Sa^iSiiia ■A : 4- :-|" ir^ ipHMMHiaHPI i SECTIONALMAP OF THE DISTRICT BETWEEN BETWEEN REGINA &THE HEADOFLONG LAKE 23 22 21 20 18 18 2d 9A CO ■ : . "W" " - ~X^ "" " IP - • - 4- - -- i?^ 91 ■ t% . . .- . " IP -+■ -._iiiiii — — 7 _ .. mUMU %mMM^ it _ ._ ir«6 %%% it .^7^;^^ "^ ■^ ■ ' i V P*? I /- , ^^ , . ^ ^ A i r rl . 9A ..8 8 *^ T ■ T- - , k « >d « ^ g IIX 8° 8 __ it - t^ IT SIKI t C. L X X ^^ ,X ?^ 1?„ 8 8^8 . . ^' TX XL ^ ^ i;\„8„8;:8„8__t,8 8 __ _L iL i^ \ "^ y V] X _i_ ^^■*. \b( Ix /^ X X 8 ?? ■/". ^ I X iX (XX 1 ;_ _ ;A ^'^ ^ s^ V X y XX _i F^ ( -'-'r^ ^*KIa i X X X X i 8 ■ •^^^I^^AK X X X X j)^ ' «ji-' [ W^y^^y^x ^^-^'v-S^ "T X X HT fi^X^I— ^fi- ir — ^L0^^S^x x^ 1 -^^ ^ W"^^^^^' iiiiiiii^iifibi^ Uj^ ^«^n %MWfi<^ pCMXL. K^^"" -^ c^ ^ d-- . 1- -'^'^^■aiil^^ «^^>? 1- - - - ^ 4 — Dieu, touJQurs adorable, Ta moins avantag6 dans la part des biens com- muns a tous. Sous rinspiral)ion de la charity, sous Tinfluence de ce souffle de Tamour de Dieu, et du prochain pour Dieu et en Dieu, on a vu s'eff'ec- tuer des prodiges. Pas un pays Chre- tien, pas une ville catholique surtout qui n'ait vu surgir dans son sein, au service des malheureux, devenus les fr^res de tous, des asiles, des hospices, des maisons de refuge, des sanctuaires de la charit6,oii celui qui est nu trouve le vStement ; celui qui a faim, le pain de chaque jour ; celui qui est n^alade, le baume k ses douleurs ; le boiteux,* le bras qui le soutient; raveugle,roeil qui le conduit. La ville de Montreal n'a rien hen- vier, ce nous semble, aux cit6s les plus riches en oeuvresdebienfaisancechr6- tienne. En parcourant son enceinte d'un bout a Tautre, on rencontre a 5 noinB com- de la louffle ►chain 'efl'ec- chr6- irtout in, au lus les spices, uaires trouve [e pain ^alade, Diteux,* e,roeil n den- ies pins 3eclir6- nceinte mtre a chaque rue des monuments que la charit6 y a construits, qu'elle con- serve et entretient pour le soulage- ment et la protection de tons les malheureux. Nous ne voulons pas faire la statistique de tons ces ^tablis- sements pieux : mais arrStons-nous un peu, en face de cette construction considerable dont la longue ligne, un peu monotone peut-Stre^ malgr6 le rideau de peupliers qui la borde, vient tout r^cemment d'etre si heu- reusement coupee par Id jolie faQade d'une charmante chapelle. Ici tout est I'oeuvre de la Charity ; depuis la premiere pierre des fonda- tions, jusqu^^a la derni^re brique des combles. La main dont cet agent divin s'est servi pour mettre en oeuvre les materiaux qu'il a fournis est assez connue £t Montreal. Ne Wessons pas la modestie du bienfaiteur, en le nommant : souhaitons-lui seulement wmn iJMW les benedictions du ciel, en propor- tion de son d6vouement. Dans la partie des batiments qui s'ei^vent a gauche de Tentr^e de la chapelle, on re9oit, cbaque matin, la foule gazouillante des petits enfants du quartier. Entrez, et vous verrez r^unis quatre ou cinq cents petites tStes blondes : ce sont des 61^ves des deux sexes ag^s de 3 a 7 ans, et que, pour laisser h leurs meres le loisir du travail, en meme temps que pour leur apprendre de bcnne heure a eux- memes ce qui en fera plus tard des hommes, des femmes, des chr6tiens surtout, on re9oit chaque jour, pour les abreuver k une source pure, dont les eaux sont comme sucr^es par le jeu, et par les premieres gouttes de I'instruction, de la politesse et de la piete. Ecoutez: c'est le tapage, car ce petit peuple est tapageur. La priere, si tal n( toi la cej tii taj i CO tavmm m »mimmm i opor- s qui de la 111,1a ifaiits ^errez etites esdes tque, loisir 3 pour aeux- rd des :6tiens ', pour J, dont par le ttes de it de la car ce priere, la lecture, le calcul, Phistoire, le ca- t^chisme, la geographic, la musique, les allies et les venues, tout dans cet asile, se fait, s'enseigne, s'apprend avec accompagnement de tapage : ainsi le veulent I'age et la mobility d' esprit de nos ^coliers de 4 ans. Mais quand la journee sera finie ; apres que vous aurez assist^, malgre ce tapage n^cessaire et amusant, aux le9ons, aux chansons, aux repas si pieux, aux exercices militaires si graves, de toutela legion enfantine, vous verrez, a un simple signal, le silence se faire, un ordre parfait s'e- tablir, toutes les petites tetes s'incli- ner, tons les petits yeux se fermer, toutes leg petites mains se joindre, et la priere coulera attentive etpronon- c6e en cadence, de ces charmantes pe- tites Ifevres. Puis recommencera le tapage de la sortie : mais si vous ren- cohtrez sur votre chemin quelqu'un ■■■II — 8 — de nos petits 6tudiants, a votre vue, sa legerete se fixera ; un sourire jaiUira de ses petits yeux deflamme, et, du geste le plus d^licat, sa petite main ira cueillir un baiser sur des l^vres de rose, pour vous le presen- ter de toute la longueur de son petit bras. Nous ne faisons -(tju'effleurer une multitude de choses que chacun peut contempler tons les jours dans les salles de I'Asile Nazareth L' autre par tie des batiments, a droite de Tentr^e de la cliapelle, est consacr^e a une oeuvre peut-§tre plus int6ressante encore. C'est la qu'est etablie V Institution des jeunes aveugles pour le Canada . Pauvres en- fan ts sans soleil, sans jour, sans lu- miere, perpetuellement ploughs dans la plus profonde nuit ! Qui fera luire a IX yeux de leur intelligence le flam- beau dont ils ont plus besoin que tons los autres, a cause de l'obscurit6 physi- S^sZhS^anm — 9 — I vue, mrire mme, petite ir des r^sen- L petit ieurer jhacun s dans Qts, a lie, est it-etre 'est la jeunes rres en- ans lu- 6s dans ra luire le flam- [ue tons ,6physi- que h laquelle ils sont condamn6s ? La charity a entrepris ici cette rude, mais bien consolante tache. Venez voir, pliit&t ; et d6j^ vous admirerez les merveilleux eflfets de son travail. Les doigts se prominent sur des ca- ract^res en relief, et I'aveugle sait lire : h. Taide d'un systeme admira- blement invents, et grgtce a I'ensei- gnement auquel il est soumis, les lettres se dessinent ou se pointent sans le secoursdes yeux, et Taveugle pent 6crire : les operations math^ma- " tiques se produisent sous ses doigts dresses au calcul; les divisions des continents et des empires, le cours des fleuves, la place des cit6s, I'^l^- vation des montagnes, toute la scien- ce de la g^ographie devient facile sur des cartes en relief, les doigts faisant toujours Toffice des yeux 6teints. La musique cede aux aveugles les se- crets de ses plus savantes harmonies / TMimmRytssiimmiumii % \ < - 10 - . et les plus difficiles melodies sont execut^es par eux, sans que le re- gard trace la route a Tarchet ou conduise les doigts sur le clavier. Et la joie habite cette denature !... Miracle de la charity ! ! ! Pour rattacher Tun ^ Tautre ces deux ^tablissements, pour abriter ces deux asiles, on a du penser ^ Clever au milieu une demeure, un sanc- tuaire, ^ Celui qui est I'inspirateur de toutes les oeuvres saintes et qui en -est aussi le lien n^cessaire et im- mortel. De cette id6e f<6conde est sortie la charmante chapelle dont nous voulons surtout nous occuper dans cette petite notice. Quand nous disons : charmante chapelle, nous ne voulons pas parler de ses formes ex- t^rieures ou de la richesse de sa cons- truction. La fa§ade en est digne et convenable ; mais, avec des ressour- ces, il exit 6t6 facile de donner ^ cette o mo m c6^ et d^ che pas pas mo( ce £ con dan si xy torn Mot ecol artii d'esi ce X une Au ] - 11 -- 3 sont le re- tiet ou lavier. jure !... tre ces iter ces Clever L sanc- irateur et qui et im- de est dont Dccuper id nous ous ne es ex- a cons- Lgne et •essour- k cette^ fagade m^me, a la fleche qui la sur- monte, a toute la chapelle en un mot, un caractere autrement pronon- c6 d'ornementation architecturale ; et M. Bourgeault n'eut pas deman-- d^ mieux que de nous doter d'un chef-d'oeuvre. Mais ne nous laissons pas tromper par les apparences : ne passons pas indiff^rents k cause de la modestie du dehors : p6n6trons dans ce sanctuaire, et nous y trouverons k contempler et a admirer plus que dans aucun autre de notre cit4. ^ ^^ Ce monument si simple d'ext^rieur, si restreint dans ses proportions, est tomb6 aux mains d'un artiste de Montreal, Mr. Bourassa, el^ve des ecoles de Kome et de Florence, artiste veritable qui pour son coup d'essai, a donne a I'interieur de ce .temple un vetement de gloire, une parure de ravissante beauts. Au pl&tre des plafonds et des murail- 12 — Or cea ch( BeL faii . ^ les, au bois des colonnes et des gale- ries, aux dentelures des corniches, Tartiste a communique le suave me- lange des couleurs, la douce fusion des nuances et le langage Eloquent des tableaux de la religion, de ses symboles, de ses mysteres, et des images de ses Saints. Nous avons de ici tout un travail, dont les di-|nor verses parties viernent se fondr admirablement dans la plus parfait unite de pens6e, de dessin et de co loris. C'est un seul et meme artiste qui, du meme pinceau, a jet6 sur 1 mSme fond une seule et mSme id^e dont les faces diverses, se prStan une douce lumiere, sont relives entr' elles par un r^seau de details d'orne mentation, ou Ton trouve toujour la mSme exquise d61icatesse. L travail est-il sans d^faut? quioserai se flatter d'un pareil succ&s, vu su tout I'immense vari^t^ des critiques ut ou; N ■i^M^^^ '■'__K XKX ls* j'^'t^ ^ X D( X ^ X j( v^ >-i^^^"'if^ x r N. X SX 1^ r9( lO A * )s 52 X XTn R " - K- ?? 18 8 x:8 §:^iiK J ' OT kJ "^ ^J '^ k. J '^^^^^ ^ ■ k. J X "SR 5? 5? XX _5C xT ) X Py_ tX "XTx *XX' xjx xxxxxxlx) X xT Xl^yX X X X X X X Xi ^\Y XX X ''D^ ikJl ^ 1 1 Jjja^'^^ X ^ ji^iP^s^S^** Sa ^j7^^^^^^^pc^"x X jx? pL-^*^ nr jX s '^Ia tR"*^^ ^^«fi»— r*r'^ r Rl « X ^ X 1 27 26 25 24- 23 lands a/reculy Ihdo/i^m^fyf THE LAND CORPORATIOH OF CAN TentTiships resened f^ Government fp?^ THE LAUD CORPOR art/f/7Yim whi^ a select/ifn of7ZS. 000 €icres wil/ be t/u, Otfvern?n4;nt Leuuls tak^en up b^ Settlers OmerTunent/Zan^ not caJcen up, iSchoolZatids oju. m^w<^.^f?mMm**:^ »: R^ K X b( 1 L X X X P( k.X 19 < L x^ ^^ T'^ »:«^:«>M X X _w' -B„ X.. -g^-^i ir -S 4 i-:^ ^ « K XB r X X ^x ^x ■K 1^ K X x_ ~t1 ^ as X K ^s^s^ X X ^ s ■^ J X X r K')r! 1 -X: K 8 8 S 8 S 8 X ill ] »a. ■ 2 a 21 20 9 18 t PORATIOn OF CANADA E LAND CORPORATION OF CANADA a^res wil/ be made '^ 53 ^xfolXcutds a^id Zcaids /!>el€fn^inff to ) ^CsSm/ CojnpV, ^tadaJforth ffestZanA Omtp?^ others ; ( CANADA FOR GENTLEMEN. BEING LETTERS FROM JAMES SETON COOKBURN. PRICE Is. 6d. ILaitlrait : PRINTEE8: ARMY AND NAVY CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY, LIMITED, 117, VICTORIA STREET, WESTMINSTER, S.W. ^ ^ „ The difficulty of sending my son's letters to the numerous friends who are interested in seeing them, without wearing out the Manuscript, has induced me to have them printed. It is hoped, also, that they may he useful in giving information regarding some of tlie difficulties of young emigrants, of which so little is said'hy the Agencies, though the experience they teach is often more valuahle than that of uniform success. The only alterations made in these letters (intended only for the home circle) has heen in suhstituting fictitious names for those of hiends. It may seem a paradox that a price should he attached to letters intended only for private circulation, hut I am not without hope of heing ahle to provide the writer with his winter furs (greatly to his own surprise), in return for the pleasure and information which his letters have undouhtedly given. S. COCKIUJRN. LETTERS FROM JAMES SETON COCKBURN. North Western Hotel, Liverpool. August 2{)th, '«4. Dear Mother, I write this before turning in, and, as you will observe, with a beast of a pen. We arrived here all safe, and with all our traps. Though I lost the run of my bag at Bristol in the scurry, it turned up here all right. There were a lot of people waiting on the Warren to wave to us. I recognised Miss Linton, and 1 think "ome of the Seymours. Miss Harley met us at Star Cross to say another good-bye, with a button-hole for me and a note, and a flint-and-stcel for Henry. We were collared when we got here by an agent of some sort, who was going to free us from all trouble by seeing our luggage safely on board, but as he kept a low kind of Temperance Hotel, and smelt very strongly of whisky, I declined his services, chiefly I should say, on the instigation of a good-natured cabby. Of course, for aught I know, it may be the proper thing to go in for these sort of chaps, but it's be.«t to be on the safe side. Must shut up now, and go to sleep. Best love to everybody, Your loving Son, J. SETON COCKBUKN. ." § .■■ S.S. " AIONTUEAL," En Route for Canada. August 21st, '84. My Dearest Mother, We are not going to touch at any Irish port, so I am Jnirrvino- to write a few lines to send off by the Pilot. The weather is beautiful, and we have got the cabin to our- selves. I have already made some very nice acquaintances ; altogether it bids fair to be very jolly. We got down to the dock in very good time, though of course with a good deal of bother, but we've not got rooked anywhere. I am afraid you will not hear from us again till the letters bear a foreign post mark. With best love and wishes to everybody, Your loving Son, J. SETON COCKBURN. My Dearest Mother, I suppose we are both addressing our letters to you, which might at first appear an unequal distribution of our favours, but as I know +hey will be read aloud to the assembled breakfast table, it is a small matter who opens the envelope. To begin with, I should explain that I am writing in the saloon of the 8.S. "Montreal," Sunday evening, August 30th (I believe), and it is due to the construe tural defects thereof that my writing is of a somewhat shaky character, the above saloon being placed almost immediately over the propeller, whose various eccentricities in the way (i jumping and shaking are more than distinctly felt. How- ever, I do not want to begin by telling you about the end of our voyage, so 1 will make a conunencement at the time we lost sight of the heads and hats of those who saw us off at Dawlish Station. I feel rather ashamed to say 1 felt at that time very little depression of spirits, [)erliaps the pipe to which I immediately had 1» recourse had a comforting influence ; perhaps my familiarity with all objects on the road, at least as far as Star Cross, made me feel as though I had not yet left home ; or perhaps it was the secret consciousness that all the Seymours, Lintons, and Harleys had promised to be on the Warren to see us wave our heads out of the window. Whatever the course might have been during the whole of our railway journey, our stay at the hotel, and even some hours subsequently, I felt almost jolly, but what a world of misery lies implied in that underlined " some/' However, I won't anticipate, but relate from the beginning the history of my ideas and experiences up to the present time. There is little that you do not already know connected witli our departure from the docks and our journey as far as the last light ship, that is concerning incidents which would appear to be worth mentioning. We were rather fortunate in seeing nearly all the most celebrated of the Atlantic steamers. The " City of Rome" was lying alongside a wharf within a stone's throw of us, the "Alaska," "Arizona," " America," and "Oregon," were all i)assing in or out, or lying at the wharves, these being I believe the four fastest ocean steamei's afloat. The Allan boat " Peruvian " left the dock just astern of us, and as we afterwards discovered, arrived twelve hours before us. We very soon found, when dinner time came round that we were ne at the same time, and the baggage all had to be brought up fi'om the wharf, still it was an item in our first railway experiences which, coupled with the delay in starting, put me out of temper with Canadian travelling, though there is not a shtvdow of doubt but what the chequing system is a great deal superior vo our own. However, when we did get fairly under weigh it was not so bad. It is certainly very nice to be able to get up and walk about when one gets tired of sitting still, or go and stand on the i)lat- forms outside. Then, their rules are far less strict than ours. If a man likes to jump on or oflt'whilea train is going full speed ahead he can, nobody has the least objection to his coming down on his head if he likes ; or if he feels inclined to junq) ofl' and run along- side he is perfectly at liberty to do so, only the Company will not bind themselves to sto[> and wait for him If he can't run fast enough. In fact, a man here Is entirely his own master, and as such is just as good as anybody else. There is one thing which seems to me a great disadvantage, that Is so few of the railway officials are in any uniform at all. They may have a badge, or something of that sort, but I did not see any, consequently one never knows who to ask for Information about the trains, etc. When we got to Kich- 12 mond last night, where we had to change for Sherhrooke, a chap told us wc should start in about twenty-five minutes ; the next man told us that we should not start till two or three in the morning ; and while we were endeavouring to arrive at the truth somebody shouted out to know if everybody was "on board" for Shcrbrooke, Portland, etc., and he told us they Averc going to start right away, which they did — in about half-an-hour. Next we took two hours to go the twenty-five miles between Kichmond and Shcrbrooke, though I will forgive them for that as we were really in a goods' train, to which they had attached a passenger car for our convenience. We eventually got in here about twelve last night. We did not go to the Magog House as Ilorton recommended, as it was a good long way from the station, and , we were told, might not be open. This place, the Shcrbrooke Hotel, is just opposite the station, so being very tired and not wanting any bother we came in here. We got into conversatifm with a man at Kichmond who turned out to be an Agricultural Agent of some sort, he had been Ilorton's foreman on his farm niuny years ago, and knew them all very well. lie turned out a very decent old chap, and a Scotchman, and he was very useful to us in getting us a feed, etc., when we got here, otherwise we should have had to go supperlcss to bed. This morning (Tuesday), we went first thing to see Allen, he was very cordial and obliging, and withal very encouraging ; lie did not give vent to any decided opinions, but he thought it very possible that Mr. Hill, of whom Mr. Horton spoke, and to whom we are to be introduced to-morrow, might be able to get me work on the Canada Pa ?ific Railway, with which he is in some way connected. I sincerely hope he may, as I should then get a free pass to the West. Wednesday. — We saw Hill this morning, he could do nothing in the way of getting us work, but he gave us a lot of natnes and addresses which turned out useful, among others a letter to a chap called Ibotson, a sort of emigration agent, asking him to send us round to several farms which he mentioned. We went round to a heap of people with an old chap called Kemp, who is something to do with the some- thing Colonization Society. The worst of it was we had to hire \'A i a trap, as tlie distance to be covered was considerable ; that cost $ 3, but it was the only thing to be done. Everybody assured us that nothing but a personal interview would be any use, so we cruised about the country in a very nice little buggy for five hours under the escort of old Kcni[), and I nuist say we should have been nowhere without him. I should never have known how to conduct the business with some of the specimens we came across, not to mention that we should have been sure to have lost ourselves half-a-dozen times over, and so should not have seen half the number of people. Well, the upshot of the day's campaign was that I think Henry stands a good chance of a place. Every- one assures me that he could not do better than go to the farm in question. It belongs to an old man called Crabtree, or something like that, I don't know exactly how he spells himself. He is a very rough-and-tumble old fellow, but, it seems, a capital farmer, and a good honest dealing man. He has one of the best farms in the county, and is very well off, having made all his money on his farm. Henry would get his board and lodging, and most probably somewhere about ^0 a month besides. Of course nothing is fixed yet ; the old chap's wife was away, and he could do nothing without consulting her, but he said he would want help during the winter, and he would not engage anyone without letting us know. He cannot, however, do anything for the next fortnight, which is a nuisance. None of the others that we called on came to very much, so we are going up to Montreal to-night to deliver introductions and stir up the mud generally. Both Ibotson and Kemp are going to make enquiries for us here, and write to us if anything turns up. It's very good of them, they have both taken a lot of trouble, and it's all done for love. In fact everybody is most good-natured, and willing to do everything in their power to help us. They all say they have no doubt we shall be able to get work very soon, but it cannot be done in a day ; so it seems to me, having got these two old fellows to look out for us here, we had better go and present ourselves in Montreal, and so be as it were in two places at once. Moreover, I should like to see Roland Stanley if possible before I clinch any II Imr^niiii. We lui^ itcrtVctly cci'tnin oi i^vWiw^ «li.HiMl('i('sh'(l iidvirc fnHii liliii, tli()ii«,'li 1 sec; no reJison wlmtovcr to Wouht tlir |K»li«'v ai wlitit I liiivc niiuU' all our doin^jM iin«l plauH Huttii'lcntly clonr. 1 n\\\ writin<; in n very nunhlin^ sort of way, hut that in a fault inse|)arahlofron» havin"; to write at o(hl tinifs. We are living- hero for ahout ii dollar a (hiy each, not at all had. with three rrood hi^ meals included, still it's spendin^r nioney instead of nud\in;i^ it, so I ho|)e it won't last lonjj;. It's not such a had l)ejjjinnin<;, thouji;h, when vou conic to think nf it, we've «>nlv had two clear diivs in the country, and Henry is in a very fair way to he settled at a really jj^ood farm. Apart from husiness, th(i drive this afternoon was delightful, the country in j»laces (piito e(iual to any iri Devon- shire, thouifh always with somethinj; wild lookiny; ahout it. \\\ some parts of the road it looked just exactly like F^igland, so hmg as we did not look too far away. U|»on the hills, etc., there is always a lot of pine-wood and stuft' which does not look English, hut it's all pretty ; I hclieve you would like it innnensely. Sher- hrooke itself is a jolly little town, though I helieve here it is con- sidered a good hig one, and a ])lacc of some importance. 1 think I shall have to hring this to an end now; I don't know^ exactly when the mail leaves Montreal, and 1 don't want to miss it through not being rcadv, so if I have time to add anything more it will take the form of apostcript. T don't know the least what address to give, our movements are so uncertain, (/oiddn't father write to lloland Stanley and ask him to forward the letters to us? I think, if he seems the right sort of chap, I w ill ask him about this when I sec him, at any rate I can let him know when we leave, where we are going to, and then if any of you should have sent a letter to him he will know where to forwaid it to. Give my love to the Father, and Old Daddy and Muriel, and everybody else, An. Ivoland Stanley was away on a fishing expedition. We saw I 1'. Iii« (liiii}iliter. Silt' said her father would prohahly he home on Friihiy or Satiinbiy, so we decided to lie in wait for him in dijxpin^s, and to call aj^ain on M(Mi(h»y. I had no idea his place was so far away from ^^ontreal — six-and-a-(|nartcr miles by rail including the Victoria Hrid<^e, which puts a lot on to the fare, and a good two miles hy road. His name was not in the Directory, so we had to find this place hy asking for it when we got to St. Lamhertg. Charles Holloway also was out when we called— at his office I believe — so we are going «lown to the city to look for him this morning. We also called on Mrs. Fenton, but she was out, so wo gave in and jacked it u|) for the day, as by that time it was nearly six o'clock. We had a fearful bother in finding them, as there were no numlx'rs (»n the introductions, and tlujre are about lOOO houses in Sherbrooke Street. The diggings we have got into will i\o very well for the time. W(? have taken them for a week at $5 each, board and lodging, which I think is about as cheap as we ci I get them anywhere in Montreal. Our address is ()(), Aylmer Street, but it's not a bit of use writing to us here, as we should be gone long before the letter reached us. I don't suppose Ave shall be here much more than a week. T will w rite more fully Avhat we are doing by next mail. •I. S. \j. I am not sure if I have got the leads which I got for my ink pencil. If they are in the right hand top drawer of your writing table, vvill you send them when you send my goggles ? Have not done anything about money yet for want of advice. It's no use sending letters to Koland Stanley, he's too far away from ^lontrcalo He must wait till we get more settled. Please remember me to everybody, particularly the Miss Bruees. (iO, Ayl^ieii Street, Montreal, Septpmhcr {)tJi, 1884. My Dear Mother, This letter is following pretty close on the heels of the other one, and for this reason : 1 can't find any letter of intro- IH duction to Dr. A. Ilowel or to Mrs. A. Ilovvel, or any Instructions as to calling without an introduction in the epitome of my letters which father gave me. I can't have lost it. You put them all up in a bundle, and I never saw them till I opened my portmanteau at t'herbrooke. Certainly 1 gave them to Henry to look over while I was writing as he sat beside me, but he was so almost immoderately careful that I do not think he can possibly have mislaid any of them. Anyhow it's not here. If I am obliged to leave Montreal before I hear from you I shall call on him and make my own explanations. But I don't know how I could do that either, for I don't know if he was father's friend or whether we got the introduction from someone else. Well, I shall hang on as long as I can, and then go and beard him in his den as a last resource. Now that's all the business I have to mention ; it's a bad job, but it can't be helped. Perhaps, after all, I never had an introduction, and ought just to have called and mentioned the father. I know he gave me a lot of directions when he read the list over, but I can't remember them all, and only against one haa he made a note that no introduction is necessary. Yet there are about half-a-dozen to whom I have not got letters, but whose names occur the same as Roland Stanley. We've been hunting round, kicking up no end of a dust, and called on and badgered scores of people. I have already been ^wice to see a man called Van Haughton. He is some sort of a boss on the Canadian Pacific Railway, and I am going again to-morrow, though they don't want any men — at least not ordinary men — but I am going to try and convince them that I am something extraordinary. The ten pounds loose ci.Ai we brought out will only last us another fortnight, but I have great hopes tiiat Henry will not need to draw^ more. Rolard Stanley very kindly took him to a farm to-day, a few miles from here, to see a man he knew, but the chap wanted £50 per annum, so we declined. I was not able to go as I had an appointment, but I don't think it made any dif- ference, though they didn't do any bargaining, only just asked him il he would take him, and he said he would for the above- named sum. Some of the introductions we brought out have been I a. 1» 17 very useful— that to the Durvvins particularly. Gcoroe, the eklcr son (1 think) is a jewel. I believe he would pop hi^ Sunday coat if he thought it would do us any good, lie is strongly of opinion that Henry should advertise for a job. lie says he is certain that he would get lots of answers. But I think it will be better to wait till we see what happens at Sherbrooko, as by all accounts he fould not do better than go to old Crabtree. I think, with the prospect of his being shortly settled there, you might write and explain (if possible) the matter of the introduction— if we are not here they can forward the letter. 8 p.m.— We have just been down to the station to fetch some of our bag^ag^ having been told that we should have to pay for it if we let it lie there, and as we did not wish to bestow any portion of our capital on cabbies, we carried it up. The consequence is 1 feel like this /T" '^^ Pot would say. The weather has been that hot since we came. By-thc-bye, I meant to say wher I said that we had just been down to the station, that as I felt so limp from carrying baggage on a hot night, vou would have to i)ut up with bad writing, but 1 see it's just as ^ood as what I started with. It would all be better if Henry was'nt writing too— at the same table I mean — which, being one of the round one-legged irvangements usually met with in boarding-houses, is scarcely equal to the weight of eloquence which he brings to bear upon it. I wonder what he 's writinir about. You might iust let me know what he says next time you write. lie 's just bought some new pink paper to write upon, and has already started several times with a most careful beo-innins, so it oui^ht to be something worth hearing. I have sug- gested that he should give you Ins ideas conctniing the crops of this country, but his inna e modesty debars him from giving an opinion on a subject upon which he confesses himself at present profoundly ignorant, notwithstanding that we went yesterday afternoon (there being nothing else which could be done,) to the great Dominion Agricultural Show, as befitted the incipient farmer, and that I there carefully explained to him the points of interest of all the exhibits in relation to which 1 was convinced B 18 that he was as ignorant as myself. I am afraid, however, that he was rather inclined to treat my explanations with levity, ov/ing to a base and misleading practice resorted to by the Committee, of hanging up beside the stalls, though in not very conspicuous places, a statement of the supposed race or species of each animal. These ])rejudicial placards for a long time escaped my notice, so that I was unable to fortify his perceptions witii an account of the pig-headedness of Agricultural Conmiittees \a this respect. The only thing that I was entirely unable to explain, and the reason for which I could by no means fathom, was the pertinent enquiry constantly occurring, "why should one cow be given a first prize and another none at all," when the only dif- ference to the mind of a just and impartial observer consisted in the variety of their attitudes or colour. Being thus baffled in my attempts at edification, we adjourned to see some niggers manu- facturing tobacco. Thursday evening. — I have just had a letter from Allen, saying that he had three letters and a parcel waiting for us, so Henry has gone down in great excitement with a post-card to tell him to send them on as soon as possible. I wonder if they are from any of you people, though I don't know what should make you think of addressing to us there. It was rather a rummy thing his finding out our address, for we didn't leave any ; but just the other day, when looking over the things in my despatch-box, I found a letter to Allen in Mr. Horton's handwriting. I had'nt the least recollection of his having given me anything of the sort, but I posted it down to Sherbrooke forthwith, together with a ^ote, making the best excuses I could for not having delivered it before when I was on the spot, and of course I put my address on the top. I should'nt wonder if one of the letters was the lost introduction, which must have been left behind by some mistake. We have been hunting about no end since we came here ; calling on everybody, from the man in the moon downwards, but do not at present seem to have derived much benefit from it. I daresay Henry has told you of a wild scheme in which Mr. Barnes wanted us to engage. He is a most excpUcnt old gentleman, the per- li» sonification of good nature and kindness, but is a j^ood deal of a visionary on the agricultural settlement question. When we called upon him on Saturday, he pressed us most eloquently to up stick and g-o west with a friend or connection of his, who was starting at nine o'clock on Monday morning. He so far prevailed upon me that, in case there should be anything in what he said, 1 went down to the bank and drew sufficient money for our fares, and Hien returned to lunch with him and the gentleman in question, a Mr. Deacon. In conversation with him afterwards, he (Mr. Deacon) stronsflv advised us to do no such thing. A branch line from the Canadian Pacific Railway, from Hegina to a place called Sussex, about thirty miles or so, which was to have been graded this fall, and was to give me almost certain work for the winter, would probably not be begun for some time, and the land which Mr. Barnes had understood was along the railway in a tolerably well-|)eopled district, turned out to be at the head of Long Lake, eighty-four miles from Sussex, which is thirty miles from Regina, not that those distances are anything great, but it meant, in plain English, going and starting a farm 110 miles from the nearest railway station, without a particle of knowledge or experience. Still, we should have got the land for nothing ; ^hat much was promised ; and had I seen any chance amounting to live to one that I should not have to spend my own money during t:-'C winter, I should have gone, and, once well acquainted with tie country, I think vrc should have been able to live upon our land in some way till I could trust myself to invest in a few im- plements. There must be a fearful amount of gammon in the talk about this country somewhere. 1 was told— in fact we wes-^ all told — that living in the country was very cheap, and that living in Montreal was dear, but according to Deacon it is just the reverse. lie said he did not think we could live in Regina, or thereabouts, supposing we got nothing to do, under ten or twelve dollars a week, instead of five \^hich we pay here. I don't say that I believe it ; someone must be in the wrong ; and until we can find out for ourselves it is impossible to say who it is. It may just as well be Deacon as anyone else. Still, it would have been 20 unwise to go west so soon on pure speculation. The end of it was the gentleman started away by himself, and Mr. Barnes said we were quite right to atop where we were. He said, somehow or other, he had managed to get a wrong impression of the whole affair. He has since exerted himself a great deal in making enquiries in Henry's behalf, and he gave me an introduction to a young fellow in the Harbour Commissioner's office, which, however, did not prove of much value. We have had to take our present diggings for another week, not having been able to get finished up here in time. I do not want to leave the place and leave any stone unturned, and there arc several people I can see yet. We see Roland Stanley nearly every day, at a fish and game club where he introduced us, and which forms a most con- venient meeting place, &c. Like everyone else, he is very good- natured, but his power of assisting us, so far, seems to lie chiefly in his willingness to do so had he the power. He has given over his farm to his son, and only kept his house and a few acres, comprising his garden chiefly, so there is no chance of his taking either of us. Hollo way and Darwi; are our two next best men; they are both young, and both back us up most energetically. We are going to spend the evening to-inonow with the Darwins, and on Sunday evening we dine with the Holloways, which is a great improvement on a crowded boarding-house. The latter is a ])artner in a well-to-do hardware establishment, which means to say they import all sorts of saws, chisels, axes, hammers, &c., from Sheffield ; and the latter is accountant in a bank here. He has got a mother and two sisters, both possessing every claim to amiability. Holloway went with me on Wednesday to the Grand Trunk Railway Works, and introduced me to several people, and " boosted " me all he knew, but it was no go, they sacked seventy-five men last month, and are going to do the same again this month, things are " that " slack. Yesterday he took me down to the Canadian Pacific Works, but the man we wanted was away, so we arc going again on Monday. There is also another man I am going to see on Monday, who has a good-sized iron- foundi-y. I went down there to-day, but he Avas out of town. 21 Also I am going to see another engineer to-morrow, so you see I am not done yet. I saw the son of President Arthur, of the United States of America, this afternoon, at the club, where he was detailing his sporting adventures, having been away all sum- mer in (Jaliiornia and the Rockies, fishing and shooting, which he seems to have done in a very luxurious manner, to judge from his conversation. He talked about having engaged a Pulman Hunting Car for his trip, &c., and, apropos of fishing, said he had seen two natives netting salmon in some river or other, so he " stopped the train " while he went to look on and try his hand at it. By-the-bye, tell old Daddy that the pocket-book he gave me has turned out the most useful thing in my possession, barring coin ; in fact, without it I should have been stumped, and had to buy one before I left Liverpool. The little one you gave me would never have held all the cards, letters, and business connna- nications I have had to cram into it. In fact, I verily believe its bulky proportions and imposing air have ol)tained me an intcrvi- w with many a big gun when I should have been politely bowed out had I not produced it with the sternness of a highwayman drawing his pistol, when I presented my card. I must shut up or I shall lose the mail. Henry is writing also by this post, but I wanted to tell you about the Howcl introduction. With best love to every- body all round, Believe me. Your loving Son, J. SETON COCKBURN. (iO, Aylmeu Stuekt, MONTKEAL, P.Q., Sept. •2{)th, '84. My Devu Pot, I daresay you would like to hear my opinions concerning the manners and customs, alias professional resources of this much talked of country. When you told me that if 1 expected to drop In for an appointment such as I would take in England after a I 22 fortnight's search, I should be disappointed, you only predicted half the truth. As far as I can see at present, it is equally a matter of difficulty to obtain the sort of work upon which I was told on all hands it was best to begin. I do not mean to say I have made s bad spec by coming here, it would be much too soon for that even if T had been crumped out of every shop I showed my nose in, which I have not by any means, for I have met Avith more disinterested and sincere advice, and have received more good-natured "boosting" in this country in an hour than I found in the old country in a month. What I mean is, that it seems rather harder, or at least quite as hard, to get work of any sort, as a fitter, engine driver, or anything else at once. I was told that for a sensible chap who would begin small, there was lots of work to be had for the asking ; in fact, that there was a demand for what I may call professional labour, but that is a great mistake. The works here, of every sort, are just as slack as they arc anywhere else, rather worse perhaps. I went to the Grand Trunk and also the Canadian Pacific, but there was not the remotest chance ; they are cutting down everywhere, sacking men, clerks, and draughtsmen hand-over-fist. The bosses were all good-natured, and sometimes spoke to their subordinates themselves, to see, as they said, if there was, or soon would be, any vacancy, but there was not ; and in the face of any number of their old hands waiting to be taken on again, there was small chance for a new comer. Of course both the Grand Tnmk and the Canadian Pacific Railways have been running for some time, and are nearly finished, so it is not likely that they will be increasing their staft^". The chances lie in the new companies that will probably form, and in the new works that will probably be opened, but this is a matter of waiting, not always convenient. There is small doubt, I think, that by waiting and worrying, some of tuese chances might be laid hold of, and that properly used they might be turned to good account, for there must certainly be lots to be done eventually, unless nine-tenths of the country are going to stand still and remain undeveloped ; but this is not exactly what 1 expected. I thought that if a man 2a represented himself as an engineer, and said that ho v»ould go and work as a navvy, fitter, or bhicksmith, until the company found it would be better worth their while to employ him higher up the ladder, he was pretty certain of getting his request granted ; but they say here that is not so, they are not particularly in want of gentlemen of any of the above persuasions anywhere about their line, and it won't pay them to keep two men where they need keep but one. Thus, the main point of difference between the two countries seems to me to be that, here woxk is more or less on the increase, though to nothing like the extent represented at home, and in England it is on the decline. Even that is not quite right, for work here at present is certainly getting slacker every day. There has been a great " boom " on Canada lately as a field for labour, thousands and thousands of people have come, and been sent out by Colonization Societies, &c., and the con- sequence is, there are more people already than there is work for, even in the agricultural line. Winnepeg, the much talked of Capital of the West, is simply dilapidating, and as far west as Eegina living is high and wages low. I was told in friendliness, by a chap called Deacon (I was introduced to him by his father- in-law), who has an enormous tract of land by league with the Government, and to whose interest it will be to colonize it as soon as possible, that living in the latter place cost about |10 a week, just double what we are paying here; and that he could get plenty of men glad to do any work for him at ^15 a month and their keep.. All the towns down the line arc the same, every place (so I am told) is, so to speak, staggered by the great and sudden influx of emigrants. Of course, by those who have money enough to start a farm and have sufficient experience to start it upon, there is always a comfortable living to be made, so long as there is a good exi)ort market for grain ; but there is as nmeh difficulty with the experience question as with the financial, for the ordinary run of emigrants, owing to the difficulty ot getting on to a farm. These difficulties, I believe, will continue until there is a cry in the opposite direction, and Canada is voted a hoax. When people cease to flock out here, because they are 24 told they can earn ^40 a month, witli their board, and wlien those who have ah-eady arrived get shaken down into their phiees which will be opened for them by the natural increase in the number of farms every year, the country will soon revive, and with it the demand. When the people in England and elsewhere having got Canada off the brain, it will not be overflowed with people who come out to make fortunes, and at the end of six months only wish they could make tracks. I have not written all this by way of complaint, or because I think our own prospects look black, for they don't ; thanks to some powerful friends and good introductions. I think we are both pretty sure of profitable work for the winter, which, of course, means also after the winter; but, because my first im- pressions of the country are different from what I expected them to be, and I wished for the sake of afterwards comparing them Avith later experiences to put them on record, and I put them in the form of a letter to you, because, being a thinker on such subjects, you may like to grin and note how my surprises are what you would have expected. I don't know what the people at home thought of my first letter; it must have , dispelled some illusions concerning the voyage out, which they seemed to have thought we should like irr^mensely, but we didn't, except at the beginning and the end. The first letter we had from the Governor said, "I suppose by ihis time you are just about losing sight of the Irish coast, and beginning to mcel. the long swell of the Atlantic, and wishing your voyage was to last forty days instead of ten." Such a wish was far from my thoughts, and the dickens a bit of the Irish coast we ever lost sight of, for we never saw it, passing it in the dark and in thick weather, and, at the time we ought to have been losing sight of it, we were tumbling about at the instigation of a nor'-wester of moderate proportions ; and we never felt the delights of a long swell at all, the wind, blowing fairly hard the whole time, shifted regularly every day from nor'- west in the morning to west and sou'-west at night, and kept us jumping about like a pea on a hot plate the whole time, which, with soaking deck?: and cold weather, made it imperative to go I 25 below occusionally to get wjviinctl, dried, fed, and seu-sick soiuetiines, when tlie weather and the st — ks were worst. It was a good week before it occurred to me that I might be able to get a light for my pipe under the lee of the hurricane deck, especially if I borrowed a fuaee for the purpose. However, I was sorry when the run was over after all, and I had to commence knocking about from pillar to post on shore. I am sure I must have walked from twelve to fifteen miles to-day in job hunting alone, having made six business applications at long distances apart. It has been upon one occasion exactly the same as with the Indian business. If you remember, they said, " had he been a civil engineer we could have sent him out at once ;" and I called on a chap here, a C.E., called Bantry, who asked me if I knew anything about surveying ; I said I did, rejoicing inwardly at the vagueness of the question, but he soon stopi)ed generalizing, and asked had I ever done any practical surveying— in fact, could I take charge of a survey-stafF, to go out west or elsewhere. I said I felt certain I could do so, but to his direct question was obliged to admit that I had never had any experience. He seemed sorry ; he wanted someone to take charjje of a survev, but he said he could hardly employ me for that j)urpose, seeing I had had no practice. I think, had I possessed a theodolite, and all the other paraphanalia, I could have got him to take me on trial, but of course it was no use spending a lot of money on instruments that I might never want, just for the chance. This is the only time I have come near getting a job yet. It was riling to miss it, but I don't see how it could have been otherwise. What would you have done i I am rather at a loss to know what to do now. I seem to have pretty well dried up Montreal, and don't see mucii use sticking here for another week, and yet the man whom I have got to see at 9 a.m. to-morrow, may recommend me to half-a-dozen different places, and those again may give rise to another half-a- dozen. What's the use of writing it all down any way ? I am sitting on a very low chair at a very high table, consequently my left arm feels as though it was restraining an apparent tendency on the part of the table to set at nought the established laws of 2Q •gravity. How is the old Tadpole, the wily banker, the impecu- nious toiler among heaps of gold? Tell him to prig u few thousand pound notes, and wraj) himself up in them all but his head, that will do for the port light, and labelled "wrong side uj), with care," and get himself sent across here, then I shall have nothing to do but to chaw baccy, and wait till he comes out of jail. Have you seen my particular friend the "Dook" lately? How's he a-getting on? And what's he doing i And what does he want to do? which is just the difference between great expectations and little realities. By-the-bye, did you ever hear of a single ladder bucket dredger for a depth of thirty-five feet to dredge 1,200 tons an hour? The buckets are 1 cwt. 7st. capacity, and travel up at the rate of 125 feet per minute ; the engines are vertical, and the connecting rods go slick on to the pinions, on which is the friction arrangement, instead of on the spur wheel. I got an introduction to some })eople in the Harbour Commisioners, and the above details are all I got out of them. Now, good-bye old ch.ap, and good-bye to the port-light too. Don't bother to answer this, unless you have got something to say; you are sure to be busy, and I generally have my evenings pretty much to myself. Youl' loving brother, J. SETON COCKBURN. P.S. — I meant to post this in time for the English Mail on Saturday, but found, on coming here, that the post is Thursday. We are now at Eton Corner, where Henry has at last come to an anchor. Of course, I had come down with him to see the chap, and make the financial arrangements. I can't tell you anything about them yet, as we found the chap in question had been suddenly called away, and Avould not be back till to-night. Hardy is his name. (I've found some ink). We went out to the farm this r jrning. It is said to be a very good one, and the fellow is worth a good deal of money. I expect I'll have time to tell you what arrange- ments I have made before I mail this. Henry was delighted with the place, and was not at all disconcerted by what they told him lie would hiivo to do. I think ho will got on well. There is no doubt that he under8t)ind« clearly what is expected of him, and that he means to do it. [Extra Supplement.] Sherbrooke, Monday.— Many thanks for your letter, which I have just received; 1 also got one from Frank, and one from mother this morning wiieu I arrived here. 1 have just settled Henry's business, and left him to his own resources at the farm. His address is, c/o W. Hardy, Eton Corner, P.Q. Your letter and those from home were almost the first reminders I had about my birthday. I just remendiered, about an hour before I got them that it was past and over. You sec I, in a manner, anticipated your wishes about letting you know what 1 think of the country, though, on reading it over, I don't really know whether 1 have talked a lot of rubbish or not. 1 have given you a lot of semi-political cant, when what you want to know is simply, how easy is it to make coin out here. Well, 1 think the answer to that is pretty easy. If a man is not ambitious, and would be content to be a common or garden farmer for the greater part of his life, and have, say a $ 1000 a year to settle down on when he gets old, why let him ask some to give him some land and begin. Everyone says it's the jolliest life going, but then '■ everyone " is a farmer, so their opinion is no more than consistent. That is just about the state of the case at present. If a man is ordinarily careful in the choice of his land and the situation thereof, he has the best possible chance of making a comfortable living, and if he has got an agricultural soul his life will probably be a happy one. Concerning the preparatory training necessary before buying a farm, I should say there was some bosh written on the subject. Mind, I am only talking, I'm not giving deeply-studied opinions, or anything of that sort. "l know too precious little about it. I've seen it stated constantly in books and newspapers, that ^'anyhochj" can easily get ten dollars a month, and their keep' to begin upon. I say emphatically anybody can^t. Henry is to get nothing at all to 2.S start with, bar of course Win board and lodjifings, etc. I don't wiy that I couUlii't liiive done better for liiin, but I don't think I coidd, not witlioni Kpendiniij a h)t of money in tniv('liin'.( Icftors liml ooMiG safe to hand (Tluii\«l|KMl. It was no nse Ilcnry Htuyinff lonj^cr in Montreal ; its resourccM for him were; fairly cxhansted ; and now is the time for another shot at ohl (Jrahtroo. Wo only arrived here thiH evening, i)oinj^ ohlij^cd, hy tho inconvonient times at wiiich the trains run, to travel in tlie daytime. I sliall have a lot to do to-morrow, hut, if possible, I will add somethin<^ hereto before I mail it. You will have to exense ba. I havc'nt entered into minute details of what I have been doing, which people I have seen, and what they have told me, etc., because I would much sooner wait till I can write and tell you what has turned up. You'd be thinking all sorts of direful things if 1 were to write by one mail and say I was going to see the great so-and-so to-morrow, and tell you how I had backed myself up with an array of mutual friends, letters of introduction, etc., and then write by next mail to say that it had all come to nothing ; and yet that is v. hat is constantly happening ; it must happen ; of course I fortify my position as much as possible for every application, but if a man has'nt got a vacancy you can't expect him to make one. I have got eight or ten irons in the fire here or in Montreal, and each of them will probably generate other irons, frequently bigger and stronger than they are themselves. By-the-bye, I don't know if I told you on the other side of this page (that is the other one), that I had blued 50c. to go and have a look at Lachine Rapids. I don't know whether I was dis- appointed or not. T think the boats that go down are far too big; one t the night in Sherbrooke, and got here by a train arriving at noon. Having fed and got my baggage stowed awaj'', I hunted up my two principal backers, at least I hunted for them but was unsuccessful, so I can't tell you anything about what's been done for me during my absence. I believe I've got rather more baggage than Henry. When we split it up it was found that I needed both portmanteaus and the Canadian box as well, so that I now have a fearful lot of packages to lug about, including my gun and rifle. The rifle reminds me of old Daddy. How's he getting on ? Making big strides, I hope ? He'll need all he can make when I come to sec him. I seem to be always ready for a guzzle now. I wish you could have had the journey I did this morning ; I am sure you would have enjoyed it, though the train had suddenly developed am])hibious j)roclivities whilst going over a bridge. What one hears of the "autumn tints" r m here is rather the reverse of exaggerated. Nearly the whole way from Sherbrooke to Montreal is through woods, and they are all a blaze of red in every shade, from the brightest fieriest crimson to a dark purple, that is, all except those which are green or yellow. The mixture is much prettier than all one colour would be, and by contrast w*th the dark scraggy-looking pines, it does not look the least gaudy. Well, I'm going to shut up and do some reading. So good bye for the present, and best love to everyone under the sun when it shines in Dawlish. Your loving Son, J. SETON COCKBURN. Mailed Friday, 27th. Ottawa, October 2nd, 1884. My Dear Mothek, I can't lose this mail after having taken so long about my last letter. But it will scarcely be more than How d'you do ? How are you ? I'm all right ! Well, that's better than nothing, anyhow. I have, as you see, again changed my location, whether advantageously or otherwise I cannot as yet say. But this Capital of Canada is a miserable little place. The railway station is very little better than a shed in a field, and the road from there to the town — oh, " golly ! " — a train off the rails is nothing to it. I came up in the hotel 'bus, and though I tried all I knew to sit firm and not let daylight be seen betwixt me and my saddle, I was jumped about like a dancing-master, and I hammered those cushions till I thought of claiming a week's pay from the hotel for beating the dust out of them. However, I did'nt ; so I am still here. There is one good thing I have done in coming here, I have reached the head and source of the immigration question. I can get an unprejudiced opinion as to the very best spots in the place — that is, settling spots — and also various items of inform- ation which all tend, more or less, to the endorsement of this moml : Let no professional men, of any sort, come out here. I *tM- MW i i B w. ';W» * 37 used to think there must be lota of openings for engineers, doctors, etc., in the small towns that were almost daily springing up along the line, but that is not so. Of course there is now and then a chance, say for a doctor to start in some place where eight} or a hundred people have congregated together, and if he can live on his own pills till another couple of oughts are added to the figure, he may get a good practice. But then he may not, because somebody else may get it instead. The fact of the matter is, and I have high government officials for my authority, that, owing to the educational mania, which is every whit as rampant here as it is in England, this country produces annually a number of professional men, of every class, far in excess of the demand. The illiterate settler makes his money pretty easy, and then, being impressed with the "free country" rubbish that is talked here, he decides that his sons shall not be farm labourers, they shall be gentlemen. " Why the blazes shouldn't 'Bob' be just as good a doctor or lawyer as anyone else ? " So to school and to college they go, and having been made gentlemen of, they lounge about the towns, filling the bars and the billiard-rooms, and smoking themselves green while waiting for a breeze. Why, in this wretched little place, of about 20 to 25,000 inhabitants, there are thirty lawyers and twentj^-fivc doctors in the directory, and all these have one or more satelites. Well, this is all very dry. The weather is getting colder every day, and the shop windows are getting full of snow-shoes, mocassins, etc. I hear very different stories about the winter. Some people say it is so cold that the rain freezes into icicles as it comes down from the clouds, and so forms pillars which you can climb up and skate about over- head. And others say it's so jolly mild in the coldest weather that you've only got to put a little snow in the fire and it will soon melt. I must shut up now, as I've got an appointment to meet the Minister of the Interior and several other swagger gentlemen. Best love to everybody. Remember me all round. Your loving Son, J. SETON COCKBURN. .• „ r.:.:- 38 P.S. — I open this again to tell you that I am fixed here, for the present at anyrate. I have got a joh in a patent solicitor s office, as draughtsman. Salary is scarcely fixed yet, hut will probahly be seven or eight dollars a-week to begin upon, increasing to about twelve. It may be permanent or it may not, but I have something else to fall back upon. Address 202, Bank Street, Ottawa. The job I have to fall back upon is with a blacksmith, at Eton Corner. I should at first get only board, but probably more afterwards. Ottawa, October Gth, '84. My Dear "Frunck," I have no doubt you think me a blackguard, to put it mildly, for taking such a month of Sundays to answer your letter. Of course I thought to myself as soon as I had finished it : Dash it! here goes. I'll write him a "jaw." But "dash it" here didn't go. I wrote to mother instead, and when I had finished that one I was so tired of scribbling that I " smucked a cegar " and turned in. I was then staying for the night at the Sher- brDoke Hotel, on my way to Montreal, after having stuck Henry in the mud, which is the polite way of saying that I left him rapidly taking root in the soil of the new country. I haven't heard from him since we parted, partly, I have no doubt, because I have been knocking about so much that all my letters have missed me. In fact, I haven't heard from a soul for more than a fortnight. However, I am stationary at lust, for a time anyway. I have got a job as senior draughtsman in a patent solicitor's office (don't tell anybody, but my only junior is a boy with a face more astute in angles than in expression). It is a rum sort of work that I have to do — mostly making drawings from models in perspective ; not too easy, especially as the drawings have to be finished off " up to Dick," or they are not accepted at the Patent Office. But there's not much in it after all. No designing, no 39 >» '■> calculations, and in a great many instances no real scale even. In fact, so long as the drawing is done quickly and immaculately got up, it does not matter a rap whether a man is as big as a monkey or not, so long as they are both good-looking. You see the main object is to make the principle of the invention clear at a glance in one view, that is why they generally are perspective. I have only been at it a day and a half, so I can't tell you much about either the boss or the work yet, but 1 think we shall get on very well together. Hartley is his name, and this much is tolerably certain concerning him, he is a rising man, his business is in- creasing, and, as I said before, I am his senior draughtsman, therefore should he " hum," I shall endeavour to hum too. Tell old Major that I can whistle as loud and as long as I like, and that I can smoke all day if I please. But I don't please ; that's just the rummy part of it. Now in Hawk's shanty they don't like whistling, and for the life of me I couldn't keep quiet there. Also they object to the fumes of tobacco, therefore they missed many a half hour of my time, which was spent in sacrificing to the king of weeds.. Here, in a free country, I can do as I please, and yet, for some reason or another, I don't do it. The office is on the fourth flat of the Victoria Chambers — good height up you see. My lamp is going out — must shut up for to-night Well, I've just come down again from up a height, as they say in your part of the world. I finished my first drawing to-day, was highly commended, and gave it my junior to trace. My second job is a patent saw-sharpening afiiiir for circular saws. They want half-a- dozen difterent plane views, and a perspective arrangement, to be worked up from a few rough tracings, a rougher specification, and a photograph with a man in it — the patentee, I believe — so if I flatter him in the matter of t//dikeness he is bound to be well pleased. I don't know yet, though, if he has to go in or not. The Patent Office is bound to keep a record, in pictures or models, of the results of mens' brains, whether eccentric or otherwise, but not of the general appearance of their possessors. ISIore's the pity, I think ; for from what I have seen of the models in the Patent Office, they would furnish specimens for the phrenological 40 study of mental imbecility for generations to come. I only had time just to run through the model rooms, but here is the idea of a patent which tickled me immensely. It was simply a lot of wooden geese fastened at the end of long sticks all over and around a boat. They were grouped together in most picturesque con- fusion, some standing on their heads and some on their tails, and some, / believe, supposed to be flying. The idea was that when real live geese saw this affair like a mad Noah's ark on the water, they would recognise their brethren and come flocking along to be shot by the other goose inside with the gun. Perhaps being geese they would do just that, but then what depravity on the part of the warlike one thus to take advantage of the eccen- tricities of his fellows. I have never seen the affair used. It does not seem to have made great progress in the good opinion of the public. Perhaps, after all, the bloodthirsty quacker, who offers to the irreverant eye this melancholy evidence of insanity, had a cynically-low opinion of his kind, causing him tu believe that geese were geese enough to be deceived by him, the greatest goose of the lot. I must shut up, or I shall do something flighty. 1 wish you'd come and punch my head, or do something of that sort. Here have I been working all day, and now I'm writing all night, or at least I've just written it. There's a fellow here feels like punching somebody, but you see he's all alone, and he knows how I might hurt himself. Besides, he's writing to my dear brother, so he does not want to slop me, or else you know he'd never get the letter. You understand, don't you ? Of course you do. It's as clear as mud. I'm writing with somebody else's ink, that's all. Between you and me (there's plenty of room, old boy ; chuck your elbows out, and sp — t where you please), that's why he writes such rubbish. Tm going to write now. You'll see the difference at once when I begin. The room I now occupy as I pen these lines, belongs to the ancient style of architecture known as the Five-dollar Boarding-house Rectangular (he can't afford to go on writing like that, it's too expensive). Excuse me, my dear sir, I must crave your permission to condense slightly the style of my caligraphy. Her Majesty's Postmaster has a f / 41 prejudice ftgalnst the carrying of letters which exceed one ton in weight. I WU8, 1 believe, describing the beauties of my apartment. To proceed at once to details, there is a stove-pipe tlmt comes in at the wall and goes out at the ceiling, a peculiarity by no means uncommon in edifices of the before-mentioned class — the ol)ject of the design being the ec(momical warming of the whole structure by means of one stove, generally of the severely-dilapidated style. There is also, on the opposite side of the room, an antique sofa, celebrated for having bt-en too forcibly sat uj)on, probably by some athletic hero on his return from victory. However that may be, the sofa remains to this day tabooed to mortal formw, though the present owner has informed me that " It reely is goin' to be fixed up all noo like, when I gets a few more boorders." From the mixed dialect observable in the form of which inti- mation I gather that the original language of the aborigines is not altogether lost to their posterity. There are also various other specimens of that style of furniture, which is generally admitted to be contemporary with the [)cculiar tyj)e of archi- tecture of which I write, but I am debarred by lack of 8j)ace from giving them a full description, or mentioning the legends connected with each. The beautifully-carved cornices, of the sheep-skin and bees'-wax order, the elab(jrate mural . Oh, gammon I Many happy returns of the twenty-sixth of last month to you, old boy. I quite forgot my own birthday, so it could h.ardly be expected that I should remember yours. People often do what they're not expected to, however, and I did remember your birthday — after it was all over that is to say. 1 remembered that yours was on the twenty-sixth by talking to somebody about something or other that was going to happen somewhere about that date, and then of course it came into my head that I had passed mine over without observing the feast. Pot said in a letter he wrote to uie, that he hoped my birthday might be the day on which I should hear of some good job, or do something which should turn out to be a stroke of good fortune. Curiously enough, it was on the nineteenth that I learned that a good opening had occurred for Henry, and tbat if I liked to take a 42 mther roiijifh farming job, I could get myself stiK^k likewise. That part of the offer I did not accept, and 1 think by what has since h«])pcned, that my refusal was judgematical. Moreover, the very next day 1 heard of a more congenial matter in the hannner- and-tongs department of my august profession. A village black- smith, a horny-handed son of toil, generously offered to feed and lodge me for as long as 1 liked to stop, in return for my services in his forge. The offer was the more magnanimous in that he was not in any particular need of assistance, but was willing to stretch a point (a proceeding that would stump Professor Euclid, by the way,) considering that I was in particular need of a job. No doubt, like all Yankees, he had an eye on the dollars* question, and argued, with most praiseworthy perception, that being an engineer and one who by his own representation had seen a good deal of forge work, 1 might prove a very lucrative spec. But then he promised that if he found that through my agency the money came in faster than it did before, he would give me my fair share of the profits so accruing. So I says to him says I, " 8ee here, stranger, if Ldon't get into a hole between now and this day fortnight, you'll sec me again. 8o leave the door open, will you '? " He promised to do just that; and, in fact, he said that 1 (odd come and start right away whenever I pleased. So if this present exalted position of mine should fail me — foi", as I said before, it may only be a temporary affair — wliy, slick I shall go away down to my particular friend the village I lacksmith. Well, I must wind up ; it's getting late. If ever you should be goaded by an uneasy conscience into writing me another letter, just let me know what is going on " on the banks of the coaly Tyne." Who is anybody, and where is he, etc. How is Bill Hawes, and give him my love for himself and family. Remember me especially to M. Moorshead, Esq. Tell him he missed a treat when I went away without standing him a drink ; it was the bitter(less)e8t I day of his life. Is Edison still at the redoubtable No. 14? lleach your toe out and kick him if he is, and tell him I don't love him. By-the-bye, how's the canoe getting on? Is it finished? Has anybody been drowned { If so, how many ? And did 1 owe 43 tlicin anytlunjr? There's no chance of it8 being the other way on. If you see any oi the old chib fellows knockinjif about, tell them they can expect a lock of my hair on recei[)t of P.O.O. for one dollar. In fact say boo to every goose you nu;et. Your loving Brother, J. SETON COCKIJUllN. Present address : 202, Bank Street, Ottawa, P.O., Canada. October 10th, '84. My Deauest Mother, 1 have only two hours from now till when the mail closes, so I must make the best of my time. I have not called upon Mrs. Ilowel, because I could not get at them. It was not worth while nmking a pretty long journey just to deliver one introduction, and I believe someone told me they were not in Montreal. By-the-bye, talking of people whom I did not see, I must tell you that I also missed Cousin Maynard. lie had gone away somewhere, and left no address that I could hear of, either at the offices of the British Association or elsewhere. I was very sorry not to have seen him, but it could not be helped. You say that Henry told you I was seedy. I think he must have been sufferincT under the same delusion as he was that day he came home from a yachting cruise, and said that " everybody had been awfully sea-sick," meaning that he himself had been the principal sufferer. I don't mean that he has been particularly seedy either, certainly nothing beyond iin unmentionable ache. We were both a little bit churned up for a day or two, and I believe it was owing to ice-cream. In the hot weather it was most tempting, and they give you a great plateful for 10 cents., none of the rascally little 44 thimblefulls you get in England for twice that amount. But you can make yourself perfectly easy, we are both so far as T know, perfectly well, not even a mentionable ache, and I tell you candidly, though I am afraid it is a dreadtui confession, I have'nt felt wretched by any means since I left home. Poor old Daddy I I'm sorry he was bothered about such a trivial thing as a marriage settlement; perhaps it is that he wants twopence-halfpenny to square his accounts. Pump him, will you, and if it should be this that's preying on his mind, you may tell him he can draw on me for the amount, and I'll toss him double or quits when I come home. I suppose he's pretty nearly spliced by this time. Con- cerning the passage in my letter which seems to have puzzled you ; it beems clear enough to me, naturally it would, but that don't count. To the best of my recollection I was writing from Aylnier Street, and I think I said as much in my letter, if so, here is the explanation of the obscurity. " I think with the prospect of his (Henry's; being shortly settled ^Aere (Crabtree's),you might write, etc., if we are not here (the diggings) they can forward the letter." 1 can^t see the muddiness " if we are not here," means in other words " if we should have gone away (of course it does), before your answer arrives," and " they can forward the letter," means naturally that th<; people we have left behind can send after us. If I had meant Crabtreo to forward the letter, I must have said " if wo are not there." Of course, if I did not tell you that I was Tvriting from Aylmer Street, I was a great coon, and that would explain the need of explanation. Well, I suppose you know Henry's true and permanent address by this time, so his letters are all right. But what would have been the use of sending one to Crabtree, we should have been more likely to leave our address at our diggings any way, and there was only a prospect of his going to C.'s. Should his letter have gone there, however, he Avill no doubt get it in the end, though it will probably be a very long end. We didn't leave our address with him because he said he would let his friend Kemp (who introduced us> know what decision he arrived at, and he (Kemp) would write to us ; for all we k ew the old chap himself could'nt write hi* own name. Poor 45 old foasil ! If you send him a note you'll make him scratch all his hair off, and he has'nt got much. I would'nt send any of my letters to Mrs. Hall if I were you, you don't know how she is off for thatch, and it will take a power of thinking for any old lady unacquainted with Algebra to find out an unknown quantity. You might address them now to th3 Post Office, Ottawa, P.O. If I should go elsewhere I will leave instructions at the P.O. to forward my letters. This is a truly dreadful scrawl, but never mind, quantity wins the day, quality nowhere. You see I am taking the subjects of your letter and answering them as I go along. So far from having had to dip hito my money for Henry, I left im with fifty odd clear dcihrs in his pocket ; this came from his second £10. He had pretty near come to the end of the ten he had in his belt when he started, when he got the job. I had already come to the end of mine — extraordinary, was'nt it f—wad now I have got at this present moment |459 75c. ; quite a fortune, is'nt it? I'm sorry I have'nt time to write you a longer letter my dearest mamma, but those nasty wicked people at the Post Office said they would not stop that big ship for a day or two on any account This is such a beast of a pen. I would put it in the envelopt and send it to you if I did not think it would find its way out before it reached you, just to show you what an immoderate amount of patience I have got. I've tried to cross all these t's half-a-dozen times, and pretty vigorously too. It must be awful good paper to withstand the amount of friction necessary. Now I've pretty well filled up the sheet. That's all I've been trying to do lately as you can no doubt see. With best love to all friends, relations, and acquaintances, believe me, Ever your loving Son, J. SETON COCKBURN. 46 202, Bank Street, Ottawa, October I5th, '84. My Dearest Mother, I have just received your letter, dated the — wait a minute till I look — the 17th Sept. Long while ago, isn't it ? Do you remember what you wrote about? I never do; and it seems most extraordinary in reading your letters referring to ones 1 have written about a month ago, that though I know you are answering them, I don't understand what you are talking about the least in the world. I don't want to discourage you, you know. Your letters are rather enhanced in value by their riddle- like quotations. They make me wonder what on earth I can have been writing about. I do not even remember, unless you tell me, whether they were long or short ; and, except for ray conscious- ness of never having written in a strain of trifling or levity, or otherwise than in a manner calculated to elevate and improve the minds of everyone but my hearers, I should be almost led to think I had been guilty of excesses in the way of toast-water or gruel previous to writing them (tea-totaller you see). Put it to yourself now. Wouldn't you feel riled if somebody said, in a long commendatory sort of letter to yourself, that your description of so and so was very funny? or that somebody else laughed very much at your whole letter, when you felt certain that the letter in question must have been a well thought out essay on the subject. "Did Socrates ever stand on his head? and if so, upon which end of him did it grow ? " Wouldn't it be matter for despair to feed his remorseless eye teeth upon, to find that tlie highest flights of your intellect were capable only of a jocular interpretation? But I feel certain there must be a mistake somewhere. As I said before, I am fortified with the com- fortable assurance of the integrity of my heart in wishing to write only what will feed the hungry mind. By-the-bye, if Socrates ever did stand on the upside down end, he had excellent authority in justification of his action, for Pot, the Patentee, has been 47 known to do likewise. I've only had two pipes to-day, mot'ier ; or three, is it — I forget ; call it two. Justice, tempered with mercy, &c., which means that I'll have another now. That's the thing for ideas ! Oh, certainly. Picture to yourself an editor writing like mad. He indulges in a pipe to soothe his rampant brain, and Avhile lighting it he leans back for a complacent yawn. When he gets up again, his dominant idea is that the back of his chair must have been suffering from a diseased spine. Isn't that a striking picture ? The earth hitting a poor man on the back of his head, eh? Well, it's quite true one, and the incidents it portrays are also of recent occuri-ence. The weary editor represents me ; the earth represents — hooray — a feather bed, which heroically interposes its devoted body between me and the belligerent planet. Every detail you can con (I don't know how to spell conjure) up will represent the scene true to the life in everything save the attitude and gestures of the falling literary warrior. Nothmg you could imagine would adequately portray the elegance — the dignity of my descent. Daddy was, I believe, the fortunate witness of my native grace of movement under similar trying circumstances. I allude to an incident which occurred during a small festive gathering held in our Denmark Street domain, on the occasion of his last visit to Gateshead. None of the furni- ture, I am happy to say, suftere() to 100 dols. per annum, though tlie houses on them are generally pretty bad. This is a very difficult question to get to the bottom of, as there are no estate agents here that 1 can find, consequently all enquiries have to l)e made through private friends, which takes time, and also a certain amount of caution, in this inquisitive com- munitv. But I am learning more everv dav, and vou shall have it all as fast as T get it. In haste, Your loving Son, ,]. SETON COCKBiniN. Love to evcrvbodv, as usual.