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Photographic

Sciences

Corporation

23 WIST MAIN STRUT

WEBSTIR.N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

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WANDEEIIfG TH0UaHTS/

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SOLITARY HOUR.^.

By P. TOCQUE.

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"My yoang readers must excuse me for calling upon tfaem'to
acquire, while their minds may be impressed with new images,- a
love of innocent pleasures, and an ardqar for useful lmowledg«;
to remember that a blighted sprfqg imkM a bamn year, and
that the vernal flowers, however bi^attfUtai and gay, are only in>
tended as preparatives for autumnal ftuits."— Johnson.

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LONDON:
THOMAS RICHARDSON AND SQN,

172, FLEET STREET; 9, CAFEL 8TBEET, DUBLIK; ASD DEBBT;

AND ALL BOOKSEUiEBS IIT MEWTODNOLAM). ' ,.

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MAJOR GENERAL SIR J. HARVEY, KNT.

COMMANDER OF THE MOST HONOURABLE MILITARr OBDEB

OP THE BATH,

KNIGHT,

COMMANDER OF THE ROYAL HANOVERIAN GUELPHIC

OBDEB.

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GOVERNOR AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN AND OVER THBI
ISLAND OF NEWFOUNDLAND AND ITS DEPENDENCIES.

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"WHOSE NAME IS SO MUCH BESPECTED IN
TRANSATLANTIC BRITAIN."

THIS WORK

IS, WITH HIS EXCELLENCY'S PERMISSION. MOST
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.

HIS VERY FAITHFUL AND OBEDIENT SERVANT.

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PHILIP TOCQUE.

St. John's, Newfoundland,
October 20fA, 1844.

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PREFACE.

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The greater part of this small unambitious
work was written during a short residence on
the northern coast of Newfoundland, wheref
in comparative solitude, the author spent his
leisure hours in composing it.

Part of the materials, as will be seen, have '
been drawn from authors of the most unques-
tionable authority, whilst the remainder came
under the writer's own personal observation
and inquiry. The design of the author in
the publication of this little book, is to afford
instruction and entertainment to the youth of
his native country, Newfoundland, and more
especially to those classes whose means of
information are somewhat limited, viz* the
^oung fisherman and mecharic. The author
makes no pretensions to origmality, either in
language or sentiment, his object being'^mply
to convey information to the juvenile r^iier.

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To direct the attention of youth to many
subjects, which to them may appear novel
and invested with interest, but which have
become worn thread-bare and unprofitable to
the scientific and philosophic reader, ought not
to be a censurable undertaking; and should
not the success of the author's eiForts be equal
to the design of the work, the consciousness
at least of having exercised his very humble
talent with a view to the good of the youth
of his country, -will be a source of gratification
to his own mind.

P. T.

St. JohrCs, Newfoufidland,
, October 20th, 1844.

I /

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THE PAST.

"Go view when sunset drinks the forest breeze,
Where some grey abbey glimmers through tho trees,
And on the turrets evening's pallid rays,
Gleam like the glory of departed days;
How soon the hallowing stillness of the spot
Brings heaven around us till the world's foigdi) ' ■
Like age-worn sorrow in its dim decay,
When fortune's summer pride has passed away,
Yon flreckled pile in shattered greatness wanes,
Where banners hung, and monarchs peai'd their strains.
Sad retrospection draws the moral sigh.
And buried centuries yawn upon the eye."

R. Moin'OOMBRT.

'^i^

The promontory of Cape Bonavista stretches
itself about three miles into the waters of the great
Western Ocean. It is a perfectly level strip of
land, and well adapted for agricultural purposes.
Here a lighthouse is being erected by the local
government, to shed its ray over the rugged steep.
The light is intended to burn at an elevation of
150 feet above the level of the sea, and to revolve
at regulated intervals of two minutes, exhibiting
alternately a red and white flash. Wandering to
the edge of the cliff, I obtained a view of Gull
Island, a barren rock, situated a short distance
from the shore, and which was lately the soeiija.of

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the wreck of the schooner Joseph, which belonged
to Mr. George Forward of Carbonear. She was
engaged in that dangerous pursuit of the seal
fishery a few springs ago, and unfortunately driven
in here with the ice, having on board at the time
800 seals. The crew, seeing no chance of her
escaping the rocks, abandoned her, leaving on
board one man who was ill. They did not, however,
leave the vessel without entreating the sick man to
accompany them, offering to assist him over the
ice, but he thankfully refused to go, preferring to
remain where he was, rather than go on the ice
to endanger the lives of others as well as his own,
9S there appeared hardly a probability of his
reaching the 'shore alive, owing to a tremendous
sea, and the ice being open. But this poor man
sought the favour of God whilst in health, and
nothing but the sustaining power of religion re-
signed him to his fate in this trying hour.

The crew with great difficulty reached the shore
in safety, the vessel was seen to strike on the
Gull Island thrice, and then passed round the
Cape in the ice. She is supposed to have gone
as far as the Flowers Point, and there to have
sunk, as part of a chain and other articles were
picked up there the following summer. Thus
perished the shipy one of the noblest inventions
of man; and thus perished the man, the noblest
work of God — the one never to assume its form
again, the other destined to awake with the slum-
bering dead, and appear in a more glorious form
of existence. The seal fishery is not only a
dangerous and hazardous enterprise; it not only

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causes the sighing of the widow and orphan, buf
it is moreover, in too many instances, a sink of'
iniquity, where every principle of morality is laid
prostrate, and the heart shrivelled up to the nar-
row dimensions of gain. The love of gain is en-
grafted on the heart of the seal hunter, and thit
feeling predominates over every other, regardless
of the unhallowed means by which it is gratified.
The sanctity of the sabbath is disregarded with
but few exceptions. How carefully are the vessels
insured that are engaged in the seal fisher]^
which are only the inventions of mechanism, des- y^^^^j
tined to float a short time on the ocean wave; '>^f\)^^
and then sink into annihilation ! Not so the im- l^v. i^
mortal spirits who are engaged in this voyage;
they will live through the revolving periods of
eternity. But, alas! we fear few apply to the
Insurance OfRce of Heaven before they proceed to
the perilous and icy ocean.

Every vessel bound to the northern part of
Newfoundland must pass Cape Bonavista. While
I was standing there, I saw a sail heave in sights
which proved to be Her Majesty's ship Spartan,
conveying his Excellency Sir John Harvey on a
visit to the northern parts of the island. I watched
this vessel until she became lost to my view in
the verge of the distant horizon, when I sat myself
down to indulge my musings. The quietness of
solitude reigned around, save now and then the
scream of the sea-fowl, and the hoarse murmuring
of the waves as they were dashed to foam beneath
my feet, fell upon my ear. I involuntarily exclainMfd,
And am I now sitting upon the very sppt that

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John Cabot and his son Sebastian first saw when
they discovered this island, on the 24th of June,
1497, under a commission granted by Henry
VII. and to which they gave the name of Terra
Primum Vista (the land first seen), because this
was the place that first met their eyes in looking
from the sea! The statement that Newfoundland
was discovered in the year 1001, by the Norwe-
gians, appears to be nothing but fable. The fol-
lowing is recorded in the "Edinburgh Cabinet
Library:" — "The alleged discovery of North
America, under the name of Vinland, by the -Scan-
dinavians, in the year 1002, is not worthy of cre-
dence. The error appears to have been the work
of some designing interpolator of the old Icelandic
MS. Chronicles." In 1534, the celebrated French
navigator Jacques Cartier visited Cape Bonavista,
bearing a commission to form a colony; and in
1760, the immortal navigator Capt. James Cook
surveyed this beautiful cape. But where are they
now, and all the mighty men who figured 4m
the theatre of the world at that period? They have
passed away, while the land on which the great
navigators then gazed with such inconceivable de-
light, still sleeps above the storm, with the ma-
jestic continuity of inanimate existence. It is
true that the names of these celebrated men are
written on th^ annals of Europe; but on the
waves of time a"'>'Voije sounds, "Their glory is
shrouded in oblivion ibr ever." Such, then, is short-
lived man. Another generation will come after
me, and pass over the same spot, and perhaps in-
dulge in the same train of thought, and then, like

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me, disappear from the fleeting scenes of this
mortal life.

I now bent my steps towards home. Saunter-
ing along the sea shore, I arrived at two very
compact beaps of istones, each about a quarter of
a mile long and fifteen yards broad, said to have
been placed there by the French, during the time
they held possession of the island, for the pur>
pose of curing fish upon them. It is now about
60 years since the French relinquished the light
of fishing along this shore. They still, however, -
retain the right of fishing along the coast from
Cape St. John northward, though they are not
allowed to make any fortifications, or any per.
manent erections, nor are they permitted to re-
main in the island longer than^the time necessary
to cure their fish. The French carry on an ex-
tensive fishery on the western shore. On the
small island of St. Pierre a governor resides, as
also a small detachment of military.* The resident
FrencH^ population is estimated at about 12,000.
From the period of its discovery till the treaty of
Paris, in June, 1814, Newfoundland was a scene
of contention between the English and French.
This was not only on account of her vast impor-

• The quantity of fish exported from St. Peter's by the French,
according to a return just published in the "Morning Post," was
as follows:— To Guadtdoupe and Martinique, two of the French
West-India Islands,

In '. V • 'i ' Qnintala.

1840 v:v.:;.^;'> 56,945

1841 .......c„ 71,785

1842 50,549

1843 72,873

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tance, as being a nursery for seamen, as well as
in consideration of her fisheries, the most abun-
dant in the world; but also on account of her
geographical position, being about half way be-
tween the old and new world; and situated at
the mouth of the St. Lawrence. She is the key
of the Canadas, and could command a great part
of the continent of America. Newfoundland lies
between the latitudes of 46° 40' and 5P 37'
north, and between the longitudes 52° 25' and
59° 15' west, and approaches to a triangular
form. The surface of the island comprises an
area of 36,000 square miles, which is nearly as
large as England, and 9,000 square miles larger
than Ireland.

Walking on, I ((ame to several graves, where
rest the ashes of a number of Frenchmen. Ah !
thought I, what mighty revolutions have arisen
and passed away in France since these men were
laid in their silent bed; even the great Napoleon,
who aspired to be the conqueror of the world, has
been conveyed by the conqueror Death to his final
home, and his dust, after having been transferred
from St. Helena, now reposes almost forgotten in
the nation where he was once so proudly hailed
by the populace, "Vive 1' Empereur!"

"Where are the mighty thunderbolts of war, " ^»

The Roman Caesars, and the Grecian chiefs.
The boast of story? Where the hot-brain'd youth,
Who the tiara at his pleasure tore
From kings of all the then discover'd globe,
And cried, forsooth, because his arm was hamper'd,
And had not room enough to do its work ?
Alas! how slim, dishonourably slim.
And cramm'd into a space we blush to name!"

I now arrived at Mock Baggar, the eastern
part of Bonavista Harbour, where a peat bog is
situated, and from which human skeletons, at
various periods, have been dug, and relics of ar-
ticles known to have been used by the primitive
natives of the country, the Red Indians; At
what time these bodies were deposited there is
unknown. If they belonged to the Boeothicks or
aborigines of the country, they must have been
there a period of upwards of 200 years. It is
well known, however, that human skeletons have
been dug out of bogs after remaining there seve-
ral hundred years. During Cabot's visit to the
island he held intercourse with the Red Indians,
who were dressed in skins, and painted with red
ochre, and who, no doubt, beheld his approach to
the shore with as much astonishment as did the
inhabitants of the Bahamas when Columbus
discovered the West Indies, who supposed the
ship in which he crossed the ocean to have mov-
ed upon the water with wing$, and to have made
a noise resembling thunder. He was regarded as
an inhabitant of the sun, who had descended to
visit them. In like manner, wVien Captain Cook
visited the South<Sea Islanders, upwards of half a
century ago, they were struck with terror and as-
tonishment when they saw the ships, flying with
their white wings over the ocean, regarding them
as either birds or fishes, according as their sails
were spread or lowered. This celebrated man at
length fell a victim to the uncivilized inhabitants
of the southern hemisphere. He was massacred
at Owhyhee, on the 14th February, 1779.

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Once the red men sported along the shores of
Newfoundland in perfect security, their hunting
grounds uniatruded upon, and their peace unbroken
by their cruel persecutor, the furrier. But as soon
as Europeans began to settle in the country, the
French and English furriers, perceiving the skin
dresseid of the Indians, and the rich fur which
served them as bedding at night, conceived the
diabolical purpose of shooting them for the val-
uable furs which they always carried with them,
and thus commenced a cold-blooded war against
these unhappy people, who were thought as little
of by these so-called civilized men, as a seal or
a bird. The, poor Indians were hunted like wolves
by those merciless and unfeeling barbarians, the
white men, till at last, of all this noble race, at
one time a powerful tribe, scarce a trace is left
behind. No canoe is now seen gliding noiselessly
over the lakes, no war-song breaks upon the ear. *
If we go to the River Exploits, no sound of the
Indian is heard breaking the silence of these
gloomy solitudes. If we visit that beautiful sheet
of water. Red Indian Lake (their last retreat), no
smoke is seen curling from their wigwams, no
footstep is traced, all is barrenness and naked
desolation. Where then are the red men? They
are gone, they have passed away for ever, and are
now in the far-off land of the Great Spirit. The
philanthropist cannot contemplate the destruction
of the aborigines of Newfoundland without drop-
ping a tear for their melancholy and sad destiny.
It is astonishing that such a length of time should
have rolled on, and so little effort have been made

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ear.

for the accomplishment of one of the sublimest
objects in which man can be engaged, the civil*
ization of his feilow-man. But a star of hope at
last arose in the horizon of this wretched race,
whose glimmering, however, was too feeble to pierce
the hopeless gloom in which they were enshrouded.
The government endeavoured to bring about a re-
conciliation with them, but it was then too late.
The red man lost all confidence, and his heart was
steeled against the cruel treachery of the white
man. Had the government in the beginning sent
a devoted Christian missionary to this degraded
race, to charm them with the music of a Saviour's
dying love, he would have been the true pioneer
in the march of civilization; the hearts of these
savages would have been tamed, their ferocity re-
strained, their passions subdued, and the bow and
arrow exchanged for the "olive branch of peace."
The preaching of the Gospel must precede the
civilization of degraded men. It is a fact which
cannot be denied, that to whatever portion of hea-
then lands the Gospel has been communicated, it
has conveyed to the savage bosom a thrill of
.pleasure before unknown, it has diffused civil and
social blessings, while it led to the glories of
eternity.

The Boeothicks had some idea of religion, though
dark and mixed up with erJHbrs and superstition.
They believed that they were created by the Great
Spirit out of arrows, and that after death they
went to a distant country to renew the society
of their friends. Thus they believed in those great
doctrines of the Christian revelation — the exis-

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tence of a God, and the immortality of the soul.
Reason never could have discovered this to them,
because there is nothing in nature, unaided by
revelation, from which these doctrines could be
deduced. The ancient Greeks and Romans, with
all their learning, eloquence, and refinement, could
not discover the soul's immortality. Athens, the
seat of Grecian learning and philosophy, worshipped
thirty thousand deities. Sunk in ignorance as they
were, we cannot suppose that the red men were
Sufficiently acquainted with the operations of na-
ture in the vegetable kingdom, or the principles
of philosophy by which the laws of rest and mo-
tion are governed, as to draw any analogy between
them and the resurrection of the human body.
Therefore the knowledge of a future state must
have been communicated to them by a divine
revelation. The dealii^ of Jehovah are frequent-
ly dark and mysterious. '*The ways of God are
in the whirlwind, and his paths are in the great
deep ; clouds and darkness are round about his
throne."

What a world (q|. change ! All nature is undergo,
ing a change. lilh^Jief/iof things do not long wear
the same aspect. ^flaii structure of the hUman
body is unceasingly, though insensibly, undergoing
a material change; and could we distinctly see all
the alterations which are going on in the system,
from the lighting of the candle of life, till it is
extinguished by the hand of death, we should be
amazed at the wonderful revolutions that are
constantly taking place in our own bodies.

*'Time works upon our firames, and flrom us stMli^
E'en of ourselves unnotic'd, piecemeal scraps :
No part of man is that which first was bom,
Blood, flesh, or bone, or skin, or hair, or nerve."

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Our associations are changing; many of our
youthful associates and play-fellows have entered
upon the joys or sorrows of eternity. Of those
who are alive, some are at home, others are in
distant lands; some are enjoying health and afflu-
ence, others are suffering poverty, pain, ai^d sorr

row.

"Parents I had, but where are they?
Friends whom I knew, I know no more;
C!ompanions once that cheer'd my way.
Have dropped behind, or gone before,"

There are times when the mind loves to dwell
on the past scenes of life, told reflect upon the
happy days of youth; but while sketching the
bright picture of the joyoifs past, lihe darii; future
comes in to dash the vision, and th<e regretful
feeling will arise — it is gone — it canaot oofhe

"Oh when I waa a tiny boy, i

My days and nights Vott iWl of joy.

My mates were bIMhe i^nd kind!
No wonder that I sometimies sigh.
And dash the tear-drop from my eye.

To cast a look behind I"

In the hour of lonely solitude, and even an^iidi^
the busy pursuits of active life, the memory of
man calls from their long-forgotten sleep past
circumstances "and men, and we view with emo-
tions of pleasure by- gone days; but the scene
soon changes, and leaves us to think of our pre-
sent condition.

■ .'4.
(■> ''■'■'(

^■■.

):H-^'

'iP

"Affection still by kind Remembrance led,
Shall wander in the autumn of the past,
And seek for days whose loveliness is fled, ^ .

Like leaves which died and vanished in the blast"

What numberless revolutions of the wheel of
vicissitude! Our circumstances have changed, we
are not in the same condition as we were in days
that are past; we are either richer or poorer, more
happy or more miserable. In the short space of
a few fleeting years we often see those who en-
joyed affluence and every comfort this world could
bestow, surrounded by a host of sycophants and
flatterers, suddenly fall from the pinnacle of pros-
perity into a state of poverty and misery, and
during the, residue of their lives move through
the world unnoticed, unpitied, and forgotten; their
former friends hardly deigning to recognize them,
and holding out, not the warm hand of friendship,
but that of cold formality, the wintry touch of
which makes them shrink and sigh. Others we
behold as rapidly emerge from the shades of ob-
scurity, and bask in the sunbeams of prosperity ;
and like undiscovered stars long hid in the im-
mensity of space and just now appearing to view,
gather around them a number of observers to
describe their greatness and surpassing brightness.
What a train of prosperous circumstances follow
some ! Whatever they embark in is successful ; while
mi^; with superior merit and greater abilities,
have to contend against a host of obstructions,
and to endure a constant succession of disappoint-
ments; every enterprise, every plan, however well
devised, is unsuccessful. The cause of this lies in
one of the unrevealed mysteries of eternity.

blast"

wheel of
inged, we
•e in days
)rer, more

space of

who en-
rld could
lants and

of pros-
lery, and

through
en; their
ze them,
iendship,
touch of
:hers we
s of ob-
)sperity ;
the im-
to ?iew,
•vers to
B^htness.
» follow
1 ; while
abilities,
uctions,
ippoint-
^er well
I lies in
r.

What hidden things will a review of the pMt
exhibit to the dying man, who has arrived at the
end of life, unprepared fox the joys of heaven!
The gloom gathers thick around his spirit, and a
sting of remorse pierces his heart, when he thinks
of the crimes he has perpetrated on the stage and
behind the scenes of life ; his state is dreary and
cheerless, and the horizon of his futurity is en-
veloped in blackness, gilded by no ray of heavenly
light to chase away the gathering storm of God*8
indignation. What a different review the past
affords those who have the lamp of conscience
burning brightly ! They view with adoring grati-
tude the goodness of God in providence and
grace ; and as they look into futurity, the sublime
enjoyments of eternity burst upon their view to
enlighten their passage over the river of death.

No past event do I remember more distinctly
than when passing over the Broad Quay of Bristol
one evening in company with an intimate friend.
We saw a number of persons assembled on the
deck of a vessel ; curiosity prompted us to go wid
see what was going on. We found it to be a
prayer meeting, at which we remained until the
close, when one of the persons whe had be«|N
engiaged in prayer, approached us, extending his

hand and repeating these lines: *

*
"Would Jesus have the sinner die?
Why hangs he then on yonder tree?
What means that strange expiring cry?
Sinners, he prays for you and me."

He invited us to his house, whither we accom-
panied him; but before we left he summoned his

.£•"«■

_..*s«i»*1

,»i

'W'

wv<i?mr^'

*h*

ikitiily, and engaged in prayer for a disobedient
ion. My companion felt the force of this re-
markable prayer, and he informed me some time
after, had it not been that Providence directed our
steps to the vessel on board of which we were in-
troduced to this pious man, in all probability he
would have still been living without a saving know-
ledge of God. The youth who then accompanied
me, is now engaged in the awful, yet delightful
employment of making known to his fellow- sin-
ners the mercies of a redeeming God.

One Sunday morning, after hearing two sermons,
one in a Wesleyan, the other in a Baptist chapel, I
entered Red Cliff church just in time to hear the
Rev. Dr. Bridges announce for his text, " The beg-
gar died and was carried by the angels into Abra-
ham's bosom." This venerable man had not pro-
ceeded far before the tears began to steal down his
' furrowed cheeks,* the stillness of death pervaded this
noble and ancient pile of architecture, which was
densely crowded, even the aisle where I stood
was thronged; and whatever view I took of this
vast assemblage the weeping eye met my gaze.
One remarkable passage of the sermon I shall
never forget. Whilst this aged minister held the
Bible in his withered hand, upon which was fall-
ing a copious flood of tears : he said, " When an
individual is taken ill and on the borders of eter-
nity, the parson of the*' parish is sent for; he ar-
rives, he ascends the stairs, he enters the apartment
of the dying man; after some conversation he
finds that the man has made no preparation for
eternity; the minister dares not say] he is going

■^.

■ ^ii»«

to heaven, and he must not tell his weeping^
friends he is on the verge of interminable woe^
and must he say ? what must he say V* The wor-
thy minister who delivered this very impressive
sermon is now in the world of spirits. " And evei|
the servants . d ministers of the Lord, even the
father:^, where ure they ? and the prophets, have
they lived for ever? or are not they also in the
place where the wicked cease from troubling, and
where the weary are at rest." Yet a little while
and we shall pass away, our bodies will be crushed
to atoms in the corruptions of the dark and silent
tomb, and our deathless spirits wing their flight

to God, to receive their destiny.

«
^'Ob, and is life so brief? and are its ties,

Its holiest ties, so tnU and vanishing?

Pass bat a few. short years, and shall we too

Be missing in oar places? Gracions Heaven! ,

With noble parpoae and eternal hope

Encompass thou oar spirits, guide us on * ,

From race to race, from light to purer light.

To the high source of being, till our hearts,

Thirsting for holiness and glory, rise

On wings of faith above this fading scene

Of mortal suffering, and expand in love *

Which seeks communion with the realms of God."

How delightful the contemplation, how ani-
mating would the prospect be, for us to meet in
that happy land, * * ,

** Where saints immortal reign.
Infinite day excludes the night.
And pleasures banish pain !"

Let this hope cheer us while we travel through
the wilderness,, and may our glorious Joshua at
last divide Jordm's streams, that we may pass
safely over !

' ''-"^H

'■■-. {iP

■■:'^H

THE NIGHT WALK.

"Now Evening fades! her pensive step retires.

And Night leads on the dews, and shadowy hours,
Her awfUI pomp of planetary fires,
And all her train of visionary powers.

Queen of the solemn thought— mysterious Night I
Whose step is darkness, and whose voice is fear!

Thy shades I welcome with severe delight.
And hall thy hollow gales that sigh so drear!

Thy milder terrors, Night, I firequent woo.
Thy silent lightnings, and thy meteors' glare.

Thy northern fires, bright with ensanguine hue.
That light in heaven's high vault the fervid air."

Mrs. Ratcuffb.

The moon was shining in her silvery bright-
ness, and the stars glittering in every direction,
when we sallied forth to behold the magnificent
spectacle of the heavens with bright constella-
tions richly dressed. Amidst the various scenes
which beautify the face of nature, there are few
more grand or imposing than those which are
viewed by the light of the moon. The royal
psalmist was deeply impressed with the great-
ness and glory of God as exhibited in the vast
concave of the firmament, when he exclaimed,
^*When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy
fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast
ordained, what is man, that thou art mindful of

him, or the son of man, that thou visitest liim ! '*
Several of the poets have given beautiful descrip-
tions of the appearance of moonlight, one of which
is the following :

" As when the moon, reftilgent lamp of night !
O'er heaven's clear azure sheds her sacred light,
When not a breath disturbs the deep serene.
And not a cloud o'ercasts the solemn scene ;
Around her throne the vivid planets roll,
And stars nnnumber'd gild the glowing pole;
O'er the dark trees a yellower verdure shed.
And tip with silver ev'ry mountain's head;
Then shine the vales, the rocks in prospect rise;
A flood of glory bursts firom all the skies;
The conscious swains, rejoicing in the sight,
Eye the blue vault, and blesa the useftal light"

Pope's Homkb.

The moon has been an object of superstitious
adoration by the ancients, and in India is still
reverenced as a deity. Among the Jews she was
honoured as the greatest of the celestial hosts.
We read in the Old Testament tLat the new
moons, or first days of every month, were kept by
them as festivals, which were celebrated by the
sound of trumpets, entertainments, and sacrifices.
The moon is a satellite to our earth, constantly
attending upon it at all seasons, and is the nearest
of all the heavenly bodies. Her distance from our
world is 240,000 miles, 2,180 miles in diameter,
6,300 miles in circumference, and pursuing her
course at the rate of 2,300 miles an hour. She
revolves around the earth in 27 days, 7 hours, 43
minutes; but as the earth is advancing in her
orbit round the sun, during the moon's revolution^
the period from one new moon to another is inp

'■mhi..

creased, and occupies 29 and a half days. Astron-
omers inform us that an eclipse of the moon is
caused by the shadow of the earth falling on
her, which never takes place but at full moon,
when the earth is between the sun and the moon,
and all three are nearly in a straight line with res-
pect to each other. All the light proceeding from
this nocturnal luminary is received from the sun,
and reflected back upon us to cheer our long and
dreary winter nights, and to assist in producing
the ebbing and flowing of our tides, and thus
preserving the mighty waters from putrefaction.
It is said that the light of the full moon is ninety
thousand tinges k&s than daylight. If the re-
flected light of the moon produced heat, the night
air would be warm, and consequently destructive
to the health of man. The moon not only acts
upon the atmosphere, but she is also undoubtedly
a mighty agent in producing many geological
phenomena, and^efiecting many extensive changes,
which philosophers are as yet wholly ignorant of.
The eflects of the moon are felt upon the whole
of animated nature, from man down to the lowest
scale of organization. It is well known that shell
flsh taken in the decrease of the moon are poor
and worthless; whereas, those taken during full
moon are plump and good. I have read that
animals just killed have been rapidly decomposed
by exposure to moonlight, and that in warm
countries the moon affects the eyes more than the
sun. Of the effects of moonlight upon the human
constitution I had a proof last summer. Sleeping
in a house at Bonavista where the bed was

situated immediately unde^ a window, the blaze
of the full moon poured directly on me, pro^
ducing such a sickening head-ache and restless-
ness, that for three nights I took scarcely any rest,
and was eventually obliged to have a curtain drawn
across the window, in order to screen myself from
exposure to the rays of the moon. If we observe
the moon with the naked eye, we perceive a dark
shadow, so well known by the vulgar epithet of
"the man in the moon," which is supposed to
be no other than hills and valleys. If we view
this shadow through a spy-glass or common
telescope, it is more distinctly seen, and presents
quite a varie^'^ated appearance. We are informed
that by the aid of the telescope mountains have
been discovered, some of which have been calcu-
lated to be five miles in perpendicular height.
All astronomers agree, that in the moon there
are intelligent beings, pursuing their busy rounds
with the changing seasons of that distant orb.

How sublime and beautiful it is to gaze upon
the stars in a clear winter's night ! The stars have
been regarded by men through all the ages of the
world with astonishment and admiration. The
ancients steered their ships at night by the moon
and stars.

"Placed at the helm he sat, and mark'd the skies,
Nor clos'd iti sleep his ever watchful eyes.
There view'd the Pleiades, and the northern team,
And greet Orion's more refulgent beam,
To which around the axle of the sky,
The Bear revolving, points his golden eye.
Who shines exalted on th' ethereal plain,
Nor bathes his blazing forehead in the main."

Pope's Homeb.

,/'

tr':.

During our walk to Bonavista, the scenery of
nature presented a magnificent appearance; be-
neath our feet was a snowy carpet of purest white ;
before us lay the unruffled waters of the ocean
like a huge mirror, and over us was stretched the
silvery canopy of night, studded with myriads of
twinkling stars, while the moon shed a flood of
glory over the scene ; her silver beams kissing
the ocean cheek, she danced on and lit up the
distant hills of Bonavista. The evening star too
shone very conspicuously; this star is familiar to
the most common observer of the starry heavens.
It is the planet Venus, and one of the most splendid
in the heavens. Her distance from the earth is
computed to be 163 millions of miles, her diameter
about 7,800 miles, and her rate of motion more
than 80,000 miles an hour. Several mountains
have been discovered on this planet, from ten to
nineteen miles high. This planet is the morning
and evening star. " She appears," says Dr. Dick,
'Mike a brilliant lamp amidst the lesser orbs of
night, and alternately anticipates the morning dawn,
and ushers in the evening twilight. When she is
to the westward of the sun in winter, she cheers
our mornings with her vivid light, and is a prelude
to the near approach of the break of day and the
rising sun. When she is eastward of that lumi.
nary her light bursts upon us after sunset, before
any of the other twinkling orbs of heaven make
their appearance ; and she discharges in some
measure the functions of the absent moon.

It is said that tthe gre|test number of stars
visible to the naked eye is not more than from

6 to 800, but by the application of the telescope
millions burst upon the view. The great as-
tronomer, Herschel, has computed the number of
stars to be nearly one hundred millions, and that
when his glass was directed to that bright mass
of light (stretching across the heavens and called
the Milky- Way) he observed in a zone, only two
degrees in breadth, fifty thousand stars in the
course of a single hour ! At another time no less
than two hundred and fifty-eight thousand stars
passed through the view of his telescope in the
course of forty-one minutes ! The number of the
stars is wonderfully increased by the consideration
that each fixed star is a sun, like our own glorious
orb of day, and each the centre of a system, around
which worlds revolve. Instead, then, of only one
sun and one world in the universe, the science of
astronomy has discovered to us suns upon sans,
systems upon systems, and worlds upon worlds,
dispersed through boundless space ; and that our
world would be no more missed from the count*
less worlds rolling in ethereal space, than a drop
from the mighty ocean, so small a space does it
occupy in the universe.

We are informed that the distance of the
nearest star from our earth, is at least twenty
billions of miles; and that a cannon ball ^jing
at the rate of 500 miles every hour, would require
four millions five hundred and ninety-five thousand
years, before it could arrive at the nearest of tte
fixed stars! The mind is overpowered in (he
contemplation of such amazing distance. Yet
these inconceivable distances are calculated to

M-'

exactness by astronomers, according to the rules
of geometry and plane trigonometry, and the
principles of optics.

" I launch into the trackless deeps of space,
Where baming roand ten thousand suns appear,
Of elder beams which ask no leave to shine
Of our terrestrial star, nor borrovi- light
From the proud regent of our scanty day.
Sons of the morning ! first-born of creation !
And only less than Him who marks their track.
And guides their fiery wheels. Here must I stop —
Or is there aught beyond? What hand unseen
Impels me onward through the glowing orbs
Of habitable nature far remote.
To the dread confines of eternal night ;
To solitudes of vast unpeopled space.
The desei|(8 of creation wide and wild ;
Where embryo systems and unkindled suns
Sleep in the womb of chaos? Fancy droops!
And thought, astonish'd, stops her bold career."

Mbs. Barbauld.

We are inspired with reverential awe in the
contemplation of so great a Being who created,
sustains, and directs the revolving worlds which
astronomy has opened to our view. We are
lost in astonishment when we think of the plane-
tary orbs being inhabited. Dr. Chalmers says,
"Why then suppose that this little spot, little at
least in the immensity which surrounds it, should
be the exclusive abode of life and of intelligence ?
What reason to think that those mightier globes
which roll in other parts of creation, and which
we have discovered to be worlds in magnitude,
are not also worlds in use and in dignity ? Why
should we think that the great Architect of nature,
supreme in wisdom as he is in power, would call
these stately mansions into existence, and leave

them unoccupied? When we cast our eye over
the broad sea, and look at the country on the
other' side, we see nothing but the blue land
stretching obscurely over the distant horizon.
We are too far away to perceive the richness of
its scenery, or to hear the sound of its populatiota.
Why not extend this principle to the still more
distant parts of the universe? What though,
from this remote point of observation, we can
see nothing but the naked roundness of yon
planetary orbs? Are we therefore to say, that
they are so many vast and unpeopled solitudes?
that desolation reigns in every part of the uni-
verse but ours? that the whole energy of the
divine attributes is expended on one insignificant
corner of these mighty works ? and that to this
earth alone belongs the bloom of vegetation, or
the blessedness of life, or the dignity of rational
and immortal existence ?

" But this is not all. We have something more
than the mere ^magnitude of the planets to allege,
in favour of the idea that they are inhabited. We
know that this earth turns round upon itself; and
we observe that all those celestial bodies which
are accessible to such an observation, have the
same movement. We know that the earth per-
forms a yearly revolution round the sun; and we
can detect in all the planets which compose our
system, a revolution of the same kind, and under
the same circumstances. They have the same
succession of day and night. They have the
same agreeable vicissitude of the seasons. Tp
them light and darkness i^ucceed each other;

V />,-

■J»,-

and the gaiety of summer is followed f by the
dreariness of winter. To each of them the hea-
vens present as varied and magnificent a spec-
tacle ; and this earth, the encompassing of which
would require the labour of years from one of its
puny inhabitants, is but one of the lesser lights
which sparkle in their firmament."

It lends a delightful confirmation to the argu-
ment, when, from the growing perfection of our
instruments, we can discover a new point of
resemblance between our earth and the other
bodies of the planetary system. p

It is now ascertained not merely that all of
Ihem have tneir day and night, and that all of
them have their vicissitudes of seasons, and that
some of them have their moons to rule their
night and alleviate the darkness cl it; we can
see of one that its surface rises into inequalities,
that it swells into mountains, and stretches into
valleys. Of another, that it is surrounded by an
atmosphere which may support the respiration of
animals. Of a third, that clouds are formed and
suspended over it, which may minister to it all
the bloom and luxuriance of vegetation. And of
a fourth, that a white colour spreads over its
northern regions, as its winter advances, and
that on the approach of summer this whiteness
is dissipated, giving room to suppose, that the.
element of water abounds in it; that it rises by
evaporation into its atmosphere ; that it freezes
upon the application of cold ; that it is precipitated
in the form of snow; that it covers the ground
with a fleecy mantle, which melts away from the

heat of a more vertical sun; and that other
worlds hear a resemhiance to our own, in the
same yearly round of beneficent and interesting
changes.

We are naturally led to ask in our own minds,
What are the modes of existence of the inhabi-
tants of the other worlds ? Are they of a higher
or lower order of intelligences than we? Are
they spiritual or material beings? Are their
shape and form like ours, or different ? Are they
living in a state of innocence, or sin ? Are they
governed by a code of moral laws like us ? Do
they partake of the benefits of the death of Christ,
and sing the song of redemption? Or are they
as our first parents were in the garden of Eden,
living in spotless innocence, and holding constant
intercourse with God ?

To all these inquiries, no astronomer has as
yet been able to give any satisfactory reply. All
is hid in mystery, which the curiosity of the
human mind will never be able to reveal.

That the planets are inhabited we may in some
measure be led to infer from a survey of creation.
If we examine the works of God, as displayed
in the mineral, the vegetable, and the animal
kingdoms of nature, we see a chain of gradation
extending through the whole, the links of which
rise one above the other, till we arrive at man.
Do'es this chain of gradation stop here? or are
the links still extended to other orders of created
beings? There is a wide space between man and
his Creator; whereas, the distance between man
and the other animals is very small. If then the

tr"'

chain of being rises by such a gradual progress,
from the lowest order to man, it is reasonable to
suppose that it still proceeds, filling up the space
between man and the Deity with diiferent. orders
of intellectual beings. Addison says, " The whole
chasm of nature, from a plant to a man, is filled
up with divers kinds of creatures, rising one over
another, by such a gentle and easy ascent, that
the little transitions and deviations from one
species to another are almost insens!ble. This
intermediate space is so well husbanded and
managed, that there is scarcely a degree of per-
ception, which does not appear in some one part
of the world of life. Now if the scale of being
rises by such a regular progress so high as man,
we may, by a parity of reason, suppose that it
still proceeds gradually through those beings
which are of a superior nature to him; leaving
still, however, an infinite gap or chasm between
the highest created being, and the power which
produced him."

''So far as we are able to trace the works of
God,'' says Brunton, ''we remark in them a gra-
dation leading up from the lowest order to man —
the mineral by slow degrees approaches to the
plant — the plant by shades still more imperceptible,
touches the confines of animal life — the animals
in many a various degree possess the faculties of
strength, activity, and intellect — until, at last, we
arrive at man, in whom shine still the traces of
his Maker's image. But, alas ' how faint are
those traces become — how infinite the distance
which divides hira now from the Creator! When

we look, therefore, on the one hand, to the narrow
bound which separates man from the other works,
of God — inhabitants like himself of this world —
and, on the other, to the awful chasm that pre-
sents itself between him and the great Creator ;
the analogy of providence leads us to suppose, that
in this interval beings will be found of intelligence
and endowments more valuable far than ours,
though removed still at a distance, which created'
beings cannot pass, from the glory of the eternal
God."

Whilst we were gazing and conversing on the
stupendous picture of the firmament, and con-
templating the greatness and goodness of the
all-creating God, the whole hemisphere became
brilliantly illuminated, painted with the most
beautiful colours we ever beheld by the "rosy
fingers" of the Aurora Borealis.

"High qnivVing in the air, as shadows fly,
The northern lights adorn the azure sky;
Dimm'd by superior blaze the stars retbre.
And heaven's vast concave gleams with sportive fire."

Vast columns of purple, pink, green, orange,
red, &c. (all of which were as imperceptibly blend-
ed as in the rainbow) sported about the heavens,
sometimes radiating, sometimes streaming, and
then resembling swelling waves. This magnifi-
cent display lasted for about ten minutes, and
then nearly disappeared, when another part sent
forth a more beautiful appearance ; all the light,
collecting in the zenith, sent forth rays of diver*
sified colours, having the appearance of the open«
ing and shutting of a fan. After assuming various

.;''»

and fantastic shapes, all gradually died away. As
none of us had ever before seen a coloured Aurora,
we observed it very attentively, but could not
detect the slightest sound, though I have been
informed by several individuals at Carbonear, and
of undoubted veracity, that whilst prosecuting
the fishery at the Labrador during the summer
season, they have heard a very distinct sound
accompanying the Aurora, resembling the distant
flapping of a boat's sails in the wind. It is stated
in the ^'Edinburgh Cabinet Library" that during
Hearn's jountey to the Arctic Sea, " these northern
meteors were distinctly heard to make a rushing
and crackling noise, like the waving of a large
flag in a fresh gale of wind." At Western Bay,
in Conception Bay, a few years since, a crimson-
coloured Aurora appeared just before the time of
commencing the seal fishery; the colour was re-
flected from the surface of the sndw beneath,
which had the appearance of blood. Several of
the inhabitants were terrified at its presence, sup-
posing it to be the harbinger of some direful
calamity; a few individuals declined prosecuting
their intended voyage to the seal fishery, appalled
at the streaming glories of this splendid phenom-
enon.

It is said the northern lights are the origin of
the battles seen in the air, which various histori-
ans record as having been seen by the ancients,
and which were regarded by them with super-
stitious awe and terror. Various opinions have
been given by philosophers as to the origin of the
Aurora Borealis. Some suppose it is caused by

a combination of different gases in a peculiar state
of the atmosphere; others that it is produced by
crystals of frozen vapour or snow in the upper
regions of the air; but the commonly-received
opinion is, that it is caused by electricity or
magnetism; for it has been observed, that during
a ''bright display of the northern lights, the
magnetic needle has been considerably disturbed.
From observations made by Captain Winn, he
found that the Aurora Borealis fs constantly
succeeded by hard southerly or south-west winds,
attended with hazy weather and small rain; that
in twenty-three instances he founda gale gene-
rally commenced between twenty-four and thirty
hours after tl.e Aurora. He is of opinion, that
the strength of the succeeding gale is proportion*
ate to the splendour and vivacity of the Aurora.

In a paper communicated to the Royal Astro-
nomical Society of London, Robert Snow, Esq.
records his observations of this interesting phe-
nomenon made at Ashurt and Dulwich, from the
autumn of the year 1834 to the autumn of 1839,
within which period several remarkable Auroras
appeared. The author deduces from his observa-
tions the following invariable circumstances of the
phenomenon. That the Aurora may be expected
at any season of the year; that it assumes nearly
every variety of colour; that it resembles, both in
shape and motion, every variety of ordinary cloud;
that its appearances are in the course of the same
evening, and without any determinate order, un-
dulating, radiating, and streaming with other ca-
pricious forms not easly expressible; that the

>-•■]

length of time during which it is visible is very
uncertain; that it apppears to the eye (geometrical
considerations apart) as if it existed at various
distances from the earth's surface; that although
for the most part it is not influenced by the pre-
sence of clouds, it occasionally tinges them with
its own prevailing colours; that this has been
noticed only when the clouds are low; that there
are also certain lofty cirrus clouds which have
the appearance of arranging themselves in peculiar
bands of strata, as if in connexion with the
Aurora; that these strata are visible during day-
light, when the visibility of the dark portion of
the arch has sometimes been strongly suspected ;
that the stars are seen both well and ill defined
through the auroral darkness; that it is by no
means confined to the northern regions of the
sky, though originating about the magnetic north ;
that, with the exception of a diminution of its
general effect, it is uninfluenced by moonlight ;
that its appearance generally accompanies weather
the reverse to frost, such as heavy wind and rain ;
and lastly, that it is wholly inaudible. The
author concludes by warning the spectators of this
phenomenon against the false impressions to which
the senses are liable, especially with regard to the
sensation of heat and the notion of sound as
attending phenomena in which our idea of either of
these qualities has been predominantly awakened.

We arrived at Bonavista about nii." o'clock,
where, after remaining a short time, we re:urned
home again to Bird Island Cove. During our
walk back, we observed a star shoot across the

heavens, emitting fiery Hparks similar to a sky-
rocket, and it then disapueared. Various causes
have been assigned for the appearance of these
meteors. Some attribute their origin to electricity,
or the igniting of a quantity of hydrogen gas in
the atmosphere. That great philosopher, Sir
Humphrey Davy, attributes their appearance to
falling stones ; but the true cause and nature of
falling stars appears to be as yet not fully ascertain-
ed. Their height has been calculated at 500 miles,
and their velocity thirty-six miles in a lecond.

A very remarkable phenomenon wailoberved on
the 14th of April, 1843, by Mr. William Parsons
of Harbour Grace, and his crew, whilst prosecu-
ting a sealing voyage, the account of which we
copy from the "Weekly Herald."

On the evening of Good Friday (14th inst.)
Baccalieu bearing W. by S. by compass, distant
between 30 and 40 miles, the wind blowing a
stiff breeze from W. N. W. the sky being very
clear, and the full moon from 10 to 15 degrees
above the horizon, and partially obscured by a
small cloud, we observed a large ball of fire
slowly issuing from behind the cloud, of a diameter
equaling apparently four times that of the moon
itself, of a bright flame colour, and producing for
the space of a minute a light almost equal to the
light of day. After moving in a southerly direc-
tion for 40 or 50 seconds, it made a curvature
towards the sea, and having reached the .sirface
dashed into a thousand luminous fragments, which
were immediately extinguisl^i^d, leaving us in com-
parative darkness. Thejiye being directed to

the point of the heavens in which it appeared to
originate, our astonishment was increased on be-
holding another globe of a less size and of a paler
hue proceeding from the same place, taking a
similar round range and curvature, and ultimately
falling, so far as we could judge, on the very spot
whereon the former one was extinguished. There
was no eound of explosion, nor any other effect
that we could perceive."

There is no doubt but that the above appear-
ances were what is termed meteoric stones, and
must have been > bodies of immense size. Mrs.
Somerville says, "The fall of meteoric stones is
much more frequent than is generally believed.
Hardly a year passes without some known in-
stances occurring; and if it be considered that
only a small part of the earth is inhabited, it
may be presumed that numbers fall into the ocean,
or on the uninhabited part of the land, unseen by
man. Tl^ey are sometimes of great magnitude;
the volumef'Of several has exceeded that of a body
of seventy miles in diameter. One, which passed
within twenty-five miles of us, was estimated to
weigh about 600,000 tons, and to move with a
velocity of about twenty miles in a second. A
fragment of it alone reached the earth. The ob>
liquity of the descent of meteorites, the peculiar
substances they are composed of, and the explo-
sion accompanying their fall, show that they are
foreign to our system."

I have read accounts of meteoric phenomena in
the following works : Dick's " Celestial Scenery,"
the ** London Encyclopedia," " Pandelodium,"

Vf^

" Penny Cyclopedia," Dick's " Sidereal Heavens/'
the " Encyclopedia Britannica/' and several other
minor works. For the information of the youth-
ful reader, who may not have had access to any of
the above works, I abridge the fgllowing accounts
from Dick's " Sidereal Heavens " and " Celestial
Scenery." * *

"The most striking and remarkable form
in which shooting stars have appeared is that of
"meteoric showers,'' when thousands of those
bodies have appeared to sweep along at once, and
in continued succession for several hours, so that
almost the whole visible canopy of the sky seemed
to be in a blaze. As this phenomenon has re-
cently excited considerable attention among phi-
losophers, and as it is now generally considered
as connected with some moving bodies in the
heavens, I shall, in the first place, give a detail
of some of the more remarkable circumstances
with which it has been attended, as described by
those who were eye-witnesses of the scene. One
of the most remarkable displays of the phenomenon
to which we allude is that which was seen on the
evening of the 12th and the morning of the 13th
of November, 1833, in the United States of
America. The following account of it is abridged
from the New York Commercial Advertiser, of
November 13, 1833:

" The sky was remarkably clear on the night
of this remarkable phenomenon. Some time before
twelve o'clock, the meteors so frequently seen on
summer evenings, called shooting stars, were ob-
served to fall with uilbsual frequency and splen-

'%,

dour. They continued from that hour to flash
athwart the skies more and more^ until they were
eclipsed by the glories of the rising sun. This
morning, from four to six they were most numer-
ous and refulgent. Within the scope that the
eye could contain, more than twenty could be seen
at a time, shooting (save upward) in every direc-
tion. Not a cloud obscured the broad expanse,
and millions of meteors sped their way across it
on every point of the compass. Were it possible
to enumerate them in the swiftness of their arrowy
haste, we might venture to say that for the space
of two hours, intervening between four and six,
more than a thousand per minute might have been
counted. Their coruscations were bright, gleamy,
and incessant, and they fell thick as the flakes in
the early snows of December. In one instance
we distinctly heard the explosion of a meteor that
shot across to the north-west, leaving a broad
and luminous track ; and witnessed another which
left a path of light that was clearly discernible
for more than ten minutes after the ball, if such
it was, had exploded. Its length was gradually
shortened, widening in the centre, and apparently
consisted of separate and distinct globules of
light, drawing around a common centre, glimmer-
ing less and less vividly, until they finally faded
in the distance. Compared with the splendour
of this celestial exhibition, the most brilliant
rockets and fireworks of art bore less relation than
the twinkling of the mos^ tiny star to the broad
glare of the sun. The whole heavens seemed in
motion, and never before has it fallen to our lot

-t

-to observe a phenomenon so inagnifi<;ent and sub-
lime."

Various similar accounts of the same phenomenon
were given in the Philadelphia, Hartford, Boston,
and other newspapers of the same date. A gen-
tleman in South Carolina thus describes the effect
of the phenomenon of 1833 upon his negi s : —

" I was suddenly awakened by th most dis-
tressing cries that ever fell on my ears. Shrieks
of horror and cries of mercy I could hear from
most of the negroes on three plantations, amounting
in all to about six or eight hundred. While
earnestly listening for the cause, I heard a faint
voice near the door calling my name. I arose, and
taking my sword, stood at the door. At this
moment I heard the same voice still beseeching
me to rise, and saying, ' Oh, my God ! the world
is on fire ! ' I then opened the doer, and it is diffi-
cult to say, which excited me most — the awfulness
of the scene, or the distressed cries of the negroes.
Upwards of one hundred lay prostrate on the
ground; some speechless, and some uttering the
bitterest cries, but most with their hands raised,
imploring God to save the world and them. The
scene was truly awful: for never did rain fall
much thicker than the meteors fell towards the
earth — east, west, north, and south, it was the
same."

Meteoric phenomena, nearly resembling what
has been now described, have occurred at several
former periods. It is a circumstance worthy of
particular notice, that these meteoric showers have
taken place chiefly on the 12th. and I3th of

«!•.,

November, and, hence, they are now distinguished
by the name of the November Meteors. Flights
of shooting stars, more or less numerous, have
been seen in different places, both in Europe and
America, at the same period — Tiamely, the 13th
of November, in the years 1834, 1835, 1836, and
1837, so that they are now considered as a regular
periodical phenomenon."

In the "American Journal of Science," for April,
1834, Dr. Olmsted, professor of mathematics and
natural philosophy in Yale College, New-Haven,
has entered into an elaborate investigation of this
subject, in a communication which occupies about
forty- two pages. The whole of this paper is well
worthy of the attentive perusal of the philosophic
inquirer ; but the limits to which I am necessarily
confined in this chapter, will permit me to state
only the general results of the professor's inves-
tigations, all of which appear to be deduced from
the phenomena with great acuteness and in-
genuity of reasoning. These results are,

1. That the meteors of November 13th had their
origin beyond the limits of our atmosphere; for
the source of the meteors did not partake of the
earth's motion, which was demonstrable from a
variety of circumstances. *

2. That the height of the place whence the
meteors emanated, above the surface of the earth,
was about 2,238 miles. This was ascertained
from a comparison of different observations made
in different places, and from trigonometrical cal-
culations founded upon them.

3. The meteors fell towards the earth, being

attracted to it by the force of gravity. It seemed
unnecessary to assign any other cause, since gravity
is adequate to produce the effect.

4. They fell towards the earth in straight lines,
and in directions which, within considerable
distances, were nearly parallel with each other.
The courses are inferred to have been straight
lines, because no others could have appeared to
spectators in different situations to have described
arcs of great circles.

5. They entered the earth's atmosphere with
a velocity equal to about four miles per second,
or more than ten times greater than the maximum
velocity of a cannon ball, and about nineteen times
that of sound. This was inferred from the laws
of falling bodies.

6. The meteors consisted of combustible matter,
and took fire and were consumed in traversing
the atmosphere. They were seen glowing with
intense light and heat, increasing in size and
splendour as they approached the earth. They were
seen extinguished in a manner in all respects
resembling € combustible body like a sky-rocket,
and in the case of the larger, a cloud of luminous
vapour was seen as the product of combustion.
That they took fire in the atmosphere is inferred
from the fact, that they were not luminous in their
original situation in space, otherwise the body
from which they emanated would have been visi-
ble. '

7. Some of the larger meteors must have been
bodies of great size. Some of them appeared
larger than the full moon rising. Such a body

seen at a 110 miles' distance, behoved to have
been one mile in diameter; at 55 miles, one-
half mile; at 22 miles, one-fifth of a mile; at
5^ miles, one-twentieth of a mile, or 2G4 feet.

8. The meteors were constituted of light and
transparent materials. They were of light ma-
terials, otherwise their momentum would have
been sufficient to enable them to make their way
through the atmosphere, to the surface of the
earth. They w-^re transparent bodies, otherwise
we cannot conceive how they could have existed
together in their original state without being
visible by reflected light.

9. The next, and one of the principal subjects
of inquiry was, What relations did the body
which afforded the meteoric shower sustain to
the earth ? Was it of the nature of a satellite,
that revolves around the earth as its centre of
motion? Was it a collection of nebulous matter
which the earth encountered in its annual mo-
tion ? Or was it a comet which chanced at this
time to be pursuing its path along with the earth,
around their common centre of motioli ? It could
not have been a satellite, because it remained so
long stationary with respect to the earth ; nor
was it a nebula, either stationary or wandering
lawlessly through space. Such a collection of mat-
ter could not remain stationary within the solar
system; and had it been in motion in any other
direction than that in which the earth was mov-
ing, it would soon have been separated from the
earth, since during the eight hours while the
meteoric shower lasted, the earth moved in its

• ail

of
tter
mo-
this
•th,
ould

orbit through the space of .'540,000 miles. The
conclusion to which Professor Olmsted arrives,
after a due consideration of all circumstances, is
the following: — That the meteors of November
13th, consisted of portions of the extreme parts
of a nebulous body, which revolves around the
sun in an orbit interior to that of the earth, but
little inclined to the plane of the ecliptic, hav-
ing its aphelion near to the earth's path, and
having a periodic time of 182 days nearly.

Few things have puzzled philosophers more
than to account for large fragments of compact
rocks proceeding from regions beyond the clouds,
and falling to the earth with great velocity.
These stones sometimes fall during a cloudy, and
sometimes during a clear and serene atmosphere.
They are sometimes accompanied with explosions,
and sometimes not. The following statements,
selected from respectable authorities, will convey
some idea of the phenomena peculiar to the^e
bodies. On the 13th of December, 1795, a stone
weighing fifty-six pounds fell near Wold Cottage,
in Yorkshire, at three o'clock, p. m. It penetrated
through twelve inches of soil and six inches of
solid chalk rock, and in burying itself had thrown
up an immense quantity of earth to a great dis-
tance. As it fell, a number of explosions were
heard, as loud as pistols. In the adjacent villages
the sounds were heard as of great guns at sea, but
at two adjoining villages the sounds were so dis-
tinct of something passing through the air to the
residence of Mr. Topham, that five or six people
came up to see if anything extraordinary had

."«;■' .,-«•■:■>>■■■■■

happened at his house. When the stone was
extracted, it was warm, smoked, and smelt very
strong of sulphur. The day was mild and hazy,
but there was no thunder nor lightning the whole
day. No such stones are known in the country,
and there is no volcano nearer than Vesuvius or
Hecla. The constituent parts of this stone were
found exactly the same as those of the stones of
Benares, which fell December, 1798.

On the 26th of April, 1803, an extraordinary
shower of stones happened* at L'Aigle, in Nor-
mandy. About one o'clock, the sky being almost
serene, a rolling noise like that of thunder was
heard, and a fiery globe of uncommon splendour
was seen, which moved through the atmosphere
with great rapidity. Some moments after, there
was heard at L'Aigle, and for thirty leagues
round in every direction, a violent explosion, which
lasted five or six minutes, after which was heard
a dreadful rumbling, like the beating of a drum.
In the whole district there was heard a hissing
noise, like that of a stone discharged from a sling,
and a great many mineral masses, exactly similar
to those distinguished by the name of meteor
stones, were seen to fall. The largest of these
stones weighed seventeen pounds and a half.
They all contain silica, magnesia, oxyd of iron,
nickel, and sulphur in various proportions. Their
specific gravity is about 3^ or 3| times heavier
than water. In 1492, November 7th, a stone of
206 pounds fell at Ensisheim, in Alsace. It is
now in the library of Colniar, and has been re-
duced to 150 lbs. in consequence of the abstrac-

tion of fragments. The famous Gassendi relates,
that a stone of a black metallic colour fell on
Mount Vaision in Provence, November 29th,
1637. It weighed 54 lbs. and had the size and
shape of the human head. Its specific gravity
was 3| times that of water. 1G.54, March 30th,
a small stone fell at Milan, and killed a Francis-
can. 1706, June 7th, a stone of 72 lbs. fell at
Larissa, in Macedonia; it smelled of sulphur, and
was like the scum of iron. 1751, May 26th, two
masses of iron, of 71 lbs. and 16 lbs. fell in the
district of Agran, the capital of Croatia, the larg-
est of these is now in Vienna. July, 1810, a
large ball of fire fell from the clouds at Shaha-
bad, which burned five villages, destroyed the
crops, and killed several men and women. 1818,
July, 29th, O. S. a stone of 7 lbs. weight fell at
the village of Slobadka, in Russia, and penetrated
nearly sixteen inches into the ground. It had a
brown crust, with metallic spots. 1825, 10th
February, a meteoric stone weighing 16 lbs. 7 oz.
fell from the air at Na;ijemoy, Maryland. It was
taken from the ground about half an hour after
its fall, was sensibly warm, and had a sulphureous
smell. ...

Several hundreds of instances similar to the
above might be produced, of large masses of stones
having fallen from the upper regions upon the
earth. These stones, although they have not the
smallest analogy with any of the mineral substan-
ces already known, either of a volcanic or any
other nature, have a very peculiar and striking
analogy with each other. They have been found

at places very remote from each other, and at very
distant periods. The mineralogists who have
examined them agree, that they have no resem-
blance to mineral substances, properly so called,
nor have they been described by mineralogical
authors. They have, in short, a peculiar aspect,
and peculiar characters, which belong to no native
rocks or stones with which we are acquainted.
They appear to have fallen from various points
of the heavens, at all periods, in all seasons of
the year, at all hours, both of the day and night,
in all countries in the world, on mountains and
on plains, and in places the most remote from
any volcano. The luminous meteor which gen-
erally precedes their fall is carried along in no
fixed or invariable direction, and as their descent
usually takes place in a calm and serene sky, and
frequently in cloudless weather, their origin cannot
be traced to the causes which operate in the
production of rain, thunder-storms, or tornadoes.
From a consideration of these and many other
circumstances, it appears highly probable, if not
absolutely certain, that these substances proceed
from regions far beyond the limits of our globe.
That such solid substances in large masses could
be generated in the higher regions of the atmos-
phere is an opinion altogether untenable, and is
now generally discarded, even by most of those
philosophers who formerly gave it their support.
That they have been projected from volcanoes
is a hypothesis equally destitute of support. On
the supposition that the bursting of a large planet
was the origin of the small planets, Vesta, Juno,

Ceres, and Pallas, we may trace a source whence
meteoric stones probably originate. When the
cohesion of the planet was overcome by the action
of the explosive force, a number of little frag-
ments, detached along with the greater masses,
would, on account of their smallness, be projected
with great velocity, and being thrown beyond the
attraction of the greater fragments, might fall to-
wards the earth when Mars happened to be in the
remote part of his orbit. When the portions which
are thus detached arrive within the sphere of
the earth's attraction, they may revolve around that
body at different distances, and may fall upon
its surface in consequence of a diminution of
their centrifugal forco ; or, being struck by the
electric fluid, they may be precipitated upon the
earth, and exhibit all those phenomena which
usually accompany the descent of meteoric stones.
This opinion appears to have been first broached
by Sir David Brewster, and is stated and illus-
trated in the ''Edinburgh Encyclopaedia," art.
Astronomi/, and in vol. ii. of his edition of " Fer-
guson's Astronomy." Though not unattended with
difficulties, it is perhaps the most plausible hy-
pothesis which has yet been formed, to account
for the extraordinary phenomena of heavy sub-
stances falling with velocity upon the earth, through
the higher regions of the atmosphere.

On this subject I would consider it as pre-
mature to hazard any decisive opinion. I have laid
the above facts before the reader, that he may
be enabled to exercise his own judgment, and form

his own conclusion. I have bc».:;d them partic-

.^1

ularly with this view, that they may afford a
subject of investigation and reflection. For all
the works and dispensations of the Almighty,
both in the physical and moral world, are worthy
of our contemplation and research, and may ul-
timately lead both to important discoveries and
to moral instruction. Though ''the ways of
God" are in many instances "past finding out,"
yet it is our duty to investigate them in so far as
our knowledge and limited powers will permit.
For as we are told on the highest authority, that
'' the works of the Lord are great and marvellous,"
so it is declared, that ''they will be sought out,"
or investigated, "by all those who have pleasure
therein." . . '

THE OCEAN.

"Thou trackless and immeasurable main!
On theo no record ever lived again
To meet the hand that writ it; lino nor lead
Ilath ever fathom'd thy profoundcst deeps,
Where haply the huge monster swells and sleeps,
King of his watery limit, who, 'tis said.
Can move the mighty ocean into storm.—
Oh I wonderful thou art, great element,
And fearful in thy spleeny humours bent,
And lovely in repose: thy summer form
Is beautiful; and when thy silver waves
Make music in earth's dark and winding caves,
I love to wander on thy pebbl'd beach, *

Marking the sunlight at the evening hour.
And hearken to the thoughts thy waters teach —
•Eternity, Eternity, and Power."

Barrt GOBirWALL.

In the Mosaic account of the creation we are
informed, that the waters reigned over the form-
less and chaotic world, and that the '^ spirit of
God moved upon the face of the waters"

•• With mighty wings outspread,
Dove-like, sat brooding on the vast abyss,
And made it pregnant;"

and in obedience to the command of God, "Let
the waters under the heaven be gathered together
unto one place, and let the dry land appear,"

order arose out of confusion, light out of dark-
ness, and the earth, emerging out of the waters,
became a beauteous residence for man and other
animals, adorned with every variety of vegetable
life. R. Montgomery thus describes the birth
of creation :

"Before the glad stars hymn'd to new-bom eartb,
' Or young creation revell'd in its birth,

Thy Spirit mov'd upon the pregnant deep,
Unchain'd the waveless waters from their sleep;
Bade Time's majestic wings to be unfurl'd,
And out of darkness drew a breathing world."

The body of waters flowing over the surface of
the earth was on the third day collected together,
when that portion of the world above the level
of the sea formed the dry land, the sea occupying
a vast plain or valley. It is probable that the
bottom of the ocean is similar to the dry land,
having valleys as far below its surface, as moun-
tains are in height above the surface of the
ground. It has been calculated that the sea oc-
cupies nearly three- fourths of the surface of the
globe. The destruction of the world by the
flood was a mighty effort of the oceans, when in
one unbroken swell the waves flowed on encir-
cling the whole earth. And of all the race of
man none were left but Noah and his family, who
were shut up in the ark, drifting on the waves,
and preserved by God until dry land appeared,
when Noah went forth from the ark to inhabit
the new world. « ; fr^,,

Of the destruction of the Egyptians passing
through the Red Sea, Bishop Heber says,

*-.-

"Fly, Mizraim, fly I From Edom's coral strand
Again the prophet stretch'd his dreadrul wand:
With one wild crash the thund'ring waters sweep,
And all is waves— a dark and lonely deep.
Yet o'er those lonely waves such murmurs past,
As mortal wailing swell'd the mighty blast;
And strange and sad the whispering surges bore
The groans of Egypt to Arabia's shore."

The waters of Jordan were again divided, and
a similar event to that of Moses takes place when
Elijah the prophet passes over on dry land to
the other side. We read that the prophet Jonah,
in the belly of the whale, ploughed the ocean
and descended its gloomy caves. Dr. Young
beautifully describes it:

. a ■'

"The trembling prophet, then, themselves to save,
They headlong plunge into the briny wave;
Down he descends, and booming o'er his head,
The billows close^he's number'd with the dead.

The whale expands his jaws, enormous size !

The prophet views the cavern with surprise.

Measures his monstrous teeth afar descry 'd,

And rolls his wondering eyes from side to side;

Then takes possession of the spacious seat,

And sails secure within the dark retreat.

Now is he pleased the northern blast to hear.

And hangs on liquid mountains void of fear,

Or falls immers'd into the deeps below,

Where the dead silent waters never flow;

To the foundations of the hills convey'd.

Dwells in the shelving mountain's dreadful shade;

Where plummet never reach'd he draws his breath.

And glides serenely through the paths of death ;

Two wondrous days and nights through coral groves,

Through labyrinths of rocks and sands he roves :

When the third morning with its level rays,

The mountain gilds, and on the billows plays.

It sees the king of waters rise and pour

His jacred guest uninjur'd on the shore."

.■^.

Our Saviour rebuked the stormy ocean^ and
walked on the watery element. Grahame ex-
presses it thus : ;. •

" Loud blew the stonn of night ; the thwarting surge
Dash'd boiling on the labouring bark; dismay
From face to face reflected, spread around—
When lol upon a towering wave is seen
The semblance of a foamy wreath upright,
Move onward to the ship. The helmsman starts,
And quits his hold; the voyagers, appall'd,
Shrink from the fancied spirit of the flood ;
But when the voice of Jesus, with the storm
Soft mingled, <It is I, be not afraid,'
Fear fled, and joy lighten'd from eye to eye.
- Up he ascends, and from the rolling side

Surveys the tumult of the sea and sky
With transient look severe. The tempest aw'd,
Sinks to a sudden calm; clouds disperse;
The moonbeam trembles on the Face Divine,
Reflected mildly in the unruffled deep."

History informs us of Xerxes, the Persian
monarch, that when about to invade Greece, he
ordered fetters to be thrown into the sea, to curb
its stormy waves. And Canute the Dane, who
sat upon the throne of England in the year 1017,
was told by a flatterer iA his train that the sea
would obey him; upon which, sitting down, he
commanded the tide not to wet his feet, and
having stayed there till the water approached
him, he turned to the flatterer and said, " See
here ! how vain is earthly grandeur, and how
weak all human force I God alone is king of the
land and of the sea : Him let us worship and
adore."

The mighty ocean is a world within itself, con-
taining thousands of hidden objects that the

curiosity of the human mind has never reached.
The sea is a stupendous effect of creative skill
and wisdom, and holds a prominent place among
the sublimer objects of nature. It astonishes
every beholder who surveys the vast expanse
of its mighty waters, glittering and dancing
in the summer sun, then lifting its foaming
waves and roaring in the winter storm; the flux
and reflux of its tides, governed by the greater or
lesser influence of night's pale governess ; and the
consideration that on its ample bosom the stately
ship bears the fortunes of thousands, displays the
wonderful adaDt*^ ;on of nature to the wants of man.
The tides ar u jposed to be produced by the
revolution of ILm earth on its axis, the action of
the winds, changes of temperature, inequality of
evaporation, and the attraction of the sun and
moon. It has been observed, that the current has
a tendency towards the west. During Captain
Parry's voyage to the polar regions, he noticed
the ice, large and small, had at sea a slow but
sure motion towards the west, and that this mo-
tion was kept up against strong breezes from the
west. It is found that the waters of the ocean
are higher upon the eastern than upon the west-
ern coasts. It is said that the waters of the Red
Sea maintain a constant elevation of four or five
fathoms above the neighbouring waters of the
Mediterranean, at all times of the tide; and that
in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean sea, the
surface is higher than the surface of the Paciflc
Ocean on the western coast of America. The
ordinary velocity of the tide is calculated to be

about one mile and a half per hour, though in
some countries near the shore it runs at the rate
of from two to three hundred miles per hour. The
tide appears to extend to no great depth below
the surface, and the great force of the tide is only
felt near a coast. It is not unusual to see cur-
rents running close by each other in different
directions. This I have frequently observed in
Conception Bay; about two miles from the shore
the tide was flowing to the west, while another
current, about three miles from the shore, was
moving to the east. I have often seen the two
currents meet, producing a great eddying and
agitation of the waters. The greatest tide on the
coast of Newfoundland is near St. Shotts, which
sets in from the -eastward at the rate of four miles
per hour. Vessels bound from Canada to Europe
are frequently wrecked upon the coast of St. Shotts,
in consequence of their not making proper allow-
ance for the force of the current on that coast.
No inconvenience, however, is experienced in
Newfoundland from the rushing of the tides. The
waters generally do not rise or fall more than six
or seven feet.

All the water which the rivers supply to the
sea is drawn from the ocean by evaporation, and
raised imperceptibly into the air, whence it de-
scends in fertilizing showers to water the thirsty
earth, and give life to vegetable nature. The
change of temperature is less frequent in the
ocean than in the atmosphere; the temperature
of the sea never exceeds eighty-six degrees. In
high latitudes the sea has been found to be colder

in the southern than in the northern hemisphere,
and the ice is said to extend farther from the
south than from the north pole.

Various navigators have endeavoured to ascer-
tain the depth of the ocean, but for want of
proper apparatus have failed. The depth of the
sea increases gradually as we leave the shore, but
how far it continues to do so is unknown. The
bottom of the sea is probably like the land, va-
riegated with hills and valleys. An American
paper states, that about three years ago the sea
was sounded by lead and line in latitude 57 deg.
south, and 85 deg. 7 min. west longitude from
Paris, by the officers of the French ship Venus,
during a voyage of discovery, at a depth of 3,470
yards, or nearly two miles. No bottom was found,
the weather was very serene, and it is said that the
hauling in of the lead took sixty sailors upwards of
two hours. In another place in the Pacific Ocean
no bottom was found at the depth of 4,140 yards.
During Captain Ross's " Antarctic Expedition,'*
soundings were struck by the plummet at a depth
of 2,677 fathoms; in another place the line was
veered out more than 4,000 fathoms, and yet with
all this scope no bottom could be found. In the
former case, when it was found, the lead could not
be brought up again to indicate the nature of the
ground.

That peculiar bitterish saltness which charac-
terizes sea- water has engaged the attention of the
naturalists of every age : some have attributed it
to one cause, and some to another. It is suppo-
sed, however, to originate from the putrefaction of

• ■ 58 •

those vegetable and animal substances which are
known to exist in sea- water. This bitterness does
not appear to reach beyond a certain depth. A
pint of sea-water has been analyzed, and found to
contain 216^ grains, something less than half an
ounce, of common salt, eighteen grains and one
third of Epsom Salts, eleven grains and a quarter
of sulphate of lime, with a very trifling quantity of
carbonate of lime, and other substances.* The
salt, which is like that in common use (chloride
of sodium, or muriate of soda), may be procured
by evaporation, either by the action of the sun or
by boiling. In warm countries salt is obtained by
allowing the sea to overflow fields, where it is left
exposed to the influence of the sun. Pan-salt
is obtained by boiling sea-water in an iron pan.

Salt is found in most countries, in a solid state,
which is termed rock-salt. It is said, the salt mines
near Cracow, in Poland, contain more salt than
would supply the wants of the whole world for
thousands of years. However, the greatest part
of the salt that is used is obtained from sea-water.
There is very little doubt but that great quantities
of rock-salt exist in Newfoundland. On the south
side of St. George's Bay, salt springs are found,
which of course indicate the existence of rock-salt
beneath, which will one day be drawn from its

* The water of the Atlantic Ocean contains, in 500 grains,

Pure matter of water 478"420 grains

Chloride of sodium (common salt) 13 -3

Sulphate of soda 2-33

Chloride of calcium 0995

Chlor'de of magnesium 4-955

hiding-place and appropriated to the purposes of
human life. It is said the saltness of the sea is
less towards the poles than near the tropics.
Bodies floating upon the sea are more buoyant
than in fresh-water, because th ;a has a greater
specific gravity, i. e. sali-.. ater heavier than

fresh-water. The saltness of the sea appears to
have been co-eval with the creation of the world,
and is a wise provision of the Almighty, that the
great world of waters, occupying more than two-
thirds of the globe, should be thus salted for its
own preservation, and for the existence of its great
Leviathan to its smallest polypi.

The water in the ocean is of a dark blueish
green colour, which is said to urise from the same
cause as the blue tint of the sky. The colour of
the sky is owing to the rays of light passing
through vapour in the atmosphere, and the rays
of blue light being the most refrangible, pass
through the water in greater quantity, undergoing
a great refraction on account of passing through
such a mass of water. The colour of the sea
near the shore is generally green, but this is owing
to the nearness of the bottom, and other local
causes. In no country in the world is the sea
more transparent than in Newfoundland. Objects
can be distinguished lying on the bottom at a
great depth. Sailing up the Bristol Channel some
years ago, I observed that large spots of green,
blue, red, yellow, brown, and almost every variety
of colour covered the surface of the water, which
I remarked to the captain, who said he never saw
the water assume such a singular appearance be-

fore. I have thought these colours were produced
by swarms of marine insects, mixed up with earthy
substances passing in the water at the time. Va-
rious causes are assigned for the discolouration of
the oceanic waters ; but .that which generally con-
tributes to make the different colours, is the hue
of the rocks of which the bottom is composed,
and the animal and vegetable matter near or upon
the surface.

All who frequent the sea are familiar with the
sparkling or phosphorescence of its waters. I
have frequently in the night dipped a rope over-
board, which came up like a string of the most
brilliant gems. One of the grandest displays I
ever saw of this phenomenon was near the Wes-
tern Islands, when the whole surface of the sea
appeared as if emitting flashes of lightning. It
was indeed a magnificent scene to view the waves
rolling their fiery crests all around us. I have
been informed by the fishermen, that fish caught
by them during the night have retained their
brightness till daylight. On going into a stage
after night, I have often seen it appear as if
being on fire, from the luminosity of the cods-
heads and other putrid pieces of fish. I was
spending an evening at Mr. John Butler's, at
Port-de- Grave, in the summer of 1841, when Mr.
Butler said, " We shall have a gale of wind from
the north-east." As there was no appearance
of it at the time, I asked him how he knew. , He
said, "I saw the light." I inquired, "What light?"
Upon which he informed me, that previous to a
gale of wind from the north-east, they always

sea
It

fom
knee
He
t?"
lo a
ays

saw a light moving about on the surface of the
water. I immediately went out of the house and
saw it about five miles distant, in the direction
of Kelley's Island. It was a pale light, larger
than that seen from a lantern. It was moving
very slowly to the westward, on the surface of
the water. About a week after this I saw it
again, when I remarked to Mr. Butler, that we
should have a north-easter. In about ten minutes
my prognostication was verified by the whistling
of the gale around the house. William Butler
informed me that he has seen it approach very
near the shore, and suddenly burst out into a
mass of awful and most brilliant light. He de-
scribed it as being about the size of a dwelling
house.

It is said that the origin of lights seen on the
surface of the water is owing to an innumerable
multitude of small luminous insects, sporting in
or over the water. If this was the cause of the
light I have described, these minute creatures
must (like the larger animals) have a pre-sensation
of the change of weather, for the light always
precedes a gale of north-east wind. It has been
observed by men in all ages, that previous to a
change of weather, animals are in a certain degree
affected, and assume various changes and motions.
But if this light were insects, it is strange they
should always be seen in the one spot, between
Port-de-Grave and Kelley's Island. — The more
we look at the great arcana of nature the more
are we astonished at its mysterious operations.
It is true the taper of science has lit up many

■■ f •

a mystery of the age of darkness and superstition,
but, alas ! how little do we know of the great
temple of natur^

The luminous appearance of the sea has been
explained by a diversity of causes. Some have
ascribed it to fish-spawn and animalcula connected
with the oceanic salts, muriate of soda, and
sulphate of magnesia; others to putrefaction and
friction : but the most probable cause of the
phosphorescence of the sea is supposed to be
owing to that grand agent in all the operations
of nature, electricity.

The geological agency of the sea is to be seen
in every country; in some places extending the
line of coast, and in others encroaching upon the
land. In the reign of Henry I. the sea con-
verted the estates of Earl Goodwin, in Kent,
into that celebrated sandbank which still bears
his name ; and the English papers tell us that
in 1843, a company was formed for the purpose
of reclaiming no less than 600,000 acres of land
which had formerly been overflowed by the sea;
and that this land is to form a new county of
England, to be designated the " Victoria County," .
in honour of her majesty who now sways the
British sceptre.

The river Mississippi, in North America, falling
into an almost tideless sea, has, during floods,
carried to the ocean an immense? number of logs,
trunks of trees, &c., where it is said they are bound
together by a species of cane, and collect mud,
forming a belt of uninhabitable country, from
fifty to one hundred miles in width. The coast

ast

of Holland was subject to a great inundation in
1421, when twenty-two villages were overflowed,
the sea forming a large sheet of water, called
Bias Bosch.

It is said that the sea at Cape May, on the
north side of Delaware Bay, in the United States,
encroaches about nine feet every year ; and that
the sea carried away a quarter of a mile of land
in three years, from Sullivan Island, at the en.
trance of the harbour of Charlestown, in South
Carolina. Numbers of instances might be col-
lected in order to show the geological effects of
the ocean.

Some suppose the great banks of Newfoundland
were once an island, reduced to their present
state by the agency of an earthquake or volcano;
others attribute their origin to the great river St.
Lawrence.

At Lance Cove, near Bonavista, is a grotto
formed by the action of the sea. It is quite a
natural curiosity, and very inappropriately termed
by the inhabitants " The Dungeon." It is about
thirty feet deep and three hundred yards ia
circumference, situated about a hundred yards
from the edge of the cliff. On one side of the
bottom of this cave are two channels, each about
seven feet wide, arched over with grit stone, into
which the old ocean thunders its milky foam.
During a heavy sea- the sound is deafening, resem-*
bling the noise made by the working of the ma-
chinery of a large mill. On the other side is a
small beach, formed by the action of the waves,
on which the earth is constantly foundering from

above. This roofless cavern (for it is all open
to the light of day, except the channels at the
bottom, and may be called a pit rather than a
cavern) must enlarge very fast, owing to the soft
material which presents itself to obstruct the pro-
gress of the sea.

Amongst the wonders of the ocean, few things
have excited greater astonishment than the forma-
tion of coral reeh and islands. Geologists at
one time supposed that whole islands in the
Southern Seas were reared from the bottom of the
ocean by the labours of the coral insects. It is
now, however, believed that the mass of these
islands was upheaved by submarine volcanoes, and
that when it approached the surface, it formed a base
for the coral insects to commence the construc-
tion of their edifices, some of which are said
to be from twenty to thirty feet in thickness.
When the coral reaches the edge of the water,
pieces of shells, sea- weed, and wood accumulate
upon it, which gradually form a soil. The manner
by which these islands acquire earth, vegetable
productions, and animal life, is thus described by
Montgomery, in his beautiful poem, " The Pelican
Island:"

" Nine times the age of man, that coral reef , ^

Had bleach'd beneath the torrid noon, and borne
The thunder of a thousand hurricanes,
Kais'd by the jealous ocean, to repel
That strange encroachment on his old domain.
His rage was impotent; his wrath fulfiU'd
The counsels of eternal Providence,
And 'stablish'd what he strove to overturn :
For every tempest threw fresh wrecks upon it;
Sand from the shoals, exuvias from the deep.

Yu
in
Z
sh
bi
ar
fu

si;
th

FragincntH of shells, dead sluughfl, sca-monstui'H' bono8,

WlmlcH stranded in the shallows, hidoons weeds

ITurl'd out of darkness by th* uprooting surges ;

These, with unutterable relics more,

Iloap'd the rough surface, till the various mass.

By Nature's chemistry combin'd and purg'd,

Had buried the bare rock in crumbling mould,

Not unproductive, but from time to time

Impregnated with seeds of plants, and rife

With embryo animals, or torpid forms

Of reptiles, shrouded in the clefts of trees.

From distant lands, with branches, foliage, fVuit,

riuck'd up and wafted hither by the flood.

Death's spoils, and life's hid treasures, thus onrich'd

And colonized the soil; no particle

Of meanest substance but in course was tum'd

To solid use or noble ornament.

All seasons were propitious; every wind

From the hot Siroc to the wet Monsoon,

Tompcr'd the crude materials: while heaven's dew

Fell on the sterile wilderness aa sweetly

As though it were a garden of the Lord ;

Nor fell in vain; each drop had its commission.

And did its duty, known to Him who sent it."

It had long been imagined, that coral branches
were vegetable substances ; but it is now an estab-
lished fact, that coral is produced by very minute
insects, classified by naturalists in the order Vermes
Zoophyta. Coral incrusts the rocks along th:
shores of Newfoundland. T have frequently seeij.
branch coral brought up from deep water on the
anchors of the fishing boats, some of which was
full of hollow ramifications, and covered with pores
or cells; and some were beautiful tubes, from the
size of a pipe stem to that of a walking cane. But
the Newfoundland coral (though produced by in-
sects) is not of that class of which the coral islands
are formed in the tropical -seas. ■

Among the various phenomena which the ocean

presents are the islands of ice or icebergs^ appear-
ing like crystal castles, with their high and glitter-
ing pinnacles, towering in solitary grandeur, and
from which the most beautiful colours are some-
times reflected by the rays of the sun falling on
them. Some of these icebergs are several hundred
feet in altitude above the level of the sea, though
this is only one-eighth of their height, as it is cal-
culated that seven-eighths are below the surface.
One of these immense masses of ice exploded last
summer, about a mile from Bird-Island Cove,
with a tremendous noise like the rumbling of
heavy thunder. Several large brooks or streams
of water were flowing over it a long time before
it burst. One side of this iceberg was covered
with a quantity of earth and small stones. I have
been informed by several persons that they have
seen large trees embedded in them, which appear-
ed as if torn from the earth by some violent
force. It is said many of these icebergs contain
rocks and earth frequently exceeding fifty thousand
tons. They are, no doubt, agents in the produc-
tion of many shoals, as wherever they ground and
are dissolved, the earth and stones must sink to
the bottom, thereby diminishing the depth of
water. These islands of ice are supposed to be
masses detached by the action of the waves from
the vast glaciers descending into valleys termina-
ting in the sea, which are known to abound in
Greenland, Spitzbergen, and other high northern
latitudes. During Captain Ross's Arctic Expe-
, dition, he discovered land from 9,000 to 20,000
feet in height, perfectly covered with eternal snow.

lern
tpe-

looo

low,

and the glaciers descending 'from the mountain
summit projected many miles into the ocean, and
presented a perpendicular face of lofty cliiFs.
There is no ^oubt that these icy break-waters are
undermined ^nd excavated by the waves, and in
proportion as the excavations are enlarged and the
snow and ice accumulate above and become hea-
vier, immense masses fall into the sea, whence
probably come the icebergs which appear in the
spring along the eastern shores of Newfoundland.
They are looked upon as dreadful engines of de-
struction by all mariners. Many vessels engaged
in the sealing voyages frequently come in contact
with them, when sometimes vessels and crews
perish tpgether. , .

"As when la northern seas, at midnight dark,
An isle of ice encounters some swift bark.
And startling all its wretches from their sleep,
Bf one cold impulse hurls them to the deep."

In the month of March the field ice passes
along the northern and eastern shores of New-
foundland, and sometimes for weeks nothing is to
be seen but the glittering surface of the icy ocean,
presenting a dreary and desolate aspect. But this
floating ice brings with it immense numbers of
seals {Phoca Groenlandica) and {Phoca Crktata;
Leonina of Mohr.)

The wide expanse of ocean teems with life; a
population made up of beings of various habits and
of various forms range its gloomy deeps. Here we
behold the whale (Balaena), the monarch of the
deep, ploughing the waves, and lashing, as it were,'
the ocean into storm. Sometimes they are very!

plentiful on the coast of Newfoundland, when they
are seen spouting in all directions: the white fluid
they eject through the blow-hole is seen at the
distance of several miles. It it said that this jet
is formed by the air expelled forcibly through the
spiracle, acquiring its white colour from minute
pajTticles of water previously lodged in the external
fissure. Whales swim at the rate of four or five
miles an hour: they remain at the surface to
breathe about two minutes, during which they blow
several times. The whale produces from one to
two cubs at a time, which she suckles. It is sup-
posed that the flesh of the whale at one time was
eaten by all the nations of Europe. It is now the
principal food of the Esquimaux and the inhabitants
of Greenland, Hudson's Bay, and other northern
regions. A large whale of the pike-headed spe-
cies (Balaena Boops) was picked up last summer,
1842, off Cape St. Francis, by a fishing crew
belonging to Conception Bay. Its death was
supposed to have been caused by external vio-
lence, as a large quantity of extravasated blood
was observed about the neck and throat. It
measured near .50 feet in length, the fat varying
•from six inches to a foot in depth, and weighing
nefirly eight tons. It appears from evidence
given by Henry Butltr, Esq. before a committee
of the House of Assembly, in 1840, that the
whale fishery was carried on by the Americans to
a great extent in Hermitage Bay, Bay of Despair,
and Fortune Bay, during the years 1796, 1797,
1798, and 1799; that during the three first
years twelve vessels were employed by them,

manned by fifteen men each; that all of these
vessels returned nearly loaded: that they car-
ried on the whale fishery in this part of the
country until about the year 1807, when it was
discontinued, owing to some dispute arising be-
tween Great Britain and the United States:
that three years after this a schooner was fitted
out by the Americans, and arrived at Burin, but
on account of a man-of-war being stationed there,
the schooner proceeded to St. Mary's Bay, where
she remained until the month of August, and had,
nearly completed her load when she was taken by
a British sloop-of-war, and ordered to St. John's;
but the crew being too strong for the prize-master,
the schooner shaped her course for America, and
arrived in safety at Cape Cod. With this ended
the American whale fishery on the western shores
of Newfoundland. Mr. Butler stated that a whale
fishery commenced in Hermitage Bay under the
firm of Peter Lemessuirer and Co., which only
continued for four years, when the partnership
dissolved; that the natives of Hermitage Bay,
having some idea of the fishery, and of saving the
oil, began a whale fishery on a very small scale;
that a person of the name of M'c Donald had
made a large property by it; that the house of
Newman and Co., being aware of these proceed-
ings, purchased the premises that had been Peter
Lemessuirer and Co.'s and began the whale
fishery on a very large scale; that they employ-
ed the natives of Hermitage and Fortune Bays,
and that Newman and Co. were making a pro-
fitable business of it.

This establishment is still continued by New-
man and Co. at Harbour Britain. In 1840 an
act was passed by the local government, offering
£200 bounty to each of the first three vessels
landing not less than ten tons of whale oil, or
fifteen tons of whale fat or blubber, between the
first day of May and the tenth day of November.
Encouraged by the bounty afforded by the passing
of this act, two vessels were sent from St. John's
to the western shore, of about 120 tons each,
and manned by nineteen men. One of these
vessels was sent by Messrs. C. F. Bennett and
Co., the other by Messrs. Job, Brothers and Co.
The result of each year's fishery was as follows : —

MESSRS. Bennett's whaler. '^ ' ' '

Whales. Product of oil. f v

1841 20 24i tons .^ . .

1842 8 14

'" ' ' 1843 5 8J ,. v'

.! 1844 6 13 ' ; s^*^

MESSRS. job's whaler. ' * ' ^' ' ' ■'

Wbales. rroduct of oil.

, 1841 5 13 tons .

1842 none 5 black-fish.

The species of whale most plentiful on the
coast of Newfoundland is the fin-backed whale
{Balaenoptera Jubartes), which lives on Capelin,
Lance, &c. No less than fifty of these are some-
times seen spouting at one time; during their
frolics they sometimes leap above the surface of
the water, and descending with the head down-
wards rear th^ir tails in the air and beat the
water with great force. On these occasions fishing
boats laying at anchor on the fishing grounds

have frequently been injured by them. Sometimes
a host of them will surround a fishing boat, causing
great alarm to the crew; the usual remedy re-
sorted to for driving them away is to throw over-
board a few buckets of bilge water. The great
Greenland whale (Balaena Mysticetus) is occa-
sionally seen on the coast. Probably the whole
tribe of whales frequenting the Greenland seas
sometimes visit the Newfoundland coast. Great
numbers of what some call Black<fish, and others
Pot-heads, are killed during the month of Septem-
ber along the shores of Newfoundland. They are
of the species of whale called Delphinus Delphis;
the colour of the whole body is a blueish black,
except a portion of the belly, which is blueish
white; the head is round and blunt, and the blow-
hole very large. They are from sixteen to twenty-
five feet in length, with a forked tail. The fat is
from .one to three inches thick, and they each
yield from 30 to 100 gallons of oil.

Another monster of the ocean is the shark
{Squalus). A large basking shark (Squalus Maxi-
mm) was captured this summer (1843) in a salmon
net, at Bonavista. This is considered the largest
animal of the shark kind; it is said to be neither
voracious nor fierce. This monster of the deep
measured 27 feet in length, and 20 feet in circum-
ference; the tail fin was seven feet broad, the
mouth was provided with a great number of
small teeth, which were conic. On opening the
stomach nothing was found but the remains of
fuci or algae : their food is said to consist chiefly
of sea plants. The quantity of liver taken from

■f.'

this animal, filled feleven pork barrels, the jiroduct
of which was 122 gallons of oil, which was as
clear as water, and almost tasteless. Every ebb
of the sea lays bare multitudes of organic bodies,
whose structure, as well as modes of existence,
we may examine. The sea-shore exhibits to our
view the sea-urchin (Eckinidae), the muscle
(Anadonta), the crab (Cancer Granulatus), and the
wrinkle (Bulinus). Few ever cross the mighty
ocean, without beholding fleets of ci'batures sporting
and frisking on its bosom. I remember seeing,
some years ago, an immense mass of small creatures
sailing along on the surface of the water: the
vessel was nearly a whole day passing through
them : the sailors caught several, which they called
the Portuguese men-of-war {Physalid). I was
warned not to touch them, as they possessed the
singular property of stinging. I have since con-
sulted its natural history, and find that such is
the case. Troops of larger animals are also seen
gamboling on the crested waves.

"Now to the north from burning Afric's shore,
A troop of porpoises their course explore;
In curling wreaths they gambol on the tide;
Now bound aloft, now down the billow glide;
■ Their tracks awhile the hoary waves retain

That burn in sparkUng trails along the main —
These fleetest coursers of the finny race,
When threat'ning clouds th' ethereal vault deface,
Theu" route to leeward still sagacious form,
To shun the fury of the approaching storm."

Far away from land we see the stormy petrel
( Procellaridae Pelagica). I have for hours
in the midst of the Atlantic Ocean watched the
evolutions of the stormy petrel, skimming along,

^^■'^

sometimes on the tops of, and sometimes between
the, mountain waves. It seemed to revel in the
storm, and never appeared so fresh and lively as
when braving the billows. The appearance of
the petrel awakens the superstition of the sailor,
most sailors believing the appearance of Mother
Gary's Chicken to be the harbinger of a storm.
Nobody, says the sailor, can tell any thing about
them, where they come from, or how they breed;
they are night4ind day in the middle of the ocean.
It is a well-known fact that the petrels breed on
rocky shores, making their nests in the holes
and cavities of the rocks, and in the banks along
the sea-shore. It is said they return to feed
their young only during the night, with the
superabundant oily food from their stomachs.
Great numbers of these birds breed on the
northern Bird Island, off the mouth of Bird-
Island Cove. I saw fourteen young ones which
an individual brought from the island in the
summer; he kept them in a flour barrel, but they
communicated such a rank disagreeable smell,
that he was obliged to let them free. Barry
Cornwall describes the petrel in the following
lines : —

trel
urs
the
ng,

"Up and down! up and down!
From the base of the wave to the billow's crown,
And amidst the flashing and feathery foam
The stormy Petrel finds a home —
A home, if such a place may be,
For her who lives on the wide wide sea,
On the craggy ice, in the frozen air.
And only seeketh her rocky lair
To warm her young, and to teach them spring
At onco o'er the waves on their stormy wing!

O'er the deep! O'er the deep!

Where the whale and the shark, and the sword-fish sleep, ^

Outflying the blast and the driving rain,

The Petrel telleth her tale— in vain;

For the mariner curseth the warning bird

Who bringeth him news of the storms unheard. ' *

Ah ! thus does the prophet, of good or ill.

Meet hate from the creatures he scrreth still.

Yet he ne'er falters:— So, Petrel! spring

Once more o'er the waves on thy stormy wing."

Captain Flinders says, that when on a voyage
he saw a stream of stormy petrels, which was
from fifty to eighty yards deep, and three hundred
yards or more broad : they continued to pass with-
out intermission for a full hour and a half. It
has been calculated that this stream of petrels
contained no less than one hundred and fifty- one
millions and a half.

The ocean is beset with innumerable rocks and
shoals, some of which no doubt are yet undisco-
vered. Many a sad tale is hushed in the ocean
wave. If .some of the undiscovered shoals could
become animated and vocal, they would sing in
mournful strains

" Of the ship that sank in the reefy surge,
And left her fate to the sea-bird's dirge — '.;

Of the lover that sail'd to meet his bride, _ . . ,

And his story left to the secret tide —
Of the father that went on the trustless main,
And never was met by his child again —
And the hidden things which the waves conceal,
And the sea-bird's song alone can reveal." .

Some of the principal rocks and shoals along
the shores of Newfoundland are the following,
which lie at the greatest distance from the main
land.

Three and a half miles from Cape Bonavista is
a rock called Old Harry, having only 13 feet
water over it. From this a reef extends nearly
three miles further into the ocean, having several
dangerous spots upon it of only 18 feet, and three
or four fathoms. The outer edge of this reef is
called Young Harry. It is always seen breaking,
except when the sea is remarkably serene and
smooth. Another dangerous shoal lies about 18
leagues S. E.'by E. from Cape Race, called the
Virgin Rocks. The true position of these rocks
was not known until the year 1829, when one of
his Majesty's ships surveyed them. These sunken
rocks are in lat. 46° 26' 33" north— long. 50° 56'
35" west. They extend in an irregular chain
S. W. by W. and N. E. by E. 800 yards, varying
from 200 to 300 yards in breadth. The least
depth of water is on a white rock in 4| fathoms,
with 5 to 6| fathoms all around it, the bottom
distinctly visible. Towards the extremities of the
shoal are several detatched rocks of from 7 to 9
fathoms, with deep water between. The bank
on which these dangerous rocks are situated, ex-
tends E. by N. and W. by S. 4^ miles; its
broadest part is about 2f miles, with soundings
from 28 to 30 fathoms.

The ocean has been the scene of many a
bloo'ly battle, accompanied with the greatest de-
struction of human life. One of the most memor-
able in the history of England was the battle of
Trafalgar, in which no less than twenty ships of
the enemy were taken. Before this celebrated
battle commenced, Nelson gave his last signal —

" England exjiccts every man to do his duty,"
which will be remembered, as Dr. Southey says,
i' ^ " as long as the language, or even the memory, of

England shall endure." This battle took place off
Cadiz, on the 2 1st of October, \S05, when Lord
Nelson was killed by a ball fired by a rifle-man
from the mizen top of the French ship Redoubt-
able. Thus died the greatest hero that ever com-
manded the British f.eet.

During the early history of the country, the
Newfoundland seas were constantly scoured by
vessels of war. The most remarkable occurrences
of those days were the following.

In 1G9G all the English settlements in the
island were iL^estroyed by a French fleet, excepting
Carbonear and Bonavista, which defended them-
selves. During the reign of queen Anne, in 1702,
a British squadron arrived in Newfoundland,
under the command of Sir John Leake, who
took possession of the whole island, and captured
no less than twenty-nine sail of the TVench. In
consequence of the island being left in an un-
protected state in 1761, it was visited in 17G2
by a French fleet, which landed some troops at
Bay Bulls, who proceeded over-1;md to St. John's,
where the garrison, being unable to defend them-
selves, surrendered (his majesty's ship, Gramont,
then lying in port), and were made prisoners of
war. They also took Carbonear and Trinity,
where they committed all sorts of depredations.

Intelligence of this occurrence having been com-
n. unicated to Lord Colville, at Halifax, he imme-
diately set sail for Newfoundland. On arriving off

•i

',•>

the harbour of St. John's, he found a superior
French squadron, under the command of Admiral
de Ternay, lying within at anchor. Previous to
the arrival of Lord Colville, Robert Carter, Esq.,
of Ferryland, and a Mr. Brookes of Bay Bulls, had
consulted together, and deeming it expedient,
had at their own expense collected a number of
bank-fishing or western boats, cut them down,
and metamorphosed them into very tolerable row-
galleys, with the greatest expedition. This lauda-
ble and spirited conduct met the highest approba-
tion of the noble lord, who, directly taking
advantage of this facility afforded for coasting
along the surf-beaten shores, manned them with
natives, embarked in each as many of the military
as they could convey, with provisions, ammunition,
&c. constituted Mr. Carter commodore, Mr.
Brookes captain of this little squadron, and under
cover of the evening shades despatched them to
Torbay, where they arrived the ensuing morning.
In the mean time a feint was made of landing the
body of the troops from Lord Colville's squadron
at Quidi Vidi, when a sharp contest ensued. The
English fought up the precipice with desperation;
but the numbers of the French, and their superior
advantage in situation, prevented the English
dislodging them from their position, on Signal
Hill. Nevertheless, the scheme was complete;
the western -t oat military, under command of
Colonel Amherst, effected a march through the
forf t from Torbay, without having been observed,
until they reached the rising and more clear
ground, about one mile from the French position.

^ >

A rapid stream flowed between the armies, and
several skirmishes were fought during the frequent
attempts made by the English to cross this stream,
which at this season was more than usually over-
flown ; during one of which, Major M'c Kenzie
was severely wounded. This disaster clouded the
victory which was obtained the following day
over the dispirited Frenchmen, who, taking
advantage of their fleet in St. John's harbour,
embarked with precipitation ; and under conceal-
ment of the canopy of a thickly spreading bank of
fog put to sea, and the English fleet, being driven
off to sea in a heavy gale of wind, were unable to
pursue them.

In those days Robert Carter, Esq. supported a
garrison on a small island called the Isle of Boys,
situated near the entrance of the harbour of Ferry-
land, and Charles Garland, Esq., a detachment
of military on Carbonear Island. These individuals
wete two of the principal inhabitants of the island,
and their services on this occasioitt Vere highly
appreciated by the government.

In 1775 the coast was greatly anftbyed by
American privateers. In 1796 the French, com-
manded by Admiral Richery, with nine sail of the
line, and some other small vessels of war, burnt
the shipping and town of Bay Bulls. A writer,
who took part in the proceedings of this period,
describes the visit of the Frfench Admiral, in 1796,
in a communication to the Newfoundland " Royal
Gazette," of June 14th, 1842. The particulars
narrated by the writer of this article, are not
published in any history of Newfoundland, nor

I )

is there any signature to the communication ;
yet we cannot doubt the truth of the statements,
and therefore lay them before the reader accord-
ingly :

" 1790.

"The levy of the Royal Newfoundland regi-
ment had been completed the preceding fall ;
and it was found, that the barracks at Forts
Townshend and William were insufficient to
contain so many men; it was therefore ordered,
that the garrison should go under canvas for a
few months, while the old barracks were being
repaired and cleansed, and some of the new
barracks at Signal Hill finished, and also for the
greater facility of practising the officers and men
of that young regiment in the indispensable tactics
and operations of the field. A camp was accord-
ingly formed on the general parade ground, with
a small park of artillery, of which the troops took
possession about the middle of June.

" The impFovefl defences of the Narrows being
finished, some experiments were tried with heat-
ed shot, before his Excellency, Admiral Sir James
Wallace, the governor, which gave general sat-
isfaction. A large platform of wood was built
on South Point, called the Duke of York's Bat-
tery, on which were mounted eight 24-potjnder
guns, three or four 18-pounder carronades, and
two 10-inch mortars. The block-house was so
forward, as to admit six guns to be mounted
on the second floor. The regiment by this time
(the latter part of August) was approaching fast
to systematic regularity and discipline, and of

approved internal economy. Such being the state
of the garrison and fortifications, together with
the efficiency of the volunteer companies, a - fine
set of men, particularly the company of volunteer
artillery, selected from among the flower of the
inhabitants of St. John's, as well as the undoubted
loyalty of the inhabitants; a wirh seemed to be
inspired, th'it something might happen to test the
fidelity of the whole. If such was the case, it
was not long before that wish was realized; for
eurly in the morning of the first day of September,
the signal was made that an enemy's fleet was seen
to the southward, which proved to be that of the
French admiral Richery, consisting of seven sail
of the line, two frigates, and some other small
vessels of war. The signal of alarm and defiance
was instantly made at Signal Hill and all the
forts. There was only the governor's ship and
one frigate in port. His Excellency, Admiral
Sir James Wallace, a governor of warlike celeb-
rity, immediately proclaimed martial law, and
ordered all the men in the town fit for service,
merchants, with their domestic and wharf estab-
lishments, captains of vessels, with their crews,
planters, with their fishermen and shoremen, to
muster in front of the camp, where they were
enrolled and told off to the forts and batteries,
and were not to be dismissed until the governor's
pleasure was known. The enemy stood off and
on, near Cape Spear, all that day; and during
the night the road was opened from Maggotty
Cove Bridge, through the inclosures leading to
Signal Hill, by direction of the governor, in

i t

5WS,

to
jeve

lor's
ind
\mg
)tty
to
in

order to expedite the transport of ammunition,
stores, and provisions, to Signal Hill, as well as
the camp equipage, which had been struck in the
evening; and by daylight on the morning of the
second, the tents were all pitched on the summit
of the hill, from the Duke of York's Battery to
Cuckold's Head, and also on the south hill, over
Fort Amherst. This warlike demonstration, with
the display of three or four thousand men on the
hill, must have had a very intimidating effect on
Monsieur, when viewed from sea. This day pass-
ed off, under something like a passive hesitation
on the part of the enemy ; a great deal of tele-
graphing and boat communication took place with
the flag-ship, and towards evening the fleet stood
a little further off to sea. Reconnoitering parties
were out, along shore, north and south, day and
night, in anticipation of a landing being effected,
A great many seamen were employed that day in
raising the chain across the Narrows ; the great
capstan at the south side being assisted by three
schooners placed at equal distances from Chain
Rock ; and by grappling the chain with their
anchors, and heaving altogether, they raised it to
the surface of the water. These vessels were also
charged with combustibles, and were intended to
be used as fire-ships on the enemy coming in
contact with the chain. The flag-ship and the
frigate were also placed at equal distances in the
harbour, to give them a warm reception on enter-
ing the Narrows. On the first appearance of the
enemy, the shot furnaces were kindled. It was
found difficult, however, to preserve the proper

degree of heat, and to prevent fusion, which
happened to some of the shot. On the 3rd the
enemy formed a line, and stood in for the Narrows,
when it was expected their intention was to
attempt a landing. They stood on till the van-
ship was near the extreme range of the guns at
Fort Amherst, when she and all of them put
about and stood off to sea. They remained in
sight for several days, and at last bore away to
the southward, and arrived at Bay Bulls, where
they landed; and to consummate their dastardly
conduct, they drove the poor defenceless inhabi-
tants to the woods;

'Burnt tbeir stores and houses.

Took tbeir fish and oil,
The hard-earned produce
Of their yearly toil.'

" Thus terminated the great excitement occa-
sioned by the appearance of so formidable a French
armament. The detachments at the respective
posts were continued till it was ascertained that
the French fleet had entirely left the coast.

"During the alarm, there was only one old man,
or a small boy, allowed on each merchant's wharf,
vessel, or fishing room; all the rest were stationed
at the forts and batteries."

How dreadful are the horrors of war! It is one
of death's allies; it has for its object the destruc-
tion of human life, and is the offspring of sin.
The progress of the warrior is marked by desola-
tion and death; and the trophies of honour he
acquires are bedewed with tears, and stained with
human blood. " From whence come wars and

< I

fightings among you? 'come they not hence, even
of your lusts that war in your members?" James
iv. 1. Bishop Porteus has expressed some fine
sentiments on this subject in his beautiful poem
on Death:

"One murder made a villain;
Millions, a hero. Princes were privileged
To kill, and numbers sanctified the crime.
Ah! why will kings forget that they are men?
And men that they are brethren? Why delight
In human sacrifice? Why burst the ties
Of nature, that should knit their souls together . •

In one soft bond of amity and love?
Yet still they breathe destruction, still go on : ^

Inhumanly ingenious to find out
New pains for life, new terrors for the grave:
Artificers of Death ! Still monarchs dream
Of universal empire growing up

From universal ruin. Blast the design, ^:^

Great God of hosts ! nor let thy creatures fall
Unpltied victims at Ambition's shrine."

The ocean has been a mighty agent in tha
civilization of the world. It has led to the build-
ing of ships, by which means the distant nation^
of the world have been united and brought ii(^ar
each other. The missionary ship is seen plough-
ing the ocean, bearing her peaceful cargo to viitfi'se
the blessings of religion to distant lands.

"And now the Gospel, borne or. every breeze.
Speeds o'er the land, and sweeps the rolling seas."

The first regularly built vessel we have any
account of was the ark, in which Noah and his
family, and also pairs of the diifeient kinds of
beasts, fowls, and creeping things, which were to
replenish the earth, were preserved from the deso-
lating influence of the deluge. The ark was built

84 ^

by the command of God, and it occupied Noah
120 years in the building. This was the largest
vessel that ever floated on the waters. Allowing
a cubit to be a foot and a half, the ark was 450
feet in length, 75 in breadth, and 45 in depth. It
contained three stories or decks, each fifteen feet
in depth. Her burden was 42,213 tons.

The largest vessel of modern times is the "Great
Britain," iron steam -ship, lately built at Bristol.
The length of this vessel, from her figure-head
to the tafFrail, is 320 feet, and breadth 51 feet;
the depth of her hold 31 feet. Her draught of
water when loaded, is calculated to be 16 feet,
and her burden 3500 tons. The force of her
engines are equal to that of 1000 horses, which
are used to keep in action, as the means of pro-
pulsion, an Archimedean screw. But the ark had
the capacity or stowage of twelve of such ships as
this great Leviathan of the nineteenth century.*

History informs us that the first improvements
in ship-building were made by the Phoenicians,
and their great success encouraged the Jews also
to build ships. We read in the scriptures that
King Solomon sent his fleets to distant countries,
to collect materials necessary for the erection of
the temple. The art of ship-building extended
from the Jews to the Greeks and Romans, and so
continued gradually to improve until the present
day. The number of ships built in Newfoundland
at different periods is as follows : —

* This mjignificcnt ship now lies stranded on the beach in Dun-
drum Fiav. on the eastern coast of Irehind.— Oct. 12, 1848.

SmPS. TONS.

1814 12 813

• 1837 26 1,170

1838 28 1,652

1839 10 811

1840 31 1,659

1841 33 1,G83

1842 32 1,553

The great world of waters was almost unknown
until the invention of the mariner's compass, in
the beginning of the 12th century. It was then
found that a piece of iron rubbed against a load-
stone, pointed due north and south. This was
shortly after applied to navigation. Two ends of
an iron needle being rubbed against a loadstone,
and then balanced on a pivot, so as to turn round
freely, acquired the singular property of always
pointing to the north. This needle being fixed in
a round box, with a card marked with 32 points,
form the sea compass. The loadstone is some-
times called magnetic iron stone. It is somewhat
harder and more heavy than iron ore, and is
found in most rron mines. As yet philosophers
have not been able to explain the cause of the
extraordinary powers of attraction possessed by
this stone. The first advantage resulting from
the invention of the compass was the discovery
of a passage round the south of Africa, by the
Portuguese. The next and most important was the
discovery of the West Indies, and the continent
of South America, by Columbus, in 1492; five
years after which Newfoundland was discovered
by John Cabot, a Venetian, who gave it the name
of IJaccalaos, thai being the Indian np,me for cod-
fish. In 1501 Newfoundland was visited by the

' 86

Portuguese navigator Gasper de Corte Real, who
is said to have first landed at Portugal Cove, and
who gave to Conception Bay the name that it
bears. In 1578 the Portuguese carried on an
extensive fishery in Newfoundland, employing no
less than fifty vessels.* On the 10th of May,
1534, Jacques Cartier, the French navigator, visit-
ed Newfoundland, from whence he coasted along
the American continent. In the reign of Queen
El-zabeth, Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter
P leigh engaged in an expedition to Newfound-
lind, having five vessels under their command;
hus the Raleigh, commanded by Sir Waller, was
obliged to put back to England, in consequence
of an infectious disease breaking out among the
crew. Sir Humphrey Gilbert, with the remaining
four ships under his command, arrived at St.
John's, on the 5th August, 1583; which he took
possession of, with all the land within the circum-
ference of 600 miles, in the name of his sovereign.
Queen Elizabeth. In August, during the same
3'ear, he despatched one of his vessels, the Swal-
low, to England with some of his followers, who
wished to return home, aftc^r which Sir Hum-
phrey sailed from St. John'- on a voyage of dis-
covery to the westward During a heavy gale of
wind and a thick fog, ttvey fell in upon the land,
when the Delight went on shore, and out of 116
souls only 14 were saved. A fev/ days after this
occurrence the other two vessels bore away for
England. During the passage a heavy storm arose,

* A number of Portugaese vessels were employed in the bank
fishery in 1844,

is-
of

l6
lis

in which the Squirrel (commanded by Sir Hum-
phrey) sunk, together with her crew. The
Golden Hind, the only remaining vessel of the
fleet, arrived in Enghmd thirteen days after.
These vessels were all small, the largest being 120
tons, two of 50 tons each, and the smallest (the
one in which Sir Humphrey was lost) being only
10 tons, and insufficient to weather a heavy gale.
In 1775 Newfoundland was visited by a dread-
ful storm. The sea rose twenty feet above the
usual height, which threw on shore hundreds of
craft, both large and small; and it is calculated
that three hundred persons perished. The ocean
storm is one of the most sublime appearances of
nature. Here we can drink to the full the emo-
tion which philosophers designate, " the emotion
of moral sublimity." The grandest and most
awful scene which I ever witnessed, occurred while
crossing the Atlantic, in the midst of a tremendous
storm. It was night ; over our heads were
stretched the sparkling worlds, rolling silently
along their courses, and nothing was to be seen
beneath and around us, save the wide waste of
waters, with mountain- waves curled in foamy
wreaths, and roaring in awful majesty ; when
one of the passengers proposed that we should
sing a hymn; he gave out the following lines
of that beautiful hymn of Cowper : —

"God moves in a mysterious way, X

His wonders to perform ;
He plants his footsteps in the sea, ' «*v.f -

And rides upon the storm."

I had heard this hymn sung before, with the

assistance ot musical instruments ; but the adapta-

»»>M

tion of the words and sentiments to the scene,
produced a peculiarly solemn effect on the mind,
not to be derived from the peals of the organ, nor
the tones of all the musical instruments in the
world combined. The storm has frequently em-
ployed the pencil of the painter, and the imagina-
tion of the poet. David beautifully describes it:
" They that go down to the sea in ships, that do
business in the great waters ; these see the works
of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep, for
he commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind,
which lifteth up the waves thereof: they mount
up to the heavens, they go down again to the
depths; their soul is melted because of trouble."

Of what incalculable benefit is the sea to man !
Without it trade and commerce could not be
carried on. Newfoundland, being an island, is
washed on all sides by the sea, by which means
thousands are enabled to derive their subsistence
from the waters of the ocean. Without the sea
we could not send our fish and oil to market,
neither could we import bread, flour, pork,
butter, sugar, molasses, tea, and the other ne-
cessaries of life. The estimated value of these
articles imported into this colony at diiFerent
periods was as follows :

• 1822 £807,752 sterling.

1826 512,443

J 1827 889,2f)l

. ■ 1830 7G8,41G

^^|J|1831 829,353

■^^^1834 618,757

1886 579,799 " ,-<4

1839 710,558 •

1840 784,045

1841 800,423 ' " -'

1842 694,337

The following is the number of vessels arriving
at Newfoundland, at different periods, from Great
Britain, British Colonies, United States, and other
foreign states:

YEARS. NO. TONS.

1822 749 81,022

1823 753 84,478

1826 851 93,406

1827 786 90,380 . ■

1829 791 91,030

1830 828 94,423

1831 877 9G,5C9

1832 892 95,242

1834 848 108,548

1836 800 98,830 .

1839 861 91,661

1840 1005 112,181

1841 964 114,200

1842 1043 118,679

Taking into account the number of vessels
engaged in the fisheries, it is estimated that New-
foundland annually employs fifteen hundred sail of
vessels. According to the last census, in 1836, the
number of fishing-boats, from 15 to 30 quintals,
throughout the island, were 6,388. Besides this
number there were probably about as many more
of smaller size. The number of fishermen employ-
ed in these boats cannot be less than 40,000.
Besides this an extensive Labrador fishery is car-
ried on from the ports of St. John's, Harbour
Grace, Carbonear, and Brigus, which probably
employs 10,000 persons. ''*■

How refreshing to the spirits to walk along
the sea-shore, and inhale the zephyr wafted from
the bosom of the ocean I But the gentle breeze
is often succeeded by the convulsive and desola-

■%■ e

ting hurricane. A dreadful gale of wind occurred
at Caibonear, in February, 1841. It was one of
the most violent storms in the recollection of
the oldest inhabitants. Several houses were dam-
aged, and others blown down. The appearance
of the waves, chasing each other in rapid succes-
sion, and dashing their maddened foam amid the
drifting snow, and the howling of the storm,
was truly terrinc. Four or five vessels went on
shore, two of which were beaten to pieces ; and
other ..image was sustained to a considerable
amount. Vessels were wrecked more or less in
every harbov.v ;u Conception iJay, and the effects
of the gale were felt in most parts of the island.

During the past year several shipwrecks occurred
on the coast of Newfoundland, and in the year
IS4? several vessels wore lost upon our shores,
amongst v.hioh was the brig Florence, having on
board 87 passengers from Rotterdam, bound to
New York, and out of whom only 37 succeeded
in reaching the shore alive. One of the most
melancholy shipwrecks that ever occurred on the
coast of Newfoundland, was the loss of the Har-
pooner, in 1817. I furnish the following account
for the information of thn reader, who may never
have read or even heard of the circumstance .

" On the 26th of October, detachments of the
4th Rovnl Veteran Battalion and their families,
with a tew belonging to other corps in Canada,
in all 380, embarked on board the ship Harpooner,
Joseph Bryant, master, and sailed from Quebec on
the afternoon of the 27 th, bound to Deptford,
in charge of Captain Prime. On the passage to

% ex

occurred
3 one of
ction of
ere dam-
ipearance
I succes-
amid the
B storm,
went on
ces ; and
isiderable
n- less in
he effects
le island.
5 occurred
the year
ir shores,
laving on
jouiul to
succeeded
the most
1 on the
the Har-
!^ account
ay never
,nce .
s of the
families,
Canada,
irpooner,
uebec on
eptford,
issage to

" 91

the Gulf of St. Lawrenre, moderate weather and
favourable winds prevailed, but on arriving in the
Gulf, the weather proved boisterous, and the
wind contrary. Not a sight of land nor an obser-
vation of the sun could be depended upon for
several days. On Sunday evening, the Hh of
November, a few minutes after 9 o'ch the
second mate on watch called out, ' Tlu oUip's
aground!' at which time she lightly struck on
the outermost rock of St. Shotts, in the island of
Newfoundland. She beat over and proceeded
a short distance, when she struck again and filled.
Encircled among rocks, and the wind blowing
strongly, the night dark, and a very heavy sea, she
soon fell over on her larboard beam-ends, and, to
heighten the terror and alarm, it was perceived
a lighted candle had communicated fire to some
spirits in the master's cabin, which in the con-
fusion was with difficulty extinguished. The ship
still driving over the rocks, her masts were cut
away, by which some men were carried overboard.
The vessel drifted over near the high rocks to-
wards the main. In this situation every one
became terrified; the suddenness of the sea rush-
ing in, carried away the berths and stanchions
between decks, when men, women, and children
were drowned, and many were killed by the
force with which they were driven against the
loose baggage, casks, and stores, which floated
below. All that possibly could, got upon deck ;
but from the crowd and confusion that prevailed,
the orders of the officers and master to the soldiers
and seamen were unavailing. Death staring

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23 WEST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. U5S0

(716) 872-4503

every one in the face — the ship striking on the
rocks as though she would instantly upset — the'
screaming and pressing of the people to the star-
hoard side, was so violent, that several were much
hurt. About 11 o'clock the boats on the deck
were washed overboard by a heavy sea, but even
from the commencement of the disaster the hopes
of any individual being saved were but very slight,
and from this circumstance, combined with it
appearing that the bottom of the ship was separa-
ting from the upper deck, while the surf beat ,
over her most violently, it was considered as im-
possible.

" From this time until four o'clock the next
morning, all on the wreck were anxiously pray-
ing for the light of day to break upon them.
The boat from the stern was lowered down, when >
the first mate and four seamen, at the risk of
their lives, pushed off to the shore. They with
difficulty effected a landing upon the main land,
behind a high rock nearest to where the stern
of the vessel had been driven. They were soon
out of sight, and it was feared they were lost;
but it was so ordained by Providence, these
deserving men, in scrambling up the rocks, made
their appearance. They hailed us from the top,
and reported their situation, saying, to return was
impossible, as the boat was staved. The log.
line was thrown from the wreck, with a hope that
they might lay hold of it; but the darkness, and
the tremendous surf that beat, rendered it im-
practicable.

" During this awful time of suspense, it occurred

soon

lost;

these

made

top,

Mras

log.

that

and

im-

to the master^ the possibility of sending a line
to them by a dog. The animal was brought aft,
and thrown into the sea, with a line tied round
his middle, and with it he swam towards the rock
upon which the mate and seamen were standing.
It is impossible to describe the sensations which
were excited, at seeing this faithful dog strug-
gling with the waves, and reaching the summit of
the rock — dashed back again by the surf into
the sea, until at length by his exertions, he arrived
with the line; one end of which being on board,
a stronger rope was hauled and fastened to the
rock, and by this rope the seamen were enabled
to drag on shore from the wreck a number of souls.
At about six o'clock in the morning of the 11th,
the first person was landed by this means, and
afterwards by an improvement in rigging the rope,
and placing each individual in slings, they were
with great facility extricated from the wreck. But
during the passage thither, it was with the utmost
difficulty that the unfortunate sufferers could main-
tain their hold, as the sea beat over them. Some
were dragged to the shore in a state of insensi-
bility. Lieutenant Wilson was lost, being unable
to hold on the rope with his hands. He was twice
struck by the sea, fell backwards out of the slings,
and, after swimming for a considerable time
amongst the floating wreck, by which he was
struck on the head, he perished. Many who
threw themselves overboard, trusting to their
safety by swimming, were lost; they were dashed
to pieces by the surf on the rocks, or by the float-
ing of the wreck.

i^jt

" About half past one o'clock, in the afternoon
of the 11th, about 30 lives were sayed by the
rope, several of whom were hurt arid maimed
At this period the sea beat incessantly over the
wreck, and it being evident the deck was separa-
ting, the only means of saving the distressed suf-
ferers failed ; for the rope, by constant work, and
by swinging across the sharp rock, was cut in
two. From that hour, there being no means of
replacing the rope, the spectacle became more
than ever terrific; the sea, beating over the wreck
with greater violence, washed numbers overboard.
Their heart-rending cries and lamentations were
such as cannot be expressed.

" Families, fathers, mothers, and children,
clinging together, the wreck breaking up, stern
from midships and forecastle, precipitated all on it
into one common destruction. Under these mel-
ancholy circumstances, 206 souls perished, and
the survivors have to lament the loss of dear
relatives and friends.

"The oflficers and men of the Royal Veteran
ji^attalion, who were returning home after a long
and arduous service in Canada, and other remote
climates, lost their all, the savings of many years,
what they had looked upon with a pleasing hope
of making themselves and families comfortable
with, on retiring from th ervice of their king
and country. The disast was so sudden and
unlooked for, that not an article of baggage could
be saved ; not even money, of which some had
considerable sums, the produce of the effects
sold at Quebec, which were paid for in guineas.

on account of bills of exchange being attended
with a loss of seven and a half per cent ; for im-
mediately after the ship struck, she bilged and
filled, drowning some, who, from motives of
humanity, attempted to secure articles of dress
for the distressed females who were hurried on
deck in an undressed state. The rock which
the survivors landed upon was about a 100
feet above the water, surrounded at the flowing
of the tide, it being high water soon after the
latter of them were saved. It was found impos-
for these distressed objects to be got over to the
main land until the next morning. On the top
of this rock they were obliged to remain during
the whole of the night, without shelter, food, or
nourishment, exposed to wind and rain, and
many without shoes. The only comfort that pre-
sented itself was a fi^e, which was made from
pi'^ces of the wreck that had been washed ashore.
"At daylight on the morning of the 12th, at
low water, their removal to the opposite land was
effected, some being let down by a rope, others
slipping down a ladder to the bottom. After
they had crossed over, they directed their course
to a house or fisherman's shed, distant about a
mile and a half from the wreck, where they re-
mained until the next day. The proprietor of
this miserable shed not having the means of
supplying relief to so considerable a number as
took refuge, a party went overland to Trepassy,
about fourteen miles distant, through a marshy
country not inhabited by any human creature,
and the foot-path throi^ a morass. This party

iX^-'

arrived at Trepassy, and reported the event to
Messrs Jackson, Burke, and the Rev. Mr. Brown,
who immediately took measures for alleviating
the distressed, hy dispatching men in their em-
ploy with provisions and spirits, to assist in
bringing all those forward to Trepassy who could
walk. Necessity prompted many to undertake
this journey barefooted, the hardships and de-
privations which they were enduring were so
excessively great. On the 13th, in the evening,
the major part of the survivors (assisted by the
inhabitants, who during the journey carried the
weak and feeble upon their backs) arrived at
Trepassy, wh*re they were billetted by order of
the magistrate proportionally upon each house.

"There still remained at St. Shott's the wife
of a sergeant of the veteran Battalioi^ who was
delivered on the top of the rock shortly after she
was saved, the child and herself doing well. A
private whose leg was broken, and a woman se-
verely bruised by the wreck, were also necessarily
left there. Immediately after the arrival at Tre-
passy, measures were adopted for the comfort and
refreshment of the detachments. Boats were
provided for their removal to St. John's. This
being effected, his Excellency, Admiral Pickmore,
the Governor, Major King, commanding the troops,
the merchants and gentlemen of St. John's, most
promptly and generously came forward in the
most handsome manner to the relief of the sur-
viving sufferers. After remaining ten days at
St. John's, refitting the distressed with clothing
and necessaries, his Excellency, the Admiral,

•ily

chartered the ship Mercury, of Poole, to take
them to Portsmouth. On this melancholy cir-
cumstance, it, is but justice to mention, that Mr.
Joseph Bryant, master, Mr. Atkinson, mp.te, and
the seamen of the Harpooner, deserve great credit
for their unceasing exertions. To their labour
those that came on shore by the rope in a great
measure owe their safety.

" Cabin passengers saved — Captain Prime, 4th
Royal Veteran. Battalion, and lady; Lieutenant
Mylrea, ditto, eldest daughter and son; Pay-
master Stott, ditto; Mrs. Wilson and eldest
daughter; Miss Armstrong; Captain Willock,
I03rd regiment; Ensign Gleeson, ditto. " ;^.

"Cabin pasengers lost — Surgeon Armstrong, 4th •
Veteran Battalion, his lady, son, and two young-
est daughters; Lieutenant Wilson, ditto, son and
two daughters; Mrs. Mylrea, and two youngest
daughters; Miss Pilmore; and three sons of Cap-
tain Prime.

"Total number of persons embarked at Quebec
in the Harpooner — 7 officers, 265 men, 40 women,
and 68 children. The troops belonging to the
4th Royal Veteran Battalion, 103rd regiment.
Royal Artillery, Drainers, Sappers, and Miners;
4 1st, 49th, 70th, and 99th regiments Glongory
Fencibles, and De Meuron's."

WINTER.

"Thou hast thy beauties; sterner ones I own,
Than those of thy precursors ; yet to thee
Belong the charms of solemn majesty
And naked grandeur. Awful, is the tone
Of thy tempestuous nights, when clouds are blown
By harrying winds across the troubled sky ;
PeBiive, Vhen softer breezes faintly sigh
Through leafless boughs, with ivy overgrown.
Thou hast thy decorations too, although
Thou art austere: thy studded mantle, gay
With icy brilliants, which as proudly glow
As erst Golconda'sj and thy pure array
Of regal ermine, when the drifted snow
Envelopes Nature, till her features seem
Like pale, but lovely ones, seen when we dream."

Bernaud Bahton.

Stern winter enveloped in snowy robes, and
wearin'^ a crown of storms, now sits on his icy
throne, king of the frozen scene ! What a change
is produced upon the face of nature! The field
decked with verdure is now hardened to marble,
and covered with the drifting snow. Where are
now the beautiful tribes of wild flowers that used
to scent the air with their fragrance? Winter has
folded them in his snowy arms, and the howling
storm sings their funeral dirge; the mumuring
brook is sealed in silence, and on the ice-bound
bosom of the ponds men and horses traverse.

TON.

and
icy
ange
field
irble,
I are
used
has
pling
iring
3und
erse.

Autumn, with all her glowing tints, has fled away,
and Nature, stripped of all her beauty and fra-
grance, lies wrapt in the icy shroud of winter.
All is bleak, barren, and desolate; but the con-
templative mind sees the providence of God in
the season of winter. Without frost and snow
many vegetable substances would be destroyed,
and the soil would not be prepared for the return
of spring. A covering of snow protects the ten-
der germs of plants, leaving to them, as it dis-
solves, a rich manure. It causes the earth tO'
retain some of its previous heat; like the far on
animals, the feathers on birds, or a garment on
the human body, which prevents the animal heat
escaping. Although the ground, when covered
with snow, is protected from the chilling power of
frost, yet snow is not warm, any more than the
thickest woollen garment we wear is warm; both
are poor conductors of heat. The snow prevents
the latent heat escaping from the earth, and our
clothes prevent the natural heat of our bodies
escaping. The effects of snow on vegetable nature
are thus described by the prophet: "The rain
Cometh down and the snow from heaven, and'
returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and
maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give
seed to the sower and bread to tho;, eater."

Snow is produced by the water 1^ the clouds
freezing, and its whiteness is caused b^he small-
ness of the particles of which it is composed. Ice
is equally white when pounded. The large flakes
of snow, when closely examined, are found to con-
sist of minute darts or stars.- These are partly

100

seen by the naked eye; but when viewed through
a microscope they appear like beautiful stars,
resembling the varied and elegant forms produced
by the kaleidoscope. Professor Rennie, in his
*' Alphabet of Chemistry," has given several repre-
sentations of these beautiful crystals. It is won-
derful when we look at the effects of frost, to see
the windows adorned with elegant figures, pro-
duced by the warm air of the room being seized
by the chilling atmosphere during the night, and
deposited in beautiful crystals on the glass; the
houses fringed with icicles, sparkling in the noon-
day sun, and reflecting the colours of the rainbow ;
the running brook stopped in its progress, and
chained to the bank; the lake, whose waters,
which had been rippled by the breeze, and on
whose bosom the bright beams of the sun danced,
converted into a solid plain; and all this produced
in a single night, is truly astonishing. The -power
of frost is so very great, that sometimes a noise
is heard in the woods, from the expansion of the
water frozen in the fissures of old trees cracking
and rending them. Sometimes in the night the
houses will crack and make a noise as loud as the
report of a gun; and a cannon filled with water
and screwed up at the muzzle, has been known
to burst in a severe frost. We read that in the
northern regions, when the thermometer sinks to
40 or 50 degrees below zero, large masses of rock
are burst and shivered to pieces, and sometimes
vessels have been so frozen in the ice as never
again to be removed. Montgomery expresses it
in the following lines : —

101

his

'Tlioro lies a vessel in tliis realm of flrost,
Not wrecked, nor stranded, yet for ever lost;
Its keel embedded in the solid mass,
Its glistening soils appear expanded gloss.
The transverse ropes with pearls enormous strung,
The yards with icicles grotesquely bung."

r In the expansion of water by frost, the wisdom
and goodness of God is strikingly manifest; be-
cause, if the laws of caloric, or the matter of heat,
by which other bodies are governed, influenced
the frost, all the water would become solid ice,
and the rays of the sun falling on it, instead of
melting or decreasing, would be expanding it.
Chemists telh us, the general law of nature is,
that bodies contract by cooling, and expand by
heating, but water enlarges or expands from the
effects of cold; this therefore is an exception to
the established laws of nature.

One of the most beautiful appearances of na-
ture at this season of the year, is the "silver
thaw." It is produced by a shower of rain falling
during a frost, and freezing the instant it comes
in contact with any object. A most magnificent
scene is then produced; every object is clad in a
silvery robe ; every twig, every tree, and every
bush, is beset with glittering pearls, and the whole
surface of the snow becomes a beautiful mirror.
But this crystal scene is short-lived; a sudden
breeze of wind ends the scene, when great damage
is done to the trees, their branches breaking down
with the weight of ice encrusting them. Philips
describes it in the following beautiful lines: —

•If

102

" Kro yot tlio cloud!) let Cull tlio trcusur'd snow.
Or winds bo>?iin thro' Imzy skies to IjIow,
At ev'niiiR n iteen ciistera brcczo nrosc,
And the descending ruin unsulliod IVozo.
Suon us tile silent shades of night withdrew,
The ruddy morn diseloH'd at once to view
The Caco of nature in a ricli disguise,
And brighten'd every object to my eyes!
For every shrub, and every blade of grass.
And every pointed thorn seem'd wrought in gloss;
In pearls and rubies rich the hawthorns show,
While thro' the ice the crimson berries glow.
The thick-sprung reeds the wat'ry marshes yield.
Seem polish'd lances in a hostile flcld.
The stag, in limpid currents, with surprise,
Sees crystal branches on his forehead rise.
The spreading oak, the beech, and tow'ring pine,
Olaz'd oyer, in the fVcezing ether shine.
The frighted birds the rattling branches shun,
That wave and glitter in the distant sun.
When, if a sudden gust of wind arise.
The brittle forest into atoms flies;
The cracking wood beneath the tempest bonds.
And in a spangled shower the prospect ends.'*

The only trees that now cheer or enliven the
dreary landscape are the fir (Pinus Balsamea)
and the spruce {Pinus Nigra) and {Pinus Aba),
whose dark evergreen branches appear in the
midst of the snow. All the rest of vegetable
nature appears still in death, until the voice of
Spring awakes the slumbering charms of Nature,
when all bursts into new life, and fragrance and
beauty are spread around. This is an emblem of
the resurrection of the human body.

'*Sl)all I be left abandon'd in the dust,
When trees, and plants, and roots, and flowers revive?
Shall Nature's voice, to man alone unjust.
Bid him, though doom'd to perish, hope to live?

103

a),
le
ble
of
re,
tid
of

In it, for this, fair Virtno oft must strive

With Uisappuintmont, penury, nnd pain?

Nu! heaven's immortal spring shall yet arrive,

And man's m^cstic beauty bloom again.

Bright through the eternal year of love's triumphant reign."

In Newfoundland, January and February are
the coldest months of the year, when the ther-
mometer sometimes sinks below zero ; but at the
coldest times not more than 10 degrees below it.
Our winters are warm when compared with those
of some of the North-American colonies. It is
an admitted fact, that the climate of Newfound-
land has gradually undergone a change within
the last thirty years, and is now much warmer
than it was then. This change may in part be
attributed to the great improvement in agriculture,
the draining of marshes, and the clearing of the
forests ; and it may partly originate from some
unknown causes in the atmosphere. Most writers
affirm that the northern parts of Europe have
become much warmer than they wer^ a few cen-
turies ago. St. John's, the capital of New-
foundland, is in 47° 33' north latitude ; London,
5P 30'; Dublin, .53° 20'; and Edinburgh in 55° 53'.
Thus St. John's is nearer the equator than any
of the above-mentioned places; and yet, instead
of being warmer, is much colder than Great
Britain. To account for this, the great astrono-
mer. Dr. Halley, supposed that a comet had
formerly struck the earth obliquely, and changed
the position of its axis of rotation. In ponse-
quence of that event, the North Pole, which had
been originally very near to Hudson's Bay, was
changed to a more easterly position ; but the

104

countries which it abandoned have been so long
a time and so deeply frozen, that vestiges still
remain of its ancient polar rigour, and that a
long series of years would be required for the
solar action to impart to the northern parts of
the new continent the climate of their present
geographical position. But this, of course, is mere
theory, and not to be depended on.

One of the coldest winters ever experienced in
Newfoundland, was in 1818, when it is said, the
thermometer frequently sank from 20 to 24 degrees
below zero. During this severe winter Admiral
Pickmore, the governor, died. His remains were
deposited in a vault of the church, but subse-
quently carried to England. ^ -

All the migratory birds have now left our ice-
bound shores for a sunnier atmosphere, and for
more congenial climes. The principal birds that
now enliven the groves of Newfoundland, are the
woodpecker {Plcm), the owl (Stria?), the snow
buntings {Emberiza Nivalis), which are to be
seen in flocks, dressed in their silvery plumage,
hopping about the snow. Yesterday, January
20th, I saw a pine grosbeak (Loana Enucleator),
which had been killed. It is one of the hand-
somest birds which visit us. The plumage is a
rich crimson colour, fading to greenish brown.
These birds, and the crossbill (Curvlrostra Ame-
rictkKU]^ are seldom seen. It is remarked, that
the appearance of the crossbill is m certain in-
dication ol" a severe winter. Tbe little black-
capped!^ titmouse [Pants Artricapillus) is seen
enjoying the summer sun, and braving the winter

105

storm. A short time ago I saw the eggs of a
jay {Corvus Canadensis), which had been taken
from a nest found in the woods. They were
of a dirty white colour, and about the size of
marbles. The ptarmigan, or partridge of New-
foundland, is now pursued by the fowler. Great
numbers of these birds are killed during the
winter season.

"With slaughtering gun the unwearied fowler roves,
When frosts have whitened all the naked groves;
He lifts his tube, and levels with his eye.
Straight a short thunder breaks the frozen sky."

The ptarmigan, or partridge of Newfoundland,
turns white in winter, and is of a reddish brown
colour in summer. It is probably the grouse
or snow-hen (Petrao Abus) of Greenland and
Iceland, which also is white in winter, and its
summer dress of a reddish colour.

Walking with a person in the woods a shorfe
time ago, our attention was arrested by the
appearance of something very white on a large
stump of a tree. On approaching nearer we per-
ceived it to be the snow-owl (Strix Nyctea). My
companion endeavoured to reach it with a stick,
by trying to creep softly towards it, but its acute
power of hearing prevented us from getting very
near it. The plumage appeared very soft and
white, and it was about the size of a goose. A
few years back they were very plentiful in this*
neighbourhood. A person residing here informed
me, that he has killed between seventy and eighty
in one winter. His mode of catching them ^as

to tail fox-traps and rat-traps (baited usually with

. 12

the flesh of the fox), fastened to the limbs of old
trees, where they were in the habit of perching.
Their flesh is considered very delicious. The owl,
by the superstitious, has been considered a bird
of ill-omen. Spenser's "Faery Queen" has fre-
quent allusion to the owl as a messenger of woe,
and Shakspeare says in his " Richard III."

' "Oat on ye, owls! nothing but songs of death."

On the sea-coast the croak of the common
crow {Corvus Corone) is heard, the gull (Larus) is
on the wing, flocks of wild ducks (Anas Fused) are
seen sailing along on the surface ot the water, and
the loo, or great northern diver {Colymhiis Gla-
cialis) is heard at a considerable distance. I
dined with a family a short time since, where I
partook of a very fine young loo. It was about
the size of a goose, and remarkably fat. The
flesh was rather dark, but of good flavour; it
weighed, when prepared for roasting, six pounds.
Yesterday we saw (about two hundred yards from
the shore) three seals {Phoca Vitulina), About a
week ago (January 8th), I saw a very large harp
seal {Phoca Groenlandica), which was caught in a
net, part of which I ate. It had a very nice
flavour, and altogether superior to the taste of
the young seal caught in the spring. Mr. Clouter
informed me, that some years ago he was travel-
ling over a pond, when he espied something black
at some distance on the ice, which he supposed
to be a dog; but on coming up to it, was sur-
prised to find it was a very fine seal. The dis-
tance from the sea was six miles. One spring the

107

ice was packed and jammed so tightly in Bonavista
Bay for several weeks, that the seals on it could
find no opening to go down, and numbers crawled
upon an island (probably taking it to be a lake
of water), when some people happened to land
upon the island, and discovered them. No less
than 1,500 seals were slaughtered among the
bushes. I have been informed by several respec-
table individuals, that sometimes, when the ice
has been jammed close on one side of the pro-
montory of Cape Bonavista, the seals, during the
night, have crawled over the land (a distance of
half a mile) to the water on the other side.

Wandering along the sea-shore the other day,
I observed the margin of the beach strewed with
sea-urchins (Echinidae), usually called in New-
foundland, ose-eggs. These animals are frequently
eaten, and are about the size of an apple, and
covered with a shell or calcareous cjust, from
which proceed long spines or points, moveable at
will, by which this singular creature is enabled to
creep slowly along. It is found in all parts of
Newfoundland, clinging by the suckers which it
possesses to the rocks r'ong the sea-coast, and to
the wharves and stages. Geologists have found
the shells of these animals in a fossil state in the
more ancient strata of the earth. I gathered a
quantity of muscles (Anadonta). This animal in-
habits a two-valved shell, and is found in fresh
water, as well as salt. It moves along by a
succession of jerks, which are performed by the
protrusion of a muscular foot. This animal fastens
itself to the rocks by some kind of threads which

,'t..j.:

108

it has the power of emitting. In times of scarcity
many families in the northern parts of the island
have subsisted for weeks wholly on this fish. A
friend of mine at Carbonear some years ago placed
a lot of muscles one evening in a desk. On going
to take them away in the morning, he was sur-
prised to find a mouse (Mm Domesticus) caught
by the head between the shells of one of them.

The hare {Lepus) is now bounding over the
snow. The fur of this animal is at this season
perfectly white, but turns brown in summer. Foxes
are now being caught in the traps. The species
usually captured here are -the common red or
yellow fox {Canis Fulvus)^ and the patch or cross
fox (Canis Dectissatus), the black or silver fox
{Canis Argentatus) being seldom seen. The beaver
{Castor Fiber, Americanus) is now caught in sev-
eral parts of the island. An old furrier residing
here ..nformed me that he has killed between
seventy and eighty in one winter in the bottom
o£ Bonavista Bay. This animal and the otter
{Lutra Canadensis) have been so much sought
after for the value of their fur, that they are now
become comparatively scarce in the country. A
description of the manner by which otters enjoy
themselves, sliding down the banks of the streams,
and the ingenuity of the beaver- in building his
house, is given in almost every book of natural
history. I saw a very fine marten or wood-cat
{Mustela Maries) which was caught in a trap a
few days ago in this neighbourhood; it was
nearly two feet long. Formerly great numbers
of these animals were killed by the Indians, but

I >

109

they are now seldom seen in this part of the coun-
try. Several caribou or rein-deer (Cervus Taran-
dus) were killed in Trinity Bay this winter (1843).
Some of the carcases were exposed for sale when
I was at Trinity this winter, at 6d. per pound.
In some parts of the island they are very plen-
tiful. They are frequently seen in droves of from
two to three hundred in number: they weigh
from two to six hundred pounds. On the western
part of the country as many as eighty or ninety
have been killed by one family during the au-
tumn. Some years ago, I saw a young one
brought by Mr. Thomas Knight, of St. John's,
from Green Bay. It was a very pretty creature,
and so timid that the least noise would produce
a tremour over the whole body. On placing my
hand on it, it began to quiver and shake in every
limb; it was the meekest and gentlest animal I
ever saw. Mr. Knight informed me, that in Green
Bay several fawns, at different periods, had been
kept by persons a considerable time, and they
appeared quite tame.

It is very probable that the reiu-deer of New-
foundland could be naturalized, and might become
of vast importance to the country. Something
might be done by the Agricultural Society, lately
established at St. John's, by offering a reward for
the domestication of two or three of these animals
by way of experiment. The rein-deer is every
thing to the Laplander, being his food, clothing,
horse, and servant. It is said that in 1699 a deer
drew an officer with despatches eight hundred
miles in forty-eight hours, and that on his arrival

'^:

.' >

the deer immediately fell down dead. They are
animals of great speed, sometimes travelling at
the rate of 19 miles an hour. The following
account is taken from the "Edinburgh Cabinet
Library :" — " There is scarcely any race of men
so dependent for their subsistence on a single
animal, as the Laplanders are on the rein-deer.
Their cold, barren country, covered with snow and
ice nine months of the year, produces few vege-
tables fit for human food, and during the season
when fish cannot be procured, they would perish
of absolute want were it not for the milk and flesh
of their deer. It forms their chief, or rather only,
wealth, the poorer classes possessing from 50 to
200, the middling from 300 to 700, and the rich
from 1000 to 2000. They are now mostly in a
domesticated condition, though wild ones are still
sometimes met with in Dalecarlia and the Koelen
Mountains. These useful creatures are of a grey
or brown colour, darker when they have got their
new coat, and becoming lighter afterwards. They
are about four feet high, and the same in length;
those found wild, however, being larger than the
domesticated ones. The horns, which vary more
than those of any other of the genus, are in the
male often four feet long, with numerous branches ;
those of the females are smaller, with fewer divi-
sions. The foot and eye of this creature are also
beautifully adapted to the country it is destined to
inhabit. The hoof is very widely cloven, and
when pressed on the ground, the two parts ex-
pand, thus forming a broad surface, and preventing
the animal from sinking in the soft snow, amidst

V*''.*^-

t* <

-t .

rtlil

111

les;

livi-

lalso

land

ex-

which it spends a greater portion of its life. On
the foot being raised, the divisions again fall to-
gether, making a ciirious crackling noise, resembling
repeated electric shocks. Besides the usual eye-
lids, he is provided with a nictitating membrane
extending over the eyes, through which, in snow-
storms, he can see without exposing these delicate
organs to any injury. The rein-deer is not capable
of carrying much weight, being better fitted for
running or drawing. In a sledge a pair of them
have been said to perform a journey of 100 miles,
or as the Laplanders express it, will change their
horizon three times in twenty-four hours. To
their acuteness of sight and smell their master
trusts his life in the most dangerous paths, during
the darkest nights of his stormy winter, and it is
seldom he has to regret this confidence. Their
milk is an important article of food, and, according
to Linnaeus, is dressed in nineteen different forms.
Their flesh is eaten '*either fresh or salted, their
skins form tents, clothing, and bed-covering, their
sinews thread for sewing, and their tongues are
a well-known article of commerce. Their food is
principally the leaves and buds of trees, the cat-
kins of the birch, and the rein-deer moss which
they search for with iof^nctive sagacity beneath
the snow. They also eat frogs, snakes, and even
the lemming, often pursuing the latter to so great
a distance as not to find their way home again."
The most formidable animal in Newfoundland
is the wolf {Cants Lupus Occidentatis of Rich-
ardson). In some parts of the island they are
very plentiful, where they prove very destructive

112

to the cattle, destroying a number of cows and
sheep. These animals were rather numerous in
the neighbourhood of St. John's three or four
years ago, and were prowling about so near the
dwellings, as to endanger the lives of the inhab-
itants. An act was passed by the local govern-
ment, entitled "The Wolf-killing Act," under
the provisions of which every person killing a wolf,
on the presentation of the head and skin was to
receive a reward of five pounds. In the winter of
1838, one of these ainmals was killed in the vi-
cinity of St. John's. It was kept for some time at
a house, and a charge of sixpence made from
every person who went to view it. Some time
previous to the destruction of this animal, a child,
between five and six years of age, left his home
in the country for the purpose of going into the
town to school, but was never heard of after. It
was conjectured he fell a prey to the wolf above
mentioned. On the 18th of March, 1842, three
men, natives of the neighbourhood of Colliers in
Conception Bay, brought to R. J. Pinsent, Esq.
J. P. at Brigus, the skin (and head attached) of
a male wolf, for the purpose of obtaining the
reward of £5 under the Wolf-killing Act. From
them and others Mr. Pinsent learned the follow-
ing particulars of this animal :— " This wolf is the
same that was caught in a trap near St. John's
last spring, on which occasion he lost his left fore
leg. Since that time he has been ranging about
from the neighbourhood of St. John's to the head
of Conception Bay, and during the last summer,
fall, and present winter, has killed several cows,

113

rom

low-
the
ohn's

fore
about

head
amer,

cows,

sheep, goats, &c. Being so remarkable, from the
loss of one of his legs, he has been particularly
noticed and identified by several persons. About
a fortnight ago he made his appearance in the
neighbourhood of Colliers, at the head of Con-
ception Bay; there he killed a cow belonging to
Lawrence Brien, of Broad Cove Gasters, and
destroyed several sheep, goats, and fowls. He was
seen repeatedly near the tilts of the poor people,
and in many instances seized the smaller animals
close to the doors of the tilts. On the 15th inst.
the three men above mentioned went -in pursuit
of the wolf; they tracked him on the snow seven
or eight miles, his wounded leg leaving in many
places marks of blood, and at length they came
up with him at Turk's Gut, about four miles from
Brigus. He was observed by them crouched in a
little thicket of bushes, opposite the door of a tilt
inhabited by a poor widow woman. He was at
the distance of about twenty feet from the tilt,
looking intently at some sheep which were in a
shed attached to the tilt, and waiting apparently
for the sheep to come out to spring upon them.
When he observed the men, he got up and made
off, running very fast, with a sort of limping
spring in his gait. As soon as he broke away
from his cover in the bushes the men pursued
him, and one of them fired and knocked the wolf
down in the snow, but he immediately recovered
himself, and continued his flight. Another of the
men then fired, and brought him down, breaking
one of his hind legs; the wolf, however, still
endeavoured to scramble off, hauling himself along

114

on the snow, but with great difficulty. One of
the men had by this time re-loaded his gun, which
he then discharged into the wolf at a distance of
about twenty-five feet; this shot struck him in
the side and killed him. The guns were loaded
with swan shot; and on inspecting the skin of the
wolf, after his death, fifty-six shot holes were dis-
covered in it. The animal made no resistance to
the men, but endeavoured to run from them; he
uttered no cry whatever during the whole of the
pursuit, neither barking, howling, nor growling,
not even when he was struck by the shot. This
wolf is a noble sample of his race; his colour is
silvery and remarkably handsome; he appears to
be about five or six years old ; his dimensions are
as follow: —

it. in. >

Length of body from nose to insertion of tail 5

Longtli of tail 1 6

Total length 6 6

Height of fore shoulder ...'. 2 9

Do. at haunch 2 8

His jaws and teeth very large — ears pricked
— length of lower jaw 9 inches — very large paws,
like a dog's — spread of mouth when stretched
open, 7 inches. The skull bones are compara-
tively small, but the muscles of the mouth and
head remarkably large and powerful. His general
appearance is much like a silver-haired fox. The
skin of this wolf has been stuffed and for some
time kept in the court-house at Brigus,* as a fine
specimen of the Newfoundland wolf.

* It is now in the Museum of the Agricultural Society of St.
John't.

115

The age of the wolf is from fifteen to twenty
years. The female goes with young sixty-three
days, and has from five to nine at a litter, which are
born with their eyes shut. In these respects they
a exactly like the dog. It is thought by some
thLv dogs are wolves in a state of domestication,
though the manner in which it was effected is un-
known : there are instances of wolves having been
tamed to such a degree, as to exhibit the greatest
attachment to man. That they manifest great af-
fection for their own species, is evident from the
following instance given by Mr. Gosse. " A few
years ago, some men were going up Lee^s Pond, a
lake about six miles long, near Stanstead, which was
frozen at the time, when they saw before them
a party of wolves crossing the pond. One in
the centre appeared sick, and was surrounded by
the rest in the manner of a body-guard. One
of the men, who had a gun, pursued them, when
some of the wolves took flight, leaving others with
the supposed sick one, which, however, dropped
off one by one as the pursuit grew hotter, leaving
at last only two with it : the man then fired at
one of these two, but without killing it, and they
both then fled. Cn coming up to the remaining
one, they found it was an old she-wolf, completely
blind, as was supposed, from age alone, as her
teeth were almost worn down. After her last
attendants had left her, she attempted to continue
her course, but in a very uncertain manner, some-
times turning on her steps, or going in a circle.
The men put a rope around her, and led her
to the town. In the woods they found her den.

11(3

strewed with a vast number of deer's bones, fra|[-
ments of flesh, &c., all around which the snow,
though three feet deep, was trodden hard and
smooth, and from the number of paths leading
to this spot, it appeared evident that this aged
wolf had for a long time been supplied with prey
by the assiduous attentions of others."

The wolves principally occupy the southern
and western parts of Newfoundland. In the
northern parts, where they were once so plentiful,
(their dismal bowlings producing terror on the
minds of the inhabitants) they are now seldom
seen. In proportion as the population, and as
agriculture are extended, so will the monarch
of the Newfoundland forest disappear, until at
length, as in England and Ireland, its existence
will be no longer known. The history of almost
every nation furnishes us with proofs, that in the
same ratio as the empire of man has been en-
larged, so has the animal kingdom been invaded
and desolated. The history of Newfoundland
bears evidence, that some of the tenants of the
ocean and of the feathered tribes have become
extinct by the agency of the destroying hand of
man. It is a fact, that according as any country
advances in civilization and refinement, so animals
diminish, and some species become extinct. Their
destruction is permitted by God, no doubt for
some wise and important purposes in the economy
of nature.

It is astonishing to what a distance sound can
be heard in cold frosty weather. Going from
Bonavista to Bird- Island Cove one night through

I the If

aded K

:ome ■!
d of H

intry 1
mals ■
'heir ■

omy 1

can fl

Brom ■
I)ugh ■

the woods, our attention was suddenly arrested
by a metallic sound, like the ring uf a hatchet
when a person is cutting timber. My friend
began to indulge in superstitious feelings, and
these feelings were increased by the consideration,
that we were near a grave by the road-side, and
also knowing that no person was cutting timber
at that hour. The place from whence the sound
proceeded was at least the distance of half a mile.
I never heard a similar sound before, except from
the hatchet; however, I endeavoured to allay
the fears of my friend by stating the probability
of its being a sound made by some bird, perhaps
the three-toed woodpecker (Picus Tridactylus)
picking the bark from the tree. I have since
been informed by persons who lived a winter in
the bottom of Bonavista Bay, that at the hour of
midnight the metallic sound would frequently
dingle in their ears, and at such an hour produce
quite a solemn effect; they describe it as being
like the sound of hatchets at work in the woods,
and appeared a considerable distance off, but thev
never could discover the cause from whence t. 3
sound proceeded. We generally hear sounds
more clearly and distinctly in the night than in
the day ; this may be partly owing to the stillness
of the season; but the principal cause is ascribed
to the stratum of atmosphere surrounding the
earth, not being of equal density in the day, op
account of the constant currents of hot air rising
and cold ones descending, while at night an
equality of temperature is produced, and sounds are
conveyed with more facility. In the Arctic region

■ J

118

Lieutenant Foster kept up a conversation with
a man a mile and a quarter distant. It appears
that still water and ice are remarkably good con-
ductors of sounds. A stroke of a stick upon a
frozen mass of ice will be heard a long distance.
About fifteen years ago, at this season of the
year, a very singular and most extraordinary
sound was heard in the neighbourhood of Bona-
vista, and of Bird- Island Cove. It commenced
about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and lasted until
the next day about noon. . The men at Bird-
Island Cove were going about nearly all night,
some with loaded guns — some with hatchets —
and others with whatever weapon they could com-
mand. The sound is described as resembling
distant thunder. It has also been compared to
the growl of a bear, the bellowing of a cow, &c.,
conveying a deep sepulchral tone. What is most
strange and unaccountable is, that it appeared
alongside of every body, although at the time
some w^ere at a distance from each other of
from one to five miles. Men hauling wood at the
time thought the sound came out of the ground
immediately under the slide or sledge, and in
some instances were so alarmed as to leave the
wood behind. Several females thought a bear
had got into their bedrooms,, and ran terrified
from their dwellings. James Porter informed
me, that when he first heard the sound he took
his loaded gun and proceeded in the direction
whence the sound came (supposing it had been
a water-bear) until he came to the edge of a cliff,
when the sound seemed as if it issued out of the

119

solid rock, and l deep and strong as to make his
whole body tremble. By what means this singular
sound was brought into existence I am unable to
explain. It could not have originated from the
rumbling noise made by the ice, because no ice
at the time was near the coast — neither would
the noise made by the ice be heard in the peculiar
manner this sound was heard; and it does not
appear to have been symptoms of an earthquake,
because no trembling, nor the slightest motion was
felt in the earth ; and nothing remarkable occurred
immediately after the sound passed away, except-
ing that two days afterwards one of the heaviest
seas ever known took place. The origin of this
sound could hardly be the eruption of some dis-
tant volcano (the nearest of these being in Ice-
land); though Sir Stamford Raffles states, that
the detonations produced by the eruption of Tom-
boro, a volcanic mountain in Sumbawa, were
heard at a distance of nine hundred and seventy
miles. This sound is termed by the inhabitants
of Bonavista and Bird- Island Cove, " the thunder
growl." It probably had its origin in the atmos-
phere. ■ '' - ' ^^

On the north side of the Northern Cove of
Bird-Island Cove is a perpendicular cliff of solid
gritstone, attaining an elevation of about 120 feet
above the level of the sea. A few years ago a
portion of this cliff fell with a tremendous noise.
About forty feet from the edge of the cliff is a*
fissure two feet wide, extending about two hundred
feet in length. It goes through a solid mass
of rock, and appears to be the full depth of the

120

cliff. Whether this has been produced by sub-
terraneous fires or any other agency to which
earthquakes are attributed, I cannot say ; certain
it is, however, that some potent agency must have
been at work to have produced such a chasm.

I remember, in 1838, going to visit a spot that ^
foundered in the neighboured of Harbour Grace,
where nearly half an acre of ground was broken
off from the main land and moved towards the
sea, leaving a chasm of about three hundred feet
in length, ninety feet wide, and forty feet deep.
The piece of land detached had the trees and
grass growing upon it undisturbed; the noise
made by the fall was heard more than a mile
distant, like the sound of thunder. I have been
informed by several respectable individuals, that
at the time of the great earthquake at Lisbon,
in 1755, the effects were felt at Bohavista. The
sea retired, and left the bed of the harbour dry
for the space of ten minutes, when it again flowed
in and rose to an unusual height, overflowing
several meadows for about the same space of
time as it had retired, and the waters on each
side of the cape were greatly agitated. This
statement is not at all improbable, when we con-
sider that the effects of the tremendous earthquake
of Lisbon were felt all over Portugal, throughout
Europe, in the north of Africa, and even in the
West Indies, and upon the continent of America.
"We read that in Scotland and England similar
effects were felt as at Bonavista. A remarkable
elevation of the waters of Loch Lomond was ob-

121

■H":

■■%.

served, the Thames rose and fell, and the seas
in every part of Europe were agitated.

Our coldest wind in the winter is from the
north-west. Generally, when it is from this
quarter, the atmosphere is clear, bracing, and
salubrious. The climate of Newfoundland is
universally admitted to be more favourable to
the health of man than most other countries in
the world. A walk on a fine clear winter's day
is very pleasant, and promotes health. Having
engaged to accompany the Rev. George EUidge
as far as Trinity, we set forward from Bouavista,
and arrived at Catalina about two o'clock, p. m.
I spent the remainder of the day knocking out
of the rocks along the sea-shore some of what
is called "Catalina Stone." This is iVon pyrites,
formed by a combination of iron and sulphur.
These pyrites are embedded in greywacke, or
slate rock, in square pieces of from one to three
inches in diameter. They look like so many pieces
of gold shining in the rays of the sun. In beat-
ing them out of the rock the stench of the sul-
phur was almost suffocating. I was obliged to de-
sist several times in order to recover myself. It
is very probable that some very valuable mineral
springs exist at Catalina, for mineralogists at-
tribute the hot temperature of almost all the min-
eral waters to the springs running through pyrites.
A considerable quantity of sulphur is prepared
by exposing iron pyrites (sulphuret of iron) to
heat, when part of the sulphur is driven off in
vapour, and may be collected in water.

This mineral is also found in other parts ctf

14 T

122

^i.

Trinity Bay,* and it exists in most mines. It
was the fire-stones of the Red Indians, from which
they used to obtain fire by striking two pieces
together like flint and steel. It is said, the early
adventurers who visited Catalina supposed the
radiated pyrites to have been gold, and that Sir
Humphrey Gilbert, in 1783, loaded his vessel
with it. /*

On Wednesday morning we started for Trinity,
(about twenty miles distant) which place we
reached at 3 o'clock in the afternoon of the same
day. The woods extend three miles into the
country from Ragged Harbour, through which
our road lay. Occasionally the measured strokes
of the woodman's axe broke the silence of the
forest; all else was still as death, save the sound
of our feet and voices. These fine woods consisted
of black spruce {Pinus Nigra), white spruce {Pinus
Alba), and the fir (Pinus Balsamea); the red
spruce (Pinus Rubra), which is indigenous, is sel-
dom met with. Our largest spruce and fir are
from 6 to 14 inches in diameter, and from 30 to
50 feet long. The spruce is generally used for
building boats, oars, ''ences, spars of various de-
scriptions, planks, and hand-barrows. It is also
used for firing, and from its branches that whole-
some beverage, spruce-beer, is made. The fir is
mostly used for the frame-work of dwelling-houses
and stores, clapboards, oil hogsheads, salmon and
herring barrels, casks for screwed-fish, shingles.

* I have found a considerable quantity of pyrites at Broad Cove,
on the south shore of Conception Bay.

«?!.:

123

30 to
ed for
us de-
s also
whole-
fir is
ouses
in and
pgles,

kd Cove,

and fire-wood. The turpentine bladders of this
tree are used in cases of fresh cuts and other
wounds. All the rest of the country through
which we passed was one vast savanna, extending
a distance of about nine miles, fringed with small
stunted woods, which was covered with a litchen,
Negrohair (Alectoria Jubarta) called in New-
foundland Molldow. It is probably the chief food
of the deer during the winter; cows are very
fond of it, and are frequently let loose in the
woods to feed upon it. i;

About half way between Catalina and Trinity
is a large larch or juniper {Pinus Penduld) under
which travellers sit down to rest themselves, and,
in obedience to the law of custom, here we halted
to take some refreshment. The larch is a very
beautiful tree when seen in the flowering season;
its leaves are long and narrow, placed in little
tufts, which spread like a brush. It has the
habits of an evergreen, though it is not one, as
its leaves fall in the winter. It produces resin
and the kind of turpentine called venice. It is >
remarked that the top of the juniper or larch
generally bends towards the east, and it has fre.. |
quently directed travellers as to the course they i
were going. This tree may be considered as '
the oak of Newfoundland, being the hardest and
most durable of all our forest timber. Of late
years it has superseded the use of the birch in
the cohstruction of ships. It is also used for
making cart-wheels, and for other valuable pur-
poses. .When dry, it makes the best fuel of all
our forest trees.

'■■

' 124

We observed crawling upon a little crust of
snow a beautiful caterpillar, which appeared nearly
ready to go into the pupa. We wrapped it in a
slip of paper, and took it with us. It was about
an inch long, and covered with a coat of very
fine brown hair. This covering was no doubt
to protect it from the cold during the severity of
winter, and to preserve it from becoming torpid.
It relieves the dulness of winter to see an insect
stretched upon the snow enjoying the reviving
influence of the sun. John HoUohan informed
me, that when he lived in the woods a few years
back, one fine day in the month of January, he
saw the whole surface of a marsh covered with
various species of insects, embracing a circum-
ference of half a mile. It is well known that in-
sects will live in the coldest atmosphere, and will
revive after being cut out of the solid ice. I
have read, that on the last day of Captain Parry's
attempt to reach the north pole over the ice, a
species] of alphis was found in lat. 82° 26' 44",
about 100 miles from the nearest known land.
We saw no sign of any animal but the small
tracks of the field-mouse {Mus Leucopus). The
groui)'' was only covered with snow in patches,
which left exposed the whortleberry plants [Em-
petrum Nigrum), and the partridge berry plants
{Gaultheria Procumhens). The berries were good,
as the frost makes them juicy and vejry sv,^-';
tasted. Amongst the sheep laurel (Kalmia An-
gtistifolid) and swamp laurel (Kalmia Glauca),
called in Newfoundland Gould Withy, (when boiled
with tobacco and sprinkled over the parts affected,

^^v

125

hat in-
id will
ce. I
Parry's
ice, a
i' 44",
land,
small
The
atches,
(im-
plants
> good.

it is an infallible remedy to cure dogs of the
mange) was plenty of Indian tea or Labrador tea
plant {Ledum Latifolium), well seasoned and
much superior to any I saw used during the
winter. This plant is used as tea by the poor of
this country generally; it is also very often used
medicinally for disorders of the stomach, and with
good effect.

During our stay at Trinity we visited ]Snglish
Harbour (three miles distant), where we attended
a missionary meeting, the first which was ever
held there. In Great Britain these meetings
take place in the month of May, but in New-
foundland the winter season is generally preferred
to the spring. After spending three very pleasant
days at Trinity and its neighbourhood, we re-
turned home. During the journey back our guide
showed us a place where a poor man lost his way
last winter, and after being exposed to the cold
for three day and nights without fire or food,
with great difficulty crawled to a tilt in the
vicinity of English Harbour. He was dreadfully
frost-bitten, and has lost both his feet. This clearly
points out the necessity of having a line of road
between these places. Trinity and Gataliiia are
the two principal harbours on the northern coast
of Newfoundland, yet without a guide no stranger
could possibly find his way from one harbour to
the other. The whole distance is nearly a cham-
paign country, consequently the road would be
nearly level, and on every side materials are to
be found for the formation of a good road. The
formation of roads is of the first importance in

126

developing the latent resources of the country,
and ought to be facilitated by every possible
means.* The storms of winter are sometimes
laden with death; in some parts of the country
persons are lost crossing over bleak districts —
passing over barrens where no road is made; a
snow storm frequently comes |^on, and the travel-
ler, unable to see any distant object to guide his
way, sinks and is lost.

Some of the harbours of Newfoundland are
now frozen over, in some of which a passage
way, or canal, is cut through the ice for the
ingress and egress of ships. That healthy exer-
cise, skating, is now pursued. The sleigh now
moves noiselessly along over the snowy ground.
The sleigh of Newfoundland is not a vehicle of
business, sleighing being pursued for recreation
and pleasure. Sleighing parties are mostly confi-
ned to the environs of St. John's. It is a most
delightful mode of travelling. I have frequently
seen trains of sleighs passing swiftly along the
Portugal Cove Road, while the brass harness
glistened in the sunshine, and the tinkling of
the little bells on the horses' necks presented a
scene of gaiety and animation.

Though our climate is cold and our shores
have been pronounced inhospitable, yet we are
not without our comforts. It is true Newfound-
land does not produce the wines of France, the

* The opening of good roads has greatly increased the value of
land; some having been sold this year (1844) in its primeval state,
situated on the Bay Bulls road, at from 10 to 84 shillings per
acre. - i** .

127

are

orange groves of Spain, Portugal, and Italy, the
sugar and cocoa nuts of the West Indies, nor the
costly silks and aromatic odours of China and
India. But we are free from those dreadful
agents of destruction, earthquakes, volcanoes, and
tornadoes, that sometimes desolate villages and
towns in these countries, which are covered with
a blooming vegetation. The poisonous breath of
the hot^Siroc and the wet Monsoon, which spreads
pestilence in the luxuriant countries of the east,
never reaches us. The hiss of the boa-constrictor,
or of any other snake or reptile, is never heard in
Newfoundland. Frogs, toads, ifzards, or snakes
having never appeared amongst us. In this
respect Newfoundland has been called the Ireland
ci America. Although ' the soil of Newfoundland
hitherto, has not yielded wheat in sufficient quan-
tity as to preclude her dependence on other coun-
tries for a supply of this article, yet it conceals
valuable mines, while the ocean surrounding her
shores affords the greatest sources of wealth of
any other country. Specimens of her mineral
wealth are now lying on the desk upon which I
am writing. They consist of limestone, copper,
iron, coal, gypsum, and marble, which were pre-
sented to me by J. B. Jukes, Esq. who made a
geological survey of the sea-coast of the island.
Mr. Jukes stated to me, that the soil on the
western part of the island reminded him of Eng-
land; that it was very rich and highly susceptible
of cultivation, and capable of giving sustenance to
a large population. In these mines and the
capabilities of the soil, we behold the chaotic

Y '

128

elements of future greatness. Considering her
geographical position and great sources of wealth,
there is very little doubt but that Newfoundland
will advance, and yet take her stand amongst the
mighty nations of the world.

Angling is now pursued, as our ponds at this
season abound with myriads of trout {Salmo Fario)
and salmon peel (Salmo Trutta). Sometimes no
less than from twenty to thirty dozen are caught
in the course of a few hours, by cutting holes in
the ice and placing the lines in them. Without
winter the business of Newfoundland could scarce-
ly be carried on, as during the winter season the
firewood is drawn from the interior over the snow
in slides and catamarans or sledges. It is now
that "the fisherman is busily emplo>'ed, mending
his nets, repairing his boats, and procuring timber
to repair or rebuild his fishing-room for the ap.
proaching summer. It is now that the vessels
are being prepared for the coming sealing voyage.
It is now that the poor dog is hard-worked. No
animal in Newfoundland is a greater sufferer from
man than the dog. This animal is employed du-
ring the winter season in drawing timber from the
woods, and he supplies the place of a horse in the
performance of several duties. I have frequently
seen one of these noble creatures drawing three
seals (about one hundred and thirty pounds'
weight) for a distance of four miles over huge
rugged masses of ice, safe to land. In drawing
wood the poor animal is frequently burdened
beyond his strength, and compelled to proceed by
the most barbarous treatment. Of the cruel con-

129

duct of many an unfeeling master I have often
been a witness, and I have seen the poor crea-
tures left dead on the side of the road. I have
twice seen the head of this sagacious animal stuck
upon the stump of a tree, exhibited as a memorial
of the cruel and inhuman conduct of his master.
Nor does the horse at this season escape being
over-loaded, and treated with great barbarity. I
have seen a man beating this admirable creature
with a stick larger than a man's arm, until one
of his eyes was knocked out of his head. Some
of* these animals die from the cruel treatment they
receive.

"Each heart of feeling to the beast is kind.
While brutal actions sho^ a brutal mind; <

They who unmov'd can hear the dying cry
Of brutes, may see unmov'd a brother die;
Remember, He who made thee, made the brute ;
Who gave thee speech and reason, form'd him mute;
He can't complain, but God's all-seeing eye
Beholds thy cruelty, and hears his sigh.
He was design'd thy servant, not thy drudge;
And know that his Creator is thy judge."

I well remember seeing some boys taking a
poor dog to drown him. It is almost a general
practice in Newfoundland, that after the poor ani-
mal has faithfully served his master, and is no
longer able to draw wood, there is a large stone
sufficient to sink him, fastened firmly round his
neck, and he is then thrown into the sea to die.
The boys were engaged in this most cruel and
•unfeeling practice when I saw them, but; in thib
instance, instead of taking him to the sea, where
there was deep water, they were endeavouring to

130

drown him in a brook with hardly sufficient water
to cover the poor animal. The owner of the dog
was looking on, and appeared pleased to see his
children practising such cruelty. I remonstrated
with him on the impropriety and inhumanity of
such a procedure. He said, "I thought as every
body else drowned their dogs when they got too
old to work, it was no harm for me to do so.'*
I said, *'But do you not conceive it to be unfeel-
ing and sinful to take away the life of your poor
dog, after having laboured for you all his life?
and do you not think that your children, frdhi
practising such cruelty, will gradually become in-
sensible to all sorrows but their own? and if the
practice be continued in, it is very probable that
they would witness unmoved your own death, as
they would the dying agonies of the poor animal
they are now endeavouring to drown. Therefore,
you ought to give a different direction to their
feelings, teaching them not to be thoughtless of
the sensations of any thing that has life, and
guarding them against any sport or amusement
wherein either the larger animals or bii-ds, or even
insects, may be treated with cruelty." He said,
" I never before heard that it was sinful to drown
a dumb animal; if I had thought so I am very
sure I should never have done it." I replied,
"Cruelty to animals is a sin very little thought
of. It is certainly a transgrf"'=!sion of God's law ;
the scriptures say, * A merciful man regardeth
the life of his beast;' this means, that he will be
attentive to provide for the wants of those ani-
mals that contribute to his pleasure and advan-

131

»»

tage; not to overload and work them beyond
their strength; not to drown them when old,
nor to beat or unmercifully injure them in any
way." He said, "I am sorry I never thought of
this subject before, for I have drowned many
dogs during my life; we will, if you please, go
and rescue the dog from the hands of the chil-
dren." We found the poor dog nearly choaked
from the pressure of the rope round his neck> to
which the stone was attached, in order to sink
him when thrown into the water. After cutting
off the rope, I was glad to find he was still able
to walk, though the boys had been endeavouring
to drown him for nearly half an hour. It is now
nearly four years since this occurrence took place,
and the dog was living the last time I was at
Carbonear, although not able to draw wood in the
winter season; and the person who owned him
exceedingly regretted that he should have ever
been the cause of taking the life of an animal.

Cruelty towards the animal world is a reproach
on human nature; it is repugnant to every precept
of religion, benevolence, and humanity. The de-
pravity of human nature, its strong tendency to
evil, is strikingly manifest when we reflect, that
though the infant handles the soft fur of the cat
with delight, and is no less pleased with the
gambols of the kitten, and is delighted with the
bushy tail of the dog, and otiier domestic animals
that come under his observation ; yet as soon as
he emerges from infancy, these animals become
the objects of his torment. The mutilation of
insects by the boy who has scarcely begun to

;■: 132

prattle is regarded with the most pleasurable
sensations. Cowper says,

. «' I would not enter on my list of friends

(Tho' graced with polish'd manners and fine sense,
Yet wanting sensibility) the man
, jt \ Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.
An inadvertent step may crush the snail
That crawls at evefiing in the public path;
But he that has humanity, forewarn'd.
Will step aside, and let the reptile live."

This is the season of storms, the snow-drift
and dark nights are exceedingly dangerous to the
mariner approaching the coast. Shipwrecks some-
times occur upon our shores at this inclement
season, when many an individual is consigned to
a watery grave, causing the wife to mourn the
loss of her husband, or the mother her only son.
The seaman at this season has to encounter vari-
ous difficulties, and to endure privations, hard-
ships, and misfortunes; his vessel is the sport of
every wind, and he is sometimes carried he knows
not whither. In the winter of 1835, in the month
of February, during a voyage from Lisbon to
Cbrbonear, the brigantine Elizabeth, belonging to
the late fii'm of Tocque and Levi, fell in with a
schooner owned by Mr. Bent of Annappolis, Nova
Scotia, out thirty-two days from Bermuda, bound
to Halifax. About a week after the schooner had
left Bermuda, the captain, in a fit of insanity,
jumped overboard, and was never seen after. There
being no other navigator on board, they were
drifted about at the mercy of the winds and cur-
rents until they came within sight of the south
coast of Newfoundland, which they supposed to be

i'^¥

' V 133

New Brunswick. Here, at their own request, they
were taken in charge by Captain Roberts of the
Elizabeth, and brought to Carbonear, where they
remained all the winter, and sailed early in the
spring for Nova Scotia, where they arrived in
safety. The loss of many vessels which have
never been heard of is probably owing to acci-
dents similar to that which has been related.

Winter is the season to call forth the sympathy
and charity of the benevolent. Numbers are now
thrown out of employment, and are destitute of the
common necessaries of life. Many an individual
who had been nursed in the lap of luxury, pinch-
ed with cold and hunger, now stretches his with-
ered arms over the dying fire, whilst his ragged
garments are insufficient to keep the wintry wind
from piercing through his skeleton frame. To
assist their suiFering fellow-creatures is the duty
of those whom God has blessed with the means.

The legislature gives a small annual grant for
the suffering poor, and the influence of religion
has raised many benevolent institutions amongst
us. In this respect Newfoundland is far before
some of the most refined nations of antiquity; for
throughout the whole history of ancient Rome,
even in the days of her greatest splendour, we do
not read of a single charitable institution adorning
her classic ground.

The following institutions for the relief of suf-
fering humanity are now in full and vigorous
operation. In St. John's are the Benevolent Irish
Society (the oldest in the island). Orphan Asy-
lum, Indigent Sick Society Factory, Dorcas So-

134

ciety, ^Mechanics' Society, British Society, Natives'
Society, Scottish Society, and St. George's Society :
at Harbour-Grace, the Benevolent Irish Society,
and Mechanics' Society : at Carbonear, the Be-
nevolent Irish Society, and Natives' Society : and
at Trinity a Benefit Club.

In no part of the country is a charitable insti-
tution more needed than at Bonavista. Here
poverty is wide spread, and exists in its lowest
degree; scenes present themselves calculated to
awaken the deepest sympathy and commisera-
tion. Here have I seen the aged widow, whose
head was whitened with the frost of seventy win-
ters, and who had seen better days, destitute of
every earthly comfort ; and individuals in the
meridian of life with families of naked and
starving children.

The night was dark and the wind sighed
in mournful accents around the house, when a
person called to inform me, that poor old Corbon
was dead. This, however, was not the case,
as I visited hiir, the following morning. I found
him living in a miserable hut, full of holes and
crevices, through which the winter storm whistled,
driving the feathery flakes of snow about the
wretched dwelling. This poor old man was with-
out fire, lying upon a bed (if such it may be
called) with a ragged blanket insufficient to keep
the animal heat in his feeble and emaciated
body. His only food consisted of a solitary cake
of hard coarse brown bread. For a considerable
time he was quite unconscious of my presence,
owing to a kind of stupor into which he had

135

fallen, from the effects of the cold and the want
of proper nourishment. He informed me tliat he
had been living in a better house than the one
he now occupied, which belonged to his step-son ;
but rather than let him reside in it, this unfeeling
and inhuman step-son levelled 't to the ground!
These are only a few instar'^' among the many
of the same kind that are to be met with in this
part of the island.

"How many thousands at this very hour •

Feel the keen-pointed weapon of distress, ' ;

Who little thought that his despotic power
Would thus involve their lives in wretchedness !
Perhaps some mother mourns her dying son,
The only prop of her declining age :
Some weeping orphan's last, last parent gone.
Thrown lone and helpless on the world's rude stage.
How many on the bed of sickness weep,
While the pale moon o'er heaven's blue azure reigns;
No hand to smooth their pillow, or to keep
The night-watch, and to soothe their easeless pains.
, > Though I, thank heaven, from such distress am freed,
Yet thus to muse on theirs, is deep distress indeed!"

One of the greatest acts of benevolence that
ever Newfoundlanders were the objects of, occur-
red in the winter of 1816. On the 12th of
February, a most destructive fire desolated a
great part of the town of St. John's. The property
destroyed is said to have amounted to more than
£100,000 sterling. When the intelligence of this
calamitous event reached the city of Boston, a deep
and powerful sympathy was excited among her citi-
zens for the destitution of 1500 human beings, left
homeless and penniless amid the frost and storms
of a Newfoundland winter ! Burying in oblivion
the recollection that the year previous the two

136

y countries were hostile to each other, and regard-

less of the disputed right to fishing on the Banks,
which right America wished to claim, hut Britain
was unwilling to concede, the nohle and disin-
terested citizens only remembered the claims of
their suffering fellow-creatures upon their hos-
pitality. A vessel was immediately loaded with
provisions, which were sent to be distributed
gratuitously among the distressed inhabitants of
St. John's, where she arrived in safety and de-
livered her valuable cargo. For a vessel to brave
the storms of a winter passage to Newfoundland
at that time, was considered a most daring and
hazardous enterprize. In the following year, 1817,
on the night of the 7th of November, another
immense fire broke out at St. John's, and in
nine hours destroyed thirteen mercantle estab-
lishments (well stocked with provisions) and one
hundred and forty dwelling-houses. The esti-
mated value of tl||f^ property thi^ destroyed was
t £500,000. This distressM^i' ctq^mity was suc-
ceeded by another, on the 2t|t of the same
month, when fifty-six more housed, besides stores
and wharves were consumed. Since this period
St. John's has been visited by several smaller fires.
In 1839 a block of houses on the north side of
Water-street, comprising fifteen tenements, were
entirely consumed; and in 1840 the exchange
and other buildings were destroyed. In 1832
the greater part of the town of Harbour- Grace
was consumed by fire,* and in 1820 a most

* This year (1844) Harbour-Grace was visited by another fire,
when twenty-five houses were burnt, and property to the amount
of £30,000 destroyed.

137

mge

L832

destructive conflagation laid waste a great por-
tion of the town of Carbonear. In the winter
of 1817 great distress prevailed, in consequence
of the great fires; and owing to the failures of
the crops in various parts of Europe, the usual
quantities of supplies had not been imported in the
fall; and the merchants seeing the great impro-
bability of receiving any immediate returns for
their goods, circumscribed the accustomed credit
system. Numbers of the inhabitants, rendered
desperate by want, began to break o^en the
stores. Volunteer companies were immediately
embodied and armed, to prevent fu|$||ier depre-
dations, and committees of rd[ief were formed to
issue small quantities (^; foodH^t stated periods.
This winter is universi^ designated by the old
inhabitants of Conception Bay as the " Winter of
the Rals."

On the 13th of January, 1842, an Agricultural
Society was established, under the patronage of
his Excellency, Major General, Sir John Harvey.
It has in connexion with it a small museum, con-
sisting of collections of natural history. This
society is but yet in its infancy. Nursed and
supported by the fostering care of the Colonial
and Imperial Governments, it will give a mighty
impetus to agricultural pursuits, and be the means
of giving a new aspect to the country.

At a ploughing match held in connexion with
the Agricultural Society this year (1844) his
Excellency, Sir John Harvey, spoke as follows:—

fire,
dount

138

• "Gentlemen, ' . ^

"I meet you here upon this occasion with peculiar
satisfaction. The increased and increasing interest which
is so generally manifested, in respect to agricultural
pursuits, the improvements which are every where in
progress in our roads and communications, and the
daily increasing facilities which are thereby afforded
to those pursuits, together with the rapid rise which is,
consequently, taking place in the value of landed pro-
perty — these. Gentlemen, are among the sources of that
satisfaction which I have so much pleasure in now ex-
pressing. But these circumstances, gratifying and en-
couraging as they undoubtedly are, must, nevertheless,
be regarded as merely the means to a great end, viz.
the welfare and happiness of the inhabitants of New-
foundland, an object which it has been alike my duty,
my privilege, and my ardeuo desire, to promote by
every means in my power.

"Gentlemen, — almost from the first moment of my
arrival in this island, my eyes were opened to the fact
of which the inhabitants themselves evidently appeared
not to be sufficiently aware, viz. that it possessed agri-
cultural treasures, capabilities and advantages, as well
of soil as of climate, which, if not unequalled, are yet
certainly not surpassed by any of the surrounding col-
onies. And as the result of tluree years' experience,
I will now read to you a short extract from a despatch
which I have very recently addressed to Lord Stanley,
and in which it has been my endeavour, in the discharge
of my duty, to place before his Lordship my impressions
upon a subject of so much importance to its inhabitants,
as the capability of the soil of a colony which had here-
tofore been regarded as little more than a mere fishing
station, to minister to the wants, to the comforts, and
even to the profit, of those engaged in the prosecution

139

of the fisheries. After speaking in the despatch referred
to of the increased value which must necessarily be
conferred upon lands by the construction of good and
practicable roads, in all colonies in which the soil is
cultivable, I have said, 'With respect to this island
(hitherto undervalued, as it appears to me to have been),
there can be no doubt that the whole of those tracts
designated (and depreciated by that designation) by
the appellation of ^^ Barrens" (merely because denuded
of trees), are among the most fertile and productive soils
in British America, the sections almost everywhere pre-
senting to the eye from 4 to 6 feet of fine, light, gravelly
soil, capable of producing luxuriantly every species of
crop, except, perhaps, wheat, and requiring only the
aid of artificial manures, and careful and judicious cul-
ture, to give good returns even in that species of grain;
while in respect to all others, more especially grasses
of every kind, including clover, vetches, and, I will add.
flax, in oats and barley, turnips, potatoes, and in fact
every species of "green crop," I have seen no country
out of England and Egypt superior to it.'

"If what I have said. Gentlemen, be correct, wholly,
or in part, it follows that of all agricultiu'al implements,
'the Plough' is necessarily to us the most interesting
and important. The admirable exhibition which we
have upon this and former occasions witnessed of the
vigour and skill of our Newfoundland ploughmen, in
the use of this weapon, one so far more glorious than
the sword of the warrior, in that it is employed in
the subjugation of that which it was appointed to man
to subdue, viz. the earth, from which he himself was
formed, and from which by the mysterious will of the
Almighty, it was appointed to him to derive his sus-
tenance — leads me to the toast, and the aspiration with
wluch I will conclude this brief address, viz. 'May

140

God speed and prosper the plough in this, and all other
Christian lands.*"

In the winter of 1833, on new-year's-day, the
first session of the Colonial Parliament was
opened by Captain Sir Thomas Cochrane, the
Governor, a representative constitution having been
granted the previous year by His Majesty
"William IV. The elective suffrage was almost
universal, the title to vote being the ownership,
or possession, of any description of dwelling for
one year; and the qualifications of a representa-
tive were, not having been convicted of any in-
famous crime, and occupying a dwelling as owner
or tenant for two years immediately preceding
the election. The island was divided into nine
districts, which returned fifteen members to sit
in the Assembly. The Council was composed of
nine members, appointed by the crown, and le-
gislating as a distinct House of Parliament. The
charter invested the governor with the power
of suspending any member of the Council, of
assenting to, or withholding his consent from,
any bill passed by", both Houses of Parliament,
and to prorogue, adjourn, or dissolve the same.

In the winter of 1841 the eighth and last session
of the Local Parliament under this system ter-
minated. It was dissolved by Captain Prescott,
the then Governor, on the 2Gth of April, and in
consequence of the riotous proceedings at the
elections the constitution was suspended. In
1842 an act was passed by the Imperial Parlia-
ment for amending the constitution of the gov-
ernment of Newfoundland; the principal features

141

in
the

In
rlia-

fOV-

ures

in which this measure differs from the old system
are the following. The abolition of the Legis-
lative Council as a distinct branch, and its amal-
gamation with the Assembly into one house.
There is also an Executive Council distinct from
the Legislative, for advising the Governor. The
qualification of persons elected to serve as mem-
bers in the Assembly is a net annual income of
£100, or the possession of property clear of all
incumbrances to the amount or value of £500.
The qualification of voters being the possession of
a dwelling house for one year. All the elections
are simultaneous, being completed in a given
time on the same day throughout the island. This
act continues for four years only.

On Tuesday, January 17th, in the winter of
1843, His Excellency, Sir John Harvey, opened
the first session of the General Assembly under
the new form of constitution, with the following
speech from the throne:

c "Mr. Speaker, Honourable Gentlemen, and Gentlemen,
" The Imperial Parliament having, during its recent
session, passed an act which has received the royal as-
sent, and by which material alterations have been intro-
duced into the constitution of this island, it has become
my duty„,to convene you in General Assembly, and to
assure yttu of the earnest desire which I feel, that
through pir united exertions the affairs of this ancient
and loyal colony may be so administered, under this new
form of constitution, as to fulfil the anxious wishes of
our benignant and maternal sovereign, by the advance-
ment of the true interests of all classes of Her Majesty's
subjects in Newfoundland. But before I proceed to

142

invite your attention to those measures which appear to
mo to call for prompt legislation, I deem it proper to
remind you, that the constitutional act under which you
are assembled is of a temporary character, being limited
in its duration to the period for which provincial legis-
latures usually sit, viz., four years; and that its re-enact-
ment may depend in some measure upon your own
wishes and those of your constituents, but mainly upon
the manner in which, after having undergone a fair trial,
it may be found to promote effectual legislation, and
thereby to counteract the evils arising out of the con-
flicts of opinion on the part of two distinct bodies,
possessing separate and independent functions, which
confessedly existed, and by which the best interests of
Her Majesty's subjects in this valuable colony have been
most injuriously affected.

" In the anxious hope that the amicable and unreserved
interchange of opinions between all parties and all inter-
ests in free discussion, in a single chamber, may have
the effect of promoting a better understanding, and lead
to useful practical legislation for the benefit of the
colony and the general interest, and assuredly not for
the purpose of promoting any particidar interest, still
less for the object of affording a triumph to one party,
or of inflicting mortification on any other — in this hope,
and on these grounds, our gracious Sovereign has been
induced to give her sanction to this temporary, experi-
mental, and, as it is hoped it may prove, remedial measure.

" It has been justly observed, that 'reasonable sacrifices
on the part of all, for the sake of public peace and
tranquillity, are as necessary as the surrender by all of
certain natural rights for the sake of social harmony.'
If we apply this forcibly expressed axiom to legislative
proceedings, we have clearly presented to us the only
source from whence can flow that legislative harmony

143

only
lony

from which is to issue the puhlie good, and by which
alone the blessings of our free and happy constitution
can be fully diffused among all classes of Her Majesty's
subjects in this ancient and loyal possession of the British
Crown. Permit me, then, to invite you, laying aside
the recollection of all past differences, cordially to unite
with me in endeavouring to advance the objects common
to us all — the general happiness and prosperity of New-
foundland — by allowing no other consideration to inter-
fere with this our paramount duty, and by so exercising
the functions and powers which the constitution has
confided to us respectively, as to acquire the highest
rewards to which we can aspire, the approbation of our
sovereign, of our fellow-subjects, and of our own con-
sciences. And here I would indulge in the expres-
sion of a sanguine hope, that the peaceable and orderly
manner in which the constituency of this island have
exercised their franchise during the late elections, may
be regarded as an earnest of the harmony and good
feeling which are about to pervade your deliberations,
and to mark your legislative proceedings.

"Before I lay before you my suggestions as to the
objects to which it appears to me that a portion of the
provincial revenues may be most beneficially applied, it
is my pleasing duty to offer to you my heartfelt con-
gratulations upon that auspicious event which has crown-
ed the hopes and wishes of the nation, since the last
meeting of the legislature of this island. I refer to the
birth of a male heir to the throne — an event which
leaves to Her Majesty's loyal subjects little to apprehend
in connexion with the happy prospect of the secure
succession to the crown of these realms of the issue of
their beloved Queen ; and, in the fervent gratitude
which pervades every British heart towards that pro-
tecting Providence which has continued to shield the

nnu'IouH lifo of «)ur sovon'ifjfti iVoiii the Mow of tim
iiHHiiMMtii, llcr Miijc.sty'H loyiil HiilijcctH in this portion of
hor (lotninioiiH liavc, I know, wurinly piirticipatud.

"Mr. Spoakcr, llotioiiriihlo (lUtitUMUon, mul Gttiitlctnun,
" To^ctliiT with a (lutaihMl account of the n<'tual ntatu
of thu puhHc rcvrniiuH, inchidin^ all the receipts and ^
dishursenientfl which have taken place Ninco the last
nu'ctinpf of the I'rovincial lief:fislatnro, I have directed
that a separate accotnit bo lai«l hcforo you of the va-
rious smns of which I have taken upon myself to order
tlie payniei t since my arrival in Newfoundland; and as
tlio :••• •.nnstancod which have appeared to n>e to render
the assumption of this responsibility on my part an act
of imperative duty towards the (iueon'a sidyects in this
colony nnist bu fully within your knowledge, it may
oidy bo requisite for mo to say, with reference to those
payments, that I have, as a general rule, confmcd my-
self to such items respecting which there appeared to
have existed no differences of opinion between the
Council and Assembly. With you, therefore, it rests
to decide bow far it may bo expedient or just to ex-
onerate me for having", under such circumstances, taken
upon myself to give cll'ect to an act of legislative
oppropriatiou which bad unhappily been left unper-
foctod by the usual and necessary constitutional forms.

" I am happy to be enabled to inform you, that up
to the period of the expiration of the 'Revenue Act,*
the state of the public revenues and the general fi-
nancial condition of the colony afford grounds of rea-
sonable satisfaction. But I recommend to you to toke
into your unnirdiate consideration ihe means by which
the very heavy deficiency, arising from the unavoid-
able discontinuance iu the collection of Colonial Duties
since the first day of July last, and amounting, as

\4ri

iippoftM hy Mio Htfttomcnt which will ho laid liofore
you, to not Icms than t'2(),(MM), ni.iy ho repairod, ho 08
to press with least weight upon the community;
whether hy passing an act to (iontinuo or to revive
the expired ilcivenuo Act, hy giving a rotrospcctivo
operation to its provisions, as rcconmicndod hy the
Right llotj. the Si^ciretary of State for the Colonies,
or hy tho imposition of such an Increase of duty on
certain articles of consumption, as may hold cut a
reasonahle prospect of replacing the deHciei:cy hy raising
the general amount of the public revenue for a given
pefioil. To any well-considered measure for effecting
the imj)ortant object In view, I am ready to give my
assent; and in rei'erenco to this subject, I reconnncnd
to your attentive consideration tho act recently passed
hy the Imperial Parliament for establishing a revised
tarilV of duties, to be levied on certain articles of
Ihitish produce and manufacture, from and after the
/jth day of July, 1H4.'{, of which a copy will be laid
befoH! you. Tho renewal of such other tenjporary acts
as may have expired, or bo about to expire, will also
receive your early attention.

"The (jstimates which will be presented to you of
the sums which are required for the public service of the
colony, liave been framed in accordance with the instruc-
tions of Her Majesty's Government, by which the ex-
penditure is required to be brought strictly within the
anticij)atcd amount of the revenue, and are therefore less
in accordance with the actual exigencies of the colony,
more especially with respect to roads, than with its
present available means. Of the latter I confidently
anticipate a regular and progressive increase, which will,
I doubt not, be attended by a corresponding liberality
on your part in making increased provision for the

146

several objects of the public service, to which I will now
proceed to draw your attention. > V .

"In giving a well-merited precedence to the impor-
tant subject of ' Education,' I will confine myself on the
present occasion to repeating my often-expressed and
deep-felt conviction, that by no exercise of our legislative
functions can we confer so great a boon upon the rising
generation, as by bringing within the easy attainment of
the youth of every class of the community the blessings
of useful education, based upon sound principles of reli-
gion and iriorality. Such a foundation is in reality all
that is necessary to enable any British subject, possessing
integrity, industry, sobriety, and ordinary abilities, to
raise for himself, with the blessing of Divine Providence
upon his endeavours, such a superstructure of happiness
and independence as is attainable under no other form
of constitution in the civilized world. Entertaining these
views, and upon these grounds, I indulge a confident
hope, that you will not only cheerfully vote the sums
necessary to enable the educational institutions of the
colony to continue their operations, but will be found
ready to place increased means of usefulness at their
disposal, whenever the state of the provincial revenues
may enable you to do so, with a due regard to other
objects. And here I would express a confident hope,
that this important colony will not long be allowed to
remain without the advantage of such a collegiate or
academical institution, as may afford to its youth the
means of acquiring instruction in the higher branches
of education, wit%out having to seek them, at great
expense and inconvenience, in Europe, or in the neigh-
bouring states or colonies.

"Upon the subject of roads, of agriculture, and of
immigration generally, I know not that I can place my
ideas more forcibly before you, than by inviting your

147

and of
(ace my

our

attention to some observations having reference to those
deeply interesting objects, which were addressed by me
to a public meeting held in this city in January last, for
the purpose of forming a society for the encourage-
ment of agriculture, of which a copy will be laid
before you, and which you will perceive from the copy
of the despatch from the Right lion, the Secretary
of State, by which they will be accompanied, have
obtained the approbation of Her Majesty's government.
I yould at the same time express my inmost convic-
tion, that the subject is one which more closely con-
nects itself with the future prosperity, happiness, and
independence of Her Majesty's loyal subjects of New-
foundland, than appears to be generally supposed.
And here I will not deny myself the satisfaction of
recording this public declaration of my conviction,
derived from such observation and information as a
residence in the island of upwards of a year has en-
abled me to acquire, that both as respects climate and
agricultural capabilities^ Newfoundland, in many re-
spects, need not shrink from a comparison with the
most favoured provinces of British America. Its sum-
mers, though short, exhibit an extraordinary degree of
vegetative power, which only requires to be duly taken
advantage of; its winters are neither unusually long
or severe, and its autumnal seasons are as open and
fine as those of any of the surrounding colonies ; and
though the island generally does not abound in tim-
ber, yet amply sufficient is found for every useful
purpose ; and in point of rich natural grasses, no
part of British North America produces greater abun-
dance. Newfoundland, in fact, appears to me to be
calculated to become essentially a rich grazing country;
and its varied agricultural resources appear only -to
require roads and settlements to force them into highly

148

remunerative dcvelopement ; but in a country where
those treasures and capabilities are only partially^ found,
it is obviously expedient that the ordinary rules of im-
provement should be departed from to suit its parti-
cular circumstances. Thus, in the original settlement of
the timber-growing colonies, individual enterprise and
improvement have generally preceded roads, which have
been subsequently constructed for the purpose of con-
necting detached settlements with each other, or with
navigable waters ; but circumstanced as is this island,
having few navigable streams, interior settlement can
only follow explorations and surveys, and the con-
struction of practicable roads of commimication with
the common highway, the *sea.'

"In connexion in some measure with the preceding
remarks, I would observe to you, that Newfoundland ap-
pears to stand alone among the western colonies of the
British empire, in several very essential respects:' 1st,
That she is without practical roads of communication
for connecting the various settlements of the island with
the provincial capital, and themselves with each other;
and 2dly., without a 'militia force' of any kind. So
long as this unexampled state of things — more especially
as respects the 'roads' — is suffered to continue, this
colony must remain, what it would almost appear to
have been designed to keep it — little beyond a 'fishing
station.' Emigration to it, beyond the number of la-
bourers required for the prosecution of that single
pursuit, cannot be expected, no other encouragement
being held out. But by opening up its interior by
means of good roads and communications upon lines
carefully surveyed and carried through lands — and it is
known that such are to be found, capable of repaying
the labourer or the settler, and therefore holding out
inducement to that class of emigrants — ^you will, I have

149

this
lear to
isliing
of la-
siiigle
jement
nor by
lines
it is
paying
ig out
I have

elsewhere said, 'discover treasures which, though they
may not offer in the first instance rewards so tempting
and so immediately available as those of the surrounding
deep, are nevertheless quite as essential to the prosper-
ity of your island home as are the fisheries themselves.'
" While on the subject of * roads,' I will remind you
that several lines of cross and other roads, intended to
connect the capital with the neighbouring out harbours
and settlements, have been judiciously commenced, but
in almost every instance have been left in an unfinished
state for want of funds: these you will, I doubt not,
concur with me in thinking should be completed at as
early a period as may consist with our ability. And
the:e >re other lines of roada, to the importance of
whicL V ticipate your concurrence with equal confi-
dence. ^ ;efer to a communication to be made prac-
ticable for carriages at all seasons for connecting the
provincial capital and the northern and eastern districts
of the peninsular of Avalon, including the shores of
Conception and Trinity Bays with those of St. Mary's
and Placentia ; as also that for completing the pro-
posed coast road between St. John's and Trepassey. It
must be wholly unnecessary for me to expatiate to
you upon the great importance to the general interests
of the island of such means of access to its western and
southern coasts and bays, not only as facilitating inter-
communication between many of its most valuable ports
and settlements (with which there exists at present little
other communication than by sea), but also with the
sister colonies of British America, these ports being
known to be accessible, particularly Trepassey, to vessels
during the winter season, when those to the eastward
are obstructed by ice. Of the line of road first adverted
to, an exploratory survey has recently been made, which.

150

with the report by which it is accompar.ied, will be laid
before you. v

"With regard to the 'Militia Force,' although I am
aware that there are circumstances arising out of the
ordinary pursuits of the great body of the adult pop-
ulation of this island, which may be regarded as con-
stituting essential points of difference between them and
the population of other colonies, yet I confess myself
unable to perceive any which ought to raise so remark-
able a line of distinction as is exhibited by the unpre-
cedented fact of the entire absence in Newfoundland
of that constitutional force which presents so prominent
and interesting a feature, which exhibits so much of
loyal enthusiasm, which constitutes a source of such
well-founded confidence, and inspires such a spirit of
laudable pride and satisfaction in every other colony of
Her Majesty's dominions with which I am acquainted,
as its * Militia.' Nevertheless, in suggesting to you tQ
relieve your island and its hardy and loyal population
from the imputation which at present attaches to it
on this subject, by passing a Militia law, it is far '
from my wish or intention to recommend, because the
circumstances of the colony do not appear to call for it,
that its provisions should be at all of a stringent or
onerous character as respects the periods of musters,
trainings, or inspections, which might be made very
infrequent, and the act be so administered as to avoid
any material interference with the ordinary avocations or
occupations of the people. All I would propose, in the
first instance, is such a bill as would merely effect the ,
organization of a Militia Force by the enrolment of all
the male population of the island, within certain ages,
for the defence or protection of the colony in cases
of foreign invasion or internal commotion, with power
to the governor for the time being to call upon their

as:es,

cases

power

their

151

services in either of these cases of emergency. I am
not in ignorance of the fact, that the inhabitants of
this island are very generally accustomed to the use
of fire-arms, and I am, therefore, satisfied, that a very
short training would be found sufficient to put them
upon a full equality with the military force of any
other colony ; but in order to be placed in a state
of necessary preparation for such training, it is requisite
that the head of the government should be empow-
ered by law to form them into battaUons and com-
panies, and to appoint officers, and one or more days
in the year for muster, &c. The details of the pro-
posed measure will, however, be best explained by the
draft of a bill which will be laid before you, and to
which I invite your favourable attention.

" The entire absence of steam vessels of any kind in
this island must be regarded as another circumstance in
which Newfoundland exhibits g. marked distinction from
the other colonies of this hemisphere. Its legislature
has, I know, with considerable liberality sanctioned the
application, from the colonial funds, of a sum of one
thousand pounds per annum, for a term of three years,
in aid of the conveyance, by steam vessels, of Her Ma-
jesty's mails to and from Halifax, which grant has been
met, in a spirit of corresponding liberality, by the legis-
lature of Nova Scotia, by one for the same object, and
for the same period, of half that amount; but it is much
to be feared, that without some extension of these grants,
or some spirited exertions on the pari? of individuals or
associations, the very desirable object of quick and re-
gular communication with the mother country and the
neighbouring colonies must remain unattained, and this
island continue tc suffer by its exclusion from any par-
ticipation in those benefits so largely enjoyed in this

.»'

152

respect by all the rest of Her Majesty's North Amer-
ican possessions. ' ^ •

"The liberality which has usually distinguished the
votes of the legislature for the support of the poor, sat-
isfies me that I have only to call your attention to the
necessity of a pronsion for the widows, orphans, and
impotent and aged persons, who are comprised in what
is termed the Permanent Pauper List, to insure the ex-
tension of relief to those sufferers.

A statement of the sum now due on this account,
as well as for the indigent sick in the hospital,
and including that class of our fellow-beings whose
claim upon all our sympathies must ever be regarded
as irresistible pauper lunatics, will be laid before you.

" Before closing this part of my subject, I feel
myself impelled also to propose, that a small sum
should be placed at the disposal of the executive, to
be applied, in the event of any favourable occasion
presenting itself, to the solution of that most interest-
ing problem, the continued existence or otherwise in
this island of that unhappy and deeply to be com-
miserated class of beings, its aboriginal inhabitants.

"With reference to the great staple of the island,
its 'fisheries,' I would submit to you whether the exist-
ing state of the laws respecting the recovery of the
wages of fishermen and seafaring men employed in that
pursuit might not be made the subject of wholesome
revision. The rights and privileges of this valuable class
of men, as well as those of their employers, ought, in
my opinion, to be so strictly guarded and so clearly de-
fined by legal enactment, as to render redress on either
side a matter of cheap and easy attainment; and more
especially is this desirable, with a view more effectually
to promote, and more closely to cement that union of
interests which ought ever to subsist between the fisherr

\53

corn-

more
ctually
ion of
fisherr

man and those by whom he is employed and supplied.
1 would further observe, that in a colony where there
cannot as yet be expected to be found any considerable
numbers of educated resident gentlemen and respectable
individuals, who can conveniently afford to devote the
whole of their tin- ai. tention gratuitousl-i i* tiie
discharge of those duties Wii«.h attach to the magisterial
and ministerial machinery of the public service, it must
evidently consist with the public interests to have recourse
to the only mode by whioh this evil can be remedied.
To neglect such a course must entail upon the inhabi-
tants the injurious consequences which flow from a
defective administration of the laws, and must often
amount to a denial of justice. On these grounds I
propose to you some additional provision for an increase
of the stipendary magistracy and of the police establish-
ment, as well in the provincial capital as in the rural
distr' ^ts and out-ports. And in connexion with this
subject I invite you to take into your consideration,
whether by such increase, coupled with an extension of
the powers of the magistrates in some of the more re-
mote sections of the island, it may not be foimd prac-
ticable to relieve the colony from the great, and as appears
to me, imnecessary expense, occasioned by the present
' Circuit Courts.'

"With regard to bounties, or other encouragement to
the whale, seal, or any other branch of fisheries, you
will yourselves be most competent judges, both of the
expediency of granting such encoiu'agement and of the
amount; but I would submit to your patriotic consider-
ation with respect to 'agriculture,' that without some
legislative aid in the commencement of its operations,
the 'society' whicji has recently been formed with the
object of promoting that important branch of the provincial

interests, will be found unable to overcome the prejudices

154

and difficulties against which it will have to contend.
I would, therefore, propose to you to make a moderate
grant in aid of this Association, to be continued for
such a period as may be deemed sufficient to enable the
colony to form a correct judgment as to the amount of
benefit which it may be likely to render to its agricul-
tural interests. The disposal of this fund, I would pro-
pose, should be left under the control of the society
itself, which, including, as it does, individuals of the
highest respectability in the island, who stand before the
public pledged to use their utmost endeavours to carry
out the views which led to the formation of the asso-
ciation, offers the most satisfactory guarantee for its
prudent and useful application.

"On the subject of 'Bounties,' I would further sub-
mit to your consideration, whether it might not consist
with a wise policy to give all due encouragement to
native talent and enterprise as respects so useful a branch
of manufacture as the construction, in this and other
ports of the island, of ships and vessels, not only suited
for the prosecution of the deep-sea fisheries, but capable
of conveying the manufactured produce to any part of
the commercial world. Such an encouragement would,
as appears to me, be in strict accordance with that prin-
ciple which every country should keep steadily in view,
of increasing the amount of the export of its staple
commodities, especially in a manufactured shape, by
every means in its power. Thus, in corn and timber
growing colonies, the benefit of manufacturing the grain
into flour and meal, and the timber into dea^s, boards,
and'^shipd for exportation, should, if possible, be con-
fined 'to the inhabitants of such colonies ; and though
this island has at present neither surplus grain nor timber
to export, yet it has recently shown to the inhabitants
of this port that vessels of sufficient size, of strong fabric.

155

and beautiful model, may be successfully constructed by
'native' talent^ duly encouraged, and of timber of 'na-
tive' growth.

*'A bill for regulating the sale of waste land <of the
crown' in this colony will be laid before you j but you
will be aware that the provisions of such a bill must
remain, in a great measure, inoperative in this island,
until such 'surveys' shall have been executed as may
enable the Surveyor-General to describe and to estimate,
with a due degree of accuracy, the lots which may be
applied for or offered for sale, and the general circum-
stances affecting them. For such surveys, in connexion
with those for certain lines of roads already adverted
to, due provision should be made. In reference to this
subject, it is my intention to propose to Her Majesty's
government to sanction an arrangement by which all
persons of British origin, who may have been in the
actual occupation of lands, though without license, lease,
or grant for a given period, shall be enabled to acquire
a title to such lands, on such conditions as may be con-
sidered just and reasonable, with reference to the cir-
cumstances of each case, and with a view to secure them
and their heirs in the free enjoyment of the improve-
ments which they may have made thereon.

" Upon a subject of so much importance as the adminis-
tration of justice in the supreme court of this island, upon
terras as moderate as may consist with the various pro-
fessional rights and interests involved, I have directed to
be laid before you a despatch from the Right Hon. the
Secretary of State for the Colonies, inviting your consider-
ation of the subject, with a view to submit ^oP^Mj^^"
jesty's government, by bill or otherwise, such pr(^p|pl>ns
for the limitation of those powers which, at an earlier pe-
riod of the history of this colony, it was deemed expedient
to confer, by charter, upon the chief and other judges

150

of tho Supreme C'ourt, ol" making; *rul«!s,' wliicli are in
effect Maws,' alTcctiiifi;' the public revciuic, by re^ulutinj^
tlio amount of fees to bo receivcJ in that court. Copies
of tlie existinfjf * llules' of ('ourt and Tables of Fees, as
well as of tli(» two new rules, tbe subject of Lord Stan-
ley's deapatcli, will be laid before you, and tbe important
points involved will, I doubt not, be considered by you
with a due regard as well to the interests of tho suitor
as those of the legal profession.

" Tho liberty and ])rivilege3 of the subject are so
deeply involved in the C(iuitiible provisions and due ad-
ministration of tho laws affecting ' Bankrupts,' as well as
those for tho regidation of prisons, that I feel it an im-
perative part of my duty to invito your attention to
those important objects of legislation, with a view to
endeavour to extend to this island tho full benefit of the
many wise and humane regulations which have been in-
troduced into the acts of the Imperial Parliament on these
subjects.

"Although I am impressed with a conviction that no-
thing but an Act of ' Incorporation' can effectually con-
fer upon the city of St. John's all those benefits which
the iidiabitants of the commercial capital of this colony,
whose annual 'exports' amount, on the average, to little
less than a million sterling, ought to enjoy, yet I will
not abstain from offering (by message) a few observa-
tions and suggestions for its improvement, particularly
as some of the improvements suggested can perhaps only
be effected by a legislative enactment.

"There is yet anotlipr subject to which I deem it my
duty briefly to advert, viz. tlic deficiency which exists in
this colony of a suitable building for holding its legisla-
tive sessions ; and I would suggest to you to combine
with the consideration of this subject that of the requisite
accommodation as well for the supreme court of judica-

ture, as for all the principal oflicos of tlie legislature and
of the government, including places of secure deposit for
the puhlic records of each department. It has been sug-
gested, that the building at presciit occupied as a resi-
dence by the queen's representative would afford ample
space for all these purposes, and that the most economical
measure, as respects the colony, might be for the legisla-
ture to address Her Majesty's government, for the con-
sent of the crown to such an appropriation of that building,
upon condition of a suitable residence being erected by
the colony for the governor. Concurring in the opinion
08 to tlie advantage to the colony with which this ar-
rangement would be attended, I shall bo found ready to
supj)ort, by my recommendation, any proposition which
you may be induced to address to me to this effect.

" Mr. Speaker, Honourable Gentlemen, and Gentlemen,
" I am well aware that 1 have considerably exceeded
the limits to which it is usual to confine addresses of this
nature; but if, upon this, the first occasion of my meeting
you in provincial legislature, I have been induced to give
free expression to some of the views and opinions which
I have been led to form since my arrival in Newfound-
land, I indulge the hope, that you will at least see in this
proceeding the evidence of an anxious desire on my part
to identify myself with all its interests, and to do all that
may depend upon my position^ as the representative of a
benignant and maternal sovereign, to co-operate with you
in promoting them, and in endeavouring to secure to Her
Majesty's loyal subjects in this island the fullest measure
of benefit which their new constitution may be found
capable of conferring upon them. And although the
views and suggestions which I have laid before you may
appear too comprehensive for the present means of the
colony, and quite incapable of being realized otherwise

158 '

than very ji^adually, yet I have not. on that account,
deemed it the less to consist with my duty, to avail my-
self of an occasion which may be regarded as constituting
a new era in the political history of Newfoundland, for
the purpose of placing upon the records of its legislature
such suggestions as a long acquaintance with the British
American provinces has enabled me to offer, for effecting
those improvements in the condition of this island, which,
by tending to develope its varied resources, appear to mo
to be done wanting to place it upon a footing with the
most favoured of those provinces; and which may, I trust,
supply a motive to its legislature to endeavour to raise
the revenue of the island to as high a point as may be
considered consistent with the interests of its inhabitants,
for the purpose of being applied to objects of so much
general importance.

"In conclusion, I would remark that to tis, as sepa-
rate, co-ordinate, and independent branches of the pro-
vincial legislature, is respectively confided the conserva-
tion of the rights of the people, and of the prerogatives
of the crown, principles which are so beautifully blended
in our admirable constitution, that the latter cannot be
infringed without a violation of the former. Our rela-
tive duties, therefore, are rendered plain and easy ; and
while we shall always be found ready to co-operate in
the endeavour to reform any acknowledged abuse, we
shall feel it to be as much at variance with our duty to
our sovereign, and to Her Majesty's loyal subjects of
this colony, to acquiesce in any measure which may ap-
pear to us to be inconsistent with any acknowledged
constitutional princip)jp, as it would be to sanction any
infraction of the kaiii|a laws of the land. I would finally
record my conviction^ that by no other course of proceed-
ing than that whifli has been the object of the preceding
observations and suggestions to urge upon your consid-

¥■

159

eration, can tlic loyal inhabitants of this ancient pos-
session of the British crown be so effectually rescued
from the imputation which it has been sought to aDix
upon them, of being less fitted than their fellow-subjects
of the neighbouring provinces for the due exercise of
those privileges which are conferred by the usual rep-
resentative form of constitution.

" If any material point to which I may have omitted
to advert should arise or suggest itself in the course of
the session, it shall be made the subject of a communi-
cation with you by message; and I feel that I cannot
close this lengthened address in a manner more in ac-
cordance with my own feelings, as well as with my sense
of public duty, than by inviting on your part the most
free and unreserved communication with me, whenever
you may be of opinion that the advancement of any
question connected with the public interests can be there-
by promoted or facilitated."

.( a

IGU

TEMPERANCE.

"Ik death wore nothing, and nouglit after death;
If when men died, they ceiused to bo,
•' Uoturninp to the barren womb of notliing,

Whence Jlrst they sprung; — then might tiic debauchee

Untrcnibiing mouth tlie heavens ; — then might the drunkard .

Reel o'er liis full bowl, and when 'tis draln'd,

Fill np another to the brim, and laugh

At the poor bugbear Death ;— then might the wretch

That's weary of the world, and tired of life,

At once give each inquietude the slip, ^

l{y steaUng out of being when he pleased,

And by what way, whether by hemp or steol:

Death's thousand doors stand open."

Blaiu's Gravk.

If we wish to extend the narrow span of this
mortal life, and pass through the world respect-
ably, let temperance be our physician and guide,
for she carries health and long life in one hand,
and competency and honour in the other ; disease
flies affrighted at her presence, and repentance
never visits her abode. By temperance I wish
my young friends distinctly to understand, that
I mean total ahstinence from all that intoxicates.
I believe it is now generally understood that
temperance and total abstinence are synonymous
terms. I know of no better way of recommending
temperance than by pointing out the evils of
intemperance.

This is a frightful monster, a hydra with many
heads. The first head which presents itself on
this hydra, is loss of reputation, and the increase
of I uperism and crime. A man no sooner becomes
the slave of intemperance, than he begins to
neglect his occupation. The consequence is, if he
has vy money his credit is stopped, and he be-
comes reduced to a state of beggary, and in many
instances theft has been resorted to in order to
supply the wants of his starving family. Another
of these heads is the loss of health, of conscience,
and of the fear of God. Look at the drunkard's
swollen face, his burning eyes, ready to burst
from their sockets, and his quivering frame
ready to sink into the jaws of death ; what a host
of diseases wait upon him to hurry him (o his
long home !

" Fever with cheek of fire ;
Consumption wan; palsy, half warm with life.
And half a clay-cold lump ; joint-tott'ring gout.
And ever-gnawing rheum; convulsion wild;
' Swoln dropsy; panting asthma; apoplex,
Full-gorged. These, and a thousand more,
Horrid to tell, attentive wait."

Some of the most eminent physicians declare
that the greater part of the diseases which attack
the human frame, originate in the use of intoxi-
cating liquors. Speaking of the hereditary in-
fluence of drunkenness. Dr. Trotter says, " The
morbid juices of the parent are transfused into
the veins of his progeny, and thus a feeble off-
spring is forced into existence, pregnant with
its own destruction." " No person," says Sir

Astley Cooper, " has a greater hostility to dram-

_ 19

162

drinking than myself, insomuch, that I never
suffer any ardent spirits in my house, thinking
them evil spirits ; and if the poor could witness
the white livers, the dropsies, the shattered
nervous systems, which I have seen as the conse-
quence of drinking, they would be aware that
spirits and poisons are synonymous terms."

Another' medical writer says, it is " a disease
far more destructive than any plague that ever
raged in Christendom, more malignant than the
burning typhus, the loathsome small pox, the
cholera of the east, or the yellow fever of the
west; more loathsome and infectious than all
of them together, with all their dread array
of suffering and death united in one ghastly
assemblage of horrific and appalling misery ;" and
the following declaration is signed by thirteen
physicians and fifty-three surgeons of Birming-
ham : " Being of opinion that the habitual use
of intoxicating liquors is not only unnecessary,
but pernicious, we have great satisfaction in
seconding the views of the temperance society,
by stating our conviction, that nothing would
tend more to diminish disease, and improve the
health of the community, than entire abstinence
from the use of intoxicating liquors ; to the use
of which so great a portion of the existing misery
and immorality of the lower orders amongst the
working classes, is attributable."

Conscience, which used to act as a faithful
monitor, is by the intemperate man rocked into
silence; he turns his back upon the means of
grace, desecrates the sabbath to the most unhal-

103

lowed purposes, and curses the minister whose
faithful ministry he was accustomed to attend, and
God and religion are hardly ever more thought
of than if they had never been heard of.

The next head that appears on this hydra, has
the face of insanity and murder. O ! how in-
temperance prostrates the intellect ! — that mind
which could soar on the pinions of contemplation,
and investigate the heavenly bodies as they roll in
magnificent grandeur over the immensity of space,
calculate their periodical revolutions, penetrate
the secrets of nature, and inform us when there
should be eclipses of the sun and of the moon;
that mind which poured from the pulpit the most
powerful strains of solemn eloquence, beseeching
sinners to be reconciled to God; that mind which
at the bar charmed and captivated the listening
auditors; that mind which successfully directed
the most complicated machinery of commerce;
that mind which could write the history of its
own formation, invent various machinery condu-
cive to its happiness, and rear piles of architec-
ture withstanding the storms of a thousand win-
ters — this mighty mind is ruined, these aston-
ishing faculties are prostrated and laid in the
dust by that fell monster. Intemperance. Hundreds
die through delirium tremens, and many end
their days on the scaffold, through intemperance.

It has been asked, "Which is the greatest
crime — drunkenness, adultery, or murder?" The
reply has been, " Drunkenness, because it leads to
the perpetration of the other two."

Dr. Crawford says, "that of the 286 patients

164

now in the Richmond Lunatic Asylum, Dublin,
at least one-half have become insane in conse-
quence of the abuse of ardent spirits ; and I know
that the same has been observed in the other
public lunatic asylums in Ireland. Several of
these have been driven to the perpetration of the
most horrible crimes, such as the murder of a
father, a wife, a child." A late American writer
says, "Of two hundred murders committed an.
nually in the United States, where has one been
known but under the influence of the intoxicating
cup? And of the twenty thousand criminals
who have been thrown into our penitentiaries,
some for crimes whose very rehearsal makes our
blood to curdle, few can be found who have not
been ^stimulated to their ferocious deeds by
alcoholic influence." s '-^t .

It is said there can be no harm in the temperate
use of liquors, but the experience of thousands
proves that it is from the temperate use of them
all the evils result. No individual becomes a
drunkard all at once ; it is by indulging in the
moderate use of spirits that the pernicious habit
is acquired. Intemperance steals upon us by
slow and imperceptible degrees.

It is a truism which requires no argument,
that the individual who abstains from the tem-
perate use of intoxicating liquors will never
become a drunkard. Palliative and half-measure
principles have been tried again and again, but
never could succeed in reclaiming the intemperate.
There is no safety, then, but in the ark of total
abstinence.

165

A minister with whom I am well acquainted,
and who for a number of years resided in Nova
Scotia, informed me that whilst living there, he
knew a respectable man who carried on a large
and profitable business as brandy merchant. In
the course of a few years his eldest son became
a regular and confirmed brandy-drinker, until
nature, through its influence, became exhausted,
and he sank into a premature grave. The father,
seeing the awful consequences of the sale of
brandy in the death of his son, banished the
brandy from his warehouse, and became wine
merchant. He had not long commenced this
new business, before his second son began to
indulge freely in the use of the "generous wine,"
until he fell a victim to its destructive tendency,
and died also. The father, reflecting on the loss
of his second son, resolved to do away with the
sale of wine, and immediately commenced the
sale of malt liquor; but strange to say, after
having been warned by the death of his two
sons, himself became addicted to the nse of the
last-mentioned article, and advanced by degrees
until drunkenness terminated his existence. His
establishment was broken up, and the remainder
of his family left penniless and wretched. The
father and sons doubtless acted upon the prin-
ciple, that moderation was safe. From this in-
stance we see there is no remedj but in total
abstinence. Had these three individuals been
teetotalers, such misfortune could never have
befallen them. - '

One of the most insidious and delusive cases

, 166

of the influence of the small, the moderate dram,
that ever came under my observation, was the
following. I knew a person, a professor of reli-
gion, and a man of the most respectable standing
in society; but the temperate use of spirits had
acquired such a complete ascendancy over him,
that he publicly confessed his inability to engage
in the hallowed and sacred exercise of prayer
without the stimulating influence of spirits. He
was affectionately warned, time after time, of the
dangerous and fatal tendency of such a practice;
but the baneful habit had become so deeply
rooted, that he laboured under the strong delusion
as to argue, " that whatsoever entered the body could
never defile the soul;" but when the following
passages were cited to him — "The kingdom of
God is not meat and drink, but righteousness,
and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost;" "It is
good neither to drink wine, nor to eat flesh, nor
anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is
offended, or is made weak;" "Wherefore, if
meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no
flesh ' while the world standeth, lest I make my
brother to offend ;" " Be not deceived, drunkards
shall not inherit the kingdom of God ; " " Woe
to them that drink wine in bowls;" "Beware,
I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink ;"
" Woe unto them that rise up early in the morn-
ing that they, may follow strong drink" — he
said, " If I am to perish, I must perish ; I cannot
give up the use of liquor." He became a drunkard,
and was expelled from church membership.

You, my young friends, are the materials of

167

future generations, and it depends on you, under
God, whether the next generation shall be teeto-
talers or drunkards; whether the rum puncheon
shall be banished from our shores, or the deadly
poison continued to be imported.

If all would come to the noble resolution of
the American captain whom I saw some time
ago, spirits would soon cease to be imported into
this colony. He informed me, that after having
taken on board his vessel about two-thirds of a
cargo, he found that the remainder consisted of
barrels of rum. Being part owner himself, he
resolved not to take it on board, and came to this
country, from Boston, with only two- thirds of a
cargo. He said, "that hearing Newfoundland
was a rum-drinking country, I could not, without
a violation of my conscience, think of bringing so
many devils to let loose upon its inhabitants."
He informed me, that hardly any vessel which
carried liquor for the use of the ship could obtain
freight in an American port. This is not to be
wondered at when we think of all the shipwrecks
that have been caused by its use.

I well remember, a few years ago, having taken
passage at Bristol in a vessel bound to Newfound-
land; that after getting down to Cumberland
Bason, every man left the vessel in order to
indulge themselves in the use of malt liquor,
though they had previously taken too much of
that pernicious beverage. On his way from the
vessel to the street, one man, barefooted, climbed
up a large chain suspended from a wall, supposed
to have been a perpendicular height of fifty feet.

1G8

Knowing that he was under the influence of liquor,
we expected to have seen him dashed to atoms,
ere he ascended half way, but Providence pre-
served him to reach the summit with his feet
lacerated in a shocking manner. I was now so 3ly
in cheirge of the vessel. After waiting for R&veral
hours the captain came on board in a state of
intoxication ; and after another hour'i alay we suc-
ceeded in getting all the sailors on board ; shortly
after which came the pilot with his men, and got
the vessel out of the Bason, which was no easy
task amid a crew of drunken men. While pass-
ing down the river, the captain and one of the
sailors fell fighting ; two more were under the
bowsprit, holding on the martingale with their
hands, and their feet nearly touching the water;
another was hanging by a rope over the side
of the vessel ; while another was standing on the
forecastle, uttering the most horid oaths and
imprecations on the passengers of a steam-packet
just then passing by. We were now obliged, with
as little delay as possible, to hoist out our boat
in order to save those men from drowning who
were suspended from the martingale and over
the side of the vessel, which we happily succeeded
in doing, and we placed them on board in safety.
But this was not the worst : after getting about
quarter passage, the captain discovered that
through his intemperance he had neglected put-
ting more provisions on board than was necessary
for half passage. We were now obliged to go on an
allowance of one buscuit a day per man; and to
add to our calamity, about a week after, it was

169

found that three of our largest casks of water
had leaked out. We were now reduced to one
biscuit and half a pint of water each, in twenty-
four hours. The sailors began loudly to com-
plain and threaten the captain, and in order to
appease their anger he broached a cask of rum,
and to each man he daily apportioned three
half pints, which almost produced daily intoxica-
tion. But in justice to the captain I feel bound
to state, that he did not taste a drop of any kind
of intoxicating liquor after we left Clifton, until
we arrived in Newfoundland. The fifteenth day
after being on an allowance, the joyful sound
of " Land ahead," echoed through the vessel,
the sight of which gladdened my heart, and l^d
me to offer up my thanksgivings to that God who
brought us over the vast Atlantic in safety. But
the most melancholyi part of my tale is yet to be
told. After arriving at our port, and after the
cargo had been discharged, part of the main hatch
having been left open, and three of the sailors
going on board in a state of intoxication, one of
them (poor unhappy man!) stumbled, and fell
through the open hatch to the bottom of the
vessel — a lifeless corpse!

If the evil practice of allowing spirits for ships'
stores were abandoned, it would be a great saving
of property to the owners, as well as of human
life. It is a prevailing opinion among those who
frequent the sea in Newfoundland, that the
working of a vessel during a cold stormy night
could scarcely be performed without the aid of
a glass of grog. It is, however, a well-known

170

fact to those who du not use liquors, that none can
•tand the deck so well as those who drink coffee
or tea instead of grog. I have read an address,
signed by one thousand captains of vessels, stating
it to be their decided conviction, that intoxicating
liquors, administered to seamen in the smallest
quantities, instead of strengthening, weaken and
debilitate the human constitutior ; that some of
them had been going to sea from twenty to up-
wards of thirty years, and that, during the whole
of that time, they iiever saw twenty-four hours
wherein a kettle of tea or coffee could not be
procured. The following is an extract from the
journal of Captain Ross, during his second voyage
to the arctic regions, where it is intensely cold ;
and if stimulants were necessary, we should sup-
pose they would not be dispensed with in these
polar latitudes : ' «

"At seven we arrived at the ship, after an
absence of nearly nine days, and found every
thing right, and all in good health. If it is but
justice to the men to say that they exerted them-
selves to the utmost, they deserve even more
praise for a very different display of obedience
and self-devotedness. As I was the only person
who drank no spirits, and was the only person
who had not inflamed eyes, I represented thai
the use of grog was the cause, and therefore pro-
posed that they should abandon this indulgence ;
showing, further, that, although I was very much
the oldest of the party, I bore fatigue better than
any of them. There was no hesitvT,tion in acqui-
escing; and the merit was the greater, since.

171

independently of the surrender of a seaman's
fixed habits, they had always considered this
the chief part of their support. Thus we brought
back all of this stock which had not been con-
sumed the first day.

'' It is difficult to persuade men, even though
they should not be habitual drinkers of spirits,
that the use of these liquors is debilitating, in-
stead of the reverse. The immediate stimulus
gives a temporary courage, and its effect is
mistaken for an infusion of new strength ; but
the slightest attention will show how exactly the
result is the reverse. It is sufficient to give
men, under hard and steady labour, a draught
of the usual grog, or a dram, to perceive that
often, in a few minutes, they become languid,
and, as they generally term it, faint; losing
their strength in reality, while they attfibute
that to the continuance of the fatiguing exer-
tions. He who will make the corresponding
experiments on two equal boats' crews, rowing
in a heavy sea, will soon be convinced that the
water-drinkers will far out-do aie others."

Intemperance is the prolific source of almost
every physical and moral evil ; it is deeply rooted
and wide-spread.

"All noxious things,
Of vilest 11 ture — other sorts of evils,
Are kindly circumscribed, and have their bounds:
The fierce volcano, from its burning entruils,
That belchi s molten stone, 'and globes of tire,
Involv'd in pitchy clouds of smoke and stench.
Mars the adjacent fields for some leagues round,
And there it stops. The big-swoln inundation.

172

f)f niiHchicf morn (lilluNivo, nivitiK loml,
Hurlcs whole tracts of country, tlircftl'nlng more;
tint thnt too Una itn nlioro it (^annot pass.
More dreadful far than these" /

Is intemperance, which has extended to every
country, and marred the social, domestic, intel-
lectual, and moral enjoyments of man; it has
made its victims of the blooming youth, the man
of " strong-built sinewy limbs, " as well as of de-
crepitude and old age. " Its dominion is the do-
minion of appetite. And hence no age, no sex,«
no vocation, no people are strangers to its power.
It has entered every village, and almost every
family circle ; infested the farm, the work-shop,
the study, the counting-room, the court of justice,
the hall of legislation, the pulpit; consumed its
victims on the land and on the ocean, in polar
seas and in torrid zones, in navies and armies,
and cursed nations that have never known the
light of the gospel or the way of salvation."

I knew a young man who rose from the posi-
tion of a shop-boy to that of a book-keeper, and
thence to the position of a merchant; afterwards
he became gradually fond of the bottle; began to
appear slovenly in his dress and person; then to
neglect his business, until he eventually became a
confirmed drunkard: his business, which was in a
flourishing condition, began to decline, until it
became broken up; he continued the victim of
intemperance until his shattered constitution could
hold out no longer; he was arrested by the hand
of disease, and finally by the strong arm of death.
The last time I ever saw him, he was suffering

173

from a most excruciating disease in his side, fully
conscious of the awful state to which intemperance
had brought him. " Ah," said he, " this affliction
has been produced by my own evil conduct; but
I hope I shall live to be a better man, and to
warn others of the evil consequences of drink."
About a month after this interview he breathed
his last.

I was intimately acquainted with another young
man, book-keeper in a mercantile establishment,
who, by diligence and economy, after a servitude
of seven years, was enabled to lay up the sum of
two hundred pounds; he entered the marriage
state, and with his wife received one hundred
pounds more. Previous to this, however, he had
grown fond of a glass ; and now, finding himself
in the possession of money to a considerable
amount, he began to spend his evenings at the
tavern, and to indulge freely in the use of spirits
during the hours of business, until the employer
he had lived with for so many years, was very
reluctantly compelled to dismiss him. He now
threw off the mask, which before had partly con-
cealed his true character, and showed himself an
open drunkard. He abandoned business of every
kind, and made the tavern almost day and night
his home, until the money he had been so many
years accumulating, together with his wife's por-
tion, was all spent. At length he was arrested
in this course of iniquity; he fell into a consump-
tion ; and now, for the first time during his profli-
gate course, he began to think of tlie misery of
the past, and to contemplate the future with

?'^>

174

horror. He would say, " Do you think there can
be hope for one so guilty as I have been?" and
when answered in the aflBrmative, he has said,
" Ah, no ! God will never receive me after hav-
ing sinned against so much light and knowledge
as I have." He continued lingering for two
months, during which he sought the pardoning
nercy of God, when his spirit returned to God
who gave it, leaving a mourning widow and three
children.

Passing by a house early one morning, I saw
several individuals assembled around the door.
I inquired what had happened, when a most
appalling spectacle was pointed out to me. It

was the cold and lifeless body of poor L- .

His face presented a hideous appearance, being
quite black and distorted from strangulation.
This unhappy man had once moved in the most
respectable circles of society, until liquor made
him the common associate of drunkards. He had
been attending a wedding the previous night,
and left in a state of intoxication at an early
hour. He succeeded in reaching a vacant house
a short distance, over the steps leading to the
door of which I saw him laying head downwards,
a sad picture of the degradation of human nature,
without a single relation m the world to drop a
tear over his melancholy destiny.

"He died, and o'er his lifeless clay
l\o sigh was breathed, but there he lay, ' ' .'

Poor, friendless, and alone, t. ; ..

Without one sympathising tear;
No tender wife, or mother dear, '

•; To hear his dying moan. . "* - /> , •

i ' J,. i

175

"He died— I think I hear his sigh,
In every breeze which passes by,

In the dread silence given;
And there were none to watch, to pray,
No soothing voice to point the way.

Or lift his soul to heaven.

"He who had given his all away,
Amidst the heartless, great, and gay,

In midnight's cheerless hours,
Breath'd his last sigh, and none to tell
The import of his last farewell

To such a world as ours."

But not only are sailors, clerks, merchants,
and others addicted to the practice of strong
drink; many ministers of the gospel also have
often been ruined by it. I was well acquainted
with two most excellent men who were ensnared
by this insinuating vice, and who unhappily be-
came the victims of private tippling. Another
was so much the captive slave of the fiery liquid,
that his expulsion from the ministry became
absolutely necessary, and he has for many years
been pursuing the avocation of a sober and in-
dustrious farmer in a distant land. " At this
moment," says the Hon. and Rev. Baptist Noel,
in a late sermon, " I know a minister who was
eloquent, earnest, diligent, successful, beloved;
he became, how I know not, the slave of this
vice — his ministry is suspended, his reputation
gone, himself the prey of deadly anguish ! I
know another, eminently endowed, who brought
many souls to God, but is now an outcast from
his friends, and has probably ' ended his ministry
for ever." "^ 1 'I' I •

In the life of the celebrated Rev. Robert Hall,

176

page 49, the following circumstance is recorded:

"*You remember Mr. , Sir?' 'Yes, very well.'

^Were you aware of his fondness for brandy-and-
water?' *No.' *It was a sad habit, but it grew out
of his love of story telling, and that also is a bad
habit, a very bad habit for a minister of the gospel.
As he grew old, his animal spirits flagged, and his
stories became defective in vivacity ; he therefore
took to brandy-and-water, weak enough, it is true,
at first, but soon nearly half-and-half. Ere long
he indulged the habit in a morning, and when
he came to Cambridge, he would call upon me,
and before he had been with me five minutes,
ask for a little brandy-and-water, which was of
course to give him artificial spirits to render him
agreeable in his visits to others. I felt great
difficulty, for he, you know. Sir, was much older
than I was ; yet being persuaded that the ruin
of his character, if not of his peace, was inevitable
unless something was done, I resolved upon
one strong effort for his rescue. So the next
time that he called, and as usual said, * Friend
Hall, I will thank you for a glass of brandy-and-
water,' I replied, * Call things by their right
names, and you shall have as much as you please.'
* Why, don't I employ the right name ? I ask
for a glass of brandy-and-water.' ' That is the
current but not the appropriate name ; ask for
a glass of liquid Jire and distilled damnation,
and you shall have a gallon ! ' Poor man ! he
turned pale, and for a moment seemed struggling
with anger; but knowing I did not mean to insult
hira, he stretched out his hand, and said, ' Brother

177

Hall, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.'
From that time he ceased to take brandy-and-
water."

Temperance societies are now the order of the
day ; yes, and of the night too. If on the wings
of imagination we traverse the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans, we shall find temperance societies stud-
ding the shores of these vast oceans, resembling
so many stars treading upon the shades of the
evening, illuminating the countries in which they
are, and shedding all around them an atmosphere
of blessings. In Ireland, through the exertions
of Father Matthew, millions have burst the
bands which bound them to the car of drunken-
ness, and have become teetotalers ; and England
and Scotland have their hundreds of thousands
identified with the cause. In Russia, Prussia,
Sweden, Germany, and America, the cause of
total abstinence is flourishing in a most astonish-
ing manner.

There is a country whose shores hh2 been
pronounced iron-bound, whose surface presents
a rocky and barren aspect, which is frequertly
drenched with rains, sealed up vilii: frost, and
covered with the drifting snow-stcrn>. Its vege-
table productions a:e scanty, its population thin
and scattered, and have been represented as
stretching out their hands to other countries for
the necessaries of life. I refer to Newfoundland.
We rejoice that total abstinence has advanced
in a very rapid manner in this island.

A temperance society was in existence at St.
John's, in 1835, the members of which were

178

allowed the temperate use of vvnie £uul malt
liquor ; but this society failed for want of being
conducted on the total abstinence principle. In
1838 a total abstinence society was formed,
which consisted for a long time of only nine
members. In 1840 more public efforts were made,
when the society began to increase. It had to
struggle under great difficulties, in contending
against the prejudices of the public^ and a number
of obstructions and discouragements. In 1841
the society numbered abouj; 250 members. This
society held several public meetings and festivals
in aid of the cause ; and put in circulation a
number of temperance journals and tracts. All
these circumstances combined were the means
of arousing the attention of others, and of in-
ducing them to embark in this good cause. This
society is now (1843) denominated the " Absti-
nence Union Society,"' connected with which are
th^ Rev. Messrs. Eraser and Sutcliffe. In J 841
the Rt. Rev. Dr. Fleming, Roman Catholic bishop,
commenced the advocacy of total abstinence.
He imported several thousand medals ; on one
side of which the trade, fisheries, and agriculture
of Newfoundland were represented, and on the
reverse side was the pledge, with the name of
the president. The bishop appointed one of his
clergymen, the Rev. Kyran Walsh, to administer
the pledge, when he immediately commenced in
the catholic chapel. During the first day several
hundreds enrolled their names and received the
pledge. From this time, through the zealous
exertions of the Rev. Mr. Walsh, the temperance

179

cause has made rapid strides. The present
president of the Catholic Temperance Society,
the Rev. John Forrestal, is indefatigable in his
exertions to rescue his fellow-men from the
degrading vice of intemperance.

In 1842 the Rev. Thomas F. H. Bridge, M.A.,
rector of St. John's parish church, began to
administer a temperance card amongst the pro-
testant part of the community. The rev, gen-
tleman is still nobly advocating this good cause ;
hundreds through his instrumentality have dashed
the intoxicating cup from their lips (we hope
for ever). In Conception Bay the catholic clergy-
men are using every means for the spread of
temperance, and among the protestant clergyman
are the Rev. Johnston Vicars, of Port-de- Grave,
and the Rev. John S. Addy, of Carbonear, who
are both administering the pledge to the members
'of their respective communions.

If we survey this country geographically, we
see an island 350 miles long and 200 broad,
whose liopulation extends over a line of coast
(including bays and sinuosities) of from 800 to
1000 miles. Now, when we see such a great
extent of territory, and are informed that teeto-
talisni only extends over a narrow strip of land,
in St. John's, and along the shores of Conception
Bay, it would lead us to suppose, that total ab-
stinence had advanced very little ; but when we
survey this country statistically, and see its popu-
lation estimated at between 90,000 and 100,000,
and more than half these living in St, John's
and Conception Bay, and when we are informed

;^ 180

that the number of teetotalers throughout the
island are upwards of 22,000, viz., 20,000 catholics
and 2,000 protestants, we are led to believe that
the temperance cause has advanced in a very
rapid manner in Newfoundland. At a temperance
entertainment which took place at Cherry Gardens,
in the neighbourhood of St. John's, on the 26th
July, 1843, his Excellency, Sir John Harvey,
delivered the following speech :

" Ladies, Rev. Gentlemen, and Gentlemen,

" I am highly gratified by the opportunity which
my attendance here this day affords me of publicly re-
peating those declarations which I have so frequently made
of my sentiments of the inappreciable benefits which as-
sociations for the promotion, extension, and endeavour
to render universal the practice of temperance are cal-
culated to confer upon society at large. Temperance,
in its largest and best sense, in a word, in its scriptural*
sense, is a virtue not only strictly enjoined by the religion
which we all profess, but essential to its pure practice?
beyond, perhaps, any other of the Christian virtues, and
it has accordingly been urged upon mankind with a holy
zeal and affectionate solicitude proportioned to its impor-
tance, by the preachers of God's word in all Christian
ages; while in •> ir df.y it has fallen to the lot of an hum-
ble individual 'lelonging to a separate congregation of
our fellow-chrisc.rins, to be made the instrument of en-
forcing the practice of this virtue, in a manner and to an
extent which would appear to evince to every pious mind
that the favour of Heaven is with the endeavour, where-
ver it may be zealously made, and that He is in the work
who alone can prosper it. The amount of benefit which
temperance is calculated to confer upon mankind can only

181

be measured by the amount of misery from which it tends
to relieve them. The blessings which it draws down upon
its disciples are co-extensive with the evils which are in-
duced by contrary habits, and it may with justice be said
of 'temperance' as of 'mercy,' that it is * twice blessed,'
blessed to those who practise and those who are the re-
cipients of its advantages, viz. universal society. But
above all does it commend itself to every Christian parent,
solicitous as they must be for the welfare, temporal and
eternal, of those who look up to them, into the bosom of
whose families it carries health, peace, contentment, and
prosperity in the ratio in which it expels want, disease,
sin, and wretchedness. Surely, then, it is incumbent on
all to exert whatever influence each in his station may
possess in endeavouring to encourage and to promote as-
sociations formed for a purpose so entirely in accordance
with our duties as men, as Christians, and as heads of
families ; and I emphatically declare, that I am unable
to perceive any sufficient plea or ground of exemption
from this obligation in any rank or station.

"Ladies, Rev. Gentlemen, and Gentlemen,

" I will not detain you by further needlessly expatia-
ting upon a theme which I feel to be full of deep interest,
and in it% nature most tempting to enlarge upon. I renew
to you my thanks for the opportunity which the invita-
tion to meet you here to-day has afforded me of witness-
ing a truly delightful re-union, one which, in addition to
present innocent recreation and enjoyment, no one now
present will, I confidently predict, ever have occasion to
look back upon with other feelings than those of unal-
loyed satisfaction and pleasure."

At a temperance festival held in the Factory
at St. John's, on the 22nd February, 1844, His
Excellency delivered the following sentiments:

A, '*«'

/ -t^

\^2

" Ladies and Gentlonieii, udvot-atos and proniotoifl, by
prccopt ami exanipio, of the iucatimablo a(lvaiitat,n!s re-
sulting from this excellent institution;

" I have great pleasure in complying with the wishes
of your respected president, by attending here this even-
ing, as r have in redeeming my promise to him, hy ad-
dressing a few observations to the meeting. They will
be brief, but will be so far satisfactory as that they are
altogether congratulatory.

" In the iirst place, let me offer my congratulations
upon the evidence afforded by this munerous and re-
spectable company of the steady and satisfactory pro-
gress which the cause of temperance is contitming to
make in this community; in which all classes bear their
willing testimony to the salutary and beneticial effects to
the cause of morality, and the great addition to the sum
of human happiness, which have been produced by these
associations ; and by none is that testimony borne in u
more emphatic manner than by the ministers of religion.
And, secondly, I would offer my congratulations upon
the gratifying fact, that not only has the great cause of
temperance not retrograded in public estimation in the
mother country, but, on the contrary, has stood all those
tests which rooted j)rejudiee has been able to raise against
it, has triumphantly asserted its (may I not say) divine
origin, and has been stamped with the approbation of
all that is wise and good throughout this great empire,
as calculated, far beyond any i\)rmer secular impulse, to
aid the Gospel dispensation, by carrying a blessing into
the bosom of every family, but more es[)ecially into those
of the industrious poor.

"Thus encouraged by the signal success which has
crowned the beginnings of this work of true Christian
benevolence, let me ennclude these brief remarks by the
expression of an earnest and hund)le hope and prayer,

183

iliat tlu! (iVorts (»(' the pious and benevolent, for the pro-
motion ol' so ^'ood a cause, may never be relaxed, but
may continue to prosper throughout the world."

Temperance Societies will be mighty agents in
the proiMotion of great blessings in Newfoundland.
Ahoiuly has our political state felt the conciliatory
and softening touches of the magic wand of tem-
perance. This great movement has exerted a
beneficial influence on our trade and commerce, by
creating new wants and forming new habits. It
has awakened the dormant energies of intellectual
existence, and given a taste for literature. It has
excited new hopes, new fears, and new desires,
which have been highly conducive to the spread
of religion and the glory of God. Let total ab-
stinence be diffused throughout the length and
breadth of the country, and Newfoundland will
be as happy as the waves are green that dash upon
her shores.

What a host of evils intemperance carries in
its train! No picture can sufficiently pourtray the
horrors of this evil and vicious propensity. It has
torn from the human heart the kindliest sensi-
bilities and dearest affections; it has caused the
aged and widowed mother to mourn through nights
of anguish for the ungrateful conduct of her pro-
fligate son, worked up to madness by the influence
of the fiery alcohol ; the arm of the midnight
assassin has been nerved to wreak his vengeance
in the blood of his fellow -man. Collect all the
murders, cruelties, treachery, injustice, and every
crime we have ever heard or read of, and bind

184

them together in one dark bundle, ther. tiiink of
all these crimes concentrated in that bundle, put
th( iu in the scales, and intemperance will out-
weigh them all.

»;i

■*"^

\S5

SPJMNG.

"Winter, still ling'ring on the vcrp
Retires reluctant."

pring.

Thomson.

The first thing that occurs in Newfoundland
to break the winter's torpor, is the bustle and
animation attending the out-fitting of vessels for
the seal fishery. The annexed engraving " contains
a south view of St. John's harbour, together with
the vessels of that port, bound to the seal fishery,
preparing to depart by means of ice channels. The
scene was drawn March I6th, 1838, during a se-
vere frost, by Mr. Gosse, and dedicated, by per-
mission, to his E.Kcellency, Captain Henry Pres-
cott, the then governor. St. John's is one of the
finest harbours in Newfoundland. It is situated
on the most eastern part of the coast, facing the
broad Atlantic Ocean. The entrance is narrow,
the distance from Signal Hill on the north side
to Fort Amherst on the south side being 360
fathoms, but from Chain Rock to Pancake Rock,
is only 220 yards across. On each side are lofty
cliffs, from 500 to 600 feet in altitude, studded
with forts and batteries. According to the last
returns, in 1836, St. John's contained 15,000 inhab-
itants and 2,226 dwelling-houses ; there were 3,438
acres of land under cultivation, producing 4,852
bushels of oats and other grain, 91,955 bushels of

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23 WIST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 145S0

(716) t72-4503

186

potatoes, and 3,128 tons of hay; there were 365
horses, 981 neat cattle, 116 hogs, and 482 sheep.
It has greatly increased since these returns were
made; the population now probably is little short
of 20,000. The number of vessels sent from St.
John's to the seal fishery at different periods was
as follows:

T£ABS.

SHIPS

TONS.

MSN.

1830

... 92

... 6,19* .

. 1,985

1831

... 118

... 8,046 .

. 2,678

1832

... 163

... 11,4{>2 .

. 3,294

1838

... 106

... 8,665 .

.. 2,964

1834

... 125

... 11,020 .

. 2,910

1835

... 120

... 11,167 .

. 2,912

1836

... 126

... 11,425 .

. 2,8li5

1837

... 121

... 10,648 .

. 2,940

1838

... 110

... 9,300 .

. 2,826

1839

... 76

... 6,447 ..

. 2,029

1840

... 7/^

... 6,190 .,

. 2,058

1841

... 72

... 5,965 .

. 2,078

1842

... 74

... 6,035 .

.. 2,054

1843

... 106

... 9,625 .

. 3,177

1844

... 121

... 11,088 .

.. 3,775

Sixteen of this number sailed from potts to the
northward.

The number of vessels employed in the seal fish-
ery throughout the island in 1834 was as follows:

SHIPS.

TONS.

MEN.

St. John's 125

Conception Bay 218

Trinity Bay 19

Green's Pond, &c. ... 12

... 11,020
... 17,785
... 1,539
... 972

... 2,910
... 4,894
... 418

... 264

Total 374

31,316

. 8,486

OUTFIT FOR THK SEAL FISHERY AT HARBOUR-GRACB AND
CARBONBAR, IN 1836.

SinPS. TONS. MEN.

Carbonear 80 ... 6,889 ... 1,918

Harbour-Grace 32 ... 2,611 ... 741

187

P-

rt
5t.
as

THB NUMBER OF VESSELS FITTED OUT FOR THE SEAL FISHERY IK
CONCEPTION BAY, DURING THE YEARS 1837 AND 1838.

Harbour-Grace

Carbonear

Brigns, Cupid's,
Port-de-Grave,
Bay Roberts

andy

• •• J

1837.

SHIPS.

■ ... 49

83
Total 206

TONS. BIEN.

4,099 ... 1,166
6,446 ... 1,798

7,246

17,790

1,973
4.937

1838.

SHIPS.

TONS.

BIEN.

Harbour-Grace 47 .

.. 3,887 .

. 1,152

Carbonear 72 .

.. 6,812 .

.. 18,55

Brigos, Cupid's, ■\

Port-de-Grave, and > 81 .

.. 7,106 .

. 2,099

Bay Roberts ... J

Total 200

17,304

5,106

ih-

rs:

OUTFIT FOR TUB SEAL FISHERY IN NEWFOUNDLAND, IN 1844.

SHIPS.

TONS.

HEN.

St. John's

... 121

... 11,088 ...

3,775

Harbour-Grace

... 48

... 4,857 ...

1,377

Carbonear

... 52

••• 4|0D/ •••

1,469

Brigus and Cupid's

... 43

... 4,002 ...

1,385

Port-de-Grave

... 10

... 860 ...

279

Bay Roberts

... 11

... 944 ...

302

Spaniards' Bay, &c.

... 9

... 851 ...

253

Trinity

... 11

... 918 ...

334

Hants Harbour, &c.

... 5

... 443 ...

165

Catalina, &c

... 19

... 1,447 ...

514

Green's Pond, Salvage, &;c. 19

... 1,408 ...

503

Twillingate, Fogo,
Tilting Harbour, &c.

}.o

... 639 ...

171

Total 358 31,924

10,527

188

Sixteen of this number sailed from ports to the
north wardj which are not included in the numbers
given for the northern ports.

The seal fishery of Newfoundland has assumed
a degree of importance far surpassing the most
sanguine expectations of those who first embarked
in the enterprise, and is now become one of the
greatest sources of wealth to the country. The
interest of every individual, from the richest to
the poorest, is interwoven with it, and the prose-
cution of the voyage causes more anxiety, excite-
ment, and solicitude, than any other business in
Newfoundland, or probably in the world.

In the commencement, the seal fishery was
prosecuted in large boats, which sailed about
the middle of April ; and as its importance began
to be developed, schooners of from 30 to 50 tons
were employed in it, which sailed on the 17th
of March. The vessels now engaged in this
fishery are from 50 to 150 tons, manned by from
25 to 40 men each, according to the size. They
sail from St. John's on the 1st day of March,
and from Conception Bay and the northern ports
from the 5th to the 10th of that month. The
length of time spent on this voyage is from three
to eight weeks. The owner supplies the vessel
with -provisions and every other necessary. One-
hal. .e product of the voyage is equally divided
among the crew, the other half goes to the owner
of the vessel. At St. John's the crew have to
pay from two to three pounds each for their
berths, and in Conception Bay and the northern
ports from ten to thirty shillings. A hired master

189

receives from fourpence to sixpence per seal, and
sometimes five pounds a month besides. A man's
share is allowed to the master, which, however,
goes to the owner of the vessel. What is
called the seal is the skin with the fat or blubber
attached, the carcase being thrown away. Some
years back these pelts were sold for so much
a-piece, varying in price according to the size and
quality; but in consequence of the practice of
leaving behind a portion of the fat, it became
necessary to purchase them by weight. This
spring, 1843, the young sold at twenty-one shil-
lings, and the old at nineteen shillings per hun-
dred weight.

Naturalists describe no less than fifteen species
of seals. The kind most plentiful, and which
pass along the coast of Newfoundland with the
field ice, are the harps or half-moon seals (Phoca,
Groenlandica). About the latter end of the
month of February, these seals whelp, and in the
northern seas deposit millions of their young on
the glittering surface of the frozen deep. At
this period they are covered with a coat of white
fur, slightly tinged with yellow. I have seen
thiese beautiful "white coats," laying six and
eight on a pan of ice, resembling so many lambs
enjoying the solar rays. These animals grow
very rapidly, and in about three weeks after their
birth begin to cast their white coat. They are
now easily caught, being killed by a slight stroke
across the nose, with a bat or gaff; when they
are in prime condition, the fat being in greater
quantity and containing purer oil than at a later

190

period cf their growth. It appears to be neces-.
8ary to their existence that' 'they should pass a
considerable time in repose on the ice, and during
this state of helplessness we see the goodness of
Providence in providing theae amphibious crea-
tures with a thick coat of ifor, and also a super-
abundant supply of ht, 88 a defence from the
chilling effects of the cold ice and the northern
blasts. Sometimes, however, numbers of them
are found frozen in the ice. These ''cats" are
highly prized by the seal-hunters, as the skin
when dressed makes excellent caps for them to
wear while engaged in this perilous and dangerous
voyage. At one year old these seals are called
'' bedlamers." The female is without the dark
spots on the back which form the harp; and the
male does not receive this mark until two years
old. The voice of the seal resembles that of
the dog, and when a vessel is in the midst of
myriads of these creatures, their barking and
howling sounds like that of so many dogs, caus-
ing such a noise as to drive away sleep during
the night. The general appearance of the seal
is not unlike the dog; hence, some have applied
to the seal the name of sea-dog, sea-wolf, &c.
These seals seldom bring forth more than one,
and never more than two at a litter. They are
said to live to a great age. Hugh Mowlim, of
Bonavista, informed me, that he saw a seal which
was caught in a net; it was reduced to a mere
skeleton, consisting of nothing but skin and
bone; the teeth were all gone, and its colour a
white gray, which he attributed to old age.

-4-'

191

Buffon saySj " We are unacquainted with the
time of the female gestation, but if we judge
from the time of their growth, the length of their
lives, and the size of the animals, it will appear
to be many months. The time also that inter-
venes from th^ir birth till they are full-grown
being many years, they of course must live very
long. I am of opinion that these animals live
upwards of an hundred years, for we know that
cetaceous animals in general live nmch longer
than quadrupeds; and as the seal fills up the
chasm between the one and the other, it must
participate of the nature of the former, and con-
sequently live much longer than the latter."

The hooded seals {Phoca Cristata, leonina of
Mohr), so called from a piece of loose skin on the
head, which can be inflated at pleasure ; and when
menaced or attacked this hood is drawn over the
face and eyes as a defence from injury, at which
time its nostrils become distended, appearing like
bladders. The female is not provided with this
hood. An old dog hood is a very formidable ani-
mal. The male and female are generally found
together, and if the female happens to be killed
first, the male becomes furious. Sometimes it has
taken fifteen or twenty rnen upwards of two hours
to despatch one of them. I have known a half
dozen handspikes to have been worn out by en-
deavouring to kill one of these dog hoods. They
will snap off the handles of the gaffs like as if
they were cabbage stumps. They frequently attack
their assailants. I knew an individual who was
dreadfully bit in the thigh by one of them. When

J'^i

102

they inflate their hoods it seems almost impossible^
to kill one of them, for the shot, when fired from
a gun, does not penetrate through the hood. Un-
less this animal can be hit somewhere about the
side of the head, it is almost a hopeless task to
attempt to kill him. These animals are very large.
Some of their pelts which I measured were from
fourteen to eighteen feet in length. The young
hoods are called "blue backs." Their fat is not
so thick nor so pure as the harp's, but their skins
are of more value. They also breed farther to
the north than the harps, and are generally found
in great numbers on the outer edge of the ice.
They are said not to be so plentiful, and to cast
their young a few weeks later than the harps.

The square fipper, which is perhaps the great
seal of Greenland [Phoca Barbata), although there
it does not attain to so large a size as the hooded
seal, while in Newfoundland it is much larger, is
now seldom seen. The walrus {Trichecus Rosma-
rus), sometimes called sea-horse, sea-cow, and the
morse, is now seldom met with. Formerly this
species of seal was frequently captured at this sea-
son on the ice. This animal is said to resemble
the seal in its body and limbs, though different
in the form of its head, which is armed with two
tusks, sometimes twenty-four inches long, consist-
ing of coarse ivory; in this respect much like an
elephant. The under jaw is not provided with
any cutting or canine teeth, and is compressed to
afford room for these enormous tusks, projecting
downwards from the upper jaw. It is a very large
animal, sometimes measuring twenty feet long, with

193

a great massy body, and weighing from 600 to
1500 lbs. Its skin is said to be an inch thick,
and covered with short yellowish brown hairs.

The number of seals taken at Bonavista this
spring (1843), by persons who had gone oiF on the
ice from the shore, was estimated at 20,000, and
it was calculated that upwards of 40,000 were taken
to the shore throughout the Bay. The following
statement is taken from the "Newfoundlander"
newspaper :

"The following is an account, ascertained from
the most authentic sources, of the number of
seals landed at the several ports of the island
in the spring of 1839:

St. John's, by 98 out-port vsssels ...

150,576

Do. by 76 St. John's vessels

91,749

242,325

Harbour-Grace

46,857

Carbonear

41,019

Trinity

83,000

Green's Fond

11,500

Brigus ., ... ...

9,200

Spaniards' Bay

6,200

King's Cove, &c

5,580

Catalina

5,560

Bay Roberts

5,200

Port-de-Grave

4,200

Fogo, &c

2,000

Making a total of 412,641

which will produce 5,158 tuns of oil imperial,
at the usual calculation of 80 seals to a tun," val-
ued at £30 per tun, amounts to £154,740.

The number of seals taken at di£ferent period
throughout the island is as follows :

194

TKABS.

BKAL8.

1796 .

4,900

1814

156,000

1815

141,370

1820

221,334

1826

. 221,510

1880

800,681

1881

569,842

1832 ... 442,003

1888 ... 384.699

1834

860,155

1835

. 657,490

1836

. 384,321

1838

375,361

1840

631,385

1841 ... 417,115

1842

344,683

V- it

I <

On the 21st of March the vernal equinox com-
mences, and the seal fishery carried on during
this season of storms renders it particularly
dangerous. It is a voyage of hopes and fears,
trials and disappointments. Sometimes the seals
are sought after at a distance of from two to
four miles from the vessel, and during this toil-
some journey the men have to jump from one
pan of ice to another over horrid chasms, where
gapes the ocean wave ready to receive them.
Sometimes slob, or ice ground up by the action
of the waves and covered with snow, is mistaken
for hard ice, when the poor sealers, leaping upon
it, sink and are engulphed in the mighty deep.
Frequently when the seal hunters are at a distance
from the vessel in search of seals, a snow storm
or a thick fog, comes on, when no object around
can be' discovered; the light shown from the
vessel cfinnot be seen; the guns fired, and the
horns blown cannot be heard; night comes on,

195

and the poor sealers die of fatigue, cold, and
hunger on the frozen deep. Scarce a voyage
passes but what conveys the bitter intelligence
to the wife and mother that she is a widow and
her children orphans. Sometimes vessels are
crushed between large masses of ice called " roll-
ers/* when all are consigned to one common
destruction.

"Ill fares the bark, with trembling wretches charg'dt
That, tost amid the floating flragments, moora
Beneath the shelter of an ley isle,
While night o'erwhehns the sea, and horror looks
More horrible. Can human force endure
Th' assembl'd mischief that besiege them round?
Heart-gnawing hunger, fainting weariness,
The roar of winds and waves, the crush of ice,
Now ceasing, now renew'd with louder rage,
y; And in dhre echoes bellowing round the main."

Feeling a great desire to gratify a youthful
curiosity, on the 11th of March, 1834, I embarked
on board the Alpha, belonging to the late firm
of Tocque and Levi, and made an experimental
trip to the seal fishery, during which we encoun-
tered a dreadful storm ; it was considered the
heaviest gale ever experienced by the oldest man
in the vessel. In this storm no less than four-
teen vessels were lost, many of which, together
with their crews, sleep among the hidden things
on the bed of the ocean.

This spring (1843), in the month of March, I
accompanied Wm. Sweetland, Esq., J. P. of Bona.
vista, to view several shipwrecks. On the south
side of Cape Bonavista were two vessels on shore,
out of one of which the crew were taking the
seals; and on the north side of the Cape were

196

two more vessels, a short distance from the
shore, water-logged and abandoned. All these
vessels were forced in upon the land by the
running ice, the crews of which were nil saved.
Upwards of twenty vessels were lost prosecuting
the seal fishery this spring, and part of several
crews.
I The seal fishery is not only surrounded by
physical calamities, but it is a nursery for moral
and spiritual evils. It has a tendency to
harden the heart and render it insensible to the
finer feelings of human nature. It is a constant
scene of bloodshed and slaughter. Here you
behold a heap of seals which have only received
a slight dart from the gaff, writhing, and crim-
soning the ice with their blood — rolling from
side to side in dying agonies. There you see
another lot, while the last spark of life is not
yet extinguished, being stripped of their skin and
fat; their startings and heavings making the
unpractised hand shrink with horror to touch
them.

In the prosecution of the seal fishery the
sabbath is violated to an awful extent; there
are, however, some honourable exceptions. Mr.

G , of Carbonear, regularly keeps divine service

on board his vessel every Sunday during this
voyage ; and independently of the blessing of God
accompanying the performance of this sacred

duty, Mr. G has brought home more seals

than most of his neighbours, who disregarded

the holy sabbath. Mr. G informed me,

that on two occasions, during two successive

197

voyages, on the Saturday evening he had his
vessel moored to a larger pan of ice in order to
devote the season of the sabbath to the service of
God. On the Sunday morning a vessel came
in alongside of him, and commenced taking seals,
which amounted to several hundreds during the
day. That such should be exceedingly trying
to the mind and feelings, none who has ever
visited the seal fishery can doubt. Although
surrounded by such a powerful temptation, Mr.

G 's men made no attempt to touch a seal.

During the night the ice had closed them in
tight, so that a drop of water could not be seen
in any direction, and there appeared no prospect
of moving the following morning, and perhaps not
for weeks; but on the arrival of Monday morning
these gloomy fears were dissipated ; before eight
o'clock a lake of water broke away immediately
under the bows ; sail was crowded on the vessel,
and in the course of a few hours they were in the
midst of myriads of seals, where they completed
their cargo in a few days, amounting to upwards
of 5,000 seals, while the other vessel, the crew of
which desecrated the sabbath by taking seals,
remained jammed for several days, and took but
few seals afterwards. I know of several similar
instances of success having attended the observance
of the sabbath.

The white or polar bear (Ursus MaritimuSt or
Arcticus) at this season, is sometimes seen on
the coast, regardless of the ocean storm and the
intense cold. This animal roams among the
rifted ice in search of food. In 1841 one of

198

these animals was killed near St. John's. It
seldom, however, travels in the woods more
than a mile or two, and then only hy accident,
arising perhaps from the inconvenience of weathai.
He appears to be altogether carnivorous, subsisting
on the carcases of seals, fish, and other animal
substances. I have eaten some of the flesh of
this animal ; it had very much the appearance
of beef, but of a coarser grain, and not so good
tasted. It is not a little singular that the
prismatic colours were reflected on every slice
of flesh that I saw cut off before being cooked.
The length of this animal is from seven to nine
feet, and its height from three to five. I saw
the skin and paws of one which was brought in
from the ice by a schooner at Carbonear; the
paws were enormously large, and on each were
five sharp claws; the hair on the skin was long
and thick, and the colour a yellowish white.

"The bear," says Captain Lyon, describing its
mode of seal catching, "on seeing his intended
prey, gets quietly into the water and swims to
the leeward of him, from whence, by frequent
short dives, he silently makes his approaches,
and so arranges his distance, that at the last uive
he comes to the spot where the seal is lying.
If the poor animal attempt to escape by rolling
into the water, he falls into the bear's clutches ;
if on the contrary, he lies still, his destroyer
makes a powerful spring, kills him on the ice,
and devours him at leisure.

" Unlike his cogeners, the male polar bear
does not appear to hibernate or slumber away

fcr

199

the months of winter in his retreat ; at leasts it
seems probable that such is an unfrequent occur-
rence. The female, however, retires to some
den or cave among the rocks, and which the snows
soon close; here she brings forth two young,
about Christmas, and leaves her seclusion in the
ensuing March, her cubs being at that time as
large as a shepherd's dog. On her re-appear-
ance, the female is very lean and doubly ferocious,
having not only her cubs to protect, but being
also ravenous for food. V/hile the female is
secluded in her winter den, the males, according
to Hearne, leave the land and go out on the ice
to the edge of the open water, in search of seals ;
they return by May."

Our pond ice has now become an article of
exportation. About this time last year (March,
1842) three or four cargoes of ice were being
sent to the United States and the West Indies,
where it usually sells at forty shillings per ton.
In the United States, Captain Fos'er, of the
American brig Cherub, informed me, that a gen-
tleman at Boston has made an immense sum
of money by the exportation of ice ; he has
several ponds in the neighbourhood of Boston,
which, as soon as they become ice, are cut into
large square blocks ready for exportation, and
then deposited in a large store which is lined with

tan-bark, in order to keep it cold. Captain F

stated that he was engaged to take a cargo on
freight from Boston to New Orleans, for which
he received twelve hundred dollars. Arriving at
New Orleans just at a time when ice was in

200

great demand, his cargo sold at threepence
per pound. Although the cargo had been stowed
in separate blocks, yet on opening the hatches
it was found all of one solid mass of ice, which
was cut out by means of hatchets.

Tee is an article of which there is no lack in
Newfoundland, and the demand for it only wants
to be more generally known in order to our
wealthy and more enterprising planters taking on
board their vessels cargoes of this novel export,
and transporting it to warm countries, where it is
a great luxury, being generally used in Spain and
Portugal as creams, and for other purposes. " A
traveller who visited Pekin, says, that a favourite
dish in that city is roasted ice, which is enor-
mously dear, as very few cooks possess the skill
and dexterity required for its preparation. A lump
of ice is taken upon a sieve, and after being
quickly enveloped in a sort of paste made of
sugar, eggs, and spices, is plunged into a panful
of boiling pork fat or lard. The grand point is
then to serve it up before the ice has time to melt.
What may be the peculiar attraction of this dainty
dish it would be hard to say, for though frozen
inside, it burns the mouth when first tasted."

Sometimes in the beginning of March a severe
frost sets in, and often this month is more rigo-
rous than any month during the reign of winter.
The weather, however, is very changeable; some-
times the sun diffuses the genial influence of
spring; at other times the cold north-east wind
brings with it a snow-storm. Towards the last
of this month south winds and rain generally

201

sr.
e-
of
id

prevail, accompanied by a thaw, which dissolves
the snow and ice. The ponds are freed from
their icy chains, the brooks overflow, and torrents
of water descending from the hills, saturate the
ground in every direction. Cold north-east winds
are very prevalent at this season. In the Trans-
actions of the Meteorological Society of London,
are the following remarks on the vernal winds: —
'* Countries situated on the confines of the
Arctic Circle remain buried in snow. This cov-
ering will unavoidably arrest the progress of spring
in its advances towards the Arctic Circle, and
prolong a milder kind of winter in the northern
regions. The delay here pointed out is certain
and annual, because the solar heat, instead of
warming the surface of the country thus buried in
snow, is absorbed by the icy covering, and em-
ployed in converting it into water of the tem-
perature of melting ice. While the sun is employed
in removing this impediment to vegetation in the
north, his beams are warming the plains and
valleys of the south, in consequence of which the
thermometer in the shade frequently stands be-
iween sixty and seventy degrees at noon, and
falls occasionally to the freezing point in the
night. These facts show that the inhabitants of
Britain enjoy an advanced state of temperature,
while the people of Sweden and Norway are ex-
posed to a degree of cold equal to the rigours of
our winters. The preceding difierence in the
temperature of the atmosphere of Britain and the
more northern regions, gives a greater specific
gravity to the air of Sweden and Norway than to

202

that of England, as well as to all the intervening
countries which are free from snow; and this ex-
cess of density is, in my opinion, the cause of the
vernal winds. The conjecture here advanced is
not entirely hypothetical, hecause it is confirmed
by the laws of hydrostatics, which prove that
when two columns of air of different specific
gravities rest upon contiguous bases, the heavier
will remove the lighter, and flow into its place.
This is the reason of my conjecture, that the
atmosphere of the north, which is kept dense by
being in contact with snow^, flows southward in a
current which displaces the warmer and lighter
air, and thereby produces the vernal winds."

Various signs of returning spring are now to
be seen. The house-flies (Musca Domestica) are
awaking from their winter's slumber, and are
seen sporting on the wing every sunshiny day.
On the 26th of this month (March, 1843) I saw
a flock of sparrows {Fringilla Nivalis), called snow
birds in America. They are the earliest of our
songsters, and known by their single ''chip.'*

"Thy harbinger, Summer, I seel

The stranger's return let me hail.
As for insects he sports o'er the lea,

Or hastily skims on the gale!
Ye breezes, be kind to the guest, .

He fears the sharp tooth of the coljl ;
Blow genial and warm firom the west.

And his pleasures in sunshine unfold."

Nature has commenced her resurrection from
the death of winter, though the naked land-
scape still presents a dreary and cheerless aspect.
To-day I saw a caterpillar crawling on the fence.

203

)t.

enjoying the sunshine. Some insects which
hibernate or winter in the larva state, are said
to exist under that form more than a year.

These creatures are liable to many accidents,
and we should suppose that a very little thing
would crush them, were it not, as naturalists
inform us, that some of these diminutive creatures
are possessed of great muscular power. It is
said that a caterpillar taised and made good its
retreat from beneath a weight of four pounds.
Others are endowed with a remarkable toughness
of external covering, and when subjected to the
severest pressure, so as to appear entirely lifeless,
yet after some time will again revive and appear
as if nothing had taken place. But others are
more easily injured. Mr. Clouter has been to-
day feeling the backs of his cattle for what he
called "wormuls," which is the larvae of the ox
gad-fly {Oestrus Bovis). The general practice
here is to search the backs of the cattle for the
lumps which these flies make, in the middle of
which is a hole, out of which a large whitish
maggot is pressed. These flies are a great annoy-
ance to cattle. In the summer they deposit
their eggs by penetrating the skin of the back,
which comes to perfection the following summer.
It is said, when the maggot has acquired its full
growth, it works itself out of its nest, and falls ofi"
the animal on which it has fed, to the ground,
where it hides itself beneath some rock, or crawls
into some fissure, and there its skin hardens into
a black cacoon, within which it passes iti| last
metamorphosis, when it comes out a

204

winged insect. Many people imagine these bots
or maggots are owing to some disease, or the
poorness of their cattle. I knew an individual
who intended killing a calf, but when he found
the animal contained some of these maggots, he
declined doing so, because he considered it not
wholesome to eat. It is, however, well known,
that the instinct of the parent insect causes it
to seek those cattle which are full of juice and
health, beneath the skin of which to place their
eggs; hence, those animals possessing the lumps
on their backs are by far the best and most
healthy.

The month of April (1843) has been particu-
larly fine and delightful. The oldest inhabitant
I have conversed with has never before experi-
enced such a continuance of warm, clear, sunshiny
weather as this month afforded. The operations
of the garden have comipenced ; vegetable nature,
however, is not yet far advanced. There is no
doubt that the vast fields of ice which hover around
the eastern and northern coasts of Newfoundland
at this season, tend to retard the progress of
renovating spring. It is very probable that the
chilling effects of the ice on vegetation would be
felt much more severely, were it not that a warm
current of water from the Gulf of Mexico passes
along the coast. Dr. Leyell says, ''But the
effects of the Gulf stream on the climate of the
North Atlantic Ocean are far more remarkable.
This most powerful of known currents has its
source in the Gulf or Sea of Mexico, which, like
^^: iJlediterranean and other close seas, in tern-

205

peratie or low latitudes, is ^armet than the open
ocean in the same parallels. The temperature
of the Mexico sea in summer is, according to
Rennell, eighty-six degrees Fahr., or, at least,
seven degrees above that of the Atlantic in the
same latitude. From this great reservoir, or
caldron of warm water, a constant current pours
forth through the Straits of Bahama, at the
rate of three or four miles an hour. It crosses
the ocean in a north-easterly direction, skirting
the great bank of Newfoundland, where it still
retains a temperature of eight degrees above
that of the surrounding sea. It reaches the
Azores in about seventy-eight days, after flowing
nearly three thousand geographical miles, and
from thence it sometimes extends its course a
thousand miles further, so as to reach the Bay of
Biscay, still retaining an excess of five degrees
above the mean temperature of that sea. As it
has been known to arrive there in the months of
November and January, it may tend greatly to
moderate the cold of winter in countries on the
west of Europe. There is a large tract in the
centre of the north Atlantic, between the parallels
of thirty-three and thirty-five degrees Tiorth lati-
tude, which Rennell calls the 'recipient of the
Gulf water.' A great part of it is covered by
the weed called sargasso, which the_aMrrent floati^
in abundance from the Gulf of Mexico. This
mass of water is nearly stagnant — is warmer by
seven or ten degrees than the waters of the
Atlantic, and may be compared to the fresh
water of a river overflowing the heavier salt water

206

of the sea. Rennell estimates the area of the
'recipient/ together with that covered by the
main current, as being two thousand miles in
length from east to west, and three hundred and
fifty in breadth, from north to south, which he
remarks is a larger area than that of the Mediter.
ranean. The heat of this great body of water is
kept up by the incessant and quick arrival of fresh
supplies of warm water from the south ; and
there can be no doubt that the general climate
of parts of Europe and America is materially
affected by this cause. It is considered probable,
by Scoresby, that the influence of the Gulf stream
extends even to the sea near Spitzbergen, where
its waters may pass under those of melted ice;
for it has been found that in the neighbourhood
of Spitzbergen, the water is warmer by six or
seven degrees at the depth of one hundred and
two fathoms, than at the surface. This might
arise from the known law, that fresh water passes
the point of greatest density when cooled down
below forty, and between that and the freezing
point expands again. The water of melted ice
might be lighter, both as being fresh (having
lost its salt in the decomposing process of freez-
ing), and because its temperature is nearer the
freezing point than the inferior water of the
Gulf stream. The great glaciers generated in
the valleys of Spitzbergen, in seventy-nine degrees
of north latitude, are almost all cut off at the
beach, being melted by the feeble remnant of
heat still retained by the Gulf stream. In Baffin's
Bay, on the contrary, on the west coast of Old

207

Greenland, where the temperature of the sea is
not mitigated by the same cause, and where there
is no warmer under-current, the glaciers stretch
out from the shore, and furnish repeated crops
of mountainous masses of ice, which float off into
the ocean. The number and dimensions of these
bergs is prodigious. Captain Ross saw several
of them together in Baffin's Bay aground, in
water fifteen hundred feet deep. Many of them
are driven down into Hudson's Bay, and accumu-
lating, these diffuse excessive cold over the neigh-
bouring continent."

The beauties of spring have been celebrated in
glowing terms. It is an interesting season. The
genial influence of the mild air, refreshing and in-
vigorating; the beautiful green diffusing itself over
the landscape ; the unfolding of V^k .'a's lovely
charms; the hum of the insect tribes floating on
the air; the splendid plumage and music of the
tenants of the groves ; all conspire to fill the mind
with adoration to the Being who governs nature's
laws. Some parts of the scriptures give beautiful
descriptions of spring: "Lo, the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on
the earth; the time of the singing of birds is
come."

'"Tis sweet, Mrhen winter's tempest clouds retire,
To hear the music of the woodland choir,
To see fresh verdure deck the leafless grove.
The pure, clear sun through heavea's blue pathway rove.
New life, new beauty, start from every spray.
Green earth rejoicing, and her tenants gay."

The American robin, or thrush of Pennant
(Tardus Migratonm), called the blackbird in

208

Newfouhdiand, made his appearance this year in
April; it is one of the best known and earliest of
our warblers; they generally visit us in May, and
often while the ground is yet dappled with snow;
they congregate in flocks on some garden fen ,
and give out their notes, which are regarded as th^,
prelude to the general music of animated nature;
they build their nests in a tree, and lay from two
to five delicate green eggs; they are very plenti-
ful, and while making provision for a future pro-
geny, great numbers are killed for the table.

"Scare, if ye will, his timid wir.,'? away,
^at, 0, let not the leaden viewless shower,
Yollied fi-om flashing tube, arrest his flight.
And fill his tuneful, gaping bill with blood."

Butterflies are now seen spreading their gaudy
wings, and fluttering in the radiance of the sun;
the principal ones which charm us with their
splendid hues are the forked (Vanessa Furcillata),
tiger swallowtail (Papilio Turnus), black swallow-
tail {Papilio Asterius), chamberwell beauty ( Venessa
Antiopa), and the brimstone coloured butterfly
(Papilio Rhamni). The butterfly is first an egg,
next a grub or caterpillar, then a pupa or chrys-
alis, and lastly a winged insect. In this state it
lays its eggs, and then dies.

"Look nature through, 'tis revolution all"

The transformation of insects is often used to
illustrate the resurrection of the human body.
''The wings of butterflies, sphinges, and moths,
are covered with scales, so very minute as to be
taken for extremely fine dust, placed in the most

209

perfect order, and having a great diversity of
beautiful colours. They have been well compared
to Mosaic work, produced by small pieces of va.
riously coloured glass, stuck in a kind of paste,
yet so minute as hardly to be perceived; looking
rather like a picture whose parts are harmoniously
combined. But here art is infinitely surpassed.
A piece of the wing of a peacock butterfly, a quar-
ter of an inch square, was placed under a micro-
scope, when seventy rows, each containing ninety
scales, were counted; there were therefore six
thousand three hundred scales on one side of
this small portion of wing, and an inch must have
the amazing number of one hundred thousand
seven hundred and thirty-six scales. The num<
ber of glass pins in a square inch of fine Mosaic
is only eight hundred and seventy, so that it is
one hundred and fifteen times coarser than the
wing of this butterfly, which is of middle size,
and the scales of which are proportional. Whtt
then, must be the comparison with some of the
smaller tribes, whose whole dimensions are a
quarter of an inch ! The wing of a peacock but-
terfly prematurely taken out of a chrysalis, proved
to be nine and a quarter times finer than that of
the perfect insect; so that it was ten thousand
and sixty-three times finer than the most boasted «
Mosaic?

The deer (Cervus Tarandus) are now re-mi-
grating to the north, when numbers of them are
killed, in the skins of some of which are found a
quantity of small holes, caused by their tormentors
and dreaded foes, the gadflies (Oestrus Tarandi),

wii'

210

These insects attack and deposit their ova on
the back of the deer. The worm penetrating the
skin remains under it during the winter, until the
following year it becomes a fly. It is said another
kind of Oestrm breeds on each side of the tongue,
near the gullet of the deer. The " honk " of the
wild goose {Anm Anser) is now heard winging
its way to the lakes situated in the most solitary
parts of the northern bays to bring forth its young.
The black bears (Ursus Americanus) have now
aroused themselves from their winter sleep, and
are ranging abroad. Several of these animals are
killed at ,thi8 season in Green Bay. Their flesh
is said to be excellent food. In Russia the paws
are esteemed a great delicacy; the hams are cu-
red and exported to different parts of Europe;
their skin is a prime article of winter dress, and
is also used for lining sleighs. These quadrupeds
pass the winter in a state of torpor, in some soli-
tary place in the woods, hiding themselves in the
hollows of old trees and the fissures of the rocks,
where, snugly concealed beneath the snow, they
escape all enemies. They chiefly subsist on roots
and berries. These animals arc of a ferocious
disposition, but when taken young are, to a certain
extent, tamed. In 1840 I saw a young one at St.
John's, on Signal Hill. It was chained to the
block house, and about the size of a very large
black dog, but much higher on the legs. He was
very playful, and appeared familiar with his friends,
though perhaps he hugged them a little too hard
sometimes, as I was informed that a soldier, on
terms of intimacy with him, received a very severe

211

lOUS

Itain

St.

the

irge

Iwas
ids,
lard
on
rere

sqiieczo, fvuiii the effects of which he did not re-
cover for some week.«i.

The liaccalieu birds, Turs, or Merrs {Colymhun
Triole)t have now occupied their isolated breeding
places. These birds collect in vast assemblages to
breed on the rocky islands of Baccalieu and the
Funk. They form no nest, and lay their eggs,
which are pyriform, of a greenish colour and great
size, on the bare rock. Great quantities of these
eggs are taken from these islands in the month
of June by the fishermen. To one unaccustomed
to visit these places, it presents almost a scene
of terror, to see myriads of birds fluttering on the
wing, darkening the air and screaming dreadfully.

"Who can recount what transmigrations thcro
Are annual made? what nations come and go?
And liow the living clouds on clouds arise?
Inflnite wings! till all the plume-dark air
And rude resounding shore are ono wild cry."

The penguin or great auk {Alca Impennlst Linn.)
about thirty years ago was very plentiful on the
Funk Island, but has now totally disappeared.
Incredible numbers of thesf* birds were killed, their
flesh being savoury food and their feathers val-
uable. Heaps of them were burnt, being used as
fiiel for warming the water, in order to phk off
the feathers, there being no wood on the island.*
I have been informed that the merchants of Bona-
vista, during the winter season, used to sell these
birds to poor people by the hundred weight, in-

*It was thought that Guano might be found on this island. I
procured a sample of whui was supposed to be bird's dung, which,
however, proved to be nothing more than bones and turf.

i 212

stead of pork. There are islands on the northern
coast of Newfoundland, called the Penguin Islands,
so named probably from the number of penguins
at one time breeding on them. The penguin was
from the size of a goose to double as large; its
wings were short, resembling the fippars of the
seal, and its feet broad and webbed. It was in-
capable of flight, and the position of its body when
on the land was nearly erect. It waddled about
very slowly. The appearance of these birds for-
merly indicated to the mariner the approach to
land.

''There is something in the strange figure and
aspect of the penguin well agreeing with the wil 1,
lonely, remote islands in which it congregates.
In beholding a spot on the surface of our globe,
ocean-girt, and uninhabited by man, tenanted by
thousands of these birds, which for ages— gener-
ation after generation — have been the uninter-
rupted occupiers of the place, we are thrown back
upon primeval days; and we involuntarily recur
to the now-extinct dcdo, a wingless bird, which
formerly tenanted the islands of Bourbon, Mau-
ritius, and Rodrigue, once desolate and untrodden
by the foot of man, as are still many of the haunts
of the penguin; and the idea forces itself upon us,
that, like the dodo, this bird also may, at some
future time, become utterly annihilated."

Troops of boys and girls at this season sally
forth in quest of dandelion {Leontddon Taraxacum),
Some with tin pans, others with baskets, and each
carrying a knife for cutting up the plant. The
leaves of the dandelion are used in almost every

213

part of Newfoundland as a substitute for cabbage,
during the months of May and June. The dan-
delion is also a very valuable medicinal herb; it
has been used with great effect in cases of asthma
and consumption. - a

The pale seal oil is now being drawn from the
vats, and shipped for Europe. The quantity of
seal and cod oil exported at different periods was
as follows : —

m TIJN8.

1815 8,225

1820 8,224

1825 7,806

1830 12,371

1832 10,010

1834 9,030 .,

1835 11,780

, 1836 9,485

1838 8,591

1839 8,905

1840 12,724

1841 10,609

1842 8,976

The courts of law are sitting at this season.
Terms of the supreme and circuit courts are held
in the spring and autumn. The first regular
court ever held in the island ' was by Captain
Wiltbourn, about the year 1611, who was com-
missioned to impanel juries and rectify various
abuses. In 1633 Charles I. promulgated certain
laws for the better government of Newfoundland.
Some of these laws were, that all persons who
committed murder, or theft above forty shillings,
were to be taken to England for trial; that no
buildings erected for prosecuting the fishery should
be destroyed at the end of the voyage; that, ac-

114

cording to the old and corrupt system, the master
of the first fishing vessel arriving at any port
should be admiral of the same during the sea-
son. These admirals were empowered to settle
all disputes among the fishermen, and to en-
force due attention to certain acts of parliament.
In 1728 regular justices of the peace were first
appointed, and during this year Captain Henry
Osborne, the governor, divided the island into dis-
tricts, and levied a rate of a half quintal fish on
all boats -rooms and boats, for the purpose of
erecting prisons, and also several pairs of stocks.
He also empowered the captains of the sh'ps-of-
war on the station, to hold surrogate courts for
determining civil causes. These judges were called
floating surrogates. In order to preclude the ne-
cessity of sending criminals to England for trial,
during the year 1737 a court of oyer and terminer
was established in Newfoundland. In 1741 a vice
admiralty court was established. The first court
of common pleas was established in 1789, by
Admiral Milbank, the governor; shortly after
which another court was established to try civil
and criminal cases ; it was designated the " Su-
preme Court of Newfoundland," of which John
Reeves, Esq. was commissioned as chief justice,
who was succeeded in the office by Richard Routh,
Esq. In 1816 Francis Forbes, Esq. afterwards Sir
Francis Forbes, was appointed chief justice, which
office he filled for a period of six years, and was
succeeded in 1823 by Richard Alexander Tucker,
Esq. The laws in all the out- harbours of New-
foundland at this period, were administered by

115

civil
Su-

ohn
ice,

>uth.
Sir
lich
was
ker,
ew-

resident and floating surrogate courts, from which
parties could appeal to the supreme court in St.
John's, if the suit exceeded £40. The magis-
trates also held courts of session, which had
jurisdiction in cases not exceeding forty shillings,
and in cases of assault.

In consequence of the partial and corrupt admin-
istration of justice in the surrogate courts having
been represented to the Imperial Government,
in 1826 most im{fortant and beneflcial changes
took place in the administration of justice in
Newfoundland. The surrogate courts were now
abolished, and by the granting of a charter by the
king, under authority of an act of parliament, a
supreme court was established, consisting of a
chief justice and two assistant judges. The island
was divided into three circuits, northern, central,
and southern, in which three separate courts
were held, presided over by one of the three
judges. The supreme court was empowered to
admit qualified attorneys to practise in the diifer-
ent courts, and to grant letters of administration,
and probates of, wills. An appeal is permitted
from the circuit courts to the supreme court, and
from the supreme court to the Queen in Council.
Courts of quarter sessions were now also estab-
lished, and a sheriff appointed from j 3ar to year.
The first judges of the supreme court were
Richard Alexander Tucker, Esq. A.M., of the
Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law, chief judge ;
John William Molloy, Esq., and Augustus Wallet
Des Barres, Esq., assistant judges, the second
of whom, in a very short time, was removed

216

from office, and succeeded by Edward Brabazon
Brenton, Esq. In 1833 Judge Tucker resigned
his commission^ and was succeeded in the office
of chief judge by Henry John Boulton, Esq. late
Attorney-General of Upper-Canada, who was
succeeded in 1838 by the present chief justice,
the Hon. John Gervase Hutchingson Bourne,*
who together with the Hon. Edward Brabazon
Brenton, and the Hon. Augustus Wallet Des
Barres, are the present judges of the Supreme
Court. Mr. Brenton being absent on leave, his
place is supplied by the Hon. George Lilly acting
assistant judge; Messrs. Tucker and Boulton had
both been presidents of the Legislative Council,
which was the chief cause of their resignation.
The present chief justice, however, does not
occupy, nor will any future chief judge occupy,
a seat in the council, f

Trade is now at its full height; all is bustle
and activity preparing for the fishery. About the
tenth of June the vessels sail for the Labrador
fishery: the Newfoundland fishery commences at
some places in May, and at other places not until
the last of June. Our principal articles of export
are cod fish, oil, seal and cod, salmon, herrings,
seal skins, tongues, and sounds. The exports
from Newfoundland in 1814 were one million

* Mr. Bourne has since been removed from office, and succeeded
by the Hon. Thomas Norton, late one of the assistant jndges of
Demerara.

f The number of attorneys practising at present at the bar in
Newfoundland is 13, including the Hon. William Bickford Kow,
and the Hon. Bryan Robinson.

217

two hundred thousand quintals of cod fish, valued
at two pounds per quintal ; twenty thousand
quintals of core fish in barrels; six thousand
tuns of cod or train oil, at £32 per tun ; one
hundred and fifty-six thousand seal-skins, at five
shillings each; four thousand six hundred and
sixty-six tuns seal oil, at £36 per tun ; besides
salmon, mackerel, furs, and berries, to the amount
of £10,000 sterling; the whole amounting to no
less a sum than £2,828,976. The total amount
of exports at difierent periods was as follows :

IN Ji.

1822 729,198

1826 759,305

1827 764,586

1830 685,680

1831 803,532 -

1834 826,659

1836 808,066

1838 788,629

1839 901,385

1840 983,961

1841 952,555

1842 844,375

Road making has now commenced at all the
principal places in the island. The sum granted
by the local government, in 1843, for making
and repairing roads, was £30,000. This is a large
sum, considering that the whole revenue of the
colony is only between £40,000 and £50,000.
Roads will be the primary agents in developing
the agricultural capabilities of Newfoundland, for
wherever roads have been formed the cultivation
of the soil has immediately commenced.

A gas company has just been established in

218

St. John's, with a capital of £6,000, which has been
incorporated by an act of the legislature, and it is
expected tliat thft principal street of St. John's
will be lit with gas in October next. It is but
justice to say, that the introduction of gas into this
island is mainly owing to the persevering exer-
tions of Mr. Alexander M'c Auslan, smith and
engineer.*

• In 1840 Mr. M'c Auslan called the attention of the public to
this important matter, and in the winter of 1841 ho constructed a
small oil gas apparatus, which he put in full operation, and exhibited
to the public a very pure and brilliant gas light, in a variety of
different and ornamental burners. He at the same time explained
the nature and qualities of gas, and its mivoy advantages over all
other modes of artificial light. Since this period Mr. M'c Auslan has
not ceased to take a lively and persevering interest in keeping one
of the greatest modem improvements constantly before the public
mind.

219

HOME, SWEET HOME.

"There is a spot of earth supremely blest, '

A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest.
Where man, creation's tyrant, casts aside
His sword and sceptre, pageantry and pride;
While in his soften'd looks benignly blend
The sire, the son, the husband, father, friend:
Here woman reigns; the mother, daughter, wife.
Strews with fresh flowers the narrow way of life ;
In the clear heaven of her delightful eye,
An angel-guard of loves and graces lie ;
Around her knees domestic duties meet.
And fire-side pleasures gambol at her feet.
Where shall that land, that spot of earth be found?
Art thou a man? — a patriot? — look around;
O thou shalt find, howe'er thy footsteps roam,
That land thy country, and that spot thy home ! "

J. Montgomery.

The love of home is an inherent principle of
our nature. The mind is touched with a thrilling
sensation of delight when we look back to the
happy period when, with father and mother, bro-
thers and sisters, we assembled around the fire-side.
Here love reigned, and those dear domestic hours
never wore a fringe of woe, save when affliction's
breath tainted the lovely scene ; else all was joy
and hope, gay as the morning, and no thought of
separation ever flitted across the unruffled mind.
Here have we heard the familiar purring of the
cat, and the monotonous hum of the tea-kettle;

V 220

while the frost of winter drove every member of
the family around the blazing fire. Here, after
the great orb of day had sunk to rest, have we
heard the ticking of the little death-watch (Termes
Pulsator), while some member of the family has
regarded its tapping as ominous of evil.

/•What is the death-watch, which excites the fear
Of vulgar minds, and half absorbs the breath,
By fancied supernatural b^iings near,
To warn poor mortals of approaching death ?
The horrid sprite — this harbinger of fate, ^

Is bat an insect tapping for its mate."

And the chirping of the cricket (Acheta Domcs-
tica), caused by the friction of its wings, has been
welcomed as a messenger of good. ,

« Little inmate flill of mirth,
Chirping on my kitchen hearth,
Wheresoe'er be thine abode,
Always harbinger of good."

The thief in the candle, and the bright" sparks

indicating the coming of letters have oc^^upied

our attention. All these little incidents, and a

thousand more, recall the happy days of early

home.

*'Be it a weakness, it deserves some praise,
f We love the play-place of our early days;

The scene is touching, and the heart is stone

That feels not at that sight, and feclc at none.

The wall on which we tried our graving skill.

The very name we carv'd subsisting still ;

The bench on which we sat while deep employ'd,

Though mangl'd, hack'd, and hew'd, not yet destroy'd."

We carry with us every where a love of home,
which nothing, no, nothing can dissipate from our
minds. From the icy shores of Greenland to the

L* of

ifter

tnes

has

mes-
been

talks
ipied
a
arly

one,
our
the

221

sultry climes of Africa, it is balm to the bosom
torn with sorrow. The dying soldier in the bat-
tle-field, amid the tears and cries of thousands,
thinks of his aged parents, and "home, sweet
home," soothes his dying pains. The immortal
Nelson, amid the roar of cannon and the groans
of the dying strewn around him, and even while
the scenes of mortality were fast fading from his
view for ever, with his expiring breath speaks of
the scenes of home.

" But, see that scar- worn man, who looks on high,
With musing valour mirror'd in his eye ;
Xot all the bleeding revels of the day

Can iVight the vision of his home away ;

The home of love, and its attractive smiles,

His wife's endearment, and his baby's wiles: —

Fights he less brave through recollected bliss,

With step retreating, or with sword remiss?

Ah no ! remember'd home's the warrior's charm, \

Speed to his sword, and vigour to his arm ;

For this he supplicates the God afar,

Fronts the steel'd foe, and mingles in the war."

To the sailor, wandering over the waves, amid
the howling of the stormy hurricane and mad-
dened boiling surf, the thought of seeing again
"home, sweet home," gladdens his spirit, and more
than compensates for the hardships of the voyage.

"Borne like a sunbeam on the bounding waves,
Behold a mariner the tempest braves!
Home, life, and love, and near-imagin'd death.
Nerve the stout limb, and lengthen out his breath."

When the traveller, roaming in a foreign land,
thinks of home, he touches a chord which starts
the unbidden tear. The name of the country to
which he belongs meets his eye as a eem ; it

gem

ooo

adorns the object with which it is connected; it
excites pleasing remembrances, and he revels in
the bright visions of "home, sweet home."

The profligate who has left his home and
friends, end whose conscience, seared with black-
ened crimes, burdens his guilty soul, is eased of
his load of woes when he looks behind and thinks
of his deserted home. The captive, shut up in
dungeon gloom, excluded from the pure air and
the light of day, chained io the damp cold wall
of his dismal prison, loi^tly and sad, he sits
still, waked by recollection, his spirit takes its
flight, and mingles once again amid the scenes of
home. The beggar, wandering from door to door,
poor and friendless, amid the dark and dreary
winter storms, who knows not whither to rest his
weary, cold, aLU famishing body, thoughts of
happier days gather around his heart — he too once
had a home, nursed and tenderly lulled to sleep
with the kiss of love on the lap of his fond
parents, who now sleep in the cold silent tomb.

"At wintry eve, when savage night- winds blow, ^

Pierce his cold cheeli, and drift his loclts of snow,
As oft the vagrant shivers through the street,
Xo voice to pity, and no hand to greet. . . . i

With many a pause he niarlcs that window-pane,
' Whose flick'ring blaze recalls his home again !

The friend and face, the music and the mirth,
And social magic of his evening hearth,
Awak'd by mem'ry, warm his widow'd heart.
Till real woes in fancied bliss depart;
And one by one, as happier days appear, , , ;
To each he pays the homage of a tear ; • .

Though homeless, still he loves home's joyous glare.
Looks up to heaven, and feels his home is there!" •• -

223

The winter season gathers the scattered mem-
bers of a family around the social hearth. It is
a delightful scene when the parents and children
are seated around the blazing winter's fire, after
the shades of night have curtained the vaulted
sky, and the candle twinkles around the room.
It is now the domestic affections are called into
active exercise ; each member of the family is
employed ; here you behold one sewing, while
at the same time engaged in a profitable conver-
sation; there you see another reading some in-
teresting book, while a " flower of life," a little
rosy blue-eyed boy is occupying the attention of
the parents; and if religion throws her hallowing
influence over the scene, hope bears them on
her wings to that home, where " sweet fields
beyond the swelling flood stand dressed in living
green," and they anticipate the happy period
when they shall greet each other's arrival at their
everlasting home above ; a home, where " their
souls shall banquet and be satisfied, fully and for
ever;" a home, "whose wide regions they shall
traverse in all the might of their untired faculties,
and in all the glow of new and heaven-born
energies, discovering and gathering fresh accumu-
lations of intelligence, satisfaction, and surprise ;"
a home "in which the thrice holy Divinity, en-
shrined in our nature, in the person of Immanuel,
is beheld and adored, without imperfection and
without intermission, where hymns of praise, and
hallelujahs of redemption, poured forth by blest
voices without number, fv^ll the music of eter-
nity." y J

224

Having been invited to spend the evening with
Mr. — I went at an early hour, when the following
conversation passed between the father and son.

Father. I saw that dog of Mr. Carroll's, with
which you were so much amused the other day.

Lloyd. Did you see him perform any feats ?

Father. Yes, we were about half a mile from
the house, when Mr. Carroll directed me to hide
something under a stone. I accordingly did so.
He then gave a loud whistle, and immediately we
saw the dog running towards us at full speed.
On his coming up to us Mr. C. told him I
had hid something, and directed him to find it.
The dog at once began smelling about, and soon
discovered what I had concealed, which he brought
to us between his teeth. He was also made to
perform several other things.

Lloyd. Is not the sagacity of animals called
instinct ?

Father. It is; but in this case it was not what
is called pure instinct, because the dog had been
previously taught to perform these feats.

Lloyd. I believe the difference between instinct
and reason is, that instinct works without delib-
eration, and makes no improvement upon the
actions of others ; whereas reason contemplates
and improves upon the inventions of others, and
arranges its actions according to circumstances.

Father. That is the general distinction between
instinct and reason. I am of opinion that this
mysterious in^^tinct, which directs the lower orders
of created beings, is no other than the operation

225

of a spiritual and an immortal principle planted
within them by the Almighty.

Lloj/d. Some persons suppose, that after the
death of animals, they sink into annihilation.

Father. A great number are of that opinion,
but it is a most unwarrantable assumption, for we
have reason to believe that every created being
in the beginning was stamped with immortality, nor
was death known until after the transgression of
Adam ; therefore the death of brutes, as well as of
man, was an effect of the introduction of sin into
our world. We have no proof that any part of
either animated or inanimate nature has been
destroyed, or that it ever will be. I believe that
no particle of matter will ever be consigned to
annihilation; various revolutions are constantly ta-
king place in different objects, but these changes
do not imply that they are annihilated.

Lloyd. Have not many learned men written
upon the future life of animals?

Father. They have. Deane says, *' Brutes are
liable to momentary sufferings and transient evils.
They have their dark hours of pain and sickness,
and die under the sad appearance of agony, like
the beings that are above them. They feel alike,
and die alike; and yet for all this we say, the
brutes have no share in futurity. It is easy to
assert this, but not so easy to answer what fol-
lows thereon. They suffer much at present, and,
if this is all, we must then conclude, that they
were produced in an evil hour and a fatal mo-
ment. I know not whether we should not be
ebliged to go farther, and impeach the divine

'M,

■r-f.

226

goodness. Pain and death are manifestly foreign
accidents, neither decreed, inevitable, nor neces-
sary from the nature of the subjects in which they
are foiind, but existing casually, or after the man-
net of contingencies. The fall of man is the true
point from which the natural evils of this life pro-
ceed. Physical evil, considered as an effect of
sin, teaches us to keep a strict eye to virtue in
all the ways we pursue for the attainment of pre-
sent good. Sin and suffering are closely con-
nected. If we would live with any tolerable degree
of comfort and satisfaction, virtue is the only rule
we have to follow. '

"The ills of this world are unequally divided.
The human heart is impenetrable to us. They
whom we esteem righteous may not be so. The
temporary escapes of wicked men may be ascribed
to the forbearance of God, who does not instantly
punish; or they may discover some signs of re-
formation hidden from us, but evident to him
who is the searcher of hearts. Or there may
be a considerable difference in men as to their
sense of afflictions, and one may not feel half so
much as another, whilst they appear to us to suffer
alike. We see many good persons suffer the
hardships of poverty and want ; and, for all the
honest pains they take, are but just able to get
necessary conveniences (sometimes not these),
and can never awake into plenty and affluence.
Others we see who have all things in abundance.
Some are born to them, and some arrive at them
in a course of business, by a train of lucky inci-
dents, many of whom are, perhaps, wicked and

227

undeserving. Here things appear to be wrong,
enequalj uufii ; but another state scatters those
apparent improprieties. The good man sees he
shall be dealt with there in a way that he shall
deserve. This is a great support to him at pre-
sent.

"What is the reason brutes, are subject to suf-
fering? Brutes^ as well as man, are subject to
the same sort of pains and diseases, so far as their
cases coincide. They suffered with man the an-
guish of the fall. They have perished with him
in deluges and conflagrations, in famines, pesti-
lences, and destructions of the sword. As brute
animals have attended man in all great and capital
calamities, they will also attend him in his final
deliverance, be restored when he is restored, and
have a place in those happy regions where nature
shall assume the splendour and elegance of her
pristine form, the eternal God appear as he is,
and every thing be representative of him.

" A gentleman had a pointer, which, whenever
he went a shooting, he was seen to take out
with him. The gentleman's custom was, on his
return from his diversions, to discharge his piece
at magpies or carrion-crows, which he would take
sone pains to look for in the trees as he passed
along. The dog on these occasions always kept
behind, I suppose, that he might not frighten
those birds away, but that his master might have
a fair chance at them. It happened one day as
he was upon this business, that a magpie, perched
on the top of a large oak, escaped the gentle-
man's notice. The dog, ever attentive to his

228

master's pleasures, peeps into the tree himself,
and espies the party coloured animal; whereupon
he runs up to his master, who was got some yards
from the place, lays hold of the lap of his coat
behind, and gives it a smart pull with his teeth.
The gentleman, surprised, turns about to see
what was the matter, when the dog immediately
starts back to the tree, and shows him the bird,
which the gentleman very soon brought to the
ground. I wonder, after such an instance of
sagacity, any person can have the effrontery to
maintain that brutes are only intelligent machines.
Reason declares in favour of vlie future existence
of brutes, by determining that brutes have souls.
The notion of a soul includes immortality and
endless duration of existence.

" It reflects upon the goodness of God, to suppose
that he subjects to pains and sorrows such a
number of beings which he never designs to
beautify; upon his wisdom, that he forms them
for the miserable duration of a moment, without
having himself a power to extend their duration,
and better their condition ; upon his love, that
he exposes them to the horrible evils of nature,
and the cruel torments of superior beings, which
a tender disposition would be concerned to remedy
or prevent ; and it reflects upon his justice, to
suppose that he destroys, without a recompense,
creatures that he has brought into such a state
of infelicity, and in some measure capacitated for
everlasting happiness. The notion that brute
animals were created only for the occasions of
man, to minister to his pleasures, conveniences.

229

and the like^ is a weak and unwarrantable con-
ceit. Every species of animal has a language
peculiar to itself, by means of which all the in-
dividuals that compose it are able to converse
with each other; to impart their pains and plea-
sures, their fears and dangers, their desires and
intentious. And what can all this arise from,
but an intelligent principle residing within them V*

And Dr. Adam Clarke makes the following ob-
se.vations in his commentary on Rom. viii.

" I. The brute creation never sinned against
Go(^ nor are they capable of it; and, conse-
quently, cannot be justly liable to punishment.

" II. But the whole brute creation is in a state
of suffering, and partake of the common infirmi-
ties and privations of life, as well as mankind.
They suffer, but who can say that they suffer ^
justly ? *.*

"III. As they appear to be necessarily in-
volved in the sufferings of sinful man, and yet
neither through their fault nor their folly; it is
natural to suppose that the Judge of all the earth,
who ever does right, will find some means by
which these innocent creatures shall be compen-
sated for their sufferings.

"IV. That they have no compensation here,
their afflictions, labours, and death prove; and if
they are to have any compensation, th'jy must
have it in another state.

"V. God, the fountain of all goodness, must
have originally designed them for that measure
of happiness which is suited to the powers with
which he had endowed them. But, since the fall

230

of man, they never had that happiness, and in
their present circumstances never can.

"VI. In reference to intelligent beings, God
has formed his purposes in reference to their
happiness, on the ground of their rational natures.
He has decreed that they shall be happy if they
will, all the means of it being placed within their
power; and if they be ultimately miserable, it is
the effect of their own unconstrained choice.
Wherefore his purpose is fulfilled either in their
happiness or misery; because he has purposed
that they shall be happy if they please, and^that
misery shajll be the result of their refusal.

"VII. But it does not appear that the brute
creation are capable of this choice; and it is evi-
dent that they are not placed in their present
^nisery, through either their choice or their sin;
.^^l|l if no purpose of God can be ultimately frus-
tracm^ these creatures must be restored to that
state of happiness for which they have been made,
and of which they have been deprived through
the transgression of man.

"VIII. To say that the enjoyments which they
have in this life are a sufficient compensation, is
most evidently false; for had not sin entered into
the world, they would have had much greater
enjoyments, without pain, excessive labour, and
toil, and without death, and all those sufferings
which arise from its predisposing causes. Nor
does it appear that they have much happiness
from eating, drinking, and rest, as they have
these only in the proportion that they are neces-
sary to their existence as the slaves of men. There-

231

..d<

fore, allowing that they have any gratification and
enjoyment in life, they have much less than they
MTOuld have had, had not sin entered into the
world; and, consequently, they have been depri-
ved of the greater portion of happiness designed
for them by their bountiful Creator.

" IX. It is, therefore, obvious, that the gracious
purposes of God have not been fulfilled in them;
and that, as they have not lost their happiness
through their own fault, both the beneficence and
justice of God are bound to make them a repara-
tion.,

"X. Hence it is reasonable to conclude, that,
aSjiHProm the present constitution of things, they
cannot have the happiness designed for them ^.q.
this state, they must have it in another." . #

Lloyd. I have read that the system founded %
Dr. Gall, called Phrenology or Cranioscopy
which it is contended, that portions of the bfaTi]!'
are appropriated to appetites, feelings, and passions^ ^
is illustrated in the dog. It is stated by Cuvier,
that the dog of New-Holland, "the most stupid
and unteachable of the whole race, had an ex-
tremely flat forehead, consequently but a sm8..
proportion of fore-brain, while the shepherd's dog, .
and still more the pointer, well known for their
intelligence and tractability, had the forehead con-
siderably bulged out, consequently a large portion
of fore- brain." It is well known that a large
proportion of fore-brain is a general indication of
intelligence in the human subject.

Father. If you read professor Rennie's work on
zoology, you will there see that he has shown how

232

strikingly the vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch,
and the whole structure of the bodies of animals
assimilate to the human frame. A consideration of
this would reasonably lead us to suppose, that an-
imals are destined for a higher being than " to feel
like man and perish like the dust."

Lloyd. I have read of numbers of instances of
the sagacity of animals. A friend of mine in.
formed me that he saw a rat (Rattus) place a
straw in the mouth of another rat (which appeared
to have been blind from old age, as he was quite
grey) and lead it to a well close by, where, after
having drunk, conducted him back again to his
hole. Another instance of the sagacity of these
creatures, is, that they have been seen carrying
hens' eggs, in the following manner. One of the
,,rats lays down on his back, and with his legs
gmups the egg on his breast, while another draws
him along by the tail.

♦ Father. What have you been reading during my
' absence at Bonavista ?

Lloyd. I was perusing the package of news-
papers Mr. Sweetland sent you ; some of them were
of old date, but not the less acceptable to a person
living in this isolated place. The reading of the
papers leaves me without anything further new to
peruse ; my mind when unoccupied grows sad, and
is constantly reverting to kindred spirits and asso-
ciations. This is one amongst other proofs that
solitude is not the natural element of man.

Father. What information did you gather from
the papers?

Lloyd. There is not much political news in

233

them. I read reviews of two new works just
issued from the press on Newfoundland, the one
by J. B. Jukes, Esq., the other by Sir Richard
H. Bonnycastle. I also saw a letter from Mr.
Davenport the actor, in defence of the stage, in
which he says, " The moi^t pious men have not
only patronized but written for the stage. Dr.
Young, author of the * Night Thoughts,' the god-
like Addison, our venerated monarch George III.,
one of the best husbands and fathers that ever
lived, was one of its warmest supporters. I could
enumerate a host of names; but it possesses one
that as long as one stone of the world remains
upon another, and one man to contemplate the
ruins, can never be obliterated — Shakspeare's." I
was not aware that either Dr. Young, the cele-
brated author of the "Night Thoughts" and the
" Last Day," or that the great Addison, so well
known in the literary world, had ever patronized
the stage.

Father. Dr. Young wrote a tragedy called
" The Brothers," which was performed at Drury-
lane theatre, about the year 1726; but as soon as
he went into orders, the -play was withdrawn
About thirty years after, the Doctor consented
to have his tragedy acted again at the same
theatre. The character of Dr. Young, as a
minister, has suffered much from his ^having
consented to have "The Brothers" performed a
second time. In mitigation of this circumstance,
however, it is stated in Davies's Life of Garrick,
that the Doctor formed a design of giving a
thousand pounds to the Society for the Propaga-

234

tion of the Gospel, which he hoped to have been
able to have realized from the acting of the play.
It is said ttie profits of the play were insufficient to
make good the sum ; but that the Doctor made up
the deficiency, and so accomplished his benevolent
purpose of giving a noble sum for the diffusion
of Christianity. Addison lamented the immoral
tendency of the stage. He wrote a dramatic
piece entitled " Cato," which was never popular
on the stage, on account of some of its moral
sentiments. There are undoubtedly some no-
ble and moral sentiments in a few compositions
of this kind ; but they have none equal to the
purity of the Christian character ; and some of the
best have sentiments in them quite inconsistent
with it. I do not except Addison's "Cato," of
which it is well known Budgell and others made
so bad a use. Numerous proofs might be col-
lected in order to show, that in the reign of George
III. the theatre was the nursery of the grossest
immoralities and vice. Sir Walter Scott says,
" Christianity from its first origin, was inimical to
the institution of the theatre." This celebrated
author, himself a distinguished friend of the
stage (for I will not alarm the reader with Puri-
tanical authorities), in his elegant " Dissertation
on the Drama," when speaking of the immoral
influence of genteel comedy in particular, makes
the following concession : — " It is not so probable
that the ' Beggar's Opera ' has sent any one from
the two-shilling gallery to the highway, as that a
youth entering upon the world, and hesitating
between good and evil, may, for instance, be de-

235 V ^

■- . w" ♦•

termined to the worst course, by the gay and
seductive example of Lovemore, or Sir Charles
Easy." Parents who place a value on the virtuous
character of their offspring, and who feel a cor-
responding alarm at any circumstances which
might seem to threaten it with such danger, will
feel the force of the quotation. This one sen-
tence, from so eminent a critic, they will judge,
speaks volumes. The moral beauties of Shak-
speare have been collected and published, but
what a small proportion they bear to the mass of his
writings ! He had to pander to the vitiated taste
of the age in which he lived. " He wrote," says
Dr. Johnson, " without any moral purpose." As to
the statement that most pious men have sup-
ported theatrical exhibitions, I do not remember
to have read of a single individual preeminent
for piety, having ever attended the theatre ; or if
they did, it formed no part of their piety. Many
pious persons, who once frequented the theatre,
are known to have forsaken it as soon as Chris-
tianity was seen to give a decided turn and emi-
nence to their character. 1 refer not to those
who have been contemned ^a Puritanical fanatics.
How oft has this been witnessed in men of taste
and learning ! witnessed from the time of Judge
Hale, who, when the stage -shone forth in all the
glory which Shakspeare had thrown around it,
forsook it with the purpose, for reasons which
he states, never to behold it more, down to
the present century, when, for instance, the ami-
able Henry Kirke White, at the bidding of his
enlightened conscience, renounced the same scene

23(3

of poetical enchantment, observing, " I feel much
for an uncorrupted frank lad of fourteen, who is
permitted to visit this stew of licentiousness, im-
pudence^ and vice."

Lloyd. I have seen it stated in some of the
papers, that Miss Davenport acts "Richard III."
with as much ability as Kean, and that she was
honoured with the wearing of his hat. I know
something of Richard III. from English history,
and I have also read Shakspeare's play of
"Richard III.," but I know nothing whatever
of Kean. Can you give me any information re-
specting him? ' * ! '

Father. What I know of him tends in an
awful degree to confirm the corrupting and de-
moralizing influence of the stage. "Edmund
Kean was born in the theatre, but yet, unac-
coantable as it may seem, he is said never to
have known with certainty whether it was Miss
Tidswell or Miss Carey who was his mother.
One of these young actresses sustained this rela-
tion to hitn, but who his father was, it would
have been idle to have inquired at all. Kean
was, through the whcje of his life, a profligate
and debauchee. For many years he abandoned
his family entirely, and by his crimes compelled
other men to abandon theirs. His success as
an actor filled his pockets with money, and he
squandered thousands upon thousands in every
species of dissipation into which man can plunge.
On his death-bed a remorseful conscience com-
pelled him to become reconciled to his wife and
son, but he died leaving them both beggars.

237

Such a man was Edmund Kean. He was born,
and bred, and died in connexion with the theatre,
and in his character we see the legitimate fruits
of the influences with which he was surrounded.'*
We have never yet heard of an actor in his last
hours reverting tcj the happiness a review of his
connexion with the stage afforded him. " A lady
travelling in a stage-coach with the Rev. James
Hervey, was largely expatiating on the play-house,
as superior to all other entertainments. Among
other things she observed, that 'there was the
pleasure of thinking on the play before she went,
the pleasure of attending it, and the pleasure of
reflecting upon it after her return.' Mr. Hervey
told her there was one pleasure she had not men-
tioned. The lady inquiring eagerly what that
was, he answered, 'Madam, the pleasure it will
give you on your death-bed.' The lady was so
much struck with this well-timed hint, that she
forsook the play-house, and set hf^rself to pursue
and enjoy those pleasures which would afford her
comfortable reflections on her death-bed?' Actors
in general appear to be happy, merry sort of per-
sons, but under all this apparent 'gaiv^ty and ani-
mation lurks sadness and melancholy. "There is
a well-known anecdote of Biancolelli, the celebra-
ted harlequin, whose gambols and drclleries have
been the amusement of all Paris, at the theatre
of the fair of St. Germain. One day a physician
of great eminence in that city beheld a man
entering his study, who came, as he said, to seek
the assistance of his skill against a disease which
nothing could cure. Having made some inquiries

238

into the causes of his suflferings, the unknown
patient replied, that he was afflicted with u deep
melancholy, which rendered life an insupportable
burden. * You must drink good wine,' said the
physician to his patient. * I have in my cellar
the best wine in the world,' replied the unknown,
'but it cannot make me forget my sadness.'
*You must travel then.' *I have made the tour
of Europe, and still my wretchedness has travel-
led with me.' * Oh ! oh ! the case is sad indeed,
but still there is a remedy; go every evening to
the Italian comedy; you will see the celebrated
harlequin Biancolelli play ; his gaiety is catching ;
that will make you cheerful.' ' Alas, Sir,' said the
poor patient, 'I see my malady is incurable; I
am Biancolelli.'"
• Lloyd. Do the scriptures prohibit the amuse-
ments of the stage?

Father. I know of no portion of scripture where
the word theatre occurs, any more than the words
slave-trade; yet we cannot doubt that the whole
tenor of the scriptures condemns both. In the
following passage many critics are of opinion that
St. Paul particularly refers to the stage : " But for-
nication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let
it not once be named amongst you, as becometh
saints ; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor
jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giv-
ing of thanks." Eph. v. 3, 4. Other passages might
be selected directly at issue with the operations of
the stage. The theatre has been condemned by
pious men in all ages, and by both Protestant and
Roman Catholic writers. If you open that book

. 239

■7"-

laying beside you, you will find it is "A Rational
Inquiry concerning the Operations of the Stage
on the Morals of Society," b) the Rev. David
M'c Nicoll, said to be one of the finest essay's on
the subject in the English language; in which you
will perceive he has given a phalanx of authorities
against the stage, drawn from Pagans, from states
and sovereigns, from Christian councils, from the
fathers, and from modern divines and laymen.

Lloyd. I believe Miss Davenport was the first
actress that ever performed on the stage in New-
foundland ; can you inform me how theatrical
amusements originated ?

Father. It appears to have been a heathen
custom, first commencing with the Greeks, and
afterwards introduced among the Roman?'. " The
honour of this grand invention was reserved for
a company of rude peasants, who, sacrificing a goat
to Bacchus, sang a drinking-song to his praise,
a song which was occasionally relieved by a talk-
ing interlocutor, and the whole set off by the
striking faces of the actors, which were besmeared
with the lees of wine ; hence, according to some
critics, * wine-lees * gives name to tragedy ; and
* to be saucy,' or * to revel,' gives denomination
to comedy."

Lloyd. I perceive in the extract given by the
reviewer, from Mr. Jukes's work on Newfound-
land, that he met with an old man on the western
part of the country who never saw a horse but
once, on which Mr. Jukes remarks, " I fear the
reader will at first hardly feel disposed to believe
that there are British-born subjects, speaking

. 240 . '

the English language, in the oldest of our colonial
possessions, ^to whom the horse is a strange animal ;
such, however, is the fact." I do not for a mo-
ment doubt the truth of the assertion, but do you
not think that such a statement is calculated to
impress the minds of the inhabitants of Great
Britain with the conviction that the native inhabi-
tants of Newfoundland have not yet emerged from
a state of barbarism ?

Father. The statement is in some degree cal-
culated to produce that effect, but as I have not
seen Mr. Jukes's work, I do not know what he
has said in other parts of it, respecting the
inhabitants of Newfoundland. I shall endeavour,
however, to get a sight of both Jukes and Bonny-
castle's works as soon as I visit St. John's. It
is not more strange, however, for Mr. Jukes to
^ meet with an old man on the western coast of
Newfoundland, to whom a horse was a strange
animal, than for me to meet with an old man in
the interior of enlightened England, in the nine-
teenth century, who had never seen a ship. The
only difference between the two is, that the one
had seen a horse once, the other had never seen
a ship ; the one resided on the sea coast, and
obtained a subsistence by the fishery, having
nothing to do with agriculture; the other lived
in an inland county, and obtained a livelihood
by being employed in agriculture, having nothing
to do with nautical affairs. It is a well-known
fact, that the English language is spoken with
greater purity by the natives of Newfoundland
than in most of the country places of England.

%',:

241

Let but an individual make the circuit of the two
countries, and he will pronounce the fishermen
of Newfoundland to be far before the English
peasantry in point of intelligence. It is not to
be wondered at, that Newfoundland has advanced
so little in the scale of civilization and refine-
ment, when we consider that, for upwards of
two hundred years, the policy of the British
government had been to prevent settlement and
the cultivation of the soil; and it was not until
the year 1614 that permanent dwelling-houses
were permitted to be erected in the island. A
great deal of ignorance prevails in England, even
in respectable society, with regard to the real
state of Newfoundland. I remember, some years
ago, spending an evening at the house of Benja-
min Bickley, Esq. at Bristol, where I was intro-
duced to a lady from France, as a person just
arrived from Newfoundland. After some time Mr.
Bickley said I was a native of the country, which
the lady received as mere jest, and it was not
until I confirmed the statement of Mr. B. that
she could really believe that I was a native of
Newfoundland. Although this lady appeared to
be acquainted with the existence of the French
fishery in Newfoundland, yet she had conceived
that the natives were little better than heathens,
and differing in their dress and complexion from
the Europeans. I went with a friend to see a
pottery, but when I was introduced as a native
of Newfoundland, who wished to see the opera-
tions of making earthenware, the manager treated
it as a joke, and actually refused to give any in-

242

formatiou, because he said we were only " quiz-
zing" him, notwithstanding my assertions to the
contrary. I hope, however, that the publication
of the works of Jukes and Bonny castle will en-
lighten the British public on the state of New-
foundland.

Lloyd. I have read Mr. Jukes's geological
reports, which were laid before the legislature, and
I should feel highly gratified by a perusal of his
two volumes on Newfoundland.

Father. Do you remember any thing he has
said respecting the geological structure of t^'^
island? I believe the western part of the couiJv
is the most interesting to the geologist.

Lloyd. Respecting the coal formation Mr. Jukes
says, "This interesting and important group of
rocks resembles in its higher portions the coal
formation of Europe, and consists of alternations
of shale and clunch, with various beds of gritstone,
and here and there a bed of coal. Interstratified
with these rocks, however there occur in New-
foundland beds of red marl; and as we descend
to the lower parts of the formation, there come
in alternations of red and variegated marls with
gypsum, dark blue clay with seenite, dark brown
conglomarate beds, and soft and red and white
sandstones. This inferior portion of the New-
foundland coal formation so greatly resembles
the new red sandstone of England (which in
that country lies over the coal formation), that
it was not till I got the clearest evidence of the
contrary, that I could divest myself of the pre-
possession of its being superior to the coal in this

243

country also. That nothing might be wanting to
complete the resemblance, a brine spring is known
to rise in one spot on the south side of St.
George's Bay, through the beds of red marl and
sandstone. It is certain, however, that in New-
foundland the beds containing coal are above these
red marls and sandstones, with gypsum and salt
springs, the whole composing but one formation,
which it is impossible to subdivide by any but
the most arbitrary line of separation. The total
thickness of this formation must be very consider-
able. I by no means have any reason to suppose
that I have as yet seen its highest beds, while the
thickness which I have seen must amount alto-
gether to at least one or two thousand feet.

"The Humber limestone. This group of
rocks lies below the Port au Port shales and
gritstones, and in the Bay of Islands it is the one
next inferior; I cannot say whether the one grad-
uates into the other, or whether other beds may
not be interposed between the two in other lo-
calities. The highest part of the Humber lime-
stone which was visible, was a thin-bedded mass,
about thirty feet thick, of a hard slaty limestone,
of a dark grey colour, with brown concretions, that
on a surface which had been sometimes exposed
stood out in relief. Below this are some beds of
hard subcrystalline limestone, the colours of which
are white or flesh coloured, with white veins.
These would take a good polish, and would make
very ornamental marbles, and from the thinness
of the beds are especially adapted for marble
slabs. This series of beds has a thickness of

244

about 200 feet. Below these are a few feet of
similar beds of black marble, which rest on. some
grey compact limestone, without chert, and in very
thick beds. This mass of rock forms hills four
or five hundred feet high, in nearly horizontal
beds. Its upper part continues to be regularly
bedded, but in its lower portion all distinction
into beds is lost, and the limestone becomes per-
fectly white and saccharine. This great mass of
white marble is frequently crossed by grey veins,
so that I cannot say that I saw any block pure
enough for the statuary. There is little doubt,
however, that in so large a quantity some portions
might be discovered fit for statuary marble ; and
for all other purposes to which marble is applied
the store is inexhaustible.

*' The hills about the head of St. George's Bay,
though rarely exceeding one thousand feet in
height, are of a mountainous character, rugged
and precipitous; and this continues to the nature
of rather a wide band of country that runs from
the east of St. George's Bay across the Humber
river, at the head of the Bay of Islands, and
thence for a considerable distance still farther
north. About St. George's Bay this ridge of
hills forms the water shed of the country; the
brooks on one side running down into the Bay,
those on the other emptying themselves into the
Grand Pond, a large lake in the interior. This
lake commences at about fifteen miles in a straight
line N. E. from the extern e point of St. George's
Bay. In the first seven miles the lake spreads
out to a width of about two miles, and runs about

245

E. S. E. ; at this point, however, it bends round,
divided into two branches, each from half a mile
to a mile wide, which inclose an island about
twenty-one miles long and five across, in the
broadest part. In this part of its course the di-
rection of the lake is E. N. E. The remainder
of the lake, which is about twenty-five miles long
and four or five across, gradually trends round to
N. E. h d N. E. by N. The whole length of
the lake is about fifty-four miles. At its S. W.
extremity it is inclosed by lofty hills with pre-
cipitous banks, and is of a great depth, no bottom
having been found with three fishing lines, or
about ninety fathoms. Its depth is further proved
by the fact, of the truth of which my Indian
guide assured me, that its S. W. half is never
frozen over in the hardest winters. Towards its
N. E. end it gradually becomes shallow, and the
hills slope down into a flat country, which extends
as far as the eye can reach towards the N. and
N. E. The lake receives on all sides many
brooks, and at its N. E. extremity a very con-
siderable river, fifty yards wide and several feet
deep, comes in, which is called the Main Brook.
Three miles W. of the mouth of this river, an
equally considerable one runs out of the pond;
this latter is full of rapids for five or six miles,
when it is joined by another river of about the
same size, which flows from the north-west.
These united rivers run toward the S. W. and
in about six miles enter Deer Pond, a lake about
fifteen miles long, and three or four across, run-
ning in a direction about N. E. and S. W. The

246

S. W, ehd of this lake is again encircled by the
hills, through which the united waters force thoir
way by a narrow and precipitous valley, forming
the River Humber, and running out into the Bay
of Islands. The part of the river between Deer
Pond and the sea is about twelve miles long,
from about 50 to 100 yards across, and several
feet deep ; its i-avigation is, however, impeded by
two rapids, one about three miles froni its mouth,
and three quarters of a mile long, and another
shorter but steeper and more dangerous, about
half a mile below Deer Pond. The river which,
above Deer Pond, comes in from north and joins
that running out of the Grand Pond, is likewise
encumbered with rapids, our progress up each
branch being stopped half a mile from their
junction by rapids utterly impracticable with our
boat. I afterwards interrogated the Indians re-
specting the course of the river in those parts
into which I was not able to penetrate myself,
and they informed me, that the north branch,
which I shall call the Humber, rises in the coun-
try near Cow Head, passes down to the E.
through several lakes, two of which are eight or
ten miles long, and gradually bends round to the
S. or S. W. to the spot I have before described.
The main brook which runs into the N. E. end
of the Grand Pond, is navigable for a canoe for
a distance of some miles above the place where I
turned back. It is there found to run out of a
lake eight miles long; on the other side of the lake
the river is again met with, and passing up it
three more lakes are crossed, each above six

247

miles long. The extremity of the last of these is
about eighteen miles from Hall's Bay, a branch of
the bay of Notre Dame ; and crossing half a mile
of land another brook is met with, down which a
oanoe can procet T I the waters of that bay. It
thus appears thai the country drained by the
Humber is upwards of 100 miles from N. to S.
and 50 or 60 from E. to W., by far the most
extensive syi|tem of drainage in the island. It
approaches the sea on three points, namely. Cow
Head, Hall's Bay, and St. George's Bay, and
the united waters force their way out at a point
nearly equidistant from each, having either found
for themselves, or taken advantage of the narrow
pass between Deer Pond and the south branch of
the Bay of Islands, called Humber Sound. The
Indians likewise informed me, that if they pro-
ceeded from the E. side of the Grand Pond, op-
posite the E. end of the island, a day's journey
to the E. brought them to the S. end of Red
Indian Pond, a lake between 40 and 50 miles in
length, and from that point another day's march
to the S. E. brought them to the middle of
another large pond of about the same size. Each
of these ponds empties itself by a brook into the
Bay of Exploits. They each run about in a pa-
rallel direction with the Grand Pond, or about
N. E. and S. W., and the S. W. end of the
third large pond is within a long day's walk of
White Bear Bay. It thus appears that there are
two easy methods of crossing the country from
N. to S. with a canoe. The first by proceeding
from St. George's Bay, through the Grand Pond,

248

to Hall's Bay; the second from White Bear Bay,
through the third pond, to the Bay of Exploits.
" In the cliffs near Codroy Island, is much
red and green marl, with bands of white flag-
stone. The white flagstones and the greenish
marl contain many veins of white fibrous gypsum,
and interstratified with these and the red marls
are some thick beds of white and grey gypsum,
of a singular character. These gypsum beds are'
not hard compact sulphate of lime, but are com-
posed of white flakes of that substance, regularly
laminated, and interspersed with small flakes and
specks, or sometimes thin partings of a black
substance, apparently bituminous shale. The
whole mass is soft and powdery, thick- bedded,
and in considerable abundance, and it might be
carried away in boats with considerable facility.
I was informed by some Indians of Great Codroy
river, that they had seen a bed of coal two feet
thick, and of a considerable extent, some distance
up the country. Their account of the distance,
however, varied from 10 to 30 miles; and I could
not induce any of them to guide me to the spot.
I proceeded up the river about twelve miles from
the sea, and some distance beyond the part
navigable for a boat, without seeing any thing
but beds of brown sandstone and conglomerate,
interstratified with red marls and sandstones,
gradually becoming more horizontal and dipping
towards the S. E. I believe, however, that a bed
of coal had been seen by an Indian on the bank
of a brook, running into Codroy river, about 30
miles from its mouth, but that the person who

s
g

249

saw it was not in the neighbourhood at the time
of my visit.

''In ascending the brook next above Crabb's
River, I found on the sea coast beds of soft red
sandstone and red marl, and half a mile up the
brook, red and whitish sandstones, interstratified
with beds of marl, chiefly red, but also occasion*
ally whitish, green, or blue ; beyond that were
beds of marl, containing massive grey gypsum,
similar to that at Codroy, and a bed of blue clay,
containing crystals of selenite. Similar rocks,
with now and then a bed of brown or yellow
sandstone, occurred throughout t.. first two or
three miles, all dipping N. W. at various angles
of inclination. Beyond this point the dip was
invariably S. or S. E., and for two or three miles
further the character of the rocks was precisely
similar to those I had already passed. As, how-
ever, the banks of the brook were occasionally
low, the section was, of course, not perfectly con-
tinuous, and beds which were hidden on one side
of the anticlinal line, formed cliffs, and were thus
exhibited on the other side. Thus, as I con-
tinued to ascend the brook, I came on a cliiF of
red marl, fifty feet thick, with some thin grey
soft micaceous sandstone, beyond which were
some beds of grey hardish rock, with nodules
of subcrystaline limestone, the banks of the river
being likewise covered with a crust, a foot thick,
of tufa. Some distance above this, the red sand-
stones become more scarce, the colour beihg
generally brown or yellowish; grey clunch, too,
with bituminous laminse, was frequent. In one

250

bank of brown sandstone a nest of coal with a sancU
stone nucleus was seen. The shape was irregular,
and was about two feet long. It most probably
was a vegetable remain, squeezed out of ail sem-
blance of its former shape. Over this mass of
sandstone there was again a good thickness of
grey clunch and brown or yellow sandstone, and
conglomerate interstratified with red and brown
marl, all dipping gently to the S. E. Over these
were some thin beds of red sandstone, with red
marl, and a little beyond some hard light brown
or greyish yellow sandstone, with small quartz
pebbles. This rock formed ledges stretching across
the river, producing a fall of three or four feet.
About 950 yards above this, on the west bank
of the brook, was some grey clunch and shale,
on which rested a bed of hard grey sandstone,
eight feet thick, covered by two or three feet of
clunch and ironstone balls, and two feet of soft
brown sandstone, with ferruginous stains, on which
reposed a bed of coal three feet thick. The dip
of these rocks was very slight towards the south,
in which direction the bank became low, as it
was also on the opposite side of the river, which
prevented my tracing the coal further; neither
was the bank above the coal high enough to bring
in any of the beds over it, and thus give its total
thickness, since it is evident the portion liere
seen may be only the lower part of a bed instead
of the whole. The quality of the portion thus
exposed was good, being a bright caking coal.
The distance from the sea shore is about eight
miles; the only harbour, however, is that of St.

251

Georgj, which is about fwenty miles from this
spot. A very few rude and imperfect vegetable
impressions were all I could see in any of these
rocks. Many of the gritstones in this section
might probably turn out good freestones. In
the next brook to the east of the ono T ascended,
was formerly a salt spring, which, however, I
was assured had lately become quite dry ; but
several of the little rills which I had tasted in the
neighbourhood were brackish.''

Father. It appears, from the account given by
Mr. Jukes, that St. George's Kay, J3ay of Islands,
apd the neighbourhood of the Grand Pond, are
the most interesting and valuable portions of
Newfoundland.

Lloyd. Mr. Jukes speaks of a nest of coal he
met with, being a vegetable remain, from which
I infer that coal was once a vegetable substance.

Father. The origin of coal is generally attri-
buted to vegetable matter. Trees and plants
have frequently been discovered in coal mines,
the bark of some of which was converted into
coal. Mr. Jukes showed me some pieces of slate
brought from some of the coal mines of England,
on which the impressions of the leaves and stems
of plants were distinctly visible. It is supposed
that the vegetable matter which produced the
coal, was at one time in a state of fluid, heated
to a very high degree of temperature. Geologists
suppose that it must have taken a period of from
200,000 to 600,000 years to have produced some
of the coal fields of England.

Lloyd. I am aware that geology teaches the

-*v

252

nature of the diflferent strata or beds that com-
pose the structure of the earth, and also includes
within it the two sciences of Mineralogy and
Chemistry; but I am not acquainted with the
names geologists have given to the different for-
mations which compose the crust of the earth.

Father. The earth is composed of unstrnt\ficd
and stratified rocks, to which some geologists
have given the following names : inferior order,
submedial order, medial order, supermedial order,
and superior order; other geologists have given
the following classification : primitive class, tran-
sition class, secondary class, tertiary class, and
diluvial and alluvial deposits. The primitive rocks,
contain no organic remains or vegetable petri-
faction. These rocks constitute the groundwork
or foundation on which all the other rocks repose,
and are supposed to have been the first rocks
formed, as they descend lower than all the other
formations. They also compose some of the
loftiest mountains. The p;rincipal rocks of this
class are granite, gneiss^ fthd' slate of various
kinds.

The transition rocks or the Grauwacke group.
These consist of Grauwacke, mountain limestone,
and flinty slate. In this class of rocks organic
remains first make their appearance. *' These
consist of organized beings of the lowest orders,
such as sea shells of various descriptions, which
are here found embedded, and which afford a
decisive evidence that such rocks were formed
after the creation of organized beings." The se-
condary rocks or cretaceous, Oolitic, red sand-

253

stone, and carboniferous (/roups. These rocks
lie immediately over the transition rocks. The
series of this class are the old red sandstone,
limestones, new red sandstone, coal formation,
chalk, conglomerate, and variegated marl, &c.
These rocks contain great varieties of organic
remains. " In th- Oolitic serit s are found the
wonderful Saurian remains, uelonging to species
which not only do not exist on the earth at this
moment, but could not po^iibly e 'st m^ the sur-
face of the earth is at present c ; jtituted. The
surface on which the Oolitic group was deposited,
appears to have been at various depth;; beneath
that of the sea, and duri.ig the deposit itself, the
sea seems, from some unknown cause, to hav8
vpied in depth at many places. Some of the fossil
animals, as the Ichthyosaurus, may have braved
the waves of an ocean ; but the Plesiosaurus was
fitted for the vicinity of land. The Ichthyosaurus,
one species of which was full fifty feet long, had
the head and breast of a lizard, the snout of a
dolphin, the teeth of a crocodile, the spine and
ribs of a fish, -xvA the extremities of a whale."
Some of these Saurian or lizard tribe were from
70 to 120 feet in length. In the red sandstone
the most perfect vegetable fossils have been found,
some of them exhibiting the fructification of the
plant.

J7te tertiary rocks, or supercretaceom group.
These rocks are supposed to have been deposited
after the secondary, and lie above the chalk for-
mation. The tertiary formations are clay, marl
beds, gypsum, sand, &c., which appear to have

254

been alternately sea and fresh water deposits,
containing the organic remains of marine shells
and fishes, and also of land animals and vegetables: ;
some of which belong to existing genera or spe-
cies, but most of them belong to extinct genera.
'^ At the plaster quarries in the vicinity of Paris,
the gypseous or plaster strata contain very remark-
able species of mammalia and other animals, none
like which can now be found on the earth. x'Vmong
them we may mention the Palaethericun (signify-
ing the ancient beast), one species of which was
shaped like a tapir, and about the size of a
horse." *'

Diluvial and alluvial deposits. These are sup-
posed to have been caused by the action of water,
air, and the elastic gases upon the previous for-
mations. These deposits form the principal mass
of the surface of the earth. Diluvial formations
consist of blocks of rocks, pebbles, and gravel,
spread over the surface of the ground, supposed
to have been formed by the last general deluge,
because they cover the organic remains of land
animals, which are placed in such situations as
show them to have been carried thither by the
flood. Under the equator are found the organic
remains of the north, and in the polar regions
are found the remains of animals which, when
alive, inhabited the torrid zone. " Some of the
most remarkable extinct animals found in diluvial
deposits are the mammoth, or more properly
speaking, the fossil elephant, and the mastodon,
which was at first confounded with the mammoth.
In the last century the body of one of these

25.5

enormous animals was found buried in ice in the
north-east of Asia. It was covered with black
hair, under which was a reddish wool; there was
a long mane on the neck, and the tusks were
larger and more curved than those of the Asiatic
or African elephant."

Alluvial deposits are considered to have been
formed by causes now in operation, such as the
action of rivers and torrents from the mountains,
caused by the melting snows, the winds, tides,
earthquakes, &c. The alluvial formations consist
of sand and beds of loose earth, which are never
covered by masses of rocks. Most of the organic
remains found in alluvial beds are supposed to
have existed since the world was inhabited by
man. Most of the fossils found are of existing
species, mixed up with some of extinct genera,
such as the Irish elk, &c. In the alluvial for-
mations are mostly found the remains of man.
The absence of human skeletons in the more
ancient strata leads to the conjecture, that the
earth was tenanted by a succession of living crea-
tures previous to the creation of human beings.

Lloyd. To what order of rocks do serpentine,
horneblend, quartz, basalt, greenstone, porphyry,
and trap rocks, all mentioned in Mr. Jukes's
geological report, belong?

Father. Horneblend rock, serpentine, and quartz
ro^k, belong to the primitive class of rocks. They
are called subordinate rocks, because they are
found interstratified with the primitive rocks.
The basaltic or trap rocks, greenstone, and por-
phyry, although belonging to the primitive forma-

2.5C

tionSj ar& called by geologists volcanic and basal-
tic rocks. The trap rocks are so called from the
appearance of these rocks being cut into steps
resembling stairs, which is supposed to be caused
by the abrupt or sudden stopping of streams of
lava flowing from a volcano. Basalt, greenstone,
and porphyry, are all of volcanic origin, the latter
of which constitutes some of the highest hills in
Conception Bay. The following analysis will
show their relation to each other:

Basalt.

Green-
stone.

Phorphyry
slate.

Silica ... ..

. 44-20 .

.. 46-00

... 57-55

Alumina

... 16-7.5 .

.. 19-00

... 23-50

Oxide of iron

20-00 .

.. 17-00

... 3-25

Lime

... 9-50 .

.. 8-00

... 2-75

Magnesia

2-25 .

.. 0-00

... 0-00

Soda

... 2-60 .

.. 3-50

.. 8-10

Water

2-00 .

.. 4-00

.. 3-00

Oxide of manganese

... 0-12 .

.. 0-00

.. 0-25

Muriatic acid

0-05 .

.. 1-00

.. 0-00

Loss

... 2-23 .

.. 1-50

... 1-90

•

10300

100-00

10000

It would take up too much time to onter into
a description of volcanoes and earthquakes. They
have been, however, the most powerful agents in
the production of some of the strata that com-
pose the crust of our world. What the internal
structure of the earth is composed of, no geologist
has as yet been able to explain. The deepest
excavation is said not to descend more than a
mile below the surface. What kind of sub-
stances are to be found a thousand miles in the
bowels of the earth, no human being perhaps will
ever be able to reveal.

(
i
I

I
(

257

If*.

Lloyd. Mr. Jukes discovered bog iron ore and
red oxide of iron in Conception Bay, iron stone
in Trinity Bay, and strings of copper at Shoal
Bay, near St. John's. What class of rocks are
the metallic ores found in?

Father. The copper mine at Shoal Bay was
first opened in 1775, by some English miners,
but was soon after abandoned, in consequence
of not paying the expenses attending the work-
ing of it. Minerals are principally found in the
transition and secondary rocks. Gold and silver
mines have also been found in the primitive rocks.

Lloyd. The Geological Report refers to two
chalybeate springs, one in Logie Bay, the other
in Pouche Cove. Can you inform me of the
nature of these springs?

Father. These springs are called chalybeate,
because they contain a portion of iron in solution.
Chalybeate springs exist in different parts of
Newfoundland. The following is an analysis of
the spring at Logie Bay:

will

"SAMPLE OF SPRING WATER FROM NEWFOUNDLAND.

Specific gravity, at 62 deg. Fahrt. 1,000,016,
Solid contents in an imperial pint of 8,750 grains.

1. Ciiloride of Calceum ... -0419

2. Chloride of Magnesium '0400

3. Ciiloride of Sodium (common salt) "3984

4. Sulphate of Magnesia -0400

5. Sulphate of Soda "0713

6. Carbonate of Magnesia •0334

7. Silica -1167

8. Vegetable extractive -1717

9. Bi-carbonate of Iron '0450

9584

Decimals of a grain

258

" It will be seen that itie total solid contents of
an imperial pint of this water does not weigh
one grain ; this is less than I ever met with in a
water. They are all common to spring water,
except the 1st, 8th, and 9th. The latter it is
which will give a character to the spring. It is
chalybeate to rather a greater extent than the
waters of the * King's Bath,' in Bath, England.
(The King's Bath is the principal spring of the
Bath waters.) The Newfoundland spring contains
45-1000th8 of a grain in a pint; the Bath
spring 30-lOOOths; and the chloride of cal-
ceum (or muriate of lime when in the water) will
contribute to the tonic effect of the iron, while
the sulphates of soda and magnesia, although
not in sufficient quantity to produce aperient
effects, may prove enough to prevent the action
which chalybeates have on some constitutions.
Upon the whole, I should say that the water
might be used with advantage as a general bracer,
if arrangements could be made for the accommo-
dation of invalids near the spring; for it must
be remembered, that where iron is sustained in
water by carbonic acid, as in this case, there is
always a tendency for it to fall down as insoluble
carbonate of iron, leaving the water without its

chalybeate properties.

" William Herepath.

. ** Mansion- House, Old Park, Bristol.^*

The above analysis was obtained by his Ex-
cellency, Captain Prescott, the Governor, Dr.
Kielley having previously informed him that the
water contained some medicinal properties.

259

Lloyd. I have read that the ancients noticed
the various revolutions that the surface of the
earth has undergone, and that the Egyptians
believed that the world had been subjected to a
succession of catastrophes.

Father. The science of geology apppears to
have been cultivated to a great extent among the
Greeks and Romans, but it dwindled into in-
significance with the fall of the Roman empire.
The study of the science was, however, revived
in 1517, owing to a number of petrifactions and
fossil remains being found in making excavations
to repair the city of Verona ; since this period the
science has been progressing.

Lloyd. Have not certain theories been advanced
by philosophers, which have led them to conclude,
that the earth, " in its present state, owes its origin
to igneous fusion or aqueous solution as the instru-
mental cause?"

Father. "Geologists who have adopted the
former hypothesis are termed Plutonists ; of whom
Heraolitus, amo^g the ancients, was the leading
theorist; and Hook, BufFon, Hutton, Playfair, and
Sir James Hall, the chief modern advocates.
Those who oppose this system, and maintain the
principle of aqueous solution, are called Neptunists,
and rank among them the distinguished names
of Werner, Saussure, Kirwan, Cuvier, Jameson,
and many others. According to the Plutonic
system, heat is the cause of the production and
perpetual re-production of all things. It supposes
a regular alternation of decay, by the operation
of the different elements, and of renovation by

260

subterranean heat at various depths^ in such a
manner, that by the fusion, recombination, and
sublimation of materials, new strata of a more
compact and perfect character are continually
reared and exhibited. Hence the strata of every
period consist of the wreck of a former world.
According to the Neptunian theory hydrogen and
oxygen being first evolved from chaos, and chem-
ically combined, produced water, which became
capable of holding all other substances in solution.
From this solution, granite was first consolidated
and deposited, its parts being united by a nearly
simultaneous crystallization. After this, the other
rocks, by a similar law, assumed their respective
places in the succession already specified."

Lloyd. Do not the investigations of geologists
confirm the statement of the scriptures, that the
earth was subjected to a deluge of waters?

Father. The most convincing proofs every
where abound of the existence of the flood. The
remains of whales and other marine animals have
been found on the tops of some of the highest
mountains. In Newfoundland large blocks of
rock are found resting on the surface of the earth,
which are foreign to any of the rocks within
many miles of them, and which could have been
conveyed there in no other way than by. a flood.

Lloyd. Is it not a generally received opinion,
that the materials of which the earth is com-
posed, was at one time in a state of fusion, in
which millions of beings existed previous to the
chaotic state referred to by Moses? ,

Father. " The coal deposits of a high antiquity,

261

the

contain fossil remains of plants that yield the
strongest evidence of an extremely hot climate
when those deposits were formed." This hot
temperature has been gradually diminished to
its present state. The different species of organic
remains contained in the different strata of the
ear^h, have led geologists to conclude, that no
less than four or five distinct epochs of destruc-
tion and renewal have taken place, that millions
of animated beings have been destroyed by some
powerful catastrophe, and their places supplied by
other beings, called into life by the creative fiat
of the Almighty.

Lloyd. The facts developed by the science
of geology appear to be in perfect accordance
with the Mosaic account of the creation. The
more we look at nature the more we are astonished
at its mighty operations and the greatness of the
Deity.

Father. In no part of the sacred oracles is it
stated at what period of time the world was
created. We are informed that man and the
present race of beings were created about 6000 years
ago. It is said, " In the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth," showing that the
whole frame of the material universe, with all
it cont;.ained, had a beginning, that it did not
exist of itself or of mere chance, but was brought
into existence by the creative energy of God.
Moses describes the world as being reduced to
order and beauty from a state of chaos, but hew
long it existed in or previous to the chaotic state
we are not informed. Without, then, being at

262

issue with the statements of the holy scriptures,
we are at liberty to extend our views on this
subject as far back to periods of past duration,
as the facts of geology may warrant. " But
why, I would ask," says Dr. Dick, '< should the
idea of the high anti ;uity of the earth frighten
any persons fr'^m acquiescing in it, when it is
not in the least I'epugnant to the declarations of
scripture ? So far from contracting or dis-
torting our views of the Divine perfections, it
tends to expand our conceptions of the plans and
operations of the Deity. If periods of duration
almost too great for human powers to estimate,
have been employed since the original creation
of our globe, to bring it to its present state — if
vast successive revolutions, at different eras, hav^
taken place upon its surface — if the waters of
the mighty deep have at different periods over-
flowed the solid land — if the place where we
now stand was once a portion of the bottom of
the ocean, over which its mighty billows for ages
had rolled — if subterraneous fires have at different
periods raised up from the bottom of the deep
those huge mountains which now lift their sum.
mits to the clouds — if lofty mountains have been
sunk down many thousand feet below their
ancient level, so as to form deep valleys or the
bottom of the seas — if the Almighty, after creating
the matter of our globe, impressed certain laws
upon its elementary substances, and left those
laws to operate as they now do, with only occa-
sional interferences — if races of animated beings
have occupied the globe for myriads of ages-^

s
t

2G3

if new races have been created at different periods
and subsequently destroyed — or if numerous orders
of intelligent existence may have occupied the
surface of the globe ages before man was intro-
duced to this terrestrial scene — if tremendous
convulsions have shaken the firm foundations of
the earth — in short, if by all the processes to
which we have alluded, our globe was gradually
prepared for the purposes it now fulfils, and that
the Creator chose to employ these rather than
the special interposition of miraculous power —
such considerations tend to exhibit the power,
wisdom, and benevolence of the Deity in a new
point of view, and to enlarge our conceptions of
the magnificent plans of Him who is the * King
eternal, immortal, and invisible,* who is ' won-
derful in counsel and excellei t in working.' We
are here shown that the space which has inter-
vened between the present time and the period
when man was first placed upon the globe, is but
one of the units of a vast series of chronological
periods which have gone before, and which
stretch backwards into the abyss of immeasurable
Juration. It is but a single link of the great
chain which stretches from the moment when
matter first arose from nothing, to diversify the
wilds of immensity, down to the hour which is
now passing over us. And who knows but that
the system of the globe with which we are pre-
sently connected, may be but one link in an in-
terminable series of events connected with other
orders of intelligences, which will be unfolded
during the revolutions of a coming eternity !

2G4

" The science of astronomy directs our views to
regions of space which are immeasurable by mor-
tals; and perhaps even by intelligences of a higher
order, and discloses to our sight ten thousands
and millions of magnificent orbs, whose existence
was not even suspected 200 years ago. Geology
directs our views to a stupendous series of events,
stretchinc back to the ages of a past eternity.
The one conducts our vision to the far distant
regions of immensity, the other to the immea-
surable periods of past duration ; the one en-
larges our conceptions of space, and the innu-
merable objects with which it is diversified — the
other expands our ideas of time, and the revolu-
tions which have marked its progress. But
astronomy has done more than this. Like ge-
ology, it extends our views to periods of time, im-
mensely long in the Hux of past duration — periods
during which thousands of the luminaries of
heaven have existed and displayed their radiance.
Sir \V . Herschel, in his remarks on the nebulae,
has concluded, from a variety of ingenious reason-
ings and observations, that those nebulae which
assume a milky light or appearance, cannot be
less than about 7000 times the distance of the
star Sirius, or 168 thousand billions of miles;
and from other observations it is inferred, that
other bodies in the heavens are removed to a
much greater distance. Now light, notwith-
standing its amazing velocity of 192,000 miles
in a second, would be nearly '^hirty thousand
years ere it could fly from such nebulae to the
earth. Since, therefore, it i^ a fact, that the

205

light of such bodies has actually been seen, and,
consequently, that it must have been travelling
at least many thousands of years before it could
have reached the eyes of any of the inhabitants
of our "^lobe ; i^ follows, that such bodies must
have been brought into existence at far distant
periods of past duration, otherwise they could
not thus have darted their light through such
vast spaces of immensity. The discoveries of
modern astronomy likewise disclose to us certain
facts which lead us to the conclusion, that certain
progressive operations are going forward, anal-
ogous to those which appear to have been carried
forward in remote ages, in relation to our globe.
Had our limits permitted, we might have shown,
that some of the comets appear to be in an
early stage of their progress towards becoming
habitable worlds — that many of the nebulas give
evidence of a gradual progression towards con-
densation — that the appearance of new stars,
the disappearance of others which had long
shone in the heavens, and the gradual diminu-
tion of the light of others — the changes which
appear to be occasionally taking place on the
surfaces of the sun and the planets, along with
other celestial phenomena, are indications that
progression towards perfection, and perpetual
change, are not peculiar to our world, but are
principles in the Creator's government, pervading
the wide extended universe.

"But, amidst all the revolutions and catastro-
phes that have taken place in the constitution
of our globe, there is the clearest evidence of

2()(i

an all-wise and superintending 1'rovidence direct-
ing every event. Amidst the convulsions which
have rent its strata — that have ' carried hills
into the midst of the seas,' and raised mountains
from the bottom of the ocean— there are striking
indications of Divine benevolence in preparing
our world for the comforts and accommodations its
inhabitants now enjoy. The facts disclosed by
geological investigations tend to enlarge our
conceptions of the attributes of the Divinity, and
of the sublimity of his plans and arrangements
in the universe; and to demonstrate that his
creating power has been repeatedly exercised
during countless ages, in calling into existence
numerous orders of beings, and in carrying
forward his arrangements to a glorious consum-
mation."

2G7

A WALK IN THE MONTH OF

JULY.

"DKMoiiTKuii Nature! how I love to trace
The various beauties that adorn thy face!
Whether I view thee in tlie smiling oast.
Or turn to greet thee in the glowing west; ^ ,.
Or when the evening shadows first appear,
Or in the zenith of tlto sun's career; • *■.

Where'er I roam thy charms assail my sight.
Adding new lustre with increased delight."

Mits. Redman.

It was a lovely morning, the glorious "king
of day" was just rising out of the eastern waves,
and his golden beams parting the murky clouds,
when I took a stroll along the sea shore. The
zephyr, with its mild and gentle breeze, scarcely
ruffled the placid waters. Looking in the direc-
tion of the rising sun, I beheld hundreds of
ephemera suns about the size of apples, moving
through the air, some blue, some red, some green,
and almost every diversity of colour. As I had
never observed any thing like this before, I began
to rub my eyes, thinking this beautiful phenomenon
of nature might have originated from dimness of
sight; but after doing so, I saw these little globes
more clearly, and the colours appeared more vividly

268

than before. Casting my eyes upon the dewy
grass, every spire appeared decked and strung
with diamonds and other precious gems of every
hue; evcy twig was hung with coloured spangles
of every variety, and I seemed to be walking upon
a field of rainbows. In about half an hour these
"short-lived beauties died away."

" Colours arc but the phantoms of the day.
With that they're bom, with that they fade away;
Like beauty's charms, they but amuse the sight,
Dark in themselves, till by reflection bright;
With the sun's aid to rival him they boast,
But light withdrawn, in their own shades they're lost."

What a sublime object is the sun! It has been
denominated " the soul of the universe." Astron-
omers inform u^ that its distance from our world
is 95 millions of miles, its circumference 2,746,600
miles, its bulk 1,300,000 times larger than our
w'orld, and 545 times larger than all the planetary
bodies taken together. When we think of such an
immense body moving along through boundless
space at the rate of 60,000 miles an hour, and
carrying along with it all the planets of the solar
system, it deeply impresses the mind with the
wonders of creation, and thoughts of infinity. The
sun was at one time supposed to be a body of
pure fire, but it is now generally believed to be a
solid globe, inhabited by intelligent beings. With-
out the light of the sun we could not behold
the beautiful colours which diversify the landscape,
and bedeck the insect's wings. By its boams
plants vegetate, and fruits ripen; by its agency
the winds are produced, and it assists in rsgu-

JgU-

269

lating the tides. Its heat attracts the waters of
the ocean to the atmosphere, from whence it
descends in rain to fertilize the earth. Without
the influence of this great luminary, our world
would be desitute of life, beauty, and enjoyment.

" Great source of day ! best image here below
Of thy Creator, ever pouring wide,
From world to world, the vital ocean round.
On Nature write with every beam H 'aise."

A splendid green dragon-fly (Libellula) sprang
up from the side of a little rivulet, his wings
sometimes shining like silver, and sometimes
glistening like gold.

"See the proud giant of the beetle raec;
What shining arms his polish'd limbs enchase!
Like some stern warrior formidably bright,
His steely sides reflect a gleaming light:
On his large forehead spreading horns he wears.
And high in air the branching antlers bears: «

O'er many an inch extends his wide domain.
And his rich treasury swells with hoarded grain."

In Newfoundland these flies are generally call-
ed horse- stingers, though they do not possess the
power of stinging. Within the mouth are two
teipth covered with a beautiful lip; with these the
crtttures are said to bite fiercely, but their bite
is not venomous. I have captured several, and
always found them to be perfectly harmless.
There are three or four different kinds of dragon-
flies; the largest sort are from two to three inches
long. They are considered the most beautiful
flies which adorn the face of nature. They pos-
sess four wings, which are beautifully transparent,

270

and their eyes are very large and horny, com-
posed of myriads of little squares, with each a
lens set in it. Naturalists have found more than
12,000 in it. It is said that the eye of the
dragon-fly has been placed in such a position as
to see objects through it, and nothing could ex-
ceed the singularity of the exhibition. The stee-
ple of a church which was 299 feet high, and
750 feet distant, appeared no larger than the
point of a fine needle; a house was also viewed
in the same manner, and the doors, windows,
&c. distinctly seen. These insects are produced
from eggs, which are deposited in the water by
the side of ponds and brooks, where they remain
for some time apparently without life or motion.
"The larva which comes out of these eggs is six-
footed. The only difference between the larva
and nymph is, that the latter has the rudiments
of wings packed up in small cases on each side
of the insect. In this latter state it is supposed
that the creature lives at the bottom of the water
for a year. It is equally voracious then as in its
perfect state. Its body is covered by bits of leaf,
wood, and other foreign matters, so as to afford it
a complete disguise, while its visage is concealed
by a prominent mask, which hides the tremendous
apparatus of serrated teeth, and serves as a pin-
cer to hold the prey while it is devoured. Its
mode of locomotion is equally curious, for though
it can move in any direction, it is not by means
, of feet, or any direct apparatus that it moves, but
by a curious mechanism which has been well il-
lustrated by Reaumur and Cuvier. If one of

271

these nymphs be narrowly watched in water, little
pieces of wood and other floating matters will be
seen to be drawn towards the posterior extremity
of the insect and then repelled; at the same time
that portion of its body will be observed alter-
nately to open and shut. If one of them be
placed in water which has been rendered turbid
by milk, or coloured with indigo, and then sud-
denly removed into a more limpid fluid, a jet of
the coloured water will be seen to issue from the
anal extremity of the libellula to the extent some-
times of several inches; at the same time the
force with which the column is ejected propels
the insect in the opposite direction by virtue of
the resistance with which it meets. Hence it
appears that it is by means of its respiratory
system that the creature walks — a strange and
anomalous combin^ition of functions in one organ."

Dr. Olinthus Gregory, in his '* Letters to a
Friend," introduces ihe changes of this beautiful
insect to illustrate thi resurrection of the human
body. It is said that the doctrine of meterapsy-
chossis, or tr rusniigration of souls from body to
body, took its ;.ise from the metamorphoses of
insects.

"A plausible argument in its favour might be
derived from the seeming revivification of the
dead chrysalis, and its apparent reassumption of
life might be considered as wing to its receiving
for its tenant the soul of some criminal, doomed
to animate an insect of siinilar propensities with
those which had defiled his human tenement."

The balmy breath of the morning was sweet

272

and refreshing; it was truly a delightful scene,
to see the glowing beams of the golden sun, the
earth blooming with variegated charms, to hear
the plumy warblers of the woods, and all around
me blushing beauty and fragrance. Going a
little way into the woods, I started a snipe {Svol-
opax Gallinago), and found the nests of two spar-
rows {Fringilla Alhicollis) white throat, and {Frin-
gilla Rufd) fox-coloured. These birds make their
nest in the side of a bank, and lay from four to
five beautiful little speckled eggs. A bird's nest
is an interesting object, whether we consider the
animated creatures it contains, or the workman-
ship displayed in its structure. In the east some
birds' nests are used as food, and is an article of
commerce, producing an annual value of £284,290,
nearly as much as the yeal fishery of Newfound-
land.

"It wins my admiration,
To view the structure of that little work,
A bird's nest. Mark it well within, without,
No tool had he that wrought, no knife to cut,
No nail to fix, no bodkin to insert.
No glue to join : his little beali was all,
And yet how neatly finished! What nice hand
With eveiy implement and means of art.
And twenty years' apprenticeship to boot.
Could malie mo such another? Fondly then
We boast of excellence, whose noblest skill
Instinctive genius foils"

I was soon obliged to retreat from the woods,
in consequence of being attacked by swarms of
mosquitos {Ciilex). These tormentors of the hu-
man race are to be found in every country, and
like other warriors have given their name to dif-

273

oods,
ms of
e hu-
and
dif-

ferent places. Probably the name of Mosquito
Cove, in Conception Bay, is owing to the swarms
of these insects during the time of the earlier
settlers. A colony was attempted to be establish-
ed at Mosquito Cove so early as the reign of
James I. By letters patent, dated 27 th April,
1610, James I. gave a company of English gentle-
men (among whom were Sir Percival Willoughby,
Earl Southampton, and Sir Francis Bacon) all
that part of the island lying between Cape Bo-
navista and Cape St. Mary. These gentlemen
sent a company of emigrants, under the direction
of John Guy, to plant a colony in the newly-
granted territory. They arrived at Mosquito Cove,
where, after remaining a short time, and their
expectations not being realized, the whole party
returned to England.

Passing along the sea shore I saw the whole mar-
gin of the beautiful beach of Sandy Cove strewed
with capelin or lodde {Salmo Groenlandicis). They
are from four to seven inches in length, the under
jaw longer than the upper, the colour of the back is
gieenish, and the belly silvery. They usually visit
our shores, from the latter end of June till about
the middle of July, when they deposit their
spawn upon the beaches. Chappell says, " The
manner of the capelin's depositing its spawn is
one of the most curious circumstances attending
its natural history. The male fishes are some-
what larger than the female, and are provided
also with a sort of ridge, projecting on each side
fi their back bones, similar to the eaves of a
aouse, in which the female capelin is deficient.

274

The latter, on approaching the beach to deposit
its spawn, is attended by two male fishes, who
huddle the female between them, until her whole
body is concealed under the projecting ridges
before mentioned, and only her head is visible.
In this state they run, all three together, with
great swiftness upon the sands, when the males,
by some iniperceptible inherent power, compress
the body of the female betwixt their own, so as
to expel the spawn from an orifice near the tail.
Having thus accomplished its delivery, the three
capelins separate, and paddling with their whole
force through the shallow surface of the beach,
generally succeed in regaining once more the
bosom of the deep." Millions of these fish are
taken from their native element and laid over
the ground as manure. In some parts of the island
they form the principal manure of the potatoes.
Immense quantities are also used as bait for catch-
ing the codfish. They are also salted and dried,
and considerable quantities are exported. I saw
several star-fish {Echinus), and numbers of squid
squalls (Medusx), floating on the water. Arriving
at a stage, I found some boys had jast returned
from their morning's fishing; they had about
thr»';i quintals of codfish {Gadus Carbonariuii).
This is the most valuable of all our fish, being
not only delicious to eat, but forming the most
important article of commerce of the colony. In
spring it comes near the shore in order to de-
posit its spawn. One female of moderate size is
said to contain nine millions of eggs. As these
fish were being thrown out of the boatj I ob-

275

over
island
tatoes.
catch-
dried,
I saw
squid
rriving
urned
about
ariuii).
being
most
. In
to de-
size is
these
I ob-

served amongst them several haddock (Morrhua
Aeglefinus). The haddock is not plentiful in New-
foundland. It is generally caught with the codfish,
but is much less in size. It is of a blueish colour
on the back; a black line is carried on from the
gills on both sides down to the tail ; in the middle
of the sides under the line, a little beneath the
gills, is a black spot on each side, which resembles
the marks of a man's finger and thumb; hence
the saying so common among the fishermen when-
ever they catch a haddock, " Ha-dick, I got thee."
The dark spots on the shoulder are fabulously
said to have been the print of St. Peter's finger
and thumb left upon it, while he held it to take
out the piece of money referred to in the seven-
teenth chapter of St. Matthew. The poet thus
describes this fish :

" When motionless he lies flat on the strand,

Ah! whut avails that Nature's skilful hand
•Has dcck'd his glossy cheeks with silvery light,

Mix'd with the changing hues of opal bright ;

That on his back, with sable ribands graced,

His native waves seem curiously traced;

That, chased in purest gold, his sparkling eyes

Reflect the moving features of the skies ;

If vital air supplies him not with breath,

And what gives life to others, gives him death."

Three porpoises {Delphinus Phocaena) popped
up within a few yards of the stage. John HoUohan
immediately got his gun, and I jumped into the
boat with him. After rowing a short distance,
one of them came up close i*iongside. John fired,
and deposited the load in its side ; it sank directly,
but the water was so deep thai we could not see
it. The length of the porpoise is from four to

276

five feet ; the colour on the back is blueish black ;
the sides grey, and the belly white. The flesh is
considered a sumptuous article of food. Their
motion in the water is a kind of circular leap.
They are found in almost every sea. I have read,
that in some parts of America its skin is tanned
and dressed with considerable care. It is shaved
down from its natural thickness till it becomes
transparent, and is then manufactured into articles
of wearing apparel : it also affords excellent cover-
ings for carriages. "If we examine," says Lord
Brougham, "the structure of a porpoise's head,
we find its cavities capable of great distension,
and such that he can fill them at pleasure with
air or with water. He can sink by blowing from
the lungs against the cavities ; he can force out
the water, and fill the hollows with air in order
to rise. No one can doubt that such facts afford
direct evidence of an apt contrivance, directed
towards a specific object, and adapted by somo
power thoroughly acquainted with the laws of
hydrostatics, as well as perfectly skilful in work-
manship."

I saw a gannet {Pelicamts Bassanus) on the
wing, and several cormorants [Pelicanus Carbo),
(called shags in some parts of Newfoundland)
were sporting about on the water. I now wan-
dered to what is called the " Neck." The edge
of the cliff was skirted with alder bushes (Betula
Alnus). All the rocks in this neighbourhood were
covered with vetches (Ficia). Several beach-
birds (Tringa Hypoleucas) were hopping about
the rocks. Seeing some persons hauling a net, I

277

inquired what success they met with, and was
informed they had only a single salmon {Salmo
Salar). These fish have been very scarce at this
place (Bird-Island Cove) this summer, not more
than four or five having been caught. In some
parts of the island, they are very plentiful. They
hold perhaps the first rank among fish for delicacy
and flavour. The process of spawning is thus de-
scribed : <'A pair of fish are seen to make a furrow
by working up the gravel with their noses rather
against the stream, as a salmon cannot work
with his head down the stream, for the water
then going into his gills the wrong way, drowns him.
When the furrow is made, the male and female
retire to a little distance, one to the one side
and the other to the other. Both shed their spawn
into the furrow at the same time. This process
is not completed at once; it requires from eight
to twelve days for them to lay all their spawn, and
when they have done they betake themselves to
the pools to recruit themselves. Three pairs
have been seen on the spawning bed at the
same time, and even closely watched while ma-
king the furrow and laying the spawn." The
quantity of salmon exported from Newfoundland
at different periods is as follows :

TIERCES

1763

694

1795

3,700

, I

1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1836
1838
1839
1840
1841
1842

4,439
3,606
2,924
3,256
3,369
1,847
•1,408
2,922
3,396
3,642
4,715

278

I sat down on a nctle grassy hillock, to watch
several humble-bees (/iambus Terricola), wander-
ing from flower to flower, quaffing ihe juicy nectar
from the field thyro {Cliuopodium Vulgare), and
the white blossoms of the wild strawberry {Fra-
garia \ irginiana).

"Hark! the bcc winds her small but mellow horn,
IJlitho to salute the sunny smile of morn ;
U'cr tliymy downs she bends her busy course,
And many a stream allures her to its source."

Beneath my feet was an ant-hill, where I ob-
served hundreds of black-ants {Formica) running
about in all directions, carrying away their young
ones in order to conceal them.

Rove-beetles are now swarming every fishing
establishment; they are generally called fish-flies
{Staphylinus Villosus). The white butterfly (Pon-
tia Oleracea) now visits the gardens. The horse
is tormented iit this season by the gad-fly {Oestrus
Equi). We often observe the legs and shoulders
of the horses almost white with little round specks,
which are the eggs of the gad-fly. The parent
insect deposits its eggs about the shoulders and
those parts which can be easily reached by the
tongue. The irritation causes the horse to lick
the part, when hundreds of these eggs are intro-
duced into the intestines, where they grow to
maturity during the ensuing winter, and are eject-
ed in the spring. Another species of gad-fly is
said to choose the anal extremity of the horse to
deposit its egg. The {Oestrus Hemorrhoidalis)
when sufficiently advanced falls off" the horse, and
like the ox-gad-fly, undergoes its changes to full

271)

maturity on the ground. A species of gad-fly is
found in the nostrils of sheep, goats, and other
animals, and naturalists have discovered a species
of ^his fly which attacks man. It is said to be a
native of South America, and about the size of «
common hoiis' lly.

July and I'rnst are tht; hottest months in the
year in Np- dland, when the thermometer is

said to have attained 90 degrees in the shade.
The usual temperature, 'however, at this season is
from 75 to 85 degrees. Myriads of insects are
now peopling the air, and teeming in the waters.
By the aid of the microscope thousands of insects
have been discovered in a space not larger than a
grain of sand. And the greenish scum which we
sometimes see on small stagnant pools of water,
is said to be a forest of minute plants, on which
more living creatures subsist than there are human
beings in the world. Every green leaf swarms with
life, every drop of water, corrupted matter, the
bodies of other animals, and every humour of the
human body, contain tribes of living beings. It is
said that the itch is caused by a species of mite
(Acari). "The insect," says Linnasus, "insinuates
itself under the skin, and there produces a little
vesicle, from whence it never moves. An experi-
enced eye will readily dv^tect its lurking-place, and
an experienced hand as readily removes it with
the point of a pin. If it be placed on the nail,
it remains immoveable until warmed by the breath,
when it runs with great agility. Almost all the
vegetable and animal matter used by man is in-
fested by some species of this insect. Dried meat,

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280

old bread, flour, sweatmeats, cheese, soon swarm
with an extremely minute and active race of mites,
any of which, when viewed with the microscope,
appear covered with hair."

The tremulous motion observed in the atmos-
phere during this season is ascribed to the exis-
tence of innumerable mullitudes of living creatures.

<* Full Nature swarms with life ; one wondrons mass
Of animals, or atoms organized,
Waiting the vital breath, when parent Heaven
., Shall bid his sphrit blow. The hoary fen, , ,

In putrid streams, emits the living cloud
Of pestilence. Thro' subterranean cells,
Where scorching sunbeams scarce can find a way,
Earth animated heaves. The flowery leaf
Wants not its soft inhabitants. Secure,
Within its winding citadel, the stone
Holds multitudes. But chief the forest-boughs.
That dance unnumber'd to the playful breeze,
The downy orchard, and the melting pulp
Of mellow fruit, the nameless nations feed
Of evanescent insects."

I passed several beautiful meadows, with their
green mantles flowing in the breeze, dotted with
the variegated hues of the Timothy-grass {Phleum
Pratense)t red clover {Trifolivm JPrateme), white
clover (Trifolium JRepens), natural clover (Trifolium
Arvense), and the butter-cup {Rammculm AcHs),.
from which was wafted a most delightful fragrance.
I observed several large spots of oats (Avena), and
a little patch of barley {Hordeum). No wheat (7H-
ticuni), has ever been sown in this neighbourhood,
though a few families in the neighbourhood of
St. John's raise sufficient wheat to supply them
in flour for winter consumption. Winter wheat
is said to be better adapted for the climate of

lem

leat

281

Newfoundland than spring wheat. It is certain
that wheat was grown in Newfoundland so early
as 1624, and perhaps long before that period. By
letters patent in 1623 James I. gave his principal
Secretary of State, Sir George Calvert, all the
S. £. part of the island lying between the Bays
of Flacentia and Trinity, which he erected into
a province, under the name of Avalon. He plant-
ed a colony at Ferryland, and appointed Captain
Wynn as governor, who built a large dwelling-
house, a granary, and some stores; and in his
communications the following year to Sir George,
stated, that on the 17th of August, wheat, barley,
and oats were eared, and that the various garden
vegetables had arrived at full maturity. These
cheering accounts induced Sir George, who had
lately been created Lord Baltimore, to remove
to Ferryland with his family, where he erected
a splendid mansion and built a strong fort. After
remaining some years, and finding at length that
the soil and climate did not tome up to his ex-
pectations, and his estate being exposed to the
attacks of the French, he returned to England;
and after obtaining a grant of lands in the state
of Maryland, he removed thither and founded the
city of Baltimore, which still bears his name. His
possessions in Ferryland gradually sunk into decay.
Lord Baltimore was a convert to the Roman
Catholic religion, and having relinquished his
situation at court, turned his attention to the es-
tablishment of the colony of Maryland. He was
the first in the western world to proclaim reli-
gious liberty to its full extent, and when the

2«ift

282

Quakers were persecuted in New England, and
the Puritans in Virginia, both found a home in
Maryland, where they enjoyed unfettered liberty
of conscience, and the free exercise of their reli-
gious worship. In 1754 Lord Baltimore revived
his claim to the province of Avalon, but in con-
sequence of being so long out of possession his
claim was not allowed. Mr. Carter informed
me, that some type had at various times been
picked up at Ferryland, which were supposed to
have been brought there by Lord Baltimore.

The first publication ever issued from the press
in Newfoundland was "The Royal Gazette," in
1807, published by Mr. John Ryan. This news-
paper is still continued under the same title,
Mr. Ryan still being one of its present proprie-
tors. It is a weekly paper, published in St. John's.
The following newspapers are also published in
St. John's : " The Public Ledger," a semi-
weekly paper, established about twenty-four years;
" The Newfoundlander," a weekly paper, establish-
ed about seventeen years ; " The Newfoundland
Times," a weekly paper, established about twelve
years; "The Newfoundland Patriot," a weekly
paper, established about eleven years; "The New-
foundland Indicator," a weekly paper, established
about four years; "The Star," a weekly paper,
printed in St. ^ 's about three years; "The
Morning Post," a tri-weekly paper, established
one year; and "The Morning Courier," just es«
tablished.* In Conception Bay, "The Weekly

♦ Two or three other papers had been established in St. John's,
but deftinct many years.

283

-if'

Herald," a weekly paper, established two years,
is published at Harbour- Grace ; and at Carbonear
is published "The Carbonear Sentinel,*' a weekly
paper, established about eight years. These, to-
gether with "The Farmer's Journal," a quarterly
publication, established in St. John's about two
years, are the only publications issuing from the
Newfoundland press.

Large quantities of rock crystal is found all
along the shore from Bird-Island Cove to Cape
Bonavista. It occupies the hollow veins of the
rocks. Some beautiful clear and transparent
crystals are sometimes found in it, called diamonds.
I have frequently used them as a substitute
for the real diamond to cut glass. Rock crystal
is a kind of quartz. " The name of this substance
was considered by the ancients to signify ice,
or water crystallized; and they imagined that
crystal was produced from a congelation of water.
Its uses are numerous. It is cut into vases,
lustres, and snuff. boxes; and many kinds of toyL
of extremely beautiful appearance are made of
it. When pure and perfectly transparent, it is
in much request by opticians, who make of it
those glasses for spectacles which are called peb-
bles, and who use it for various kinds of optical
instruments."

The sun had now mounted a considerable
height in the heavens. On consulting my watch
I found it was nearly breakfast hour, and I had
rambled nearly two miles from home. Just at
this moment I met old Mr. Wiltshear. Having a
little acquaintance with him, I stopped to inquire

284

respecting his healthy &c., when the following con-
versation took place:

" How long have you been living in this
place?"

"About twenty-five years, previous to which
I resided several years in Green Bay, and once
during that period barely escaped being trans-
ported."

" Under what circumstances ? "

" In the year 1810, I was living to the north-
ward. Five of us were returning one evening from
fishing, when, on rowing round a point, we came
close upon a canoe of Red Indians; there were
four men and one woman in the canoe. Had
we been disposed to have shot them we could
have done so, as we had a loaded gun in the
boat. The Indians, however, became alarmed,
and pulled with all speed to the shore, where
they immediately jumped out and ran into the
woods, leaving the canoe on the beach. We were
within ten yards of them when they landed.
We took the canoe into our possession, and car-
ried it home. In the fall of the year, when we
went to St. John's with the first boat load of
dry fish, thinking a canoe would be a curiosity,
we took it with us in order to present it to the
governor; but immediately it become known that
we had a canoe of the Red Indians, we were
taken and lodged in prison for ten days, on a
supposition that we had shot the Indians to whom
the canoe belonged. We protested our innocence,
and stated the whole affair to the authorities;
at last the canoe was examined, no shot holes

285

were found in any part of it, and there being
no evidence against us we were set at liberty."

" Did you ever see any of the encampments
of the Red Indians?"

" Yes, frequently ; I have seen twelve wigwams
in the neighbourhood of Cat Harbour. A planter
living there built a new boat, for which he had
made a fine new suit of sails. One night the
Indians came and carried away every sail. The
planter and his men, immediately it was discovered,
set out in pursuit of the Indians. After travelling
nearly a day, they espied them on a distant hill,
shaking their cassocks at them in defiance,
which were made out of' the boat's sails, and
daubed with red ocre. Seeing further pursuit was
fruitless they returned home. The next day,
however, the planter raised a party of twenty-five
of us. We proceeded over-land to a place where
We knew was an encampment; when we arrived,
we found twelve wigwams, but all deserted.
Previous to our leaving by land, two men were
despatched in a skiff, in order to take us back
by water. On approaching near the place of
the Indians, they saw a fine goose swimming
about a considerable distance from the shore.
They immediately rowed towards it, but the
goose began to swim towards the shore; they
began to row faster to overtake it, when one of
the men happened to see something dark moving
up and down behind a sand-bank. Suspecting all
was not right, they immediately pulled from the
shore, when they saw two Indians rise up from
concealment, who immediately discharged their

280

arrow^ at them, but they were at too great a
distance to receive any injury. After the sails
had been taken, the Indians, expecting a visit,
placed these two of their party to keep watch.
The goose was fastened to a string in order to
decoy the men in the boat near the shore, so as
to afford the Indians an opportunity of throwing
their arrows at them. The two Indians on
watch communicated intelligence of the arrival
of the boat to the encampment ; hence the cause
of the forsaken wigwams when we arrived."

"How large were the wigwams?"

" They were built round, and about thirty or
forty feet in circumference. The frame consisted
of small poles, being fastened together at the
top and covered with birch rind, leaving a small
opening for the escape of the smoke. Traces of
their encampments are still to be seen along the
Cat Harbour shore, consisting of large holes, &c.
being left in the sand."

"Did you ever hear of any of the Indians
having been taken ? "

"Yes; during the time the circumstance oc-
curred which I have stated, Lieut. Buchan, in
H. M. schooner Pike, was commissioned by the
Governor, Sir John Thomas Duckworth, to dis-
cover and, if possible, bring about a friendly inter-
course. He succeeded in discovering an encamp-
ment, and prevailed on two of the Indians to go
on board his vessel, leaving two marines with the
Indians as hostages, while he proceeded in search
of another party. But as Lieut. Buchan did not
return at the time appointed by him, the Indians,

287

oc-
in
the
dis-
ter-
mp-

go
the

irch

not

ans,

suspecting cruelty about being practised upon
them, murdered the marines and fled. When
Lieut. B. returned to the spot, and not finding
his men, the two Indians he had taken with him
immediately decamped, and were never heard of
afterwards. Several years after this, two or three
Indians, who had been driven to the coast by
hunger, were taken and carried to St. John's. I
recollect seeing two Red Indians when I was a
boy, at Catalina; their names were William June
and Thomas August (so named from the months
in which they were taken). They were both ta-
ken very young, and one of them went master of
a boat for many years out of Catalina."

" I remember reading something of Lieut.
Buchan^s expedition. Do you think any of the
Red Indians now exist in the country ? "

'*I am of opinion that, owing to the relentless
exterminating hand of the English furriers and
the Micmac Indians, that what few were left un-
slaughtered made their escape across the St' ^its
of Bell Isle to the Labrador."

"Do you know any thing of the Micmac
Indians ? "

"Yes; I have lived several winters in Clode
Sound, in the bottom of Bonavista Bay, where
several families of them constantly resided. They
obtained a subsistence by selling fur. They lived
in wigwams constructed very similar to those of
the Red Indians. During my residence in the
Bay, several Micmacs had gone to Canada, by way
of Labrador, and returned again. The last family
belonging to this tribe residing in Bonavista Bay,

288

was lost last summer (1841). An old man, his
wife and son, were coming down the Bay in their
canoe; they had some rum on board, of which
they drank freely, when the father and son fell
fighting; the son WbS thrown overboard by the
father, and drowned. He then gave directions to
his wife how to manage the canoe, and plunging
into the sea swam a considerable distance and
sank. The woman immediately took the canoe to
the nearest cove, where she was supported by the
inhabitants until she died."

Seeing some black clouds gathering, portending
a shower, I took my leave of the old gentleman
and hastened home, where I arrived quite invig-
orated and refreshed, after so delightful a morn-
ing's walk.

289

THE THUNDER STORM.

" A THUNDER Storm ! the eloquence of heaven,
When every cloud is from its slumber riven,
Who hath not paused beneath its hollow groan,
And felt Omnipotence around him thrown?
With what a gloom the ushering scone appears!
The leaves all fluttering with instinctive fears,
The waters curling with a fellow dread,
A breozeless fervour round creation spread,
And, last, the heavy rain's reluctant shower.
With big drops pattering on the tree and bower.
While wizard shapes the bowing skies deform,
All mark the coming of the thunder-storm."

R. MONTOOMBBY.

Tired of the dull monotony of Bird-Island Cove,
I felt disposed to accompany a friend as far as
Bonavista (five miles distant). We commenced
our journey at nine o'clock, a. m. The sun shone
with unclouded splendour, and the sweet morning
lireeze was pouring fresh life and animation on
the whole animal and vegetable creation. Our
road lay along the sea shore, skirted on either
side with birch {Betula Alba), willows (Saltan),
wild roses (Rosa Blanda), and (Rosa Parviflora),
and the blue iris or wild flag (Iris Versicolor).
Nature was clad in her best attire; all was beau-
tiful to the eye; and a stillness reigned around

290

which was friendly to contemplation, for the hrecze
scarcely moved the thick foliage, and nought was
heard save the hum of the insect, and the notes
of the feathered tribe, emulous to proclaim their
Maker's praise. On arriving on the top of a hill
about half way, we had a beautiful view of the
surrounding country. On the west spread ou^
before us were hill and dale richly clothed with
the charms of summer. South of us appeared
the large Island of Baccalieu, and the south shore
of Trinity Bay, just emerging out of the water,
like specks on the verge of the horizon. On the
north appeared Bonavista Bay, covered with small
fishing boats, traversing its splendid and ample
waters in every direction ; and on the east appear-
ed the long swell of the mighty waves of the great
Atlantic Ocean. All the little banks were blooming
with hurts {Vaccinium Ul'nj'mosum). After walk-
ing about a mile from this we arrived at Spillard's
Cove. As yet this place is uninhabited. The prin-
cipal cause, I have been informed, is that a vessel
had been lost here some years ago, when several
dead bodies were picked up and buried here. A
superstitious dread rests upon the minds of the
people of the surrounding settlements, and no one
is ever caqght near this place after sunset.

"Strange things, tlie neighbours say, have happcn'd here;
Wild shrieks have issued from the hollow tombs,
Dead men have come again and walked alxiut. --
Such tales their cheer, at wake or gossiping,
When it draws near to witching time of night."

The land surrounding this Cove has a very rich
appearance, and the earth is more like English

201

ssel

veral

the

one

soil than any I have ever seen ; here 1 think
agriculture may be pursued to a great extent, anil
much more advantageously than in many other
parts of the island. A small brook flows into the
bottom of this Cove, by the side of which is a
considerable quantity of bog iron ore, and red
oxide of iron is to be found in several places. A
few hundred yards from the Cove is a gulley or
small pond ; the whole surface of the water was
covered with the leaves of the beaver root (Nu-
phar Luteum). Amongst the rushes (Scrirpus) by
the side of the lake we observed a musk-rat
{Avicola Zibcthicua)^ sporting and enjoying himself,
'i'he flesh of this animal is frequently eaten. I
have seen the skin kept in a trunk amongst clothes,
in order to communicate the smell of musk, which
it will retain for years after the death of the ani-
mal. Berries were in abundance, amongst which
were scarlet stoneberries (Cornufs Canadensis)^
wild gooseberies (Rihes CynoshaU)^ wild currants
(Ilibes Rinyens), and here and there we observed
some wild cherries (Prunus Borealis); but the
fruit was not ripe. These berries are indigenous.
Going a short distance to pick some wild pears
(Pyrus Melanocarpa)f we started a bittern (Ardea

After feasting our eyes with prospects, and
our minds on Nature's wondrous works, we arrived
at Bonavista, when I partook of the good cheer
of my friend, with his hospitable family; after
which (owing to the fatigue of the walk and the
heat of the day) we both sank into a profound
slumber. Awaking, I found that the shades of

292

the evening were hastening on, and that I had
five miles to travel before I reached home. I
now took my leave of my friend, and set forward »
on my journey. I had not proceeded beyond
a quarter of a mile before I observed vast masses
of black clouds collecting and advancing in the
direction in which I was going ; in about ten
minutes the most awful flash of lightning I ever
beheld appeared for a few seconds; it seemed to •
reach from the earth to about mid-way in the
sky, and for the time appeared like a line of
stationary fire. The whole atmosphere became
illuminated, and an aged man just passing by
me at the time, declared he never saw any thing
like it before. It was similar to a spark I have
seen produced with the electrical machine. I
have observed, if the knuckle be held a distance
from the prime conductor^ it draws a zig-zag
spark, but if it be brought nearer the conductor,
it elicits a perfectly straight spark. This is exactly
like the flash of lightning I am describing, only
upon a small scale. Immediately after this flash
the thunder roared in loud and lengthened peals,
and the rain descended in torrents. I pursued
my journey, followed by the storm. Presently the
loudest clap of thunder I ever heard burst over
my head. It was like as if the firmament was
being broken up. To say I felt no fear at this
time would be untrue. I was overcome by a
nervous agitation, and stood still in the midst
of this awful storm, deliberating whether I had
better turn back or keep on my journey. Some
might have been glad of such an opportunity

293

of beholding Nature moving forth in her majesty,
but I decided on taking to my heels and running
back as fast as I could, while the vivid lightnings
played around me, and the loud thunder roared
over my head. i/>

"O, now to be alone, on some still height,
Where heaven's black curtains shadow all the sight,
And watch the swollen clouds their bosoms clash,
While fleet and far the living lightnings flash,
To mark the caverns of the sky disclose
The furnace-flames that in their wombs repose,
And see the fiery arrows fall and rise.
In dlxzy chase along the rattling skies,
How quakes the spirit while the echoes roll,
And, God in thunder speaks from pole to pole!"

After running for about half an hour, almost
breathless, I sat down on a rock to recover my-
self, when I saw the storm was passing away.
Presently a beautiful rainbow arched the sky,
and the bright beams of the sun once more shone
upon me. A thick fo^ then set in, and after
resting about tea minutes, I got up and again
resumed my journey homewards, where I arrived
the same evening, having sustained no further
injury than a wet jacket.

On Saturday last (July 22nd) nature was what
a Turkish writer designates in '' her frolics and
her rants." About four o'clock in the afternoon,
the sky appeared much disturbed, masses of black
and dense clouds had collected together, and were
advancing from the south-west. In the space of
half an hour, the lightning's glare lit up the whole
atmosphere, the thunder rattled along the vaulted
sky, and the rain fell in torrents. The clouds were
within what is called the striking distance from the

294

earth. After they passed Bird-Island Cove, they
began to vomit globes of fire, which had the appear-
ance of clouds studded with fiery suns, alternately
appearing and disappearing for about the space
of an hour. At Bonavista the electric fluid
struck the mainmast of a fishing boat, and de-
scending the backstay, tore from the wash-board
an iron bolt, and thence passed through the
boat's side, when she immediately filled with
water. Fortunately she was at her moorings, and
all the crew were on shore. The hole made by
the lightning was perfectly round, and about
an inch in diameter, around which was deposited
a blackish kind of matter. The matter deposited
by lightning has been examined, and found to
contain iron, sulphur, and carbon. Dr. Skelton
informed me, that the thunder and lightning was
most terrific, accompanied with wind, hail, and
rain ; that in the immediate vicinity of Bonavista,
it appeared like a shower of fire, and that twenty
currant bushes in his (Dr. S.'s) garden were de-
stroyed. It has been the heaviest thunder-storm
known in Bonavista for the last sixteen yearsfT* At
that time the lightning entered a dwelling-house
in the form of balls of fire, and tore the walls
asunder ; it forced up a large stone hearth and
shattered it to pieces; the chimney was demol-
ished — the doors were unhung or split to pieces —
and the windows were all destroyed, the glass
in one of which was completely melted, through
which the electric fluid escaped. It traversed
the ground, leaving deep furrows, and shivered
to pieces a block of gritstone, six feet in diameter,

205

and then passed into the earth. The rock seems
to have undergone a species of fusion, as traces
of it are still to be seen. Happily no human life
was lost.

Thunder-storms are very fi'equent in the
northern parts of Newfoundland, but are less
known in the southern parts. They are, however,
seldom agents of destruction. I believe not
more than 'two or three instances are known of
individuals having been killed by lightning in
Newfoundland. The velocity of sound in atmos-
pheric air is at the rate of 1142 feet per second;
if, therefore, the instant we see a flash of light-
ning we count the number of seconds before we
hear the report of the thunder, and multiply the
number of seconds by 1142 feet, the rate at
which sound moves, we have the distance of the
thunder.

"It has been demonstrated, by the sagacity of
Doctor Franklin, that thunder and lightning is
merely a case of electrical discharges from one
portion of the atmosphere to another, or from
one cloud to another. Air, and all gases, are
non-conductors; bu vapour and clouds, which
are composed of it, are conductors. Clouds con-
sist of small hollow bladders of vapour, charged
each with the same kind of electricity. It is the
electric charge which prevents the vesicles from
uniting together, and falling down in the form of
rain. Even the vesicular form which the vapour
assurfies is probably owing to the particles being
charged with electricity. The mutual repulsion
of the electric particles may be considered as

sufficient (since they are prevented from leaving
the vesicle by the action of the surrounding air,
and of the surrounding vesicles) to give the vapour
the vesicular form. In what way these clouds
come to be charged with electricity, it is not so
easy to say. But as electricity is evolved during
the act of evaporation, the probability is, that
clouds are always charged with electricity, and
that they owe their existence, or at least their
form, to that fluid. It is very probable that when
two currents of dry air are moving diflferent ways,
the friction of the two surfaces may evolve elec-
tricity. Should these currents be of different
temperatures, a portion of the vapour which they
always contain will be deposited; the electricity
evolved will be taken up by the vapour, and will
cause it to assume the vesicular state, constituting
a cloud. Thus we can see, in general, how clouds
come to be formed, and how they contain elec-
tricity. This electricity may be either vitreous
or resinous, according to circumstances. And it
is conceivable, that by long-continued opposite
currents of air, the charge accumulated in a cloud
may be considerable. Now when two clouds,
charged, the one with vitreous and the other with
resinous electricity, happen to approach within a
certain distance, the thickness of the coating of
electricity increases on the two sides of the clouds
which are nearest each other. This accumulation
of thickness soon becomes so great as to over-
come the pressure of the atmosphere, and a dis-
charge takes place, which occasions the flash of
lightning. The noise accompanying the dis-

l:(

297

charge constitutes the thunder.clap^ the long
continuance of which^ partly depends on the
reverberations from neighbouring objects. It
is, therefore, loudest and largest, and most tre-
mendous, in hilly countries. These electrical dis-
charges obviously dissipate the electricity; the
cloud condenses into water, and occasions the
sudden and heavy rain, which always terminates
a thunder-storm."

A piece of sealing-wax, glass, or sulphur, being
rubbed with a piece of dry woollen or silk, in a
dark room, will emit a faint light, and it will
attract small scraps of paper, or other light sub-
stances towards it. The effect thus produced is
called electric. The electrical machine consists
of nothing more than a large glass cylinder or
globe, being turned rapidly round by a winch,
and made to rub against a silk cushion. During
its revolution, streams and large sparks of fiery
fluid will be elicited, which flashes around the
glass. A portion or charge of this fluid being
received on a glass jar (coated on both sides with
silver, or tin-foil), and the Land being applied
to the top of the jar, a violent contraction or
blow of the muscles will be felt, producing a
shock that may be received at the same moment
by a hundred persons, by joining their hands.
The bodies over which electricity passes freely
are all metals, most animal and vegetable sub-
stances, water, &c. ; all which are called con-
ductors of electricity. But it will not pass over
oil, glass, sulphur, resin, wax, charcoal, silk, baked
woods, or dry woollen substances; nor through

'■>(.

298

the air, except by force, in sparks, to short dis-
tances. All these bodies, are, therefore, called
non-conductors. Electricity is an agent that
seems to pervade all nature. It tends to purify
the atmosphere, assists the vegetation of plants,
and increases the insensible perspiration of ani-
mals. Philosophers inform us, that it is the
principal agent in the production of earthquakes,
volcanoes, whirlwinds, waterspouts, and hurricanes,
and many other natural phenomena. Electricity
has been drawn from the human frame, and I
have read, that a short time previous to death,
flashes of electricity have been emitted from the
human body. It is employed with success to cure
various diseases, and it has been known to re-
store the blind to a temporary enjoyment of sight.
Minute and lengthened descriptions of the won-
derful operations of electricity are given in the
''Encyclopedia Britannica," arts. Thunder, Elec-
tricity, and Cloud.

The following lines were written by Walter
Scott, when he was between nine and ten years
of age, and while he was attending the High
School at Edinburgh. His master there had
spoken of him as a remarkably stupid boy, and
his mother with grief acknowledged that he had
spoken truly. She saw him one morning, in the
midst of a tremendous thunder-storm, standing
still in the street, and looking at the sky. She
called to him repeatedly, but he ren^ained looking
upwards, without taking the least notice of her.
When he returned into the house, she was very
much displeased with him. "Mother," he said,

299

^ears

Jigh

had

and

had

the

ding

She

tking

her.

very

said,

I could tell you the reason why I stood still, and
why I looked at the sky, if you would only give
me a pencil." She gave him one, and in less th^n
five minutes he laid a bit of paper on her lap, with
these words written on it: —

" Loud o'er my head, what awful thunders roll !
What vivid Ughtninga flash from polo to pole!
It is thy voice, my God, that bids thom fly.
Thy voice directs them through the vaulted sky.
Then let the good tby mighty power revere.
Let hardcn'd sinners thy just judgments fear."

Bishop Lowth, while pursuing his studies at
Winchester, gave effusion to the first specimen
of his poetic genius, in the following beautiful
stanzas, composed as he lay in bed during a thun-
der-storm.

" Lock'd in the arms of balmy sleep,
From every care of day.
As silent as the folded sheep,
And as serene I lay.

"Sudden tremendous thunders roll,
Quick lightnings round me glare;
The solemn scene alarms my soul.
And wakes the mind to prayer."

As some of my young friends may often have
occasion to go from home, without the slightest
knowledge of what sort of weather they might
expect before they return, I will here introduce
a table by which they may pretty nearly tell the
state of the weather at every quarter of the moon,
with remarks upon it from the pen of the late
Dr. Adam Clarke. He says, " Many a time, even
in tender yoflth, have I watched the heavens with
anxiety, examined the different appearances of the
morning and evening sun, the phases of the moon.

300

the scintillation of the stars, the course and colour
of the clouds, the flight of the crow and the swal-
low, the gambols of the colt, the fluttering of the
ducks, and the loud screams of the sea-mew, not
forgetting even the hue and croaking of the frog.
From the little knowledge I have derived from
close observation, I often ventured to direct our
agricultural operations in reference to the coming
days, and I was seldom much mistaken in my
reckoning.

''About fifty years ago, a table, purporting to
be the work of the late Dr. Herschel, was
variously published, professing to form prognostics
of the weather by the times of the change, full,
and quarters of the moon. I have carefully con-
sulted this table for several years, and was amazed
at its general accuracy; for though long, as you
have seen, engaged in the study of the weather,
I never thought that any rules could be devised
liable to so few exceptions. When on those
maxims I have been able to give to my neighbours
and friends directions relative to their field
operations, even in fickle and dangerous times.
I have often been led to glorify God for the
discovery of the principle on which this table
is constructed, and frequently said, 'If Dr.
Herschel had lived for no other purpose than
this, posterity would have reason to bless his
memory.' But how was I surprised, when, some
time ago, I was informed that his son had come
forward and disclaimed the table as any work
of his late father, and as being unworthy of him !
Well, great, most certainly, was Dr. Herschel,

e ° s

301

and honourable to himself and his adopted
country, were the discoveries which he made;
and had the above principle and its application
been among them, he would, in my sight, have
yet greater honour. However the thing may
be, the table, judiciously observed, may be of
great publio benefit. I have made a little altera-
tion in the arrangement, given it a significant
name, and illustrated it with further observa-
tions."

TABULA EUDICHEIMONICA;

OB, TH£

FAIR AND FOUL WEATHER PROGNOSTICATOR :

BEIMG

A TABLE FOR FORETELLING THE WEATHER THROUGH ALL THE
LUNATIONS OF BACH YEAR FOR EVER.

This Table, and the accompanying remarks, are the result of
many years' actual observation, the whole being constructed on a
due consideration of the attraction of the sun and moon in their
several positions respecting the earth; and will, by simple inspec-
tion, show the observer what kind of weather will most probably
follow the entrance of the moon into any of her quarters, and that
so near the truth as to be seldom or never found to fail.

TIME OF CHANGE.

Between Midnight and
2 in the Morning

2 and 4

4 and 6

6and 8

SandlO

10 and 12

At 12 o'clock at Noon

and to 2 p. m

Between 2 and 4 After.
4 and c

a and 8

8 and 10

10 and Midniglit ■ ■

IN SUMMER.

Fair

Gold with fireqnent

showers

Rain

Wind and rain —

Changeable

Frequent showers ■ •

Very rainy

Changeable ••

Fair

Fair if wind N.W.
Rainy if S. or 8. W.

Ditto ■

Fair

IN WINTER.

Hard fVost, unless the
wind be S. or W.

Snow and stormy.

Rain.

Stormy

Gold rain if wind W.

Snow if E.

Cold and high wind.

Snow or rain.

Fair and mild.

Fair.

Fair and frosty if the

wind be N. or N. E.
Rain or anow. if S or

S. W.
Ditto.
Fair andfirob:'.

302

OnSERVATIONS. ^

1. The nearer the time of tho Moon's change, First Quarter, Full,
and Last Quarter, are to Midnight, tho fairer will the weather bo
during the seven days fullowing.

2. The space for this calculation occupies from ten at night till
two next morning.

3. Tho nearer to Midday, or Noon, those phases of tho moon
happen, the more foul or wet the weather may be expected during
the next seven days.

4. The space for this calculation occupios from ten in the fore-
noon to two in tho afternoon. These observations refer principally
to summer, though they affect spring and autumn nearly in tho
samo ratio.

5. The Moon's change. First Quarter, Full, and Last Quarter,
happening during six of tho afternoon hours, t. e. trom four to
ten, may bo followed by fair weather, but this is mostly dependant
on the wibd, as it is not noted in the Table.

6. Though tho weather, fVom a variety of irregular causes, is more
uncertain in the latter part of autumn, the whole of winter, and
tho beginning of spring, yet in the main the above observations
will apply to those periods also.

7. To prognosticate correctly, especially in those cases where
the wind is concerned, the observer should be within sight of a
good vane, whore the four cardinal points of the heavens are cor-
rectly placed. With this precaution he will scarcely ever be de-
ceived in depending on the Table.

8. It need scarcely be added, that to know the exact time of
the moon's changes, quarters, &c. a correct 'Almanack must be
procured.

With this Table and a good barometer, to what a certainty may
we arrive in prognostications concerning the weather I By these
the prudent man, foreseeing tho evil, will hide himself, and will
feel the weight of the proverb, " Make hay while the sun shines."
By not paying attention to the signs and the seasons many have
suffered, and charged God foolishly, because he did, not change
the laws of nature to accommodate their indolence and caprice.

the

303

A RAMBLE IN AUTUMN.

I " SwBBT is tho slow wane of autumnal hours

Subsiding into winter; and the whole
Of nature beautiful, when all her powers
And charms, in living poesy unroll,
Dash'd with the hues of heaven, and inspiration's soul!"

GOUGH.

The glories of summer are now hastening
away; nature is laying aside her old robes to be
clothed with all the fragrance and beauty of another
spring. The leaves of trees and shrubs are be-
ginning to assume a variety of colours, rich and
beautiful. The coldness of the weather produces
this scene of glowing colours, arising from the
leaves taking in oxygen during the nig]it, and
being too feeble to open their pores for its escape
during the day. It is said, that the oxygen thus
confined, unites with the materials of the pulp,
producing various acids, whose known action is
to change blues to reds, " and consequently when
the blue carbon becomes thus tinged it produces
various shades of orange and other combinations
of red and yellow." The falling leaves have
frequently been compared to the human race
passing away.

/!■

■I* -Vlfi

304

' "All wo love and feel on Nature's face ^

Bear dim relations to our common doom.
The clouds that blusli, and die a beamy death,
Or weep themselves away in rain— the streams
That flow along in dying music— loaves
That fade, and drop into the flrosty arms '

Of Winter, there to mingle with dead flowers—
Are all prophetic of our own decay."

The vegetable creation, having gone through
the operations of springing, flowering, and feed-
ing, have at length brought into existence the
embryo of a future generation, which are now being
committed to the earth. Buds are now formed
and contrived by an all-wise Providence, to keep
off the cold of winter, by being provided with a
shell similar to that of an egg. Instead, then,
of buds being formed in spring, as is supposed
by some, they are formed in autumn, and only
expand in spring. The seeds of plants are now
wafted along by the breeze, and deposited in some
favourable spot for germination. The seeds of
the thistle {Cnicus Arvensis) are provided with
downy wings for the purpose of being borne along
by the wind. These winged seeds are seen flying
in every direction during a breeze. In this we
see the wisdom of God, in making a provision
for another race of plants. Although these weeds
are of little value to man, yet they constitute the
food of birds and various tribes of insects.

A fine large brook, flowing over a rocky decliv-
ity, falls into the bottom of Bird- Island Cove.
Following the windings of this stream, I arrived
idt its source, a beautiful lake of water, about
one mile long and a half mile broad, which was

covered with withered white lilies (Nywphaea
Alba) and yellow lilies (Xup/iar Advena).

" Ah ! look on the lilies I they toil not, nor spin,
Yet earth's proudest monarch, array 'd
In the utmost of pomp tiiat ambition can win,
Their beauty and grace might upbraid."

The banks of the lake were skirted with fine
woods, amongst which the graceful birch {Detula
Papyracea) appeared very conspicuous.

"Most beautiful
Of forest trees, the lady of the woods."

This tree is the most useful of any in New-
foundland. It is used for ships' timbers, and
sawed into planks. Hoops, tables, chairs, staves,
blocks, and a variety of cabinet work are made
out of it. A great portion of this timber is con-
sumed as fuel. Its wood is also drawn into
small grassy strips, out of which hats are made.
Its twigs are made into brooms, and are frequently
cut for cattle to browse on. I have seen several
beds made of the outer bark, which were con-
sidered by the persons who possessed them as
equal to feather beds. The canoes of the tied
Indians were made out of the bark of the hirch,
being sewn together with the elastic roots of trees,
and the sinews of the deer ; some of their cook-
ing utensils were also formed of its wood. The
largest birches in Bonavista Bay are from 16
to 32 inches in diameter. The birch is often
tapped by persons who are engaged rinding in
the spring. An incision is made with a hatchet
in the side of the tree, from which issues a small
stream, when they are enabled to allay their

306

thirst. I have been informed, that the sap has
a very sweet sugary taste. It is very probable
that it would form an excellent vinegar. I have
read that the peculiar scent of the Russian leather
is owing to the bark of the birch with which it
is tanned ; and a subsequent finish with an
essential oil distilled from the same tree. In
high northern latitudes, the inner bark is ground,
and in times of scarcity used as a substitute for
flour. The Laplanders make waterproof boots
without seams from the trunk of the tree. Hav-
ing read that the bark of the birch was made
use of by the ancients for tablets, and that some
of the books which Numa composed and wrote
on this material, were found in perfect preserva-
tion when his tomb was opened, after a lapse of
four hundred years, I selected some very fine
smooth pieces of the outer bark, and found that
the pen glided over it with as much facility and
ease as over a fine sheet of letter paper. The birch
sends forth a very sweet, pleasant smell, which is
said to be highly beneficial in disorders of the
lungs. This tree, clothed with its silvery drapery,
is certainly the queen of our forest trees.

Close to the edge of the water I observed a
solitary small aspen (Populus Tremula), its leaves
trembling in concert with the agitated waters of the
lake. This wood attains a considerable size, but
is hardly ever used, except for the purpose of
building wharves. A legend is told, that of this
tree the wood was taken that formed the cross of
our Saviour, and that since then its leaves can
never rest.

J#-

307

"Far f in Highland wilds, 'tis said, \|

(Hut -ruth now laughs at fancy's lore)
,' That of this tree the cross was made,

Which erst the Lord of glory bore,
And of that deed its leaves confess
E'er since a troubled consciousness."

Pine (Pinus Strobu.s) is seldonx met with in
this neighbourhood. Great quantities of pine
are sawed into boards, in the bottom of Bonavista
Bay, and also in Green Bay. In the latter place
a saw mill has lately been erected. Pine is the
largest of our forest timber, but is small when
compared with the stately trees of the neighbouring
continent. Our largest pines seldom attain a
larger size than from 18 to 34 inches in diameter.

Walking on a little further I met with a moun-
tain ash (Pyriis Aucuparia), covered with beau-
tiful coral red berries, which are exactly like the
various parts of an apple, and may be said to
be one in miniature. This tree is the prettiest
ornament of our groves in autumn. The berries
are generally called "dog-berries;" by some, how-
ever, in Newfoundland, they are called "pig-
berries." Large bags full of them are sometimes
picked in autumn, and preserved for Christmas,
as when they have been frosted they are very
sweet and pleasant tasted. I saw some of these
berries when I was at Trinity church last win-
ter (1843), ornamenting the tops of several pews.
Bears are said to be very fond of them, and
will climb the tree and bend down the top in
order to get at them. When these berries are
very plentiful, it is remarked by the people of
this place (Bird- Island Cove), as a presage of a

308

severe winter. The timber of the mountain
ash is hardly used for any other purpose than
that of making handles for edged tools, owing
to the small size the tree generally attains. This
tree adorns several of the gardens in the suburbs
of St. John's, and graces many dwellings in other
parts of the island. " The rowan-tree or moun«
tain ash, had formerly many superstitious virtues
and associations connected with it. It is conjec-
tured that the expression in Shakspeare, ' Aroint
thee witch!' should be read, *A rowan-tree
witch;' and from the arguments adduced, the
latter appears the most probable reading. How-
ever that may be, the rowan-tree is rapidly losing
its mysterious and superstitious character, although
some lingering remains may still be occasionally
met with, of the wondrous magic potency there-
unto attributed. It is still supposed, in sequester-
ed districts especially, to have the power to avert
the *evil eye.' Education is fast dispelling its
celebrity as the *witchen tree,' but its beauty
and elegance will continue to charm when its
superstitious virtues are entirely forgotten."

The black duck or mallard {Anas Boschas) is
now sought after in the ponds. This is said to be
the origin of the domestic duck. Passing through
a lot of ground juniper or savine (Jiiniperiis
Sabina) and sarsaparilla {Avalia Medicaulis), I
fell into a thicket of hazel nuts {Corylus Avelana);
they were nearly ripe. I picked a quantity of them,
the performance of which was unpleasant to the
fingers, from the effects of the minute prickles
attached to the husks. They generally grow by

309.

the side of brooks and other moist places. In
some parts of the country they are very plentiful.
About four miles in the woods from Carbonear I
have seen groves of them. Several trees were
brought from the woods and planted in a garden,
but from the dryness of the soil they were found
not to thrive.

Pursuing my course round the edge of the pond,
I observed all the banks studded with snake-root
{Serpentaria). The Indian pipe or Indian cup
{Sarracenia Purpurea) grew in all directions. I
noticed some beautiful pink flowers, called in
Canada, Indian wickup [Epilohium Latlfolium),
and the white plumes of the cotton grass (Eri-
ophorum Virginicum) were waving over the marshy
places. Probably this plant could be cultivated
so as to become valuable. I knew an individual
who collected from one marsh sufficient cotton to
use as wick for an oil lamp during a winter.

I now ascended what is called the "Green
Ridge," which is perfectly barren, except its base,
which also presents nearly a naked aspect, owing
to a fire which happened there some years ago.
The burnt part was plentifully stocked with rasp-
berry bushes {Rubus Idaeus). Some of the berries
were still on the trees, but quite insipid to the
taste. It is found to be the case all over New-
foundland, that where the woods have been consu-
med by fire, the first thing that springs up after
is the raspberry bush. This is singular when we
consider that the soil had been previously occupied
by birch, spruce, and fir trees. I have consulted
several botanical works in order to ascertain the

310

cause of this, but could meet with no satisfactory
explanation. Of course the seed must have been
conveyed to the burnt spot ; possibly the seed may
have been deposited in the ground many years
before the fire had taken place. It is said that
wheat found with mummies 3,000 years old, has
been made to germinate.

Mr. Lindley says, books contain an abundance
of instances of plants having suddenly sprung up
from the soil obtained from deep excavations,
where the seeds must be supposed to have been
buried for ages. Professor Henslow says, that in
the fens< of Cambridgeshire, after the surface has
been drained and the soil ploughed, large crops
of white and black mustard invariably appear.
Miller mentions a case of plantago psyllium hav-
ing sprung from the soil of an ancient ditch
which was emptied at Chelsea, although the plant
had never been there in the memory of man. De
Candolle says, that M. Gerardin succeeded in
raising kidney-beans from seeds at least a hun-
dred years old, taken out of the herbarium of
Tournefbrt ; and I have myself raised raspberry-
plants from seed found in an ancient coffin in
a barrow in Dorsetshire, which seeds, from the
coins and other relics met with near. them, may
be estimated to have been sixteen or seventeen
hundred years old. . , .

Walking over the Ridge, I found the whole
surface covered with large blocks of gritstone,
basalt, and isolated fragments of old red sand-
stone, tossed into various and fantastic shapes,
as if by some violent convulsion of nature. The

f 311

whole of this neighbourhood evidently indicates
the existence at one time of some mighty earth-
quake or volcano. I now had a fine view of the
surrounding country ; in the valley beneath me were
several fine sheets of water, encircled with woods
glowing with the diversified colours of autumn.

" The fading many-colour'd woods,
Shade deep'ning over shade, the country round
Imbrown! a crowded umbrage, dusk and dun,
Of every hue, from wan declining green
To sooty darli."

The waters of Bonavista Bay were to be seen
about seven miles distant ; the schooners and
boats floating on the water assumed shapeless
forms, and appeared flying in the air, and the
islands on the north side of the Bay seemed
hanging over the sea, without foundation; all the
rocks and islands along the coast appeared twice
their usual elevation, and parts of the coast at
other times invisible, were now distinctly seen.
This is what is called looming, and is a sure
presage of an easterly wind. At Carbonear, I
have frequently viewed the strange appearance
of the south shore of Conception Bay when
looming, through the glass. Images of every va-
riety and form have appeared, and constantly
changing; little boats have appeared like great
mountains, lifted out of the water and moving
through the air. The weather was always fine, but
rather hazy whenever I have seen this phenome-
non. Looming is of the same nature of the mirage.
These appearances are caused by the irregular
refractions which the rays of the light sometimes

312

experience in a peculiar state of the atmosphere.
The only difference between the mirage and loom-
ing is, that the mirage is caused by two reflections,
and sometimes three, from the intermediate va-
pour and the inverted images of objects that are
not within the horizon appears. Whereas the
looming is produced by one reflection, and the
reflected objects are not inverted, but merely lifted
up. These appearances are frequent in warm
countries. I have read, that in sandy deserts, when
the traveller has been weary and thirsty, exposed
to the burning sun, the reflected image of the
sand has appeared as a beautiful lake of water,
and frequently the traveller has hastened his pace
in order to reach it, the sooner to allay his thirst ;
but the more he advanced towards it, the farther
it appeared from him, till at last it disappeared,
and showed the disappointec^ traveller it was all
deceit. Few that have iVequented the sea, who
have not heard sailors speak of the spectre of the
flying Dutchman, which they regard with super-
stitious awe, the origin of which is said to be the
mirage. -

Descending from the hill, a few drops of rain
^^11, when I observed a lovely rainbow span the
sky.

"Refracted from yon eastern cloud,
Bestriding cartb, the grand etherial bow
Shoots up immense, and every hue unfolds,
In fair proportion running from the red,
To where the violet fades into the sky."

The rainbow or iris is formed by the rays of
the sun falling on drops of rain, being reflected

313

and refracted to the eye of the observer. Some-
times there are two rainbows seen at the same
time, the outer one more faint than the inner
one. The rainbow may always be seen when
the rain is falling, the sun shining, and the rain
falling before the spectator, and the sun behind
him. Rainbows may be seen on the spray of a
waterfall, dew drops, and spiders* webs ; sprinkling
water from any vessel will also produce them.
The rainbow has often been observed on tlfe
top of a crested wave ; this is called the marine
rainbow ; but none of these bows can be per-
ceived unless the sun be shining on the drops,
and the observer has the sun behind him, and
the drops of water before him. A very indistinct
rainbow is sometimes seen by moon-light, called
the lunar rainbow. It has been demonstrated
by Sir Isaac Newton, that all the variegated
colours which beautify the face of nature, are all
composed of the seven primary colours of the
rainbow, and that every beam of light consistis
of these colours.

« Of parent colours, first the fluming red
Sprang vivid forth; the tawny orange next;
And next delicious yellow; by whose side
Fell the kind beams of all-refreshing green.
Then the pure blue, that swells autumnal skies,
Ethereal play'd; and then of sadder hue,
Emerged the deepen'd indigo, as when
* ; The heavy skirted evening droops with frost.
While the last gleamings of refracted light
Dy'd in the fainting violet away."

The rainbow was placed in the clouds as a
pledge of the fidelity and iufinite mercy of God.
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be

■

((

314

for a token of a covenant between me and the
earth." (Gen. ix. 13.)

What Peter Martyr has said upon the sub-
ject of the rainbow is richly deserving of particular
attention. " The bow (says he) is a military
instrument. Upon making leagues, and con-
cluding a peace, neither arrows nor the string
bent are to be seen ; but the soldiers carry it,
with its horns or extremities down to the earth ;
but it is otherwise in the time of battle ; then
they draw its horns together towards their face,
that, aiming with the eye, they may throw their
arrows at the enemy. In like manner, God
being reconciled, has taken out the string, re-
moved the arrows, and turned the horns down
to the earth ; thereby assuring us that his anger
is appeased," Ambrose, upon the words, "I do
set my bow in the clouds," says, "not his arrow,
but his bow. The bow cannot hurt us, but the
bow forewarns us of the arrow; and the string of
the bow is to us -ward, to show how unwilling
God is to punish; he must first turn the bow
and fix the arrow, before he can shoot at the
mark. This arrow being unprepared, indicates
him to be the Father of mercies." Concerning
the colours of the rainbow, Peter Martyr proceeds
as follows : " From the matter, which is water,
and from the nature of the colours, it appears to
be a suitable symbol. For by this, God has
promised, that for thr^, future he would so order
the waters, that they should not destroy all things :
but what represses or restrains water more than
heat, both contained in, and signified by light?"

315

Grotius observes, that the three colours of the
rainbow represent the severity, mercy, and good-
ness of God. Another learned man thinks,
that the colours of the rainbow, red, fiery, and
green, signify a mixture of holiness and mercy by
means of blood ; that both these being manifested
by the shedding of blood, may render God ven-
erable and lovely in our eyes on account of these
perfections of his nature.

I now arrived where I commenced my journey*,
and sauntering along the sea shore, I passed
several females gathering maiden-hair (Adianthum
Pedatum). This plant is used as a tea during
the summer and autumn. It is very wholesome,
and has a very agreeable flavour.

I saw several puffins (Fratercula Arctica) sailing
about on the water. A considerable number of
these birds breed on the Northern 15ird- Island,
and are frequently captured in the burrows, where
they form their nest. The eider duck (Somaterla
MoUissima) is seldom seen along this coast,
though- in some parts of the island it is plentiful.
The down of the eider duck is an important
article of commerce. In the northern latitudes,
where it is very plentiful, this bird is much sought
after, on account of its feathers, and also as an
article of food. " The nest is placed on the
ground, and constructed of marine plants, thickly
lined with soft down, which the female plucks
from her own breast, and disposes around her, so
as to form an elevated ridge, which falls in and
covers the tggs the moment she leaves them.
As long as the female is sitting, the male con-

316

tinues out at sea, returning in the evening to his
mate, whom it is not improbable he relieves
during the night. The downy lining of the nest,
which is so much prized, is thus secured. As
soon as the nests are made, and a number of
eggs deposited in them, the collectors go round
and carefully remove the female, who seems so
absorbed in her duty as to lose all sense of
danger. They then take away the down and
superfluous eggs, and after this replace her. She
then reconstructs her nest, and lays afresh, when
a second robbery takes place, and a third time
does she* proceed to the task with untired patience,
assisted by the male, who is now obliged to fur-
nish the greater part of the down himself. If
the unjust robbery be again repeated, they gene-
rally leave the place ; it is therefor i> usual to per-
mit them to proceed with the task of incubation.
The quantity of down thus obtained from a single
female is said to amount to half a pound, which
is reduced one half by the process of cleaning.
" This down," says Shaw, " is of such value, that,
when in its purity, it is sold in Lapland for two
rix-dollars a pound ; it is extremely soft and warm,
and so light and expansive, that a couple of hand-
fuls squeezed together are sufficient to fill a quilt
five feet square."

I found the north point of Bird-Island Cove
covered with blackberries {Empetrum Nigrum).
These berries form the autumnal food of the
curlew (Numenius Longirostris) and the plover
{Charadrius). These birds are now very plentiful;

317

their flesh is delicious, and they are the fattest
birds we have in autumn.

The fishing-ground was dotted with a nuirber
of boats trying for fish. Dog-fish (Squalus Acan-
ihias) are now plentiful; the hallibut {Hippoglossuit)
Vulgaris) and thomback {Raia Clavata) are
occasionally caught; the squid or cuttle-fish of
Pendant (Sepia Artica) has now nearly disap-
peared from our shores. The squid that visits us
possesses from eight to ten arms or suckers, by
which it fastens to any substance, and with which
it grasps its prey. When any of these arms are
destroyed it has the singular power of re-produ-
cing them. This animal is from five to six inches
long; the colour is a greenish red, and it is
luminous in the dark; they appear like so many
pieces of gold darting through the water in the
night, leaving after them a fiery train. They
dart backward as well as forward, and are fur-
nished with a bag in the* hind part of the body,
containing a blackish fluid or ink; this fluid is a
means of defence to the animal; when pursued,
the animal ejects this ink in order to conceal
itself. It is also a source of annoyance to the
fishermen; the moment the squid is drawn from
the water they "squirt," as it is termed, ejecting
the black fluid in the face, and over the clothes
of the fishermen. Some writers affirm, while
others deny, that this fluid formed the ink of the
ancient Romans, and the principal ingredient of
the Chinese or Indian ink. The organic remains
of this animal have been found in the secondary
rocks, with the ink bags preserved. The flying-

318

squids (Si'pia Lidajo) in some seas arc seen like
flying-fish, rising out of the water in flocks and
passing through the air a short distance ; sometimes
they fall upon the decks of vessels. Mr. Clouter
informed me, that some years ago, he saw at
Bonavista an arm of a squid twelve feet long, with
a proportionable thickness. I have read, that one
of these huge animals threw his arms or suQkers
across a small boat, and in spite of every effort
drew down the boat and crew. The squid or
cuttle-fish it known in almost every sea. It is
considered a luxury by the Sandwich Islanders;
and thq Red Indians of Newfoundland esteemed
it a great delicacy, it being generally eaten raw
by them. The squid is rarely eaten by the in-
habitants of Newfoundland, being generally con-
sidered as unfit for food. It is, however, a well-
flavoured fish, and is excellent either broiled or
fried; it tastes very much like the large claws of
the lobster. Immense ' numbers of squids visit
our shores in August, and remain until nearly the
last of September. They are usually caught with a
small jigger, though when they are plentiful they
will fasten on to any thing put into the water.
The use to which they are applied, is bait for
catching the cod-fish : they also form an excel-
lent manure.

The next bait for catching the cod-fish which
the fishermen resort to after the departure of
the squids, are the lance ' hnnodytes Tobianus) ;
these fish also form the earliest bait in the spring
on the northern coast. They are very much
like an eel, and are from three to six inches long.

310

(jenerally, w^en tho squids and lance leave the
coast, the herring {Clnpca llarnngus) makes its
appearance. This is a most prolific fish; its
fecundity is wonderful. The herring will produce
in one season from 20,000 to 30,000 young. It
has been calculated that if the offspring of a sin-
gle herring could be suffered to multiply unmo-
lested and undiminished for twenty years, they
would exhibit a bulk ten times the size of the earth.
But they have innumerable enemies. They are
caught in vast numbers by man, and many ani-
mals of the deep, besides vast flocks of sea-fowl.
Herrings are thought to breed in the polar seas,
and are said to leave their icy home towards the
latter end of winter, soon after which they divide
into two distinct bodies, one of M'hich moves
westwards and pours along the shores of America;
while the other directs its course to Europe, and
swarms the shores of Great Britain. The herrings
visit our shores during the months of April and
May, September and October; when great num-
bers are taken. They are generally caught in
nets during the night, and form one of the prin-
cipal articles of food of the poor of Newfoundland.
An immense number of herrings are consumed
in the island; every poor family who has the
means of procuring them, have no less than from
two to twelve barrels (according to the number
in family) preserved for winter consumption. A
great number of herrings are cut up and used as
bait for catching the cod-fish. The quantity of
herrings exported at different periods is as follows :

320

BARREL

1795

1,000

1830 ... .

. ... 1,083

1831

... ... 1,799

1832

. ... 1,814

1833

3,039

1834

. ... 1,823

1836

1,534

1838 ... .

. ... 15,276

1839

20,806

1840 ... .

. ... 14,686

1841

9,965

1842 ... .

. ... 13,839

Mr. Chambers, in his " Tour in Holland, in
1838," makes the following remarks : " The
Dutch greatly excel in the art of curing herrings.
The herring in a salted state, is the animal deli-
cacy of Holland, and enjoys a very different
estimation from that of the common salt herring
in Britain, yet the fish of both countries are
the same, being caught in the same fishing
grounds, and there is no reason why our herrings
should be in any respect inferior in quality and'
mercantile value. There are about eighty vessels
employed in the Dutch herring fishery, nearly
all of which belong to Vlaardingen and Maas-
sluis, two ports on the Maas, situated between
Rotterdam and the sea. The fishing is conducted
on an organized plan. All the vessels set sail on
a fixed day, namely, the 15th of June, which is
held as a day of rejoicing and merriment. They
are accompanied by a vessel of war, which carries
a chaplain for the fleet, and to this vessel, at
the beat of a drum, the fishermen proceed on
Sundays for public worship. The fishing grounds
are towards the northern coasts of Scotland, but

321

agreeably to a law of old standing, no vessel is
expected to approach within three leagues of the
shore. The first day that nets are allowed to be
hauled is the 24th of June, when the fishing at
once commences in all its vigour. The whole
process of curing is conducted on shipboard.
Immediately on being caught the herrings are
bled, gutted, cleaned, salted, and barrelled. The
bleeding is effected by cutting them across the
back 01 the neck, and then hanging them up for
a few seconds by the tail. By being thus relieved
of the blood, the fish retain a certain sweetness
of flavour or delicacy of flesh, which unbled her-
rings cannot possibly possess. The rapidity of
the process of curing must likewise aid in pre-
serving the native delicacy of the animal, for the
herring is salted and in the barrel in a very few
minutes after it has been swimming in the water.
The superiority of the Dutch herrings, I was
assured, is solely ascribable to this mode of curing."
In order to test the Dutch mode of curing
herrings, I procured a barrel containing four
hundred, which were treated in the manner de-
scribed by Mr. Chambers. They were certainly
the most delicious herrings I ever tasted. If this
method of curing were adopted in Newfoundland,
the advantages would soon be apparent by the
increased price and demand for our herrings ;
and our herring fishery, instead of being, what
it is now, a mere auxiliary to the cod-fishery, and
of secondary consideration, would advance and
become one of the most important and valuable

fisheries.

322

The cured cod-fish (G'adus Morrhiia) and
(Gadus Carbonar'ms) are now . being shipped
off to the merchants by the iishernien, when
these fish are re-shipped, and sent away to foreign
markets for sale. Cod-fish is the great staple arti-
cle of the country, affording the means of subsist-
ence to nearly the whole population of the colony.
The quantity of cod-fish cured and exported at
different periods is as follows :

!i»

(JUINTALS

1763

380,274

1785

591,276

1795

... 600,000

1814

1,200,000

1830

f)48,463

1881

755,667

1832

619,177

1833

883,536

1834

... 763,187

1836

860,354

1838

... 724,515

1839

865,377

1840

915,795

1841

1,009,725

1842

... 1,007,980

The quantity of fish taken by the French in
1842, is said to be 1,400,000 quintals; thus ma-
king the total quantity exported in that year to
be 2,407,980 quintals.

The potatoes {Solarium Tuberosum) are now
nearly ripe. They are generally sown in the
month of May and the beginning of June, and ar6
dug up and deposited in the cellars, from the winter
frost, in October. Newfoundland produces some
of the finest potatoes of any country in the world,
and which is one of the most important articles

323

of food used in the country. Herrings and pota-
toes form the principal diet of the poorer classes
of the colony, and a more hardy or better looking
race of men are not to be found upon the face
of the globe. This proves the excellence and whole-
someness of the diet. P has been demonstrated
that man will live mucli longer, and acquire a
greater degree of strength, on potatoe diet than
on bread. Dr. Hawkins, in his " Medical Statis-
tics,*' states, that in the department of Indre,
in the province of Touraine, upon the Loire, one-
fourth of the children born, die within the first
year, and half between fifteen and twenty, and
that three parts out of four are dead within fifty
years. Dutrochet, an eminent physician in that
department, remarked, in a conversation with Mr.
Knight, the president of the Horticultural Society,
that the extraordinary mortality was occasioned
by the food, which consisted chiefly of bread, and
of which he calculated that every adult peasant
ate two pounds a day. He added, as the result of
his own experience, that if the peasantry would
substitute a small quantity of animal food with
potatoes, they would live much longer.

Most of the inhabitants of Bird-Island Cove
make their starch from the potatoes. A quarter
of a bushel will make a pound; the process is
very simple. The potatoes are first peeled, then
grated over a tub of water, into which the
potatoe falls ; when a sufficient quantity is grated,
it is well stirred about in the tub with the hand ;
it is then taken and strained through a piece of
fine calico or muslin, and let remuin in a dish

324

for a day, after which the starch is found in a
thick, tough, white coat on the bottom of the
dish, and the water floating on the top ; the water
is then thrown off, end the starch taken and put
into a small bag and hung up to dry. In the early
part of the summer, I have known the tops of the
potatoe stalks to be used as a substitute for
cabbage. The potatoe belongs to a class of plants
which are poisonous, and though the tubers or
roots of the potatoe are good and wholesome, yet
the potatoe-apple is said to be slightly poisonous,
and it is said that the liquor in which potatoes
have been boiled, imbibes an injurious quality,
and they ought never to be used in soup or stew.
"Chemists have found, by analysis, that 100
parts of the potatoe, when deprived of its skin,
contain 08 to 72 parts of water, and 28 to 32
parts of insoluble matter, consisting of starch,
fibrous matter, and soluble mucilage, which
together constitute the flour, the amount and
quality of which depend greatly upon the
mealiness of the root." Mr. Crew (who keeps
six head of cattle) informed me that he always
dries the potatoe-stalks, or haulms, as fodder for
his cattle during the winter season. He said,
about two and a half hundred weight of potatoe-
stalks went as far as one hundred weight of hay.
Potatoes are very generally mixed up with flour,
and manufactured into bread ; and potatoe
flour makes excellent puddings. It is said that
potatoes three-fourths boiled, make a good sub-
stitute for soap, and also may be used as a sub-
stitute for coifee and chocolate. I have read that

-€P^-

325

brandy, gin, sugar, and cheese, have been made
out of the potatoe. John Hollohan informed me,
that last year (1843) he sowed one barrel of seed
potatoes, out of which he had the extraordinary
increase of forty-one barrels.* They were sown
in the usual way, and manured with kelp. This
constitutes the principal manure used in this
neighbourhood. It is generally taken from the
beach about Christmas, and laid over the ground
for the following spring ; and the people say better
crops are produced by this mode, than if the
manure were laid on in the spring.

The first time potatoes were cultivated in Bona-
vista was about sixty years ago. The quantity
produced there in 1S43 was 45,000 bushels. Ac-
cording to the returns in 183G, the quantity of
potatoes raised in the island was 1,188,437 bush-
els. Probably nearly double that quantity is
now raised.

In 1584 our Queen Elizabeth sent out a
fleiet to "discover and plant new countries not
possessed by Christians." Thomas Heriot, the
mathematician, was one of these adventurers.
He returned with the rest, two years after his
departure, and it has been supposed that to him
we are indebted for the first knowledge of the
potatoe, as he describes an American plant, called
openmok, thus : — " The roots of this plant are
round, some as large as a walnut, others much
larger; they grow in damp soils, many hanging
together as if fixed on ropes. They are good

* A barrel contains about two and a half bushels.

320

food, either boiled or roasted." Sir Walter Ra-
leigh, whose tragical and undeserved fate is one
of the numerous stains upon the conduct, not
the reign, of James I., introduced the potatoe
into Ireland on his return from the expedition
to North America, in which he colonized Vir-
ginia. The story is, that he reared the plant on
his estate, near Youghall, county Cork, where
it grew and bore flowers; that his gardener, hav-
ing gathered the " apples " as the fine fruit which
his master had brought from abroad, carried them
to Sir Walter, who ordered the plants to be root-
ed out. The man accordingly dug them up, but
finding a large quantity of tubers, the plants were
saved from destruction. Many and various ob-
servations have been made upon this story, in
order to ascertain whether Sir Walter knew which
part of his foreign treasure was edible; but it
is not worth our while to enter at length upon
this matter. Other accounts state, that the po-
tatoe was not introduced into Ireland until the
year 1610; while some writers affirm that the
people of that country were in possession of it at
a much earlier period. This, however, may refer
to the Spanish Battata, or sweet potatoe, which
is said to have been carried to Ireland by
Captain Hawkins, in that year. The sweet po-
tatoe is mentioned by Gerard in his Herbal,
published 1697, as the Sisarum Peruvianum.
He describes it as growing in India, Barbary,
and Spain, recommending it for conserves and
sweatmeats. For this purpose the root was used
in the time of Shakspeare. Gerard also men-

,-i-

327

tions the common potatoc as Batlata Virginiana^
giving an accurate description of both plant and
flower. The potatoe was brought to southern
Europe by a different channel. Clusius received
it during his residence at Vienna, in 1598, from
the governor of Mons, in Flanders, who had pro-
cured it the year preceding from Italy, under
the name of TarHtouffli. For some time after
its introduction into this country, the potatoe was
planted in the gardens of the nobility as a cu-
rious exotic. In the reign of James I. it was
considered as a delicacy, being provided in small
quantity for the queen's household, at the price
of two shillings per pound. Through the suc-
ceeding reign and the Commonwealth, it remain-
ed extremely scarce, nor did its cultivation spread
till more than a hundred years after the discovery
of Virginia. Mr. Buckland, a Somersetshire
gentleman, drew the attention of the Royal So-
ciety to its value in case of fimine, by a letter
in 1663. Such members as had lands adapted
to its culture were entreated to plant the new
vegetable, and Evelyn was requested to mention
it in his Sylva; but so little was this admirable
practical gardener aware of its importance, that he
took no notice of it till thirty years afterwards;
and then in his "Kalendarium Plantarum," (the
first gardener's calender published in Britain)
in the following cursory manner : " Plant your
potatoes in your worst ground; take them up in
November for winter spending; there will enough
remain for a stock, though ever so exactly gath-
ered." This root, thus slightingly noticed by

> (

:328

a writer as celebrated for his careful research
as the man was for his unwearied benevolence,
forms at the present day the chief food of the
peasantry of Ireland. The progress of the ve-
getable was but slow in England, notwithstanding
the zeal of the Royal Society ; but in Ireland,
at the end of the seventeenth century, potatoes
were much used as bread; and a writer on the
gardening at that time says, they "may be pro-
pogated with advantage to poor people." Ray
scarcely mentions the potatoe; and in the Com-
plete Gardener, published by London and Wise
in the succeeding century, it is not noticed at all;
of so little importance was it thought, that Brad-
ley says, it is "of less note than horse radish."
The potatoe was not made the object of useful
culture in Scotland till 1728, when a labouring
man, named Thomas Prentice, near Kilsyth, in
Stirlingshire, cropped the little plot of ground
from which he partly drew his subsistence with
potatoes. The neighbouring cottagers, and after-
wards the farmers, seeing the value of the crop,
followed his example. Prentice himself gathered
together sufficient money to retire upon an annu-
ity, "having been for sixty-four years a witness
to the happy effects of the blessing which he had
been instrumental in conferring on his country."
The culture of the potatoe in the rest of Europe
appears not -to have attained to any extent till
during the last century. It was introduced into
Sweden in 1720; but notwithstanding the exer-
tions of Linnaeus, it did not come into general
cultivation till uided by a royal edict in 17G4. In

Switzerland it met with more favour; the inhabi-
tants in a few years growing not only sufRcient
potatoes for their common consumption, but dry-
ing them and grinding them into flour for bread.
In Poland also the potatoe is cultivated to an
extraordinary extent. In some parts of India,
especially Bengal, the qultivation of the potatoe
has been introduced with every prospect of suc-
cess; it was at first very unpopular, but is now
regarded as a valuable article of food. Attempts
have been vainly made to cultivate this root in
Ceylon. That island is in general too hot, and it
thrives in one spot in the interior only, whence a
basket full is sent every morning for the supply
of the governor's table."*

Cabbage (Brassica), turnips [Brassica Rapa).,
carrots (Daucus Carrota), parsnips (Pastinaca
Sativd), peas (Pisum Sativum), beans (Phaseoliis),
onions (Allium Cepa), garlic {Allium Sativum),
and the other garden vegetables have now arrived
at full maturity. The horse-mackerel or tunny-fish
{Scomber Thynnus) is at this season seen revelling
in its. ocean home. I was not aware of the exist-
ence of this fish on the coast of Newfoundland,
until I saw two at Bonavista, which were purchas-
ed in the bottom of the Bay, where they are just
beginning to be used as an article of food. Tho
two that I saw were each about ten feet long,
some of which I eat, which was equal if not
superior in flavour to the common mackerel. Few
in Newfoundland are aware that the horse-mack-

See "New Library of Useful Knowledge."

330

erel constitutes a sumptuous article of food, or
that it is even fit to eat. This fish was well
known to the ancients, and highly valued as a
most important food. From the earliest ages it
constituted a great source of wealth and com-
merce to the inliabitants of the Mediterranean. It
ought to be generally made known, that the tunny-
fish is a valuable article of food, as they are
abundant along the coast of Newfoundland during
the summer and autumn, when great numbers
may be taken. The common mackerel {Scomber
Scomhus) has deserted the shores of Newfoundland
about seven years, none having been caught, I
believe, since 1837. They used to be equally
abundant as the herrings. An old inhabitant of
Bonavista remembers the mackerel to have been
absent from the shores of Newfoundland for a
period of 30 years, and to have returned about
the year 1804. They will probably again visit
our shores, after the expiration of the period of
their migration.

Ascending one of the highest rocks T could see,
I sat down to view the little fishing boats get-
ting under weigh, and gliding one after another,
to the different stages, to deposit the few fish
that may have been caught during the day. I
observed a beautiful butterfly {Vanessa Furcillata)
frisking in the dying radiance of the sun. I
thought of the beautiful lines of Rogers: .

"Child of the sun! pursue thy rapturous flight,
Mingling with her thou lov'st in fields of light,
And where the flowers of paradise unfold,
Quaff" fragrant nectar from their cups of gold ;

i.|

331

There §hall tliy wings, rich as an evening sky,

Kxpiind and shut with silent ccstacy;

Yet wcrt thou once a worm— a thing that crept

On tlio bare earth, tlion wrougiit a tomb and HJcpt —

And such is man— soon A'om his ceil of uiay

To burst a seraph in the blaze of day."

The young or larva of this butterfly feeds on
the nettle {Urtica), which is frequently seen
swarming with black grubs. ' ., .

Mushrooms {Aijaricns Campestrh) are sought
after at this season. This plant grows very
rapidly, and when fried "or stewed, has very
much the flavour of animal flesh. It is, however,
not very wholesome; an excellent catsup is made
from the mushroom, and in Russia a species of
this plant is steeped in fermented liquor, and
frequently when eaten produces intoxication.
" Before dismissing the mushroom tribe, it may
be as well to remark, that there are many varie-
ties, most of which are exceedingly pernicious, and
some absolutely poisonous. The only sort that
may be safely eaten, is distinguished by the red-
ness of its gills, the underneath fringe, so called
from its resemblance to the gills of a flsh. When
fresh and young, these gills are of a bright fleshy
red; the colour soon becomes darker, and when
the plant has been some hours exposed, it be-
comes dark brown, almost black. In the dan-
gerous sorts, the gills are white, yellowish, or
violet colour; all these are absolutely pernicious,
and even the best sort is so to some constitutions;
and when taken from low marshy grounds is in-
jurious to all. Hence they have been called by
an eminent physician 'luxurious poison.'"

332

About the '23rd of September the autumnal
equinox takes place, when day and night are
equal all over the globe. This, like the vernal
equinox, is generally a stormy season. About a
week ago, we were visited with a heavy gale of
wind (Sept. 2Gth, 1842) at Bird-Island Cove.
All the fishing stages were swept away, and sev-
eral fishing boats wrecked. At Bonavista several
fishing boats were lost, a number wrecked, and
nearly all the stages carried away. The amount
of damages sustained iias been heavier than has
been known for the last twenty years.

The, fisherman is now about to enjoy a tem-
porary cessation from the toil and hardship atten-
dant on the fishing voyage, and to be once more
in the midst of his family for a longer period
than he was wont to be. His heart gladdens and
his countenance brightens with a glow of pleasure,
when he surveys his hard earnings, his winter
stock of provisions safely deposited in his little
store-room.

"Loved Autumn! these are thine, and should the storm,
' With ruthless rage, thy soothing scenes deform.

Should sullen Winter's rushing streams destroy
Thy heart-felt pleasures, and thy pensive joy,
The fond remembrance of the past shall rise,
I '' • Bright as the meteor streams across the skies, '

' J;:; And thy lov'd scenes, on memory deep imprest.
Chase the dark form of sorrow from the breast."

The birds at this season begin to migrate.
The sand martin {Hirundo Riparia) has already
disappeared. The migration of birds has engaged
the attention of observant man in all ages of
the world. In ancient times the arrival and

333

departure of birds directed the operations of the
field. The migration of birds is generally sup
posed to take place in the night, and their flight
is estimated at the rate of from 50 to 150 miles
per hour; so that a night and a day would take
any of our birds of passage to the Southern States
of America. Swallows have been seen on the
shores of Africa after their migrations from Europe.
*' It is remarked, that all migratory birds, when
detained in captivity, manifest rrreat agitation
when the period of their migration arrives, in-
somuch that some of them occasionally kill
themselves, through their eflforts to escape. This
igitation is always greatest at night, proving,
together with observation, that birds generally
conmience their flight at that time. The cause
of this pervading inquietude cannot be attributed
either to the want of food or the increase of cold,
it being experienced by individuals removed from
the influence of either, and therefore must reside
in some as yet mysterious warning, no doubt pro-
duced by natural causes, which the Creator of
the universe has found necessary for the preser-
vation of his creatures."

What a wonderful world in which we dwell !
When we think of all the various kinds of beings
who inhabit it, and the changes which are con-
stantly taking place, it leads us to contemplate
with awe and reverence that great Being who
created all things. Astronomers inform us, that
our world is at the distance of 95 millions of
miles from the sun, moving towards the east at
the rapid motion of 70,000 miles an hour, or

334

moi:e than one thousand miles a minute. It is
computed, that the circumference of the earth
is about 25,000 miles, its diameter 7,957 miles,
and its superficial contents about 200,000,000 of
square miles. It is calculated that at least two-
thirds of the surface of the earth is covered by
water. The form or figure of the earth is globular,
or an oblate spheroid. The shape of the orange
and the turnip are frequently referred to by astrono-
mers to illustrate the figure of the earth. Dr.
Dick says, " The annual revolution of the earth
is accomplished in 365 days, 5 hours, 4$ minutes,
and 51 seconds. In the course of this revolu-
tion, the inhabitants of every clime experience,
though at different times, a variety of seasons.
Spring, summer, autumn, and winter, follow each
other in constant succession, diversifying the
scenery of nature, and distinguishing the different
periods of the year. In those countries which
lie in the southern hemisphere of the globe,
November, December, and January are the sum-
mer months, while in the northern hemisphere,
where we reside, these are our months of winter,
when the weather is coldest and the days shortest.
In the northern and southern hemispheres the
seasons are opposite to each other, so that when
it is spring in the one it is autumn in the other,
when it i.. winter in southern latitudes it is sum-
mer with us. During six months, from March
21st to September 23d, the sun shines without
intermission on the north pole; so that there is
no night there during all that interval, while the
south pole is all this time enveloped in darkness.

335

From September to March the south pole enjoys
the solar light, while the north, in its turn, is
deprived of the sun and left in darkness. The
sun is at different distances from the earth at
different periods of the year, owing to the earth's
moving in an elliptical orbit, but it is not upon
this circumstance that the seasons depend. For
on the 1st of January we are more than three
millions of miles nearer the sun, than on the 1st
of July, when the heat of our summer is generally
greatest. The true cause of the variation of the
seasons consists in the inclination of the axis of
the earth to the plane of its orbit, or in other
words, to the ecliptic. If its axis were perpen-
dicular to the ecliptic, the equator and the orbit
would coincide, and as the sun is always in the
plane of the ecliptic, it would in this case be
always over the equator; the two poles would be
always enlightened, and there would be no diversity
of days and nights, and but one season throughout
the year."

The bat (Vespertilio) is occasionally seen skim-
ming the air on leathern wings. Professor Rennie
says, "The ex,traordinary delicacy of touch pos-
sessed by bats, made Spallanzani conceive that
they had a sense to which other animals have
nothing similar, and to ascertain this he performed
upon these creatures many cruel experiments.
He found that bats, when blindfolded, and even
when their eyes are destroyed altogether, and
leather glued over the sockets, can fly nearly as
well as before, and can avoid in their flight the
smallest objects hung up to interrupt them. They

336

can. even dart through a hole in a curtain or net
large enough only to admit their passage, and
that without previous examination. The correct-
ness of these facts was proved by Dr. Jurin of
Geneva, and Sir A. Carlisle, who repeated his
experiments. Baron Cuvier found that the wing
of the bat, which is of great extent compared with
the body, is one continued tissue of exquisitely
sensible nerves, and that the feeling of touch is
here most acute. If this be correct, the blinded
bat is guided wholly by the impression of the air
on its wings, in finding out its nest or the hole
in a curtain. This is well illustrated by the feel-
ings which we ourselves have, when we approach
near to any object, such as a wall, in the dark :
a feeling which, from exercise, is much more
acute in the blind. The delicacy of touch in the
bat is a striking provision of Divine wisdom, as
the creature, always flying in the twilight and in
the night, could not well depend on its eyes in
avoiding objects during its rapid flight in pursuit
of the insects on which it preys."

On my way home I saw a lobster (Articus
Marinus), which was safely lodged in a hole
between the rocks on the margin of the sea. It
was dead, and appeared to have been there a
considerable time. It was probably thrown up
where I saw it during a heavy sea. Lobsters are
said to acquire a new shell annually.

Passing over the brook flowing down the north
side of Bird-Island Cove, I observed several fine
eels {Anguilla Muraena) darting under the rooks.
This fish is very tenacious of life; it is said that

,*!

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SCI

337

after the heart has been removed from the eel^
it has retained its motion and irritability for 100
hours.

The sun was just sinking behind the western
hills when I reached home. At no season of
the year is sunset more beautiful than in autumn.
The sky appears as if touched with the wand of
a magician, and as if by the power of enchant-
ment the most gorgeous tints burst into exist-
ence, bedecking the clouds with the most lovely
scenery. Generally at sea the most splendid
-^iincets are seen. I have often indulged in the

iHS of the scene when viewing the glorious
' ap of day" gradually sinking beneath the
waves in the Atlantic Ocean.

"The beautiful sunshine is fading,
The light in the west slowly dies;
Whilst twilight's soft pencil is shading
The mountains and pastures and skies.

. ;, "O, who can behold the day's glory,
Thus deeply envelop'd in gloom;
Nor liken the scene to man's story,
Nor think on the shades of the tomb?"

..?,.«•

?^-

'>"i&'^;>

338

B;" ■

THE

STEAMER JOHN Wc ADAM

ENTERING TRINITY HARBOUR.

The John M'c Adam is the second steamer
which has appeared in Newfoundland. She ar-
rived at St. John*s on the 4th of August, 1842.
This vessel had been previously employed running
between Cork and Liverpool, and was sent to
this country in order to be sold. The following
account is frondf the " Public Ledger : " " The
John M'c Ad«ni left St. John's on Wednesday
morning, about half-past nine o'clock, with a
company of about 5O'ladi0 and gentlemen on
l]||ard; and on proceeding through the Narrows
passed H. M. S. Spartan, also outward-bound,
and gave them hearty cheers, which were just
as heartily responded to. Having rounded the
Southern Head, the John M'c Adam kept the
shore on board, until she had turned the low
sharp point known as Cape St. Francis, and had
proceeded some considerable distance down the
south shore of Conception Bay towards Portugal
/Cove, when she directed her course across to

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the western end of Bell Isle, and thence to Bri^'
gwa, into which harbour she ran, taking the
sweep of the bight, and approaching the town as
nearly as was '^fudent. Having stopped her
course for ' ; v.^ "^ of ten minutes u the pur-
pose of gratifying t,ue curiosity of the inhabitants,
as well as of affording the pas&engers a sight of
the town, she proceeded to Port-de-Grave, steam-
ing in on the west side of the Bay, in which
that and several minor settlements are, and pass-
ing out on the east, ran down the north shore,
and into the port of Carbonear, which she swept
as in the former cases, arresting her progress
for a few minutes with the same object in view.
On leaving Carbonear the steamer retraced a
part of her course, and passing between Carbonear
rock and the main, entered and ran up the long
indraught, at the head of which stands Harbour
Grace, the capital of the northern district, which
place she reached about eight o'clock, and came
to anchor. Here several of the passengers went
on shore, and received the hearty welcomes and
the kind hospitalities of their friends; and at one
o'clock, having rejoined the ship, weighed anchor,
and proceeding down the whole of the north shore
of the Bay, passing between Baccalieu and the
main, entered the capacious Bay of Trinity, and
crossing the whole breadth of it, entered the
harbour of Trinity, than which we believe it
scarcely possible to find one more picturesque
and 1)eautiful. Here the John M'c Adam again
cast anchor, and the visitors proceeding jn shore,
occupied much of the brief space of time allotted

■^

340

them by the general arrangements, in admiring
the beauty of the scenery, which every where
presented itself, the remainder being employed in
receiving the pressing attention and hospitalities
of their friends. Shortly before one o'clock the
steamer again weighed anchor, and traversing
the mouths of Trinity and Conception Bays, and
running along the coast from St. Francis, hither
entered St. John's, and came to anchor about
half-past nine o'clock ; thus completing the most
perfectly novel, whilst it has been one of the
most interesting and pleasurable, excursions ever
experienced in Newfoundland."

The first steamer which ever appeared in a port
of Newfoundland was H. M. steamer Spitfire,
on the 5th of November, 1840, bringing from
Halifax a detachment of men for the Royal Vet-
eran Companies. After remaining a few days
she sailed for England. During her stay at St.
John's numbers gratified their curiosity by going
on board and inspecting the vessel. This steamer
was lost on the 6th of October, 1842, on her
voyage from Jamaica to Belise, on Half Moon
Key Reef.

The first royal mail steamer ever employed in
Newfoundland, arrived at St. John's about 8 o'clock
on Monday morning, April 22nd, 1844, having
run the distance from Halifax (near 700 miles)
in 60 hours. She is called the North America,
and commanded by Captain R. Meagher.

"It is always interesting to trace great dis-
coveries back to the lirst hint, accident, or no-
tice, thai may have given rise to them; in no

341

instance, perhaps, more so than those which sugf-
gested the modern application of steam to me-
chanical purposes. While the Marquis of Wor-
cester was a state prisoner in the Tower, so;ne
food being prepared on the fire of his apartment,
the cover of the vessel being tight, was, by the
expansion of the steam, suddenly forced off and
driven up the chimney. This led him to a train
of thought in reference to the practical application
of steam as a first mover. The result of his
speculations was obscurely hinted in his celebra-
ted work entitled ' A. Century of Inventions,' and
published in 1663: but it was still many year&
before the principle was seized and applied to
the improvement of art. Long it lay buried in
the mass of hints and observations which <^he
Marquis had given to the world, but which were
for {t considerable period overlooked or disregard-
ed : so slow, in some cases, is the progress of
knowledge. At length, by the successive labours
of Captain Savery, Newcomen, and Cawley,
Beighton, Watt, and others, society has witness-
ed that noblest example of mechanical ingenuity,
the steam-engine. Nothing is more astonishing
in the productions of modern art than the opera-
tions of this admirable machine. To think that
an aqueous vapour, which was formerly deemed
useless and suffered to vanish into . air, is con-
verted by skilful management and adaptation into
a first mover, of vast and indefinite power, will
give us a high idea of human ingenuity, and
of the wisdom and goodness of the Almighty,
in endowing his creatures with faculties so 'ex-

.^5^r

342

press and admirable.' The Marquis of Wor-
cester, besides hinting at the principle upon whifh
steam-engines are constructed, mentioned somewhat
obscurely a contrivance of his own, by which he
could raise a continual stream, like a fountain,
forty feet high, by means of two cocks alternately
letting in steam and water. His book wajf seen
by Captain Thomas Savery, who, more "than
thirty years after - its publication, succeeded' in
applying the force of steam to raise water to a
small height, and in small quantities; and that
he might have all the honour of the invention
to himself, bought up and destroyed all the copies
he could procure of the Marquis's book. While
Savery was thus employed. Dr. Papin was con-
triving one on the same principles, though inferior,
and M. Amontons, of Paris, was engaged in the
same pursuit. Each claimed the originality of
the invention, but it is supposed by some (hat
they all took the hint from the * Century of
Inventions.' It has been supposed, that the
principle of the steam-engine was known much
earlier than we have stated. Some have ascri-
bed its discovery to Hero of Alexandria, who
flourished more than two thousand years ago;
and others to Brancas, an Italian, in 1629. But
we have every reason to believe that whatever
casual notice it obtained, no effectual use was made
of it, on a large scale, till after the publication
alluded to above, and in the manner here stated.
Notwithstanding the imperfect state of Captain
Savery's machine, it remained without improve-
ment for several years, until, in 1705, Mr. New-

343

comen, an ironmonger, and Mr. John Ccwley,
a*glazier, both of Dartmouth, contrived another
vray to raise wa^er by steam, bringing the engine
to work with a beam and piston. This great
improvement was rendered more perfect by Mr.
Henry Beighton, a man of eminent science. In
all thfse engines the steam was applied only to
the under side of the piston: the returning stroke
was produced by the pressure of the atmosphere
upon the surface of the piston, and on this account
these machines were afterwards termed atmos-
pheric engines, to distinguish them from those
of which we are about to speak. The celebrated
James Watt, examining a small model of the
atmospheric engine, was struck with two grand
defects in its construction, which he succeeded
in removing, by applying the steam to the upper
as well as to the under side of the piston, and by
cooling the steam to produce a vacuum, not in
the cylinder itself, but in a separate vessel, called
the condensor. The attention which this won-
drous engine now excited, occasioned many other
scientific men to apply their talents in the same
way, and various modifications have been made
in the engine itself, and its application extended
to numerous other purposes. For many years the
only service in which the steam-engine was em-
ployed, was that of pumping water out of deep
mines; but when the improvements of Watt and
others brought it into general notice, it was soon
found that a power so great and so manageable,
might easily be adopted as a first mover in almost
all the processes of art. It has accordingly been

344

thu« employed in almost bvery species of ma-
chinery.

"The application of steam, as a mechanical
power, for impelling vessels and carriages, is one
of the most brilliant and useful achievements of
art which distinguish the present age, and is
rapidly producing an important and interesting
change, both on inland and foreign intercourse.
The fact that a vessel can be impelled by steam,
against wind and tide, at the rate of twelve miles
an hour, and a carriage on a railway with a velocity
of thirty and upwards, is sufficient to account for
such a change. From the ' report of a committee
of parliament, published in 1822, it appears, that
the first application of steam to the impelling of
vessels was made by an Englishman of the name
of Hull, who, in 1736, obtained a patent for the
invention of a steam-boat, to be moved with a
crank and paddles. But it was only in 1807 that
the invention was fairly brought into practical
use by Mr. Fulton, who had the advice and assist-
ance of Mr. Bell, a Scottish engineer. In Britain,
the first successful application of steam to vessels
was made by Mr. Bell, who built the Comet, of
25 tons and 4 horse power, to ply on the Clyde.
In 1840 there were, throughout Great Britain
and its colonies, no less than 630 steam -vessels,
possessing an aggregate burden of 71,000 tons.
From Liverpool steam-vessels now regularly sail
to the West Indies and America. These vessels
are of enormous size. The Great Western, the
first steamer which sailed to America, is 1340
tons burden. The Victoria is a vessel of 500

345

horse power, and 27 feet longer than our largest
man-of-war. The British Queen measures in
entire length 275 feet. Her two engines are of
250 horse power each, and she is calculated to
carry 1862 tons. Her outward voyage of eighteen
days requires a consumption of 540 tons of coal,,,^
and her homeward voyage of twelve days, 360 tons.
But larger vessels than even these dre now in
preparation. A regular communication is also
now established by steam between Britain nnd
India, by the Mediterranean, Egypt, and the Ued
Sea."

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M: '

(

PROTESTANT CATHEDRAL,
ST. JOHN'S.

The protestant cathedral of St. John's, New-
foundland, is now being erected. It is to be 120
feet long, 56 feet broad, and the tower and spire
130 feet high, to be built of cut stone imported
from Ireland, and when finished will be the finest
protestant place of worship in Newfoundland.
The following account of the laying of the foun-
dation stone is from the " Royal Gazette," of
August 22nd, 1843 :

" The interesting and imposing ceremony of
laying the first stone of the cathedral church of
this diocese took place yesterday. The proces-
sion formed, according to the programme published
last week, at 10 o'clock, by the Theological Insti-
tution, whence it moved to the front of govern-
ment house, where it was joined by His Excellency
the Governor, attended by his aide-de-camp,
private secretary, and staff. It was a source of
universal regret that the Lord Bishop of the
diocese was unable, from continued indisposition,

f s

FKOTESTANT CATHEDRAL ST, JOHN'S NFL

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347

which had been aggravated by his Lordship's
journey to Lance Cove, in Belle Isle, on Sunday
last, for the purpose of holding a confirmation
and consecrating the church recently erected there,
to take his place in it. The cavalcade proceeded
from Government-house by Cochrane and Duck-
worth streets to the parish church, where the
morning service was read by the Rev. T. F. II.
Bridge, the rector ; and afterwards an address
was delivered to a crowded and most attentive
congregation, by the Right Rev. the Bishop.
We sincerely regret (and in this feeling all who
had the privilege of listening to it will participate)
that, as we understand, his Lordship had been
too unwell to commit it to writing, we cannot
present it to our readers. The eloquence and
beauty of his Lordship's language excited universal
admiration, and his touching references to his
first coming to these shores, twenty-five years ago,
as a missionary, his subsequent return as the first
bishop of the island, and his approaching separa-
tion from his beloved flock, must have gone home
to every heart, and did not fail to draw tears from
many an eye. At the close of the bishop's address,
the Rev. C. Blackman, one of his Lordship's
chaplains, read the offertory, during which a collec-
tion was made by the clergy in deacon's orders
and the churchwardens of St. John's, which, we
are glad to announce, amounted to about £90,
including the handsome donation of £2^ 10s. from
Major Law, the officers and some of the non-
commissioned officers and privates of the Royal
Newfoundland Companies. The procession then

348

moved from the church to the cathedral fround,
when a portion of the 132nd Psalm was sung in
a very beautiful and solemn manner by the choirs
of St. John's and St. Thomas's. His Excellency
Sir John Harvey, the governor, at this stage of *he
proceedings, delivered the following admirable and
appropriate address :

"My Lord, Rev. Gentlemen, Ladies and Gentlemen,
" Upon no occasion since I have had the high honour
of representing our gracious sovereign, have I ever met
any considerable portion of Her Majesty's subjects under
circumstances of a more interesting nature than those
which have now called us together. We are assembled
for the purpose of taking the first step in the erection
of a Christian temple of a more than ordinarily sacred
character, one which is to introduce into and to perpet-
uate in the Church congregation of this colony the im-
pressive forms of our Cathedral service ; and whether
the sacred edifice about to be reared, be regarded as
the visible memorial of the completion of a great work
begun under the auspices of the respected and highly
gifted prelate, from whom we are about to be separated,
and as a lasting monument of the zeal by which his
superintending labours have been distinguished, and of
the great success by which they have been blessed; or
as an indication not equivocal of the firm establishment,
through his lordship's exertions, of a branch of our
venerated national church in this island; or, finally, as
an edifice well calculated to lend, with those of other
congregations, its appropriate adornment to a great
Christian city; the sacred and beautiful building about
to be reared must, to the Episcopal congregation of
Newfoundlaiid, long continue to be regarded with deep
interest and afiectionate veneration.

349

"For myself, while I cannot adequately express the
gratification which I feel in having my name indentified
in any respect with the foundation of this edifice and
the proceedings of this day ; neither am I able to give
adequate expression to the feelings of regret which I
am sure are shared by all who hear me, in the contem-
plation of the approaching departure from among us
of one who has established such strong claims upon
the gratitude and affection of the Episcopal church of
Newfoundland ; and in availing myself of this public
occasion to assure his lordship, that he will carry with
him to his new and more extended charge, the fervent
prayers and warmest good wishes of his late flock, for
whose spiritual welfare his anxious care has been so
unceasingly manifested, during the whole period of his
residence in this island. I feel that I am giving ex-
pression to the unanimous sentiments not only of all
of that congregation now present, but of all its members,
wherever dispersed throughout this diocese."

This concluded, the Lord Bishop offered up
the solemn and suitable form of prayer which
we subjoin, and after the inscription had been
read by the rector, proceeded ^o lay the foun-
dation-stone, with the usual formalities, in the
name of the holy and undivided Trinity. His
Lordship then said the collect for St. Simon and
St. Jude's Day, and pronounced the Benediction;
immediately at the close of which the band of the
R. N. C. played the national anthem, " God save
the Queen." The numerous assemblage then
dispersed, and His Excellency, with Lady Harvey,
the Bishop, and Mrs. Spencer, the clergy, &c.
repaired to the rectory, and partook of lome re-
freshment.

i ^

350

The following is a transcript of the inscrption
oh the plate inserted in the foundation-stone :

'» "D. 0. M.

Hujus Aedis,
Sancto Jolianni Apostolo *

Dedicutac,
Impcnsis Anglicis, Simu) Colonicis

Exstriictac, '

Ausplcantc Joluinnc Ilarvcy I'^quite

J'rovinciae Itebua Jleiic i*racposito,

Clcri Autcni, Civium

Non Sine Precibiis

Aubreius,

Primus Dioeccseos Tcrrac Novae

lCpisco])u.s,

Primuni L:ipi<lem Posiiit

XXI. Aug.

Anno Salutis MDCCCXLIII."

Beneath the plate v/ere deposited the seal of
the Lord Bishop, a glass bottle, containing coins
of the present reign, a parchment with copy of
inscription, and numbers of the " Royal Gazette "
and *' Times " newspapers, in which were published
a programme of the proceedings.

The following is the form of prayer delivered
by the Lord Bishop on laying the foundation
stone : —

"O Lord God Almighty, who alone dost put into
our hearts good desires, and whose grace alone enables
us to bring the same to good effect; Thou, only Thou
hast prompted us to the undertakinc;- in which we arc
now engaged, and on Tliy succour do we faithfully rely
for the successful issue of our labours.

" We have been taiight, no less by the history of the
world than by the decla'ation of thy holy Psalmist, that
'unless the Lord build the house, their labour is but
vain that build it; unless the Lord keep the city, the

tr"

351

watchman waketh but in vain.' Wc bless Thee, O
Lord, for that Thou hast granted to us manifold assu-
rances of Thy presence in this work which Thy Holy
Spirit has inspired. We build, therefore, with Thee,
and for Thee, and to Thy name alone be ascribed the
honour and glory of these labours, which, when sted-
fastly conducted, are never in vain in the Lord. From
the fountain of all goodne?" Thou hast sent Thy Holy
Ghost to pour into the hearts of many of Thy servants
that most excellent gift of charity, which has produced
the means to build, and the bonds of unity to cement
the edifice which we rear and consecrate to the worship
of Thy great name. Long may Thy Fatherly hand
be over us, and over those who unite with us in this
good enterprise. Bless our foundations, and they shall
be blessed. Give skill to our architects and strength
to our workmen, that they shall be strong to labour,
and that there shall be no decay; lengthen our cords
and extend our bulwarks, as it shall seem good to Thy
wisdom, that our adversaries may be discomfited, while
all shall confess that the Lord of hosts is with us, and
that none can effectually oppose the church whose foun-
dations are on the everlasting hills, and of which Thou
art the Helper and Defender.

" While we pray, O Lord, as Thou hast taught us,
for all sorts and conditions of men, that Thou mayest
visit them with Thy great salvation, and bring home
all wanderers to Thy flock, we beg an especial blessing
on the whole church of Christ, and that pure and Apos-
tilical branch of it to which we belong. We pray for
all persons in authority, for the Queen's Most Excellent
Majesty, our Sovereign Lady Victoria, whom Thou
hast set over us, and whom we are bound to acknowledge
in these her dominions, over all persons and in all causes,
as well ecclesiastical as temporal, supreme. We pray

■ i

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352

for His Excellency, the Governor,, for the High Court
of Judicature, for the Queen's Honourable Council,
and the whole Magistracy and people of this land.
And we implore Thee to send Thy grace on all Bishops
and Curates, and chiefly on those who shall be called
to any holy functions in this place, that they may be
80 governed and guided by Thy good Sj-'rit, that they
may hold and maintain the pure faith of Christ in the
unity of the spirit and the bond o» ^esuce.

" And, finally, commending ourselves and all our doings
into Thy hands, we desire to offer up our unfeigned
thanksgivings for all thy mercies vouchsafed to us. We
thank thee for conducting us thus far in the advance-
ment of our designs, and for the earnest of thei:: final
accom'plishment. In humility and singleness of purpose
we attribute all to thee, and crave thy blessing only so
far as thou seest that our imperfect work may contribute
to the hallowing of thy name, and the advancement
of thy heavenly kingdom, through the mediation and
merits of thy blessed Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ. — Our Father, &c." <j • ,i

The first episcopal missionary appointed in
Newfoundland, was in 1705, who had for his
parish the whole island. In 1827 the first pro-
testant bishop (the present Lord Bishop of Nova
Scotia) visited Newfoundland. In 1839 the
Right Rev. Dr. Aubrey George Spencer was
appointed as the first Lord Bishop of Newfound-
land, who, in 1843, removed to the diocese of
Jamaica, and who is succeeded in the bishoprick
of Newfoundland by the present Lord Bishop,
the Right Rev. Dr. "Edward Field. The number
of clergymen throughout the island is 25, churches
52, schools 30, and the number of episcopalians is
estimated at about 30,000.

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ST, ANDREWS CHURCH, ST. JOHN'S, NFL.

353

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ST. ANDREW'S CilURCH,
ST. JOHN'S.

OtJJJ

This church, just erected in the capital of
Newfoundland, is built of wood, and exhibits a
noble monument of the zeal and piety of the
members of the Church of Scotland. It is con-
sidered the handsomest place of worship in the
island. It is GO feet long, 45 feet broad, and
the tower and spire 1 10 feet high. The gallery
occupies two sides and one end of the building,
which is supported by fluted iron pillars. The
whole of the interior is finished in a very chaste
and becoming manner. The first stone of this
elegant building was laid on Monday, May the
8th, 1843, the following account of which is
taken from the " Public Ledger :"

" It is already well known to many of our
readers, that the sons of Scotia who are
settled in this place, have for some time past
been actively engaged in preparation for getting
up a place of worship, in connexion with the
established church of their nativo land, and that
they have occured the ministerial services of the
Rev. Donald A. Fraser, who, early in the past
winter, removed from Nova Scotia, where he has

3r>t

exercised the functions of his callin*; for a (juarter
of a century, and who, since the period of his
removal to St. Jolni's, has taken spiritual charge
of his countrymen here. His lOxcellency, Sir
John Harvey, having granted them a beautiful
and commanding site, the necessary preparations
for the proposed building have since the opening
of the season been rapidly advancing, and on
Monday last our townsmen bad an opportunity
of witnessing the simple but solemn and imposing
ceremony of laying the foundation stone of this
interesting erection. Kejjneth M*c Lea, Esq.
an influential merchant of the place, and most
deeply interested in the success of this laudable
undertaking, ofTiciated on the occasion, in bis
capacity of president of the Scottish Society. The
laying of the stone was preceded and followed by
a brief and appropriate prayer, offered by the
Rev. Mr. Fraser, and afterwards the highly re-
spectable audience, assembled to witness the cere-
mony, were addressed by Mr. M'c Lea and Mr.
Fraser.

" We cordially congratulate our Scottish friends^
on the success with which their liberality and
zeal have been followed; we consider the attain-
ment of their object, which they have so long and
so earnestly desired, calculated to exercise a
salutary influence on their comfort and well-being,
and it is our sincere and fervent wish, that pastor
and flock may be a blessing to each other, and
that both may enjoy much of the Divine presence
in the sanctuary they are now raising to His
service. We know of no event more interest- x

ing lo Scotchmen in St. John's, tliun the eioclion
of a plucu of worship in connexion with the hal-
lowed church of their fathers.

" We should have mentioned above, that Mr.
M*c Lea placed in the stone a leaden box, con-
taining several coins of the present and some
preceding reigns, together with a sealed bottle,
containing some Newfoundland and Scottish
newspapers, and the names of the building com-
mittee, Peter M'c Bride, Walter Grieve, John
Boyd, Dugald M'c Keller, James Douglas, and
John M'c William, Esqrs. of Mr. M*c Lea, pesi-
dent of the Scottish Society, of the Rev. Donald
A. Fraser, the first pastor of the church, and of
Mr. Norris, superintending architect, all engrossed
upon parchment."

We subjoin an outline of the addresses deliv-
ered on the occasion.

Mr. M'c Lea:

"Dear countrymen, — As you have been pleased to
confer on me, the high honour of laying the fouuJation-
stone of the first place of public worship in connexion
with the Established Church of Scotland, which has been
fdunded in this colony, it may be expected from me to
address a few words to you on this very important and
momentous occasion. However, in the presence of so
many, my seniors in years, and my superiors in ability,
it might be presumptuous in me to say much. I will,
therefore, only allow myself, briefly, but sincerely, to
congratulate you all on this auspicious commencement of
our labours, and to express the hope, that the time is
very near at luuicl, when avc shall be able to worship
the God of our fathers, in a temple dedicated to His

356

service, according to the forms of our much-veneiated
church.

" I cannot allow this occasion to pass without cordially
thanking the Rev. Mr. Snowball and his congregation,
for the very handsome Christian -like manner in which
they have treated our pastor, the Rev. Donald Fraser,
by allowing him the use of the Wesleyan Church.

"Trusting that this undertaking may be a bond of
love and union, I wish you all happiness here and here-
after."

The Rev. Mr. Fraser:

"Countrymen and friends, — The occasion which
assembles us here this day is one which is powerfully
calculated to awaken emotions of no ordinary nature.
God in his providence has graciously honoured us as
instruments of laying the foundation-stone of a fabric
to be dedicated to his own service, and to be, whilst it
endures, in connexion with the church by law established
in Scotland. Around this simple, but comprehensive
announcment, how many tender reminiscences of the
past— how many hopeful anticipations for the future —
spontaneously cluster and gather force ! You, my dear
fellow-worshippers, cannot, I am convinced, contemplate
the cheering prospect with which a benign God is
mercifully crowning your laudable efforts, without ex-
periencing a grateful and quickened remembrance of the
many claims which our parent church has on your affec-
tions and veneration; a church, let me observe, while
she extends the olive branch of fraternization to other
sections of the Christian vinevard, does not shrink from
avowing aer own l\igh claims to a Divine origin ; and
which, while she can point to the pages of inspiration as
the charts of her birthriglit, can also with humble grati-
tude look to the many gracious evidences of tlie Divine

'■*^-

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357

presence within her walls, in further vindication of her
claims.

"At this solemn moment many of you will doubtless
remember, with admiration and thankfulness, the salutary
and efficient system pervading all her arrangements, by
which maternal solicitude for your temporal and spiritual
welfare has been made available from your infancy
upwards, through the whole course of your youthful
education, until and after you have gone forth into the
bustling- paths of active life. You will remember tluit
it has been her aim and her pin-pose to consecrate the
home of all her members to the service of God, and so
to direct her national education as to render it subser-
vient, not merely to the attainment of objects of secular
ambition, but more especially to the nobler aim of
training heirs for the kingdom of heaven. You will
surely remember that though she be herself now passing
through trying fires of difficulty and opposition, she
still continues to put forth all a mother's love and
energy, in watchful care over her expatriated children.

" With these recollections I can well suppose that
there will mingle the remembrance of those sad and
dreary years during which you have been paiurLiliy
debarred in this colony, from participating in the simple
but sublime worship of her pub'ic ordinances. Thank-
fully recognizing and acknowledging the liberality and
the benefit you have experienced at the hands of other
Christian denominations, there is nothlug disparaging to
their claims on our gratitude, in the avowal that as
Scotchmen and as Presbyterians, you must have sighed
after the high privilege of entering into our national
sanctuary, of again joining In those forms of worship,
and listening to those peculiar doeti'Incs wlileli preposses-
sion and conviction have alike made so dear to your
hearts. This privilege, however, is at length in some

t I

358

measure realized to you ; and in tlic ocoasioii which
now assembles us, you have a gratifying pledge of its
being soon still more amply realized.

" You have witnessed the ceremony of laying the
foundation stone of a building consecrated to the ser-
vice of God, in close and acknowledged connexion with
your parent church, and in which you may reasonably
hope, that by the blessing of God your children, or those
who may succeed you, shall continue to be instructed in
the precious truths for which your fathers bled and died,
and for which your brothers in your native land are now
nobly contending. It must be to you a solemn and de-
lightful event, to be thus honoured in founding a place
of worship, the first in this ancient colony of the British
empire that has ever been built in connexion with the
Church of Scotland. This event seems to me the most
important that has ever been ti'ansacted by my country-
men, during the whole course of their colonial history.
It is important to yourselves individually, inasmuch as we
may hope that it will serve powerfully, by its necessary
consequences, to awaken within you those iioly and salu-
tai'y considerations which tend to withdraw men's affec-
tions and desires from transient and from perishing things,
and to elevate them to objects of a purer, a more perma-
nent, and a more satisfying nature. It is important to
others who may follow you to this, the land of your adop-
tion, inasmuch as we may hope that they also will continue
to find, in connexion with this building, something of that
fidelity of scriptural teaching, and that cftlciency of pas-
toral care, which has rendered Scotland and her enter-
prising sons favourably known among the nations of the
earth.

" But all privileges have their corresponding duties.
The advantageous circumstances under which we meet this
day bring into prominence the obligations under which

359

we stand to give evidence, by the whole tenor of our spirit
and conduct, that our zeal hath not been for a name,
however glorious, nor for a form, however excellent, but
for a Church, which maketh it her earnest study to im-
press deeply upon the minds of her members, in every
quarter of the globe, the spiritual injunction, 'Fear God;
honour the king.' They teach us, by a most gratifying
result, how sinful is despondency, when the voice of duty
calls us to action; and how rapidly frowning difficulties
and disheartening impediments are made to yield before
energy and perseverance put forth in a legitimate cause.
They remind us of our common country and our com-
mon ftxith, and by the tenderest as well as the most
powerful associations, they warn us to draw the bands
of brotherly love and forbearance closer than we have
ever done, and they call upon us emphatically to re-
cord our thankfulness to those kind friends who have
aided us in our endeavours. We indeed owe a deep
debt of gratitude to the generous brethren in Scot-
land, whose princely munificence we r^ave experienced—
to the ladles among ourselves, wlic h'^'ve laboured un-
weariedly and successfully in oui bei.ttli^ — and to those
liberal members of other denominations, ivho, in various
ways, have cheered and helped us or-vards to the attain-
ment of our object. It would Le to me d delightful
duty to particularize some of those wiiose kindness has
been uninterrupted and untrammelled, were 1 not re-
strained by feelings of delicacy towards themselves. But
it is at once our duty and our privilege, above all, to
acknowledge the wonderful and condescending goodness
of a gracious God, who has led us by a Avay that we
knew not of, making difficulties themselves to operate
in our favour, and causing 'all things to wor'v together
for our good.' Let it be our earnest endeavour and
our increasing prayer, to realize to ourselves the solemn

360

trutlji, that 'unto whomsoever much is given,
also shall much be required.*"

of him

It affords us much pleasure to learn that the
ladies of the St. Andrev 's Church committee have
presented their pastor, the Rev. Donald A. Fraser,
A. M., with a rich and elegant Geneva gown, im-
ported for him from Scotland ; and that John
M'c Farlan, Esq., of the Commissariat depart-
ment, son to the Very Rev. Principal M*c Far-
lan, of Glasgow, and one of the elders of St.
Andrew's Church, has at the same time presented
a very handsome pulpit Bible and Psalm-book.

This singularly neat, well-constructed and sub-
stantial edifice, the first ever erected in this
colony for the purpose of the worship of God,
according to the doctrine and discipline of the
Kirk of Scotland, was opened by the Rev. Donald
A. Fraser, A. M., on Sunday morning, December
3rd, 1843. The rev. gentleman took his text
from the first clause Gal. iv. 18, and preached to
a numerous and attentive audience, among whom
was his Excellency, Sir John ITarvey, and suit,
occupying a pew eligibly situated in the centre
of the gallery, and suitably lined and decorated
for the reception of the governor of the colony
for the time being. There were also present the
Hon. Chief Justice Bourne, Major Law, and the
officers of the garrison, and many others belonging
to the various Christian denominations, who ap-
peared to feel much interest upon the occasion.

The number of prestyterians throughout the
colony are estimated at about .500.

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This building is now in course of erection, the
materials of which are stone, and when finished
will be one of the finest buildings in British North
America. It is 237 feet long, 80 feet broad, and
the towers 138 feet high. The stone for the
cathedral has been obtained in Conception Bay,
from a small island called Kelly's Island, where
it was found to be in great quantity, and nearly,
ready, from natural stratification and cleavage,
for the use of the mason in the rough walling.
The cut stone for the doors, windows, pillars,
and front, has been brought from the celebrated
white granite quarries of Kingstown, formerly
Dunleary, near Dublin, and some of it has been
worked by an intelligent stone-cutter into capitals
and archivolts, with a freedom and depth of cutting
which it could scarcely be expected would be
obtained in so hard and splintery a i:,aterial.
This edifice will present, when f:.iished, the ex-
traordinary fact of having been raised chiefly by
voluntary labour. The stone was brought from

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302

Kelly's Island in vessels free of charge, raised
from the shore, landed on the Bishop's wharf, and
taken up the steep hill on the summit of which
the cathedral stands, and handed to the builders,
all by voluntary labour, men, women, and children
assisting in the work ; and in one working season
of summer and autumn, the enormous walls of
this church, capable of holding several thousand
people, were raised twenty feet, and the windows
arched and secured by several courses over them.

The foundation stone of this building was laid
on Thursday, May 20lh, 1S41, the following
account of which is taken from the " Vindicator :"

" A cross of immense dimensions having been
previously erected on the spot where the principal
altar is destined to stand, the bishop on arriving
began the imposing ceremonies of the day by
blessing the water contained in a silver ewer,
borne by one of the assistant clergymen, and
intended to be used during the ceremonies, at
the conclusion of which sacred rite the beautiful
Psalm, ' How beautiful are thy tabernacles, O Lord,'
followed by the Litany of the saints, was sung
by the choir and the priests alternately; and after
reciting the 12Gth Psalm, * Unless the Lord,' the
first stone of the new cathedral was laid, according
to the form prescribed in the ritual by his Lord-
ship. The stone is a mass of granite, about two
tons weight, having in the centre a square cavity
worked, in which was deposited a copper box,
lined with lead, containing a large parchment
roll, with the following inscription, signed by the
twelve clergymen present :

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"'Very Rov. Charles Dalton,
Very Rev. Denis Mackin,
Rev. Thomas Waldron,

— James Murphey,

— Patrick Cleary,

— Pelagius Nowlan,

— Patrick Ward,

— John Forristal,

— John Cummins,

— Kieran Walsh,

— Edward O'Keefe,

— John Ryan.

and

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autiful
Lord,'
1 sung

" ' To the great honour and glory of God ! ' this first stone of
the Catholic Cathedral of St. John's, Newfoundland, dedicated to
the most high God, under the patronage of the blessed St. John the
Baptist, was laid by the Right Rev. Dr. Fleming, in the presence
of the priests whose names are hereunto subscribed, and several
thousands of other persons, on Thursday, the 20th day of May, in
the year of our redemption, 1841, in the 4th year of the reign of
her most gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, and in the 11th of the
pontificate of his Holiness, Pope Gregory XVI.' "

Dr. James O'Donnell came hither as head of
the Roman Catholic church in 1784, with the
title of ' Prefect and Vicar Apostolic of Newfound-
land.' He was subsequently raised to the dignity
of bishop. After spending meritoriously twenty-
three years of his life in this country, he returned
to Ireland, where he passed the remainder of his
days. On his retiring from Newfoundland, the
British government, in testimony of his patriotic
conduct, presented him with a pension of fifty
pounds a year. In 1830 the Right Rev. Dr. Scallan
died. He had for many years in this island dis-
charged the duties of his responsible office. His
kind and condescending deportment rendered him
generally beloved, and his loss was deeply and
universally lamented. He was succeeded in the

304 M

bishoprick by his Lordship the \>rt'.ent bishop,
the Kight Rev. Michael Anthony FJeming, bishop
of Caspasia and Vicar Apostolic.

The number of clergymen throughout the
island is 28, churches 42, schools 5* and the
number of Catholics is about 45,000.

* Besides tliR schools belonging to the various denominations,
tt'oro ai'u other schools throughout the colony, established by tlio
local legislature.

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PART OF THE N. W. ARM OF

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Trinity Harbour (so called from some of the
earlier navigators entering it on Trinity Sunday)
is considered one of the best and largest har-
bours, not only of Newfoundland, but of the world.
It has several arms and coves, where thousands
of ships may ride land-locked, where neither
wind, tide, or sea can injure them. The annexed
engraving^ is a representation of part of the
N. W. arm, which runs in various directions for
a distance of three miles. The S. W. arm also
flows in different branches to about the same
distance, when both arms nearly meet, forming
Rider's Hill (which is situated in the centre of
the harbour, and at the foot of which stands the
town) into a peninsula. The scenery on all
sides of both arms is extremely beautiful. The
woods in* some parts skirt the edge of the water,
amongst which are seen the graceful birch, shining
like a sifvery column amid the dark evergreens
and underwood. Towering piles of rocks are

366

seen tossed into various forms, from whose sides
and fissures the fir, birch, and mountain ash
spring, waving with the slightest breeze. Here
also is heard the roaring of several large brooks,
thundering in solitude, and creating an ever vary-
ing succession of spray and foam, as they dance
along their course from one rocky declivity to
another to the sea. When the returns were made,
in 1836, the population of Trinity was 1253, dwell-
ing-houses 144, acres under cultivation 90, bushels
of potatoes 7553, tons of hay 44, horses 7, horned
cattle 82, hogs 69, sheep 21, 1 school, and 239
pupils. There were three places of worship —
1 Episcopalian, 1 Methodist, and 1 Roman Cath'
olic. The population of Trinity and the ad-
jacent coves is now probably upwards of 3,000.

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CARBONEAR,

WITH FRONT VIEW OF THE MISSION HOUSE.

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The Wesleyan Church, of which the annexed
engraving is a representation, was built at Car-
bonear, in the year 1821, on the site of the pre-
vious one, which had been destroyed by a fire.
In 1830 the tower of the present building was
added to it, and in 1842 it was greatly enlarged
and beautified. Dedicatory jervices were held
on Sunday, Nov. 20th, 1842. The services were
conducted in the morning by the Rev. John
Pickavant, chairman of the district, and in the
afternoon and evening by the Rev. Ingham Sut-
cliffe.

Upon each occasion very powerful sermons
were delivered to large and deeply attentive con-
gregations, and at the concluding service the
collection amounted to upwards of £30. The
enlargement and alterations which have been
made in this spacious and elegant building have
rendered it one of the finest and most commodious

(*.#■

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368

places of worship in the island. It is the
Cathedral of Methodism in Newfoundland, being
the largest place of worship belonging to the
Wesleyans in the island. It is a substantial
wooden building, capable of seating upwards of
1500 persons. The gallery surrounds the interior,
and is ornamented in front with pannels, I'&c.
The whole interior is beautifully embellished in a
suitable manner. This building stands in the
centre of a beautiful cemetery, considered to be
the handsomest in Newfoundland.

The first Wesleyan missionary who visited
Newfoundland was the Rev. Lawrence Coughlan,
in the year 1768, respecting which Mr. Miles
says, "In the year 1765, Mr. Lawrence Coughlan
was a travelling preacher in connexion with Mr.
Wesley. He was in the year 1768 ordained by
the Bishop of London, at the request of the
Society for the Propagation of Christian Know-
ledge, that he might be qualified for the office
of a missionary in the island of Newfoundland.
He accordingly went thither, and for three years
and upwards he laboured in Harbour- Grace and
Carbonear, without any apparent success, and
in the midst of great persecution. He was per-
secuted in the chief court of the island, but
escaped the fury of his enemies. In letters to
the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel,
he was accused of almost every thing that was
bad. When his enemies found that those methods
were not sufficient to remove him, they employed
a physician to poison him, who was soon after-
wards converted to God, and discovered this

369

wicked design. At length the Lord was pleased
to visit this miserable people, and poured out
His Spirit abundantly. Many were soon turned
to the Most High. Mr. Coughlan immediately
united the truly sincere in regular classes. On
this the persecution grew hotter; till at last he
was summoned before the governor; but the gov-
ernor declared in his favour, and appointed him
a Justice of the Peace, on which the persecution
ceased, and he laboured for four years in much
quietness and with great success. He then re-
turned to England for want of health. On* Mr.
Coughlan's departure, Mr. Stretton, a local preach-
er from Limerick, and Mr. Thoniay, another local
preacher, both in connexion with Mr. Wesley, and
at that time merchants on the island, under-
took the care of the societies which Mr. Coughlan
had formed; but those gentlemen being much
engaged in mercantile business, the societies soon
fell into decay. Some years after this, Mr. Wes-
ley apr»ointed Mr. John M'c Geary as a mis-
sionary I;; Newfoundland, who went over accord-
ingly, in 1790, Mr. M*c ' Geary, who had
returned to England, was appointed a second
time to that island, with two travelling preachers
from the United States : they were rendered
useful to 'the people. In the year 1791, a
favourable change took place in their behalf.
Mr. William Black, who was born at Hudders-
field, in Yorkshire, a. d. 1760, visited Nova
Scotia. His labours were attended with great
success. In the year 1792, he was appointed
superintendent of the whole work in British

370

America, duriiig which period he visited New-
foundland.

In the year 1814 Newfoundland was made a
separate district, under the superintendence of the
Rev. John M'c Dowell. The number of min-
isters throughout the island is 14, including the
Rev. Richard Williams, chairman of the district.
Local preachers, 29; places of worship, 35; other
preaching places, 82; catechists, 4; full members
in church fellowship, 2333; Sabbath-school teach-
ers, 1^3; and 1908 scholars; day schools, 7. The
number of persons attending the Wesleyan min-
istry is upwards of 15,000.

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CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH,
ST. JOHN'S.

The Congregational Church is a wooden build-
ing, and although the exterior begins to look old,*
yet the interior has a very neat appearance. It has
two end galleTics, one of which is occupied by the
choir, and immediately in front of it stands the
pulpit. This building is 70 feet long and 30
feet broad. The following account was written
by the late Rev. D. S. Ward, and published in
Sir Richard Bonnycastle's work on Newfoundland:
"This church was instituted in the year of our
Lord 1778, at a time when there was the great-
est imaginable destitution of religious means in
this island, as appears from its early records. It
is identified with the Independent or Congrega-
tional churches in England, by whose benevolent
exertions it was originally founded; it has always
been supported by its own pew-rents, and the
voluntary contributions of its friends. The first
minister ordained in England to take the pas-
toral charge was Mr. John Jones, who labouredl
successfully among them for twenty-one years;
and although since his decease it has suffered
many vicissitudes, in consequence of its peculiarly
isolated situation, it has always maintained a

* It is now undergoing considerable repairs.

372 ; "_.,

. steady and respectable position in St. John's.
Its present minister left a pastoral charge in
Devonshire to take the oversight of this church,
in the year 1824, and siicc that period has con-
tinued his labours with encouragement 'and success.
There are three public services on the Lord's
day, and two in the week. There is an annual
fast-day observed, and also a day of annual thanks-
giving. The members of this Christian commu-
nion are respectable in character and number,
and their place of worship is well attended. Their
Sabbath-school, supported by voluntary contribu-
tions, is large, and well conducted by respectable
superintendents and tieachers. It may be but jus-
tice to say, that several other places of worship,
situated in different parts of the district, origi-
nated with them, and mainly erected by their
exertions, viz. the old place of worship at Por-
tugal Cove, the place of worship at Petty Harbour,
now Episcopal; the church at Quidi Vidi, raised
wholly by the exertions of the minister of the
Congregational church and constituted the joint
property of the Episcopal, Congregational, and
Wesleyan bodies in this town."

This is the only Con£;regational place of worship
in Newfoundland, the number of persons attend-
ing which is about 300. On the 16th of August,
1843, the death of the Rev. Daniel Spencer
Ward took place, after presiding over the Congre-
gational Church with distinguished piety and abil-
ity for a period of upwards of nineteen years.
The present minister of the Congregational Church
is the Rev. Daniel D. Evans.

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MARY MARCH RED INDIAN

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373

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MARY MARCH,

RED INDIAN, OR BOEOTHICK, OF NEWFOUNDLAND.

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Mary March, (so called from the month in
which she was taken). In the year 1819 a party
of furriers met two men and a female on the ice,
in Red Indian Lake. The woman was secured,
but her husband and the other Indian, while en-
deavouring to rescue her, were most unjustly and
barbarously shd. Her husband was said to be
a man six feet high, and of noble appearance.
The woman was afterwards conducted to St.
John's, where she remained a year, and expe-
rienced the kindest treatment from the inhabitants.
In the following winter she was sent back, under
the care of Captain Buchan, with presents for
her tribe, but she died on board the vessel. Her
body was wrapped in linen, placed in a coffin,
and left on the margin of a pond, where it was soon
found by her own people and carried away. Mr.
Cormack found it some years after, lying beside
the remains of her husband. " Mary March, it
is said, had hair much like that of an European,

374

but was of a copper colour, with black eyes. Her
natural disposition was docile, and although fifty
years old, she was very active, and her whole
demeanour agreeable ; in this respect, as well as
in her appearance, she was very different from the
Micmas, or any Indians we are acquainted with."
Sir Richard Bonnycastle says, " Nothing was
seen or heard of this people again until the
winter of 1823, when a party of them was seen
on the ice in New Bay, an inlet of the Great Bay
of Notre Dame, by some furriers. On the first
meeting these amiable whites shot a man and
a woman, who were approaching tiiem apparently
for food. The man was first killed, and the woman
in despair remained a calm victim. Mr. Cormack
was told these facts by the very barbarian who
shot her. Three other women afterwards gave
themselves up, and one was brought to the cap-
ital. They were all three in a starving condition,
and what became of the other two does not very
clearly appear. Shanandithit, the one brought
to St. John's, was very kindly treated there, and
lived six years, dying in the hospital in 1829, of
a pulmonary disease, to which, it appears from
her communications, her tribe was subject."

In 1827 a Boeothick society was formed in
St. John's, having for its object the civilization
of the native savages, and an expedition was
undertaken by W. E. Cormack, Esq., president
of the society.

"My party," says Mr. Cormack, ** consisted
of three Indians, whom I procured from among
the other different tribes, viz. an intelligent and

!■■•

^*>l

■*■■

375

able man of the Abenakie tribe, from Canada;
an elderly mountaineer from Labrador; and an
adventurous young Micmac, a native of this
island, together with myself. It was my inten-
tion to have commenced our search at White
Bay, which is nearer the northern extremity of
the island than where we did, and to have travelled
southward; but the weather not permitting to
carry my party thither by water, after several days*
delay I unwillingly changed my line of route.

"On the 31st of October, 1828, last, we entered
the country at the mouth of the River Exploits,
on the north side, at what is called the Northern
Arm. We took a north-westerly direction, to
lead us to Hall's Bay, which place we reached
through an almost uninterrupted forest, over a
hilly country, in eight days. This tract com-
prehends the country interior from New Bay,
Badger Bay, Seal Bay, &c., these being minor
bays, included in Green or Notre Dame Bay,
at the north-east part of the island, and well
known to have been always heretofore the summer
residence of the Red Indians.

" On the fourth day after our departure, at
the east end of Badger Bay, Great Lake, at a
portage known by the name of the Indian Path,
we found traces made by the Red Indians, evidently

/ in the spring or summer of the preceding year.

/ Their party had had two canoes; and here was
a canoe-rest, on which the daubs of red ochre,
and the roots of trees used to fasten or tie it
together, appeared fresh. A canoe rest is simply
a few beams supported horizontally about five

.wflHttl^

fwr

376

feet from the ground^ by perpendicular posts. A
party with two canoes^ when descending from
the interior to the sea-coast through such a part
of the country as this, where there are troublesome
portages, leave one canoe resting bottom up, on
this kind of frame, to protect it from injury by
the weather, until their return. Among other
things which lay strewed about here, were a
spear-shaft, eight feet in length, recently made,
and ochered parts of old canoes, fragments of their
skin dresses, &c. For some distance around the
trunks of many of the birch, and of the var (Plnus
Balsamifera) had been rinded, these people using
the inner part of the bark of that kind of tree for
food. Some of the cuts in the trees with the axe
were evidently made the preceding year. Besides
these we were elated by other encouraging signs.
The traces left by the Red Indians are so peculiar,
that we were confident those we saw here were
made by them.

" This spot has been a favourite place of settle-
ment with these people. It is situated at the
commencement of a portage, which forms a com-
munication by a path between the sea-coast at
Badger Bay, about eight miles to the north-east,
and a chain of lakes extending westerly and
southerly from hence, and discharging themselves
by a rivulet into the River Exploits, about thirty
miles fi'om its mouth. A path also leads from
this place to the lakes near New Bay, to the
eastward. Here are the remains of one of their
villages, where the vestiges of eight or ten winter
mamateeks, or wigwams, each intended to con-

377

tain &'om six to eighteen or twenty people, are
distinctly seen close together. Besides these,
there are the remains of a number of summer
wigwams. Every winter wigwam has close by it
a small square-mouthed or oblong pit, dug into
the earth, about four feet deep, to preserve their
stores, &c. in. Some of these pits were lined
with birch rind. We discovered also in this
village the remains of a vapour-bath. The method
used by the Boeothicks to raise the steam, was
by pouring water on large stones, made very hot
for the purpose, in the open air, by burning a
quantity of wood around them ; after this process
the ashes were removed, and hemispherical frame-
work closely covered with skins, to exclude the
external air, was fixed over the stones. The
patient then crept in under the skins, taking
with him a birch-rind bucket of water, and a
small bark-dish to dip it out, which, by pouring
on the stones, enabled him to raise the steam at
pleasure.*

" At ~ Hall's Bay, we got no useful information
from the three (and only) English families settled
there. Indeed we could hardly have expected
uny; for these and such people, have been the
unchecked and ruthless destroyers of the tribe,
the remnant of which we were in search of. After
sleeping one night in a house, we again struck
into the country to the westward.

* Since my return I learn from the captive Red Indian woman,
Shanandithil^ that the vaponr-bath is chiefly used by old pei^le^
and for rheumatic affections.

ai'^A

378

((

In five days we were on the high lands
south of White Bay, and in sight of the high
lands east of the Bay of Islands, on the wesl
coast of Newfoundland. The country south and
west of us was low and flat, consisting of marshes,
extending in a southerly direction more than
thirty miles. In this direction lies >;he famous
Red Indians* Lake. It was now near the middle
of November, and the winter had commenced
pretty severely in the interior. The country was
every where covered with snow, and, for some
days past, we had walked over the small ponds
on the ice. The summits of the hills on which
we stood had snow on them, in some places, many
feet deep. The deer were migrating from the
rugged and dreary mountains in the north, to
the low, mossy, barren, and more woody parts in
the south; and we inferred, that if any of the
Red Indians had been at White Bay during the
past summer, they might be at that time stationed
about the borders of the low tract of country
before us,, at the deer-passes, or were employed
somewhere else in the interior, killing deer for
winter provision. A^ these passes, which, are par-
ticular places in the migration lines of path, such
as the extreme ends of, and straits in, many
of the large lakes— the foot of valleys between
high and rugged mountains — the fords m the
large rivers, and the^ like-^'the Indians kill great
numbers of deer with very little trouble, during
their migrations. We looked out for two days
from the summits of the hills adjacent, trying
to discover the smoke from the cainp» of the Red

379

Indians, but in vain. These hills command a
very extensive view of the country in every direc-
tion.

"We now determined to proceed towards the
Red Indians' Lake, sanguine that, at that known
rendezvous, we could find the objects of our
search.

" In about ten days we got a glimpse of this
beautifully majestic and splendid sheet of water.
The ravages of fire which we saw in the woods
for the last two days indicated that man had
been near. We looked down on the lake,
from the hills at the northern extremity, with
feelings of anxiety and admiration. No canoe
could be discovered moving on its placid surface
in the distance. We were the first Europeans
who had seen h ' \ an unfrozen state, for the
three former parties who had visited it before
were here in the winter, when its waters were
frozen and cover id over with snow. They had
reached it from below, by way of the River Ex-
ploits, on the ice.

«We approached the lake with hope and
caution; but found to our mortification that the
Red Indians had deserted it for some years past.
My party had been so excited, so sanguine, and
so determined to obtain an interview of some kind
with these people, that on discovering from ap-
pearances every where around us, that the Red
Indians — the terror of the Europeans as well as
the other Indian inhabitants of Newfoundland-^
no longer existed; the spirits of one and all ei

380

tis were very deeply affected. The old moun-
taineer was particularly overcome.

"There were every where indications, that this
had long been the central and undisturbed ren-
dezvous of the tribe, when ti. v had enjoyed peace
and security. But these primitive people had
abandoned it, after having been tormented by
parties of Europeans during the last eighteen
years. Fatal rencounters had on these occasions
unfortunately taken place.

"We spent several melancholy days wandering
on the borders of the east end of the lake, sur-
veying tha various remains of what we now con-
'to i^6 been an unoffending and cruelly
|cid ptopiilit .^At several places by the mar-
,kd are small clusters of winter and
ms in ruins. One difference, among
1 Jthe Boeothick wigwams and those
dians, is, that in most of the
kr<| small hollows, like nests, dug
in the eartH i|(bund the fireplace, one for each
person io si^. ibl These hollows are generally
so close together, and also so close to the fire-
place, and to the sides of the wigwams, that I
think it probable these people have been accus-
tomed to sleep in a sitting position. There was
one wooden building constructed for drying and
smoking venison in, still perfect,* also a small
log-house, in a dilapidated cQndition, which we
took to have been once a storehouse. The wreck
of a large handsome birch-rind canoe, about
twenty-two feet in length, comparatively new,
and certainly very little used, lay thrown up

of tl|e<
former th<

381

among the bushes at the beach. We supposed
that the violence of a storm had rent it in the
way it was found, and that the people who were
in it had perished; for the iron nails, of which
there was no want, all remained in it. Had
there been any survivors, nails being much prized
by these people, they never having held inter-
course with Europeans, such an article would
most likely have been taken out for use again.
All the birch trees in the vicinity of the lake
had been rinded, and many of them, and of the
spruce, fir, or var, had the bark talren off, to use
the inner part of it for food, as noticed before.

" Their wooden repositories for the dead are
what are in the most perfect state of preservation.
These are of different constructions, it would ap-
pear according to the character or rank of the
persons entombed. In one of them, which re-
sembled a hut ten feet by eight or nine, and
four or five feet high in the centre, floored with
squared poles, the roof covered with rinds of
trees, and in every way well secured against the
weather inside, and the intrusion of wild beasts,
there were two grown persons laid out at full
length on the floor, the bodies wrapped round
with deer-skins. One' of these bodies appeared
to have been placed here not longer ago than
five or six years. We thought there were children
laid in here also.

"On first opening this building, by removing
the posts which formed the ends, our curiosity
was raised to the highest pitch; but what added
to our surprise was the discovery of a white deal

382

coffin, containing a skeleton neatly shrouded in
white muslin. After a long pause of conjecture
how such a thing existed here, the idea of Mary
March occurred to one of the party, and the whole
mystery was at once explained.*

"In this cemetery were deposited a variety of
articles, in some instances the property and uten-
sils, and of the achievements, of the deceased.
There were two small wooden images of a man and
a woman, no doubt meant to represent husband
and wife, and a small doll, which we supposed to
represent a child (for Mary March had to leave
her only child here, which died two days after she
was taken), several small models of their canoes,
two small models of boats, an iron axe, a bow
and quiver of arrows were placed by the side of
Mary March's husband, and two fire-stones (ra-
diated iron pyrites, from which they produce fire,
by striking them together) lay at her head; there
were also various kinds of culinary utensils, neatly
made of birch rind, and ornamented; and many
other things, of some of which we did not know
the use or meaning.

" Another mode of sepulture which we saw here
was, where the body of the deceased had been
wrapped in birch rind, and with his property,
placed on a sort of scaffold, about four feet and a

* Mary March was the Bed Indian female who was captarcd
and carried away by force from this place by an armed party of
English people, nine or ten in number, who came up here in the
month of March, 1819. The local government authorities at that
time did not foresee the result of offering a reward to bring a Red
Indian to them.

383

half from the ground. The scaffold was formed
of four posts, about seven feet high, fixed per-
pendicularly in the ground, to sustain a kind of
crib, five feet and a half in length, by four in
breadth, with a floor made of small squared beams,
laid close together horizontally, and on which the
body and property rested. A third mode was,
when the body bent together, and wrapped in
birch rind, was inclosed in a kind of box, on
the ground. The box was made of small squared
posts, laid on each other horizontally, and notched
at the corners, to make them meet close; it was
about four feet by three, and two and a half feet
deep, and well lined with birch rind, to exclude
the weather from the inside. The body lay on
its right side.

''A fourth and most common mode of burying
among these people, has been to wrap the body in
birch rind, and cover it over with a heap of stones,
on the surface of the earth, in some retired spot;
sometimes the body, thus wrapped up, is put
foot or two under the surface, and the spot
ered ith stones; in one place, where the grotind
was sandy and soft, the bodies appeared to have
been buried deeper, and no stones placed over the
graves.

''These people appear to have always shown
great respect for their dead; and the most re-
markable remains of them commonly observed by
Europeans at the sea-coast, are their burying
placeSi These are at particular chosen spots; and
It is well known that they have been in the habit

384

■I

of bringing their dead from a distance to them.
. With their women they bury only their clothes.

** On the north side of the lake opposite the
River Exploits, are the extremities of two deer
fences, about half a mile apart, where they lead to
the water. It is understood that they diverge
many miles in a north-westerly direction. The
Red Indians make these fences, to lead and scare
the deer to the lake, during the periodical migra-
tion of these animals. The Indians being station-
ed looking out when the deer get into the water
tO; swim across, the lake being narrow at this end,
they attack and kill the animals with spears ou|;
of their canoes. In this way they secure their
winter provisions before the severity of that sea-
son sets in.

"There were other old remains, of different
kinds, peculiar to these people, met with about the
lake. One night we encamped on the foundation of
an old Red Indian wigwam, on the extremity of a
point of land which juts out into the lake, and
e^osed to the view of the whole country round.
A^'liirge fire at night is the life and soul of such
a party as ours, and when it blazed up at times,
I could not help observing that two of my Indians
evinced uneasiness and want of confidence in
things around, as if they thought themselves
usurpers on the Red Indian territory. From time
immemorial none of the Indians of the other
tribes had ever encamped near this lake fearlessly,
and, as we had now done, in the very centre of
such a country, the lake and territory adjacent
having been always considered to belong excla-

I -I

385

sively to the Red Indians, and to have been oc>
cupied by them. It had been our invariable prac-
tice hitherto to encamp near the hills, and be on
their summits by the dawn of day, to try to dis-
cover the morning smoke ascending from the
Red Indians* camps ; and to prevent the discovery
of ourselves we extinguished our own fire always
some length of time before daylight.

"Our only and frail hope now left of seeing
the Red Indians, lay on the banks of the River
Exploits, on our return to the sea-coast.

"The Red Indians* Lake discharges itself
about three or four miles from its north-east end,
and its waters form the River Exploits. From
the lake to the sea-coast is considered about
seventy miles; and down this noble river the
steady perseverance and intrepidity of my Indians
carried me on rafts in four days, to accomplish
which otherwise would have required, probably,
two weeks. We landed at various places on both
banks of the river on our way down, but found
no traces of the Red Indians so recent as those
seen at the portage at Badger Bay, Great Lake,
towards the beginning of our excursion. During,,
our descent we had to construct new rafts. What
arrests the attenticii most while gliding ^i^j0t
the stream, is the extent of the Indian fences to
entrap the deer. They extend from the lake
downwards continuous, on the banks of the river,
at least thirty miles. There are openings left
here and there in them, for the animals to go
through and. swim across the river, and at these
places the Indians are stationed, and kill tli^m iii

«^

i'sS^if-fepj'

38G

the water with spears, out of their canoes, as at
the lake. Here, then, connecting these fences
with those on the north-west side of the lake, is
at least forty miles of country, easterly and west-
erly, prepared to intercept all the deer that pass
that way in their periodical migrations. It was
melancholy to contemplate the gigantic, yet feeble
efforts of a whole primitive nation, in their anx-
iety to provide subsistence, forsaken and going to
decay.

There must have been hundreds of the Red
Indians, and that not many years ago, to have
kept up these fences and pounds. As their
numbers were lessened, so was their ability to
keep them up for the purposes intended; and
now the deer pass the whole line unmolested.

"We infer, that the few of these people who
yet survive have taken refuge in some sequestered
spot, still in the northern part of the island, and
where they can procure deer to subsist on. On
the 29th of November we had again returned to
the mouth of the River Exploits, in thirty days
after our departure from thence, after having
made a complete circuit of about 200 miles in
the Red Indian territory.

" III conclusion, I congratulate the institution
on the acquisition of several ingenious articles,
the manufacture of the Boeothicks or Red Indians,
some of which we had the good fortune to dis-
cover on our recent excursion; models of their
canoes, bows and arrows, spears of different kinds,
&c., and also a complete dress worn by that
people. Their mode of kindling fire is not only

4l«

I f.

387

original; but as far as we at present know, is
peculiar to the tribe. These articles, together
with a short vocabulary of their language, con-
sisting of 200 or 300 words which I have been
enabled to collect, prove the Boeothicks to be a
distinct tribe from any hitherto discovered in
North America. One remarkable characteristic
of their language, and in which it resembles those
of Europe more than any other Indian languages
do, with which we have had an opportunity of
comparing it, is its abounding in diphthongs."

niCilAltUSON AND SON, UliUUY.