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 Bloiitrral (I'liriinition 
 
 iJRAM) TIMM\ HAILWW 
 
 or CANADA, 
 
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 \V. H. S I'LL HA N, 
 
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 TO IM) N r (> 
 
 iii\ri;i> A I' TMi: '• i.kadku'" a "rAiiUMT" - rKAM-i'i;Kss. 
 
 KINC STltKKT EAST. 
 
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 •IS 
 
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PI 
 
A SKETCH 
 
 OF THE 
 
 mixal ^tltkntm 
 
 OF THE 
 
 GRAND TRUNK RAILWAY 
 
 OF CANADA. 
 
 BY 
 
 W. B. SULLIVAN, 
 
 TORONTO. 
 
 TORONTO: 
 
 PBINTED AT THE " LEADER" A PATRIOT" STEAM-PRESB, 
 KINO STREET BAST. 
 
 1856. 
 

 S^l^^'A 
 
TO THE HEADER. 
 
 The following hurried sketch was delivered, as 
 an Essay, before the Toronto Literary and Debating 
 Society, and published in the Toronto Leader, of the 
 8th December, by a resolution of the Society. 
 
 The encouragement of a few friends, and the ab 
 sence of any description of the Montreal Celebration, 
 of a similar nature, have led the writer to perpetuate 
 it in Pamphlet Form. As an Essayist, he was com- 
 pelled to be very brief, and has been obliged to 
 treat, in a general manner, what should have been 
 minutely described ; but he has not desired to chal- 
 lenge criticism. Conscious of the nature of the article 
 —that it was never intended for publication — he has 
 only. to plead, as his excuse, the desire felt by him 
 to catch and portray, ere they passed away forever, 
 some of those glowing impressions, which only 
 created by great sights and great r/ents — only 
 felt in the abandon and excitement r^'" a Carnival 
 itself — can, perhaps, present far more of the real 
 coloring of this Great Picturk than volumes of 
 matter-of- fact description. 
 
 W. B. SULLIVAN. 
 
 Toronto, C. W., Dec. L5, 1856. 
 
Clje ^oiUreil dC^lebratioii 
 
 An E^my ddivered before The Tovonio Literary and 
 Debating Society ^* by'SLv. William Baldwin Sullivan, 
 Secret try, on the Wiof Dec.^ 1856, m the Hall of the 
 Mechanic^'' TrMitute, and published by order of the 
 Society, 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Mr, CuAiaMAN and Qkntlbmkn. — In readiag luj pro- 
 a^nt paper hufore the Society, I am not violafcJDg aay oi 
 the purpn t» 5 of ita aBSOciatiou. 
 
 The chifacter- ot liiG ago iu w'aioh wa live, moulds ib«i 
 tiatuie an;l creates the spirit oi oar insiitutiina, 
 
 Thia Sooioty is tho offjpria<;of tiio liberal atnl ea'tir»ht- 
 oned character of riiis ai;'\ aud pn.u-ily boasjsof tho va- 
 riety of -^arauita which form tho ewai-insa of ita exiatoaco. 
 It txr:raJti.r no pro'ciiic''.), no occupaM^j-n from its ranke, 
 and in its li'lo holda out no disiinotioii of clan or ches. 
 Ita rosea;'ch«ji and dieouiisijnr? arc not confined eolely to 
 the stuav v-t ih«' o iS^ — Ltiey are iv^l cdnturicig bahiad tho 
 ago, We '-uru our c-ye3 chittly on lihe wo'.iJeiful page of 
 the Prcaent, aud from cxporiouco form oopjec'ures as to 
 the Fatur« 
 
 In the spirit of the proeont I have composed it, and may 
 ita pag03 bj truly prophetic of tho future I 
 
 * Now " The Toronto Literary Association," 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 » 
 
6 
 
 MOMTREAL CELEBRATION. 
 
 History of the Railroad. 
 
 The history of the British Provinces in Amerio, and 
 more particubrly of Canada, from the time of their disco- 
 very, has been characterized by a rising proaperity and 
 steady growth, which only accompany the sura progress 
 of a flourishing country toward national greatness. 
 
 The Provinces were far advanced in Laws, in Education, 
 and in public worke. They had but one coraplaint to 
 make. Railways, thosa aourcas of prosperity, which then 
 formed a network of communication over great Britain 
 and over Europe, were here absent. 
 
 The bordering nation could boast of a system of railroads 
 inferior to none. But tha time wasfaat coming when our 
 colonies, with their great extent ot country ; their long 
 distances, rendered impassable io navigutioa during the 
 protracted winters, and their vast regions of unexplored 
 country, were to afford an encouragement to t^iis : peciea 
 of enterprise unparalleled in the history of any new coun- 
 try. 
 
 The Montreal ani New York Railway had been built. 
 Then the Ontario, Simcoe and Huron had gone forth on 
 its mission to develo^c the reaourcss of tho North. Au i 
 last but most extensive, the Great Weet'^^ra Railroad hac! 
 traversed the regiona of tUe West ; al'. tvttended by un- 
 paralleled succeag ; when rumors of tbo undertaking of 
 another Canadian enterprise, of a movo national character 
 and afar more extended aiaj, began to have birth, Pud in 
 1852 the Grand Trunk Railway venture was faitly ccm- 
 mitted to stand its trial before the country. An uoder- 
 taking of au entirely novel form, a highway intecded to 
 traverse a whole nation, it was embarked in by foreign 
 capitalieta as a epccuiatioD, and by the Gaimdi an [people 
 aad their Government for the ^ake of the real bench b to 
 
MONTREAL CELEBRATION. 
 
 be derired from its eucccss. By the prospectus were 
 offered many substantial and feasible advantages). Its 
 existence promised to be the trunk and the branched 
 through which the sap of prosperity vrould permeate to 
 the remotest hamlet in the country — its success to be 
 the surmounter of <he last obstacle in the path of the 
 permanent establiahmeot of the long desired Hoe of Ca- 
 nadian ocean steamers, and of the 'through traffic and tra- 
 yel from thafai' W^nt, by Oaaadian raW'jfaji aai voida'j, 
 to the ver> place of destination. Winter; that season 
 which threw a vail of desolalion over Canadian fields and 
 waters whose approach was the signal for the cloair.g of 
 navigation and the laying up in safe harbora of the ousy 
 husbandmen of the lakes — the suspension of the duties of 
 agriculturist and the activity of the soil, was forever to 
 be diveeted of its dreariness and gloom. No longer was 
 the circulation oi commerce end travel to be arrested and 
 enchained by the icy spell, the howling tempest or tho 
 hcaoiug snow ; henceforth, the irresistible genius of 
 etteam, by magic ipfluence, v.aa to dissolve the bonds of 
 gloom MPd isolation. Far awjiy ficiu ibe ocean is heard 
 the clang uf cu'-erpnao, tb».. '.idv.'.! oiu;?. power of eaergotic 
 man ; up, up it comes, nearer and PCiirer, a path of iron 
 jfl being laid dov^n, never to be dtfjii yed, over valea 
 bridging, fhrouf];h hi!l3 cutting, ever; whsre tubduing 
 nature with unswerving force. It has passed. And 
 away, away, to the far West is its path laid through the 
 domains of the ancient forests, the old haunts of t'ae deer 
 and the red man — the beginning of a gigaaiic band which 
 will ero long find its termini: s in the waves ef the broad 
 Pacific, which will span avast continent, and join ocean 
 to ocean. 
 The trade, which was at this time carried on between 
 
 
8 
 
 MONTREAL CELEBRATION 
 
 our Wea^.ern couGtry a'^'i tho TTriited S^.at03, \\\ carryiug 
 our produce to English end o'her foreign markets, 
 was the main elf meat of fhe sao' esa ol the Grent We^teai 
 Railway —8 trade which fo9!ered American Railf^ay^ and 
 commerce, v-Lile directlv opposed to the eccoursgfimoiit 
 of our OFD means of c^rriago a-.d navi-^ vtion. No sooner, 
 f-heroforc, was the commencement of the Grand Trunk 
 ficheme heralded to the worl.i than a perfect btorm of op- 
 position concentred from all q\iar.'-or<?. It wa?i very na- 
 tural that thopfi lortMgQ capitalistH whose intoree':? were 
 identified with thoao of the Great Weatcrn phoi'li deaire 
 to nip Ihig enterprise in the bnd ; that Aroericanfj should 
 deeire their Rnilwaye to oontiuue the recipioats of th?> 
 V/estern trade, no^ to be diverge.; by the Grand Trunk. 
 Nor was it ae-'oni hiv^g thai ciiizena intereated in mji-i- 
 tainiiig the pror>f)erity of th^i* road which had planted itfi 
 terminufl in their ceutrf?, Bhould rtgard with jealousy arid 
 diaafttis faction, that midertiking, ho vovor national or bene- 
 ficial to their country, vyhose pnipoHC wr:(^ to dive rt 'be 
 stream of irafiio ff'\n3 thei^ hsnda and p ft thflr d-jorp. 
 
 Tho?o dt>i»g;<-:rc( ratt, diificdtie.n m-'t'o h:»nGf^,:!;»f; ai d 
 more erippU'njL, in ihr ir roruUa arc?*.'. Money, when the 
 rond wai? tiret co-DmeiT'e'^, coMmand'd hut 2^ po'-' cent, 
 Tho laie war arcee and ii becivo.G worth fet-ven. Thin uo- 
 currence, unforlnnat',^ us ui'forc eon, :ould bu^ render al! 
 preccdinc? caleuliuoufi erron*?oUf', taod Tureate/i overibr'"v 
 for tbc Oompmy and Enterpririe, and ruin for thosr'' C;>a- 
 nectcd with it ; but the Company wpa compoKon of idqu 
 of raorv? than aupcrficiil mcnOB, «n.'i tho coitractore of 
 world'wido rcputfit'on, and prh-.C'ly vTculih, Novs, 
 thanks to the wol!-dtt«erv«d corfidonco of tjjc Canadian 
 people it hf»;* isi;ci.'''d s; [uccecsrul urminaiicr, Ar-d by 
 govcrnm-NtRl aflBit'.'6i.co bocome in fjonie rocapure a pub- 
 
MONTREAL CELEBRATION. 9 
 
 lie undertakiiig, and tbuB eutitled to renewed confidence 
 from the ahareholders and the poblic. 
 
 But now has the time come whec prejudice and dis- 
 trust should be hurled to the winds, and that narrow fo- 
 cus through which the men of Oacada have b?en accuB 
 tomed to regard an enterprise which, despite their obsta- 
 clcB, has risen up to enrich them, bs Immeiisurably ds- 
 larged. They should look a little to the future and behold 
 there the old trunk throwing out its branches, now 
 budding, into their impenetrable forests, turning them into 
 fields of golden corn, unsurpassed in the granaries ; fer' 
 tilizing their mostdismil swamps ; and carrying the emi- 
 grant, possessed of comforts and implements inferior to 
 none, to extend their civilized dominion into unse'^tled re- 
 gions. And they should consider with pride the position 
 in which their country, but rising from its cradle, now 
 stands, the possessor of the longest continuous railway 
 mterpriae in existence — of the Giant Bridge which will 
 tower above all other like structures in the world. 
 
 The Montreal Celebration. 
 
 It was to greet the evidence of this new vitality in this 
 country 'a youth — it was to recognise thi3 new stride of 
 progression, and to celebrate the junction, through its 
 means, of the capital cities of Canada in the East, and 
 Canada in the West ; that was the end, the aim, the ob- 
 ject of the *' Montreal Celebration.'* The citizens of 
 Montreal, vith this design, and determined to do all honor 
 to the occasion, formed plans for its execution on a scale 
 as grand in oonoeption as ably sustained in every 
 detail. They made preparations for a round of festivi- 
 ties to occupy two whole days, ^he twelfth aud thir- 
 
10 
 
 MONTREAL CELEBRATION. 
 
 teentli of November 1856, which, devoted to continued 
 rejoicings and amusements will beoeeforth bo remarkable 
 in the Hietor; of our Oountry. 
 
 Invitaiions were issned by the Committee appointed, to 
 several tboneands of people : citizens from all parts of tbe 
 United States, and the British Pr.ivincos, accompanied, 
 owing to the praisworthy liberality of the Companies, 
 with free passes over every necea'ary road — and every 
 exertion made to provide accommoiation for the expected 
 i n crease to the population. 
 
 The Journey. 
 
 The dawning of the fitflt day of the Festival week cow 
 dra«(Rnear, and is the signal for the commencement of 
 unrivalled excitement and animation in »11 the places whic'i 
 are to send forth their hundreds of repiesentativee to the 
 centre of attraction. In all American cities, far and 
 wide, the hum of preparation resounds, a rattle from 
 armies of conveyances, combined with the shrill whistlf s 
 from a hundred trains ushers in the light. Sks^ione ar* 
 thronged, trains crowded to overflowing, and the pud risce 
 upou thousands and thousands of animated faceB,eager for 
 a start upon a journey which was to be the preliminary 
 of a prolonged season of carnival enjoyments, and < nly to 
 find a conclusion in that moment which landed the re- 
 turned travellers patiated wirh enjoyment upon the ti'e*i- 
 holds of their neglected homes. 
 
 And now while great massep are being hurried over 
 distaiicus, once formidable to travnllers, in a fraction of 
 former time, while far and wide on the vaet net-work of 
 railways, cars arc groaning under unwonted burdoiw, and 
 while the festive eity^is the centre of that ciroie of dis- 
 
MONTREAL CELEBRATION. 
 
 u 
 
 tauccf!, the goal of every traveller's aBpiratioD9,the grow- 
 ing hum of preparation there rising, like the rumbling of a 
 volcano warns us of the eruption of rejoicings to follow. 
 Hotels are hagtening to open wide their doors, the crowd- 
 ed beds, the bustling waiters, and the savoury odours ofifer 
 a cordial welcome. Every citizao, also, is preparing to 
 extend to bis home the infectious spirit of hospitality. 
 Friends are expected and strangers to be housed, and 
 high and low, far and wide, all are making ready for the 
 celebration. Th^^ pastures are depopulated. The fruits 
 of the field and the garden taxed in abundance ; and the 
 bin? of the sparkling champagne, the good old port, and 
 'he stout and ale are threatened with exhaustion. Busi- 
 nes-^ is guspended— every thought engrossed — and a whirl 
 of distraction created in every brain, a disregard of 
 the stern realit es of life, glorious to behold in thcpe days 
 of selfishness and demotion to mamnon. 
 
 But where are the guests ? Hundreds have arrived ; 
 others are still on the road, and amongst the la'ter i? a 
 train wUich aving left old Tv>ronto as the fir -t glimp?s«' 
 of «n autumnal sun were gildin,:^ the spires and 'ilitfe:-- 
 iT>;r roofs, is nov winding Its long serpentine form o^fT 
 the faithful iron roftd. Fifreen ear? loaded with c-^oplc 
 have been hurrying with lightning speed over thntor-e 
 track from morning till night. Inside is a motley sceue. 
 Here and there group=i from far off American cities vary 
 the asaemblasie of Oanadians. Here are people in all 
 varieties of states and posilioni Some party of young 
 persons whose spirit of enjoyment hag outlasted the length 
 of the journey, enliven all around by their jokes and 
 merry laugh ; here some old gentleman whope drooping 
 head, covered with a bandana, has succumbed to the 
 fatigue of the journey ; there a fair lady drinks in the words 
 
 h 
 
m 
 
 MONTREAL CELEBRATION. 
 
 of some gay Lothario — and perhaps a party of City Fathers 
 may be seen laying down the law with a jolly emphasis 
 to a crowd of wondering admirers. Every Station sw«lls 
 the crowd, and the slackening engines and the groaning 
 oars testify to their increasing burthen. The dusk of 
 twilight deepens into night, and the twinkling latop is 
 the signal for the marry song. The old Ottawa spanned 
 by massive bridges has been I«ft behind. St. Anns, 
 passed with many an evening »ong ; and with a long shrill 
 wail, disturbing the echoes of the clear frosty night, the 
 train dashes up to the station — every object thrown into 
 noonday light, by brilliant bonfires — and thundering 
 cheers and a glittering arch welcome them to Montreal. 
 
 The host pours slowly forth and leaves the long extend* 
 ed tiain, the panting engico, and the faithful road, amid 
 the patois and wild cries of the habitans^ the slang of the 
 Jehu :>nd the brogue of the Emerald Isle ; and a broad 
 river of couvoyanccs carriage upon carriage and cab up- 
 on cab, rolls through the arch of welcome and flowing into 
 the city pass through every street. They are the last, and 
 every h-ibitation crowded and every hospitable couch pres- 
 sed, tho d:uk pall of sleep descends upon the city and 
 sbrouds thn listless forme of ten thousand strangers 
 in its oblivious fold?. 
 
 First day.—Trades' Procession. 
 
 Night wanes-— the vapours round the mountains earled 
 Melt into morn, and light awalces the world. 
 
 And the celebration has begun, the vision of the future 
 DOW belongs to the present, and anticIpftUoDB will bo 
 inrpassedby realities. 
 
 How the claims of Sloth are now renounced. Up spring 
 the joyous crowd, and every houie pours fortk its in- 
 
MONTREAL CELEBRATION. 
 
 13 
 
 mates, merry youth and age, to swell the carnival ; and 
 friend meets friend rejoicing, and coolnesBcs are lost in 
 the general joy^what a varied picture they form I The 
 sun streams down upon the bronzed form of manhood, 
 lights up the rose upon the face of beauty and gleams 
 upon the gay and varied trappings of the crowd. But 
 hark I the strain of distant music steals upon the sens^t 
 the voice of a score of bands swells upon the ear, and a 
 dense crowd blockiog all the streets heaves in sight. 
 The Trades' procession comes, nearly a league in length, 
 so vast is its extent that the lapse of an hour had not 
 sufficed to draw the last rank from the starting place. 
 Let us take our stand at this corner and view the coming 
 pageant. Looking up and down the street, every available 
 foothold is thronged. All along, the wiudows are filled 
 with gazers, and many a fine face and many a beautiful 
 vision enchants the beholder. Here, perhaps, may be 
 seen some beauty whose dark flashing eye and whose jet 
 black curls tell of the old French origin. There you may 
 view a fair faced blonde from the West, with blooming 
 cheeks and azure depth of eye, who with her long golden 
 ringlets waving in the wind, is siogling out some favoured 
 one below. But another flourish of brass instrumentfl 
 and another roll of the drums, and we discover appearing 
 through the crowd the batons and the blue coats of the 
 Police, the guardians of the city morals, their mounted 
 leader heading that whole interminable train. The nod- 
 ding tuft and waving feathers, the painted face, the 
 curious garb and warlike tomakawk next proclaim the 
 redman. There he walks, sad emblem of his race's deso* 
 lation, gracing the triumph of industry and enterprise. 
 Alas I that the tide of progression should carry in its train 
 desolation for the grand old huniicg grounds— extermin- 
 ation for the hunter. b 
 
 V: 
 
14 
 
 MONTREAL CELEBRATION. 
 
 
 Then come the MarshallB of the throng, then follow with 
 clanging bell and rumbling wheels, the Engines, and 
 rank after rank in orimson garb and flapping hate, come 
 their attendants. 
 
 Agricultare and Horticalture your grateful fruits and 
 useful crops do honor to that triumphal ear ; and your 
 beautiful flowers, wreathing and twining round the osiers 
 of the canopy, surpass all art. 
 
 Manufactures now fill the streets. The Organ, racred 
 instrument of the church and aisle ; the Piano, devoted 
 to music aod the joyous dance, supplanter of the rebeck 
 and the pipe. Then, India-Rubber Factors. Then, a 
 whole establishment of the sons of Crispin, pegging away 
 in good earnest. Then, candles sufficient to illuminate 
 a nation. Soaps enough to purify the great unwashed. 
 And raised on high, drawn by six fine horses, comes 
 our old friend Steam, driving, pufliug and hissing away, 
 always working — never tired. We stay our wearied pen, 
 but U'^e our eyes to all that follows. Who can credit 
 what he sees ? Every trade in the universe, every man- 
 ufacture in creation seems to pass before our astonished 
 vision. Eogines are made and massive machinery. 
 Spikes and nails fly like chaff from the mill ; and sleigbs 
 and carriages from under the maker's hand. And after 
 each manufacture attends its trade, long ranks of mechan- 
 ics' sons of toil, their strong frames and sinewey arms, 
 clotbed in their best, enjoying a holiday from labor. Then 
 comes a car groaniog under the weight of huge slaught- 
 ered animals, — huge quarters piled one upon another, 
 and foilowing after, mounted on fat, jolly, good-huoitored 
 horses, came a troop of fat, round-faced Butchers — the 
 most cavalier like of the whole. 
 
 Now for more music, more cymbals, and the rolling of 
 
MONTREAL CELEBRATION. 
 
 15 
 
 drams. Now for broad banners waving proudly in the 
 breeze ; and the New England Society, come to honor the 
 celebration ; and the St. Jean Baptiate Society, and more 
 proud waving banners; the Board of Trade and the 
 Oity Council, and long trains of schools ; and amid the 
 retreating flags and dying sound of that score ef bands 
 away it winds along the streets, and passes from our 
 view, carrying with it great crowding thousands in its 
 path, and dragging behind it admirers of every class and 
 age ; the ragged urchin, the tripping beauty, and the grey 
 haired veteran. 
 
 Notre Dame Cathedral— Tower View. 
 
 The Banquet commences at 2 o^clock, and there is 
 ample time for a tour among some of the most interest- 
 sights of the city. Pursuing Notre Dame Street with its 
 tall old buildings, frowning upon the narrow WKy beneath, 
 crowding our way as best we can, and avoiding the stream 
 of carriages filled with all the fashion of the land, we 
 suddenly emerge upon the square of Notre Dame. To 
 the north stands the Bank of Montreal, one of the finest 
 buiUinga we have. Right opposite across the square, 
 br,yond the grass plot and the fountain, the Cathedral 
 on' Our Lady heaves, like some huge mammoth of old. 
 its great back and shoulders high, conspicuous above the 
 surrounding herd of roof<4, and raises its twin towers 
 unto the skies. Enteriog with the crowd, the eye dwells 
 with surprise upon the lofty dome, the galleries risi.:g one 
 above the other ; and the dim religious light — the off- 
 spring of the heavy stained glass, and the many paintings, 
 and the altars with their massive plate, transport the ima- 
 gination to some of the old Continental Piles which, dis- 
 colored by time, have long outlived the race that built 
 
 
16 
 
 MONTREAL CELEBRATION. 
 
 them. We ascend the towers, and from their Bummit the 
 country for milea around spreads like a chart beneath 
 our feet. Away to the north the black forest crownedmoun* 
 tain towers high above the city, which stretches to the 
 East and West below. At its base stands the newly 
 built reserToir. To the West many large manufactories, 
 and the Locks of the gre»t Canal dot the diorama, and 
 just to the South majestically rolls the broad St. Law- 
 rence, bordered by the Railway works at Point St. 
 Charles, where the Station House and large workshop 
 fitted up for the Banqueting Hall, are to be seen. There 
 also ^ies the commencement of the Victoria Bridge, its 
 h\ unconnected piers reposing like slumbering Titans 
 on the surface of the flood. Following the banks of the 
 Biver a broad esplanade stretches to the Eastward, and 
 distant mountains, looming blue in the distance of the 
 south, complete the spectacle. 
 
 Banquet. 
 
 But the tide turns towards the Banquet, and we join in 
 the race of cabs, and swell the gathering which is crush- 
 ing towards the doors. The entrance gained, the aston- 
 ished gaze is extended over a vast extent of buildiag, 
 with its great roof unsupported by a pillar, but resting 
 upon masaive oaken beams morticed and banded to- 
 gether as if the hand of giants had been there. 
 
 To the right, upon a dais, sits theVice-gerent of Royalty, 
 supported on either side by the Magnates of the land, the 
 Commander of the Forces, and the Honorable John 
 Ross, the President of the newly inaugurated Rail- 
 way, together with several distinguished Ameri- 
 cane. All around, the walls are adorned with bannersi 
 
MONTREAL CELEBRATION. 
 
 17 
 
 eBcntcheong, and emblems ; and a chain of devices paint* 
 ed in gold, 'perpetuate the immortal names of great men, 
 great enterprises and great places. The body of the edi- 
 fice is occupied by long avenues of tables, groaning with 
 goOQ .heer and whole vats of wine, stretching in their 
 lengtL almost to indis'lnctneas. Half a league of human 
 beings are seat^id here ready to do honor to the Banquet 
 spread before them. Above them to the left, right op- 
 posite to the daia of the Governor, upon a raised gallery 
 is placed a large band. At a signal, the glorious old air, 
 " The Roast Beef of Old England" bursts forth ; and the 
 clatter of half ten thousand knives, and the hum of that 
 vast concourse of voices proclaim the feast begun. 
 
 The claims of appetite are satisfied and the feast of 
 reason now gains sway, and like the £Jound of a clarion 
 the voice of one man pours forth over that great assem- 
 bly and through those massive wall8,and like a monstrous 
 echo, the mingled chorus of that enormous cos<mopolitan 
 assembly thunders out,peal after peal, our national anthem, 
 and sends up such a great prayer to the Heavens as might 
 have done honor to a god. 
 
 The toasta of the day are then, given out and prefaced 
 by the Chairman, (the Mayor.) To that of the Queen, 
 His Excellency the Governor General replies, and at the 
 same time takes occasion in a spirited spaech to remark up- 
 en the friendly relations existing batweeu Canada and the 
 S^atee", concluding by proposing the health of their Presi- 
 dent. Senator Wilaon, a fine old specimen of the Ameri- 
 can Statesmaujin the same strain proposes prosperity to tho 
 people of the Canadaa and success to tho Government. 
 To the toast of the American admiuiatration Ool. Tache 
 respoailod — and that of the American guests, one of the 
 greatest sentiments of the day having been drunk, Ex-Gov- 
 
 b2 
 
 n 
 
 is 
 
18 
 
 MONTREAL CILEBRATION. 
 
 \ 'i 
 
 eroor Kent, another American Statesman ef deserved poli- 
 tical eminence spoke In return, and expressed many senti- 
 ments of a liberal nature which did honor to his Gountry 
 and himself. lo his turn he proposed Canada and its 
 prosperity, what it had done and is doing, but a prelimi* 
 nary to what it will do. 
 
 Judge Day having responded, the crowning toast of 
 the celebration. The 0. T. Railway is proposed, and as (he 
 band bursts forth in an interlude, our thoughts flash back 
 to the great cause of the festivities. The Giant Enter- 
 prise now in the infancy of its existence, but waiting its 
 christening to commence a career of which the youthful 
 promise is great, whose manhood triumphant and succesa- 
 fal, will call forth the grateful thanks of a rising nation. 
 The events of whose old age are lost in the obscurity 
 which veils the portentous future. And in coanection 
 with it rises the name of Francis Hincks, to whose mas- 
 ter mind, as its originator and developer, this country 
 should ever offer the grateful tribute of their remembrance 
 and respect. The excitment having been subdued, the his 
 tory of the road, its prospects, its difficulties, and its succes, 
 are esplained in an able (speech from the President, the 
 Ilonourablo John Ross, who is listened to with that breath- 
 lets attention which the importance of his subject claims. 
 
 The Governor General and his suit retire. A few 
 volunteer toasts conclude the proceedings ; and as the 
 last guest deserts the Flail, and the last wail of 
 the band sighs forth, the spirit of the greatest Ban!)uet of 
 America is departed, and the fame of that day becomes 
 chronicled in history. When the city is again reached, 
 a blaze of illumination replaces the departed light, and 
 fireworks on the mountain are the last atlraclions of the 
 first day of the celebration. 
 
MONTREAL CELEBRATlbN. 
 
 19 
 
 Second Day— The Excursion. 
 
 Again the bright beams of the same brilliant sun which 
 shone on the first day of the celebration gladden the 
 path of the excursionists on the laet, and develope in 
 their fallest light the Oyclopean Piers and huge masonry 
 of the Victoria Bridge. There it lies, stone upon stone 
 of tremdous size, piled to withstand the destroying shock 
 of a savage winter^s icy charge, a noble conuection 
 between the great highways of two countries ; a monster 
 enterprise, a conception before whose grandur all other 
 similar attempts, eren the great bridge of Menai, 
 dwindle into insignificance. 
 
 There is, indeed, ample ground for the bestowal of our 
 unbounded aumiration upon an intellect great enough to 
 conceive this undertaking ; and of the country, which 
 only in its infancy, can bear the drain of millions upon its 
 resources. To none but those who witness the extent of 
 the bridge — the object to which it is to accomplish, can 
 any idea of its vast size present itself ; or of the grasp of 
 mind necessary to conceive that one of the largest, deep- 
 est, and moat rapid currents in the world, could be suc- 
 cessfully spanned by the hand of man, in a locality where, 
 to answer its purpose, a broad highway must b3 con- 
 structed which will cover, between bank and bank, nearly 
 two miles of a rolling mass of water ; and will berequired, 
 in the fierce winter of Lower Canada, to withstand that 
 vast current converted into ice, which, when opposed, 
 gathers itself up into huge mountains and swesps all 
 before it. 
 
 And this will be the filling up of the only break in that long 
 chain of connection between the far West and the oceau, 
 which though hitherto, during the season of navigation 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
20 
 
 MONTREAL CELEBRATION. 
 
 coDnected by boat, was closed for montba by the iocle- 
 mency of the winter. 
 
 Water Works.— Fountain. 
 
 A visit to the newly constructed Water Works, where 
 the power of the fierce rapids of Lachiac has been sub- 
 dued to the purposo of working the machinery which fills 
 two inamense reservoirs with a supply of water, abundanfc 
 for all the prcocnt necessities of the ci(y, and calculated 
 to provide for the wants of an increasing population for 
 many years to come, concludes the Excursion. The In^ 
 auguration of these Water Works takes place at the Hay 
 Market, where a noble fountain awaits the signal to display 
 its power. This ceremony, has bear delayed to form one of 
 the attractions of the Oelebration, the Governor General 
 and crowds of g^iestaand citizens, on foo!; and in carriages 
 fill the square ; and cs Eoon rs human eloquence ia ex- 
 hausted, the Workg are left to 0p?ak for themselves, and 
 up, up, from their month-piece burato a rising stream, — 
 up it mounts beyond (ho tallest roof?, and a lofty crystal 
 co'umn benda itis head to the breeze, and the rays of tbo 
 bright sun form many a bo^ in Ub fallin;^ spray. Oh I that 
 the rising cities of Canada r/ould pause before the masses of 
 brick an(^ mor! £ii 2nd the wiihcriDg iDfluencsa of McAdam 
 shall have cro7;dcd cut all the trac33 of Nature — that they 
 would rcsorve a fcvr f-pols where the trees and the gross- 
 plot, and the sparkling fountain might refresh our (o;IJiig 
 spirits Tfitb a glimpse of the forej-t and tlie field. 
 
 The Review. 
 
 But whiii, sounda call U3 eastward ? Tiie claims of war 
 as well cf psace demand our attentiouj and the Champs 
 de Mars is now vieited by the restless masses. There, 
 mounted on a war horse, surrounded by hia siafF, ia gen 
 
] 
 
 MONTR! AL CELEBRATION 
 
 31 
 
 eral E;re, from wbose fine features the Crimean bronzo 
 h&B not yet d^'parted. Hurrah ! for the banner honored 
 by the immortal namep, Alma, Balaclava, Inkermann, 
 Sebastopol — floating proudly over the heads of the gal- 
 lant men who bore it safely through those fearful timei. 
 There, aide by side with rctoraDB, otand the youthful 
 pride of Montreal — the Rifle? — and thunder after thunder 
 of musketry and the exulting shout once een<; out before 
 Sebastopol accompany the charging lines and sustain the 
 mimic fight. The bristling equare— the long files of glit- 
 tering arms haye dazzled the unaccus'omcd eye^ and this 
 bloodless vision of the battle field has deployed from our 
 sight — like some old Moorish vision of enchantment, 
 leaving not a trace of blood or death behind. 
 
 The Ball. 
 
 We have only to describe the Ball and our task is dono. 
 It will be given in the City Hall, — and the whole suite of 
 room?, the Counoil Ohamb€r, and offices, will bo thrown 
 open for tho occasion. The addition of ladies will swell ''. 
 those who filled tho Banquet Hall into a formidable % 
 crowd. At a very early hour the current of guests gets 
 in towards the euirance. Ascending a staircase, decora- 
 ted with evergreens, we enter a long hall whore the full 
 blast of a Band innoculates us with tho spirit of the 
 dance. Passing the length of this corridor, on either side 
 of which are the Dressing and Refieshmeut Rooms, the 
 Council Chamber, carpeted with crimson and eurrounded 
 with seats, forms a capacioaa ante -room. Here another 
 Band, unheard by or unhearing the former, is performing. 
 We next pass into the circular apartment— under the 
 dome — where a Fountain relieves the eye and cools the 
 air, while coloured lamps surround the base of the gallery 
 above. Surprised at the length of space we have tra- 
 
 l 
 
 '.'^X 
 
 ,!^. 
 
22 
 
 MONTREAL CELEBRATION. 
 
 ' 1 
 
 1^ n 
 
 \i !». 
 
 I 
 
 Tersed, the Ball-room, now blaziog with light, next invites 
 our entrance, — a long spacious hall, with a vaulted roof, 
 all beautiful in fresco, on any other occasion vast, it now 
 becomes iusigoificant from the concourse which fills every 
 seat and is wedged into every foot of standing room. To 
 the righf , half way down is a raised platform, carpeted 
 with crimson and surrounded by a curtained canopy, in- 
 tended for the Governor General and Suite. One Orches- 
 tra occupies the raised gallery which stands directly op- 
 posite, and at the lower end a similar balcony contains 
 the Portland Band, who, on the Governor's entrance join 
 the Orchestra in the " National Anthem.'' At the end 
 of the hall are two doors, by the left of ^' :h ingress is 
 had to, and by the right egress from, th; ouppor-room, 
 which lies beyond. 
 
 Thick as Is the press within, it is as dense below. 
 Outside, up and down tue streeis, a couple of thousand 
 guests are now clamoring in vain for admittance, and are 
 forced to seek in other Halls the music and the dance 
 here denied tham. But how describe the Ball. Here 
 are the usual characteristics of every Ball. There is the 
 same undulating expanse of forms moving to the music 
 like the waves of the Osean to the wind — the same glit' 
 teriog Jewellery sparkling in the blase of thf lamps like 
 the sea foam in the sun — the rich dresses, the graceful 
 forms and all the styles of beauty varied at. ^ae flovrers 
 that adorn the fields; but all on a scale ab much 
 grander than the elements of other Balls as 
 the hrosid Atlantic than our lakes. Why stay longer 
 in describing the staid formality of the venerable qua- 
 drille ? Why hurry away with all that throng in the mad 
 course of the galope ? Why become intoxicated in the 
 floating cirolings of the mazy wal' r ? Like all other balls it 
 has its termination, and as the last step of the old "Sir 
 
 I' 
 
MONTREAL CELEBRATION. 
 
 23 
 
 Roger" has concluded the catalogue of dances,and we turn 
 to take a lingering look at the deserted Hall, the melaa- 
 choly lines of Byron are all that are required to finish this 
 concluding scene of the Celebration. 
 
 The crowd are gone, the revellers at rest ; 
 The courteous host, and all-approving guest, 
 Again to that accustomed couch mnst creep 
 Where joy subsides and sorrow sighs to sleep. 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 For days the crowd we busy leaving the city, borne 
 away to their homes by the proud Railroad, safe 
 and unhurt, rejoicing in the absence of all accident, 
 exulting in the success for the great enterprize. And 
 when we have shaken off the fatigue of our homeward 
 journey, and become reconciled to the exchange of the 
 bustle and ^excitement of a carnival for our old business 
 habits and the soberer pleasures of our home, what specu* 
 lations must engross our minds upon the nature of the 
 age in which we live — the age of inventions and improve- 
 ments — fvhat shall we the favored few of all who have 
 been mingled with the dust for long ages past — next see 
 
 We may hope that the same brilliant effulgence of 
 Literature, Science, and Art — the same extension of 
 education — the same cultivation and civilization which 
 has eiiated in Europe — may now follow to this country, 
 encouraged by this giant stride in the march of progress ; 
 and that aA time will soon be annihilated by the electric 
 band which will make the old world and the new throb 
 with one pulsation, that our country Canada may be- 
 come a second Europe. That it, too« may have its capi- 
 tals, its ports, its army and its navy ; and that it may oc- 
 cupy a position in history — a niche in the temple of fame — 
 as high and as honorable as that which has been occupied 
 by any nation of the Past. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
it 
 
 OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 (From the Montreal Herald.) 
 
 There have been many public as well as private demonstrationi 
 of the same fact ; but one of the most interesting and gratifying of 
 them all, is the delivery of a " Lecture upon the Montreal Celebra- 
 tion, before the Toronto Literary and Debating Society, by the 
 Secretary, Mr. William Baldwin Sullivan, in the Hall of the Me- 
 chanics' Institute, and published by order of the Society." Mr. 
 Sullivan, with what we must think a happy, as well as a kindly 
 conception, selected a subject somewhat out of the ordinary topics 
 of lectures to literary and scientific bodies ; but which was not the 
 less adapted, on account of its novelty to interest his hearers, and 
 he did it justice. Beginning at the btginniug, Mr. Sullivan has 
 gone over ell the preparations for the Celebration, both by the 
 entertainers and the entertained ; has given a full account of tho 
 trials of delicate ladies coming hundreds of miles in crowded oars 
 for the sake of the dance, and of jolly aldermen, whose night caps 
 were left at home, while they proceeded to Montreal to greet their 
 brother dignataries. From the cars, the lecturtr carried his hearers 
 to the, for that once, not too-comfortable hotels, and prirate 
 lodgings, which the hospitality of our citizens had provided for 
 their guests; then t» the procession; the dinner; the water 
 works ; the ball ; and the return home, and throughout the agreeable 
 style of the composition keeps up the attention of the reader as it, 
 no doubt, did of the listener. In speaking of the festival as one 
 which chiefly concerned Montreal, Mr. Sullivan prop«r]y remem« 
 bers that it is really indicative of the progress made by the entire 
 country. Hence the graceful acknowledgement of hospitality is 
 throughout coupled with general congratulation. We repeat, that 
 we have seen nothing mure agreeable to our feeliags than this 
 leoture of Mr. Sullivan's. It tends more than anything else to 
 prove that the different sections of Canada have only to know one 
 another to forget all asperities, and to feel that, far from gaining 
 in each others loss, there Is a mutual bond which unites us, so that 
 no part of the country can Improve without all the rest sharing in 
 the beneAt. 
 
 (From the Toronto Times.) 
 
 Our promising youag friend, Mr. William B. Sullivan, has, in some 
 sort, anticipated our Montreal friends, and lately delivered, at th« 
 Toronto Literary Association, a very able and comprehensive Bssay 
 upon this subject, which veare glad to here is about to be reproduced 
 in a Pamphlet form. 
 
"« 
 
 (111? (iorouti) ^'itenirn ^asociatioii, 
 
 {f.'itr llif Toronto TAIvrunj uad Drhitln'j, horifhi.) 
 '■ Scire volunt omnes." 
 
 INS'mUTKD A.D.. ISSoJl, 
 
 i-(»i; 'iiii-: 
 
 CUniVATiON OF IITERATURE A^'D PUBLIC SPEAKIING 
 
 The AssocialionVMcrtiiigs aro lield in tlic Mechanics' 
 In.s'iUile Ifal!. NrecklVj on every TLureday durinj,Mho 
 Winter Season, iVomVlst ^November to 1st June: and 
 during the Summer, from 1st -lune to 1st Xovember. 
 monthly, on !iie liist Thursday in the Month. Public 
 Meetings arc each four tit- weekly meeting and each second 
 monthly meeting. The hour of >f eting. in all case?. T 
 o'clock!'. M. 
 
 The present number of Member? is, ilonor:u-y and Or- 
 dinary. I.".'-) — Corresponding ;'■!•. 
 
 President : 
 
 .IwiKs BiiAi^. n:irri>t(n'-:il-L;i.\\ . 
 
 Vice-Presidents : 
 
 'I'lidviAs Svi.i.AK. TiioMA's Ifonr.fNs. .Ions I Idi.i- and. 
 
 Councillors : 
 
 RoiiKin Ki)\\\in)s. Kdwiv F. Kist.. Waj/ixk U. 
 M(l)o\M.i». Thomas llr.< ion. fjonrirr Nfooin;, 
 
 Secretary : 
 
 WlJ.LIAAl l{. Sn.MV \N. 
 
 Assistant Secretary : 
 
 \i.ii{r,T) llour.T.f.. 
 
 Treasurer ; 
 
 RoMKnr Sn. 1,1 VAN.