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gave
the reins. We went to the office,
where he made Dick take his place, — happily
for nvd, for down those hills it would have
been awful to q-o with Mr. W. Colonel
Gordon and the gentlemen met us at the
wharf, and we embarked in this nice ship,
which the Prince of Wales and Prince Alfred
went Ml when they were here. It was
covered with flags, and looked very gay. I
was miserable that evening, there was a
gnod deal of wind, and it was so unpleasant.
We passed the Isle of Orleans, and a most
beautiful rano^e of hills, which the setting
sun made quite purple. We passed also
Montmorenci Falls and St. Anne's in the
distance, not Moore's St. Anne's, but another
where are beautiful falls and mountains.
We passed some ships, the people in them
waved their hats and handkerchiefs. We
are arranged thus : A ladies' cabin, where
two of the maids sleep. Out of it two cabins,
where some of the ladies are ; outside there
is a cabin, where the G. G. and her Ex.
are ; out of the saloon there arc many cabins,
containing all the gentlemen and her Ex.'s
maid, and I am in one of the:n with Dick ;
he dresses in Captain Pem.'s cabin, and the
G. G. dresses in another. F.'s dog is on
board, and Sergeant Lambkin brought his
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MY CANADIAN LEAVES.
dog also. Oh, the beds are so hard ! We
had capital tea on deck that day, and fresh
bread and butter. We went on to Riviere
du Loup, where we anchored for the night.
The next day, Thursday (28th), was very
dark and calm happily, and my spirits rose
instantly. R. du Loup is not pretty from
the ship. We disembarked there, and the
Monck family and Miss F. went in waggons
to see Stanley, five miles off. The Godleys
asked Col. G. and me to join them, and drive
to see an Indian settkment a few miles off.
Mr, G. and I went in the most primitive
of waggons, followed by Col. G. and Mrs.
Godley in just such another. We passed
through the village of R. du Loup, rather
pretty; past some rather pretty falls. The
Indian settlement is most interesting, and
well worth a visit ; the people are bond fide
Indians, almost black, very deep copper
colour, with thick lips and round eyes, and
the blackest hair you can imagine. They
were squatted on the floor in " wigwams,"
and looking so wild ; the men were very
handsome, the women, all but one, frightful.
They were making lovely baskets with bark
and wood : Mr. G. gave me two things ; they
only cost a few pence. These people talked
Indian, and it was hard to make them under-
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stand anything. We then drove to look at
the R. C. church, a fine, big, bare place with
odd light painted windows, dice of blue and
red. Mr. G. told me that Col. P. used to
patronize the R. C. churches they visited ;
whilst the people were praying, he used to
stand up with his arms akimbo, saying, in
the loudest voice, " Well, upon my word, this
is rather a fine building," etc., etc. It rained
so much on our return to the ship that we
got wet, and had to change our clothes ; it is
so very cold on the water, we wear winter
clothes. After a long time the G. G., etc.,
returned. When they embarked, we steamed
off again, and soon got to the mouth of the
Saguenay ; it is so very beautiful, just the
scenery that I admire, — wild bold rocks and
water, with many small trees, and no cultiva-
tion of any sort or a living being to be seen.
All the party went in boats to a wild shore
except Miss Frend, Mr. Wilkie, and I ; it
was raining, so we wisely remained in the
ship — it really /^«rtv/. They brought sticks
and made two nice fires on the shore, and
had tea ; we had tea in the ship. The scene
looked very pretty to us from the ship, the
people and fires being a great addition to
the landscape. The gentlemen fished, and
between Dick, Mr. Godley, and Col. Gordon
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caught eleven trout. We enjoyed the fish
much at dinner. We steamed back three
miles to Tadousac, a village near the mouth
of the Saguenay, where we anchored for the
night. Capt. Pem. disembarked, and went
on shore to see some friends of his — Col.
Hawley and Major and Mrs. Churchill.
Col. H. came and paid us all a visit on
board, bringing with him a fisherman called
"Joe," to tell us where the best fishing was
to be had. "Joe" arranged to come next
day at 3.30 a.m., with two canoes, and go
with our party ; he was engaged by some
other people, so It was very wrong of him
to give them i^p. We steamed off at five
a.m. for Laval Bay, which we reached about
breakfast-time to-day, Friday. The water
here is salt, it is like glass, and so very lovely,
and the weather fine and cool. Several of
our party feel 111 from drinking the river
water. We set off, soon after breakfast, in
two canoes and two boats for Laval River.
I went in the boat with Dick, " Pem.," and
Mr. Wilkie, with Colonel G. tied to us in a
canoe. All the gentlemen are wearing veils
because of the mosquitoes, and they looked
so funny. Colonel G. had on a mosquito-
guard which looked like a baby's crinoline,
covered with gauze, to wear over the head
LAVAL RIVER.
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and face. Dick and the G. G. have green
veils. I felt so wretched when we found we
had to row seven miles to the river and
seven back, instead of one and a half, which
was what horrid Joe led us to believe. Joe
is a French-Canadian. The scenery was
perfectly exquisite, but so lonely (althouj^h
covered with grass and trees), you never see
the face of a human creature. We met
twenty horses alone on the shore, and they
ran down to meet us. We also met a king-
fisher and a wild duck. There were lovely
wooded and rocky hills all around the bay
and river. The water is so clear you can
see the bottom, although it is very deep.
The moment we landed we found we had
no luncheon, and we were landed on an arid
shore with no standing-place even, except
bushes and slippery stones. That horrid
Joe had misled us as to the distance, so, after
a discussion, to my delight, it was found best
for the ladies to re-embark and row to the
ship, which we all and Mr. Wilkie did. It
was most enchanting, rowing back on the
smooth sunbcamy water. We then sent back
the boat to the gentlemen with lunch, and
some of the servants went in it for the
pleasure of a row. I am now writing to you
on deck, as we lie at anchor. We are all
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AfV CANADIAN LEAVES.
better now, I hope. The gentlemen bathed
in the sea yesterday. Tadousac is a very
pretty-looking village, where is the first
Christian church built in Canada ; we anchor
there to-night, I believe.
Saturday Night, Sas^uenay. — The vessel
is shaking so that I can hardly write. The
gentlemen came back, having caught only
about two fish, Joe showing himself even a
worse humbug than we imagined. Some
men came over in a canoe from the village of
" Saults aux Cochons," one very wild looking
and handsome, with an old fur cap on. They
brought fish, and would only take meat and
bread in exchange ; money would be of no
use to them in their wild place, where they
never see meat. There are falls at the
village which looked pretty in the distance.
Some of us tried to make the captain take
us to see them in a boat, but he feared the
difficulty of landing on this ** unknown
shore," so steadily refused to let us go, at
which I secretly rejoiced, for the perils of
landing are great and, to me, very disagree-
able, and I felt far safer " aboard." Soon we
heard singing on the water, and saw the
gentlemen returning in their boats ; the
boatmen were singing Canadian boat-songs ;
it sounded so pretty on the water. The
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TADOUSAC.
gentlemen were not cross, and we had
passed a very pleasant quiet day. That
night we left for Tadousac, where we were
met by quantities of people, Col. Irvine and
daughter, Col. Rhodes, Col. Hawley, etc.
It was written outside the hotel that the
G. G. and party had arrived, " and were all
well, and that Col. Irvine had received us on
the shore." (If they only knew how ill some
of us felt!) Musicians played " God save,"
etc. The people told us that the hotel had
been illuminated the night our ship arrived ;
we never found it out. But I must stop
now, as this letter must be put in at R. du
Loup to-morrow. We got letters from home
to-day, so pleasant. I will write more by
next mail (D.V.). We have had Thunder
and lightning to-night ; oh, horrors !
Ship, July 30///. — I am going to finish
telling you of Saturday. Major Churchill
and Captain and Mrs. Utterson (17th) came
on board at Tadousac. The ship is shaking
so I cannot write ; it is a screw, and shakes
more than the Asia, but I like the move-
ment — a screw feels more real and earth-like
than smooth paddles.
August T^rd, Wednesday Evening. — I am
at last on land again. I now go on with
Saturday. These people came on board after
86
Jl/y CANADIAN LEAVES.
our stay at Tadousac, where \vc remained about
an hour. Most of our party went to see the
R. C. chapel, which was built on the site of
the first Christian church ever built in Canada,
two hundred years as^o, by the Jesuits. The
priest gave her Ex. a bouquet. I just looked
in, and then went to look at the hotel, with
Dick, Captain Pern., and Henry. It is a
very big hotel, lately built, and does not look
at all substantial ; there is a large bowling-
alley attached to it. There is nothing to
do at any of the Canadian watering-places.
We then sat on a grassy mound and surveyed
the sands, water, and people ; the rest of the
party went to see Jacques Cartier's cave, but
we were too lazy to tramp through the sands.
You know, perhaps, that Jacques Cartier
was the discoverer of Canada two hundred
years ago! Mrs. Utterson is a nice little
woman. Captain U. is clever and observ-
ing, and does caricatures. We steamed on
through a part of the Saguenay to Bay St.
Etienne, a lonely wild spot where not a
living creature was to be seen ; we there
disembarked in boats, and one boat got all
right to land ; the second, in which I was,
stuck on simc/ banks, and had to be shoved
off ever so many times. We were constantly
nearly upset, and I was afraid. At last we
Iff
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87
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had two alternatives — either to be carried by
the men to land, or walk in the water bare-
footed ; we wanted to do the latter, when at
last, with violent shoves, we (j^ot near enough
to the land to put boards across on which
we perilously stepped : I slii)ped, and had a
struLTLrle with Mr. Wilkie before I could be
draLTtXcd on to the shakin
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WEBSTER, NY 14580
(716) 872-4S03
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Afy CANADIAN LEAVES.
Rhein. Mr. Wilkic found the bottom of a
bottle in the grass marked " Bass's Pale Ale,"
left by some fisher, I suppose, but it spoilt
the romance of the place a good deal with
me. Soon we heard thunder rumblingf all
over the hills, and I happily found that Mrs.
Utterson was afraid, and Mrs. Godley did
not like it. I meant to embark in a boat and
go to the ship, which, being iron, was the
safest place. However, it went off for a
time, so we had our tea very warm and
snug on a log of wood, which did beautifully
for a table. We then heard that the tide
would not be haute till eight, and the
boatmen and Sergeant Lambkin said they
would carry us into the boats. We walked
through swamps a good way into the river
with the aid of planks which Mr. W. and
the boatmen put down, and at last, with a
great effort, we succeeded in getting into the
boat by planks on a rock ; so we escaped
being carried. They caught very few fish ;
Dick and Mr. G. caught about a dozen trout.
Soon the Thunder began, and very vivid
lightning. We were at dinner on deck under
an awning. I could not eat one bit, of
course ; it did not last long, thank God.
The summer lightning went on for a long
time. The hills were covered with fires,
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KIViIlRE DU LOUP.
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and round one of them P. and I said we saw
the witches dancing hand-in-hand ; it all
looked so wild and pretty. At last we got
to Tadousac, and the guests left us. Captain
Pem, heard that there had been a dreadful
Thunder-storm at Tadousac, and also an awful
one at R. du Loup, so I was very thankful
for missing the bad part. We went on that
night to Riviere du Loup, where we arrived
early on Sunday morning. We had to go
in boats to get to land, and we went up and
down very unpleasantly ; of course I was
afraid. It was so hot on land after excessive
cold on the water. Dick and I and Mr.
Wilkie drove in a gig to church, and the
others all went in different waggons and gigs.
We found the clocks so different that we got
in for the second lesson ! it began at 10.30.
We disturbed the people a good deal ; people
turned out of their seats to let us in, and we
were scattered all over the church. The
service was very badly and carelessly per-
formed, and the clergyman, who is very old,
read so horridly, leaving out half his words —
it sounded y«j/ like when you open and shut
your ears during a conversation and hear
bits of the talk. We had not a bad sermon of
twenty minutes by some one from Montreal.
We then all ascended in o our gigs, and
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iJ/K CANADIAN LEAVES.
Dick, Mr. Wilkie, and I went to sec the
Indian encampment on our way to Stanley's
house, five miles off. The Indians are all
Christians now all over Canada, thouijh they
are called, and call themselves, " Les
Sauvages ; " they looked quite Sunday-like,
not workin
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it. I was enchanted with the I^'alls ; they
arc enormously hij:(h and magnificent, and
one feels awed by their grandeur. We
walked to see " The natural steps " — a set of
rocky steps by the side of the rapids, very
curious, and the scenery round so pretty —
green fields and trees. We picked some
pretty wild flowers. The drive to and from
Montmoren9i is so pretty. We found Lvl.
and Lady Alexander Russell had arrived
here when we returned.
Tuesday y \6t/i. — Old Mr. Price and Capt.
Hope, K.O.B., dined. The dear old Mr. F.
admires Lady A. R. very much, and devoted
himself to her. I sat ne.xt Ld. A. at dinner,
and he made me laugh the whole time.
IVcdncsday, 1 7///. — Very hot afternoon.
Ld. and Lady A. R. left.
Thursday, 18///. — Gen. Lindsay and staff
arrived. We are always glad when they
come. Review on the plains of Abraham.
Very hot. The 17th band played in the
Governor's garden in the afternoon, and
we went to it. In the evening there was
a very large dinner-party here — all the
colonels of regiments, also Col. Neville
and Col. Peel. Captain Eliot took me in to
dinner ; he is so pleasant and amusing.
After dinner the 25th string-band played
//•;./ Wll II COl.OSEI. C.ORDOX.
9'J
outside the verandah. It was all like a
scene in a play — the moon made a silver
path on the river, a shii) standinj^ out so
clearly on the water that the riirj^Mnjr could l)e
seen quite plain, and the " baml discf)ursini,^
sweet music" the while. The K.O.H.'s
play so exquisitely. The red coats of the
officers formed a very j^ood forei^rround to
the picture. The servants had dancing at
one end of the verandah. Adieu.
Friiiay, August \^th. — After I had dis-
patched your letters, V. and I drove to town,
and looked at Dick, Henry, etc., playing
racquets at the racquet-court. We dined at
seven, and the Gen. and staff left for Montreal
per train after dinner.
Saturday, 20t/i. — Dull and foggy day.
After lunch her Ex., F., and I drove to
town, to see some coloured prints of Jeru-
salem at old Mr. Forsyth's house. He gave
me a copy of his book of travels in the Holy
Land. We then went to Col. Gordon's
house (next door) to tea. The soldier ser-
vant, with his black moustaches and large
white-gloved hands spread out very wide,
made us laugh, he looked so odd and con-
sequential. It is a very nice house, and
Gordon the Good gave us " quite a feast " —
tea, melon, cake, and peaches. When we
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A/V CANADIAN LEAVES.
got liomc, Uick and I walked to old Mr.
Price's place (next to this).
Suiicfay, 2\st. — Dull and foijgy again.
The evening turned out wet.
Monday, 22nd. — A very wet day ; so un-
usual here ! There was to have been a
school feast here to-day, but it is too wet.
After all, we are not going to P. Edward's
Island ; I dread the sea too much, though I
long to go. Gen. Lindsay does not know
whether he will go home at all. The R.
Brigade come down to Montreal from Kings-
ton, also the 63rd. The R. 13. have been
promised Quebec if they send another
regiment here. Gen. L. is also anxious to
get to Ouebec. This is such a stupid letter;
I have no news. P.S. — This moment three
carriages full of, I suppose, Yankees, have
driven up to the house. The Yanks stared
well at the house, and into my room on the
ground-floor, and drove off again.
Au^nst 22nd, Monday. — Oh, the wet of
Monday I never shall forget ! The rain
stopped in the afternoon for a short time, and
F., M. F., and I drove out. I went to see
Mrs. (the bride). She told me they
went lately on a fishing-expedition to St. Jean,
where they found only a log hut to sleep
in, and no food to eat, so they (four in number)
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slept on the t,rrouncl, and had only a loaf of
sour black bread to eat. We drove also to
Mrs. house, where I went in and
paid her a visit. The people out here are
all hearty and kind. I was much amused at
this visit. Mrs. N., sister to Mrs. F. T.,
was with her. After some talk, I asked to
see Mrs. F. T.'s boy of two years okl, and
her sis/cr said, " Bring him down, if he is
awake and good. I think it wise to say
this." In he came, sucking his thumb, and
Mrs. T. informed me, by way of an excuse
for him, that she had sucked her own thumb
till she was five, that Miss had done so
till she was seven, Col. till he was nine,
and a lady who had visited her told her that
her son was "a good big boy of thirty-two,"
and still sucks his thumb. When he is annoyed
at anything, he says, " I will try a taste of my
thumb." We had an awful rain-storm, and
some Thunder and liLrhtnini^ after dinner, and
the violent rain-storm went on at intervals all
night.
Tuesday, 2yd. — A very wet day, but it
cleared after lunch, and we drove. We had
torrents of rain after our return hom.e, and
distant Thunder — at least, what I call distant
here, but near at home.
iVednesday, 2\th. — Very fine day, hot sun,
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Jl/]' CANADIAN LEAVES.
cool air. After lunch, Capt. and Mrs.
called by appointment. .She was so well
dressed in her trousseau clothes. He wore
his weddini^ clothes, and his hair was curled.
Her boots creaked from shyness, and when
I asked her how many sisters she had she
answered, " Six or seven." Later her Ex.
j^ave a feast here to the orphan children of
the Church Home. The schoolmistress
(Miss Winter) was a <^rcat amusement to
me — a fat old woman with a short dress and
no crinoline, one fat grey shell curl rested on
each chc^ek. She wore comfortable grey
thread gloves and a bonnet instead of a hat,
which is the usual head-gear out here ! The
" man-matron " is a retired policeman, well
able to keep the boys in order. Mr. brother-
gill (the clergyman) came, also Mr. H. and
wife. They had been detained by a funeral,
which they seemed rather proud of. The
children were all so happy, and they ended
by singing a hymn, intended to be *' The
Evening Hymn," but no one could have
recognized it as such ; it was led by the
matron with her chin en fair, followed by
the ex-policeman in quite another key ! The
matron's fat hand was spread out on one of
the girl's shoulders during the hymn. Then
they all w jnt away in an open van, the man
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on the box and the matron on th(i step, as
she sh'ppcd off the leather seats of the van. I
had a letter from Miss Rose askini; us to a
" farewell " ball they are J^dvin^; to the Guards
on the 31st; we hope to go. That ni;^ht
dined Mr. and Miss Archbald ; they have
come out for the winter, and brought a letter
from Lord de Grey. It makes home sound
nearer their sayino' they came out for a
pleasure trip for the winter. The father is
like pictures of Abraham with a white beard ;
the girl is pleasant. Mr. Price also dintxl ;
dear old man ! He and Mr. A. found out
that they were old friends. We sang gl(;es
and Canadian choruses after diiuier.
Thursday, 25//-. — Mr. Price sent m(* a
beautiful bouquet this morning. The house
Hies here would drive a saint mad ; they are
in black swarms, and get into one's mouth,
and ears, and eyes, and prevent one from
sleeping in the morning ; they begin their
raids at daybreak. I had a most pressing
invitation from dear Mrs. Dundas today, but
I fear the sea too much to accei)t it. Mr.
Rose lunched, and told us that Miss Rose is
having a ballroom built outside the hou::.e
for the Guards' ball. The gentlcme-n dint-d
with the 25th. We all played "Old Maid"
at home. Mr. Wilkie's fuss for fear he
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A/ y C.I X.I/)/. I A' /. /•;, / / 'A.s'.
shoulil be "Olil liaclu'Ior" w.is Ljood fun,
prctciuliiiL; lie hati'd it all the tiinc, and
saying stcruly to Henry, " Voii should not
let it be seen when you have the old
maid.
Friday nioniiu<^, 26///. — Mr. and Mrs.
Rawson come for one nii^ht to-tlay. We
had Thunder, lii^htninir, and a tt!rrible rain-
Storm last nii^^ht.
Friday evening. — The Rawsons arrived,
also Lord Mahon, Mr. Stanhope, and
Captain Ilayter. These men had missed
the train from the Saj^uenay, and came here
instead. There was a very lari^e dinner-
party; several of the Ministers dined and
some officers. The Hies wen; dreadful ; old
Sir \\. Tache remarked, " bMies are very
impertinent ; they love handsome women's
l)Iood." In the evenini^ I talked to Mrs.
McD. She told me that one of the storms
here went on to the States twelve hours
later, and killed " Quite a number of soldiers,
about thirty of them." Talked also (anions^
others) to Mr. Gait, who beij^ged of me to \ip
with the Ministers to 1\ Edward's Island.
It is only sixty hours by water. Had I
known it was so short a passaj^e, I niio^ht
have settled to go, but now it is too late.
What am I come to when sixty hours sounds
v//j..u:/:h's.
105
short ? 'r.'ilkiiiLj of passaL^cs, Mr. Ravvson
toKl iiic that Sir Samuel Ciinard said that
one thini; that made his line so safe was that
the sliij)s are " Well prayed over."
Sii/uiu/tty, 27///.— \'ery wet niorniiiL^ till
twelve. 'IMic kawsons lelt after an early
dinner. The T. (i.'s (travelling,'- (^(Mits) left
after three.
SiifKi/try.— Wiit most of the day.
Momiay, 2()tli. — We tried on winter cloth('S,
fur ca|)S, etc., in L.'s room. Dick looked
very nice in fur caj). I went with l'\
and M. 1*'. to see some of the poor in the
villaii^e. One very disa_q;r(.'eable Knijlish-
woman told me that she knew a lady who
left her baby in I'^nijland when she came out
here, and it died— this was a propos to my
havinnr left B. H. at home. Mrs. Godley
told me she always says the wronir thine- :
she saw some of them with _o()Ioshes one day,
and pleasantly remarked that her moth(;r
once wore them, and slij)ped and died!
Another (an Irishwoman) was very pleasant,
her grandchild presented tin: W of Wales
with a bou(|uct when he was here, and he
took her in his arms and kissed her, and sent
her a locket and his picture; she is a i)retty
child.
Tuesday, 30///.— The G. G. and staff have
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J/K CANADIAN LEAVES.
m
gone to the Volunteer Ritle Match ; the G. G.
is to fire the first shot.
Friday, September 2nd. — We went to
Montreal on Tuesday last. Mr. and Miss
Archbald were on board the boat. No one
could conceive the size of these boats unless
they saw them, so enormous, like three-storied
wooden houses, painted white. We had a
room, not a cabin. The moment we arrived
at the St. Lawrence Hall, we heard there
was goin<^ to be a very grand review at
Logan's Tarm, so we got a waggon and went
off to it. We found a great crowd on the
field. Capt. King soon espied us, and made
me get into Sir L'enwick's carriage wit.. Mrs.
de Winton. The review was beautiful — I
send a paper with an account of it ; swarms
of Yankees were there, and their remarks,
which were roared out at the top of their
voices, amused me much. They said the
Rifles were " very ugly," and the Guards'
caps were the ugliest things they had ever
seen, and the most disfiguring. They called
each regiment " an army ! " " Here's Stephen-
son's army," etc., etc. It was the prettiest
review I have ever seen anywhere ; the
Guards looked beautiful ; the 6oth also looked
very pretty; and the R.A. grand, rushing
down a ravine and up the other side, with
MOXT/^KAL AGA/X.
107
their enormous cannons. The cannons
frightened our horses dreadfully, and Dick
and Capt. Kino^ had to hold them down ;
they kicked and stood upright. The horses
of the next carriage \vi;re even worse ; and
one of them put its head into our carriage,
and n(.'arly on Mrs. de W. ; at last we had
to get out — we were terrified. Sir luMiwick
looked ve'ry handsome, and was so kind to me.
Me said his carriage was at my disposal for
the day, but of course I would not take it.
This review was on Wednesday, August 31st.
In the afternoon Captain Seymour took us
out to drive. We went to see Lady Sarah,
and found a '' tea " iroing on to hear a <:irl of
twelve read Shakesjjeare for charity. Lady
Sarah made her read " The Ouality of
Mercy " for me ; she really read very well.
The Jnra li^'oiit come in, and we want our
letters so much.
Spencer Wood, September 3/7/, Sahcrday. —
Tliis dreadful day I shan't forget in a hurry.
We got up at 7.15 in terrible wind, with rain
beating against the windows, and everything
looking the picture of desolation and despair.
We went on board the Peruvian with the
travellers, and, having insjjected the cabins,
we all sat together in the saloon for the short
time before the ship startc^l. At last the
SHP
IO.S
Afy CANADIAN LEAVES.
bell rani:^, and wc took leave. Captain
Ballantine took care of me from the ship to
the carriai^e. We tlien stayed in the wind
and rain to see the ship move off into the
river. How terrible it is to see a ship move
off for so long a voyaj^e ! I thoujj^ht so of
" Gone," when I saw the ropes undone, and
she moved slowly off Then we drove
home ; the house is so sad and deserted ; it
is bitterly cold, to add to everything else. I
must go back now and tell you more about
Montreal ; I left off so suddenly. After our
" tea " at Lady Sarah's, we drove to the joint
house of Captains Eliot and Seymour, and
paid Captain \\. a visit. They were so
pleasant and funny. 1 told them they were
like two old maids trying to let the house.
Captain S. anxiously inquired, "Charles, has
any one been here to look at the house to-
day } " We then went to a shop where Dick
bought winter furs, and then home. We
joined dinners with Sir Fenwick, and had a
pleasant party, which consisted of Sir F. and
staff and ourselves. Sir F. knew about the
odd Yankees at the review, as they went to
his house, and called him "Mr. Williams."
After dinner we went to the ball at Mrs.
Rose's. It was a pretty sight, and very
well done ; the whole croquet-ground and
FAREWELL HALL TO THE GUARDS. 109
verandah were covered in with an enormous
tent, which reached to the top of the house,
so that from the upstairs balconies you could
look down to the ballroom. The tent was
done up with flags and lights, and there were
liirhts among the trees and shrubs of the
croquet-ground ; the vine-leaved pillars of
the verandah came in so well and naturally.
There was a very handsome Southern girl
at the ball, a Miss Preston. A black beetle
appeared hopping and running through the
ballroom. I tried to catch it in my hand-
kerchief, I was so afraid it would be killed.
A R.A. officer most civilly knelt on the
ground to try to rescue it, but he failed, and
at last it was captured by a R.E. officer.
Conway came up to see the ball. One
American elderly lady had about forty curls
on each side of her head ; she looked like a
tree with branches. We got home at three.
Outside the ballroom was like a Cremorne
of coloured lamps and arbours.
On September ist, went at one to the
Guards' auction, and was much amused —
horses, harness, sleighs, and carriages were
sold. After dinner we left Montreal in the
Europa, with our nice little captain, who again
gave us our supper in the pantry, as the place
of honour. The wind got up very much in the
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.UV C.IXAD/.UV LEAVES.
ni_<;ht, and by morning' I could not keep my
feet on deck. Dick had his new horse on
hoard, " Bill Seward" by name, bought from
Col. IJramston.
Friday, September 2ud. — I repeat about
I'riday, 2n(l. A wretched day, very windy
and dark, and every one sad. Saturday I
have told you of. Gordon the Good came,
b'ires blazed in every room, and every one
was shiverin<^ with cold ! The small talile
at dinner was by no means a cheering sight,
and the misery of the animals was sad to
sec. Sundav' was very very wet and windy.
Drove to church in the afternoon in the
waggon with the new horse.
Monday, ^tJi. — To-day is very fine, thank
God. Heard of the Pertivian.
Tuesday, 6th. — Very windy and fine, cold
with hot sun. I went with all the g;entle-
men, and F. H. and Col. Gordon, on board
the Himalaya. The captain sent his ten-
oared boat for us. Dick, Captain Pem.,
and Gordon the Good were in uniform. I
saw that the river was very rough. I wanted
to stay behind, but they said " Go on," so
I was in the boat before I realized it, the
officer saying, "If you sit there, you will
escape the spray." Oh, misery ! We went
up and down so high and so low, it was
clreadful. Captain Lacy was very civil, and
excused himself to the G. G. for not lirini,^
a sakite as he had no j^^ins ! We went all
over the ship, and saw where every one was
to sleep. 1\ Biirrowes told us that on
Saturday the storm was so jL^reat the fires
of the Island of Orleans steamer were [)ut
out by the water, and they had to put back.
Before dinner three "shipwrecked mariners,"
viz. Colonel Warde, 6oth Rilles, Mr. Turner
(ditto), and Mr. Wilson Patten (Rille Briiradc),
arrived. They had just turned up in the
Urgent, after twenty-one days' passage from
England, and all sorts of misfortunes. They
told us at dinner all about their passage.
The ship ran on a sand-bank, and nearly
went over ; the cabins were full of water,
the boats were ready, and the women and
children assembled, when she righted herself,
but every one was terrified. They lost an
anchor, were short of coals, and be^^innincr
to want provisions. Mr. Turner pleasantly
remarked, " The Peruvian must have met
with very bad weather."
Wedncselay, ji/i. — Dick and Captain Pern,
went off at 7 a.m. to see the Guards off, and
brought Captain Seymour here to breakfast.
There was great mourning at Montreal after
the Guards. In the afternoon we got letters
!i
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A/y CAX.ini.LY LEAVES.
from Father Point. The Godleys and a
tribe of (1o_l;s came here during tea, and we
liad a violent doLj ti.L(ht.
Thursday, ^f/i. — After kincli l*'raulein 13.
and I took a pretty drive all over the coves
by tile riverside. The day was so lovely
and calm, one could almost see one's face
in the river. Captain Pem. went to Mon-
treal for a cricket-match. After tea Dick
and I walked over to Mr. Price's, to thank
him for a beautiful bouquet he brought me.
lie took Dick the famous walk to see where
Wolfe landed, and I walked with the young
ladies. Dr. Adamson and a few oflkers
dined.
Scpl ember ()l/i, Friday. — Very wet.
Saturday, \olk. — Friiulein Denny and I
drove into town, and made Y . B. take us
to the racquet-court to see Dick play.
Denny was so afraid going, and said the
court was like " a bear-pit at the Jardin des
Plantes" at Paris. The evening was so
lovely. We saw people trying horses on
the Plains of Abraham for the garrison races
on PViday next.
Sunday. — Wet, as every Sunday is, and
very cold. There were seven people at the
eight-o'clock service. Mr. Scarth, of Lennox-
ville, is doing duty here now. Dick had a
OTTAIVA DISC HI RED.
»I3
lett(;r from Captain Pcm. sayinj^ that Ouchec
had well beaten Montreal, of which we are
very proud. We walked back part of the
way from the afternoon service with the J.
lUirstals, who told us of the burnin<^ down
of the Quebec Custom House the day before !
Alas! the only fine building at Quebec is gone.
Monday, \2th. — ^V// a storm blowing from
the east. We have been out lookini: at the
river, which is voy rough. I had a visit last
Saturday, I forgot to say, from Mrs. Adamson
and Mrs. Macdonald, the Dr.'s wife at
Montreal. Mrs. A. was so amusing; she
said she had just come from Ottawa, with
which she was disgusted. She said, "What
can you expect from a place where there is
no water ? You have to pay fiftcenpence
to a boy to bring you water ; there are no
waterworks." Mrs. M. asked me if I had
ever been there ; I said no. " Keep out of
it," said Mrs. A., ''as loner as you can." On
the 20th, I hope. Lord Lyons and Messrs.
]\Lalet and Sheffield come here, and General
Doyle a few days later. Captain Seymour
hopes to go with Dick and me to Niagara in
October. Once the winter beench. I had stolen one or two
most exquisite autumn leaves from one of
the dessert dishes at dinn(;r, and felt truly
vexed when this at^reeable man asked me
to give him my fcuillc inortc ; he chose
the prettiest, the one I longed to keep ; but,
of course, I could not refuse to give it
to him, His dress was so I'^rench — grey
" pants," and a tail coat, and of course
decorations of all sorts. In this bitter
weather the grey " pants " quite made me
shiver. Colonel Jervoise, R.E., dined also;
he is here on some special mission about the
defences, fortifications, etc.
Sunday, 25///. — Mr. told me such a
delicious story about Mr. Lyulph Stanley when
he was a boy of five ; he was one day naughty^
m
GARh'/SON RACES.
137
and scolded by his i.iothcr; when she had
done scoldinL,^ him he said, " Proceed ; you
interest me." Mr. also told us when
a Yankee sees any one Li^oing out to shoot
with his gun and his dog, he says, " Stranger,
whither away with your burning irons and
your smell dog } " I do not tell these stories
a propos of Sunday ! There was a sermon
in the morning on " the burden of riches."
After tea Colonel G., \\ B., Dick, and I
went shivering to the river walk.
JMomiay, 26///. — We are going to the gar-
rison races to-day. It is now blowing a
hurricane from the north ; how cold the
plains will be ! To-morrow we hope to go
on an expedition up the river in the Govern-
ment steamer to a place called "Shawenigan."
After several essays, I told Lord L. I had
discovered we pronounced it wrong ; he
reassured me by saying, " P)etter leaye it as
it is ; we shall only puzzle ourselves if we
change our way of saying the word, and we
only want to speak of it among ourselves."
Lord L. has invited us to Washington,
where he promises to give a jjarty in my
honour.
Monday, Scplcnibcr 26///, Evcnin(^. — We
went to the races on the Plains of Abraham.
Captain Pern, and I went in the carriage,
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^1^ CANADIAN LEAVES.
and were met by Lord A. and Mr. Malet,
who had been to Montmoren9i with Dick ;
he rode, also Mrs. Godley and General
Doyle; and all the rest were busy writing
business letters at the office. Such a pity !
The wind was bitter, but the day lovely, and
it was great fun. Colonel Gordon brought
me to lunch in a tent, and there introduced
me to Madame Duval, who introduced her
daughter — Mrs. Serecold — to me. The 1 7th
supplied the food, and the 25th the wine.
The races were rather bad, but amusing, and
to me exciting, as I had never seen a race
before. Colonel G.'s horse came in a good
last ; he did not care one pin ! There was
no betting. The French Charg. r/.ffaires
was there, also the Admiral. There were
three tumbles. The view from the plains is
so very pretty — the river beneath you and
the mountains beyond, and everything looked
very gay and bright. I was so perished
that Lord A. and Mr. Malet tucked me up
in the bear-skin robe and only my head
peeped out. The business people got home
at 6.30. In the evening dined Col. G. and
Mr. Marryatt (17th), Col. Jervoise and Mr.
Harrison, R.E., Col. and pretty Miss Kate
Irvine, and " Adamson," the librarian.
McGee also dined. These people were as
t -.'
ON BOARD "QUEEN VICTORIA." 129
good as a play at dinner. " Adamson "
began saying he knew General Doyle thirty
years ago (he burrs the r of thirty so). " I
beg your pardon," said General Doyle,
" That was my elder brother," whispering to
me that he never had one. " Adamson," in
his grave voice, took up the joke, and said
more about " your elder brother," ditto
Col. Irvine. General Doyle said it would
never do to make him out old at Halifax,
"where I play the kitten." McGee was not
in force, but told a few good stories. After
dinner " Adamson " told Lord Lyons and
me about his wife's grave at Montreal,
where his boys were buried. Then I pro-
posed our playing " Old Maid." Lord L.
said he delighted in it. Some of the gentle-
men played whist, but Lord L. preferred our
game. We ended by playing "grab," and
we all got rather wild and excited.
Tuesday, 2']th. — Up to 8.30 breakfast, and
off at nine for our steamer, the Queen Victoria.
We had a most lovely day on the river, very
hot and bright. I read the paper, talked
and slept on deck ; the gentlemen played
" ship quoits " (see my journal of the Asia).
We read in a Quebec paper that Lord A.
was come out as ambassador to the Con-
federate States ; this caused much fun. That
9
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130
MV CANADIAN LEAVES.
night we had an alarm that the enormous
fat stewardess was intending to sleep in our
cabin (I mean Mrs. G.'s and mine). She
had a great big boy whom she said must
sleep with her ; we said we would not stand
it, and we made a row about it. The gentle-
men were very kind. Lord A. proposed
that Mr. M. should sleep in his cabin, and
that the woman should have Mr. M.'s cabin.
It ended by Mr. Malet settling to sleep in
Captain Pem.'s cabin, and giving his up to
" Fatima," as I called her. Mrs. G. and I
were in small cabins out of a large one,
where slept the two maids. Lord A. and
General Doyle took such an interest in the
stewardess' row, calling down through the
top window to know about it. Lord A.
said, " Once you get her into Mr. Malet's
cabin, lock her in, and don't let her out."
General Doyle said, " Shall I come at her,
ma'am ?" in Irish. I forgot to say that poor
Mr. Sheffield was ill, and was left in bed
at Spencer Wood. We arrived at " Three
Rivers " that night before dinner, and Dick
instantly received a most quaint letter from
a Mr. Lanigan, respectfully asking the G. G.
and party to patronize some games on the
29th at the town of " Three Rivers." We
parted with dear Gen. Doyle that night ;
EN ROUTE TO SHAWENIGAN.
131
S
he went on to Montreal by the boat from
" Three Rivers," to visit " our Fenwick," as
he said. He was most amusing all day till
he would write letters in the cabin. When
Dick played the "ship quoits" badly, he said
to me, " Oh, me husband ! " with a rich
brogue.
Wednesday, 22>th. — Up ever so early, to
very early breakfast, after which several
waggons arrived at the wharf, and off we
set ! The first one had three horses (one
small one in front and two fat big ones be-
hind) ; in it went the G. G., Lord A., and
Mrs. Godley, with Captain Pern, on the box.
Then came the bridal one with two fat white
steeds, in which went Lord Lyons, Mr.
Malet, and L In the third, Col. Gordon
(who I forgot to say came with us), and Mr.
Godley, with Dick on the box; and lastly
came Lord L.'s Italian valet, and the Board
of Works servant. Oh, can I ever express
the roads ! The horses had no blinkers, and
we had a little boy to drive us, but he drove
so well. Sometimes one wheel was on a
bank, and the other very low down in sand,
the roads were so narrow over corduroy
bridges (made of trees laid together), with
no rail on either side, through streams, up
two awful hills, and down two dittos, through
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woods and what are called f^ir^ roads, which
means no roads ! Altogether I need not try
to describe it — it is useless. Of course I
was much afraid. Sometimes we had to
cling to the sides of the waggons to keep our
seats. Lord Lyons was most delightfully
agreeable, and the twenty- five miles passed
over in very quick time. I asked him if he
objected to my squealing out every minute,
and he said, " No ; it is much better to cry
out when you are afraid, than to keep it to
yourself, and I don't mind being pinched
moderately." But I said I would not pinch
him. He was in bliss at getting out of the
ship. We saw a circus advertised in the
town, and he proposed our going to it. He
told me he loved a circus better than any-
thing — that he went twenty-five days running
to a circus in Italy, and always to see the
same things done. We talked a great deal
about books. Lord L. loves children's books.
He and Mr. Malet both love " Cranford " so
much that they always travel about with a
copy of it. Mr. Seward asked Lord L. to
go out to market with him one day, and he
said, " I certainly should have gone, only I
feared to show my ignorance ! " He told
me a great deal about the American Epis-
copal Church, which is very much like ours.
ST. MAURICE RIVER.
133
Well ! to return to our journey — at last we
came through some exquisite woods, all
bright red and yellow with the autumn tints,
till, at the foot of a very steep hill, the lovely
blue river St. Maurice burst upon our view,
surrounded by these exquisite red and
yellow woods, and with some curious yellow
sands in the middle of the river. It was all
like fairyland. No one can imagine the 7'ed
woods who has not seen them ; but you can
judge a little by the leaves I send you. It
was like what would be called in a panto-
mime, " The fairy forest glade, and the river
with the golden sands." We all arranged
beforehand what exclamation we were to
make, when we saw the Falls. Lord L.
proposed that one should say " Jee-rusalem,"
and Mr. Malet was to say " Golly." I think
I was to say " Oh, my ! " A Board of
Works man met us, and conducted us to an
enormous barge, so big that chairs were put
into the bottom of it for us all. It was like
pictures of real flat-bottomed barges painted
dull reddy-brown, and rowed by men stand-
ing up, with gigantic oars. It held all our
party, and several boatmen, and we had
room for many more ; so you can fancy the
size. We rowed across this heavenly river,
with the coloured trees down to the water's
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MV CANADIAN LEAVES.
edge, to a bank, where we disembarked, and
our barge was tied to a tree. So lonely was
it that vve left our wraps in the boat with no
one to look after them. The boatmen all
landed also. We then scrambled through
this primeval forest till the Falls of Shawe-
niga*- s -.^ ' -ily came in sight, to our intense
admiratA . ar ' astonishment. Oh, they are
most beautiful, immensely broad, and such a
body of v;ater roming down from the two
blue rivers a_ove. N.-^ words of mine can
describe it all. Lord L. and Dick took off
their boots and stockings, and scrambled
bare-footed to a rock crossing part of the
water, and were even more surprised than at
first seeing it. Lord L. has travelled much,
but he says he never saw a more exquisite
view than that day. In this wild lonely
place the Mayor of " Three Rivers" built an
enormous three-storied and verandahed hotel,
but it proved a bad speculation, for it is
abandoned and looks most ghostlike, unin-
habited and unfinished in the midst of this
wild place. When we had feasted our eyes
on the Falls, and picked leaves, we went to
our grand lunch laid on a table made with
boards by the servants and boatmen. The
sun was burning hot, and the day perfec-
tion, though it began with rain ; indeed, it
,,•[
"THE greys:'
135
was so hot that Lord L.'s Italian servant
kindly held an umbrella over my head at
lunch, and then made a tent with sticks and
Mr. M.'s railway-rug to protect me from the
sun. This Italian Joseph was a most gallant
gentleman ! After lunch Dick, Col. Gordon,
and I strayed to the hotel, and had a grand
view from the top storey, very weird and
giddy it was. There were no window-panes
in the windows, and the stairs were only
planks. By going to the hotel we missed
our party, and I did not see the "wood
slides," which made me very cross. Dick
left us, and Col. G. and I returned to the
boat together, where we waited half an hour
for our party, sitting on a bank. We then
re-embarked in our barge, and had a lovely
row down the river to " The Greys," a village
where the carriages met us. It is called
"The Greys" from the bits of grey rock
seen everywhere about. We saw some very
pretty Falls there, small ones, and we also
saw some saw-mills worked by water, and
some wood slides, very interesting, but I
have not time to explain the process. The
slides are used to slide down the great
pieces of wood into the water, which carried
them to a place called a boom. We shot a
rapid on the St. Maurice, at the end of our
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136
MY CANADIAN LEAVES.
six-miles' row, but our barge was so big, and
the rapid so small, we scarcely felt it. We
were amused by all the people of the village
flocking out, open-mouthed and open-eyed,
to see our party. They all bowed to the
G. G. We got into the carriages again, and
drove to the ship. It was horrible, worse
than going, because it was dark. Once we
were nearly upset over a precipice, because
carts were in the way. I was terrified, and
squeaked out lustily, but would not pinch
Lord L. He told them afterwards that I
was quite angry with Mr. Malet, because he
did not ask the boy more than once every
minute how many miles it was, if he could
see, and if he had ever driven there before.
Mr. M. was so good about asking. We
talked and sang, and Lord L. repeated
poetry. The stars were most exquisite,
and the sunset eastern. One funny story
Lord L. told me I must tell. Mr. (a
queen's messenger) is very pompous and
grand in his way of talking. When he got
to Niagara the noise drove him so wild he
said to the waiter at the hotel, "Will this
daamd thing never stop ? " evidently wishing
it to be turned off iov him. Lord L. told me
the roads are so bad at Washington that
driving in the streets there, he has been
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LOUD LYONS.
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bonneted in his own brougham with the
bumping ! When we arrived at the ship,
Domenique had a display of fireworks which
he was letting off. They were very pretty,
but rather dangerous. Lord A. left us per
Montreal steamer that night. It always
touches at " Three Rivers."
Next morning, 29th (Thursday), we re-
turned to Quebec. It was very rough and
cold, and the ship bumped about a good
deal. The river was very rough, and the
waves dashed up several times on the ship.
Lord L. says when he is an Emperor he
will only travel in a beautiful boat, pulled
on by horses on a smooth canal. Had we
stayed below we should have been sick. We
all sat together in a sheltered part of the
deck. We carried away a bit of the pier
in getting up to the wharf. We found Mr.
Sheffield quite well again. If you could hear
Lord L.'s odd, grave, inquiring way of
saying these things you would laugh as much
as I am now laughing because I said, " A
new animal has bitten my throat," and as
I scoffed at the idea of its being a mosquito,
Lord L. said, " Oh, dear ! was it a tiger ? "
in the gravest way possible.
Friday, 30///. — The G. G. wished us and
Capt. Pem. to go with Lord L., etc., to
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MY CANADIAN LEAVES.
St. Anne's, a very beautiful place near here.
Neither he nor Mr. G. could come, and
Mrs. G. would not leave Mr. G. We were
on board the Qtieen Victoria at ten a.m.
The day was lovely and calm after a hurri-
cane and rain-storm all night. A sailor had
been drowned just after we left the ship
on Thursday, by falling off our ship and
being sucked under before help could reach
him. How dreadful ! We went three hours
down the river till we came opposite the
great high hill of St. Anne, covered with
red and yellow woods. The banks of the
river were beautiful with tints, and Mont-
moren9i Falls were fuller of water than Capt.
Pern, had ever seen them. After lunch
we landed in boats with some difficulty from
the swamps, and the mud was so terrible
on the road to the hotel that one of my
goloshes — "gums" as the Yankees say —
stuck in it, and my boot was wet through,
so I had to get into a gig, and drive to the
hotel, where I dried my boot. This gig
consisted of the roughest back seat of a
carriage on high wheels — remember this
description ! Then we got into a calache,
even a worse form of conveyance than the
last-named ; it is like pictures of noddies
in woodcuts ; it has leather springs, so that
Wr.
^7-. ANNE'S FALLS.
139
it shakes horribly and dances up and down.
The other gentlemen walked by a short
cut to the Falls, whilst Dick and I drove ;
he held me round the waist with one arm,
and with the other hand held my hand. I
was more afraid even than at Shawenigan,
and in my fear forgot all my French, and
could not scold the man for going so quick.
He said he did not know the way, so he
got a boy to show him along. A four-
wheeled conveyance could not have gone
on such roads — hills like the side of
a house, down the middle of which had
been a torrent of rain and a slip, a tree
trunk laid in the middle of the road,
holes, ruts, and horrors of every sort. I
sprang squealing out and walked as far
as I could. Every time we came to a great
jerk the springs gave, so that we were often
nearly on the road, and were sometimes
thrown off our seats. The horse at last
happily could go no further, and was tied
to a tree in the wood. We were met by
a very fine-looking Irish 17th soldier, who
was on outpost duty, and had been sent by
the gentlemen to show us the way. Then
came the scramble — the soldier preceding
me to tear up little trees and break branches
for me. The usual pathway was covered
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AfV CANADIAN LEAVES.
with water, as the Falls were fuller than
they ever had been of water, so I had to
scramble where no one goes, much to the
soldier's grief. He evidently thought rne
a sort of wonder, and Mr. S. said the man
did not care what any one liked, except
what was nicest and easiest for me. I got
on beautifully. They were suprised at me,
sinking through rotten trees, slipping, catch-
ing and swinging d la singe by trees and
branches. I got down at last, and was well
rewarded by the grand Falls, the highest,
except Montmoren9i, we have seen yet,
but not nearly so broad as the Chaudiere
or Shawenigan. We gazed at them for
some time, the boy and the driver forming
part of the party, and we were all truly
delighted with them. The rocks are very
fine and high. You must roar to make
yourself heard, the noise of the rushing water
is so great. Having feasted our eyes, we set
about our return journey, which was even
more difficult than our journey there. The
soldier helped to pull me up the bank of
trees and leaves and loose stones, etc. The
last bit was done in a peculiar way : Lord
L. sat upon a bank holding Mr. Malet's
coat-tails, he held Captain Pern., who gave
me his hand, and dragged me up with a
MUSIC AND DANCING.
141
run ; Lord L. was the engine to this long
train ! Dick, Mr. S., and the soldier stayed
at the bottom to catch me if I fell. The
downhill caleche drive was miserable work,
and I was truly thankful when we got to a
ridgy field, for that was the best part of our
most wretched and horrible road. The row
boat seemed a haven of rest, and the steamer
a paradise. She looked very nice with all
her lights as we rowed up ; the sunset and
starlight were wonderful, and the aurora
behind the high hill was fine. There seem
to be hundreds more stars here than at home,
and they seem much brighter. We had a
merry dinner talking over our day, and after
dinner we sat on the servants' deck and
looked at the sailors, firemen, and men-
servants dancing to a fiddle and an accor-
dion, so well played, the fiddle played by
a fireman. The sailors also sang choruses,
" John Brown," etc. They sang one lovely
chorus about "Ma barque est fragile." They
had fine voices, and sang in unison, which
always sounds well with many voices. The
Board of Works' waiter (a French-Canadian)
danced beautifully as a woman, and an
Indian sailor danced a native dance, which
appeared to consist in whipping himself,
kicking, and screaming. Lord Lyons and
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A/y CANADIAN LEAVES.
I then paced the deck while the nasty others
had brandy and water in the cabin.
Saturday, October \st. — The gentlemen
(excepting Mr. Sheffield) were off before
seven a.m. to see the Falls of St. Fcriole. I
had gone through such misery the day before
I would not go, and Mr. S. stayed with me.
He was lazy, and I was very glad not to be
left alone. He and the captain and I
arranged a little trip for ourselves, which
turned out to be terrifying fun to me. Con-
way was so ill. I let her come, also, for a
change. We rowed very well for two miles
in the boat, till we came to, oh, such mud,
and we could not get near enough to the
land, as the tide was basse, so the captain
sent a sailor running through the water to
the land to get us a conveyance to drive
through the water in, as the boat was already
aground. At last there appeared a "habi-
tants " sleigh, on which one must stand up-
right. I said nothing would make me get
on it, so I made Conway and the captain
go on it together. Mr. S. had already
jumped upon a man's back, and was rushing
through the swamps to the dry land on his
two legged steed. I then made a sailor
carry me in his arms to a rock, and the
captain then persuaded me to get into a
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sort of gig with him, like the one I told you
of before ; and he drove me through the
swamps, whilst Conway got wearily along
on her sleigh ! Our horse was wicked, and
had no mouth, and my terror was extreme.
I could only hold on by the reins, and roar
and shout ! The captain had on a tall black
hat for this " mud lark," and we must have
looked a comedy sitting in this gig tearing
along at the rate of a fire-engine, unable to
stop ourselves, or rather our horse — some-
times the horse quite sank in the swamps —
the captain cheering my frightened spirit
with continual " ei, ei, ei," and "chuck,
chuck," to the wild horse. When at last
we were safely landed, I was so covered
with wet mud that I had to take off my
dress, and walk to the church in my petti-
coats ! leaving my dress to be dried in a
shanty, the girls in the shanty rushing to
look through my eye-glass as if it was a
wonder. We then walked to the Church,
which is very old, and celebrated for a relic
of St. Anne, which is honoured and prayed
to, and the lame are cured. The Church is
full of crutches hung up to show the results
of the cure ; but Mr. S. and I looked well at
them, and they are quite clean and unused.
Some of the " Ex-voto" pictures would make
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144
AfV CANADIAN LEAVES.
you die of laughing; in one a ship is repre-
sented sinking in what are supposed to be
waves, but look exactly like a JJock of sheep.
Another is a rescue from shipwreck, the
rescuers dressed in red coats and cocked
hats, and the rescued in mob caps. Our
return journey was better. We got a hay-
cart, and in it I sat on a chair, the captain
standing beside me, arm-in-arm with me, to
keep me from falling ; but rometimes, if the
horse stuck in the swamps, he fell on me !
Mr. S. and Conway followed in a gig. We
all drove into the river to the boat, and so
we at last got back safely to the ship. The
rest of our party soon after returned, having
been obliged to get to the row boat by
means of a smaller boat in which they s/iot
down the mud banks one by one ! They
all entered the ship in their stockings, carry-
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148
MV CANADIAN LEAVES.
afternoon with Capt. King. We then drove
out in Mr. Rose's carriage again — Mr. Rose,
Lord L., Mr. Malet, and I. I went to see
Mrs, Carter {vide Asia journal), and then
we went to see some military games, and
hear the 30th and Rifle Brigade bands play.
It was very pretty seeing the tilting at rings
on horseback. Sir Fenwick joined us later ;
it was a heavenly day, and the sight was
gay — swarms of people and uniforms.
Captain Seymour is at Ottawa with Mrs.
and Miss Rose and a party, where we have
telegraphed to him to meet us. We are to
have a ** special car." I am dressing for
Mr. Rose's dinner, so excuse haste.
Cataract House, Niagara Falls, State of
Neio Yo7'/c, U.S., Saturday Night, Oct. Zth,
'64. — Mr. Malet made me put this long
address ! We arrived here a few hours ago,
after a most long and tedious journey. We
have been " on the go " ever since Tuesday,
and I am not a bit tired or sleepy. We
have arrived in bitter cold wintry weather,
and there is snow on the ground. I received
your most welcome letters here to-night, sent
on from Quebec. Now I must try to tell
you of our very very long journey, and of
Mr. Rose's dinner-party at Montreal. I am
writing like a servant on paper with lines
MR. ROSE'S DINNER-PARTY.
149
with a picture on the top ; but I meant you
to see where we are, and I have green inl<,
If you could hear the incessant roar of the
marvellous rapids of the Falls of the world,
you would be quite bewildered, and not
wonder that my letter is full of mistakes and
blunders. I must tell you about Mr. Rose's
party now. It consisted of ourselves (five in
all), Sir F. Williams and A.D.C., Lord and
Lady Alexander Russell, Captain Northey
(60th Rifles), Commodore ]\I., and Miss E.,
Mr. Rose and his two eldest boys, the head
of the Grand Trunk Railway, and Major W.,
60th. I went in with Lord Lyons, and had
Lord A. Russell on my other side. I
lausfhed all dinner-time. Sir F. asked us
most kindly to stay with him on our way
back (he has taken General Lindsay's house),
but we can't go, as we are in such a hurry.
I entered the carriage with my hood over
my head. Lord L. carrying my wreath !
Next morning (Wednesday) we were up at
five, had breakfast at six, and were off in the
train to La Chine at seven. La Chine is
near Montreal, and there we embarked in
the Prince of Wales steamer for Ottawa.
Th^ boat is so nice and clean. We passed
St. Anne's, where " they sang at St. Anne's
1
their
evening hymn."
After beine a few
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My CANADIAN LEAVES.
hours in the boat, we had to get out, and
go in a train. At the wharf we met Mrs.
Rose and party, and heard from Captain
Seymour that, alas ! he could not come with
us, as he goes home next week. We went
a short way in the train. We passed through
little woods ; the autumn tints made them
look so pretty. Then we got into another
ship, even nicer, larger, and, if possible, more
clean than the last. It is called the Queen
Victoria. The captains of both steamers
were civil and nice. We were so hungry,
and we had a most excellent English dinner
— roast beef and plum - pudding ! The
captains remembered Lord Lyons with the
Prince of Wales, and treated him with
homage. I sat next to the captain at dinner,
and Lord L. next to me ; then a gap, and
then the servants ! The river Ottawa is a
most curious, wild, and very pretty river,
quite deserted-looking, with red and yellow
tinted trees coming down to the water's
edge ; there are also many little islands in
the river, covered with red and yellow bushes
and rcckwork. The day was cold, wet, and
dreary. We stopped at quantities of places
on the way, some of them just like the
wildest pictures ; one in particular we
remarked was exactly like Eden, in " Martin
Chuzzlevvit " — a wild lonely pathway or road,
one house that looked like a forge, wild red
and yellow trees and rocks, and wood piled
up, two white horses waiting near a cart, and
one old woman and child walking up to the
forge ; one or two men completed the desolate
picture. The rain made everything twice as
lonely. I dare say it looks quite different in
summer. We passed the old French chateau,
where lives the ex-rebel Papineau, now
become quite loyal. He has lovely gardens
to this chateau and a small chapel close to
him. I believe he sent a bouquet to the
Prince of Wales when he was travelling here.
We read and talked by turns all day, till late,
when a Thunder-storm came on — terrific rain
and great lightning and some Thunder, and
the ship was wooden ! I was so terrified,
and walked up and down the saloon till I
was tired, pinching Dick all the time. You
know I never can sit down when I am afraid.
Lord L. laughed at me so, and the captain
tried to quiet me with religious words, but I
was in despair till it was over. We stopped
at about fifty small places on our way, some-
times one passenger got out and sometimes
one got in, and there was a great deal of pig-
iron thrown on shore, with a terrific noise,
and when there were any inhabitants they all
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flocked clown as if no boat had ever been
there before, and there was shoutinof and
screaming. The men about here are a very
fine, stalwart, handsome set. These boats,
I believe, are rarely known to reach Ottawa
or Montreal in time ; I can't make out why !
We reached Ottawa in torrents of rain at
seven p.m., but the storm was over. I, on
the arm of Captain Bowie, entered the 'bus !
and we drove to the Russell House (Hotel).
There we were treated with great homage.
We were much disgusted with the squalid
look of Ottawa, though we only saw it by
lamplight, which was scarcely any light, such
wretched gas. The streets were so rough,
like dirt roads. I went on wondering how
we ever could live * there, when the seat of
Government is moved there. The enormous
signs over the shops amused us; just opposite
to our room at the hotel hung an enormous
boot. Lord L. begged Mr. Sheffield to go
out and buy it, as he said he wanted boots.
We had an early supper, and went to bed
about nine, and were up at 5.30 next day.
T/uirsday, October 6t/i. — I was too tired to
sleep that night till towards morning ; besides,
there was a hurricane, and torrents of rain.
* I little knew how very very happy I should be there,
after all.
\l
Lord L. got up at four ! After eating a
mouthful of breakfast, Dick, Mr. S., and I
walked out to see the Houses of Parliament,
which are building. Lord L. and Mr. ]\L
were out long before. We went over part
of the Houses, but they are in the most
unfinished state conceivable, and in front of
them nothing but mud and dirt. They will
be very magnificent, built of grey stone, with
a good deal of pink mixed ; the architecture
a sort of French Gothic. We saw the sun
rise on them, making them all pink. We
saw the Chaudiere Falls in the distance.
They do not look so pretty as our Quebec
Chaudiere. We then returned to the Hotel.
We found a flag flying in front of it in
honour of Lord Lyons, and the mayor and
corporation wanted to come and pay their
respects; but we all left by 7.30 a.m. train,
which had been delayed half an hour for us.
We had a " special car " for our party and
the servants, and were very snug. They
put about our arrival in the Ottawa paper,
and said that " //lis distinguished party "
were staying at the Russell House, and were
going to inspect the Houses early and then
leave. We were a few hours in the train till
we came to the steamer Grecian. It was
larger than any steamer we had yet been in ;
H-ll
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»54
AfV CANADIAN LEASES.
it also had been detained half an hour for us.
The scenery in the train was not pretty after
starting from Ottawa. Rideau Hall, the
future Government House, is some way from
the town. We all groaned over Ottawa ; it
looks as if it was at " t'other end of nowhere,"
and we felt so out of the way. The Hotel
was clean but third-rate, and the food looked
and tasted uncivilized. When we got out of
the "cars" to get into the ship, the people
were all looking out for Lord Lyons ; and
I heard them wondering which he was. I
think I was rather a puzzle, as I leant on his
arm, and they knew he had no wife. He
was so funny on board the ship. There is
one large cabin in all these boats, which
Lord L. says is called "the nuptial cabin."
Mr. Sheffield took it for himself, and locked
himself in to take a quiet sleep. It was
blowing a gale when we got into the steamer
at Prescott, the clouds looked most awfully
wild and lurid. The river St. Lawrence
was very rough, but it got smoother when
we came to the Lake of the Thousand
Islands. It is very pretty, in some placer
extremely pretty, when you come to a largt
number of these rocky and wooded islands
together, and have to steer between them. ;
but in general they are not so pretty as the
ARRIVAL AT KINGSTON.
155
Ottawa river islands. Tlic autumn tints
made everything look its best. We went to
Kingston, which we reached about 5.30 p.m.,
too late to catch the train for Toronto. I
vowed I would not stay in the steamer which
crosses Lake Ontario, and is more than
twelve hours crossing to Toronto, out of
sight of land. This gives one some idea of
the size of the lakes here ! People are often
sea-sick on these lakes. There is "a nasty
chopping sea" generally, like the Channel.
Lord L. also determined to leave the ship.
We saw that there was some idea of making
us go on in the ship, so he gave me his arm,
and we ran off out of the ship, and got into a
cab without waiting for any of them. I saw
a man looking like a mayor on the wharf.
Mayors and corporations and addresses were
great dreads to Lord L. all through the
journey. We drove off to the Hotel in one
cab, and the others walked. We were
ashamed to go into the Hotel till the others
came, so we waited at a corner of the
street. When I asked the " carter " where
they were, he said, " I guess they are gone
astray." At last they came, and then, after
seeing our rooms, we sallied out to walk
about the town. It was nearly six p.m.
7'he town is prim and desolate-looking;
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156
MV CANADIAN LEASES.
it is remarkable for a fine Lake Ontario
view, atid the number of panes of glass
in every window. We walked on in the
cold wind and gathering darkness to the
lake point. You could never imagine the
Lake to be anything but a sea — so rough and
stormy and enormous. I jumped with joy
to think we were not in the ship ! On our
way back to the Hotel we all, including
Lord L., climbed up on a railing to see the
Grecian pass, and were more thankful than
ever to be on land, when we saw how she
pitched. We stood there clinging tc the
railing till we saw a policeman coming, and
were so afraid of being scold jd that we
jumped down and ran away ! At the hotel
we had a capital hot supper in a long, low
room. At these meals Lord L. and I always
fought about the dry toast, which we both
liked so much, and which in trans-Atlantic
hotels is always so excellent. Lord L.
always said before going into meals, " Now,
let us go in state," giving me his arm all
through the house. After supper I went to
bed about eight. Lord L. told me if he did
not get one night's rest, he would be ill, so
he and Mr. Sheffield slept that night at
Kingston, while Mr. M., and Dick, and I
went on at 3.30 a.m.!! to Toronto and
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TORONTO AND HAMILTON.
157
Niagara. We got up in the dead of night,
dressed, and drove two miles to the train in
torrents of rain. I could not sleep much
with fuss and excitement. I felt like " the
Wandering Jew," or the "steam leg." They
wanted us to get into a sleeping-car, where
Conway and I, " two ladies," as the con-
ductor said, were to sleep in one bed ! Dick
and Mr. M. were to sleep in a second bed ;
but the smell of coal-oil and suffocation was
so stifling, and the heat so great, we pre-
ferred the day car, except Mr. Malet, who
can sleep in a furnace, and ventured into
this *' hot bed." We slept very tolerably
with our feet up on the bench opposite to us,
and I felt quite fresh when we stopped at
Coburg for breakfast. We got cold mutton-
chops, tasting of sheep and wool, and delicious
poached eggs, and bad coffee. We then
went on to Toronto, which we reached at
eleven, and had to wait an hour there. It
was a wet day, and we could not walk about
the town, which seems to be a large one.
We contented ourselves with looking at the
titles of books on the stand — all of the most
sensational kind — blood, murder, bigamy,
etc. We got into another train then, and
went on to Hamilton, where we had to wait
one hour and a half: but there we had
I ifjiiil
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dinner. I was so ravenous, I eat first roast
beef, then hot boiled mutton, because there
was no more beef! The dinners you get at
railway stations in Canada are so much
better than what you get when you are
travelling at home. The station-house is a
nice English-looking one, and you see culti-
vation about Toronto and Hamilton that you
see nowhere else in Canada. The soil is
good, and the meat excellent ; quite different
from what you get in Lower Canada. Con-
way sat next me at dinner ; and, so dirty
were the men opposite to me, that I could
not look at them. They were third-class
passengers, and their hands were perfectly
black with dirt. After dinner the rain had
stopped, so Dick and I walked as far as we
could about the deserted, clean, airy town.
We looked into the large, fine-looking R.C.
Cathedral. We then took up another train,
and went on to the Suspension Bridge,
Niagara Falls. From the bridge you get a
splendid view of the Falls, at least it is said
to be a first-rate view, but, I must own, the
bridge view disappointed me a little ; but I
will tell of my second view further on. Then
we had to wait three-quarters of an hour for
the train to take us only five minutes'
distance, to the hotel on the American side.
NIAGARA FALLS.
'59
Trying state of things, and very un-English !
Our luggage passed through the Custom
House without being examined. At last we
found ourselves in the 'bus, on our way to
the Hotel, shivering in snow and wind. This
Hotel is enormous, and I often lose my way
in it. It is very comfortable, except for
the horrible stoves, which are a great except,
my head suffers so from them. After our
arrival, we went out in the snow to look at
the Niagara curiosities, but all are so dear
I don't think I shall buy anything. We
then had supper, and were amused looking
at the Yankee ladies in their many-coloured
head-gear and shawls, and quc.ntities of false
hair in such structures. After supper I
began my letter, and then, oh, the bliss of
a good night's rest from 1 1.30 till near nine !
But I find the excitement of travelling does
me much good, and cures my head for the
time. To-day I have suffered terribly, but
on the journey I had no headache.
Sunday. — Lord Lyons meant to come on
here to-night, but has not turned up; there are
no steamers or trains on any part of Sunday.
We expect him to-morrow. The servants
asked Conway when " the lord " was coming.
There is only an American Episcopal Church
here. We were at breakfast when it began,
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and only found out about it when too late.
Dick and Mr. Malet are gone to it to-night.
After tea (at eight) my head aches too much
to go. Conway was so ill to-day, she was
quite miserable about herself. I thought
yesterday she had the jaundice, which is
going here. I made her send for the Yankee
doctor of the hotel to-day. He says she has
the jaundice. He is giving her a strong
bitter, and says that she will be well in a
few days. She is happier. She is better
to-night, and I think the arrival of Lord L.'s
" Thomas " will make her still better to-
morrow. After breakfast to-day we walked
out all round Goat Island, and we saw the
Falls and rapids to perfection. I do not
think I can attempt to describe them, but I
suppose I must try to give you some idea of
them. The best idea I can give you is,
to say that when we returned and read the
service, I could a thousand times better
realize the goodness of that powerful God
who made Niagara, and yet listens to our
prayers. I almost felt as if I w«j>/ say in
the Litany, "Oh, Thou who madst Niagara,
have mercy upon us. I say this in all
reverence. It was better than any sermon,
seeing what we saw to-day. The Falls are so
magnificent, when you are close to them, and
AMERICAN HOTELS.
i6t
the rapids really too wonderful. The little
bits of red colouring made everything look
twice as beautiful. We dined to-day at the
table-cChote at three, and were much amused
with the Yankees. There are two or three
pretty women, and one or two nice-looking
men. There are several bridal couples ;
they look very loving. I looked into "the
ladies' parlour" once or twice, and found the
bridal couples walking up and down the
room arm-in-arm, as hard as they could go,
and talking confidingly to each other. In
all Yankee and Canadian hotels there is a
"ladies' parlour," with chairs all round the
room — no table, a stove, a bad piano, a large
jug full of iced water, and some tumblers.
It is the same everywhere, I hear, from
comparing notes and observation. The men
are supposed to smoke and " liquor up " at
the bar. We were waited on at dinner by
niggers in white jackets and aprons. They
are pleasant, funny creatures. Our rooms
were on the rapids. When the windows were
open, we could not hear ourselves speak, and
when shut we were stifled from the stoves,
and I felt as if my head was bound round with
a band of iron. After dinner we went out
to walk, and crossed in the horrid ferry to
the Canadian side. The sunset was fine
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beyond expression : bright orange, crimson,
yellow, pale blue, pink, grey, and purple
were the colours of it, changing every
moment ; and, now the moon is shining
over the rapids, it looks so beautiful. The
moon is twice as bricfht out here as it is at
home. We did all this side this morning,
except the whirlpool and more rapids. I
would not drive on Sunday, so we could not
go to them. Oh, the giddiness of crossing
bridges over the rapids ! I rushed over with
my hand over my eyes, and would not go to
the tower in the midst of the Falls where Dick
went. I felt as if I must rush after the rapids ;
it is a sort of feeling difficult to describe.
The cold is too intense. One of the niggers
came to us at dinner, and whispered that he
had a prairie hen for our table — no one else
was to have it. It was very good, and
tasted, Dick said, like black cock. The
Austrian Minister to- Washington, Count
Georgi, is here. He will, I fear, join our
party when Lord L. arrives. I have waited
for Dick to help me to make you imagine
the Falls as to immensity. Imagine the
water of the Channel half-way between
Boulogne and Folkestone rushing over
rugged rocks, and then falling over a height
twice as high as Nelson's pillar in Dublin,
■r
NIAGARA.
163
and as broad as the width of Sackville Street,
Dublin, twenty times multiph'ed ! then boiling
up from the bottom, the spray reaching as high
above the top of the Falls as the water has
fallen beneath. This is only a faint and quaint
description of what no pen (especially a steel
one) could describe. The body of water
falling down is a mile in breadth.
Begun Cataract House, Niagara Falls,
October loth. — I over- walked myself to-day.
Dick, Mr. M., and I walked to the whirlpool,
hoping to drive back, but we could get no
vehicle, and I nearly dropped from ex-
haustion. It is a very long walk, and the
sun was very hot. Dick left me with Mr.
M., leaning against a tree, and at last found
a carriage. The whirlpool is well worth
seeing, and very wonderful. All the waters
from the Falls gather there, and make their
way out to Lake Ontario. There is a hand-
some college for orphan boys near there. A
lady died in this hotel this morning of a sort
of jaundice, I believe. Conway is better and
happier. This day is lovely and fine. Dick
and Mr. M. were so amused with their
sermon yesterday, which was interesting and
good, but too familiar. The preacher spoke
of God and Ahab as the " opposite parties,"
and stopped to spit in the sermon ! There
'I
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164
MY CANADIAN LEAVES.
was a large red cross with I.H.S. on it.
The service is very like ours, and they sang
rather well. The housemaid here is Irish,
but has been fifteen years in the States, and
speaks like a Yankee ; but she loathes the
North, and told Conway how they deceive
the wretched Irish, and get them irvto their
armies. She said she wished she were a
man, and she wjuld fight for the South.
This hotel has been kept up this season by
the " shoddy " aristocracy, which means
people who have made iheir money in bad
ways by the war, selling »ad cloth ; and the
housemaid complained that you see people
now with watches and chains who, before
the war, did not know how to sit on a chair !
She also complained to Conway that the
Duchess of Athol was very proud, she did
not " converse " at all with her when staying
at the hotel ! I must tell you a story of
Conway and a nigger, which Lord L. says
is like the Christy Minstrels. He came to
tell her tea was ready, and she said she
would not be ready for a quarter of an hour
— he was to come and fetch her. He said,
" I advise you not to be so late as a quarter
of an hour, you had better come in ten or
fifteen minutes." Dick and Mr. M. went to
the Cave of the Winds this morning. Very
THE CAVE OF THE WINDS.
165
awful it is, and they went without a guide,
as the man was away, which I am glad I did
not know till after. You know it is a cave
under part of the Falls, caused by a rock
shelving out, and the water falling over it.
" The currents of wind there are terrific, the
noise deafening, and the spray blinding,"
says Dick. That morning Dick took a
" current bath " in the hotel ; it is made by
lettnig the rapids run through the bath by
means of an open grating at each end.
After lunch I walked a little way to see
the sun on the Falls, and found Lord L. and
Mr. Sheffield had arrived on my return. We
were charmed to meet again. Count Georgi
joined us at dinner. He asked Mr. M. why
I wore the Order of the Medjidie, which was
my Coldstream star brooch. He is going
on to Quebec. After dinner all except my-
self went to see the Falls by moonlight.
It was too cold, and my chest ached from
over-walking, so I stayed at home.
Tuesday, i \th. — A lovely day. Lord L.,
Mr. M., and I got an open carriage very
soon after breakfast, and drove over to the
Canadian side, where we were joined by
Dick and Mr. S., who went by ferry-boat.
The carriages are so grand, and have a fur-
skin in them to keep you warm. I would
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not let Lord L. go in the ferry-boat, because
I should have been afraid, and you have to
get to it in a sort of little tramway, running
down a very steep inclined plane ; but Lord
L. said he had looked forward to going up
and down in this all day long ! I walked
down by steps on Sunday. The path of the
rapid where the boat crosses looked so rough
and horrible to me. Lord L. had been at
Niagara with the Prince of Wales, and had
seen Blondin cross the rapids on the tight-
rope. He never crossed the Falls ; but the
rapids were quite awful enough. When we
got to the Canadian side, we were photoed
in a group on the Table Rock about eighteen
times. I will send you some when they are
finished. It was very amusing being photoed.
We are sitting on this Table Rock, with the
Falls in the background. They will make
you giddy when you see how near a precipice
we were ! When I thought of it after, it
made me feel sick. Two different men did
us — one an English Jew, the other a Yankee,
and the jealousy of the men was funny. The
Yankee said, ** Now then, Mr. Lyons ; " he
also said to Dick, " Have you got your
women together .-* " Dick's womeii being my-
self. Oh, how free they are ! these Yankees.
I bought some blue birds for you ; they are
^i^^
VISIT TO MRS. STREET.
167
SO cheap, only half a dollar apiece. After
the photoing was over, we drove to Mr.
Street's lovely place, and nice English house.
Lord L. sent in his card, and Mrs. Street
asked us all in. Mr. Street was in England.
She is his mother, and a sweet, kind old
lady, so pretty and ladylike. Two old maids
were with her on a visit — one a very meek,
cat-like old lady, the other (Miss White)
merry and bouncing. Lord L. had been
there with the Prince of Wales, and was
supposedly know the way to the Island Walk
(to which he had not gone that time with
the prince, however), so he was entreated to
show us the way, as the old ladies feared
wetting their feet. We all sallied out to see
the Island, where the rapids rush past you
in the walk, and make you giddy under
shaking bridges. It is very beautiful and
peculiar. Lord L. did not know the way,
and told me he feared setting out wrong
before Mrs. Street. Mr. Sheffield and I
were famished with hunger, and longed for
food, so I told Lord L. if he was offered
lunch he was not to refuse, because we were
hungry ; he never eats lunch. I think Mr.
Street has not shown good taste in putting
fantastic seats about near the curious rapids
and among the wonderful underwood and
1!
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1 68
Jl/y CANADIAN LEAVES.
trees at the water's edge ; it looks too like
a tea-garden business. To our joy, on our
return to the house, we found ginger cordial,
wine, cakes, and fruit. We were so very cold,
besides being hungry. I drank two glasses
of ginger cordial, which, they afterwards said,
ought to have made me tipsy ; but I had no
idea it was strong, and it did me no harm.
We looked at the stuffed birds. In one case
there is an enormous eagle, and a tiny hum-
ming bird shot close here. Miss White gave
me some lovely autumn leaves, and, when
they were questioning me about how I
pressed them. Lord L. overheard me saying,
" There is a person who does them for me "
(meaning Captain Pem.), and Lord L.
laughed well at this afterwards. I did not
know he was listening to me. We took
leave of the old ladies, and drove away to
the " Burning Springs," a curious spring of
sulphur water, which takes fire when a lighted
match is put to it, and burns like gas. Dick
and Mr. M. put their pocket-handkerchiefs
on it, and they did not burn, so it is a harm-
less flame. It was discovered by some
Indians, who were so afraid they ran away
from it. Lord L. said we had better go and
see it, or we should be worried afterwards
by people saying, " You missed seeing the
LUNAR RAINBOWS.
169
best thinjj." We had another look at the
Falls from the Canadian side ; they are more
and more beautiful and grand every time
you look at them. The water in parts of
them was of the deepest green ! The driver
wanted us to be photoed for the third time
at another photographer's, " where you can
be taken with a splendid view of the hotels
in the background." We drove back as we
came, over the Suspension Bridge, one of
the wonders of the world ! It is over the
rapids ; but I must wait till I ask Dick about
its length, and how many hundred wires it
took to fasten it to the rocks. They made
us pay duty on our photos done on the
Canadian side. The man was so afraid
when he heard from the driver just too late
that it was Lord Lyons. Conway and Lord
Lyons's servants had themselves photoed in
a group also. The sunset was so lovely.
After late dinner, which Lord L. insisted on
having instead of at two, we all, except Mr.
S., went out to see the lunar rainbows over
the Falls — very curious and grand ; but I
felt so eerie on Goat Island, among the Falls
and rapids in the dark, that I ran away from
the rainbows. How Lord L. laughed when
I said I have an aunt who would not stay
alone in a room with the moon for anything.
•«■
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A/V CANADIAN I.EAVES.
I meant nio()nli_L(lit ; l)iit, of course, my words
were not (;vc;r forL,^otten, Lord L. L((.-ttin_L(
into fits of huii^hinj^' often, speakinij of " a
ictc-a-tctc with the moon." Some of the
[)hotos came tliat nijj^ht, and we had great
work choosini^^ I was i^iven the first choice.
Lord L. said, " Of course we tliink them all
l)ad — every])ody thinks themselves better
lookiiiL,f than thc'y are."
Monlrcal, 77/ii)'sday, Ocfohcr \},lh. — Mere
we are, rather tired, havini,'' lc;ft Nia_i,^ara
yesterday ;it y.30 a.m. W*^ were so very
sorry to say " i(ood-bye " to each other.
Lord L. said he hop(;d wt; should be late
for the train. We travellcxl for twenty-four
hours in the train from NiaL^ara to Montreal.
The scenery is mostly flat, and not [)retty,
and it rained on and off 'Ihc; Customs
officer was so civil when he found out Dick's
name, ai'd made ))i(' come and r(;st in his
room.
None ol the tr.iins ti:is sith; tl
le
All,
uitic connect, so we
hid
to wail (;v(,'ry
!H)W and tlien an hour er more, and they
are a I
ilways alter
the
nothiiiL,^ m(jre irritatinj^ than trav(^llnn^ in
ir time
th
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now
il
us country — what with the trains missintj^
connection,
an(
1 tl
ie si)ittin''". We had a
•■()()(
1 diiuK-r at Hamilton— roast beftf,
very
})otaloe's and butter, cabba_L,rc, ;ippb; pie, be(;
.7 r.iani-: and iiiuni'AiRooM.
171
and clicc'sc. I Ljivc you our 1)111 of far*- to
show how much more civili/x^d the Ujod is
than what )'Ou ij;(;t in (:ivilix<:d I'JiL^land,
when; you rush in at stations to i;(;t old and
cold soup, and very horrid sandwiches. At
Toronto we "embarked aboard the sleepini^
cars," where thity can't spit much because
therosition ; " she seemed, how-
ever, to like him much. They talked over
their family, etc., till it was late or dark, and
A NIGHT JOURNEY.
then they went to bed, and, oh, that was a
horrkl sight ! Off went the man's coat,
vvaistcoat, braces, and boots, and then they
tucked themselves into bed. W^e had no
curtains, and only cloaks for bed-clothes, so
we were lucky ; but these wretches tucked
the curtains all round them. Ugh ! Trying
to sleep was not easy ; the shaking was
something I could not describe, and we
seemed to go on for five minutes and then
stop ; it seemed as if we were shunted off
on to another line every few moments, and
every time we stopped T awoke. W'e
stopped in the night for supper, and had fish,
chicken, and potatoes. We were not sorry
to arrive at Montreal, We breakfasted at
the St. L. Hall. Then Dick went to see
Captain Seymour, and we were invited to
dine at Col. Conolly's, where Captain Sey-
mour is now living. We drove out in pours
of rain to see Miss Rose. We also went to
see Sir Fenwick, who is settled in General
Lindsay's house, lie showed us all over
the house. We finished our day by dining
with Colonel C. and Captain .S. After
dinner, in the twilight and cold, we two and
Captain Seymour drow off to the wharf, and
embarked in the Enropa for Quebec.
Spencer Wood. Octobcy \^//i, — We arrived
: )
here all right to-day. We were late In
arriving, because of the fog, but I slept
tolerably well on board. Crowds of people
were on board golntj: to the deleLrates' ball
to-night. My friend IVIaggie and her bride-
groom I found in the ship. We all had
much laughing here over our different stories.
The dresses at the Drawing-room were much
improved ; some wore feathers. George
Auirustus Sala dines here to-niLrht. We
dine at seven, and then go to the ball.
Captain Seymour goes home in the Peruvian
to-morrow.
Saturday, October i^th. — My room feels so
snug after the stovey hotel rooms. I have
double windows, warm red curtains, and an
enormous fire all day long. There dined
last night Mr. Chandler, who is a Minister
from New Brunswick, Mr. Johnson, Attorney
General of (I believe) the same place, Mr.
G. A. Sala, Mr. Livesay (I believe a writer
for Ptincli), Gordon the Good, and Major
Brice. I went in with Mr. Chandler, who
amused me much. Sala was rather amusing.
His bows to us were worthy of a courtier.
He speaks like a book, and says "garments "
and " nay, nay," instead of " no, no." I
showed our Niagara groups. He said to
me, " \o\\x pose is most graceful, madam." I
:<)
said I thought I looked very cross, where-
upon he answered, " Nay, nay, madam." Mr.
Chandler got quite excited over it, wanting
to see Lord Lyons's portrait. He observed
that " I did not look myself in it ; I looked
serious." He had never seen me before, so I
don't think he was much of a judge. In
wind and rain we set off for the ball. We
were received by the Ministry in the
speaker's room. Some were in grand official
uniforms. The G. G. and Mr. Godley
looked very nice in theirs. This ball, you
know, was given in the Parliament House
by the Ministry to the delegates from the
Maritime Provinces, who are come here to
arrange about a United Kingdom of Canada.
The Maritime Provinces mean Nova Scotia,
New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince
Edward's Island. It was arranofed that I
was to follow the G. G. with the Prihi"
Minister, Sir E. Tache, and to dance the first
quadrille with him, but Sir E. is so very old
that he can't dance, and he would not take
me in for fear of having to dance with me, so
he walked in first alone ; then came the G.
G., then John A. with me, and then Cartier
and Mrs. Godley. " God save the Oueen "
was played, and we marched up to the throne
in procession. Sir R. M. and wife (Gov.
176
.1/F CANADIAN LEAVES.
of ) came very late. Between their being
late, and old Sir E. hiding behind a screen
to escape from me, the first quadrille was
upset. The G. G. danced with Madame
Cartier, and I with a New Brunswick
Minister, Colonel Grey by nanie. The
Minist:;rs were very angry about my being
left without my proper partner, and made
apolcgies ; but poor Sir E. is about seventy,
so I think he was right to hide ! I made
acquaintance between the dances with Lady
M. and with Mrs. Jervoise, who came out
here for ten weeks with her husband, and
they were nearly lost at sea ! She is very
pleasing and handsome. Lady I\L is also
pretty. The G. G. then introduced me to
Sir R. M. He asked me to walk about with
him and have some refreshments, so off we
went. Hp '>,.r\rr> a red riband and order.
V/cil, this old king aiid I wandered on and
on for a long time. A vulgar waiter ran after
us and said, " Do you want to go upstairs,
sir.-^" meaning the servants' gallery, upon
which my friend waved him off and went on.
With difficulty I at last got an ice, an(i. then
we lost ourselves c[uite, and found at last
that we were seated under the wrong throne,
in the wrong room ! This all took up some
time, and when we at last found the right
THE DELEGATES' BALL.
177
room, I danced with Dr. Tupper, Prime
Minister of Nova Scotia. The 25th string-
band played in one of the rooms ; it is a
lovely band. When supper was announced,
Sir R. M. wanted me again ; but it was
decreed that Sir E. Tarhe was to take me.
We walked in procession. Sir E. proposed
the Queen's health. After supper I danced
a quadrille with Sir R. He talked a good
deal about " the French element," which,
lookinpf at Madame Duval dancine, he said
it was delightful to see. He and his wife
had been out moose hunting ; he said unfor-
tunately he had not shot one animal the ten
days he was out. W^e call Lady M. " La
reine Blanche." Captain Seymour came to
the ball with us ; he was almost the only
young man I danced with. Sala was not
seen at the ball, though he was said to be
there. Sir E. Tache is the only non-dancing
old man here — wigs, spectacles, and grey
hairs don't hinder people from dancing. We
came home early. That Mr. Chandler who
took me in to dinner told me a great deal
about the happiness of slaves, and how
miserable they are when emancipated. He
says slaves are treated like servants, and
well cared for, and they adore their masters.
After dinner, I forgot to say, I asked Sala
12
178
AfV CANADIAN LEAVES.
to write his autograph in my book. He
just wrote his name — "only this, and nothing
more." He said he could not write any-
thing else ! To-day Captain Seymour left
early per Pcnivian. We are so sorry he is
gone. The Godleys left also for their own
home, I went out to drive, covered by a
buffalo robe, it is so very very cold. I paid
visits, and brought Dick and F. B. home
with me.
Sunday^ i6th. — A wet day. Went to
afternoon service in waggon. There are
waterproof curtains to the waggon, which
can be put down, and one is kept quite dry.
Monday, ijth. — Dick and I, and Captain
Pem. are going, I hope, to-night to a " drum "
at Judge Meredith's.
Tuesday, I'&tk. — After lunch yesterday,
Dick and I tried to walk to the village ; but
the wind was so great I could not face it ;
the day was dark and damp. The G. G.
dined with the Godleys, and Captain Pem.
with the 1 7th, so we dined alone, and went
to the " drum " at Judge Meredith's. There
was a very large party, and the house is
large. I was much amused, and talked to
many people, among others to M. Duvergier
d'Hauraune, a young Frenchrrtan, who is
come over here to travel, and has broucfht a
''DRUM" AT MRS. MEREDITIPS.
179
IS
to
ler
is
; a
letter to the G. G. from Lord Clarendon.
I lis father was a well-known man in I'Vance
under Louis Philippe. My friend, Sir R. ]\L,
rushed to me, and asked me to 7ualk about
with him, and invited us to Government
House at H., which he told me was much
finer and larger than " Spencer's Wood."
Lady M. and Dick flirted together for a
long time ; she is so pretty and pleasant. A
Miss Tilstone sang — a handsome girl, with
a pretty voice. Then a Madame Tachereau
sang— good voice ; and then tJie man sang,
INIr. Harwood, an INLP.P., half French. He
has a very fine voice, and is a pupil of
Garcia's, He was offered an engagement at
the Italian Opera, London. The large rooms
were too small for his voice, which wants
modulation. I got quite giddy with the
loudness of it ! He sang from operas ; he
wants expression and more teaching. Judge
Meredith introduced him to me, and he sang
again for me. My friend Madame Tessier
(the Speaker's wife), asked us to a party she
is giving on Wednesday night for us and
the delegates. We did not stay very long
at the party. We were in an open waggon,
and the cold was intense. The home letters
came very quick this time by the old
Daviasats ; they were written the day
J*
I So
MV C.I NAD/ A A' LEAVES.
after we went to Niairara, and we received
them to-day. To-day is showery, and dark,
and cold. Dinner-party according to en-
closed list. Count Georcfi took me in. He
is a great aristocrat ; is said by Mr. M. to
wear a red shirt at dinner, and always; he
wore a white one this time, but buttoned his
coat over it, as if ashamed of it. He talked
German, French, and English with me —
English the most hard to me to understand.
Some of his stories I pretended to under-
stand, and made remarks according to his
own faces, not having an idea what he was
saying. He spoke fluently, but shut his
mouth. He put down his knife and fork
every time I spoke, so I feared he would
never finish. He admires English women
more than any other nation. He is from
Sclavonia himself. He told me some ramb-
ling story about his staying with an arch-
bishop somewhere, and shooting birds with
a pistol, and he showed me the way he did
it, shooting in the air, and saying, " Ei-ei-ei,"
to show each shot. This is a coherent (.'')
story, but more so than some that I caught.
He says Mrs. Lincoln knows nothing about
society, often keeping her company waiting
while she finishes her toilette. He wants us
to go to New York in spring ; write him a
COUNT GEORCI.
i.Sl
line, and he is to receive us at the train, and
give us a grand dinner, where the best
people of New York are to be got to meet
us. He told me the difficulty he has in
getting a room at the hotels where he is not
known. 1 think his embassy is at Washing-
ton ; but he has so little to do that he generally
lives at New York. After dinner we sang
choruses. Count G. wanted to walk into
the drawing-room after dinner with me on
his arm — and I had to try to get away from
him ; he persisted, however, till he was
stopped by the I'Vench Consul, and made to
stay where he was. M. Duvergier d'Hau-
raune told Dick he would not go to the
armies, because he could not then write
to his family. He always writes twice a
week, and his mother would be disappointed
without a letter. Colonel G. is gone to stay
with Sir Fenwick.
Wednesday, October i^tJi. — Fine day at last,
but cold. I am reading " Prescott's Life," by
Ticknor, doubly interesting to me from
having been at Boston, and knowing some-
thing about the country. I forgot to tell
you of a tomb at the Montreal Cemetery ; it
is a pretty white Grecian cross with a little
garden round it ; it is where poor young Mr.
Disbrowe is buried ; he died out here — the
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last brother. I got some flowers from it, and
Mr. Goldwin Smith settled them for me in
an envelope, and I sent them to L., to send
to his poor sisters.
Thursday^ 2olh. — We drove after lunch
yesterday to hear the 25th band play on the
esplanade. After dinner, Dick, Captain
Pem. and I drove to Madame Tessier s ball
in the open waggon. M. Tessier is the
orateur of the Upper House. I opened
the ball with him, opposite to Madame and
Dick. At French parties there are no fast
dances, all quadrilles and lancers ; it seems
so odd. The R.C. Bishop won't allow
"round" dances. Six of the 25th string-
band played so well. So many old people I
don't think I ever saw, and the older they
were the more they danced. No officers but
Captain Webber, 1 7th, and Colonel Hassard,
R.E. — they were in uniform, because this
is considered an official week. Amonjrst
others I danced with Dr. Tupper, Premier
of Nova Scotia, and with Honourable Mr.
Coles, leader of the Opposition in the Parlia-
ment of Prince Edward's Island. Colonel
Grey is gentlemanly. I like Dr. Tupper.
Mr. Coles asked to be introduced to me, and,
when I said we were going away, he got
introduced to Dick, and said to me, " Silence
means assent, so come and dance." He does
steps, and gives you his hand with a bow of
the head and a shake of the body. He said
to me, "I'm a sort of fellow who talks away
and forgets to dance. He said, •' fVe
gentlemen don't know how to decide between
Mrs. Dundas and Lady M., they are both so
pretty and nice." The G. G. has had a
telegram that has fussed him, and he is gone
on now the moment after breakfast to
Quebec; it isabout Confederates and Yankees,
I believe. The K.O.B. soldiers' theatricals
come off to-night for the Canadian Mil.
Asylum (for widows or orphans of soldiers
out here). To-morrow night is the Bachelors'
ball, given by six rich bachelors in the
Parliament House — they are lumberers and
merchants. It is to be " select." The invi-
tation has on it " Quadrilles nine," which does
not mean only quadrilles.
Friday, 2 \st. — Had an early visit yesterday
from old Mr. Archibald (Abraham, I call
him). He made me quite angry about
Lord L. He said, " I hope he is going
back soon to Washington ; there is a great
deal of important business awaiting him
there," just as if he was neglecting it. His
brother is Consul at New York. The day
was fine, cold, and dry. \Vc dined at 6.30,
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184
il/K CANADIAN LEAVES.
and after dinner we drove to the 25th plays ;
Mrs. Godley and Capt. Pern, came with
us. They took place at the music-hall,
as you know there is no theatre at Quebec.
They never replaced the burnt-down one.
I send programme. The actors were soldiers
of the K.O.B.'s, and acted so very well, with
such nice voices ; the women's parts were
done by men. The house was crowded,
and very demonstrative. Our seats were
quite in front, so we had a good view. Some
of the delegate people were there. There
was the cleverest Irish soldier I ever saw
at the plays. He was inimitable.
Saturday, October 22nd, '64, Spencer
Wood. — Yesterday evening after dinner we
went to the bachelors' ball at the Parliament
House. At the door there was a guard
of honour of volunteers. We were received
by ladies in the ballroom, mothers of the
bachelors, who themselves never came near
any one the whole night. The G. G. opened
the ball with Madame Duval. There were
forty bachelors, not six, as I was told. The
attractions of the two rooms were supposed
to be equally divided. " One room had the
G. G. and party, and the other the 25th
string-band." I only danced quadrilles, as
I feared to tear my lace. Amongst others
1
THE BACHELORS' BALL.
185
I danced with Mr. Cartier (Attorney-General
East), and with Mr. John A. Macdonald
(Attorney-General West). I went to supper
with Judge Caron (or Caw-^ron, as they say
here), father of a bachelor. Dick's conduct was
atrocious ; he flirted with two married ladies
all night. Madame Duval says she is going
to give a ball for Colonel Monck. John A.
is very agreeable. I asked John A. what
the kingdom of Canada is to be called —
some say " Canadia." He said that in some
speech he hdd said that, to please the Nova
Scotians, it should be called " Acadia,"
Ottawa should be called " Evangeline," and
Mr. Brown shall be " our Longfellow " —
he is very big and tall. There were several
pretty people at the ball, and the dresses
were some of them very good. There is
no more to tell of the ball.
Monday, 24M. — The thing that made the
G. G. go early into Quebec is a raid made
by some Confederates into Vermont in the
States, but it is all right now ; they have
been caught, and the Yankee papers praise
him much for his prompt conduct. On
Sunday we had a very fine sermon in the
morning from Mr. Hatch. Mr. C. (25th),
our Commandant of the Guard at Spencer
Wood, walked home with us. He says
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MY CANADIAN LEAVES.
he hates balls because he can't dance, and
that when he goes to them people who like
him at other times, and talk sensibly to
him, don't care for him there, and that he
talks nonsense, and so do they.
Wednesday, October 261/1. — I have very
little to tell this week. After a storm comes
a lull, so this is one of the much-ado-about-
nothing letters. On Monday we drove in
the phaeton, and paid visits. Dick drove
his new horse " Bill Seward." I had a visit
from a Mrs. . She is rather cracked.
She sat on an uncomfortable chair close
to me, staring at me. She hesitated when
I asked her how many children she had
(I really did not know what to say to her),
and she answered, " I have ten ; but I believe
it is considered very vulgar to have many."
To please her, I said 1 did not think it could
be " vulgar," as the Queen had so many.
She said at the beginning of the summer
she had two in arms, but now she had one ;
she thought two a great trouble ; one died,
and she did not regret it! Captain Pem.
went to Montreal to try and prevent his
friend from marrying some girl. As I said
before, we paid some visits in town. There
was an extraordinary light from the setting
sun on Point Levis and the Isle of Orleans:
UA
it made them look perfectly pink, and the
tin roofs looked like burnished gold. I
never saw anything more beautiful and
curious, as the sky was quite grey at the
time. It looked like lights in a panorama.
Tuesday was wet as usual, but not very
cold. Got home letters. Your story of
my pet Cecil saying " Day-day," to make
Major i i. go away, reminds me of a story
Lord Lyons told me of some one that paid
a very long visit to his father, who got up
and shook hands, saying, " I'm sorry you
are obliged to go." Lord L. envied his
father's pluck, and said he couldn't do it.
It is said that this winter will be^fin late,
and they know this from the Indians ob-
serving the beavers who are not beginning
yet to build their winter houses. Lord
Airlie told us such curious things about
the dams the beavers make ; he saw them.
Dick drove me out after lunch, when the
rain stopped. The day was very dark and
damp. We were asked to the delegate
ball at Montreal, but I fear we shall not
go to it.
Thursday, 27M. — Dick has just dressed
himself up in his winter clothes (Astrakan
furs), and is saying he thinks they are very
becoming — so they are. I am to go and
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MV CANADIAN LEAVES.
choose my fur cap to-day, and the G. G.
proposes to go to the shop and help me to
choose one. Mr. Godley says choosing
a fur cap is a momentous question here !
Yesterday Dick drove me to Cap Rouge
to see Mrs. J. Forsyth. The drive is lovely,
and from a summer-house in the place you
have a beautiful and curious view of the
river, and of much lumber in all directions.
The sunset was as usual now quite Eastern,
such deep yellow and red. My box arrived
last night from home, a great event ! Colonel
Gordon dines here to-night.
Friday y 2W1. — A bitter cold day, blowing
a gale of east wind. My head is always
better in east wind ; the rain comes from
that quarter here. We have hard frosts
every night and icicles. Dick drove me
out after lunch ; it was terribly cold. I paid
some visits, and I did not really feel cold,
as I wore my velvet bonnet for the first
time, and two veils, a warm knitted cape,
a velvet coat, and my Astrakan-trimmed
cloak ; besides, we had our bear-skin robe
and an apron in the phaeton ! We drove
to the racquet-court to meet the G. G., who,
with Mr. G., followed us to Henderson's,
the furrier's. I there chose a beautiful velvet
and seal-skin cap which costs ten dollars
^w
WINTER CLOTHING.
189
i'
(about two sovereigns English). The G. G.
is very kindly giving me a present of it.
Dick ordered a handsome buffalo sleigh
robe, which is to be trimmed with a rim
of brigade colours. You must have two
robes to cover you in a sleigh. I mean to
get a white cloud — "a cloud " is a long
knitted scarf, which goes all over your cap
and round and round your throat, and ties
in long ends, and hangs over your back. My
cap is to be very high — the fashion this
year, for we have our cap fashions here !
Captain Pem. went for two reasons to
Montreal, first to prevent his friend from
marrying, second to try and make his friends,
the C.'s, settle to go to England. He has
failed about both errands, for is on the
eve of marriage, and the C.'s sent their
baggage to go by the Jtira (Allans' line),
and set off to go themselves, but have not
been heard of, and no one knows anything
about them. Col. G. was full of Montreal
stories. He and F. B, dined and slept.
The Delegates' ball will be very mixed.
Many Quebecers are gone up for it. The
leaves are nearly all off the trees. They
were so beautiful. I have been reading
Bryant's poems. In speaking of the autumn
woods, he says —
if
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AfV CANADIAN LEAVES.
*' But 'neath yon crimson tree,
Lover to listening maid might breathe his flame,
Nor mark within its roseate canopy,
Her blush of maiden shame."
If we have fine weather now for two weeks,
it is said the winter will not appear so long.
Saturday, October 2^fh. — We had the
most awful hurricane yesterday, and it was
so cold that the rain froze, and the verandah
was slippery with ice ! I walked up and
down a little, and was nearly blown away
and frozen. That night the thermometer
was ten degrees below freezing. Saturday
was fine, and I drove myself to town, and
Dick came with me to the 25th band on
the esplanade. Sunday was lovely, hot sun,
but very cold. The smell and suffocation
in church is great. We had a beautiful
sermon this morning from Mr. Hatch. In
the afternoon Mr. Pleese preached a very
good sermon.
Monday, 315A — To-morrow I mean to
drink tea at four with Gordon the Good, and
go to church at five at St. Matthias.
Captain Pem. still away ; he thinks he is
succeeding in his mission. I must tell you a
story Gen. Doyle told us when he was here ;
it only struck me yesterday, and it is so
funny. There was an officer who " drew the
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ai:X/CR.lL DOYLE'S STOKY.
191
long bow " very much when telling stories,
and he told his servant every time he told
these " bangers " to pull his coat-tails. One
day he told some people that at Gibraltar the
monkeys' tails were six feet long. The
servant gave him a pull. He then said, •' I'm
making a little mistake, they were only five
feet long ; " another pull. He went on then,
and said, " I'm wrong again, they were only
four feet long ; " another pull. He then turned
angrily on his servant, and said, " D — n it, do
you want to give them no tails at all ? " It
is nothing to hear Gen. D.'s stories second-
hand ; his telling them is half the battle. No
mail in yet!
Tuesday, November \st. — Yesterday, after
lunch, I drove to town, and went with Dick
to see the window to Bishop Mountain in
the cathedral. The colours are very
brilliant; it was done in England. We
then went to Gringas, the sleigh -maker, and
Dick ordered me such a beautiful sleicrh
painted in brigade colours, and the robes of
buffalo and bear are to be trimmed to match.
It is to be so comfortable and slantinir that
one nearly lies down in it. To-day is very
cold and dull — a regular " dun November
day." The day before, though cold, had been
fine and bright. All Saints' Day is a statute
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MY CANADIAN LEAVES.
holiday. Dick played a match of racquets
in the morning, and drove me afterwards to
tea with Gordon the Good, and after that
we went to church. After dinner, Mrs. G.
and I sang together ; my voice is miserable,
the bitter winds hurt my chest so.
Wednesday, 2nd. — Dull dark day, but
fine.
Thursday, ^rd. — Lovely and bright, but
very cold. I have nothing to tell you, so I
must go back to " old yarns " about our
journey with Lord L. He told me a funny
story about Mr. Lincoln — he is always run-
ning off with the umbrellas of other people,
and one day he wanted one, and said to his
boy, aged about seven, " Go and get my
umbrella from the hall." The boy returned
without one, saying, " Father, I guess the
owner's been round." The day we went to
look at the bishop's window at the cathedral,
we came in for a soldier's marriage. The man
would say "Yes," or "yea," instead of " I will,"
and the clergyman had such work with him.
November ^th. — I drove yesterday to the
Hotel Dieu. We went off in the open
waggon that bitter cold night to dine at Mr.
Price's. I wore three cloaks and a hood !
We had rather a nice party : four daughters
and two sons of Mr. Price, captain and Mr.
riSi
THE FIRST SNOW.
193
E. (25th), Mr. Sitwell. R.E., and Mr.
Coulson (25th), and a Mrs. Stayncr, from
Upper Canada. Having given me so many
bouquets in the warm weather, I was curious
to Icnow what Mr. Price would give me now ;
and you will laugh when I tell you his gift is
to be a saddle of very small brown Saguenay
mutton (1 !) from his estate ; he says it is like
Welsh mutton ! He is such an old courtier.
The stars were so marvellously bright coming
home. The sunsets now are wonderful, so
orange and red ; and sometimes they throw
a soft pink light over everything, which
looks mauve on the mountains. Conway
thought the sunset last evening was a fire !
To-day we have snow, and it is blowing so
hard. Fancy, I heard Mr. Coles, of Prince
Edward Island, once went to Windsor and
lunched with the Queen ! and that her
Majesty asked him if he was not afraid
crossing the Atlantic. He answered in
praise of the Cunard line, " No, your
Majesty, I go in a line whose steamers
never land fewer passengers than they take
out."
Monday, November ']th. — I must go back
to Friday, the most awful day I ever saw —
snow and a hurricane. I was quite afraid
that Dick and the G. G. had been blown away,
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194
MV CANADIAN LEAVES.
they were so late coming home. I find that the
night we dined at the Prices' was the colder,t
night we have had yet, fourteen degrees of
frost, and I drove in an open waggon.
Tozer, the coachman, went to Boston three
weeks ago to-morrow, and no news has been
received of him yet, so the G. G. is getting
anxious, and is going to make Colonel Irvine
telegraph to Ticknor(whose " Life of Prescott"
I am now reading), to know something of
him, as he is a friend of Tozer's. The G. G.
fears he has been drugged, and carried off
to the Federal army. On Friday night
dined Colonel Rhodes (a naturalized
Canadian), Mr. Coulson (25th), and two
R. A. officers named Williams and Heberden.
At the Prices' Mr. Colson showed me his
photo-book. Among his photos were four of
his father's old servants, " each with a device,"
as he said. The butler carried a silver
bottle, the cook was cutting bread, the
gardener carried a rake, and the coachman
harness. They looked so unutterably quaint.
Colonel Rhodes came in a sleigh to dine ;
the snow was so thick. On Saturday
Colonel G. brought us the news that
Captain 's father-in-law had failed ;
however, when merchants fail here they
get up again very soon. Sunday was a
i
VARIABLE WEATHER.
195
very fine bitter day. Captain Pern, returned
by breakfast-time, with so much Montreal
news. I walked to church in the after-
noon ; such slipping and sliding, and the
snow so hard it hurt one's feet. I never
had such a horrid walk as down the avenue
here ; on the road it was much better. Mr.
Petrie preached. I could not help laugh-
ing at one thing he said ; it was on the
parable of the sower, and he said, "All"
the little birds sat on the branches just
ready to fly down." His voice was so odd,
and the idea struck me of a row of little
birds flying down to peck away. To-day,
thank God, is warmer, and it is raining, so
that there is a thaw. I am so glad ; I don't
want the snow yet. I heard from Mr. Malet,
and the letter took seven days to come from
Washington, a three days' journey ! Captain
Pem. drove the G. G. to town to-day in his
sleigh. The bells sound so pretty, and it
looks so nice. I have no news to tell you ;
there is no gaiety to chronicle. I hear Mr.
L. is going to give a ball on the i6th. We
are invited to dine at Mr. J. B.'s on Tuesday,
but I fear the cold, so we have refused.
Dinners out here last three hours, and the
rooms are stifling. My white " cloud " came
home to-day. I am getting scarlet over-
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time ; but, having lost two children there,
his wife came to her father's near here, and
they were separated for eleven months.
When he used to go out visiting his parish,
he said his wife was so nervous about him,
as the sea rushes up in such a curious way,
people are often suddenly drowned. The
snow-storms are so violent that he had seen
a sleigh of the country (which are very low,
and are called " Kometiques "), with a team
of twelve strong dogs, and with four men on
it, overturned by the violence of the hurri-
cane. There is only one horse in all this
place, and it is at the lighthouse ; dogs
(half wolf and half dog) are used instead,
and are so wild and ferocious that they bite
people sometimes to death. Some of these
dogs once set on a woman, and bit her in
eighty-six places ; a man came to her rescue,
and threw himself on her. These brutes
lifted him in their mouths and carried him
awayj and laid him down, not touching him,
and returned to the woman, whose life was
only spared by men with bludgeons that ran
out of the woods on the dogs. They are
driven in a team of twelve, without reins,
guided by the voice. The G. G. asked if
they ever ran away ? " Frequently, my lord,"
answered meekly Mr. Botwood. There is
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204
AfV CANADIAN LEAVES.
snow at Labrador all the summer in the
valleys, and he always had to wear a great-
coat there all the summer. He was once
caught in one of the terrible snow-storms —
the account of it is in one of the S.P.G.
Reports, Once winter sets in, the people
there are really dead to the world, for they
never hear anything of any one till spring,
and then only by chance. Letters are some-
times thrown on the shore from ships, and
if any one picks them up they get them, if
not, they don't ever get them. Mr. B.'s
sister in London once wrote to him, and the
letter did not reach him for sixteen months I
He did not laud himself at all ; our incessant
questions found out all these facts. The
G. G. said it would be pleasant to him to
look back on his Labrador life. He said, "Oh
yes, I liked it ; the hard work was pleasant ! "
He said, alas ! he had no schools, as the
people were scattered over two hundred
miles, but he had two churches ; one he
built himself. He said, as if it was a joke,
that he had often in November to wade
through streams, and take off all his clothes,
and they were so wet and cold when he put
them on again. He is very happy to be
here, and so delighted with the church, sing-
ing, etc. I fancy it was because of his wife
m'
AN EARLY TELEGRAM.
205
that he gave it up ; it was so terrible for her,
he said. I enjoyed listening to him, telling
all these stories. He had two Labrador
pups, which he is sorry he did not bring
here. I drove to town after lunch, and
nearly died of cold across my brow. I
longed for my fur cap.
Friday, \'S»th. — A few mornings ago, at
five a.m., a waggon drove up, and frightened
poor Mrs. G. so (I did not hear it). It was
a telegram to say that our Cunard letters
were all late for the last ship ; every Canada
letter was late because something happened
to a train. I drove myself after lunch to
pay some visits. Tozer said I was much
improved in driving. Cap. Pem. came with
me to the Parliament Library, where, like all
other libraries, I could get nothing I wanted
but the Cornhill. The gentlemen dined
with the 17th, and Mrs. Godley and I had a
very pleasant evening together. The day
was fine, dull, and not cold.
Saturday, ic)th. — Fine day, but very cold.
The thermometer went down as low as nine-
teen last night ; and to-day it is twenty-six
only. I think I will inaugurate my fur cap
to-day. The G. G. had a satisfactory
letter from Mr. Card well about his going
home. Mr. Godley returned to-day, bring-
P'
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ill,
206
A/y CANADIAN LEAVES.
inj2f a good account of Lord Lyons ; he
suffers much from neuralgia in his head,
but it is nothing serious. He brought me
a full-face photo of Mr. Lincoln, and a
photo of Mr. Sewartl. Mr. Godley had an
interview with Lincoln, who said he was glad
Lord l^yons had not typhoid fever, as the
papers said ; " I''or," said he, " in this country
typhoid fever is worse than small-pox, yellow
fever, or any disease. I know only two
things that are worse, viz. the last stage of
consumption, and hydrophobia." We are
invited with Capt. Pem. to dine on Monday
with Madame Duval, and go after to the
opera. I refused.
Monday, November 2\st. — I drove to town,
and did inaugurate my fur cap and "cloud."
The cold was intense, but I was warm. Col.
Gordon's hands were in agony when he
came in from driving ; he nearly roared with
pain when he came in to tea. Dick's ears
were in great pain, and he and Mr. Godley
found a little bit of ice on their moustaches,
which delighted me. The thermometer was
twenty-two above zero ; that night it went
down to fifteen. There are three stoves in
the passage here, so in the house one is quite
warm ; and, driving, you are quite warm also.
The fur robes and " cloud " keep one really
n
THE INDIAN SUMAfKK.
307
/tot. My "cloud" is two and a half yards
long, and it is wound round and round one's
throat, and over one's face ; it tics round
the throat in front, and hangs in long ends
behind. On Sunday we went to eight-o'clock
service. The cold was very great ; in the
afternoon it was quite warm, not even
freezing, and the walk to afternoon service
was delicious. Mr. liotwood preached for
twenty-five minutes. The G. G. is now
covered with furs, be the day cold or warm.
We are invited to dine, I believe, and
dance, at Madame Duval's, on Tuesday,
but we have refused. There is the 17th
dance on Wednesday, and sleighing in the
cold two nights running is no joke. It is
snowing hard to-day and quite warm. This
must be the " Indian summer." There was
a good deal of snow yesterday evening,
and good sleighing for the first time this
winter. After lunch, Mrs. Godley took me
out in her cariole ; it made my head feel
giddy, we were so very low on the ground,
lower than a wheel-barrow, and every one
walking looked so big. We met Mr.
Coulson (25th), who could have jumped
over us easily. I felt as if we should be
run down and trampled on, and one felt
so helpless. We met several sleighs and
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MV CANADIAN LEAVES.
carioles ; the bells sounded so gay. Some
" Muffins " were out with their men friends,
and looked very bright and nice flying
along in sleighs. It rained nearly the whole
time, and was so hot and muggy that I
wore a bonnet and thin veil. We passed
Mr. Aylmer (17th), who laughed at us tear-
ing along in our red, round wheel-barrow.
It looked so quaint, seeing carioles and
sleighs on the stand, instead of waggons.
Capt. Pem. dined with Madame Duval, but
would not go to the opera, which is said
to be very bad, only five singers, no chorus,
and no scenery.
Tuesday, 22nd. — It rained all night and
half the day, so most of the snow was gone.
I drove on wheels again with Dick to town,
where he bought an enormous pair of high
boots ; every one wears them here, and they
look so nice. The roads are in a terrible
state.
Wednesday, 2'^rd. — Very fine day; rather
cool, I am glad to say. A most curious
tradeswoman came to-day to ask me to buy
from her ; she came from " Up Canada " (as
they pronounce here). She amused me with
her Yankee voice and manners. She said
she would not fall on the snow as she
had "creepers" on — "creepers" are spikes
BALL AT THE BARRACKS.
209
Strapped on to the heel of the boot. Got
letters per Canadian mail, they came in our
new ship, the Moi'avian. Ships now go from
and come to Portland, in the States, not
Quebec. Drove part of the way into town
on wheels — it was too slippery ; every one in
sleighs but ourselves ; the ground is all ice.
Had a visit from Mrs. L., who that night
sent me an exquisite hot-house bouquet for
the 17th ball. Dick and I drove to the
ball in the open carriage with the hood
up. Thermometer thirteen degrees above
zero.
Thnrsday, 2^ih. — Last night was the
coldest night we have had yet ! The ball
was very pleasant. A fire took place at the
citadel ; one of my partners came to me
about it, just as I was going to dance with
him. It turned out to be Capt. Hope's
room that was burnt. There were several
pretty girls at the ball. Major is sup-
posed to be paying attention to a girl, and
Major E. advised him to call on her. He
3aid, " No, I ne^^er do those sort of things ;
they don't suit me, my dear fellow." He
has a beer-barrel in his room, and a beer-
tankard in which we found stuck (without
water) a bouquet he had got evidently from
some young lady. This we discovered when
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AfV CANADIAN LEAVES.
we were leaving. To-day is terribly cold.
Ice appeared in lumps lloating about in the
river to-day, for the first time. Dick has a
thermometer now in my room, and worries
me so with it ; if it gets above sixty-four
degrees he opens the windows, and in five
minutes brings it down ever so much. I
have not yet begun a fire in my bedroom in
the morning. When people have been here
some winters, all the caloric of their English
blood goes away, and they are such sufferers
then from cold. At the ball Captain Hope
was joking about the fire at the citadel, not
knowing that his own room and all his
clothes were burnt. It is said he does not
care, as he will not have the bore of packing
them up. He is quite a hero now, and
people went to see his room. On Thursday
I drove in the open carriage, only my head
peeping out of the furs. It was so cold and
so slippery. Both horses and carriages
slipped so much, it was scarcely pleasant.
Mrs. G. went out in her cariole.
Friday, 25///. — It is snowing to-day, the
right thing for it to do, as St. Catherine's is
always the snow day here ; it lies after that
day. Dear old Mr. Price sent me another
saddle of mutton yesterday. Last night dined
Mr. John A. Macdonald and Mr. Howland
p
"JOHN a:s" stories.
211
(the new Post-Master General), and some
officers. "John A." was very amusing. He
said I had come out here in time to found
a new empire. My mutton was considered
excellent. Mr. McGee has the cholera, and
nearly died.
Saturday, Nov. 26th. — Yesterday got quite
warm after lunch, and was only at freezing-
point. Capt. Pem. dined with the K.O.B.'s;
they have a dance at the citadel on Monday.
I must tell you " John A.'s " stories. He told
me that Sir E. Head had the greatest horror
of sentencing a man to be hung — it used to
depress him for weeks, and make him utterly
wretched, so that "John A." used to dread
having to announce to him when it was
necessary. When Sir E. went home on
leave, Sir Fenwick Williams administered
the Government here, and during his reign
came the necessity for a man being hung.
" John A.," in dread of having to tell Sir F.
of it, went to him and said, " This man has
committed an atrocious murder, and I am
afraid he must be hung." He was electrified
by the cheery answer, " I quite agree with
you ; 0/ course he must be hung ; hang, hang,
hang them all, when they deserve it." Sir
k. M. is so against this confederation scheme,
because he would be turned away. He said
1^
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to John A., " You shall not make a mayor
of mc, I can tell you/' meaning a deputy-
governor of a province.
Monday, 2%th. — When I left off on Satur-
day we were just going to the racquet-match
at Quebec. The players were Dick and
Major Earle on one side ; Capt. King and
Mr. Williams, R.A., on the other. I sat in
the gallery covered by a buffalo skin, pro-
vided by Major Earle. Some ladies came
to see the match, and of course several of
the 17th officers were there. The ladies
were Mrs. Serecold, Miss A. Bowen and her
two nieces, the Misses Webster. Kirwan
the horse-dealer was also there. After the
match we went to the 17th mess and had
lunch, and were very pleasant and merry.
I grieve to say Dick's side lost the match ;
Major Earle blamed himself for it. There
was much excitement about it. On Saturday
there was a thaw all day. Sunday it was so
slippery coming home from church. Some
more snow had fallen in the night ; it was
not cold, and the snow was very good for
sleighing. Dick and I drove to afternoon
service in the cariole. In the afternoon the
bishop preached for twenty-five minutes ; we
also had a baptism. The morning service
had also been very long.
p
BALL AT THE CITADEL.
213
Ttiesday, 29M. — Yesterday got quite warm,
and I drove in the cariole, which is so roueh
that it gave me quite a headache. I went
to see a poor woman in the village. Whilst
I was there, the girl called out, " Oh, ma'am,
there's a funeral ! " I went to look out.
There were many sleighs, and the bells
jingled merrily as the cortege moved quickly
on. All funerals go fast here ; I suppose it
is from the cold weather. I went to see a
poor man, and the snow was so deep where
he lives that I could scarcely struggle on.
That night it rained so tremendously that
we had to have the shut carriage instead of
the sleigh to go to the 25th ball. When we
with difficulty got up the very great Citadel
hill, we found everything very nicely done,
the soldiers had decorated the stairs and
ante-room like a miniature Guards' ball,
with two tall soldiers and two pipers on the
landing, and flags and designs done with
bayonets and stars, and theatre scenes
painted by Col. Fane. The string-band
was of course exquisite. There were many
pretty faces at the ball. Great fat was
introduced to me, and took me to supper ;
he is exactly like a fat boy in pantomimes,
that brings in balls for clowns to play with.
The shell-jacket made this thought come
i^i
214
A/y CANADIAN LEAVES.
V
into my mind. A few people danced " The
Reel of Tulloch." Capt. Hope's hats and
shirts were about the only things burned.
We slid all the way down the citadel hill in
coming- home.
IVtdncsday, 30M, St. Andrew s Day. — We
had a fog like a London one all yesterday.
To-day is fine and warm, but not bright.
Thursday, December isL — It rained yester-
day, so I could not go to church at Quebec.
There was very little snow on the roads.
Thermometer thirty-nine degrees. I had a
letter from Mr, Sheffield, giving a better
account of Lord L., and sending me an auto-
graph of Mr. Seward, a great contrast to the
bold strong hand of Abraham Lincoln ; it is
weak and shaky. Dick met Col. R., who had
just returned from the States ; he and Major
W. had been to " The Armies," and had been
treated very civilly by Gen. Meade. Mrs. R.
had been to tea with Mrs. Lincoln, and she
asked a lady how she was to dress, and the
answer was, " Whatever way you like ; she's
just the same as you and L" Mrs. Lincoln
offered to show Mrs. R. her "saloon," and
began lighting the candles herself. The
C G. showed us the plans just received of
.i^d. — Snow-storm all day ; did
not go out at all.
December \th. — Threatening snow all day.
Drove in sleigh to afternoon church.
Wednesday, December ']th. — I must go back
■■■:* m - I
2l6
AfV CANADIAN LEAVES.
to last Monday. I went out in the beautiful
large sleigh her Ex. used to drive in, with
bear, buffalo, and wolverine robes. It was
a fine but dull day, and not very cold. One
requires to be accustomed to a sleigh drive
to like it ; it gave me a headache, and the
snow hurt my eyes, and I felt as if big dogs
would jump on me, as I was so low. We
met some officers' tandems ; I got Dick at
the office, and we took a drive ; we met a
funeral , the hearse on " runners," and all
the people in sleighs, trotting along! It was
so very sad, and the bells sounded so merry,
an-l made everything worse. Really the
bells on the horses bewilder one so much in
town, one hears no sounds but " bells, bells,
bells, bells," etc. Tuesday was dull and
windy, said to be cold, but I did not feel
it so. Soon after breakfast, got our two
mails ; one bag had gone astray to Montreal,
and Cunard turned up with Canadian. Oh,
the delight of letters ! I will write no journal
per Cunard, as we have to write on Saturday
instead of Monday, because of the snow. I
drove out in a sleigh, and met so many
tandems ; it was a fine but dull day. At
luncheon the footman had left the room, and
coming in again with a bow, said, " The cat
is at the door, ma'am, will I let him in .-* "
TOBOGGAN SLIDE.
217
I said, " Who ? " and he repeated the ques-
tion. I laughed so. The slide is up now
for tobogganing, but no one has begun yet.
The slide is a raised wooden platform with
an inclined plane placed on the top of a hill
upon which the snow falls, and when rolled
and frozen over, you slide down on a tobog-
gan, which is a flat piece of thin ash wood
curled up at the end to receive one's feet ;
two or three people can go down on one
toboggan, one behind the other, as close as
one can pack, and one guides the toboggan
with a bit of wood ; terrible sport, I think,
but I must try it once ! You shoot down a
hundred yards further than the slide, all
across the cricket-ground.
Thursday, ?>th. — The two Misses Irvine
lunched with me. There are four of them,
and the eldest is nineteen years younger
than her father ! The youngest is very
pretty and very young. I left them at home
in sjtck a snow-storm of loct snow, and as the
day was warm we were all white and wet.
I was astonished to see the Quebec girls
sauntering along without umbrellas in the
snow-storm ! Mr. G. laughed at me with
my umbrella. He says they are unknown
here in winter ; but I stuck to it, as the snow
really was very wet. To-day is a statute
f: ;
holiday (the Immaculate Conception). We
had rain and hurricane all nig^ht. To-day
there was fine fun at the slide ; Dick, Capt.
Pern., and F. Burrowes all went down once
together and got a nice upset. It is a most
singular amusement, but great fun to a
looker-on. I laughed so at them. One
time Capt. Pem. was going to take Dick
down, but before " Pem." was on the toboggan
behind Dick, Dick, thinking he was on all
right, had flown down alone, and flew from
side to side unable to stop, not having the
bit of wood to guide it. It froze last night,
and is blowing a storm to-day with occasional
showers of dry frozen snow. There is a
man dinner to night, plain clothes.
Friday, ^th. — Dick and Capt. Pem. went
to town yesterday to play racquets, and F.
Burrowes and I tried to drive, but we met
Dick, and soon turned back. It was blowing
a hurricane and snowing hard, and all the
snow was also blown up from the ground.
We then went to the slide. Mr. Godley
and his swarm of dogs came also, and he
made me go down with him once. Oh, I was
so afraid! It was a dreadful feeling flying
down the height, and made me feel sick for
hours after. Dick's beard was thick with
ice ; the thermometer was twenty degrees,
and it was snowing hard all the time we were
out; I had no warm stockings, and yet I
was not very cold. Tobogganing is the
funniest sii,. — It turned to snow on
Saturday, *nd snowed all the afternoon.
Went to churc 1. aii took Mrs. Botwood a
short way in my slei[jh. She told me her
husband regrets Labrador so much ; he
always thinks he has not done enough. She
stayed there from June of one year till July
of the next year, and there was snow the
whole time she was there ! Her husband
was away at his duties most of the time ; she
never stirred out, and had not one single
friend ! What desolation ! I drove en to
Quebec, and got Dick, who had been hard
at work from eleven till 4.30. He and the
G. G. had been calling out the Militia !
General Dix has been made to alter his
proclamation by the authorities at Washing-
ton, and they are not to follow raiders into
Canada. The reason of calling out the
Militia is to catch raiders on the frontier.
It is an interesting year to be in Canada,
between the Confederation business and
*
MILITIA CALLED OUT.
seeincj whether Canada is able and willine to
defend herself, or rather to be on the alert in
case of dan
256
MV CANADIAN LEAVES.
said only some people have a calling for it.
She hated teaching music when she was
young, but now she teaches twenty-four
pupils a day, and likes it because it is part
of her duty. She told me that six nuns had
died last year in the Ursulines ; very sad.
She interested me. The Romanists are not
bigoted here, and she did not try any con-
troversial talk. After the convent, I went
for Dick, and we went to look at the ice-
bridge again. They have five roads across
it now, planted with little fir trees to mark
the track. They make roads here in the
snow in this way ; they stick little fir trees
in the snow to prevent your driving into
deep snow, and to show you where the road
has been ploughed and rolled. They plough
it regularly like a field first, and then roll it.
The day was nice and mild, twenty-four
degrees. We call that rather mild here,
though it rarely gets as low as that in
Enofland. After dinner I dressed for the
rink ball, by putting on over-stockings and
boots, many warm things under my seal-
skin coat, and my fur cap instead of a wreath !
Dick invited Captain Pem. to the ball ; you
know he had no right to do so, which amused
me. When we arrived, I was struck with
the very pretty and novel sight ; the rink
\\
was lit with gas, and decorated with flags
and ornaments ; there were tables with
refreshments on the ice, and the 25th band
was playing. It looked like a fair in a Dutch
picture ; most of the girls wore very short
red petticoats, and grey or black dresses ;
some wore scarlet, and some white feathers
in their fur caps, and most of the officers
wore their mess uniforms. I sat at the end
of the rink till F. B. skated up to me, and
told me there was a place meant for me on
.. sofa near the top of the rink ; so up there
I struggled. I found M. Cartier there, and
Mrs. R. M. C. looked so odd in fur coat
and cap, with spectacles on his nose ! I
cried with laughing looking at the skaters ;
some did it too beautifully. To see Miss
Maxham and a Miss Eppy Ross waltzing
together was prettier than any ballet.
Captain E. I spied in his mess uniform with
the saddest face, teeth set, and arms like a
wind-mill, struggling on alone, heeding no
one, and looking as if nothing but death
could stop him. All the time the others
were dancing quadrilles, lancers, or valses,
there he was steadily tearing round the rink
alone, sometimes knocked against, but always
righting himself, and looking as awkward as
possible. He looked like a person shuffling
17
E! I
ll„ ' \
along with slippers too large for him ; do you
know what I mean ? Then there was Mr.
Wingfield with his head on one side, arm-in-
arv: with another beginner, both shuffling
along against time, and ending by a good
tumble ; they looked like two helpless tipsy
men. Then Colonel Hassard came up near
me, and I remarked that he did not bow ;
at last he shuffled up holding on by Mr.
Harding, R.E., saying, " I darent bow to
you." Mr. Sitwell skated about looking
intensely composed. It was funny to see
the gentlemen skating ove with wine and
water to the ladies. I never was more
amused, and was very angry at leaving ; we
left so early — about eleven. Miss Archibald
skated through some quadrilles wonderfully,
having only been ten times on skates.
Monday, i^th. — I must tell you of Saturday.
It got worse and worse every hour ; the
hurricane was terrific, and snow in clouds
was blown from the ground. After lunch
Dick went out snow-shoeing and sliding in
this terrific weather! About four I saw a
snow-covered and frozen figure come to the
door on snow-shoes : his hair, whiskers, etc.,
so covered with ice, I could not discern his
features ; a belt was round his waist and a
capuchin on his head. This, to my utter
~
SEVERE WEATHER.
259
surprise, turned out to be "Gordon the Good."
In the hall, even, I did not know him. He
begged for a towel, which I got him, and he
scrubbed the ice off his face, and soon came
and sat over the fire with me. Presently
another figure entered the house, much more
ice-covered than Gordon the Good, and with
a capuchin also, face quite undistinguishable
from ice — ice hanging from his eyelids, eye-
brows, and beard and moustaches ; this ice-
man, who looked like old Time without his
scythe, turned out to be Dick ! He had to
sit at the fire over a basin thawing ! Soon
Captain P. and F. B. arrived. F. B. had
waded in big boots through snow-drifts up
above his knees. Some refusals to the
dinner came on account of the weather, and
the party ended in thirteen, only one lady
had courage to come. Tzoelve did not come,
most of them neither came nor sent refusals.
The Bishop of Quebec took me in, and was
extremely agreeable ; he says things so
abruptly that he finishes off people in two
words, when another man would take twenty
to give the same opinion. M. Cartier sat
on my other side. The Bishop told me he
was very angry with Mrs. Botwood for
making her husband leave Labrador, and
that she said she would go to the north pole
W:\
with him before her marriage. There is a
clergyman near there now whose parish
extends a hundred and twenty miles. He
said he longed always to choose the clergy-
men's wives for them, that was a piece of
preferment he coveted. Before he came out
here, he says he knew nothing of Canadian
geography, and fancied there were only three
towns out here — Quebec, Montreal, and
Toronto. He said, when the Bishop of
Nassau (Bahamas) was to be consecrated,
that the Bishop of Oxford took the bishop-
elect aside, and said to him confidentially^ " I
think it would be well for you to have the
Bishop of Sydney at your consecration,"
evidently implying that he would be a neigh-
bour, and might be kind to him ! After
dinner I set M. Cartier and Judge D. fight-
ing, and I helped on both parties. At last
Judge D. got so excited he pushed me with
one arm and Cartier with the other. Yester-
day I did not go to Church till the afternoon ;
the cold was frightful, zero all day. We had
another fire alarm last night. After dinner
the drawing-room chimney went on fire, and
made smoke go into Conway's room and
press. There is so much snow on the roof,
there was no danger, but I was startleo.
Dick dines with Sir E. Tache to-morrow, a
A FROZEN CAT,
261
man's dinner at the club. May Dundas
writes that their little island is much against
confederation (Prince Edward's Island).
Tuesday, fanuary 1 7//^. — Yesterday was so
frightfully cold (six below zero). I did not
take my everlasting drive to Quebec, but
went in the sleigh for Dick. Poor Major
Earle is very ill. Dick went to see him, and
he is very cheery. To-day is a glorious day
to look at, but a terrible day to feel. The
sky is cloudless and the sun so bright, the
thermometer four degrees above zero.
" Adamson " went to see the G. G. one day,
and said he was better, " but when a man
falls head over heels twice in the cathedral, at
least it is a warning." We are invited to a
dinner and dance at Madame D.'s on Thurs-
day. I shan't go if the weather is bad.
Wednesday, i8//5. — What do you think
happened to poor Tom the cat ? On Satur-
day night she went out, and in some way
was shut out, and remained frozen into the
snow till Monday, when she was discovered !
She could not move, and one of the maids, in
rooting her out, got her own fingers frost-
bitten ! We found Tom's feet and ears
swollen and much hurt by the frost ; she was
in great pain, and lay fainting, unable to eat
anything. We warmed her and gave her
: r^
1/ ' V'
■ , ^-
I
mi'
tmR
:62
MY CANADIAN LEAVES.
warm milk ; by de<^rees she took a little, and
was at last able to stand ; she took meat
yesterday, and is by degrees gettinsj better.
It was a piteous siq^ht to see her. Dick, the
footman, and I did our best for her. After
lunch yesterday I had a visit from Madame
Gautier (French Consul's wife) and her son.
She is very pleasant. She told a funny
story about a Baron who went to see one of
the Rothschilds, who was very busy writing,
and said only, " Take a chair, sir." The
Baron got impatient from waiting some time,
and said, " Do you know I am the Baron
of ?" Mr. de R. got angry, and called
out, " Then take two chairs," and went on
writing. I drove into town, thermometer
zero, or below it. I was quite ill with cold,
my head felt quite dull and dead ; I don't
mean to drive again in such weather. Dick
dined with Sir E. Tache ; sixteen people and
a very good dinner at the club. Colonel G.
and Colonel R. there in uniform, to please
Sir E. Poor Major Earle continues very
ill. Some of the invited of Saturday night
were not to blame ; Judge Stewart set out
and got stuck in the snow, and the snow was
up over his ears sitting in the sleigh. Mr.
MacDougal was told by a sleigh man he
would bring him here, but would not under-
h ' '
OFFICIAL DINNER,
363
take to bring him home again. I asked the
footman yesterday before I went out what
the thermometer was ; he answered in de-
light, " Twenty-eight degrees below zero,
ma'am." It has never been so low in the
daytime the whole winter ; he did not know
he was romancing. I believe it had been
that the night before at Quebec. If you
could have seen his joy in telling me this.
TJmrsday, \(^th. — I only walked in the
verandah yesterday, I was too cold to drive.
Conway has a very bad throat, lumps inside
and outside ; the doctor says people here are
very subject to these throats. There was
a man official dinner here, and I was let to
come in in the evening. Each of the gentle-
men made me a low bow as they came in from
the dining-room. Mr. Kimber (Usher of
the Black Rod) is celebrated in public life
for his bows, which are quite marvellous.
An Honble. iMr. Alexander, of the Upper
House, was introduced to me ; he lived
eight years in Germany, and is going to
lend me German books ; he begged of me
to come to the library, and that I should
be escorted over it. I did not say that I
had been there before. Mr. Kimber also
offered me German books which his son had
just brought over. Mr. Kimber's great
*
iw^HP
subject is Sir A. Clifford ; I hear he is
always writing to Sir A. about points of
ceremony. Mr. Brown dined ; he is just
come from London, and looks quite happy ;
he says he was received with open arms
in England, was asked about, and treated
very grandly. He was invited to Bioadlands,
and Lord Pam. said, " Brown, will you take
a walk ? You don't mind snow, do yon ? "
He says there is great excitement about
confederation in London. He was en-
chanted with his visit. General Lindsay
and Captain Eliot came back in the ship
with him, so I shall soon, I hope, get my
parrel. Dick skated for the first time yes-
terday, and found it very difficult. The new
extra Provincial A.D.C., Major Bernard,
dined last night; he is in the volunteers.
To-day I hope to go and see Parliament
opened. I must tell you the Bishop advised
me to go and see the Protestant Home, and
said though he did not approve of it so much
as the Church Home, yet he believed it was
well managed, and he thought it better to
take in all sects without characters, than
let them die of huno^er in the streets. Here
is a riddle for you. " If you saw a con-
undrum sitting on a rainbow, and wanted
to shoot it, what chorus of a popular ditty
I
■- I
OPEAVXC OF PARLTAi\rENT.
265
would you sing' ? " I half guessed It. Here
is the answer. ** Ri-fol-de-riddle, de riddle
on de ray. — Rifle the riddle, de riddle on de
ray." Is it not a quaint riddle ? Dick of
course says it is a thing that no fellow could
see, a conundrum on a ray ! !
Friday, 20th. — Dick lunched with me
early yesterday, and drove me in to see
Parliament opened. The streets were lined
with soldiers ; it snowed much all the time.
There was a guard of honour of the 25th
at the Parliament House. I went in by a
private door to the Speaker's room, and
there took off my wraps. M. Tessier,
Speaker of the Upper House, took me on
his arm, and deposited me in an armchair
in a very good place. I was the only lady
without cap or bonnet. The House was
immensely crowded with ladies and women.
The G. G. and "a brilliant staff" arrived
at three ; he looked very well in his hand-
some dress, and he read his speech so well
and distincuy, first in English, and then in
P>ench. The M.P.P.'s of the Lower House
came to the Bar of the Upper House when
the speech was to be read. The heat was
stilling, and I thought I should have fainted.
The speech was very long but very good.
The G. G. came in a shut sleii-h with four
\ \
2(>(i
MV CANADIAN LEAVES.
horses. As soon as the coiicj^e \vSx. the
room, " Adamson " whispered to me that
I miyht <^o, so I crept back to the Speaker's
room. It was mucli milder drivinj^ home,
but still 1 had ice on my chin through all my
veils and cloud. We had to go off to Chief
Justice Duval's for 6.30 dinner! The old
Chief took me in to dinner. I sat between
him and Mr. S('nicold, who is very agreeable.
We had wild turkey, which I was curious
to taste ; it is excellent. It is great fun
hearing Judge JJuval and his son-in-law
figluing aliout Canada ; it seemed a fresh
suljject, but Cajjtain Pem. told m(; it happens
ez'cry night. The Chief sp(taks I'^nglish with
a lill/c foreign accent. Mr. .S. told me
Mr. used to be called, " Look to Wash-
ington, — — ," as he wanted union with
America, and now he is in the Ministry.
Mr. Serecold told me that Boston is a very
literary town (th(; Ath(;ns of America).
Theni is a public library there from which
every citizen may borrow books, high and
low just the same. After ages, the dancing
began. Some of the 25th played. W^e had
only very few fast dances becaiise of Madame
D.'s conscience ! Th(.'re was scarcely any
one i kn('w there ; I wonder why ^ two or
three came in at the end. Dick played whist
^
SfJ-Jilf/INa ON Till: rr. LAlVh'EXCi:. 2fq
nearly the vvholi; ni,L,^ht. It was most amusin;^
to sec Mrs. \\. dressin:^ up before slie left ;
she isa[)i)alhngly thin, and nearly dies of cold,
nnd is afraid of sleicrhinj^, so she walks. I
saw h(;r puttin^,^ on a warm dark-red llannel
floak, and I said, " What a nice warm cloak."
Slie answered, "Do you know this is my
dressinL;-,L(o\vn ! " C)ver it sIk^ put a dark
hi lie iacket lined with chamois, and over that
hei luisband's military cloak ! a fur ca]), fur
gloves, and a " cloud," complet(^d her
costume. I like Mrs. K. (25th) because slu^
is a coward. To-day the thermometer is
;.wenty-two cl(i;re(;s above; /.(-ro. No mail,
or news of one.
Monday, lamitD-y lyd We must r(;turn
to I'Viday last, which was a fme day, ther-
mometer twenty-two degn-es above xero in
morning, and fourte(;n above in afternoon.
I drove to Quebec, where I uot Dick, and
he di
d(
tl
-h
rove me down on the iced river nearly
to P(jint Levis on tlui other side. It was
a most curious
feel
ivj" to be dvivnio- where
we
had
Lfonc^ 111 a steamer a tew months
fc
ith^
atfo. I felt as it I was in the Arctic re',dons,
ice surrounding us (;n (^vcry side
Th
rre
are sev(;ral first-ralc roads on the iccj, mark(;d
out by trees, and co\-(,'rcd with drift(;d snf)W ;
one can drive.- on the Ir.iii .parent ice, but
I should not like that. They were practising
for a trotting-match between quick trotting
horses and sleighs like spiders. It amused
me to see them fly over the ice. The wind
had got up, and it was so bitterly cold on
the river I was glad to get home again. I
had a visit on my return from Mr. and Mrs.
S. I asked about poor Mr. Murney's family,
and she said his mother was not the least
surprised to hear of his death, and bore it very
calmly ; she always expected he would die
suddenly. Mr. S. said, " You know his father
died suddenly." Whereupon Mrs. S. said,
" that had nothing to do with it," and they
had a slight difference of opinion over the
affair. They left an invite to dine on
Tuesday. Mr. S. is head of the Indian
department. Saturday was a most perfect
day, thermometer twenty-eight degrees above
zero — quite warm. I drove to town, and got
F. Burrowes, and he drove me to see some
Misses Pemberton — their house is hard to
find, and down a horrid snow-hill, terribly
steep. The house is a large grey building
like a book-house, looking over the St.
Charles valley, a wonderful view. I then
got Dick at the office, and he drove me a
long way on the river, first to Point Levis
and then home on another ice road. Dick
had seen Major Earle ; he found " the
doctor," alias Kir wan the horse-dealer,
sitting with him and amusing him. The
view on the river was exquisite, the clear
blue sky made the ice look quite green,
and the sun made the blocks of ice sparkle
like diamonds. Hundreds of skaters made
the river look very lively, and sleighs were
flying about in all directions with their
tinkling bells. After a nice long drive, we
returned home, and found Major \V. and
Gordon the Good. Major W. wore a pair
of yellow mocassins instead of boots, which
smelt horribly. Sunday was a very fine
day and not at all cold. I drove to morning
service and walked back. The heat in
church was so unbearable that I thought
I should have a fit. I never mean to eo
again in the morning. You cannot conceive
what it is ; two hot-air places, a gigantic
stove, and swarms of people in a small
church ! Walkinir in snow is so tirino-.
To-day (Monday) we have wind and snow.
We are invited to-morrow to a picnic to
Montmoren9i with the Prices. I can't make
up my mind ; I dread the long excursion
in the cold ; but one ought to do one picnic.
Tuesday^ 24//^. — Yesterday I drove to
Miss Price and talked about the picnic ;
fi!
they are bringing musicians and food, and
mean to slide first on the Cone ; she said I
might leave it uncertain about going. The
Cone is formed of frozen spray from the
Falls. I toiled, or, rather, "Bill Seward"
toiled through the deep snow to see Mrs.
Botwood, who was absent. The avenue is
quite unswcpt, and it is so hard to get on.
The maid pressed me to go in and see Mr.
B., but though I longed to go in, I thought
it wiser to refuse. I met Dick on the road ;
the wind was too high to venture to Quebec
across the plains. There is to be a dinner-
party here on Thursday, and we are invited
on Friday to a dinner and dance at Mr.
Gilmour's, near this. No mail yet ; very
sad. To-day is warm and windy ; I do not
mean to attempt the picnic.
Wednesday, 2^th. — The wind was so high
yesterday with drifting snow that I did not
think of driving out ; but I hear they went to
the picnic. There was a function at the
Council-chamber of presenting addresses in
answer to the speech from the throne — they
do that here^ — and there was a guard of
honour, and people were in uniform. The
G. G. and Dick went in early. I got my parcel
from Captain Eliot in the evening^ — great
delight ! It is great excitement opening a
Tin'Wfrftrr-TiW'"™
/
11
ICE AND TIDE.
271
box from home. To-day is lovely, and
being the festival of the Conversion of St.
Paul, I have arranged to go and have tea
with Colonel , and go to church after.
The Botvvoods are to dine here on Thursday ;
I am so glad. Some of the 1 7th ladies have
just had babies, and Colonel G. is so angry
about it, he says, " It!'^ disgratc/tirxn a march-
ing regiment." No mail.
Thursday, 26M. — Two mails may come to-
day ; they are in. Yesterday I drove to
town and went to see ]\Iadame Tessier
(Speaker's wife), and the wife of the new
R.A. colonel. Madame T. made me talk
French ; but her English is so pretty, and
amuses me so. She says Madame — —
thinks everything wrong, and says that every
woman is blind when she marries, and that
she was blind when she took her husband.
Dick came then ; they had had another func-
tion on presenting the address of the Upper
House. We then drove down on the ice,
which we found covered with snow and very
heavy. There was a soft, pinky, mauve light
on the ice from the setting sun. The tide
was full in, which makes the ice rise so high
that one has no descent to drive down to get
to it. If you could see the enormous thick-
ness of the blocks of ice taken from the St,
^
m.
272 A/y CANADIAN LEAVES.
Charles you would fancy that no tide could
affect it. I would not go to tea with Col.
because of the function, as he had to be
at it. I met him, and told him so. He was
very sorry, and said his servant was so dis-
appointed. I said, " I shall not have much
time ; but if you like, I will come now ; " and
he answered, •' No, you can't come now, for
/ have sent my cake back to the baker s ! ! "
Old Mr. Alexander sent me a paper contain-
ing his speech in the House the other night !
Friday, lyth. — After lunch yesterday I
drove to town and found, thank God, the
Canadian mail letters of January 5th. At
dinner Mr. Rose took me in, and I always
find him very pleasant. Mrs. Rose was loud
in lamenting the Guards, and says the green
jackets will never come up to them. Mr.
Botwood has beautiful hands with long taper
fingers. He said to me, clasping his hands,
" I'd give all I possess except the coat on
my back to be back at Labrador." He said
the people have no one now specially to look
after them, only some one from another
parish. He was so sorry to leave them, and
they so sorry to lose him ; he felt he was
doing them good. He said only for Mrs. B.
he would go back to-morrow. How good he
must be ! He says he will show me the
shoes tliey wear at Labrador, so high out o(
the snow, the Labrador people say tliey have
so much " bear up " in them. Mrs. B. is so
dcHcate that if she takes a wallc she is sick
for three days. I promised to take her a
drive sometimes. Mrs. R. Ross invited us
to go on Saturday at 8.30 to her house to
hear the K.O.B. string-band. There is a
man dinner here, so I shall not go.
Satitrday, Jamiavy 2'$>th. — Yesterday I was
rejoicexl by Cunard letters of January 7th.
I never can be thankful enough for letters.
It was a cold and fine day. We dined at
Mr, Gilmour's, near this. Our party con-
sisted of Mr. and Miss Rose, Colonel and
Mrs. M., and Miss R. (the girl cousin),
Colonel Gordon, a Miss Gordon from
Montreal, an old man, name unknown, and
Mr. Allen, M.P.P., from Toronto. I sat
between him and Mr. Gilmour. Mr. A. is
very pleasant, and I learnt a good deal about
the American war from a fight between him
and Mr. Gilmour and Colonel Mc. all against
Mrs. Rose, with her " northern proclivities."
Some of Mr. A.'s talk I pretended to under-
stand, but did not (you know I am rather
hazy about the war). In the middle of the
dinner Colonel Mc. said, " I can bear it no
longer',' and got up and left the room saying
18
his toothache was so fearfully painful he
must leave the room, and so he did. Colonel
Mc. soon reappeared, and said it was a bare
nerve that he could not get rid of ; he added,
" I had one nerve ait out once, and it was
such agony that I jumped out of the chair up
to the ceiling." This he said in quite an
angry tone of voice ; Mrs. Rose and I
lauofhed so. To see his determined face was
charming. We were thirteen at dinner !
Mr. Allen told me that in some of the houses
in the Southern States you find old English
pictures by Copley and such artists, and quite
old things. We had a long moan over horrid
Ottawa. Mrs. Mc. had been in Newfound-
land for two years, and before she came out
she was told that the wind there was so
awful that people never could walk without
being tied together. There is an exquisite
long greenhouse at this house, there was one
wild primrose in a pot which reminded one
of home. They have a lovely ballroom at
Mr. Gilmour's, Some 17th soldiers played
infamously. I was very much the better for
my ball. We had the usual oyster pies at
supper; the very look of them makes me
feel ill. This is a heavenly Canadian day —
cloudless, deep blue sky, etc.
Monday, ^oth. — After lunch on Saturday
^
CHIEF JUSTICE BOW EN.
275
1 drove to town. I paid the Roses a visit,
and heard an account of a fancy l:)all at
Montreal, given at the rink, on skates, you
know. One woman went as '* Hoollands'
Golden Bitters," in a jar ! I went to see
old Chief Justice B., to thank him for his
photo. I went to his study to see him, and
he was much pleased ; he called me " My
dear lady." He says he never goes out
from the time the snow becfins till it is oonc.
I asked him if his spirits suffered, and he
answered, " Why, I am only eighty-five, and
I feel younger and younger in spirits every
day." I finished up with Mrs. MacD. She
comes from Upper Canada. The street was
full of boys playing, and she told me they
were all hers ; she has seven sons and three
girls ! In the evening there was an immense
Parliamentary dinner of twenty-four. I went
in to the drawing-room after dinner, and
Colonel Irvine introduced the M.P.P.'s to
me. I talked a long time to old Judge Day,
who is very pleasant. He lives at Lake
Memphramagog, and wants us to go down
there again in the summer. He asked me
to accept some photos of the lake. Owl's
Head, etc., just what I wanted; but we could
not succeed in getting them. He knows
Bryant the poet very well. Bryant is seventy
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years old ; he is different from Longfellow
as a poet. Bryant seldom writes, and only
when a good thought strikes him ; but Long-
fellow is always writing. I also talked to
Dr. Robitaille, the seconder of the address
on the speech. Colonel L introduced him
as "one of our youngest members." He is
M.D. at Gaspe, and I suppose all his patients
die while he is attending Parliament. When-
ever he does go to them, he has to walk
seventy miles on snow-shoes. As soon as
the session is over, he means to go through
the military school, so his patients are to be
pitied. I also talked to a Mr. de Beaujeu ;
his family the only remains of the old
French families here. Do you know, seventy
M.P.P.'s are going to learn their drill, and
have begun already. I think they deserve
credit. Sunday was fine. I only went to
church in the afternoon. The heat was
great ; the sermon happily only eighteen
minutes ; the morning one had been thirty !
This is a heavenly day, like July.
Tuesday, January 31^/. — We may get
more letters to-day, as I hear the Peruvian
is in; she only left home on the 19th — a
very quick passage, for she was in yesterday.
Yesterday the weather was most lovely and
cloudless; not cold. After dinner we went
iil
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7
AS VXDKRGROUND FARMYARD.
277
in to the 25th ball. The terrible cold of the
citadel was almost past enduring ; they have
made snow walls to keep the wind off round
the yard. The crowd was very great ; it
was impossible to dance. A reel was danced.
Fancy M. Cartier dancing it; he had never
tried it before ; he did it wonderfully. I did
not care for tue ball, as it was too crowded to
dance ; but old Mrs. T., in spectacles and
with grey hair, danced a quadrille with Mr,
Bridges of the Grand Trunk Railway. With
Mr. Alexander I had some conversation on
the militia out here ; Canada's duty, etc. He
told me there had been a row in the House
about the Militia Bill that day, and that Sir
had insulted him ! He is going to send
me a paper with an account of it. It was
snowing ; I drove to town and got Dick, who
drove me to Mr. Gilmour's, where I had
arranged to go and see his underground
farmyard. We found Mrs. G.'s mother in
the drawing-room playing " solitaire," alone.
We then trudged out in the snow (I on Mr.
G.'s arm) to the farmyard. It is very nice
and curious, all underground, and heated by
a stove. He had sixty hens; one black hen
has become quite white since the snow came ;
it was black " last fall ;" another is becoming
white. One hen was in a place alone with
I,.
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278
Afy CANADIAN LEAVES.
one little chicken, and the man who showed
them said quite angrily, "She has only one
chicken, and makes as much work with it as
if she had thirty." Mr. G., when he goes to
England, goes to Hull, Liverpool, Glasgow,
and all those horrid seaport places ; he is a
ship-builder, and very rich. We then went
to see the boys' snow house, a regular house
with a table, etc., in it. At home I found an
invite from the R.A. and R.E. to a ball next
week. We are also invited next week to
dine with the " Orateur du Conseil Legislatif,
et Madame Tessier."
TImrsday, 2nd. — Yesterday was a heavenly
day. The G. G. says to me every day,
•* Nozu, what do you think of the Canadian
climate ? " Dick and I went to the rink,
where the 17th band played. There were
riany spectators, but few skaters. Captain
E., in uniform, was there, shuffling round
and getting on better than before. After
dinner we went to the Stadacona Ball. The
crowd was very great, and at first I could
not see any one I knew. At last my partners
found me, and I danced a great deal. There
were only quadrilles and galops, and but one
valse, whilst I was there. One man wore
a bright red cravat. Many wore black ties.
You know these balls are very mixed ; all
III
Af/SS MOUNTAIN'S HOUSE.
279
the shopkeepers attend them. When I
first came to the ball I remarked several
paper bags flying about the room, and I
verily believe that people brought refresh-
ments in these bags, as you only get tea, ice,
etc., there. Yesterday I drove to see Miss
Mountain. From her house there is a grand
view of the river, and the American hills
beyond. Her house is situated at the top
of a very high hill ; inside it is more like an
English house than any I know here. She
has a nice organ in her dining-room. I met
Dick at the gate here ; he drove me to
Durham Terrace to look over the ice. It
looked lovely with an occasional pink and
mauve shade thrown over the ice that had
been cleared for skating in different places
about the river. The day was perfect. To-
night we are invited to a children's ball at
the rink, and hope to go ; it is a very pretty
sight. This afternoon " John A." MacDonald
is to make a great speech on confederation.
Dick means to go to hear him. I could not
bear the heat ! This day is lovely.
Saturday^ February ^th. — Yesterday after
lunch I paid some visits, and then went to
see if Dick had gone to hear J. A. M. speak ;
and found he had not gone, as J. A. M. was
not to speak till 7,30. We drove to the
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A/y CANADIAN LEAVES.
Parliament library to look at some illustrated
books that Mr. Todd (under-librarian) wanted
to show me. We looked at the marriage of
the Prince and Princess of Wales, illustrated
by Day in chromo-lithoi^raphs ; it is wonder-
fully well done. The colours are marvellous.
I poked about among the reading-books, and
then went home. After dinner we went to
the children's ball at the rink ; it was given
by the boys of the High sch'^ol under Mr.
Hatch, the clergyman. The boys issued
six hundred invites ! Mr. Hatch said it
taught them how to manage, as they formed
a committee and appointed a secretary for
the occasion. There was a tremendous
crowd. Mr. Hatch stayed witii us most of
the evening. He introduced the secretary
boy to Dick. The boys were so civil, offer-
ing food and drink, and flying about on
skates with cakes and wine and water. Poor
Captain E. was almost an illustration of
perpetual motion. There he was in red
uniform (the only red man there), shuffling
round, never stopping ; he was like the brook,
running on ''for even' At last he shot him-
self up against the wall, which he /le/d till he
shuffled over to me. He said, "It is not that
I zmnt to go on so long, but the fact is, I
eani stop, once I set off ; the more I try to
^
on
C////.DA'E.\"S HALL AT THE RISK. 281
Stop, the more I go on." He said, " I am
taking care of a little girl to-night, but she
skates so much better than I do that I need
not think of trying to catch her." Mrs. E.
was ill. The 25th band was most lovely.
One man skated a polka mazurka alone so
marvellously. IMr. S., R.E., came to talk to
me, and shocked me by saying that the
Yankees would certainly take Canada in a
few years. I said I was sure they could not
(not knowing anything about it). He says we
never could resist their legions of men. Dick
came back from looking for the sleigh in the
middle of the argument, but I mean to finish
it another time. Dick and the G. G. are on
my side, and Captain Pem. is against me.
Old Mr. Price thinks war will be immediately,
and has arranged how many Yankees are to
be in each Canadian town. To return to the
rink ! Captain E., after sitting with me said,
** Now I think I must go, to look after my
little chaperonc" meaning his little charge !
He managed at last to capture her. I felt so
ill at the rink ; I caught cold there, wet was
dropping from the roof, and damp ascending
from the ice, and a broken window behind
me. Every one catches cold there. I have
a chill all over me and headache. There
was a terrible " Yahoo " skating in grey
\ ;
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III
IB
282
MV CANADIAN LEAVES.
clothes and yellow boots. The " muffins "
looked lovely. Mr. Alexander sent me the
newspaper he promised me about his fight
with Sir . The G. G. was very glad I
had it, and asked me to lend it to him.
Monday, 6th. — I left off on Saturday, so I
have not much to tell. That afternoon it
was snowing, and I felt inclined to stay at
home, but I made myself drive to town for
Dick, and felt better for the exertion. You
can't think how sick it makes me going over
" cahots " on the road. " Cahots " are enor-
mous ruts worked out in the snow ; you go
down and then up, and feel just as if you
were in a ship on a rough sea. When the
" break up " begins, they are quite awful. I
will try and make Dick go to New York
then. Every one gets ill at the "break-up"
time, and takes tonics to keep up the strength.
Saturday night there was a large Parlia-
mentary dinner. Colonel G. came to tea.
M. Cartier talked to me nearly all the
evening after dinner. I also talked to Mr.
Street, of Niagara, and to an old Hon. Mr.
Moore, an M.P.P. Cartier gave me an
account of his staying at Windsor with the
Queen, and how he would go to the Anglican
service, much to Sir H. Bulwer's annoyance,
who wanted to make Cartier an excuse for
m
M. C ARTIER AT WIXDSOR.
283
not jT^oinij at all ! Cartier offended the people
out here by ^ouji^ to church. He says the
English ladies are both '* pretty and hand-
some." He said the Queen dined with her
household to do him honour, a thing she
never does on Sundays. She asked a j^^reat
deal about Canada. He asked the servant
at what hour ''ike maids'' breakfasted (mean-
ing the maids of honour). He found out that
" Lady Flora Macdonald " (as he called her)
brcakAisted at 9.30, and as he admired her
the most he managed to breakfast with her.
Yesterday was hot, only a few degrees of
frost. I went to afternoon service. It had
snowed all day, and the snow was very deep.
After five tea, to my great delight, arrived
the Cunard mail.
Tuesday^ yt/i. — Yesterday it rained frozen
rain all the afternoon. I had a visit from
Mrs. Campbell (late Speakers wife). She
is a Yorkshire lady, and married ten years
ago, when she came out here ; she means to
go home every fourth year, wretched woman.
She says when her children get older she
does not know how she will manage to
educate them, as where they live (at Kings-
ton) there is not a master to be had for love
or money. I drove into town in the very
deep snow for Dick. There was a function
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in to thu R.A. and R.E. ball ; I am so angry
about it.
Thursday, c)th. — Yesterday was bad all
day till evening, when it stopped snowing,
and the wind calmed down. Dick walked
into town on snow-shoes. They laughed at
my fears about the deep snow, and the G. G.
made Dick " toss up " to see if I should go
to the ball, and the toss said that I zaas to
go, and I went in fear and trembling. Oh,
the deepness of the snow! it is incredible.
Some of the drifts, Dic'c says, must be four-
teen feet ; you can see over every one's
walls where you could not see before. The
poor horse struggled along, wading some-
times up to his knees in snow ! We got in
wonderfully. The R.A. and R.E. have such
a nice band. The room was very large and
wide, the floor capital, and the band played
very well ; it was placed out in the garden,
in a wooden place with a stove. There were
arrangements with bayonets and flags. I
opened the ball with Colonel Hassard, R.E.,
and went to supper with Colonel , who
amused me much by the way he went on
with the mess-man. The man said, with a
brogue, " This is an oyster-pie, sir ; it ought
to have come up after the twelfth dance, but
by some mistake, sir, it has come now."
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" More shame for you," said Colonel .
" I'll tell you what, you ouj^ht to be /tatis^at"
I asked Colonel if he was in earnest.
He answered, "Yes, i am; he is the best
mess-man in the world, but too extravagant ;
he buys up all the luxuries in the market —
thinks nothing of giving any price for a wild
turkey ! " Then the mess-man brought me
some jelly, and put it before me. I refused it.
The man said to Colonel , '* I thought I
would just bring that, sir." " Try it," said
the gallant colonel ; " he's celebrated for his
jelly." " Yes, try it," said the mess-man.
I obeyed, and found it very nice. Dick
danced a little, and then played whist.
There were " quite a number " of pretty girls,
and the dress is so improved. The snow
kept crowds of people away. Most of the
25th did not come, because they sank above
their knees when they tried to walk down
from their Citadel. The night was like
summer: so mild. Mrs. Gilmour's sister,
Mrs. Smith, gave me a lovely bouquet in the
cloak-room. I might always have flowers
from here, but I can't bear to pick them to die
in a hot room. We are invited to a musical
party at Madame D.'s to-night, but are not
going. Madame D. engaged Dick to go in and
play whist with her. I wonder if he will go !
Ill
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288
J/K CAXADIAX LEAVES.
Friday, \oth. — Yesterday I dr-jve to town
in horror at the deep snow, which is now
over the fences ! I received three lovely
photos from old Judge Day, with such a
civil note, begging of me to accept of tliem
as a souvenir of the lake scenery. They
are large ones, and very clear and good.
After dinner Mr. Godley came to play whist,
which kept Dick and " Pern." so late that,
though the " cariole " was ready, they could
not go to the party. Dick was really quite
anxious to go. You will not believe this,
but it is true. We are longing for a mail.
Saturday, February wth. — N o mail ! There
must have been awful weather on the ocean
this week, as not even the large, quick
Australasiatt, to New York, has been heard
of yet. To-day is lovely and bright, a
perfect Canadian day. I mean to pay visits
to-day, if I don't die of cold. The 1 7th give
a ball, I hope, on the 22nd.
Monday, 13///. — On Saturday I never
shall forget the cold ; the thermometer was
zero ; I felt as if a lump of ice had been
placed on my chest, although I was covered
with warm clothes ; my nose felt as if it
would drop off. I went to see Mrs, F.
Smith ; her house is like an English villa,
and is called Holland House. I went to see
*!
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" Miss Eliza Mattheson," at the hotel ; she
was at home. Her old father would come
down with me to the sleigh, and slipped on
the snow! (The 25th are at this moment
skirmishing before the windows ; they make
the place look so gay.) Colonel G. came to
tea. There is going to be a court-martial
here this week on an officer, and many
officers are coming from Montreal for it.
One of the servants had his ears frost-bitten
to-day, and he was jumping and dancing
with agony ! Parliamentary dinner. Among
other people, the new Dean of Ontario
dined. He had been a Dean in Ireland.
He intoned a very long grace at dinner. I
asked him how long he meant to stay out
here, and he answered in a chanting voice,
" For ev-er and ev-er, A-men." He says he
knows the R. Brigade very well at Kingston,
and a number of them came to his daily
service. I also talked to serene and calm-
faced Mr. McDougall, and others. Dear
old Col. Irvine's joke every Saturday is the
same, when introducing all these men, to finish
up with, " Do you know Col. Monck ? " and
then Col. G. always says, *' You have not
introduced w^," and then the dear old colonel
is so happy. Yesterday was exquisite, but
frightfully cold, the thermometer had been
19
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290
My CANADIAN LEASES.
down to twenty degrees below zero the night
before ! too dreadful. When I went to
church in the afternoon I hid myself quite
under the buffalo robe. After church, to my
enchantment, I found two mails, January 26
and 28. I am delighted you have ice ; it
must make you think of us here. I must get
Nina to order me a new bonnet, to be ready
when I come home, as my present bonnets
look like what Mrs. Noah would have worn
coming out of the ark, and I have no doubt
that if I get safe home, I shall look very
much like Mrs. Noah. I send McGee's
eloquent speech.
Tuesday^ February \^th. — Yesterday was
most lovely, but oh ! too intensely cold when
you faced the wind ; with the wind at your
back, and the sun facing you, you could get
quite warm. I only drove for Dick, and he
then drove me on the Cap Rouge road.
Nothing can equal the dullness of Quebec
now. I am not sorry as long as the " cold
snap " lasts. " Cold snap " is a trans- Atlantic
expression. Mr. Alexander sent me another
paper with his speech on confederation, and
he also sent me Sir W. L. Bulw^r's translation
of Schiller's poems. " The Lay of the Bell "
is beautifully translated.
Wednesday, i^th. — I never wrote so dull
^^
^ ^
VISIT TO THE PROTESTANT HOME
2C)\
a journal as this time ; there is nothing to
tell. I went yesterday after lunch and got
Dick, and we drove to " The Ladies'
Protestant Home." Dick would not come in ;
I went all over it. The matron seemed a
nice kind creature. They sat down fifty-six
to dinner yesterday. The " ministers " (as
Mrs. G. calls them) of each persuasion go
Sunday about. These " ministers " fight about
their days, but otherwise the Bishop said it
was very well managed, better, he was
grieved to say, than our Church Home.
They have a nursery where they have
twenty-six children, one of them only two
years old ; and they have a school, a nurse
and a schoolmistress ; the children of a
drunken father would be taken in ; they don't
require to be orphans. Then they have
many very old feeble women ; they have an
infirmary for the sick, a laundry and baths
for the people. It is very clean and lofty.
Dissenting places are very different from
Church places of this sort ; there is nothing
to elevate their minds in the Dissentinc^
places, not an illuminated text, or a holy
picture to be seen. I saw one wretched girl,
a terrible object ; she looked eight and was
nineteen. Four M.D.'s attend month about,
gratis. The institution is almost entirely
ii
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293
MY CANADIAN LEAVES.
supported by Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore — Mr.
G. gives hundreds of pounds to it. The
matron told me you would be surprised to
see how much these old people eat. I had
to write my name in a book, and to make a
remark about the institution. So I said " I
was much pleased with the institution." Col.
G. will be so angry with me for going to a
Dissenting place ! Lord A. Russell was to
have come to stay yesterday, but the court-
martial is put off for a week, I am sorry to
say ! The 1 7th have a rink party to-morrow
night ; they sent to ask us through Captain
Pern. Sir Fenwick comes hereon March ist
to see the cone, which he has never seen.
There is to be a grand fancy ball at Montreal,
for which the Roses have asked us to go up
with them ; but this is not weather for " the
cars."
Thursday, \6th. — Yesterday I had a visit
from Mrs. and Miss Rose. Mrs. R. is very
clever and agreeable. She told me that
a lady came once to stay with her for four
days, and her only luggage was a tooth-brush,
which she brought in her pocket. She
borrowed a night-dress, a pair of stockings,
and a pocket-handkerchief, and changed none
of her other clothes during her stay. After
the Roses left, I drove to see Mrs. Botwood,
I-Mr.
The
d to
had
ike a
"I
Col.
to a
ras to
court-
rry to
korrow
the
who, of course, was at " The Falls " with her
father. He has the prettiest place at Mont-
moren9i. The snow was very deep, and the
servant carried me and the sleigh round to
turn it, before I knew where I was ! I went
to fetch Dick, but could not find him ; at last
I captured him at the rink, and we drove
across the snow-covered fields, where a road
is made now. I had a funny note from Col.
G., inviting us to the rink ; he said he would
try to prevent Mrs. from doing the
honours. I almost fear we shall not be able
to go, as it is a snow-stormy drifting day.
Yesterday was lovely and quite warm ; only
five degrees of frost. With you at home,
you know, that would be dreadful, but this
week we had one night fifty-six degrees of
frost. Fancy that !
Friday, xji/i. — The night was too bad, of
course, for us to go to the rink. Fancy, the
25th are having a regular Dotheboy's Hall
picnic on Monday ; the officers and ladies go
to it, also all the wretched soldiers, who are
to march all the way to the Falls, and then
be made to slide down the cone all in line, on
dit. To-day is so warm. I said last night
at dinner that I hoped it would not be
supposed at home that I knew anything
about the American war, because I know
i
ii '
■i t
f
294
MY CANADIAN LEAVES.
nothing. The G. G. advises me to say, " The
Times is wronq^," then people would be
shocked for a few minutes at my presump-
tion ; then I am to say, " I have just come
from America, and saw it with my own eyes."
I have warned Dick never to say to me, as
Mrs. used to say to her husband,
" You are getting out of your depth ; eat
your beef, and hold your tongue."
Saturday, \%th. — It is thawing to-day.
Thermometer thirty-four. We had the most
beautiful bright aurora last night. Anything
in the heavens frightens and awes me.
Yesterday I paid some visits. V rs. Adam-
son was at home, I was rejoiced to say ; she
is such a study, and so kind. How she did
amuse me with her stories and her pretty
little brogue, and black cap, I must tell
you the racquet-court was burnt down the
nio^ht before. Mrs. A. was much excited
about it ; and she did not know the truth
till the milkman came and told it in the
morning. I believe all milkmen bring
servants bad news in the morning all over
the world. Then Mrs. A. told me stories
about "Adamson." She scolded him for
over-working himself at the Parliament. She
said, " You know he has never performed
the service since the day he was ill in the
#4
MRS. ADA MS ON.
295
cathedral. I must tell you he is celebrated
for his reading of the first chapter of Genesis,
so when he found that that was the chapter
for last Sunday, he said to me, ' Have you
any objection to my reading the first lesson
on Sunday ? ' and I said, ' No, if you'll
only read that.' Well, to my horror, I found
him staying through that long Te Deum
about the zuatcr and fishes, and soon I saw
him rubbing his hand through his hair, and
I thought I'd have died of fright. I told
him I knew he was nervous, and he con-
fessed he was." She went on, " If you could
hear ' Adamson ' read the first of Genesis ;
three Methodists in the cathedral said it
had never been the same chapter to them
before." She told me that when the Prince
of Wales was here, he danced with the beauty
here, and I congratulated her father next
day ; but he seemed quite annoyed, and
said, " I have no patience with that sort of
thing, taking the youngest before the eldest,
and Charlotte (the eldest) king called after
her mother and all!' Her face is as good
as her stories, with her twinkling black eyes.
She and " Adamson " are as much in love
as young lovers. We had beaver for dinner
that night ; it is neither fish, flesh, nor fowl ;
very nasty, like a fishy, bad wild duck. Now
t
f:
' 1
'^l
vl
296
MY CANADIAN LEAVES.
I have eaten all the different odd things
out here except bear, which I must eat
before I go home.*
Monday, 20th. — On Saturday, after lunch,
I went with Dick to see Major PLarle. We
found poor old Mr. Forsyth there, looking
so pale and sad. We had tea with Major
Earle ; such good tea from London, Eng-
land. He is so funny and quaint. We
dined at six, and then drove in to the music-
hall. I enclose a programme. The acting
was capital ; but "Fra Diavolo" was too long,
and rather heavy. We sat with Mrs. R.
Ross and Madame ,who came down here
to look after her husband. He consequently
looked sad. Madame is very rude ; she
said to poor good Mr. C n, " You are
not half so pretty as your brother." Mrs.
R. Ross invited us to the Dotheboy's Hall
picnic to-day. As the day is perfect, and
as I have not yet seen the cone, we are
going. Dick will drive me there by the ice.
We are going about eleven, to come back
after lunch.
Tuesday, 21st. — I must tell you I scarcely
like writing about the second play of the
25th ; after " Fra Diavolo," it was so horrible,
• I have since eaten bear; it tastes like very rich
stewed beef.
A PERILOUS DRIVE.
397
and I think wicked — all about funerals ; but
Capt. Vivian, as the undertaker who made
vampires his study, was as wonderful a piece
of acting as I ever saw. Then, when he tried
to take the girl's hand, and kissed it with her
glove on, and when she took it away from
him, he still held out his own enormous
black-gloved hand, as if he forgot he was not
holding hers ! Capt. Vivian is always ill.
Mr. Stoney makes a lovely woman, but is
masculine in voice and manner. Sunday
was windy and snowy. I went to afternoon
service, but was so ill from the intense heat
and smell of coal-oil lamps, I had to leave
before the sermon. Yesterday was a heavenly
day — a burning hot sun and cloudless sky ;
it was a day you grudged a moment passed
indoors. We set off a little after eleven,
and got down on the ice river at Quebec ;
then the horrors began ! Words cannot
describe my terror. We were the only fools
who drove by the river. Now that it is over,
I am glad to have done it. There we were,
helpless and alone, surrounded by rough
lumps of ice nearly the whole drive of six
miles. Some ridges of ice were so high that
we lost sight of the horse underneath us,
while we were up on a high bank of ice all
on one side, and nearly upsetting ; even
I
Hn-'
M
298
MV CANADI.iN LEAVES.
Dick allowed that we lost sieht of the horse !
I can't express my terror ; I was quite
speechless from horror. I felt sure we
should break our shafts and traces, and be
left there helpless ; this sometimes happens
to people. 1 prayed that we might get safe,
and, after a drive of an hour in these horrors,
we arrived at the Trails of Montmoren^i.
The groom (a 1 7th soldier) was terrified,
and said he had only once seen it worse. I
must say that Dick drives beautifully, though
Madame Clautier wondered at me trusting
myself to a person so lately out from Eng-
land. I was trying vainly to tie my veil at
the back, when, to my intense amusement,
the groom tied it for me without saying a
word ! I was well repaid for my agonies by
the scene at the Falls, and I must say I
iho7'07ighly enjoyed my day except from
another great fright I got before leaving the
Falls, which I will relate later. The scene
is too wonderful, and you cannot imagine
you are looking at reality when you see this
wonderful sight. As we turned into the
sort of amphitheatre of rocks and fir trees,
in the middle of which are the grand Falls,
we saw all the 25th in their red coats, and all
the R.A. in dark-blue overcoats, grouped
about on the ice, and on the cone. There
PICNIC AT THE CO.XE.
299
was a larofc collection of slciixHs and harness
in one spot, and a little further on were all the
ladies of the party sitting at lunch on the
frozen river at a table, with forms all round
it. The officers were in undress uniform
with fur caps, and were attendinij on the
ladies. They were all very civil to us, and
gave us lunch. The cone, as I told you
before, is formed by the frozen spray from
the Trails fallint^ on a laro;e rock out in the
river. The big cone is about eighty feet
hieh. There is also a " Ladies' Cone," a
much smaller one. You go down these
cones on " sleds',' or little flat forms of wood
on runners. We found a large party of
people — the Roses, Madame (iautier, the
Prices, etc. The R.A. had a large picnic
also — after lunch, the two parties amal-
gamated, and we had great fun. A fire was
lighted on the ice, I forgot to say, and we
had hot soup. The sun was so hot that we
did not feel the least chilled eating our food
on the river ! After lunch we walked off to
look at the sliding down the cone. How
we laucrhed ! About twelve soldiers all held
on one behind the other, and came down the
cone, not sitting on sleds, but just bumping
or slipping down on nothing. The terrific
tumbles they got astonished us, but they did
l^^f
(
11l!i!"i
not seem to mind ; happily there were three
doctors present ! The men's heads got
knocked about " pretty considerable." I saw
one head bound up and bleeding. One of
the 25th officers puzzled me much for a long
time ; his own coat had got wet through on
the cone, and he wore a coachman's livery-
coat with silver buttons. He is a new
officer, and I thouglit he was a servant, and
wondered to see him walking with ladies.
We went to see the beautiful ice-house cut
in the cone, and the ice curiosities there.
There is an ice-sofa and table, an ice-horse,
a bird, a dog, and ^xuo mummies, they are
marvellously cut out of blocks of ice. A
drunken soldier there asked Mrs. Rose to
come and sit on the ice-sofa " along with a
British soldier." Just as my old friend M.
was speaking to me, he slipped on the ice,
and rolled down at my feet. I ask him if he
was hurt. He said, "It is noX. agreeable ; this
is the second time it has happened to-day."
Mr. Serecold got a bad hurt from a sled
covered with soldiers flying up against him,
and knocking him down on his head. He
was much stunned, but one of the doctors was
in attendance, and said, " It was nothing bad."
Soon the band of the 25th struck up, and a
quadrille was proposed. Col. M. flew to ask
%-f • \
If
Ml
me to dance ! The novelty of dancinj^ on
the river was not to be resisted, otherwise I
should have preferred to look on at the men
sliding. I got on very well, and no one fell.
A rinii of soldiers was made round tlic.
dancers ; it looked altogether curious and
novel. I looked suddenly at my brave
partner, and was much atnusc^d at seeing his
walking-stick stuck down his back wiiilst he
was dancing ! ! I asked him if he knew it
was there ; he said he put it there to keep it
out of his way ! He implored me to go
down the cone with him ! Of course I
refused ! The bugles soon sounded ; and
we set off sleighwards. We met Col. R.
Ross calling out to us to hurry on, as some
water from a fissure in the ice was rising
every minute as the tide was coming in, and
we must cross it quickly. They had boards,
which were cfetting more and more wet
every moment. When I came to it, Mrs. M.
was just going to cross, and when she saw
me she withdrew in her stately way, and
would not cross before me. This was really
provoking, and Mr. Sitwell, who was helping
us across, got quite angry, and called to her
to go on. Then came my terrible fright.
A board turned, and I suddenly saw Dick in
the water^ fifteen feet deep ! ! Several gentle-
30 J
MV CANADIAN LEAVES.
men rushed forward, and, thank God for His
goodness, pulled him out safe. Kind Miss
Price ran to tell me he was all safe. Several
soldiers also fell in, and one bugler was
nearly drowned. Dick was wet through,
and his long boots were full of water. Mr.
Sitwell wanted him to have sherry, but of
course he would not take it. I then walked
with Col. M. such a long way to the top of
the gorge, while Dick went to look for the
sleigh. I was so tired in the hot sun. My
bones ache to-day ; but I was afraid of the
sleigh on such a steep place. I overheard a
young Irish officer say to Col M., with the
most fearful of brogues, " Now, colonel, isn't
it ridcc-clous to think of our takin' lunch in
the snow, and not feelin' cold!" All the
25th regiment were marching up at the
same time with us, and I overheard a soldier
say " This is every bit as bad as the Rock
of Gibraltar." It turned out that the men
enjoyed themselves immensely. The officers
marched with them there and back. We
drove back by the roads, and met the two
regiments singing as they marched. The
groom advised Dick to wrap his legs up
in the horse-cloth, which he did, taking off
his dripping big boots. For a wonder, he
did not get chilled driving home eight miles.
R.A. OPEN RINK.
303
We returned by the land road, which was
very good, and such a happy change after
the ice. The evening was very cold, but
bcatitifiil. Everything was pink with the
setting sun. Dick found a letter from Gen.
Lindsay, introducing to him Mr. Dudley
Ryder, who also brought a letter to the
G. G. from Sir F". Baring. General Lindsay
invited himself and Captain Eliot here for
a few days, of which we are so glad. I gave
Dick a "big drink" of hot brandy and
water and sugar, and forced him to drink it
when he came in ; and, thank God, he is
none the worse. I must tell you that one of
Tom's ears had dropped off from being frost-
bitten that night a month ago, and she does
not suffer now, but looks so ludicrous with
one. The other will soon drop off also.
Wednesday, 22nd. — Yesterday was as
perfect a day as Monday. After lunch, I
drove to town, and found letters to my great
joy. We went to the M ^'s for the in-
auguration of the R.A. open rink. I found
a large party, some skating, some sitting on
chairs with bits of carpet under their feet,
looking on. There were flags and the band,
also a booth with tea, coffee, and cakes. It
was all very pleasant. I nearly upset Gordon
der Gute, by rushing across the ice holding
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■ 5 ■
Vfi
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4 {i;
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ii
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his hand. I went too quickly for him. Mr.
Coulson offered, on skates, to assist me across
the ice. In a moment, of course, he was far
ahead of me ; he was unable to stop himself,
and pulled me after him. They danced the
Lancers on skates beautifully. A photo-
grapher photoed the scene ; I don't know
how it will turn out. Some of the ladies
wore summer hats, the sun was so hot ; but
the fur caps looked much prettier. We had
a lovely drive home ; the setting sun looked
like a ball of fire before us all the way.
This evening some gentlemen dine here.
The 1 7th ball is put off, alas ! as the mess-
man is ill. It will never be now, because of
Lent. It was to have been to-night. A
woman here wrote to complain to the G. G.
of the rudeness of his military secretary ; we
suppose because he began a letter to her,
" Madam," and wrote very short.
Thursday, 2^rd. — Went outdriving yester-
day. The horse fell down at Quebec on his
knees ; we found his shoe was off, so he had
to go to the forge, and we walked meanwhile
on the platform of dry wood overlooking the
low town and river. I was soon so hot I
could walk no longer. We have summer
weather now, and the streets running in wet.
The Canadians hate this weather. Col. G.
!H
»
ADDRESS ON CONFEDERATION.
305
came to tea. There dined Mr. Dudley
Ryder, Mr. Thorold, and his brother Mr.
Cecil Thorold, Col. G., Col. Rhodes, and
Miss Mountain. Mr. Ryder is British Com-
missioner at New York. He is very
pleasant; he is to spend Sunday here. His
father was a bishop, and he is much excited
on the subject of church architecture and
church music. He asked Miss M. if the
music is good at our little chapel here, and
she said, " Very good," not thinking he would
be here. She plays the harmonium, and
leads the singing herself! He knows every
one in the world. Dick heard from Major
Pearson that Frank's regiment is to come
here in spring.
Friday, 7.\th. — Yesterday, when I drove to
town, I found that all the men were at a
function at the Council Chamber, about pre-
senting an address from the Upper House to
the G. G., requesting him to present an
address to the Queen about Confederation.
The 25th band was playing, and there was a
crowd and guard of honour, into the middle
of which I drove, and listened to the band.
071 dit that the American war is to be over
very soon, and that the poor South is done
for. I waited at the office door for Dick,
and he drove me to see the Military Asylum,
20
':>'■!
i; !i
,1
■t .1.
306
MV CANADIAN LEAVES.
which I will describe in my next. The
weather is so hot now. The snow has dis-
appeared from the streets.
Saturday, 2^th. — I must tell you of the
Military Asylum to which I went on Thurs-
day. It is for soldiers' widows and orphans,
and seems a great charity. There are only
four old women in it now. The people
prefer outdoor relief, which I wonder at, as
they seem so comfortable. They earn a good
deal by doing the garrison washing ; that is,
the outdoor relief people. They come in
by the day to wash. They give relief in
the shape of money all over Canada to the
widows and orphans of soldiers. The old
widows said they were so happy. Dick
questioned them. They had a nice little
attempt at flowers in their rooms — geraniums
in pots. Yesterday I drove to the Hotel
Dieu, the nuns' hospital, to see Fan's poor
woman. No one is allowed in after two,
except people from Government House.
They were having an office for a dying
person when I rang. I listened through the
keyhole, and when they had finished they
answered the door. I am thankful my visit
is over ; it is so unpleasant explaining who
one is, and where one comes from. The
poor woman was moved to a room where
ill
(it
THE HOTEL DIEU.
307
there were more well people than sick. It
is sad to see a pretty young woman crippled
from rheumatism. She is so patient, and
has such a bright face. She has one little
boy ; her husband was killed on a railway.
Her story is a very sad one, but I can't tell
it now. The pretty nun. Mere St. Louis,
was so glad to see me. She told me she
was very anxious to see " Le Gouverneur,"
and asked if I could show her his portrait.
I told him, and he is going to send her a
present of his photo. The people adore
Mere St. Louis. There was a jjoor sick
baby ; it was a sweet little thing, and the
nuns were so charmed to have a baby to
pet, as they rarely take babies in. Mere
St. Louis said that this winter has been very
healthy. The nuns are called " Ma Mere "
here, not " ScEur." The hospital is so clean ;
but the heat was awful from stoves and sun.
The day was perfect ; hot sun and very cold
wind — charming after the heat. I went
with Dick to the rink, which was crowded
with people. The 25th band was playing
beautifully. Mr. A., who really never seems
to have anything to do at the Upper House,
spied me whilst I was talking to some one
else, pounced upon me, and never left me.
He insisted on my walking up the rink on
11* nil
im
J'
HI
■ !
1
1
1
HI ^
iii I
308
il/K CANADIAN LEAVES.
his arm ! There was Captain E. skating, or
rather shuffling, not the least improved, but
looking very proud of himself. Col. McC.
was working round on skates. After dinner
we went to the militia ball. The music-hall
was beautifully decorated with artificial
flowers and fir branches ; the refreshments
were served on the stage, with a scene at the
back. There were two bands — R.A. and
25th, in the gallery. It really all looked
very nice, but it was very empty. It was a
great pity the G. G. would not go ; it kept
many away who would have gone to see him.
Dick and the colonels were in uniform ; Sir
E. Tache was gorgeous in his uniform of
Queen's A.D.C. When he entered the
room, the band struck up the Canadian air,
" II y a longtemps que je t'aime." One or
two of the M.P.P.'s were there, and M.
Tessier and wife, also the French Consul
and wife. The volunteers' dresses are very
pretty. The artillery dress is just like the
R.A. real dress, and they even have
" Ubique " as their motto, which rather
annoys the R.A., who say they go nowhere
instead of everywhere. I danced a few
times. There was nobody there one knew,
and Dick was well bored. I think it very
wrong of people, who were asked, not to go
MILITIA BALL.
309
I'l'
ng, or
:d, but
McC.
dinner
jic-hall
•tificial
iments
at the
L and
looked
was a
t kept
se him.
m ; Sir
orm of
2d the
ian air,
One or
ind M.
Consul
ire very
like the
n have
rather
nowhere
a few
e knew,
it very
3t to go
to please the volunteers ; those who had to
pay, I don't so much wonder at, as they
raised the tickets half a dollar. Madame
Tessier and I sat on a raised sofa, and were
very comfortable. Old Colonel Sewell, who
was the president of the ball, made Colonel
Gordon (the commandant) take me in first
to supper. There was a very good supper,
and I was so hungry. Col. Sewell gave me
pretty litde flags for a cake. I have French,
English, Southern, and Yankee flags. You
know I always liked such toys ! They had
every sort of odd dance in the programme,
amongst others, Sir Roger de Coverley, at
the end, and a cotillon in the middle. It is
not what we call "cotillon," but a sort of
country dance. I did not see it ; we left
very early. When Col. S. saw the ball so
empty, he exemplified "the art of putting
things " by saying it was not often that
people had such a nice clear space to dance
in ! I said to Conway a few days before
the ball, that if she liked I would ask Dick
to get her a ticket for the gallery, to look on.
She said, " I thank you, ma'am, I am invited
to the ball, and so is Felix," but she would
not go, from respect to us ! This day is
delicious, just like yesterday. Miss N. S.
skated at the rink yesterday in a bright blue
i
dress and jacket, a scarlet shirt, and scarlet
petticoat trimmed with black. I have just
heard that our Cunard letters must be ready
to-day instead of Monday, so good-bye in
great haste. It is light here now till six
p.m.
Monday, February 2'jih. — It was a great
nuisance about the mail going on Saturday
instead of Monday ; the fact is, I believe the
letters have often been late for Boston mail
up to this time. They never told us of the
change till a few hours before the mail was to
start ! Dick skated on Saturday at the rink ;
he went a little alone, which is good for the
second trial. We then drove all about on
the river ; some part is very nice and smooth,
but sometimes I was a little afraid. We had
a broiling sun and nice cold wind ; we stayed
then listening to the R.A. band playing on
the ice ; there were crowds of skaters on an
open rink. Colonel G. came to tea, also Mr.
Ryder, who was to stay till to-day. Mr.
Ryder was once an English barrister, but
has had situations all over the world ; he has
lived in Ceylon, at the Havanna, in all the
principal capitals in Europe, at New York,
in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, etc. He is
extremely shrewd and agreeable. He loves
*' the little gladiators," alias Fuss and Beauty,
%
%
CLAIRVOYANCE AND MESMERISM. 311
and Tom with her one ear ; he considers her
a natural curiosity, and stares at her, saying
slowly, "Curious, wonderful." Mrs. G., F.
Burrowes, and I dined together that evening.
There dined several M.P.P.'s. I talked to an
Hon. Mr. Cockbuin, an Hon. Mr. Walsh, and
a Mr. Bellerose, very like the Emperor of
France. Sunday was a very bad day : wind
and frozen rain. We have not seen rain
since Christmas, and it looks so odd again.
Mrs. Godley was the only one who ventured
to church in the afternoon. The rain poured,
and the wind whistled. In the evening, after
dinner, we had a discussion on mesmerism ;
of course the G. G. went on about the five-
pound-note, etc., and so did Colonel G. Mr.
Godley listened quietly and comfortably to
me, and believed me. Good Dick chimed in
on my side. He could speak from experi-
ence, having seen me exhibited so often in
my clairvoyante state. I quoted Mr. Bob
Lowe, who said he would not dare to dis-
believe it, because we do not yet understand
the mysteries of Nature, and also that " there
is nothing new under the sun." To-day is
luckily very fine, and all the wet is now ice.
Mr. Ryder is just gone; I am so sorry.
The sky is cloudless to-day, and the sun
hot.
,
« :
-'i
i
■;«
^
I'^.y M
312
MV CANADIAN LEAVES.
f
;*ri^.'
Tuesday, 28M. — I went to see Miss Rose,
who is ill. I met " Adamson," who wears
a military coat, trimmed with Austrian fur.
He is going home in May ; he has not
crossed the "herring-pond," as he calls it,
for twenty-five years ! The day was bitterly
cold, and the roads a sheet of ice. I felt
as if my eyes must drop out from the cold,
bitter wind. We went to the Stadacona
Club ball after dinner. The ball was much
crowded, but very pleasant. Some of the
M.P.P.'s were there. The 25th are going to
get up " Ill-treated II Trovatore " during
Lent. Mr. Ryder was at the ball ; he ad-
mired the people. Many boys in jackets
were there, and short-frocked good little
girls. The Lord High Admiral of Canada (?),
Commander Fortin, was there. He com-
mands the one man-of-war of Canada, which
carries two guns ! !
Ask Wed7iesday, March ist. — Yesterday
was a most unpleasant day ; we had a
regular wind-storm, so cold. We drove to
the Parliament House, as Dick wanted to
speak to the Speaker. I was frozen, and
much blown about. In the morning Dick
and Mr. Godley were tobogganing, and Dick
gave Mr. G. an upset, and cut his wrist.
To-day we all went in to church to the
lA
m iii
Quebec Cathedral, for the 10.30 service. By
some mistake we had no service here till the
afternoon. The G. G.'s pew is so comfort-
able, in the gallery, with curtains, armchairs,
and stools. It was not half as hot as our
chapel here. After service we were joined
by Lord Alexander Russell, at the office, who
had just arrived from Montreal, for the court-
martial. I left Dick at the rink to skate.
Lord Alexander R. came on here to lunch.
They sang the psalm, " From lowest depths of
woe," at the cathedral ; it is very long since
I have heard the Tate and Brady psalms in
church. General Lindsay comes next week.
Thursday y 2nd. — I went to afternoon
service yesterday at St. Michael's ; no
sermon. The roads so good that I drove
myself all yesterday. Miss M. went to the
fancy ball at Montreal, as a rainbow. I be-
lieve her dress was composed of skirts of
different colours, and flowing gauze and
scarves of the same on her head, which
enveloped her partners' heads when she
danced. She wore very tight blue boots,
and very short petticoats. One of the 60th
went as Mephistopheles, but not knowing
how to spell it, wrote " devil " for the news-
paper account. Lord A. says that Mrs. 's
boy is such a horrid child. Some one asked
i/'< '!
Niff''
3«4
My CANADIAN LEAVES.
her why she never went to tobogganing^
parties now, and she said she never went
without her husband ; in fact, she could not
go without him. This awful boy emerged
from a corner, and said, " Oh, I like that ;
why, you've been out nine times with Mr.
of the 6oth." A few gentlemen dined.
Dick skated for two hours yesterday. To-
day is cold and windy. Lord A. is gone to
his court-martial, and Mr. Ryder is coming
to slide ; he has never tried it, and I expect
to laugh much at him. Major Earle invited
me to tea this afternoon.
Friday, 2>^d. — Mrs. Godley drove to town
with me yesterday, and said my sleigh was
so comfortable. She went to church, and I
went to Major Earle's with Dick. I brought
him a bouquet ; only Captain Pem. was
there. I looked at his photo-book ; he
told me when he thought he was going to
die ; he wrote the names under his photos,
that his people might know who his friends
were. It was a very windy day, and dark. A
few men dined ; amongst others, two Majors
Warren, one in the 6oth, and the other in the
R.B., neither of them related to each other.
To-day it is snowing, and has snowed all
night. Lord A. is telling such funny stories,
I find it hard to write. Mr. Ryder rather
m^
ill
A SNOW SCKNK.
315
liked sliding, but was wet through, as Dick
upset him many times.
Saturday, March- 4///. — Yesterday I was
so happy to get my home letters. Mrs. G.
and I went to church after lunch. The
snow was so very deep that we could not
drive up to the church door, so we waded,
and it was up to my knees. It had snowed
all day, and all the night before, but it was
not frozen snow, so it wetted one. The day
was perfectly calm for a wonder, and the
trees were covered with snow on every leaf,
and even every twig where there were no
leaves ; it had a very curious effect, and this
avenue looked exactly like a snow scene in
a pantomime. I need hardly say that all
the trees are firs and pines. Of course there
was no sermon. I forgot to say that at the
Cathedral on Ash Wednesday, just before the
Communion service, the organ gave out one
long g'roan, and then stopped, which amused
me much. I went on to the rink after
church. I promised to meet Lord A. R., to
show him the beauties. Colonel R. Ross
told me that they are giving a children's
party on Monday, " and we have managed
to scrape fifty children together," he said.
After listening to the 25th band for some
time, we drove home ; it had stopped snow-
I
i]!!i
3i6
ATV CANADIAN LEAVES.
ing.
Captain P., R.A., dined ; he is so odd ;
he told me that he loathed sleighing (he has
only come out here lately), and gets nearly
luild when he hears sleigh bells when he is
walking in the snow. The dogs made up to
him, and he said, " Now, that's very odd, for
ih^Y j^cucrally bite ine." Fancy being bitten
by dogs as a niie. We are all invited to a
musical party, at Colonel McC.'s, on Monday.
The Board of Works' photographer is going
to photo our sleigh and Bill Seward. There
is such a snow-storm to-day, and it is so
warm. I hate this weather. Tom has lost
her other ear, and looks so 1' no wing and
quaint. We had longed for thi ;vi-nt. Mr.
Ryder comes to-day to stay Qjr an official
dinner-party.
Sundayy ^th. — Lovely bright day, snow
very deep. Dick snow-shoed to morning
service. I drove to the afternoon service,
and could scarcely get on. Poor Mr. Ryder
started to walk in thin boots, and when we
arrived at the church door we found a mass
of snow standing in the porch, and this was
poor Mr. Ryder ; the snow came up to his
knees.
Monday, dth. — Lovely and bright ; ther-
mometer last night eight above zero. Mr.
Ryder left. The musical party at Colonel
A FREEArASON'S FUNERAL.
317
M.'s consisted of music, a little dreary Lenten
carpet dancing, and a large supper.
Tuesday, yt/i. — Fine bright day. Dick
saw the first crow ! ! Rather an event here,
as it is supposed to be a sign of spring.
Wednesday, ^th, is a lovely day. Went
to church, and to drive on Cap Rouge road.
Colonel G. and Mr. Ryder dined.
Thursday, 9M. — Snow-storm all day. Lord
-A bad day. Wind and
A. Russell left.
Friday, loth.-
some snow.
Monday, \ith. — On Saturday, after lunch,
Mrs. G. and I rushed off to church, where I
got a fright that made me quite ill. You
will laugh at me, but I was terrified. There
was no one in church but Mrs. G. and Mrs.
Botwood, a few singers, and myself. During
the prayers, I heard a great noise of sleighs,
and presently the door opened just behind
me, and quantities of men in long black
cloaks walked in. I saw that it was a funeral
and I shut my eyes in terror. Then I
remembered seeing in the paper that the
funeral of an old Mr. Hunter (Parliament
Library) was to take place ; it ought to have
been over, but the roads kept them ; he was
Brother Hunter, a grand Freemason, and
the lodges came in their badges, etc., of light
3>8
AfV CANADIAN LEAVES.
riband and devices. When our prayers were
over, I covered my eyes and went out, and
riorht into a snow-drift I walked, and found
myself up to my knees in snow ! Mrs. G.
pulled me out of it. There was a great
crowd of men and horses and sleighs ; the
hearse has to be on runners. The snow was
too deep for me to venture to town, so we
drove a little on the road, and then returned
to the village for Mrs. G. to visit some poor
people ; the funeral was still going on. A
sleigh containing four men drove past me,
some of the men were tipsy, and, /or fun,
tipped over the sleigh, and all four men
were upset. The horse ran wildly on,
frightening another horse, which ran off
into such a deep snow-drift that it had to be
unharnessed to be got out, and was struggling.
The day was fine but cold. Funerals here
^x^awfid; the people race each other home.
There was a very great noise of shouting of
the sleigh-men at Brother Hunter's funeral.
Parliamentary dinner. I talked to an M.P.
called Jones. I found myself in a Confedera-
tion talk with him ; then thought to myself
that perhaps he was against it ; but happily
found he was wild on the subject, and anxious
for Canada to make a name for herself. He
said he was a Tory even to extremes. I
YANKEE SLANG.
3'9
also talked to Major H., from Montreal.
His awful boy is at Lennox ville, and is full
of Yankeeism. He says to his father, " Bully
for you, governor." That is the great
Yankee word. They say " a bully day,"
meaning a fine day. I like the expressions
" A mean old cuss," and " An affable cuss,"
and " A gay and festive cuss " is the best of
all. Yesterday it was blowing so and drift-
ing. Captain Pern, dined in town ; he says
the Rifle Brigade have got their orders to
come down here in June, and the 25th go to
Montreal.
Tuesday, \\th. — Yesterday, after lunch, I
plucked up courage and drove to town.
The snow was piled up sixteen or eighteen
feet near the Protestant Home, and we
drove above men's heads, that were walking
on the footpath. I met Colonel G. The
17th go home in May; they will be much
regretted here. I paid a few visits, and
then went to the rink, where the R.A. band
was playing. Dick would not skate before
me! I went to see dear old Mr. Price;
they are such nice people.
Wednesday, i^tli. — Yesterday turned out
a very windy, snowy day. I drove to town
with my hood over my head. Dick was at
a function at the Council Chamber, present-
ing an address from the Legislative Assembly
about Confederation. When we got home,
we were perfectly zuliite with snow ; my veil
was a mass of frozen snow, and the robes
were quite white. You whisk yourself with
a little whisk when you come in, and are
then supposed to be dry. Mr. Le Moine
sent the G. G. a most beautiful trout, a yard
long. Two young Canadian sportsmen re-
quested him to present it to his Excellency ;
it weighed eleven and a half pounds. The
G. G. sent for it to show Mrs. G. and me ;
it looked so stiff — frozen, of course. To-day
is wet, really rain. Sir Fenwick is coming
to-day. So Lord Lyons is not coming back
to Washington ! I think it was killing him.
I suppose this rain was the beginning of the
end of the snow. I shall be sorry when the
sleighing is over, but the green grass will be
welcome.
Thursday, i6th. — Yesterday Sir Fenwick
arrived some time before lunch. Colonel
G. came to tea, and to dine and sleep.
There was a hot fog. I hear General
Lindsay is the life and soul of Montreal.
I was ill last night, and to-day I am ill in
bed. I am to be kept very quiet, Dr. B.
says, therefore I mean to get up, and go in
to the party after dinner! Mr. G. is ill also
with a bad cold. Sir F. and Captain Grant,
A.D.C., are gone to Montmorenci this horrid,
dark, blowy day, as they have never seen
the cone.
Friday, lyik. — I grot up about five yester-
day, and lay on the sofa, and after dinner
went in to the party. There were only four
ladies. Mrs. M. could not be made to see
or understand who the G. G. was ; she
thought he was Colonel Irvine, and could
not understand his being in plain clothes.
Snow and wind again to-day.
Monday, 20///.— Thank God, I am much
better. Everybody feels this change from
bright frost to hot sun and snow, melting as
it is to-day. Last Friday it rained in the
morning, and then turned to heavy snow
and thaw. Every one was coughing and
sneezing and crying in the evening.
Saturday, i8///.— Some rain and thaw ;
wind every day. Parliament was prorogued
in state. Dick drove Sir Kars to it. That
night Sir F. and Captain Grant left for
Montreal. Sir F. is so handsome and so
kind ; he was funny about Miss . He
said, " I never saw such large ears anywhere
out of Armenia." Saturday evening the
lights were so beautiful on the opposite coast,
pink and pale yellow, and a reddish tint.
21
Sunday, igth. — Fine, but thawing. Mrs.
G. Is ill also. Mr. Rose dined, and was very
pleasant. To-day (Monday) is lovely ; hot
spring sun, but thawing, and terrible for
walking or driving. The cawing crows are
so d'^^i '^- tful near my windows after the long
dcrJ iir-^ of winter.
Tuesaaj', 2\st. — I am reading Russell's
"Tcir in C-uiada;" very amusing, and so
grapiuc. Thci\ vv?s a man carting away
the snow befor: this house for hours the
other day, and Sir F. looked out after he
had been here, and said, " Dear me ! the
snow is disappearing fast ; it has already
sunk a foot and a half." He likes to think
everything wonderful is always happening
where he is ; his imagination helps him
much. The summer session is to be^in
in June, on dit, and to last six weeks. Old
Mr. Price came to see me on Saturday
in an enormous otter-skin coat and yellow
mocassins.
Wednesday^ 22nd. — Mrs. B. told me that
the people here are terrified at the idea of
the G. G. going home when everything is
unsettled, and Lord Lyons gone. They will
be relieved to find he is not going for a while
yet. I went out to drive in my sleigh after
lunch, but found the melting roads too un-
ARRIVAL OF GENERAL LINDSAY. 323
pleasant. I was going to turn back when I
happily met Dick, and he took me a drive
on the Cap Rouge road, which was not so
heavy, and we saw a bit of grass (! !) round
the bottom of the trunk of a tree. Twice
the horse tried to run away ; he took fright,
and was very fresh, and splashed the wet
browjt snow all over me. The day was nice
and mild. We had a storm of wind last
night, and to-day it is raining and blowing,
but will be fine later. At breakfast-time this
morning arrived the charming General Lind-
say and Capt. Eliot. They were upset in
the sleigh crossing the river, and the general
fell out Oil Capt. E., who was wet through,
in the pools of water. The 25th have
theatricals to-morrow night. I long to go,
but fear the roads. Everybody in this house
has a cough, so it sounds cheerful.
Thursday y i-^^rd. — Yesterday the gentle-
men went to town early. I walked in the
verandah with Fuss, and the Prices' enor-
mous big dog Boatswain, who chooses to
reside here. It was blowing and raining
terribly. A few officers dined. A great
clap of Thunder came whilst we were sitting
talking after dinner. I was so afraid, it
sounded like very odd Thunder — one clap,
and so sudden. To-day it was snowing.
vp lip nil
n
Friday, 2\th. — Captain Eliot amused us
at lunch yesterday, by telling us that the
priest at Montreal preached since Lent
began against officers, and discouraged
young ladies from associating with them.
Last Sunday our Bishop Fulford of Mon-
treal preached a great sermon at the ladies :
spoke against their seeking and loving
admiration, and particularly warned married
women against setting the bad example.
The General said it was a very powerful
sermon. After lunch, I ventured to town.
The roads were awful half the way. I felt
exactly as if I were at sea in a small boat ;
you could not conceive it unless you saw it.
I drove to look at the ice-bridofe from the
platform ; it is getting very dangerous, and
will soon give way. It began snowing and
blowing, and I was glad to bump home
again in safety. Some of the gentlemen
dined in town with the 1 7th, and then went
to the 25th plays ; after which they had
supper at the barracks, and were not home
till one. The Godleys, the G. G., and I
dined together. Mr. G. and I argued and
fought the whole night together about officers
and civilians, etc., etc. He said he liked "sharp
snobs " better than " gentlemanly fools." I
tried to find out from the G. G. if there is
m
ii^:
^^
COLONEL H., R.E.
32s
going to be zvar, but he would not give me
a direct answer. They hope it won't come
till summer is over. As long as the
Americans fight together they will leave
England alone. The General was delighted
with the 25th acting.
Saturday, 25///. — Yesterday Mrs. G. and
I went to church, and then I went on to the
rink, where I was soon joined by Dick and
the Gen., who had been to the Falls. The
25th band was playing. Mrs. (25th)
was there, and again told me about her little
" dot " of a baby, and how her nurse had
lived with " two other little dots " before she
came to her. We saw a lovely new girl
skating, dressed in black silk and bright
large scarlet belt, and scarlet petticoat ; she
was a French-Canadian. The qrentlemen
found Colonel Rollo at the cone, who
photoed the group. They went in to see
the ice-house with umbrellas up and mac-
kintoshes on. The Gen. drove me home,
Dick sitting up behind. Some officers dined,
amongst them Gordon the Good, and Col.
H., R.E. ; the latter amused me much. He
told me he had been quartered at the four
Channel Islands ; only one man lives at Sark,
called Mr. Le Pelly, who makes every one
who lands there pay one shilling. Alderney
326
MV CANADIAN LEAVES.
is three miles long and three broad, and the
principal street is all grass. He made mtf
laugh about Wymering ; he and Mr. Nugee
were like tame cats there. He said " the
major " was a nice woman, and another sister
was " a jolly party." The peacock belonging
to the Sisters used to eat Mr. Nugee's rose-
buds, and Col. H. advised Mr. Nugee to hit
it on the head with a stick if it came again.
Col. M. was thrown from his horse a few
days ago, and rolled in the wet puddles.
No letters this week at all. On Saturday,
after lunch, I drove into town, and thought I
should have been upset in the " cahots." I
was nearly run over by a horse in the town ;
it ran off from the stand, and knocked its
sleigh against mine, and very nearly put its
head in my lap. Dick drove me home ; the
holes are not so bad returning, as you go up
first instead of down, and that is less sicken-
ing x\\2iVi first down, then up. We had our
usual fun at five-o'clock tea ; Gordon the
Good was there also. There dined M.
Cartier, M. Brown (President of the Council),
Col. Rollo (Mil. Sec. at Montreal), Col.
Rhodes (the mighty hunter), and Col.
Reeves, who was once in the 79th, and
married and settled out here. The Dean of
Christchurch's wife is Col. Reeves's sister ;
COLO NET. L. ON THE STAGE.
V-7
he is a finc-lookinj^^ man, and mad on the
subject of homeopathy. He carried a bottle
of pills in his pocket. M. Cartier was very
amusing ; he abused Col. Gordon for beintj
so co/d to the Quebec ladies. He said, " His
face was like marble, and his lips moved not."
Cartier and some others go home on the
1 2th about Confederation. He says that he
and I must correspond when he goes to
England. He always talks English. Once
in Parliament he made a speech for seven
hours in French and seven hours in EnHish.
Sunday was very fine and warm. Cunard
letters, but no Canadian ones yet ! Gen.
Lindsay went to see Mr. Price after lunch.
The Gen. said he thought he 7icvcr heard
a more prosy sermon than Mr. B. s ; he
said it in a sort of decided way that
amused me much. Capt. E. told us some
quaint things. He says that when Col. C,
at Montreal, is acting, and does not know his
part, he walks up to the prompter, and says
in a very loud hoarse voice, " What is it ? "
He acted an admiral, wearing his mous-
taches, and walking with a cavalry strut.
To-day all are gone to town but the Gen.,
who will drive me in later ; I am so dread-
ing the holes. He and Capt. E. leave
to-night, I am sorry to say.
J28
MY CANADIAN LEAVES.
Tuesday, 28///. — Yesterday the General
drove me to town in my sleigh. Mrs. G.
had frightened me so about the holes, that
I persuaded the General to let me walk part
of the way. The holes were, however, less
than usual. At the office door Sergeant
Lambkin gave us all a terrible account of
the dangers of crossing the ice-bridge ; he
was three-quarters of an hour crossing it
(it is about a quarter of an hour's drive),
and his horse went through the snow up to
its shoulders. No one will venture across
after dark. I was so sorry to say *' good-
bye " to the General and Captain E. I went
to the rink after paying visits, and then
home. Mr. Sitwell has coloured a photo
for me of the day we all went to the cone
picnic ; it is from a drawing of his, and is
so pretty. Dick dined at the club with
Colonel Rhodes ; six other men dined, and
he does not know who one of them was !
It was a whist dinner. We were much sur-
prised to receive our letters of the 9th after
dinner.
Wednesday . — Yesterday was a perfect day,
cold wind but very little of it ; cloudless blue
sky, and broiling sun. I drove to the plat-
form to hear the K.O.B. band play. Several
" muffins " were there. It was nice to have
SXOIV-STF.PS.
3-9
the band out of doors aq^ain. All the girls
now wear blue veils with their fur caps, as
the hot sun tans. The drift at the Protestant
Home was in the act of being cut down when
I drove in, and I found myself perched up
on a step of snow, and driving regularly
down snow-steps ; I was so afraid. Tom the
cat is offended if you call it " Puss." When-
ever any of us look out of the window, Tom
rushes and looks out also, looking so quaint
and wise without ears.
T/mrsday.~\Y (int to church after lunch.
Had a talk with the Botwoods. He leaves
St. Michael's on May ist for a church in
Quebec, which Mr. Hall, his father-in-law, is
going to dny for him. After church I drove
to town. It was a long business, as the
snow is almost gone inside the toll-gate,
and you bump along through pools of water.
I got out and walked down and up the stairs
of snow at the drift. Dick laughed at me
so. I was proud to hear that the G. G.
walked also. To-day we have rain and a
thick fog.
Friday, 315/.— Yesterday cleared into the
most perfect day of hot sun and cloudless
sky, but was so very hot I felt quite ill.
The smells on the roads are very oppressive,
and no one could feel well at this time.
'SI
wr
l*i
They say in eleven days we shall have to
take to wheels. Alas ! for my dear sleigh.
I asked the groom if we could drive with
wheels now inside the toll-bar. He an-
swered, " Yes, ma'am ; but at the first cahot
the springs would break." I took a long
drive on the Cap Rouge road, nearly asleep
in my sleigh. I drove myself all the way
home, and first bumped my sleigh so hard
against another sleigh that we hopped off
the ground ! Then I banged up against a
riding-horse, and pushed it on, and I very
often let the horse slip through the snow !
So much for my driving ; but I was nearly
asleep, and the snow was so dreadfully soft.
I visiied two families in the village. In one
house seven people sleep in one very small
room ; all of them ill but the father. Another
woman whom I went to had a goat called
" Nelly" walking about the room. When
I returned home, I got a bundle of welcome
letters. Mrs. Rawson wrote to me, and
begged me to tell her something about Con-
federation ; as her husband was in England,
she knew nothing, and feared it would now
be at an end for years ! I must confess to
you that I am a little changed since I thought
well over the Protestant Home. I don't
know that they are right to let in other
FIRST WHEELED VEHICLE.
331
ministers Sunday about ; it is different if
they only visited them ; but they hold
service Sunday about. We are all read-
ing Sala's book on Canada and America.
It is very amusing ; far more amusing than
Russell's book.
Saturday, April \st. — Yesterday I went to
church, and to the village to see how the sick
poor were, and then to town, meeting Dick
en route. The roads were quite decayed, and
worse than ever, and the horse tumbled about
in a most wretched way. I must give up
my dear sleigh now, as it is too heavy in the
present state of the roads. I got out at the
town, and walked to see Major Earle ; we
walked for a long time with him in the sun.
We saw a wheeled vehicle, it looked so high
and odd after the sleighs. Major E. amused
me as much as usual. He was really angry
because he had a long letter from Captain de
Winton, " not a note, but a long letter, and all
about the American war, I won't answer it,"
he said. We had tea with him. We met
Cartier whilst we were walking, and he said
his wife had rheumatism at Montreal, and it
was the first time a doctor had entered their
house for fifteen years ! I don't believe it.
I walked half-way to Spencer Wood, and
was half-dead with fatigue, as I had on two
w
I! ■!
(
1
!'.i '
i
^1^. .
pa' 3 of stockings, two pairs of boots, and a
seal-skin ; but there happily was some east
wind, which cooled the air. I have nothing
to say, so will amuse you with some Canadian
advertisements. Every one now sees the
word " Sozodont " written in chalk letters on
the walls of Quebec. I will copy you an
advertisement about it. "In everybody's
mouth. Praise and Sozodont — greatest
luxury of modern times — beautifies and pre-
serves the teeth. The repulsive breath is
rendered as fragrant as a rose, and coldness
by friends or in business will now no longer
be noticed. Sold by druggists everywhere.
March 23rd, 1865." " Sozodont. This word,
which has been staring everybody in the
face for the past few weeks, is now getting
into nearly everybody's mouth ; it is a pre-
paration for cleaning, beautifying, and pre-
serving the teeth, and arresting the progress
of decay." Here is another advertisement —
" Who is N. H. Downs ? He is, or rather
was, a public benefactor, a philanthropist.
He is now dead ; but he has left behind him
a monument more lasting than brass and
marble. His memory is enshrined in the
hearts of a grateful people, and his Balsamic
Elixir is, or ought to be, a household treasure
in every family. It is a certain cure for
TRANS-A TLANTIC ADVERT/SE.VEXTS.
jjj)
coughs and colds." Here is a very crood
one — " Time will Tell. Yes, that is the sure
test ; that which does not appear plain to-
day may be thoroughly cleared up in a short
time ; our certainties or uncertainties are all
to be decided by time, which never fails to
bring out the truth or falsity of any matter.
For five years the Vermont Liniment has
been before the public, and their verdict has
always been steadily in its favour. Use it
for pains both internally and externally. It
is warranted." Mr. F. C. turned up again
yesterday ; he was dressed in a light-grey
dust suit, grey gloves, and a fur cap ! A
Yankee bishop was here once, and when
asked if he would have some coffee, said, " I
am not through with my tea yet." A Yankee
expression 1 love is, " Shall I saloon you ? "
It means get you refreshment. A waiter at
a Yankee dinner was once heard to say,
"They are not through with the Charlie
Rush yet"~Anglice Charlotte Russe. I
am ashamed to send a letter with nothin^r
. &
m It.
Monday, April 3;-^.— The thermometer on
Friday last, at night, was twenty-eight above
zero, and on Thursday it was nearly fifty.
Saturday (April ist) was very fine, but we
have a little east wind every day now. After
lunch on Saturday the photographer of the
Board of Works came to photo our sleigh. It
took ages of waiting on the approach, and when
at last he was ready, he told Dick to move
the horse and sleigh round a little. Poor Bill
Seward fell into a drift, and struggled sadly
down in the snow. We were nearly upset, as
the horse fell quite down ; at last it was got
up again. The photo is a very pretty one. It
is taken near the house, with a lovely view
of the river and shore opposite. Dick had
a note from Col. Rollo, in which he said that
the Himalaya was going at once to Malta
for Frank's regiment. Dick also heard from
General Lindsay, who had a letter from Mr.
Ryder, from New York, in which he said that
Lord Palmerston's speech about Canada and
America had produced a great sensation
among the Yankees. Sunday was very fine.
Got my Cunard letters of March i8 before
lunch. Col. McMurdo, who was to have
come out here, to be over the militia, is not
coming, because of his wife's health. It is
said that perhaps Col. Macdougall is coming.
He lately wrote a '* Life of Sir C. Napier."
Sala's book is very funny, and his description
of Boston vay good, " like a toy city " — just
what I thought when I saw it.
Tuesday, ^th. — Yesterday was a heavenly
^i,
day, but I feared the roads too much to
venture to town. I read the debate in the
EngHsh House on Canada. I drove out in
the red " cariole " to see the sick family in
the village.. To-day is most beautiful also.
It froze ten degrees last night. It looks just
like summer now, were it not for the snow.
Now is the time for tapping the maples, to
get the sugar. Frost at night, and hot sun
by day, makes the juice come.
Wednesday, 5//^.— Drove in the "rough
weather sleigh " to see the Botwoods. ^ I
told them the news of the fall of Richmond,
which was great excitement to Mr. B., as he
had not yet seen the papers. He is a warm
Southerner, and we lamented together the
power of the South being broken now, and
gone for ever. Mrs. B. has many cousins m
the Southern army. They both told me
how very kind the Southerners are to their
slaves. They said they are just as we are
Vv'ith our servants, and till lately a Northerner
would not speak to a black. Mr. B. told me
that " Uncle Tom's Cabin " had done much
mischief. One can't believe what Mrs. B.
Stowe says, as she was only a short time in
the South. He showed me the curious
Labrador snow-shoes, and made me come
and look at his birds — six or eight canaries,
^
two of which he had dragged from Labrador,
and one of them was dreadfully sea-sick on
the voyage ! He showed me a photo of the
coast of Newfoundland (where he also was) —
very arid, bare rocks, with an iceberg in the
distance on the water. I also saw a photo
of the new cathedral at St. John's, New-
foundland, which when finished will be the
handsomest cathedral on this side the
Atlantic, both inside and outside. It is
beautiful. There is a very good Bishop
there; Field is his name. Mr. B. is going
to run down to Labrador some summer, to
see his people again. He loves them so,
and they are very fond of him. He says
the people are so hearty and hospitable down
there. On the road to church, where the
snow is now gone, and stones are put down,
you grate along on the ground in your
sleigh, your teeth on edge all the time. I
met a wheeled wasfSfon on the road. The
day was like summer. Mr. Godley and I
had agreed to go out and tap maples
together to-day ; but it is very wet, so we
can't go.
Thw'sday, 6l/i. — Adamson and D'Arcy
McGee are going to Ireland as commis-
sioners for the Exhibition. McGee expects
the Fenians will make a row when he arrives
i !
'^\i
1
1
''CIRCULAR TREATMENT."
337
in Ireland, as he was a rebel, and now is a
loyal subject. Such a funny pair to go
together, Adamson and McGee! There is
a great London fog here to-day.
Friday, 'jth. — Dr. B. came to see me. I
have such an inflamed eye I can scarcely
write. I spoke of how I dreaded heat, and
he said, " But you never went dclow" I told
him how ill every one was on our Saguenay
trip. He said it was from drinking St.
Lawrence water. Quebec is now supplied
with St. Charles Lake water; the St. L.
water used to make every one ill here.
Every stranger was sure to get ill. I will
tell you a story from Sala's book. The
Yankees say they are " hell " or " death " at
a thing, when they do it well. A child once
had the small-pox in Yankeeland. When the
M.D. was called in, he looked attentively for
some time at the little sufferer, and then said,
"This here babe has got the small-pox,
and I ain't posted up on pustules ; zue nmst
approach this case by circular treatment. You
give the little cuss this draught, that'll send
him into fits. Then you send for me ; I'm
hell on fits." Did you ever hear such a
story } No wit amuses me half so much as
Yankee wit. When they speak slightingly
of a person or thing, they call him or it "a
22
i::
.3' '
%
ii!
• ^iiJi^
i £
ill
one-horse concern." If they talk of two
people sleeping in one room, they say " they
roomed" together. Mind you teach Cecil all
these things by the time I get home ! To-day
is rather wet and dull and dark.
Sattirday, 2>ih. — I have scarcely one word
to say to-day. Yesterday cleared up into
a beautiful day, so hot and bright. Mr. G.
rode to town ! My throat was too bad to go
out at all. Dick went to see the volunteers
shoot cannons at the citadel, and found the
25th band playing there. I had a visit from
Colonel M. He stayed from five till six.
I showed him the greenhouse. He is a
great florist, and knows so much about every
flower. He told me all about the Queen's
visit to them at Freshwater, when he was
quartered there. She picked wild flowers,
and gave them to her maids-of-honour, who
each pressed them in little pocket-books.
He took the Prince Consort to show him
the fort, etc. Mrs. M. gave the Queen tea.
Colonel M. went to a picnic last Monday
to see maple sugar-making, and there were
two upsets in the deep snow at the sides of
the road. One was Colonel H., whose sleigh
remained in the deep snow, with him and
Miss Irvine in it, whilst the tandem and
shafts went on alone ! ! The other upset
^li
A BAD COLD.
339
was an R.A. officer and Colonel M.'s niece.
McLaughlin sent out the photos of the sleigh
so beautifully mounted. The G. G. was
delighted with them. Last night Mr. G.
told us a story of a boy, aged thirteen, who
has been brought up in such a way that
when he was asked how he was, said, " I
have a slight threatening of a cold." This
boy's mother made her husband one night
get into one of the children's beds to warm
it for the child, because it was cold ! ! No
mail but the China had reached New
York.
Monday in Holy Week {Evening), April
lotk. — This journal will be dull to a degree,
as you can fancy. There is nothing pleasant
going on till after Easter; besides, I am
duller than usual, as my cold is very bad,
my throat and eyes af-e both so painful, and
I am so very stupid. On Saturday I was
alone all day. Dick and Capt. Pem. went
with Madame Duval to the organist's concert
at the Cathedral. Dick said he played very
well. All the "muffins" and lovers were
there, and every one was decorous. No one
paid to go in. Col. G. and F. B. came to
tea.
Sunday, ^th. — At lunch-time, to our intense
joy, came both mails, March 23rd and .25th.
ii
ii
'n I
If
in
11 ■!
340
My CANADIAN LEAVES.
Tuesday, nth. — I was interrupted yester-
day by Dick coming home and telling me
about poor Lee's army having capitulated.
Dick, Capt. Pem., and I are in despair,
whilst the exultation of the G. G. and Mr.
Godley drives us mad. All the nicest and
bravest men belong to the South. What
cold weather you seem to have at home, and
what hurricanes. I have not been out for
a week. Though Dr. B. has desired me not
to go out, I mean to go to-day ; the weather
is so exquisite. Sunday was very cold, and
at night we have eight and ten degrees of
frost. Yesterday we had snow like home
snow, that melted instantly. The church
will be lovely on Sunday. People have
given flowers, and Mrs. Godley has made
beautiful decorations. I helped her a very
little yesterday to cut out letters.
Wednesday, \2th. — Yesterday I walked
out a little on the gravel. It is odd to feel
gravel under one's feet again. I wore a
velvet bonnet for the first time, and missed
the heat of the fur cap on my forehead. I
will tell you what sort of pain the cold here
gives your forehead. Don't you know, when
you eat ice fast, the pain you feel in your
throat and mouth ? It is just that pain you
feel in your head. Had a visit from Mr.
I^ljill
LENTEN DANCES.
341
We had a
says that
Sitvvell and Mr. Cecil Thorold.
moan over the South. Mr. S
quantities of R.E. officers are coming out
here about the fortifications. I hear now
that it takes only a few weeks to learn to
fight, so I fear the Yankees would sweep us
away if they come here, Mr. Godley always
says to worry me, " There's going to be a
bloody ivary It is a great thing Lent is
nearly over. The Lowest Church people
here don't go to balls in Lent. Captain
Eliot told me that there was a dance in Lent
at a Roman Catholic house at Montreal, and
he danced for self-denial, as he hated dancing
on a thick carpet after a big dinner ! You
know having a carpet on makes all the
difference here in Lent ; it is not thought a
ball with carpet on ! I read such a funny
story in a paper of Captain Pem.'s. I must
tell it to you. A doctor told Sydney Smith
he must walk every morning on an empty
stomach. S. S. asked, " Whose stomach .'* "
They drove to church on Sunday on wheels
for the first time, and now they drive in a
waggon every day. One or two flies and a
gnat have appeared, and the snow is nearly
gone. The cat and the dogs here attend
prayers, and are very particular in rushing
down when the bell rings. Mrs. G.'s maid
I
■i
TTT
hates the dogs, and one day, after petting
one of them, was heard to say fervently, " I
wish there was no dogs in the world."
Thursday. — Yesterday was very wet all
the morning, and cleared late.
Good Friday, April \\th. — Canadian mail
in. As I was reading my letters and talking
them over, into my room rushed the G. G.
and Captain Pem. to say the ice-bridge was
breaking up — a great event ! Pem. thrust
an opera-glass into my hands, and in we flew
to the G. G.'s sitting-room, and watched it
breaking asunder in the middle, and being
carried slowly down by the tide ; a most
curious and interesting sight it was, to see
this enormous bridge that had carried so
many hundreds of people for three months,
breaking in two. It is going very slowly,
and above this is not broken at all. The
blue river looked cheery again after the dead
ice. The day was very cold and windy, but
fine. After lunch, our fate was decided.
Dick and I are to go home in May ! Of
course I am enchanted to see you all, and my
pet Cecil again ; but at present I am think-
ing too much of the horrors of the passage
to realize anything else ; don't be angry !
I spent a bad, excited Good Friday ; it had
to be settled, as the mail was going. How
X t
W:
IJNCOr.N'S DEATH.
343
dreary an English winter will be after a
Canadian one ! Yesterday was fine, but
rather cold north wind.
Saturday, i$ih. — The news has just come
in of Lincoln's death by stabbing ; it took
place in the theatre last night ! ! Is it not
too horrible ? What will happen next ? He
kept off war with England always. We
were just saying, two days since, that he
was about the cleverest Governor anywhere.
What will become of America ?
Easter Monday, April 1 7///. — We had just
heard the horrible story of Lincoln's assassi-
nation when I wrote on Saturday. The
day was dreary, cold, stormy, and snowy.
Mr. Godley lunched with me, and after lunch
he drove me to the church in the phaeton, to
help Mrs. G. to decorate. The church was
lovely with roses and green and illuminations.
I helped about the font, and cut green things
for the wreath-makers, and my hands were
as black as a sweep's when I had finished.
I could not help telling about Lincoln. I
stayed only an hour ; it was oh, so cold —
thermometer twenty-nine above zero — and
it was snowing hard ; winter again ! I
believe we go home in the Hibernian,
May 20th, for two reasons, viz. she is not
liie first ship from home, and also I trust
^^■*'
344
MV CANADIAN LEA FES.
I shc'ill see F. Captain Pern, told me the
25th think I am the cause of F.'s regiment
staying here ; one of them told him so,
and he denied it. Colonel R. R. is gone
to remonstrate ; I thought of writing also
to Sir Fenwick, but I will trust him. It
is nice to see the snow back again, and
it is bitterly cold ; last night the thermo-
meter went down to eighteen deirrees, that
is fourteen decfrees of frost. F. Burrowes
arrived after tea, bringing an " extra " with
more horrors — fifty people drowned near
this, from floods, and all the property
destroyed — the most heart-rending stories,
like that water disaster in EnLrland last
spring. Mr. Seward and his son were also
both stabbed at Washington, but are not
dead. The wind was blowiuQ" a hurricane,
and everything felt so mournful and awful.
We are so comparatively near the horrors
here. Colonel G. and F. B. came for Faster.
WHiilst we were at dinner, a letter came in
to Colonel G. ; of course we expected more
honors. This was to say that an officer of the
17th was on board the Moravian at Port-
land, unable to land ; because he had no
passport, he was kept in the ship. The
wind was blowing a hurricane and crying,
and the night was the blackest 'n^er seen —
!»
*"J
just the night for horrors and everything
dreadful.
Sunday was a miserable-looking Easter
Day, snowing and blowing and bitterly cold ;
the ground white with snow. We drove to
eight-o'clock service in the cariole, bells and
all! It was very good sleighing, i>nd I
enjoyed it after the stupid wheels. At the
four-o'clock service it was so dark the lamps
were lit. Mrs. G. and I drove after church
to inquire for Mr. Price, and were all but
upset on a drift near Mr. P.'s house. To-day
is lovely, though bitterly cold. The Hi-
bernian is a very good ship ; she was built
as a model of what an ocean steamer should
be. The Himalaya is expected on May
15th.
Tuesday . — Yesterday Mrs. G. drove to
town with me in the phaeton. The drift at
their gate was so bad their waggon could
not be got out. The old drifts along the
road are marvellous ; they have been cut
through, and I can't describe the height of
them. You pass through a narrow defile of
snow. We went first to the rink to see
Dick skate ; he is getting on very well.
Mrs. G. and I went to Col. Gordon's, by
appointment, to drink tea. We had good
tea and cakes. Dick joined us after tea.
T^
3l6
MY CANADIAN LEAVES.
To-day is so warm and lovely. Yesterday
was very fine, but cold.
Wednesday. — Yesterday, after lunch, it was
blowing much, with violent showers. Mrs.
G. lent me her waggon, which shuts in even
the servants with waterproof curtains. I
went to say "good-bye" to Mrs. Adamson.
She told me " Adamson " preached a beau-
tiful sermon on Lincoln's death on Easter
Sunday. Her talk is so filled with paren-
theses that I always forget what the begin-
ning of it was about. The evening cleared
up so beautifully, and was so warm and nice.
I sat all the eveninsf at the window watchinor
the di'bris of the ice-bridge at Cap Rouge
floating past ; we saw bits of wood, sup-
posed to be dc'bris from the mischief done to
houses by those terrible inundations. After
dinner we drove to the 17th ball. The
hurricane was awful. There were lines of
spectators about the room watching a young
ensign just arrived from home. That was
Dick's great amusement at the ball. I must
try and describe this boy : Rather short and
fair, with a big head and high shoulders,
with a mouth that looked as if he was laugh-
ing at everything in a sly way. Every time
he danced, out went his tongue, his eyes
opened and shut, and he twisted his head ;
/I
AN AWKWARD ESSIGN.
in fact, he danced with his tonq^uc. He did
not do one step in time, and he and his
partner twirled in the middle of the room,
knocked and kicked on all sides. Every
one lauMied at me because I said I be<:r";ed
of the G. G. not to go to the theatricals, as
on dit that Booth is in Canada, and, knowing
that the G. G. is a Northern sympathizer,
Booth might try and shoot him, or " dagger
him," as the Yankee papers say.
T/mrsday. — Yesterday was very fine, with
such a cold wind. I drove myself to see
Mrs. Gilmour. She told me that at the
Protestant Home all the well people are
supposed to go to church, and no one is ever
forced to attend any service of any other
sect. Some officers dined here, among them
Gordon the Good and Major Brice (i/th),
alias " Tito." He is at present looking out
for a happy home for Paul, his dog.
Friday, 21st. — Yesterday, soon after break-
fast, I set off with Dick to be photoed in our
furs by McLaughlin. He made me laugh
by saying suddenly, " By-the-by, you may
wink." What do you think the Quebec
people did ? They wanted to do much
honour to Lincoln, so they meant to shut
all the shops on the day of the funeral ; l)ut
they shut them yesterday, and the funeral,
/
y^^m
348
AfV CANADIAN LEAVES.
after all, happened the day before. We dined
at 6.30, and went to the theatricals after. I
must tell of them to-morrow. I was accused
on all sides about the 25th going.
Saturday, April 22nd. — Now about the
plays ! The first play, '* Aladdin, or the
Wonderful Scamp," was very well done ; but
the second one, *' Little Toddlekins," I liked
much the best. The puns in the first were
almost too marvellous to understand. The
man who acted " Barney Babbicome," in the
second play, once forgot his part, and, pre-
tending to talk to Amanthis, said, ** Speak
louder," meaning the prompter. They all
acted beautifully. The women were done by
a drummer and Mr. Stoney (25th). The
room was crowded to suffocation. Col. M.
accused me about the 25th going, and said
I might have saved Col. R. Ross the journey,
as I knew he would not succeed. During
the epilogue, which was about their leaving
and saying " Farewell," Mr. G. whispered
to me, " Do you want a pocket-handkerchief }
Take mine ; it's as dry as a bone." The
applause was tremenccus, as it always is
here — a great thing for actors. The band
was so beautiful, and they sang part of the
" Farewell Valse," the men wMth broad grins
on their faces. Yesterday was wet, blowing
LIFE IN A CONVENT.
349
the
the
but
iked
and hailing, and dark. The steamer from
Montreal arrived here yesterday — a great
event. Col. M. invited me to a party at his
house to hear glee-singing, but it was too
wet to go. Mr. Godley recommends my
giving medicine presents to all at home —
" Radway's Ready Relief," to one ; " Are
you in Agony ? " to another ; and " Time
will tell," to a third. This day is so wet
and horrid.
Monday, April 2 d^th. — I am writing twelve
rules of etiquette for "Gordon the Good."
I tell him he is to make use of them when
he goes into English society ! On Sunday
we had snow, sleet, rain, and wind. It froze
six degrees of frost last night, and the
ground was covered with snow this morning ;
but it is all gone now. The Rifle Brigade
come here on May 2nd, and General Lindsay
and Captain E. come May 7th for inspec-
tions. Yesterday I drove to town ; it was
bitterly cold, and dull, and dark, with many
little snow-showers. I went tc the Ursulines
Convent, to see Mere St. Charles. She told
me they all get up at four a.m., and go to
bed at nine p.m. They dine at 1 1.30 a.m., and
have good meat very coarsely cooked, as she
says there are too many of them to be able to
have a carefully cooked dinner. They have
* "I *
wine if they are ill. They have coffee or
tea for breakfast, with dry bread, and those
who like have butter. Their sermons are
on the subject of their three vows, " Poverty,
chastity, and obedience ; " they call it all a
sacrifice of themselves for God ; but she sees
no sacrifice in it, and says she does not
understand the meaning of that word. She
teaches music for four hours a day. They
meditate four times a day. These sad
women may only talk to each other on
holidays ! I happily came on a holiday,
when there was no pi'ayer at four! We
talked about Lincoln's death, and I explained
to her that Dissenters go about on Good
Friday like any other day. I think the
nuns thought he was " daggered " as a
judgment for going to the theatre on Good
Friday. It seems an odd day to choose for
a visit to a theatre. After the convent, I
went to see Dick skate ; he is making
progress. This morning Mr. Godley sent
me a newspaper to read, with a French
speech about slavery. If the accounts are
true, the cruelty to the slaves is awful ; they
say their masters' names are branded on
them with red-hot irons, and they are beaten
worse than horses, and one was burnt alive
for killing his master ! I should much like
ST. BRIDGETS ASVLL'J/.
35'
to hear the other side of the question from
a rehable eye-witness. I must prepare my
arguments for Mr. G. to-night. We had
seven degrees of frost last night ; to-day is
lovely, but cold ; not a bud has appeared
yet.
Wed7tesday, 26//^. — Mrs. Godley and I
drove yesterday by appointment to see the
St. Bridget's Asylum for old Roman Catholic
Irishwomen and orphans. It is an excellent
charity; there are thirty-three very old women,
two blind girls, and twenty-four orphans. The
jDriest met us — a most "jolly" old Irishman.
The matron and schoolmistress are volun-
teers, and are sorts of ladies. They took us
to the chapel, and the priest said, " This is a
very common place ; the only good thing in it
is the holy-water pot," which was made of
marble from Ottawa. We went up to see
the inmates, and we had to speak to cvciy
one separately. The priest was a play in
himself. The women were all between
eighty and ninety, and one was a hundred ;
the younger ones were about seventy ! The
priest said to one, " Oh, you old coon, are
you not dead yet } " " No, your riverince,"
she said. They were all exhibited by their
ages, like shows. "This one was twenty-
five in the rebellion of 98," and so on.
352
MV CANADIAN LEAVES.
Most of them came from the south of
Ireland. They are allowed to smoke their
pipes twice a day. The matron told me,
" We have so little room we are obliged to
use this large room as dormitory and x^frcc-
tory." The 25th band acted for this asylum,
and got £10 or £^0 for it. We went to
a loft where were two blind girls and several
old women, and one poor little orphan baby.
One old thing said she had seven cousins
who were priests in Ireland. " They don't
do you much good nc ," said the priest.
His rough grotesque jokes seemed to suit
them, and amuse them. We then went
down to the cellar, where the children were
being taught near a stove. They were
made to sing " God save the Queen," curt-
seying the whole time at us. I suppose
they thought any one who had to do in the
slightest degree with the G. G. ought to be
treated to " God save the Queen." How
amused we were. I then went to see Mrs.
M. She told me about her mothers' meeting,
where she teaches the soldiers' wives to sew
and help themselves. To-night we have the
Stadacona Club ball. To-morrow we dine
at the Godleyf"', and Friday at the Gautiers'
(French Consul).
Thursday^ 27///. — The Stadacona Club ball
LABRADOR MENU.
353
was very pleasant. A Mr. T. (a Canadian)
asked to be introduced to me, and made out
in some inexplicable way that he and I were
related through "his lordship," who I dis-
covered was Lord Castlemaine.
Friday, 2W1. — Went yesterday to sec
Mrs. (25th) ; she told me there was a
lovely view from her back windows —
" mountains, and those sort of things." I
went to the Hotel Jciu, as the St. Bridget's
priest calls the Hotel Dieu, to give the
G. G.'s photo to the pretty nun, but she
was en rdraitc. The Godleys' dinner was
very pleasant ; only Capt. Leslie (25th) and
Mr. Botwood. We told Mr. B. about Booth
having been shot, and this good clergyman
said, " I'm sorry he did not die a more
lingering death." He told us all the odd
things he ate at Labrador. He ate ravens,
owls, seals, foxes, wild cats, beaver, and
musk rats ; he liked the rats vmch. He
said, " I liked the taste of all these animals,
but the smell was sometimes unpleasant."
The first owl he ate was very tough ; but the
second owl he hung up for six months, and it
was excellent.
SaUivday, 29//A Fancy, to-day we have
snow again and great wind, and now rain.
Nearly every Saturday since September we
rr*
have had bad weather. The ground was
white this morning, and last night we had a
great fog, and it was pitch dark. Yesterday
it rained terribly in the morning, but cleared
up after lunch. I drove to town, and
through a most horrible side-road deep in
snow. I was nearly upset. The groom
had to walk behind the phaeton and hold it,
for fear of upsetting. We dined at M.
Gautier's. After dinner a lady sang a song
called, •♦ The Ivy Leaf." Col. R. R. was
there, and asked me to write and ask Sir
Kars to let the 25th stay here now, instead
of Frank's regiment ! When nearly every
one was gone, M. Gautier entertained us
with an account of Col. G.'s auction, at which
he had assisted. He said that the auctioneer
pretended that everything had been with
Col. G. in the Crimea, so as to make the
things more interesting to bidders ! He sold
a tea-pot at a high price, as having been in
the Crimea, and it was bought here. An
old wooden box, bought here, was called a
" divan " that had been in the Crimea, and
sold very well. Col. G. had given his
servant an old white hat, covered with crape
to make it look cleaner ; the servant, in
his zeal, sold it by auction ! One grand
instance of mistaken zeal the servant showed
by sclHnu^ a cozy made for Col. G. by one of
his lady friends, and highly prized by him.
Madame Gautier showed me a photo done
at the Sandwich Islands, of a lady and her
baby, so odd and pale-looking, and they had
big heads !
Swiday. — Very windy, but pretty fine.
If F. comes soon, I shall have to go in the
first ship, which I don't much like ; but I
know it is not really dangerous ; it goes on
the 13th. We have three ships now near
this on the river. It is lively to have ships
once more.
Monday, May i. — To our surprise, we got
our Canadian mail letters of April 19th this
morning, per Peruvian — a very quick passage.
Saturday was a very bad day — hurricane and
great rain, so I stayed at home all day.
Tuesday, 2;/^/.-— Yesterday, before lunch, I
got a note from Captain Ballantine {Pcni-
viaii), sending me a fine large turlwt as a
present. They made the passage in nine
days and twelve hours. Drove to town.
There was a very cold wind and hot sun. I
am in all my winter clothes still. Mrs. G.
and I went to see " Les Soeurs Crises," and
left the phaeton, which was to come for us
to St. Matthew's Church at 5.30. We were
kept waiting an age at the door, and had to
356
A/y CANADIAN LEAVES.
tell that we came from the Government
House. Two very nice English nuns took
us over the convent. It is very interesting ;
but so sad to see so much suffering. Sceur
Ste. Marie was exactly like an English
Sis/rr at home, with such a gentle voice.
Their dress is quaint ! Light-brown with
black hoods, and a silver crucifix hung round
their necks, and ch(;ck aprons. Out walking
they look so odd ; I feared the horse would
shy at them. They wear light-brown cloaks
and hoods over their heads. They may go
out and visit the poor and sick. There was
a little /in cross at every door, with a " beni-
tier ; " and the tall English " Soeur " crossed
herself every moment ; the other did not.
We were taken to a room full of objects —
quantities of o/d women, d/md women, two
or three idiots, and one girl of thirty, with
the falling-sickness, who was the impersona-
tion of Little Mother (in " Little Dorrit "), in
a short frock, pinafore, and close cap ! She
frightened me, and so did one idiot ; and she
was also thirty, and could not speak, but
made horrible noises, said Mrs. G. was
a " chen " (chein), and wanted to pull her.
It struck me it was the seal-skin coat ; so
Mrs. G. went over, and the idiot gave her a
great grasp, and frightened her ; the girl
i»
"Z/s.9 S(EUK r, RISES."
357
laughed the whole time fits of wild laughter.
I then produced my eye-glass, which quite
excited her. She instantly smelt it. I held
it to her eye, and she was nearly wild with
delight and excitement, and made worse
noises than ever, so we left her, poor thing.
She has two sisters idiots also. She was
the saddest sight there. One poor thing,
with no eye in one socket, and only half an
eye in the other, said, " I'm longing to die,
but I can't die;" and the nun said. she must
be patient here till God took her. She told
them they would be rewarded in Heaven for
their sufferings here. The idiot and a very
old paralyzed woman sit together, and adore
each other. When the old woman told me
her sufferings, the idiot laughed /oiid. Their
supper was laid so nicely — a napkin in a ring
at each place, also a bit of bread, and the
infirm ones had little tables to themselves.
Every bed had check curtains. We then
went on to see where the nuns make flowers
so beautifully, and then to the chapel — rather
pretty for this country — and then to the [jhice
for the orphans — girls in one room, and boys
in another. The girls were made to sin'^^
a song for us about " S/iai/iroouc for Ireland."
They were clean, pretty children. The boys
were at their prayers, and were making faces
r
35«
AfV CANADIAN LEAVES.
and laughing. The Sceur said, " They can
stop their prayers; it will not matter; they can
go on afterwards." We also saw where they
make the patten for the Holy Sacrament.
They stamp it with moulds with the Cruci-
fixion, and " I.H.S." on it. These nuns
make it all ; also the candles for all the altars
of the churches. One of the school children
asked that we might be shown their Oratory,
a queer little place, with a wax doll on some
straw in a glass case, meant to be our
Saviour when an infant. " La Sainte Vierge"
was standing up in a glass case, with a straw
hat on, with a wreath of flowers round it
in the schoolroom, supposed to be a child
reading. After livmg at this convent, we
went to church, and were very late, which
annoyed us much. Today I had letters
from General L. and Mr. R. General L.
told me about Lincoln's funeral at New York,
which he liad seen. The ladies in the car-
riaifes wore the brit/htest colours, and were
drawn by horses draped in biack and white !
They played slow marcher, in quick time.
M/. R.'s letter was very amusing. I had
asked him to get me the song of "John
13)own's body lies a mouldering in the
grave." He said, "John Brown's mouldering
body leaves this (New York) to-day, honour-
l>
Hi
I
ably escorted by Gen. Lindsay." He also
said, " The men roar here, and the women
scream for blood ; let us hope that the shoot-
ing of Booth will act like a sop to Cerberus,"
Wednesday, -i^rd. — Yesterday I drove to
see the 25th off. F'irst, I nearly ran over a
17th soldier; it was his fault, for he stood
with his finger in his mouth in the middle
of the road. Capt. Pern., and Dick met me
in town, and went with me. We did not go
to the wharf, but looked over the cliff; the
crowd was too great below. The R.A, and
17th bands were playing. It was rather sad
to see them go ; they played " Auld Lang
Syne," having been here ten months. There
was much cheering and waving of handker-
chiefs as they slowly moved off I then went
to church, and was in time this time ! To-day,
at 7.30 a.m.. Lord and Lady A. Russell and
boys arrived. She is so nice, and the boys
are both handsome and quiet.
T^''"rsday, \tJL — Yesterday, after lunch,
Lady A. and the two l)oys and I drove to
Quebec. We went to the Citadel, where
Lady A. and the boys went in to see their
rooms. I was much amused, sitting in the
carriaofe at the Citadel, and lookinii " around."
There dined last night Mr. Godley, Col. G.,
Mr. l^"itzgerald, and Capt. Seymour (Rifh;
I
1^^^
36o
MV CANADIAN LEAVES.
Brigade). We were so glad to see Capt.
Seymour again. Mr. F. is very amusing.
To-day I believe we all go to the 17th
band. We have the most lovely weather ;
the wind is very cold, though the sun is hot.
Friday, ^th. — We went to the 17th band
on the esplanade. The "muffins" were all
there, looking very pretty. Many of the
R.B.'s were there. Lord E. Clinton, Major
Brice, and Capt. King dined.
Saturday, 6th. — There is not very much to
tell since yesterday. Lady A. and I drove
out in a wind and dust storm. The foot-
man's cockade was blown off his hat ! I
went to see Mrs. ; she is a retrular Mrs.
" Fairbairn ; " her three gigantic children
came into the room. I could happily say
they were " magnificent," though they were
plain to a degree, which I did iioi say. The
boy was asked to say his letters, but happily
ran out of the room. The dust was terrible ;
we were quite black. Mr. Wilson Patten
and Mr. Somerset (R.B.) dined. Lady A.
walked lame into dinner, and Lord A. said
that / had kicked her so in the carriage that
I had lamed her. " I left her quite sound
this morning/" said he, "and I found her
lame after her drive."
Monday, ^i/i. — I found out too late on
-^U
THE CHURCH HOME.
361
Saturday that the mail goes out on Monday
this week, so I can add a httle to-day.
Saturday was a very bad hurricane and much
rain. It partially cleared about four. Sun-
day was dull and dark till evening, when it
became most lovely, but cold. Before break-
fast arrived Gen. Lindsay and Capt. Eliot.
Sir Kars had gout too badly to come. To-
day the General and Capt. E. are gone in
early to inspect the 17th. I am in a fuss
about the Himalaya, knowing nothing about
our plans.
Tuesday, May gtli. — Yesterday, after lunch,
I went with Mrs. Godley to see the Church
Home; Lady A. had too bad a cold to go,
as it was raining. We saw over the old
men's and old women's place. One old man
had been Sheriff of Gaspe once ; he was
bedridden for eleven years. We talked a
great deal about American politics in the
two minutes we were with him. He said
the Yankees were so mad for blocxl that
they were accusing every one, and it would
be the Gov. Gen. who would be accused
next of being an accomplice. I am not very
clear what he was talking about. The old
women were mosdy disagreeable oKl English-
women. They have Sunday and week-day
services there. We then went to the bo)-
362
AfV CANADIAN LEASES.
place. The boys were away at school ; the
atmosphere was stuffy to a degree. I had
seen the girl place before. It is a nice
enough Home. The people did not look very
happy ; but they were English most of them,
and seemed farotiche and unpleasant. After
tea, I got my Canadian mail letters of April
28th ; a very quick passage the Hibernian
made ! The gentlemen all dine to-night with
the I 7th, and Lady A. and I have " severe "
tea together. Yesterday evening cleared up
so beautifully, and everything looked so
lovely, though we have not one bud out
yet. We had a very pleasant dinner-party
last night ; I send a list. I sat between
Lord A. Russell and Lord E. Clinton ; both
were very pleasant, and they were very good
in not talking "shop." Mrs. M. and Madame
Gautier entertained us after dinner with
terrible stories of earthquakes ; and Mrs. M.
said, " 27/6' third shock is sure to Innng the
house doivn!''- — in a most vicasiircd, marked
way she said it. Col. M. gave us a long
account of his aniinals. His present cat,
Jack, meets him on the ramparts when
he returns from parties, and rubs itself
all over his face ; then it asks him to
come to the kitchen and give it some food,
which he does ; then, in his room, first he
I*
M
CAT STORIES.
363
?
washes his teeth ! and then gives the cat
some water in the glass ; then he takes off
hi.c clothes, and throws them into a port-
manteau, and then in jumps Jack on the
clothes. He had another cat, " born in
Jamaica, died in Newfoundland ; " it was
buried with military honours. "Jack" he
has had " since it was ^ youths I told about
" Tom " having kittens in my wardrobe ; he
said, " My cat never has any ; he is quite
above those things."
Wednesday. — I drove Lady A. to town ;
we went to the Hotel Dieu. I wanted to
give the G. G.'s photo to the pretty nun,
and Lady A. wanted to see the Hospital.
The photo gave intense pleasure ; the nun
kissed it ! and carried It about like a child
with a new toy, showing it to every one.
The poor thing had been en relraitc, and
was so glad to get out again. The hospital
amuses her, she says, like " Little Mother."
The sunset last night was so lovely It almost
made me cry. First the opposite shore was
all pink, while tlie river was deep blue, and
the grass so green ; there were also brown
tints from the earth, and patches of white
snow about ; and thc.'n th(i exquisite colours
faded to mauve and grey tints. I nev(>r
could describe It all ; tJK; e)(; cannot satisfy
i*
▼ ""W ""
..L„j,l,l ;liJi.M.H'ffTW I W l
364
MV CANADIAN LEAVES.
itself enou<^h in looking at such scenes. I
had a tradeswoman with me this morning,
half Yankee. She was told to wait in the
/ia// ; to my surprise, I found her in the
drawing-room, quietly rocking herself in a
rocking-chair ! It is very interesting to us
here reading about the feeling England
shows about Lincoln.
Thursday, i \tk. — I left Lady A. at the
Citadel. She showed me her rooms; they
are very nice. All the military ladies here,
except the 25th Dr.'s wife, are too grand
to live in barracks ! Went with Dick to see
dear old Mr. Price, to thank him for some
very fine watercresses he sent me. He was
in his bedroom in a dressing-jjown and a
blue-and-gold skull-cap. One side of him
is quite dead ; but he is much better. Of
course wc do not sail now till the 20th.
I get ship panics at night. There are to
be cheap trips to Ireland, to see the Dublin
Exhibition.
Friday, \2th, — It seems too wonderful that
this is my last letter but one, home. Yes-
terday, after lunch, I drove to hear Miss
Mountain play the organ, which she did most
beautifully. Last night dined Captain Bal-
laiitine, Col. G., Major Brice, and the
Godleys. Capt. B. amused me much ; he
ARRIVAL OF THE ''HIMALAYA:'
365
t
would inspire any one with confidence, and
I wish we were going to cross with him ; he
says he thinks no more of crossing than of
eating his dinner ! The General leaves
to-day ; I am so sorry. The papers say that
the citizens are to give a ball in a few days
to the 1 7th.
Satiirday, 13///. — I find I must write to-day
instead of Monday, as the post people are so
stupid. Yesterday Gen. S., Capt. E., Capt.
Pem. and I drove to town together after
lunch. We dropped Capt. Pem. in town,
and we drove to see Lady A. Russell, but
she was out. We met Lord A., however,
who told us that the Himalaya, with the 7th
Fusiliers, had been telegraphed from Father
Point, twelve hours from here ! Lord A.
pretended to read out the telegram, and said,
" Much sickness on board." He never for-
gets to worry me. It was not true; but it
made me feel quite ill. We left the Gen.
and Capt. E. at the Montreal boat, and had
a talk with our dear little friend, Capt.
Labene, who saved such quantities of lives
durinc: the inundations. I was so ill last
night, I thought I had the Russian plague !
and sent for Dr. B., who relieved my mind
by saying it was only hearing suddenly of
the Himalaya s arrival after a v/eek of
w^
■RRimRKKRnnmmn
-7^
366
MV CANADIAN LEAVES.
waiting.
Lovely day. Himalaya arrived
about twelve noon. She had been detained
by fog. Drove to town, and brought Frank
back to stay at Spencer Wood.
Tuesday, \(^th. — Very hot, thermometer
seventy-eight degrees in verandah. Went
to a very bad concert for the sufferers in the
inundation.
Friday, \^th. — Cricket-match at Spencer
Wood. Farewell ball to the i 7th Regiment,
given by the citizens.
Saturday y 20///. — We embarked at ten a.m.,
in Hibernian, sailed at eleven a.m., passed
Father Point at a quarter to eleven p.m. ;
rather foggy.
Sunday, 2isi. — Rainy day. Attended
service, and saw a whale spouting. Went
320 miles since yesterday.
Monday, 22nd. — Fine day. Made 270
miles. Passed Cape Rae at noon. Sickness
coming on.
Tuesday, 2 3/'^''.— Made Cape Race at noon.
260 miles. Fine day.
Wednesday, 24///. — 272 miles. Passed
icebergs. I saw none ; ill in my cabin ;
much terrified. Effort to keep the Queen's
birthday. Fireworks and a concert !
Rough !
Thursday, i^th. — Rough. 276 miles.
\
^'
t
t
Ship on one side for three clays. A steep
hill outside my cabin door.
Friday, 26//^. — Calmer. Got up, and went
into the saloon to hear the steward sing
comic songs. 275 miles.
Saturday, 2'jtk. — 255 miles.
Sunday, i^th. — Rolling a good deal.
Went to evening service in the saloon. 276
miles.
Monday, 2(^th. — Fine, with showers of rain.
Went on deck for the first time. Horrified
with the look of the ocean. 260 miles.
MAv^ Tuesday, 30//^.— Arrived at Greencastle
at seven a.m., and in Dublin about six p.m.
Fine day.
\ (
Till': KND.
PRINTED DV Wn.LIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND HECCLES.