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WOODS, "The Times" Special Correspoudeut, Author of "ThePast Camnaign," otc, etc. > LONDON: BRADBUEY & EYANS, 11, BOUYEBIE STBEET. 18G1. [TJic i^ght f.f Translailon is r€S€i'ved!\ '\ HIS ( LONIiON : BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WH1TEFUIARS. My Royal I United of respi be mor with a enjoys the lat( hurry c under o ance to dischar^ the cor( sioua I g^Htati0n. TO HIS GEACE TEE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE, K.G., ETC., ETC. My Lord Duke, This humble record of the memorable tour of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales through Canada and the United States I dedicate to your Grace with deep sentiments of respect and admiration. To no one could this volume be more appropriately offered than to one who was charged with all the responsibility, and who now so deservedly enjoys the honours due to the successful management of the late most remarkable progress. Frequently during the hurry of events in i'le West I was compelled to lay myself under obligations to yoiu* Grace for information and assist- ance to enable me, through the columns of " The Times," to discharge faithfully my duties to the English public. For the cordial and ready aid I always received on these occa- sions I cannot too often express my thanks. To these ^ 'I vl DEDICATION. favours your Grace has added another, by your kind acceptance of the dedication of this book — an acceptance which I feel to be a most distinguished compliment to the general accuracy and impartiality of my narrative. I have the honour to remain, Your Grace's very obedient servant, NICHOLAS AUGUSTUS WOODS. Grove Hili, January 2, 1861. PREFACE. 4 A VERY few words will suffice to introduce this volume to the reader. It is founded almost entirely upon the letters which, as Special Correspondent of " The Times," I forwarded to that journal, narrating the long progress of the Prince of Wales through Canada and the United States. Some portions — such as the description of the Saguenaj'', Niagara, and the visit to Washington's Tomb — have been reproduced almost verbatim. But during a tour of such extent, " and conducted with such rapiditj'-, it of course hap- pened that, in spite of the kind assistance at all times extended towards me by members o^ the royal suite and Canadian government, many events of interest both to the English and Canadians were overlooked, and either left unnoticed or merely mentioned en passant. On the other hand, details and facts con- nected with our cfreat North American colonies were I'. i It- If? viU PREFACE. constantly arising, but for which, unfortunately, I could find no place in my record of the state re- ceptions in Canada, which every day, and almost every hour in the day, awaited the Trince of Wales. These omissions I have endeavoured to rectify in the present volume. The amount of additions and corrections thus neces- sary has swelled its bulk far beyond the dimensions I anticipated. The comparative absence of state and formality during the progress through the United States, gave me better opportunities of observing the resources and peculiar features of the country than any I enjoyed in Canada. But even the hurried sketch I am enabled to give of that gigantic colony will not be without its use, if it only succeeds in directing inquiry into the almost boundless and little kiiorr'n resources of our great North American depen- dencies. Kg ■■^ne em feel more keenly than I do how small is the stock JWi^vi^^?i<.,?) here contributed to this important subject; but, ;• "av- v,>v>;"'-^^^ "What is writ is writ : Would it were worthier." PKEFACE IX The time, however, is fast appronching when the wealth, magnitude, and importance of the British possessions in North America will force their notice on England and its people, who will then learn with as much pleasure as surprise, that their colony, known under the general name of Canada, is an empire of the West, inferior only to that of the United States. N. A. WOODS. Grovb Hill, January 2, 1861. .'It' .4 * V ...>;^^;^i*^^»^^^-^-^ 0lf ' ll , t. Ms v.VJ t !■ 'II IP M Canada — Ei foundla the To cession — lUun Departv Bay of Fun Fertilit Ball— 1 Route from Departi Borealii The "Hero sion— Jl CHAPTER II. NEW BRUNSWICK. Bay of Fundy — Arrival at St. John — Reception — Illuminations — Fertility of the Province — Arrival at Fredericton — A Grand Ball— Visit to Carleton 41 CHAPTER III. PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. Route from Windsor — Destruction of Timber — Loyalty of Truro — Departure from Hctou— Ball at Charlotte Town — The Aurora Borealis — The "Hero" aground 59 %,,.. m CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. NEWFOUNDLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA. PAGE Canada — Embarkation of the Prince and Suite — Vc-^e to New- foundland — Reception — Departure for Halifax — P ^arations in the Town — Excitement in Halifax — Arrival — Indians — Pro- cession through the Town — The Weather — Festivities : The Ball — Illuminations — Regatta — Visit to aa Indian Encampment — Departure — ^Visit to Windsor ' ''.■ ''U 1 I 2 ■■■■■'rf * ■ ;" •• * 41 *'■ ■■'ill o il % tl CHAPTER IV. thjB saguenay river. The "Hero" .igroiir.d again — Scenery of the R.iver — A little Excur- sion — Mountain Echoes — Arrival at Quebec . . . . 75 Oi ;-v.1 ff I ^^ I! XU CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. QUKBEC. PAGE The Prince on Board — Aspect of the City— Sectarian Squabbles— Illumiuations— The Chaudidre Falls— The Speakers of the Upper and Lower Houses Knighted— Falls of Montmorenci — The Natural Steps— Ball at Quebec— Falls of Lorette— The Indians- Roman Catholics of Laval— The Heights of Abraham— Departure from Quebec gg CHAPTER YI. MONTREAL. Situation of Montreal— The Volunteers— Address from the Corpora- tion and the Prince's Reply— The Industrial Exhibition— The Victoria Bridge— Indian Games— Ball at Montreal— Rapids of the St. Lawrence— Tlie Thousand Islands— The Lachine Rapids —"The People's Ball"— Eccentricities of Dress— Unfavourable Weather . ^0 CHAPTER VII. OTTAWA. St. Anne's River— Arrival at Ottawa— Canoe Procession of Lumberers —Aspect of Ottawa— Its want of fitness for a Capital— Laying Foundation Stone of Parliament Buildings— The Lumber Arch — Down a Timber Shoot — Commencement of the Orange Difficulties . . 14g CHAPTER VIII. KIXGSTOX. Scenery of the Upper Ottawa— The Chats Portage— Through the Woods— Brockville— Kingston— The Orange Procession— The Prince declines to land — Belleville — Cobourg . . . .170 CHAPTER IX. TOUONTO. Reaction in Orange feeling— Peterborou sh— Port Hope— Whitby- Orange Arch at Toronto— Duplicity of the Mayor— Correspondence —The Mayor's Apology— Reception at Osgoode Hall— Fatiguing Character of the Progress— Excursion to Collingwood—" Indian Summer"— Addresses from Kingston and Belleville— The Prince's Reply— Leaves Toronto . . 197 Welcome at ] castlb's in Cana( Proceed; Temporary Q Falls 111 pool — F Laying corn( the Prii and Lo\ Prince— — ATu: bitiou i Departu American Ra Fertility Settlemf — AmeA the Prai Arrival at C Prosper! .1. Dwelli 4 CONTENTS, CHAPTFF . ■ LONDOr. XUl PAQB Welcome at London— Close of Orange Correspondence— Duke of New- castle's Reply— Parallel between London in England and London in Canada West— Indians of Sarnia— Distribution of Medals— Proceeds to Niagara 226 197 CHAPTER XI. THE FALLS OF NIAGARA. Temporary Quiet -Aspect of the Falls— How to see Niagara— The Falls Illuminated— Performances of Blondin— Visit to the Whirl- pool— Fatal Accidents 285 CHAPTER XII. HAMILTON. Laying comer-stone of Monument to Sir I. Brock— Address, and the Prince's Reply— St. Catharine's— Contrast between Upper and Lower Canada— Situation of Hamilton — Reception of the Prince— Levee at the Royal Hotel— Ball at the Anglo-American — A Turbulent Dutchman— Inauguration of Agricultural Exhi- bition and Farewell Address— Excellence of Arrangements- Departure from Hamilton 253 CHAPTER XIII. THE UNITED STATES. American Railroads— Appearance of the Country— Its extraordinary Fertility— Land Speculations— Forest Scenery— Fugitive Slave Settlement at Chatham- Arrival at Detroit— Enormous Crowds — Amefican Curiosity— From Detroit to Chicago— A Glimpse at the Prairie 271 CHAPTER XIV. CIIICAOO. Arrival at Chicago — Procession of "Wide-awakes"— Growth and Prosperity of the City — Its importance as a Corn DepOt— Moving a Dwelling-liouse — On a Shooting Excursion .... 285 » f t m 1,1 ■p^' XVI CONTENTS. CHAPTER XV. THE TRAIRIES NEAR DWIGIIT. PAGE Sketch of Dwiglit— Difficulties as to Houseroora— Sport on the Prairies —Irish Visitors— View of the Grand Prairie— Danger of Straying — Peiil by Fire— A Prairie Conflagration— Value of Prairie Land —Method of Cultivation— Wolves and Reptiles— Coal— The Prince leaves Dwight ^^^ CHAPTER XVI. ST. LOUIS AND CINCINNATI. Mr. Lincoln's House at Springfield— Alton-Banks of the Jlississippi —Arrival at St. Louis— Visit to Agricultural Show— Character of the country passed through— Reaches Cincinnati— An American Hotel— Pigs in the City— Its situation— Rail at the Opera House — Leaves Cincinnati for Pittsburg— Mistaken politeness of the Mayor— Across the Alleghany range— The Cambria Ironworks- Mountain scenery— Harrisburg, through Baltimore, to Wash- ington . . • ' 314 CHAPTER XVII. WASHINGTON. The Prince's Reception— Meets the President— Lev6e— Unfinished Character of Washington City-The Capitol— Hall of Representa- tives—The Senate Chamber— The White House— Visit to Mount Vernon — Its neglected condition— Washington's Tomb— The Prince plants a chesuut ^3' CHAPTER XVIII. BICIIMOND, BALTIMORE, AND PHILADELPniA. Departure from Washington -A "Strap Road"— Fredericksburg- Arrival at Richmond— Visit to the Capitol, and alleged Rudeness of the Crowd— Denials of the Richmond Committee— The North and the South— The Prince visits Baltimore — The Washington Memorial -Philadelphia— Ovation at the Opera House CHAPTER XIX. NEW YORK. Enthusiasm in Favour of the Prince — Its orij,'In — Protest of the "Iiish-boni Citizens"- The New Yorkers lectured by a certai| 356 Jounial- Arrival : —The ] Attentio Ball-rooi City— Gi prayed i The Prince le Point—' ception , Welcome at ] Grand I —Visit Reception at Voyage ; England PAGE 293, 314 CONTENTS. XV FA»B Journal — Impressive Character of the Prince's Welcome — His Arrival and Reception — Down the Broadway — American Hotels —The Prison System— The "Tombs"— The Pirate Hicks- Attention paid to the Prisoners— Grand Ball — Accident to the Ball-room Floor — A Carpenter buried alive — Drive round the City— Grand Torchlight Procession— The English Royal Family prayed for at Trinity Church 369 CHAPTER XX. WEST POINT AND ALBANY. The Prince leaves New York— Voyage up the Hudson— Arrival at West Point— The Military School— Voyage resumed— Enthusiastic Re- ception ... ••....,. 404 CHAPTER XXI. BOSTON AND PORTLAND. Welcome at Boston — The Prince's Entry— Inspection of the Militia- Grand Musical Festival— New Version of ** God Save the Queen" — Visit to Harvard University 411 «n; t t I I tS'l 337 CHAPTER XXII. THE VOYAGE HOME. Reception at Portland— Embarkation for the Voyage Home— A Winter Voyage across the Atlantic— Stormy Weather— Delay in reaching England — Home at Last — Conclusion 422 356 Ijl !' li f^: 1 j V i ! I'll UTHO. BY JAMES WYLD , CEOCRAPH »- 7|5 i LiTHo. er JAMES ivno. ceochapher to the queen. 4^7 strand. London e 0' ^' i^ MA? OF THE ROFTE OF H.RH IHE PREVCE op^WM^ES .40 \) V T/LeJl^i/S is uid^eatedtJiui m 5E P A Hll aada — Em — Recep Excitem Town—' —Visit The to t). rough i great pro{ oi" the E] tite next ( '■ery sue Dne is e rjception 360. H )yal prO; ad couti 16 recep TEE PEINCE OF WALES IN CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES. ' 1 CHAPTER I. NEWFOUNDLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA. !, oada — Embarkation of the Prince and Suite — Voyage to Newfoundland — Reception — Departure for Halifax — Preparations in tiie Town — Excitement in Halifax — Arrival — Indians — Procession thi'ough the Town — The Weather — Festivities : The Ball — Illuminations — Regatta — Visit to an Indian Encampment — Depaiiure — Visit to Windsor. The tour of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales tlrough Canada and the United States was the first gi'eat progress ever made in the West by any member ol* the English Royal family. If in future times for the next century to come one should be undertaken by -■ery succeeding heir apparent to the British Crown, me is ever likely to meet with a more remarkable jception than that accorded to Albert Edward, in 360. History, I believe, affords no record of any )yal progress extending over such a vast territory, ad continued through so long a period of time where ie reception was, from first to last, on such a lavish saiC of splendour and hospituliiy, and distiriguished B I m X III NBWFOUKP^ ^"ND kUD NOVA SCOTIA. ^ by such bomnUeBs entV ^iasm of loyalty. Yet this remarkable prv>gresB, destii.ed I believe to be produc- tive of the most important results— arising not more from the p . ' ' 'led knowledge win- h the English public has gained oi the magnitude and lesourc-s of their great Canadian em^^ir^ . than from witnessing the kind and hearty feeling of friendship evinced towards their country bv all classes of Americans, at the outset, excited but little notice in England. The general public only knew that His Royal Highness was departing on a kind of state tour to the British North American provinces and Canada— colonies about which, as a rule, they knew still less. Some curiosity was felt as to Avhether he would pass through the States; and of course an interest evinced as to the kind of reception \e would get there. But beyond this there seemed at lirst ry little feeling in the matter. The Prince of Wah s had been through Italy, Germany, France, and Spain without attracting any extraordinary amount of attention at home or abroad. In England the public seemed to imagine that the visit to Canada, though of course of a more important and festive kind, would nevertheless, very much resemble his previous travels on the continent, almost overlooking the fact that His Highness was '^oing to visit, and for a time reside among a people as truly and as sterlingly English as any yeoman from T.and's End to John o' Groats. Thus at the time the whole length and breadth of Canada and the North American provinces were steeped in festive preparations and making ready for grand displays of every sort and oia ^^ery scale of magnitude, it was not even known at hci. = v.o where the tour of His Eoyal Highness would re;u; eiten;!. While the native tribes were mustering or I .?> i ^ron to r".. honour to the son of "their Great Mother; ' while the back-woods' tracks 1) '"'"mm EMBARKATION OF THE PRINCE. 3 round Ottawa were being mado or repaired for him to pass along on his winding rout* to all the chi f towns in Tipper Canada, almost the most that had transpired in E;igland was, that he was certainly going lu Quebec — that he would open the great Victoria Bridge fit Montreal — probably visit the President, and not im- probably go to New York ; the whole visit lasting about a month. In fart, the English public knew very little about the matter nt all ; and, if I am not mis- taken, the first intimation they received of the real extent and importance of the great visit was from the programme of what was to be done in Canada, for- warded to the Times from Quebec. Some little stir was made by the embarkation of His Royal Highness at Plymouth, and a kindly farewell address was presented to him by the mayor and cor- poration of that town; but this was almost the only public formality that marked the departure of the Prince of Wales on one of the longest, grandest, and most important tours which royalty has ever under- taken. The vessels chosen to accompany the Prince and form the royal squadron, were the Hero, 91 guns. Captain Seymour; the Ariadne, 26, Captain Vansittart ; and the Flying Fish, 6, Commander Hope. The two first named are the finest and fastest ships in the navy — probably of their class the two finest and fastest 'ips in t'.-'e world. The last, though a most beautiful bleam sloop to look at, is like all of the same sort, by no means a good one to go, but on the contrary, so slow, that it was necessary to give her a week's start of the other vessels to enable her to arrive at St. John's in time. On board the " Hero " were the Prince, the Duke of Newcastle, Secretary of the Colonies, and state adviser on this tour to His Royal Highness ; Earl B 2 ' t M ' ■ t 1 j 1' 1 ! l1 1 4, HEWFOUNDLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA. ft St Germains, Lord Steward of Her Majesty s house- hold and Mjor-General the Hon. B. Bruce governor to tlie Pr no . Dr. Acldand, Eegius Professor of Medtine at Oxford, attended as the Prince's phys.c.an Heutenaut-Colonel Grey and ^^3- J^^^^^^ „* eauerries to His Koyal Highness ; and Mr. G. D. tngle Wt Te Duke of Newcastle's private score ary, were ,tnf the party on board the "Hero."- The poop ahiu n theCer deck, furnished in the very pla>nes stvle and with an ordinary ship's cot sw.ng.ng m the cln :r of the sleeping cabin, was for the use of H^ Boyal Highness. The Duke of Newcastle and M St Germains divided the ward room. The othei 2^ZZ of the royal party had temporary cabrns bujH fo Xm along the main deck, the greater part of the In in eachtf which was of course --P^^sed by a long «2-pounder. A college fnend of ^^^ P"°^^; *^ Hon C EUice, a son of Lord Howard De A\alden, went'in'the Ari;dne; Yiscount Hinchinbrooke and the Hon G Elliot (son of the Earl St. Germams), a so ^::ds^ofl Prince, and who Joined a-dj— with the royal party in Amenca, preceded th. dep=. ture of the squadron, and went to New \ork m ordinary mail steamer 0.r the — g ofjuj;;^^^ lOth the vessels steamed out oi nym^ the vovaae to America commenced, tne vo}a^e ^ ^^ ^ the On tills crmse out tneie was Mta-y ^^ ^^ i„f;;he broad Atlantic. The flag-ship then s.gnalied VOYAGE TO NEWFOUNDLAND. 6 a farewell, again the whole fleet poured forth its thundering homage to the royal standard, and tacking down Channel, were soon out of sight below the horizon. They were lost sight of with almost a feeling of regret, for somehow or other they were generally sup- posed to have taken the fine weather with them. Cer- tainly, if the fleet had not some other vessels had, for most assuredly none remained with the royal squadron. From that time out there was nothing but bad weather. It was not downright heavy weather of the violent kind, which forces one to take an interest in the barometer, and make furtive inquiries as to the ship being strong and a good sea-boat — the kind of weather which makes all food but biscuit or sea-pie impossible to be got. Fortunately it was not of this sort (though if it had been it would not have mattered much to His Royal Highness, who is as good a sailor as his brother Alfred), but still the vagaries of a line-of-battle ship in a gale in the Atlantic are rather alarming to witness for the first time. It was merely then unfavourable weather, and, short of a hurricane, nothing worse for discomfort is to be met at sea than what is encountered under this mild general term. There was drizzle and rain on deck, damp and discomfort below, with just sufficient head sea to impede progress, but, apparently, by no means enough to justify the breakage that was exter- minating crockery on all sides. Fortunately, not only His Royal Highness but all the suite were exempt from that nauseous leveller, sea-sickness, so in spite of all the time was passed tolerably well, sometimes in specu- lations as to when there was likely to be a fair wind, or else in making "chaffing" signals to the "Ariadne." Then, cabin number 7 invited cabins number 5 and 3 to a quiet cipar, when cabins 4 and C were sure to dr'^ji n ( iil I I' I-' \Mt ^ \^ ill- 6 NEWFOUNDLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA. in, and at a later hour cabins 1, 2, and 9, and the « festivities were prolonged to an advanced hour." On the seventh day out the breeze became more prononce and there was every prospect of a longer cruise, and of the good citizens of the British provinces being kept waitincr for the arrival of their long expected visitor till their arches were faded and their enthusiasm down to zero. It blew hard, with a heavy swell, and the suite were speculating on a rough night, when the attention of all was arrested by that most startling of all sounds at sea, the cry of a " man overboard." In almost as Httle time as it takes to tell it, both life-buoys were let go and the "Hero" rounded to. The poor fellow, who had jumped into the water in a fit of temporary insanity as it was supposed, could be seen astern struggling amid the surges. With some risk and difficulty a boat was manned and lowered, and pulled away with desperate strokes, to save the wretched man. So quick was ail that could be done accomplished that it seemed almost certain the poor fellow would be saved, when suddenly, as the boat was almost alongside him, he disappeared and was seen no more. This most painful incident- the only incident of the voyage-by no means made the cruise more cheerful, and the dull, wet, unfavour- able weather seemed duller and more gloomy than ever. There was nothing, in fact, to enliven it but hazy conjectures as to when they would arrive, with now and then a small discussion as to whether or not the "Ariadne" would part company in the next fog. But of this latter there was little fear, for wind, ram, fog, or storm, the splendid consort of the " Hero" never parted once from her stern but for a few short hours, when in a thicker fog than ever off the coast of New- foundland, Thus day by day was passed, and the Prince's barometrical ill luck, which followed him almost thr evident wr denser fog, was not a 22nd of J shores of !N the squadr breakfast ( the wide, s Newfour small color ance and < name and j world. Tl same size haps Anstr are so litth almost not supposed, ( to be full covered wil population which, of c are drawn sistence. 110,000 be directly or the fisherie very little ; of the isla rumour bu having no f first effort ■ merely to c conneetiou TV ^*'« ARKIVAL AT ST. JOHN's. 7 almost throughout the tour, became more and more evident with each foul wind, dead calm, head sea, or denser fog. With such weather, therefore, every one was not a little pleased to hear on the night of the 22nd of July that the " Hero " was close upon the shores of Newfoundland. The following morning found the squadron off the harbour of St. John's, and before breakfast each vessel was quietly moored abreast of the wide, straggling, quaint colonial capital. Newfoundland, though in appearance a poor and small colony, is not without its own peculiar import- ance and one certainly which is as widely known by name and fame as any British possession in the whole world. There is, however, no tract of country of the same size belonging to the English crown, except per- haps Australia, the internal natural resources of which are so little explored. Of the interior of Newfoundland almost nothing has been discovered beyond that it is supposed, on general rumour, to contain many lakes, to be full of swamps and bogs, with isolated hills thinly covered with trees of small growth. In fact, the whole population of the island live in sight of the sea, from which, of course, they seldom move, as from its waves are drawn their only means for commerce and sub- sistence. Out of a population numbering more than 110,000 beings, there are scarcely 3000 who are not directly or indirectly connected with, or dependant on, the fisheries. Among a people so employed, of course very little attention is ever bestowed upon the interior of the island, which to them appears, not only by rumour but from a commercial point of view and as having no fisheries, to be a mere waste. Almost the very first effort which was undertaken, not to explore, but merely to cross Newfoundland, was to survey a route in connection with the Atiautio Telegraph. The result 4^' ij "II 8 NEWFOUNDLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA. of this attempt, which was successful, though during it very maiiy of the Indians who accompanied Mr. Gisborne died of privation and fatigue, showed that for once the wild and sterile nature of an almost unknown interior had not been exaggerated. The island beyond the actual coast line was found to be a mere swamp— cold, raw, utterly wild, and almost destitute of either animals or trees. On such an island there was, of course, very little for the royal party to see, except in the actual town of St. John's, which had made an amount of preparations in the way of arches and evergreens, such as no one had expected. This festive exhibition would no doubt have been worth seeing, but for the rain, which, as throughout the voyage, accompanied His Koyal High- ness to this his first landing-place, and poured in such torrents that for some hours the disembarkation had to be postponed. Of what took place at this visit to St. John's there is really so little to record that, but as a link in the narrative of the progress, it might almost be omitted entirely. A few things, however, are worthy of mention, one being that the cod fish caught at New- foundland, when fresh, is as tasteless as water and as unpalatable as cotton wool. It is only when salted (the only condition in which it is exported) that it becomes even tolerably good ; and, fortunately for the value of the fisheries, the cod of Newfoundland bears salting later than any other species known. Another fact discovered during the royal visit demands especial notice, as it v/as subsequently much commented on, and formed, if anything could form, a sort of foundation for the monstrous superstructure of false reports whicli were designedly circulated among the Orangemen of Upper Canada. The Protestants and Eoman Catho- lics of Newfoundland are pretty equal in number, and ii RECEPTION. 9 to their credit be it said, the ministers of both creeds live on terms of the most perfect amity and friendship without interferences or jealousies of any kind. So perfect is this concord that when, after the landing, each body presented an address to His Royal High- ness, both at once consented to be included in a joint- reply — perhaps the first instance of the kind on record. This reply the Prince delivered to them as follows : — " I receive with deep gratification the Address which you have presented to me. " The anxiety which has ever been manifested by the Queen for the promotion of all that concerns the religious, moral, and social condition of her people is well known to you. She will, therefore, rejoice to hear that your labours in this island have been crowned with so large a measure of success, and that good order and obedience to the laws characterise the population among whom, by the Divine will, , ^ur lot has been cast. *' That the inhabitants of this colony may long live in the possession of an earnest faith, and, at the same time, in religious peace and harmony, shall be my constant prayer. " Personally, I thank you for your congratulations upon my safe arrival, and for your good wishes." After this and many other addresses, from various corporations and societies,* His Royal Highness, having nothing else either to do or see, made a private visit to inspect the really fine interior of the Protestant cathe- dral. On quitting this building he was requested to * There were upwards of 380 addresses presented to His Royal Highness during the whole tour, and more than 100 of these were honoured with replies. The whole, if printed, would form a thicker volume than that now before the reader, and even the principal ones, which have since been reprinted by the Colonial Office, make a very fair-sized book. Of course, under such circumstances, it would be mere waste of the reader's time and patience to give even the Prince's answers, except in those cases where subsequent events connected with the tour showed them to have more than a local importance. Such was the address to the united clergy of Newfoundland. I ' 'i 1 II I i'l ■ ■ . I Ml 10 NEWFOUNDLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA. & P. It confer the same favour on the cathedral belonging to the Roman Catholics. To this, of course, His Royal Highness at once consented, and having looked into the interior of the chapel, which in its style of adornments much resembled an over-decorated music hall, for a few minutes, the party came away. Short as was this visit, it was taken as a compliment, and was, I am told, a deep source of pleasure to the Roman Cathohcs. Short as it was, also, it afterwards sufficed, with other causes, to answer a political purpose, and to get up the Orange cry in Canada against what was called the Duke of Newcastle's popish leanings. This was the only Roman Catholic place of worship the Prince entered during the whole tour from begin- ning to end. After these visits and the drive round the town, the Prince proceeded to the residence of Sir Alexander Bannerman, held a short levee, and afterwards, at a banquet, met some of the most distinguished citizens of St. John's. Later in the evening there was a ball, which began the Prince's long series of triumphs at these fetes, for his grace, affabihty, and kind good nature won the hearts of all. It was intended to amuse the populace with fireworks on this evening, but the rain had been so incessant that very few attended to witness the display. This was fortunate, as, few as were the people present, there were fewer still of the pyrotechnics that could be got to light by any means, so that on the whole the intended exhibition was rather a decided failure than otherwise. On the morning following the ball and projected out- door entertainment, the inhabitants of Newfoundland presented the Prince with one of the largest and noblest looking specimens of the breed of dogs for which the island is famed all over the world. This magnificent as large as i foundland d presented a enriched wil the arms o short but £ The dog ha< first colony more, in 16' the animal Newfoundla brute soon I The size, c Cabot, of c among the ( It was so( for the wate likely to te watched wt he was let astonishmei of the sea, 1 down into " lowered to occasion, wl overpowere( overboard : enjoying hii delight as ii One or t\ kind proved be at large ' waves the i plunge amo: CABOT. 11 magnificent brute, though still very young, was quite as large as an ordinary donkey, and, like all pure New- foundland dogs, a deep jet black. With him also was presented a superb, silver collar and chain, the former enriched with elaborate chasings, and having between the arms of the colony and the Prince of Wales, a short but appropriate inscription to His Highness. The dog had received the name of " Avalon," after the first colony established in the island by Lord Balti- more, in 1623. The Prince, however, proposed calling the animal by the name of the great discoverer of Newfoundland, Cabot, and this new title the splendid brute soon became accustomed to on board the "Hero." The size, courage, strength, and perfect docility of Cabot, of course made him an universal favourite among the officers of the ship. It was soon found, however, that his daring and love for the water was of such an absorbing nature as was likely to terminate his career abruptly, unless closely watched while on board the flagship. The first day he was let loose for a run on the main deck, to the astonishment of every one, the instant he caught sight of the sea, he made one bound clear through a port, down into the water, and of course a boat had to be lowered to pick Master Cabot up again. On a second occasion, when let loose, his love of swimming again overpowered all fear of consequences, and Cabot was overboard in the twinkling of an eye, frisking and enjoying himself among the heavy waves with as much delight as if he was born there. One or two other little escapades of the same daring kind proved beyond a doubt that Cabot was not " fit to be at large" when in sight of the sea. The higher the waves the more anxious and determined he seemed to plunge among them. In sight or out of sight of land .1'.' ^1' ^■11 'SOI '•; ■|i I ii; ^ ''li 1 i ! i I ■ ;' 1 ' ' ' i ■ i 11 ih 12 NEWFOUNDLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA. II'H made no manner of difference to him, and it was there- fore feared he would go overhoard some day when the sea might he so wild that it would be dangerous to lower a boat for his rescue and recapture. Therefore Cabot was kept chained up while at sea, rambling about a dog's housp large enough to accommodate a small family. On the Saturday following the ball the royal squad- ron quitted Newfoundland and proceeded under easy steam for Halifax. For such a cruise there was plenty of time and to spare, before the hour fixed for the arrival at the capital of Nova Scotia. On Sunday afternoon, therefore, the ships turned aside into the harbour of Sydney, the chief town of Cape Breton Island. Here His Koyal Highness landed quietly, and took a short drive round the small though very clean and pretty streets of the capital. It is almost needless to say what was the delight of the inhabitants, who were not the less excited by the honour from the fact of its being totally unexpected. A very thick fog set in soon after the royal party re-embarked from this small province, but the weather was then of small account, for the ships were close to Halifax, where the real state progress through the provinces and Canada was to commence. The squadron accordingly lay to for the night, off the entrance of the harbour, so a- to be ready to steam into Halifax at once with the return of daylight. I had arrived at Halifax some two days or so before the time when His Royal Highness was expected to land at that ancient colony. A telegram had just been received from St. John's, announcing that the Prince of Wales had arrived safely at Newfoundland on the night of the 23rd. But beyond this very meagre amount of information, little if anything was known for certainty, so of excitemen population s they talkei. dreamt of nc receive him. "Great Eas when His R< and employe! as much as my astonishi Halifax to L tions for the to find a daih the name oi anecdotes of glory which whose name in Canada or reverence am glad and pi appeared witl arrival to ri^ His name associated b}' ladies' dress( from a water] could not sit dimly from 1 plate. It wa umbrellas, P whole colony and feathers, paration and uv *' EXCITEMENT IN HALIFAX. 13 certainty, so that all Nova Scotia was in quite a fever of excitement and delightful expectation. The entire population seemed to think of nothing — certainly they talkeu <* nothing, and one might almost fancy dreamt of nothing but the Prince, and how best to receive him. I had arrived at New York in the " Great Eastern," nearly six weeks before the time when His Royal Highness was expected in the west, and employed the interval in travelling over Canada, as much as I could in so short a period. To my astonishment I found that the whole land from Halifax to Lake Huron resounded only with prepara- tions for the approaching royal visit. It was difficult to find a daily paper which was not full of acrostics on the name of Albert Edward, verses in his praise, anecdotes of his childhood, and predictions of a future glory which should equal that of his royal mother, whose name it must be said is never men+ioned either in Canada or the United States, but in such terms of reverence and admiration as every Englishman feels glad and proud to hear. No advertisement ever appeared without some adroit allusion to his expected arrival to rivet the attention of readers to the puff. His name and titles were somehow mysteriously associated by advertisers with cheap pork, old patents, ladies' dresses, sales of timber — everything in fact from a waterproof coat to a barrel of mild cider. You could not sit down to dinner but his portrait loomed dimly from beneath the gravy in the centre of the plate. It was Prince's hats. Prince's boots, Prince's umbrellas. Prince's coats, Prince's cigars, and the whole colony nodded, in fact, with Prince's coronets and feathers. Into all this brilliant turmoil of pre- paration and display, Halifax appeared to enter with the keenest interest. I'* ^ * - I! ::;l! *' :' ,:(.! ^• 14 NEWFOUNDLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA. The town of Halifax by no means impresses the visitor on his first entrance. As is generally the case, the road from the station passes through some of the poorest thoroughfares and meanest houses. The latter seem ill built and tumbling to their decay, with their doors and windows mostly crowded with seedy looking, squalid inhabitants, who lounge about as if they had very little to do, and were too idle to do even that. Here and there this monotony of seediness is relieved by the presence of one or two brightly dressed Indiixn squaws, with their flat Tartar features half hidden under a fell of long, coarse, unkempt hair ; their great splay feet covered over with blanket mocassins, tramp- ing along with their little papooses tied down hand and foot to a flat piece of board, and looking for all the world like some curious preparation of an infant being dried in the sun. Further up, towards what may be called the more fashionable quarter of the town, the streets are better and wider, though always as hilly, as dusty, and as stony as all towns in the provinces seem bound to be. Still the whole place has an air of antiquated sleepiness about it, a kind of wooden imita- tion of the dulness of old cathedral towns in England, where each ricketty house seems as if it only nudged its neighbour to keep still. The churches and public buildings, however, are large and handsome ; and if the traveller has not first visited the flourishing town of St. John's, New Brunswick — the Liverpool of the British North American Provinces — he is apt on the whole to be very well satisfied with the capital of Nova Scotia. To the lovers of beautifully wild and romantic scenery, all the country round the town offers charms which may really be said to be inexhaustible ; and the constant presence of a numerous garrison, with the importance of the place as a naval station, secures to HALIFAX. 15 the inhabitftnts of Halifax more of what is termed " good society" than can be found in any other of the provinces. The visit of His Eoyal Highness to St. John's, Newfoundland, of course excited little interest ex- cept among the inhabitants of that remote fishing station, as it was at Halifax that the royal progress was understood to commence. Tliither, accordingly, visitors flocked from all parts of Canada, and even from many parts of the United States, till Halifax looked not only crowded, but almost busy. The hotels of the town have deservedly always stood extremely low in the estimation of even the least fastidious torn (Rts. The fact of their being then crowded with about four times the number of visitors they ever pretended to accommodate, certainly did very little towards diminishing their evil repute. Beds com- manded fancy prices. As a general rule, travelling with beds in one's luggage should be avoided ; but here was an exception, and the trouble and expense of dragging one down even to such an "ultima thiiW as Halifax, would have amply compensated any gentleman at all particular on the score of comfort, and one might almost say cleanliness. All visitors who arrived late found themselves suddenly called upon to solve an impossible problem, as to finding beds, while, to add to the general harmony and peace of mind, every one appeared to have got some one else's luggage, and the wildest confusion prevailed. The inhabitants of Halifax, however, were very little affected by these contretemps. Their minds were all concentrated on one darling purpose, that of giving the Prince a grand and hearty welcome. For, no matter how much behind St. John's and other towns of our great Canadian colonies in material wealth or I ' 1 I I- I -i :\ km ' ; ! t hi! 16 NEWFOUNDLAISD AND NOVA SCOTIA. Ai I. commercial future, Nova Sciotia is inferior to no colony England has ever owned in warm and generous loyalty to the British throne. Only one impulse therefore seemed to actuate tlie whole population ; all the ordinary duties of life or business seemed to have been laid aside, that the people might devote themselves heart and soul to •welcoming their future king with fitting warmth and splendour. Nothing was thought too good for the occasion ; and as not only the town, but every street and almost every house worked to the same end, the result may be anticipated, though even those who have seen it cannot easily do it full justice. The Prince's l^rogress all through Canada was one grand state pro- cession from Halifax to Hamilton ; but beautiful and impressive as were all his receptions, His Highness saw very little which surpassed his first welcome at Halifax. Very few indeed were the places which even recalled to mind the exquisite street decorations which for the time being transformed the dull old dusty town into a perfect bower. Even a week before the Prince's arrival, scarcely a house but was preparing its illumi- nations and transparencies, not a street so small as to be without its triumphal arch. In some there were constantly as many as four or five, in others more than ten : a perfect vista of flags and evergreens. All the houses, even to the smallest, were almost covered over with boughs of spruce fir, Avhich filled the air with its rich sweet smell, while the eye was charmed by resting on its deep, rich, mellow-looking green. While on this subject, I must not omit to mention the most gratifying fact connected with this really beautiful display — a display which would have done credit to the largest and most loyal town in England. Nearly the whole of the expenses of these multitudinous arches and illumiuations were defrayed by private sub- scriptions a within the i arches were all these t expense of the governn all; but th for imi)rove The rath been duly t( in a constai should be g even bear c( There was, . Saturday be the town wa triumphal a flags, and be to be seen, tinsel, wreat street was m of never en always expe seaport capil were not got ing and sawi were driven course, rema was rigidly hammering ) and redouble all who lived monstrous h thouglit from required a te GKAND PREPARATIONS. 17 scriptions among the inlmbitunts. It is speakin ^uite within the mark when I say that at least fifty beautiful arches were finished before the Prince arrived ; and of all these the provincial government only bore the expense of two. Of course, if it iuul been necessary the government would cheerfully have met the cost of all; but the loyalty of the Haligonians left no room lor improvement in this respect. The rather meagre doings at Newfoundland had been duly telegraphed to Halifax, and kept the people m a constant state of nervous anxiety lest anything should be shown at the fishing colony which might even bear comparison with what they were preparing. Ihere was, however, but little fear of this, for, by the Saturday before the arrival of His Royal Highness the town was perfectly concealed under such a mass of triumphal arches, illuminations, decorations, arcades flags, and banners, that Halifax proper was no longer to be seen, but in its stead was a town of colours tinsel, wreaths, lamps, flowers, and evergreens, till each street was more like those " bowers of bliss and realms of never ending felicity" in which pantomimes are always expected to terminate, than a part of the dull seaport capital of Nova Scotia. All these preparations were not got through without a terrific din of hammer- ing and sawing ; and, though apparently nails enough were driven to have built a city, yet something, of course, remained to do at the last moment. So Sunday was rigidly observed till twelve o'clock, when the hammering was renewed with conscientious accuracy and redoubled vigour, and a lively night was the result to all who lived within hearing (as who did not ?} of some monstrous hollow drumming arch. One would have thought from the sound, that each leaf on the structure required a tenpenny nail to secure it. I 'If I : ! 18 NEWFOUNDLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA. 'S in J t I •I . Popular belief varied as to the time when the Prince would arrive at Halifax, and any hour between 3 A.M. and noon in turn became the favourite, as the squadron was now rumoured to be in the bay, and the next moment all but missing. Before five o'clock in the morning every one was astir in the town : not that even the most inveterate of sightseers found or expected much to interest him then, but because it was evident that there was no sleeping with the Prince so near at hand. So people turned out, and gossipped and speculated on the great event, till rumours, hopes, and fears got wilder and more vague each moment. The general uncertainty was not diminished when from the flagstaff on the citadel the signal was run up that two steamers were in sight. This at once made it evident to the meanest capacity that these ships could not belong to the royal squadron, when their approach was announced in such an off-hand manner, without any greater marks of reverence or formality than precede the arrival of an ordinary mail. Nevertheless the royal squadron it proved to be, though still so far off that they only seemed at the entrance of the noble harbour of Halifax like dots upon the edge of the horizon. The discovery made as great a sensation as if it was the most unexpected thing in the world, and not what all Nova Scotia had been waiting and looking forward to for the previous six months. The good news spread from mouth to mouth, and on the instant steamers, yachts, cutters, and row-boats, started out to meet the fleet, though still some nine or ten miles distant. Everybody, however, cc".ld not go this way; and those who were left behind consoled themselves for their disappointment by hoisting up still more flags, banners, and lamps, for, though only six in the morning, seemed damped, three sic citadel w] been firec as to the slight res again en the tempc attention masses of hills and and threa day wore . At eigh firing of t] proclaimec effect in ^ were to me Halifax m too used t( sufficiently sion. For off, and mi roughly. fleet, the " the perfed came slowl forts, fron Point Pleas royal salute roar, which among the under the h r 1 ■ ARRIVAL. 19 morning, popular enthusiasm ran as high as ever and seemed to be rising every minute. It was a little damped, however, by the sudden recollection that the three signal guns which were to be fired from the citadel when the royal squadron, was in sight, had not been fired at all. For want of the proper information as to the cause of this, public enthusiasm underwent a slight reaction, and Halifax gradually went in-doors again en masse. A fresh topic for anxiety deepened the temporary despondency very much, as the delicate attention of a sou'-west wind brought up some heavy masses of black clouds, which gradually shrouded the hills and citadel, raining a little now and a little then and threatening to become entirely obnoxious as the' day wore on. At eight o'clock it poured so hard that even the firing of the three long-looked-for guns which officially proclaimed that the Prince had come at last, had no effect in getting the people out. All the boats which were to meet the squadron, had long gone ; and to do Halifax mere justice, its inhabitants appeared much too used to seeing heavy rain to find anything in it sufficiently attractive to bring them out on that occa- sion. Fortunately there were intervals when it held off, and made believe as if it meant to clear up tho- roughly. During one of these, the ships of the royal fleet, the "Hero" leading statelily, but all eclipsed by the perfect form and noble lines of the " Ariadne " came slowly up the bay. Then from the citadel and forts from Fort Redoubt, from George's Island, i oint Pleasant, and the batteries along the shore the royal salute began to thunder out in one long solemn roar, which went on multiplying as it reverberated among the hills till the very air seemed to tremble under the heavy sound. Another minute and all the 2 'li li 20 NEWFOUNDLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA. town of Halifax was in the streets, cheering, hurrying, pushing; every one on the move, though none seeming to know where to go, crowding out of houses, where they could see very well, into little alleys where they couldn't see at all, and otherwise conducting them- selves in a wild manner, like a loyal and enthusiastic people. The wharves and the windows, the hills, and even the roofs of the houses were crowded — the only points of vantage which were at all respected during the general rush being the tops of the triumphal arches themselves. The dockyard was the great centre of attraction, for there, not only the public were admitted, but there the Prince was to land, and there the chief officers and gentry of the province were to receive His Highness, with Earl Mulgrave the Lieutenant- Governor, Admiral Milne, the Members of the Legis- lative Assembly, the Mayor and Corporation, &c. Precisely at ten o'clock the " Hero," half hidden by the smoke of guns, came opposite the town, when the " Nile," the " Cossack," and the " Valorous," each fired a royal salute and manned yards to the very mast-head — the men as neat as pins in their white shirts and trousers, and looking somewhat like pins, too, as they stood up in close rows, like a fringe to the yards. The " Hero " kept on till abreast of the dockyard, when she passed under the stern of the " Nile," and rounding to almost in twice her own length, came at once to her moorings. The " Ariadne " with a majestic sweep that was beautiful, though which at one time seemed as if about to send her ashore on the « other side of tlie bay, followed the " Hero;" while the little " Flying Fish," the smartest looking vessel of her class afloat, seemed, as she rose and fell to the undulations of the water, to be skipping lightly after her huge sisters. Of CO Prince, i glimpse sailor be side, up taken foi tors the seemed 1 man, sta with an his fair c hat as till the ships royal vis expected. moorings, of various the "Her of the M especially Tlieir lig] in them a Not so di( frock coat Mongol fe almost cor about twi( way ofrec( the cuffs a rough bea( whole dreg civilisation men them or two ins INDIANS. 21 Of course, as all eyes were strained to see the Prince, it need scarcely be told how every one that a glimpse was caught of on board the "Hero," from a sailor boy standing in a conspicuous position on the side, up to the officer of marines, was in turn mis- taken for him, and in turn elicited from the specta- tors the warmest expressions of admiration. Few seemed to know that the slight, quiet-looking young man, standing with three or four others on the poop, with an unmistakeably sunburnt tinge of brown over his fair complexion, and who was the first to raise his hat as the strains of the national anthem came from the ships of war, was really the Prince of Wales— the royal visitor so long prepared for and so anxiously expected. Immediately that the vessels came to their moorings, a train of some ten or twelve Indian canoes, of various sizes, paddled rapidly up under the stern of the "Hero." The Indians in them were of the tribe of the Micmacs, who had come in from the woods especially to do honour to the arrival of His Highness. Their light birch-bark canoes had little sprigs of fern in them at the bows, and looked characteristic enough. Not so did their occupants, who were dressed in blue frock coats and trousers, and had their swarthy, broad, Mongol features, and long, coarse, straight, black hair' almost concealed under common English beaver hats,' about twice too large f-en for their wide heads. By way of reconciling them to this most un-Indian costume, the cuffs and collars of the coats were ornamented with rough beadwork, making such a curious melange of the whole dress, that it was hard to say of the two whether civilisation or barbarism was most travestied. The men themselves, though carefully selected from the s-r\zav \JL f the tribe, and in most cases tall, and in one or two instances athletic -looking, were on the whole II It •I' 212 NEWFOUNDLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA. immeasurably inferior in physical development to the average of ordinary white men. Their arms were long, weak-looking, and nerveless; each man stooped so much as to appear almost deformed, walking, when, on shore, with a shambling, flat-footed gait, and gazing about the streets with such a vacuous expression of countenance as at once showed them weak alike in mind and body, a fast degenerating race of men. On Lake Huron real Indians — Indians -vyho would not know what to do with all the trousers in Bond Street if they were given them to wear for nothing — after- wards met the Prince, and those tall, lithe, swarthy savages were worth seeing. But alas for what the Micmacs could offer to interest ! In their long blue coats and ornamented cuffs and collars, they looked like '.hG mummies of an antiquated beadledom — the parochial scourings of some long bygone Indian vil- lage. Their chief was a fine-looking man, but he was an Englishman, who had " taken up " among the Indians as a "medicine-man," and to whose unskilful min;:^tering3, by the way, the very dilapidated appear- ance of his new associates may be, perhaps, ascribed. Lord Mulgrave with Admiral Milne went on board the " Hero," and had an interview with the Prince, who expressed his intention of landing at 12 o'clock. A few minutes before that hour the ships of war manned yards, and precisely as 12 o'clock struck there ivas a little stir on board the " Hero," and shaking hands as he left with all the officers of the ship, the Prince of Wales came down the side, followed by tiie Duke of Newcastle, Earl St. Germains, Major-General Bruce, and Lue other officers of his suite, and took his seat in the handsome royal barge. As it pushed from the sjde, the Prince Royal Standard — the arms of England quartered, according to the heraldic bearings of the LANDING. 23 heir apparent — was hoisted amid the thundering roar of guns from forts and fleet. The Prince landed at the dockyard steps near a triumphal arch, which, to typify the nautical character of the locale, was moored by two small anchors at either side, with a canoe on the top with the Prince of Wales's feathers springing out of the middle like three little masts. Under this the Prince stepped ashore, wearing the uniform of a colonel in the army, with the broad blue riband of the Garter across his breast. Here he stood for some seconds motionless, for he had kindly complied with a request of the city that a photograph might be taken of him as he first landed on Nova Scotian soil. It was rather a trying position for any young man, even though a Prince, to stand motionless, close to the eager, scrutinizing, admiring gaze of thousands, for nearly half a minute without varjdng a feature or a muscle, and amid such a silence that almost the breathing of the great crowd was audible. But, with his hat raised, and a kind smile on his face which reminded every one irresistibly of his Royal mother, the Prince bore the ordeal grace- fully and well — so well that a tremendous cheer, with applause from the ladies, and cries of " How kind of him!" "How condescending!" "How aiFable!" re- warded him most amply for his slight delay. Before he had well done acknowledging the salutes of the governor, the legislature, and the judges, His Royal Highness was if possible m.ore popular at Halifax than he had even been at St. John's. After a few formal presentations and a few still more formal addresses he mounted his horse and, accom- panied by Lord Mulgrave, the Lieutenant-Governor, and all liis suite, issued forth from the dockyard into the main street leading up toward the town. Here '^ , If i 1 1 I «4 NEWFOUNDLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA. indeed all Halifax was out, shouting, cheering, waving handkerchiefs and clapping hands, as if/ they were demented. For the first part of the way the street was kept by the fire companies, then by corps of volun- teers ; among them was a strong company of negroes, and then came the regulars. But through all these barriers save the last the crowd went plunging on, quite irresistible, not only at times overwhelming the line of sentries, but sometimes even carrying them away with them with a headlong rush that no obstacle could check, till they were abreast of the Prince, when they stopped, and with scrupulous reverence forbore to crowd on him, though they made up for this reserve by cheering, shouting, and throwing tlieir caps into the ail' like madmen. The great street was soon entered — one long vista of flags, arches, flowers, and wreaths, with the roadway densely crowded, and all the windows, roofs, and balconies thronged with hundreds of ladies waving handkerchiefs and throwing down bouquets till the whole place seemed fluttering in the wind. The scene was one of the most enthusiastic delight, the contagious spirit of which spread even to the coldest, till the people seemed actually as if they were taking leave of their senses. I have had a good deal of expe- rience in these royal progresses, but, except on the occasion of the Princess Royal's departure from Graves- end after her marriage, never saw anything to surpass the reception of the Prince of Wales at Halifax. His Royal Highness's horse was young and fiery, and pranced as if quite used to carrying blood royal. He betrayed his inexperience, however, by starting now and then at the cheers, but, as the Prince sits a horse beautifully, the fretfulness of the steed only showed off the rider to the best advantage * and the expressions of fervent admiration which were heard now and then from the ] to them, i were enou Christend Under j Scotch, ea sive of w royal mot always su beings, tu came in 1 louder ev( out of th wound up scene pres had been thing like held near]; the citizen at a dista: huge flow€ and evergr picture, j in his hor Queen" wi little voice well that second wa music at o acknowled* boys begai shouted, cl and handle Their little PROCESSION. 25 from the ladies in the balconies as he rode by bowing to them, in spite of his unruly horse, with easy grace, were enough to turn the head of any crown prince in Christendom. Under arches erected to him by English, Irish, and Scotch, each bearing some well-turned motto expres- sive of welcome to himself and admiration for his royal mother, the Prince passed slowly on, the crowd always surging after him like a great sea of human beings, tumbling over each other and whateyer else came in their way, but always shouting louder and louder every minute. At last the procession turned out of the street leading from the dockyard, and wound up the hill to the Parade, where a beautiful scene preseiiied itself. Over the whole Parade-ground had been erected an immense bench of seats, some- thing like the orchestra of the Crystal Palace, which held nearly 3000 children— the sons and daughters of the citizens. All were very nicely dressed, and looked at a distance, in the gay confusion of colours, like a huge flower-bed, framed in by the arches, and flags, and evergreens in the background, in a bright striking picture. At the foot of the gallery the Prince reined in his horse while the children sang " God save the Queen" with all the strength and harmony of their little voices. The first verse was very well given — so well that the Prince made them a low bow as the second was proceeding, and this put en end to the music at once, for, carried away by enthusiasm at this acknowledgment, two or three rosy little girls and boys began to cheer, and in a second they all rose and shouted, clapped their hands, and waved bonnets, caps, and handkerchiefs in such a vivid and spontaneous burst Oi juvenile enthusiasm as was truly touching. Their little voices echoed through the square alone for il ,>■.'-; 26 NEWFOUNDLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA. a moment, for even the great crowd seemed to love to watch them, till they, too, were carried away, and one great heartfelt cheer from everybody present rent the very air. From this point to the door of Government House it was one long continued ovation of eager loyalty and respect. At Lord Mulgrave's the Prince alighted, and pro- ceeded at once to visit the Countess and Lady Milne. Here Lady Mulgrave gave him a present which had been left at the house for him by a young Indian squaw that morning. It was a cigar-case, beautifully worked in slips of different coloured woods, and further adorned with the little coloured bead ornaments in making which the Indians excel. With the case was a small basket, similar in its make and decorations, which the girl begged the Prince would take to the Queen. Both were made by herself, she said, and a daughter of the Micmacs would be proud if the Prince would accept her gift, and present the basket to his Royal mother. Of course, the Prince accepted his own present, and took charge of that for the Queen. For the romance of this incident I am sorry to be obliged to add that the squaw called afterwards for the present in return, and plainly intimated that no ac- knowledgment would be so acceptable as one tendered in the lawful coin of the province. After a short interval of rest His Royal Highness received a deputation from the members of the Govern- ment and Legislative Assembly, who presented him with another very long address, which, among other subjects, alluded with pride to the Nova Scotians who served and fell in the Crimea, and to whose memory a handsome monument had been erected on the hill fronting the Government residence. On tliat evening a grand banquet was given at Governme town with the Prince as marked it continue visit throu had been threats wil against hi Prince lai time out i in shower downpour : to public 1 Under su( as great s seemed to the damp had but lil fleet had 1 couhter-on if the sam€ town. Th of course \ Transpare] well enoug streets to best displa nothing wl tried to set them out a which they tered, blinl like an inl and then w FAILURE OP ILLUMINATIONS. 27 Government House, an;i i was intended to amuse the town with fireworks and a general illumination. But the Prince's ill fortune in the matter of weather was as marked at Halifax as it had been at St. John's — as it continued in fact almost throughout the whole of his visit through Lower and Upper Canada. All the day had been threatening' and occasionally fulfilling its threats with showers of heavy rain. Still people hoped against hope, till at twelve o'clock, exactly as the Prince landed, a steady drizzle began. From that time out it continued to increase with every hour, not in showers, but with a continued, massive, steady downpour : the kind of rain in fact which is so peculiar to public holydays and out-door festivities in England. Under such a waterfall, of course, the fireworks were as great a failure at Halifax as at St. John's. They seemed to sputter and hiss at their own failures, and the damp dreary mob which came to witness them had but little to console them for their wetting. The fleet had been ordered to illuminate, but, of course, couhter-orders were sent, and it would have been well if the same thing could have been done throughout the town. That, however, was not tried, and as a matter of course the attempt to light up was an utter failure. Transparencies and variegated lamps inside houses did well enough, save that there wore but few in the splashy streets to admire them ; but with the arches and the best displays of lamps, which were of course outside, nothing whatever could be done. If they had even tried to set the arches on fire the rain would have put them out at once, and the only tokens of illumination which they bore was where some red lamp, partly shel- tered, blinked feebly for a few minutes here and there, like an inflamed eye winking through the darkness, and then went out for ever. \'h\ I ' >m I"- it u I m li ! , n it i; i II 28 NEWFOUNDLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA. if The following day (Tuesday, July 31st) was, like the previous one, observed as a general holiday, shops and stores were closed, the telegraph was impervious to messages, and even the mail vid St. John's to Boston did not go. In fact, as it was popularly expressed, Halifax was in a "general bust," and nothing but holidays and fetes were thought of. The printers, it was said, availed themselves of the opportunity to strike work, and this brought the journals of Halifax to a dead stop, a fact of no particular moment, inasmuch as the weak little press bantlings of that town are, at the best of times, only published semi-occasionally. Even the special gazette, containing the addresses and replies delivered the previous day, was only brought out with great difficulty. It would never have been brought out at all but for the energy displayed by a most genial and courteous member of the Government, who resuming his practice of a long disused vocation, managed, with the assistance of a captured apprentice, to set up sufficient of the type in time. That day the Prince went to the common, near the citadel, and reviewed two regiments of the garrison, with all the various corps of rifle volunteers. There was scarcely the same crowd on this occasion as on the landing, for in truth on the previous evening all Halifax had kept it up rather late, and in spite of the disappointment caused by the weather— perhaps in consequence of it— the festivities in doors were " prolonged to an advanced hour." However, notwithstanding this, there was still a great muster on the common, where the Prince was received with a royal salute, and, what was more to the purpose, with the utmost enthusiasm by the people. The regulars, consisting of the 62nd and 63rd regiments, with some artillery, were, with the volunteers, inspected together, and then marched past at slow and quick time, after reviewed b( should say of voluntee were divide entirely of truth that ^ The othe men as om their discij and equipn looking cor to that of t more comp drill be det week's extri Lord Mulg these corps has been fc provinces, numerous b some time t that can ari Without ] compels me are, as a bo provinces, ( Very many companies ( Halifax jus soldier-like interest is n esprit du coi selves, the likely to be REVIEW OP VOLUNTEERS. 29 time, after which the volunteers were drilled and reviewed before the Prince separately. In number I should say there were not less than 1100, all composed of volunteers belonging to the town of Halifax. They were divided into different companies, whereof one was entirely of Negroes— the only one it must be said in truth that was at all careless and slovenly in its drill. The others were, without exception, as fine a body of men as one would wish to see— careful and steady in their discipline, neat and handsome in their uniform and equipments, and altogether fine and serviceable- looking corps. Their marching past was quite equal to that of the regulars, and only in one or two of the more complicated evolutions could any difference in drill be detected, and even this was so slight that a week's extra drill would be sufficient to remove it. To Lord Mulgrave is due the credit of having formed these corps in Nova Scotia, and the example thus set has been followed more or less throughout the other provinces, who have provided themselves with a numerous and well-trained militia, which is likely for some time to come to be equal to all the emergencies that can arise in their local governments. Without making invidious comparisons, mere justice compels me to add, that the volunteer mihtia of Halifax are, as a body, infinitely superior to those of the other provinces, or even of many parts of Upper Canada. Very many of them indeed are equal to the picked companies of the best volunteer regiments in London. Hahfax justly prided itself on their efficiency and soldier-like appearance on this occasion, and while this interest is manifested by the inhabitants and the same esprit du corps maintained among the volunteers them- selves, the superiority of the Nova Scotian militia is likely to be lasting. (', . •!:]. I li If ■ft? 30 NEWFOUNDLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA. • P mill 11 After the review the Prince visited the citadel, wliich, ns usual, is perched on the peak of a hill, dominating the town and country for miles around. I was told it was a very stronj? place, and, as a patriotic Englishman, am willing to helieve that all English citadels must be strong places. It seemed to me, however, that as a rule, the calibre of its ordnance was very much lighter than it should be to keep pace with the recent advances made in the use of heavy guns. It is curious to con- trast how the Admiralty arm our vessels of war with the heaviest ordnance (often too heavy for the men to handle), while in very many of our forts and citadels the guns are, for the age, ridiculously light. This is the more strange when we remember that great weight of metal is often a serious drawback in a ship ; it can be none in a fortress. After this visit, in the afternoon military games, races in sacks, climbing the greasy polo, and other sports for the people, took place on the common; but at these His Royal Highness was not present, and he only left Government House at ten o'clock, with all his suite and staff, to honour the grand ball with his presence. This ball was intended to be one of the chief features in the Halifax entertainment, and it certainly was beyond all doubt a most successful and brilliant affair. At first the arrangements respecting the fote gave rise to considerable dissensions and animosities, which for a day or two before the great event came off, seemed likely to materially interfere with the success of the whole affair. As the expenses of the ball were defrayed by the province, and as there was certain to be a deficit of some SOOZ., it was determined to make everybodv pay their ten dollars — everybody, that is, excepting the Prince and his suite, the naval and military officers, and '• the persons of distinction," who were to be pre- sented witli fair one thr tainment ^ Ilaligoniau been expec themselves the commi The little p with letters Peep," " A^ having, wit! nianagemen offend, at oi The anger the former 1 However, as the wisdom by the com seeming, at The fete ^ members oi Parliament, places and Stephen's. roomy one, ments, for tl of council, ^ persons cou] of Commoni to refreshm strangers' g£ and evergree to the tables a large wood pose, and an PETE IN THE PROVINCE HOUSE. 31 sented with iiivitati(ins. This course— the only really fair one tlmt the committee could take with an enter- tainment given at the expense of all— opened the llaligonian temple of Janus at once, for as might have heen expected, a great many more people thought themselves " persons of distinction " than could get the committee to agree with them in that opinion. The little press of Halifax had its columns enlivened with letters from " Observer," " Nemo," " Little Bo Teep," " Avenger," &c., denouncing the committee for having, with the fatal tact which always attaches to the management of such local celebrations, contrived to offend, at one fell swoop, both the ladies and the militia. The anger of the latter might be defied, but that of the former threatened them, of course, with social ruin. However, rs the time for the fete drew near, not only the wisdom but the actual necessity of the course taken by the committee became apparent, and to outward seeming, at least, all was amicably arranged. The fete was given in the Province House, where the members of the Nova Scotian Legislature ^-Ul their Parliament, and debate, and intrigue, ; struggle for places and power with as much V( hemence as at St. Stephen's. This building, however, though a large and roomy one, was far too much broken up into apart- ments, for the Cabinet, for the House, for the President of council, ."tc.,to afford any space in vdiich some 1200 persons could promenade, dance, and flirt. Tlie House of Commons' room, therefore, was given up bodily to refi-eshments, and the little speaker's chair and strangers' gallery were half concealed among the roses and evergreens which formed an ornamental background to the tables of confectionery. The supper was laid in a large wooden 'building, specially erected for the pur- pose, and another to correspond was built for the ball- 1' fHm.. \ ' [ < M am 4 .m k I '.li I VI 33 NEWJ'DUNDLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA. room. All the passages between these were handsomely decorated with mirrors, evergreens, banks of flowers, groups of weapons, and gas stars and chandeliers innumerable. The temporary ball and supper rooms were draped in the style of tents, canopied with pink and white, and, on the whole, the entire aspect of all the rooms was tasteful and striking in the extreme. The Prince was expected to arrive at the hall at ten o'clock, and of course, therefore, long before that hour the room was well filled with the chief ladies and gentlemen of the province, and a strong muster of the officers of the fleet and garrison. On the whole, it was really a brilliant assemblage, and one which would have done honour to any ball-room in Europe. The Prince arrived exactly at ten o'clock, and was welcomed with tremendous cheers by the crowd outside — by the visitors in the ball-room with bows and cour- tesies. As His Royal Highness was in high spirits, and seemed anxious that no time should be lost, the ball commenced at once, the Prince opening it in a quadrille with Lady Mulgrave. He next danced with Lady Milne, which duties discharged to the two chief ladies present, he sought partners for himself in every succeeding dance, and led out some one or other of the distinguished young belles of Halifax. It need hardly be said how popular was this mode, even among the young officers and dandies, whose " engagements " he must have broken through in the most ruthless manner, and whose fair partners he bore away in triumph. At half-past twelve o'clock the royal party went to supper, which was laid out in the temporary building with great taste and splendour. Here at the conclusion of the repast, the Mayor of Halifax gave " the Health of Her Majesty, the Prince Consort, and the Prince of Wales," toasts which were, of course, received with immense ing expe citizens ( company ness, hov making i toasts ha ledgment the ball-r Contra for royal- the Prin( after the and still not till r one in tl: departure visitors, ^ shouts of riage dro^ On thi their higi advantage the town. the whole festivity o On the plain clotl Duke of ] merly the Governor heir, Mr. out from J was almos formerly ( VISIT TO MR. GORE. 33 immense enthusiasm, and there was evidently a linger- ing expectation in the minds of some of the good citizens of Halifax that the Prince would favour the company with a speech in reply to each. His High- ness, however, had more taste than to prefer speech- making to dancing, and, accordingly, as soon as the toasts had been duly honoured he bowed his acknow- ledgments, and returned at once to the amusements of the ball-room. Contrary to general opinion that it was etiquette for royalty to retire from such entertainments early, the Prince showed not the least disposition to leave after the supper. One, two, and three o'clock passed, and still found him dancing indefatigably. It was not till nearly four o'clock, and the last dance but one in the programme was reached, that he took his departure, followed to his carriage by nearly all the visitors, who added their cheers to the enthusiastic shouts of the crowd still round the building as the car- riage drove off. On this night the fetes of Halifax culminated to their highest point, for the inhabitants had taken advantage of a pause in the rain to really illuminate the town. The fleet followeu the example, so that on the whole, Halifax made rather a long and brilliant festivity of it. On the day following the ball the Prince rode out in plain clothes, to visit an estate near Halifax called the Duke of Kent's Lodge. This pretty estate was for- merly the property of Sir John Wentworth, Lieutenant- Governor of Nova Scotia, but now belonging to his heir, Mr. Wentworth Gore, who had specially come out from England to receive the Prince in the visit it was almost certain he would make to the mansion formerly occupied by his grandfather. The grlve- I i 'I 5 L41 - ?ii in if k m 'a •I i ■ • 84 NEWFOUNDLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA. stone of the Duke of Kent's favourite charger, in the picturesque pleasure-grounds of the now ruined lodge, was an especial object of interest to His Royal High- ness. After this His Royal Highness and suite pro- ceeded to the " Hero" to witness a grand regatta, in ■which row boats, sailing cutters, and Indian canoes were engaged. The day, for once, was beautiful, and as some hundred small craft of all kinds were entered for the contests, it made a most animated scene. There was such an uninterrupted succession of races, that the whole bay was covered with boats of all kinds, rowing wildly from point to point, winners and losers being cheered alike, and so tremendously, that the general impression left upon the mind of the spectator was that everybody had won something. " The speed with which some of the boats from the squadron (especially the "Ariadne's") and the Halifax boats were pulled, was, considering the weight and shape of their craft, almost astonishing. The most interesting ^ace of the day, however, was between the canoes, manned— or I had better say paddled — by Indian squaws. To watch the way these women paddled, beating the water into foam behind them, their wild, uncouth, swarthy features kindled into an expression of savage excitement, as they forced their light bark canoes along, shouting to each other in a high, squalling, almost unintelligible tone, embodying such taunts and sneers at their antagonists as even Indian women know how to inflict with cutting accu- racy, was an extraordinary sight to witness. The gravity which has been so much talked of among the Indians is certainly not an attribute of their squaws, for apparently a more loquacious set of women, whether white or brown, never ventured on the water. Which canoe won the race it was difficult to say; but the general ] to termii ration, v less forci The fa Canada i ginal poj It is sel( blooded '. who still of that g the romai their stre] the "bra> puted swi more esp( wares, the dangerous settlers in very anna] white mer number of to the sett craft and £ and kill e^ more than nist. In t] half-caste great now i a kind of ^ seen — so se — so helple: even in thei skill made INDIAN DEGENERACY. 35 general result must have been of interest, for it seemed to terminate in one loud chorus of gesture and vitupe- ration, ^ich to the spectators appeared not a whit less forcible from their not understanding a word of it. The faint traces that still remain throughout Lower Canada and the provinces of the once powerful abori- ginal population, are daily getting fewer and fewer. I IS seldom one sees east of Lake Huron a pure- blooded Indian and even the members of the tribes ^-lio still enjoy their hunting-grounds round the shores of that great inland sea, fail almost entirely to realise the romantic notions which are formed as to their skill their strength, their dignity, and their courage. That the "braves" of the six nations who once hdd undis- puted sway over the whole of North America, and more especially the 1 • n of the Mohawks, the Dela- wares, the Iroquois, -u . ihe Hurons, were fierce and dangerous enemies, the bloody annals of the first eariy settlers m America sufficiently prove. But even these veiy annals show that in the open field a band of fifty white men was more than a match for five times that number of redskins. Their real strength and danger to the settler lay in their skill as huntsmen, for the craft and subtlety which enabled an Indian to surprise and kill even the most wary kind of deer, was always more than sufficient to enable him to "stalk" a colo- nist. In the matter of hunting, even among the few half-caste natives that yet remain, their skill is as great now as it was then. In all else one feels almost a kmd of wonder that the natives, as they are now seen---so sensitive to cold-so racked with rheumatism -so helpless, idle, beggarly, and drunken-could ever even m their best a.ys, have been a people with whom' -reatifis were made, and whose courage and wariike skill made it necessary to conciliate them with offers s 2 ( ' [j I ;i '. ! ('■tt f I 36 NEWFOUNDLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA. of friendship and money. A race really possessed of the wild virtues so liberally attributed to them by romancists would never have died out in the rapid and extraordinary manner in which the millions of North American Indians have disappeared. The few half-caste descendant.! that still remain are now in Canada what the gypsies are in England — a race mostly of beggars and poachers, with the only differ- ence that the Indians are seldom thieves. It is gra- dually becoming the custom to give an Indian money — not because he deserves it, but because he is an Indian — a kind of charity which will, I should think, if anything can, tend much to stop the extinction of the race. i On the opposite side of the bay, facing the town of Halifax, and while the Prince was on his visit, a real Indian encampment was fixed. The wigwams of birch bark, stretched over pine poles, would be to a back- woodsman or a lumberer warm and comfortable enough. When I visited it the women were cooking, fetching wood, making little ornaments for sale, or minding the papooses. Some of the men were down at the water's edge fishing, while others were engaged building a canoe. It was interesting to watch the skill and ra- pidity with which tlie latter work went on, though one could not but feel that it was less skill than a kind of instinct. They were making a canoe as their fore- fathers had made it two or three hundred years before, without improvement or alteration — its form, its sub- stance, and its size, a mere type of all tlie other canoes that ever floated upon American waters. Within half-a-mile of them tlie magnificent form and bulk of the " Hero," screw line-of-battle ship, rose like a for- tress from the water. The contrast was suggestive ; I do not mean to say that I ever expected to und the Indians scene is means oJ cling to : comjDetit men the America! with the The E and paid what wit] and firin fleet was "Valoroi Highness harbour natural h face of th ten miles rocks, wit at its nar: shut in 1 which, el summits, and solem that the w gives but harbour. of Liverp and with j are so st( expense ^ impregnal and naviei The pla THE BEDFORD BASIN. St Indians building a screw line-of-battle ship. The scene is only Avorth mentioning as perhaps one of the means of accounting for the extinction of a people who cling to forms and types, for form's sake, even in their competition with one of the most progressive races of men the world has yet seen. As it is with the North American Indians, so in another century will it be with the Chinese and Japanese. The Regatta, over the Prince quitted the " Hero," and paid visits to all the vessels of the squadron ; and what with the cheering of the people, manning yards, and firing salutes, the royal progress through the fleet was a most attractive feature of the day. The ** Valorous " had got up steam, and in this frigate His Highness proceeded through the Narrows above the harbour into the celebrated Bedford basin, or inner natural harbour of Halifax, the finest probably on the face of the earth. This noble sheet of water is about ten miles long, by seven broad, free from almost any rocks, with a great depth of water all over it. Except at its narrow entrance, it is completely landlocked and shut in by the picturesque semi-mountainous hills, which, clad with red and white pine to their very summits, make the whole scenery of the lake as rich and solemn-looking as can well be imagined. To say that the whole navy of Britain could ride here in safety gives but a poor idea of the immense capacity of this harbour. Not only the royal navy, but all the shipping of Liverpool, could be accommodated in it with ease, and with room to spare. The heights around it, too, are so steep and rugged that a very little trouble or expense would convert them into such a series of impregnable fortresses as might defy all the armies and navies of the world to assail. The place is recognised as an important naval depot ' ij m '^ '4 ^n; UM 38 NEWFOUNDLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA. I . ■I !! i^ m to a certain extent ; but the few ships that are scat- tered there now and then only serve' to prove that the undeveloped resources of the basin for the accommo- dation of fleets are almost boundless. Halifax must eventually become one of the greatest and most impor- tant naval stations in the possession of Great Britain, and the only matter for surprise is that it is not so already. After steaming round the basin the Prince returned to the Governor's house, where there was a levee in the afternoon, at which nearly everybody was presented, and where the crush to get in was as severe in its way as it used to be in St. James's. All seemed so bent on "making way," as it is termed, and keeping the passage clear, that it at one time seemed more than probable that no one would get in at all. Even- tually, however, the stream took an onward course, and after a lapse of some three hours, about 1000 gen- tlemen were presented, bowed, and hurried out again as fast as possible, to make room for others. In the evening Lady Mulgrave gave a ball, which coming so close after the fete of the previous night was, of course, by comparison, rather a tame affair, and one which terminated early. Not so, however, with the festivities in the town of Halifax, which was again illuminated, and where in the houses and in the streets the people indulged in such a whirl of rejoicings and other festi- vities that the whole place seemed to have lost its senses. Certainly the stimulus which the Prince's visit gave appeared to have utterly exhausted and overcome a considerable portion of the inhabitants, for I have seldom seen so many stupified people as were about the streets that night. Yet, notwithstanding this extensive dissipation, no one seemed the worse for it, and the streets were as iUii by Six o clock on the morning of the 2d of August as they time fix was eigh ing to tl] to bid a almost t Then the air a after he ringing back fro like shac Halifax, domini*^ r which foi better or The ri Prince wi where ro possessio and grouj drooped i dead wor] seen thro at long ii civilisatio ness, thro to the pr train arri> and then passant. The to western s class of to and Ameri II t > ARRIVAL AT WINDSOR. 39 as they were on tlie day of the Prince's arrival. The time fixed for the departure of His Royal Highness was eight o'clock ; but long before this, the road lead- ing to the station was thronged with thousands anxious to bid a kind farewell to the young visitor who had almost turned their heads and quite won their hearts. The most enthusiastic cheers and acclamations rent the air as the Prince drove along to the train, and even alter he had started the kind farewells could be heard ringing out among the solitary hills, and springing back from rock to rock in vague unmeaning echoes like shadows of a sound. Thus the Prince quitted Halifax, and I do not think that in all the broad domini. ns to which he is heir, there is a town or a city which for its size and means could have given him a better or more heartstirring welcome. The rail from Halifax to Windsor, near where the Prince was to embark, lay through a rugged country, where rocks seemed striving with scanty pines for the possession of the soil, and where huge limestone cliffs and groups of moss-grown withered trees, long fallen, drooped about in dreary confusion, like the ruins of a dead world. Now and then a wretched log-hut was seen through the forest, empty and half-unroofed, and at long intervals came a shanty station, with its half civilisation on the very borders of a half-tamed wilder- ness, through which a rusty telegraph wire ran— a clue to the progress making far beyond the wilds. The train arrived at Windsor after a run of some two hours, and then the Prince alighted for a short visit en passant. The town or rather village of Windsor, on the western side of Nova Scotia, belongs to that small class of townships which are known throughout Canada and America as ** one-horse places." ) .1 ' r ■ I ■i 1 40 NEWFOUNDLAND AND NOVA SCOTIA. 'SI ' I J 'J •t 1 1^ I Nevertheless, small as it was, it managed to get up a most beautiful display of arches and decorations, and an assemblage not less noteworthy of kindly and loyal people. All these His Eoyal Highness had time to study in their minutest details, while an address of the most inordinate length was slowly read to him. This long and very solemn ceremonial over (the incessant repetition of which at every place must have taxed the patience of the heir apparent to the utmost) the Prince and suite, with a large party of invited guests, went to lunch. Every one seemed hungry enough, but the lunch took less time than the address which t^receded it, after which all the party proceeded to the little village of Hansport, where H.M.S. "Styx," under the command of Captain Vesey, was in waiting to convey them across the celebrated basin of Minas to St. John, the commercial capital of the province of New Brunswick. I Bay of Fundj of the I Carleton, The CI this most is by stej the Bay ( ness and and at i. exodus of fax, bent ceremonies The boats Brunswick speed, and dating pas American travelling of comfort very deserv Thus the ] quick and less than te and comfor ":'"'l' CHAPTER II. NEW BRUNSWICK. Bay of Fundy-Arrival at St. John-Reception-Illuminations-Fertility of the Province-Arrival at Fredericton-A Grand Uall-ViBit to Carleton. The only route by which the traveller can reach this most flourishing and beautiful colony from Halifax is by steamer across the basin of Minas, and down the Bay of Fundy to St. John. His Royal High- ness and suite went in the war steamer " Styx," and at the same time there was a very general exodus of all the chief officials and gentry of Hali- fax, bent on following the Royal visitor through the ceremonies and festivities of the adjoining province. The boats that ply between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are admirably formed, very fast in their speed, and most ample in their means for accommo- dating passengers. In short, they are boats on the American plan ; floating hotels, of the comforts of travelling in which we English are as ignorant as of comfort in our fixed hotels, and which I fear are very deservedly the dread of tourists all over the world. Thus the passage from Nova Scotia to St. John is quick and pleasant enough, averaging, on the whole, less than ten hours. But were it ten times less rapid and comfortable than it really is no traveller should i ] ■ \ I m 42 NEW BRUNSWICK. 'J w !i neglect to make this voyage, and, above all, to arrange it so as to make it in the day, when he may perhaps be able to enjoy the magnificent scenery of the Basin of Minas. But, in spite of every care as to time and tide of starting, it is quite possible that one might cross it a dozen times and yet see nothing of the shores on either side, so dense and so frequent are the fogs. It is on tlie shores of this basin that Longfellow lays the scene of his "Evangeline," and the little village of Grandprt' can be seen, nestled down in a beautiful valley, behind the bold lofty headland <^f Blomidon. Foggy as is the locale in general, no fogs ever cling over tliis picturesque French settlement, but wrap in huge dense masses the rugged crest of Blomidon, which nearly always looks like a mountain whose summit is lost in tlie clouds. As the steamer crosses from the basin into the Bay of Fundy, passing between Split Cape and the picturesque village of Parksborough, the scenery is most beautiful. Split Cape is something like our Needles at Southampton, but of limestone rock, much loftier, and clothed up the sides with brush- wood, and crowned with clumps of that proudest and most solemn looking of all trees, the true Canadian pine. The village of Parksborough, too, with its white houses, reposing quietly at the bottom of a deep valley, like a nest of eggs, and surrounded by lofty hills and forests, is one of the most exquisite little bits of land- scape which it is possible to imagine. Once out of this noble gateway, if it may be so called, the charm of the voyage rapidly diminishes, for you pass from the basin of Minas into the Bay of Fundy, than which no transition can possibly be more disagreeable. Humboldt goes into extacies about the natural phe- nomena of the Bay of Fundy— its huge waves, its rapid currents, and the immense rise and fail of the tide, greater bj world. TJ often, in t thirds of ; swell, wil] Most of m not only u any kind time had t and a pain boat reele Before she all within 1; save when Canadian, ■ proclaimed was some c tions were not improb legislative, most thrivii American p Highness y Washington from the w landing dof ially lent bj in a well si rich amphit In the cent John divides is on one b; The streets steep, are wi all finely bu ' I BAT OF FUNDY. 48 greater by many feet than in any other part of the world. The impressions of those who cross it, as I did often, in a fog, a heavily laden boat, and during two- thirds of a southerly gale, sending in a tremendous swell, will not, however, be quite so enthusiastic. Most of my fellow passengers on this occasion seemed not only unused to the Bay of Fundy, but to bays of any kind whatever. Conversation, which up to this time had been so flowing and so genial, lulled at once, and a painful silence fell upon the passengers as the boat reeled and splashed through the huge seas. Before she had been ten minutes at this drunken work all within her was as silent as the "Flying Dutchman," save when the stillness was broken by some unhappy Canadian, who, in an exaggerated attitude of despair, proclaimed his intention of perishing on the spot. It was some comfort that none of these dismal anticipa- tions were realised, though at one time they seemed not improbable. St. John, the real, though not the legislative, capital of New Brunswick, is one of the most thriving and beautiful towns of all in the North American provinces. Like nearly all which His Boyal Highness visited on the Western Continent (except Washington and Kingston), it looks very fine indeed from the water, but, unlike a great many of these, landing does not destroy the enchantment proverb- ially lent by distance to the view. The town stands in a well sheltered nook of the Bay of Fundy, in a rich amphitheatre of high though gently rising hills. In the centre of the semicircle the noble river St. John divides it, so that the city of St. John proper is on one bank and the suburb of Carleton facing it. The streets of St. John, though in some places very steep, are wide and scrupulously clean ; the houses are aii linely built, lofty and regular, and an air of active f - * i' 44 NEW BRUNSWICK. businesH and prosperity pervades the whole place, very different indeed from the utter languor which ordinarily appears to weigh down Halifax iu the dust. There are large and spacious docks, well-built stone-faced quays, saw-mills, employing many thousands of men, and the banks of the river are covered in with building yards, fillsd with frames of ships on the stocks, in every stage of forw, .ilness. The public buildings are hand- some and spacious ; the churches are large and beau- tiful; and a suspension bridge, built at the cost of the town, over tlie river St. John, is as handsome as that at Nnngara, and more than one-third longer in its span. With sucii evidence of permanent and long-established prosperity before him, the traveller finds it difficult to believe tliat sixty-five years have scarcely elapsed since the site of the town was covered with a dense untrodden forest. Such, however, is the fact, and some of the first settlers are still living at St. John who can well recollect the time when a log hut on the site of the present docks was a luxury, — when they had to pacify the Indians with rum and blankets, and band together during the long winter nights to save and keep their cattle from the wolves. St. John, with its enterprising population, its fast rising importance, and for a colonial city its large trade and great wealth, could easily have given the Prince a reception which would have eclipsed even that of Halifax, but of which it must be told in truth it cer- tainly fell short. For this, however, the officials gave a very reasonable explanation, in the fact that His Royal Highness did not unfortunately visit the city for four complete days, as at the capital of Nova Scotia, but merely passed through it, resting one night while en route to Fredericton. Another, though rather u doubtful excuse was, that the preparations had inadvc causes tlia landing th French pn this applie play at St. the matter but niakin would othe arches tlic decorated better of i But at Hf arches, anc seen throu< it must be at St. John and well p! their glory. The P]-ir of the 2nd, of landing j was to be r tiers of seal speculation The charg evident tha high, as the array of en general anc contretemps, almost aero the captain the position witnessing 1 ARRIVAL AT ST. JOHN. 46 had inadvertently been so much dehiyed from various causes tliat even up to tlie moment of the Prince's landing they wore scarcely finished. There is an old French proverb which says " qui h excuse s accuse," and this applies in all its f 1M 'J & •I i i 46 NEW BRITKSWICK. II had taken early advantage of this post and let his ship to visitors, greatly to. the detriment of the benches before-mentioned. The steps up to the top of the wharf, also, were not complete when the Prince was ready to land, so that the carpenters were actually driving nails at one end of the stage at the very mo- ment when his Highness began the ascent at the other. The terra " ascent " is meant in all its force, for, pre- carious as the gradual ascents of Eoyalty have often been, I doubt if any ever had a more difficult path to tread than that by which the Prince and his suite scaled the wharf which landed them at the city of St. John. It was a very broad staging of planks, placed at a very steep incline, scored across, at rather distant intervals, with rough strips of wood, apparently in- tended to trip up the whole cortege — Prince, Duke, Admirals, Generals, and all — in reality, placed there under a vague general idea that they would be of some assistance in the escalade. It was an exciting moment when the '* Styx " began to man yards and the royal barge pushed off from her side, and still the unfor- tunate landing-stage was not comi^leted. The good mayor and sheriffs hurried about hither and thither; provincial dignitaries, seizing on tools, began to hammer wildly, dragging a' smooth carpet over the inequalities of the woodwork, as if the whole machine was not slippery and dangerous enough already. Nearer and nearer came the barge and louder and louder grew the hammering. Everybody said it would be finished though everybody thought it wouldn't, until at last, as the Prince disembarked, the professional carpenters were driven away, wliile the amateurs threw down their tools and stood with a bland smile to receive His Highness, as if evervtiimcf had been readv. and tbpv — _ _ , ,_. - ,, -• — ./ in waiting for his landing sir^e midnight. The Li( Manners * come His cheers wei the educat been sadl looking at rather fail the landin, that the Pj of process which His time of le stopped at had been fi was scarce] lined the apparently, seldom vei Prince seei than with an opportu rows of me] who, in tl rated engir both sides Companies parison wit! at Halifax. dence a la dressed in sing "God specially inl on whnsp nt i-- were also ti RECEPTION. 47 The Lieutenant-Governor of the province, the Hon. Manners Sutton, and staff, were in attendance to wel- come His Eoyal Highness, for whom at once three cheers were ordered. But in the matter of cheering, the education of the New Brunswickers seemed to have been sadly neglected, for every one was so busy in looking at the Prince that the cheers on the whole were rather failures than otherwise. No stay was made at the landing-place and no addresses were presented, so that the Prince went at once to his carriage, and a kind of procession was formed of the private chariots in which His Highness and suite were seated. From the time of leaving the landing-stage till the procession stopped at the house of the late Judge Chapman, which had been fitted up for the stay of His Highness, there was scarcely any cheering whatever. The people, who lined the streets in dense crowds, gazed eagerly and, apparently, almost awe-struck on the Prince, and seldom ventured on a sound or movement. But the Prince seemed much more pleased with this decorum than with any amount of acclamation, as it gave him an opportunity to observe the town and tlie splendid rows of men composing the Volunteer Fire Companies, who, in their handsome uniforms and their deco- rated engines, drawn up in lines, kept the streets on ' both sides clear. There were many Volunteer Rifle Companies out also, but their appearance bore no com- parison with the fine corps which the Prince reviewed at Halifax. On the lawn in front of the Prince's resi- dence a large number of beautiful Httle children, all dressed in white with blue sashes, were collected to smg '* God save the Queen," with some new verses specially introduced in honour of His Eoyal Highness, -ose pa. J, as lie advanced towards the house, they were also to strew the bouquets of flowers with which 41 ■M ; :-ii •t, '■ I M 48 NEW BRUNSWICK. ill fii they were amply provided for that purpose. These little innocents, however, like their fathers and brothers ouiside the gates, seemed to forget everything but clapping their hands and gazing on His Highness, and in their loyal confusion gave the National Anthem with most surprising variations as to time and tune. From the same cause the Prince received quite a shower- bath of flowers, which were flung at him, round him, and over him by dozens, and eager was the scramble when he had passed to get any one of the little bou- quets on which he had chanced to tread. The house fitted up for his reception, though very small, had been very well decorated and furnished with everything new, save the table, easy chair, and a few articles of furniture which had been used by his grand- father, the Duke of Kent, when staying on a visit there, and which, though very many years had since elapsed, had always been carefully preserved as relics. It required, however, a very strong belief in the force of traditions and associations to reconcile one to their appearance in the apartments. At two o'clock in the afternoon the Prince held a levee at the Court-house, the interior of which had been most handsomely gilt and decorated specially for the occasion. Here addresses, as well as individuals, were presented. It would be hard to say exactly how many gentlemen were presented, but, to judge from the crowd and the time it occupied, a very large per-centage of the male inhabitants of St. John must have had that honour In the evening the whole town was illuminated, and though it would of course be easy to mention illuminations which were infinitely better, still it must be said that one more general or mere effective the Prince did not often witness in all his long and magnificent progress. Verv few dpsicriis wprp affompfo/^l Ti-> 4T>/^i\. r.4-^^4 every ho of Chine and ther( where wa colours 1 prettily-lj town, wl gleamed colour. ] were in S was to be It was th many of t uncommoi the night j footway in oblivion to phraseolog for the arri transported health and everything. row occurre On the mor for Frederii to a little about that d bekasis rivei party embai went by wat( of the prov weather, unf thick and dul The wild and this occasion ILLUMINATIONS. ^g o'fThit^T? '™'^ '''" ""^ -™-'' -«h hundreds l?hr ntStrnd xr"- '^'"^^' -^-^ '•- where w»« ♦), v P"=t"«sque confusion. No- ct rJ t r'n tTtf "r ^ "^^'^^ ^^ ""^'^ prettiIy.)aid-o«t kL « '"^™""'§' """' '» ^e town, wh relL^ ^/ """"'' '" ""^ "^"^^^ "^ *te m, wnere the lanterns swung in rnvriad.! „nA ct„T%Tt:r'ir --y --ivaSr;:rn; n1 were L St tT '"..*'''' '°""' ^^■°"" «''*''' visitors waTto\!"f ° "" *'* "'^''*' '"" "o -commodation was to be got for money, and certainly not for love Lv"„f t^ ™"' "' ^''^"^'- -J-ttlessf which ed so many of the masses to fortify themselves in .„T uncommon degree against the'iU e'^^soVslepn,^ the mght a.r, and snbseqnently to recline on road !nd footway m attitudes indicative of th. V , oblivion to personal comfort and safet if ""'"""t phraseology, St. John was very 'S" ttatT""' for the arrival of Hk R„,. i J- ,,^ ' evening, to a lT«i » ^ "'"''' ™''^ •''•o™ in carriages to a httle village called the Nine-mile qt„f ? about that distance from the city. Xe on he7 "" bekasis river, a noble branch of the St John h""',' party embarked on board the " For st Sue n ' '!, went bv watpr im f« t? j • . SJueen, and of the province » l"'^'"'''"' '^' '^gi«l»'ive capital " province, a distance of eighty miles Tl,. The wild and beautifully romantic sce„„.„ l!! Z tais occasion almost hidden, and it was nottfflTh: r";.' K :fj ll "{ i ''" ; !•■ . iff, i :-. 1 ■'ifl'lf ■ ill 50 NEW BRUNSWICK. f III, turn voyage back to St. John that the superb character of the shores of the river could be fully appreciated. At every little shanty village — and there were many along the whole route — the people turned out as the steamer passed, waving flags, ringing bells, and firing muskets, with as much enthusiasm and delight as if the royal visit had been made to them e&pecially, and the Prince was coming to stay among them for a month at least. Every one on board seemed much impressed by the rich luxuriance of the soil, and every one asked the question, which no one could answer, " Why were not emigrants brought there ? " The three provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island comprise in all an extent of country capable of supporting some 10,000,000 people. The united popu- lation of all three is much short of 500,000. Abounding in the most magnificent harbours and rivers, with fisheries second only in value to those of Newfoundland ; with almost boundless mineral re- sources in coal, iron, copper, and plumbago ; with land of the richest description to be had almost for asking, and with a demand for labour which is almost greater than in any other part of the world ; it seemed almost a mystery how it was that there were not more colonists. The great tide of emigration always sets towards the prairie land of the far west. It would be absurd attempting to deny the inducements which these prairies really do ofi'er to poor settlers ; but it would be equally vain to conceal that in the reckless indiscriminate raid made to all parts of the states, emigrants often commit the most ruinous mistakes. If small agriculturists in England were only made aware of the advantages held out to settlers in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Upper Canada, there wculd be a chance for these C( ful as t] But th< unknow English Caspian provinc( Labradc during last thi who hav 20,000, ^ labour i number Princ New Bri for aboui small sui a small j Brunswi( into the 1 them do^ return, tl may be g are apt tc the thin a precaric between b there is labourers virgin soi work hard ments as 1 those who 150Z., of ( f« .u FERTILITY OP THE PEOVINCE. 51 these colonies becoming as great, wealthy, and power- ful as the new states of America even in our own time But the British North American Provinces are as unknown, not only to emigrants, but to the mass of Enghshmen as Mesopotamia, or the shores of the Caspian Sea. The popular impression regarding the provinces seems to be that they are much akin to Labrador— half barren rocks, surrounded with icebergs durmg three-fourths of the year. Thus, during the last thirteen years, the total number of emigrants r^nnr\'i''^'^ "* ^'^ Brunswick has been short of 20,000, while to keep pace with the urgent demand for labour in all parts of the province, scarcely that number yearly would be sufficient. Prince Edward Island is even more fertile than New Brunswick. In both places land may be bought for about is. U. an acre, and the payment of even this small sum spread over a long term of years. Yet only a small proportion of the persons who settle in New Brunswick ever take to farming. They generally go into the lumber trade; for felling the pines and floating them down the stream on rafts yields the quickest return, though nothing like the profit that, it is said may be gamed by steady farming. Many in England are apt to associate a soil covered with pine trees with the thin stony hills from which the Scotch fir wrings a precarious existence. But there ic as much difference between a luxuriant Canadian pine and a Scotch fir as there is between a myrtle and an oak. For farm labourers sufficiently intelligent to understand how a virgin soil should be treated, and who are willing to work hard for a few years, few places offer such induce- ments as New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. If those who go there have a IJf.flA ^or.Uoi .„„ mn? „ 150Z., of course, so much the better ; but even those s2 I'l!' si; If! 'I 512 NEW BRUNSWICK. who only bring their labour are certain of getting a good living, and, by th^ exertion of that industry and frugality which are necessary all over the world, may well look forward in the course of time to competence. Nature, in fact, seems to Lave done everything for the country — man nothing; and for want of settlers to clear the land and fell the trees, even the capital of the province, the pretty little town of Fredericton, is hemmed in by a forest so primitive and wild, as still to harbour bears, deer, and wolves on the very confiBeB of the city. The provinces will, indeed, have reason to bless the visit of the Prince, if it only sufficiently directs attention to these coloiiJjs to f^ain them thtit of which above all other things tliey st? nd so much in need — some hardy young immigrant' ,wiiether men or women. For Irish settlers, New Brunswick Is, above all others, the place ; for nearly three -fourths of the entire popu- lation in St. John are from the sister island, and all seem to be doing rtmarkably well. Frevi?ricton, though the capital of the province and the seat of the Government, is not, by any means, a large place. It only numbers about 4500 inhabitants, and in spite of the large handsome church, which is called the cathedral, there are many villages in England of tivice its size, twice its population, and more than twice its trade. Still, it is a most charmingly clean and pretty town. The streets are wide, regular, and well planted at the edges of the footpaths with luxu- riant trees. The houses are high and well built, and the three churches are all striking and spacious build- ings, so that from the water the town, locked in I>y a noble ridge of purple hills, has a rural beauty which at once impresses the visitor in its favour. On the iiummii of a conspicuous gentr 'ope in the Ccutre of I the tow of the i few Euj liberal bijilt \\\ Frederi dth. V weather scene, with cr< were de( crowned even a ] apparent The I by the y the Volu with mos ening for riage, wh and the c equipage, of the tc Prince, w echoed a detachme: was draw- House, a same entL The Gc pied by M handsome; grounds ] kept, and 1 prospect c I I ARRIVAL AT FREDERICTON". 53 the town is a fine collegiate school: for to the honour of the inhabitants of Fredericton, be it said, there are few English colonies where the advantages of a sound liberal education are more keenly appreciated. The ouat With His Eoyal Highness and suite arrived off J^redcr^ton at seven on the evening of Saturday the 4di. With Its arrival, of course, came rain and thick weadier. The landing was, nevertheless, a very pretty scene. The banks of the beautiful river were lined with crowds. The church bells rang. The houses were decorated with flags and evergreens ; the streets crowned with handsome arches, and every point where even a passmg glimpse could be gained of the heir apparent, was thronged with well-dressed occupants. Ihe Prince disembarked under a royal salute, fired by the Volunteer artillery; a guard of honour, also of the Volunteers, presented arms and lowered colours with most creditable precision. The cheers were deaf- enmg for a moment until the Prince got into his car- riage, when loyalty overpowered every other sentiment and the crowd rushing rather tumultuously round the equipage, scattered the aldermen and other dignitaries of the town before them till they got sight of the Prince, when they stood still aud cheered till the hills echoed again. Escorted by a fine and well-drilled detachment of Yeomanry cavalry, the Prince's carriage was drawn slowly through the town to Government House, and everywhere His Highness received the same enthusiastic marks of devotion and respect ^ The Government House at Fredericton, now occu- pied by Mr. Manners Sutton, is one of the largest and handsomest of the kind in all the provinces. The grounds round it towards the river are beautifully kept, and the Prince's rooms commanded a morYn^fln..,^ prospect over the river St. John, and up onVoflta r^H I- ' ')! I4i NEW BRUNSWICK. * a r. 'J f 1 { many most picturesque Indian tributaries, the Nash. Waak. In the evening there was a torchlight procession, in honour of His Royal Highness, round the Govern- ment House. It was a very brilliant and well managed affair; after which — for a very little gaiety amuses. I'redericton — the people really went soberly to bed. Sunday, the 5th, was, of course, observed as a day of rest — a day of rest which, even early as it was in the tour, began to be rather eagerly looked forward to by some, rather weary of the perpetual feting. But on Monday, the 6th, the town resumed its rejoicings with redoubled vigour, and the state labours of the Prince commenced again. The first proceeding was to formally open a cleared meadow of some thirty acres, the germ of a future park which Fredeiicton had added to its other luxuries. There never was a place less in want of a park, considering that the hills and woods are within a stone's throw of any part of it, and there never yet was a spot which answers less to the name of " park " than that which the Prince opened there, inasmuch as the whole meadow is as level as a bowling-green, and every tree is carefully uprooted. Nevertheless, the people liked it, and were proportion- ately pleased at the Prince opening it. After this, of course, there was another levee, at which every one was presented ; and the local papers explained the niceties of evening dress, and were at pains to point out at length what it meant, and that a dress coat should not be a frock coat, or of any colour but black, with other valuable and important information with regard to neckerchiefs and waistcoats. Even these slight rules of etiquette were not without their use, and had the effect of keeping the applicants for the honour of presenta- tion within tolerably moderate bounds. There was no |i| limit to there Wi coats ii down. Inth vincial ] in spite time th small pi quairels great a building had to b ones, wl] one, to t had give evergree arranger Prince w others, c as the him, eve; himself which he which h( in the i partners. conversal imagine, agitated < that it mi recollect, what he of the be the Prjnc A GRAND BALL. 55 limit to the number of those who wished to attend, but there was a most decided limit to the number of dress coats in the province, and the levies were thus kept down. ^ In the evening there was a grand ball at the Pro- vincial House of Assembly, which passed off very well, in spite of the arrangements, which here, too, at one time threatened its success. Fredericton, though a small place, is by no means so small as not to have its quairels and divided parties. Thus there had been so great a difference of opinion as to the propriety of building one large temporary ball-room, that the matter had to be compromised by building two or three little ones, which were all decorated on different plans, except one, to the adornment of which a great legal functionary had given up his mind, and which was bedizened with evergreens on no plan at all. The result of such an arrangement was obvious. The room in which the ^ Prince was dancing was desperately crowded, and the others, of course, nearly empty. However, as long as the Prince was dancing and people could see him, everybody was pleased, and His Royal Highness himself won golden opinions by the assiduity with which he danced all night, and the good taste with which he selected some of the prettiest young ladies in the room — of whom there were plenty — for his partners. What they thought of his liveliness and conversational powers afterwards it is not difficult to imagine, but some of them appeared so nervous and so agitated during the whole time they were his partners that it may be more than doubtful if they were able to recollect, when the dance was over, a single word of what he had said to them during it. In consequence of the before-mentioned arrangement of little rooms the Prince and suite supped alone, while the general U f ii ' ■' ** '. 1 IK j g ^ ht NEW BRUNSWICK. 1*1 f visitory went into the court-house and ranged them- selves, like prisoners at the bar, at a table sprtad in front of the judge's seat. Though His Royal Highness had arranged to return to St. John by the " Forest Quet . ' .-,> lext morning, yet, as at Halifax and Newi.imdiana, it was near four o'clock before he qiritted tho ball-room at Fredericton ; consequently it was past eight o'clock in the morning ere he commenced his voyage down the river again. The day, for once, was magnificent, and t.li^ uooie scenery was thus seen to its fullest advantage. At times it was exceedingly wild, grand, and rugged, almost like that of the Hv Ison at West Point. Its general character, however, was rich luxuriant beauty, like the valleys in Devoi bLire on a large scale. The Prince's boat lauded him ut Indian Town— a suburb of St. John which he had not previously seen, and where some beautiful decorations were prepared in honour of his arrival. All the people were out, too, in their gayest— the old Welsh settlers, the Irish and Scotch, with a thin sprinkling here and there of Iiuiians, stalking in abnormal dignity and sullen raggedness. the remnants of a broken, expiring race. It was one grand ovation all along the streets, for the people seemed suddenly to have recovered their v ices and made the houses ring again w'h their chc^xd. Tho Prince's carriage did not enter the city of St. John at all, but turning off short across the beautiful suspen- sion-bridge went straight towards Carleton on the opposite side, where he was to embark from tlu ferry and return on board the " Styx." While crossing this bridge His High^ -ss ot the best view of the magnificent river of bt Joim — a river which is inferior only to the St. Lawrence in British North Ameriuu. The mouth of it, iust under the bridg when the a cascade contrary, out of th( crossed b fine navij^ 150 miles Kennebel< unlike Be its shores Carleto; good opii Prince wa the day oi ness, at oi itself at o streets, pr. very prettj escort His Tw ' ^ o'c tweWe o'cl the people did not CO His Highr com'^limen mem of th whejj the wab really j in ^ ords ag attril uted t wit!: hoiste mourning a of course, : intended, ai ^ .. VISIT TO CARLETON. 57 the bridge, has a sunken ridge of rocks, ov« r which, when the immense tide of the Bay of Fuudy is rising,' a cascade pours into the river. When the tide, on the* contrary, is falling, the cascade flows the other way— out of the river. Only at high tide can this bar be crossed by shipping. Above the bar, however, there is fine nav.^able water to Woodstock, a distance of some 150 miles from St. John. The fine branch called the Kennebekasis is a sort of small inland lake, not at all unlike Bedford basin, though even more picturesque in its shores. Carleton, like all suburbs of a town, has rather a good opinion of itself and its atuactions, and the Prince was accordin. Carleton. The grief and disappoint- meni of the people was something ovei ^helming ; and whejj the Prince left St. John next morning, and he wab really gone, and Carleton still unvisJ. d, their fury in jrds against some local author ies to whom they attril ited the slii,^ht, knew no bouuds ; CarL ton forth- wit hoisteu its flags half-mast high, in token of its mourning and desolation, lae news of this afflicliov of course, reached the Prince, and as lo slirrht wa intended, an ' the good people who h -d me su. h pre- M ^ I 58 NEW BRUNSWICK. ^ paration had on the whole been treated rather hardly, he at once signified his intention of paying Carleton a visit on his return from Fredericton, and embarking from it. At this news the Carleton flags went up again to the tops of the poles, and the whole place beamed once more with smiles. The reception which they gave His Royal Highness was extraordinary, from its deep wann enthusiasm and delight. Mowers were strowed in his path by hundreds of children dressed in white ; every moment the excitement of enthusiasm grt-w more and more unbounded, till at last the people made a rush at the carriage. Lad the horses out in a twinkling, and drew it themselves in triumph to the shore. The kind leave-taking, from the thousands gathered on the beach, was something touching. The sun was setting over the Bay of Fundy, the ships of war and forts were all saluting; the harbour was covered with multi- tudes of boats and steamers, the occupants of which were all cheering and waving handkerchiefs. Never have regrets for the departure of any prince appeared more general and sincere, than those which followed the Prince of Wales from New Brunswick. As the barge moved off from the shore the cheering was changed for cries of " Good bye, God bless you, and farewell ! " till tlie boat had got beyond hearing, when the crowds stood mute and looking almost mourn- ful, till the echoes of the last guns had died away, and the " Styx " itself was a mere black speck upon the waters of the Bay of Fundy. Route from 'V ture froE The "H The roi this most 1 circuitous him to sei possible. John to ] thence by : to Pictou ] Town, the Island. T was wonde: ing it rain landed at the middle round the Windsor, a This litt a most tast occasion ol place, and ( en route, it CHAPTER III. princp: edwakd island. Route from Windsor— Destruction of Timber— Loyalty of Truro— Depar- ture from Pictou— Ball at Charlotte Town— The Aurora Borealis— The "Hero" aground. The route which His Eoyal Highness took to reach this most fertile of all the provinces, was as long and circuitous as could well be contrived, in order to enable him to see as much of the country of Nova Scotia as possible. The arrangement was to return from St. John to Hansport, thence by carriage to Windsor, thence by rail to Truro, and thence by carriage again to Pictou Bay, and so on in the "Hero " to Charlotte Town, the capital of the province of Prince Edward Island. Tho mght the Prince embarked from St. John was wonderiuUy htill and calm, though towards niorn- ing it rained heavily ; and, as usual, when the Prince landed at Hansport at six in the morning, it was in the middle of a tremendous shower. A beautiful drive round the head of the inlet brought the party to Windsor, at a little before eight in the morning. This little village had, as I have already told, made a most tasteful display of arches and garlr is on the occasion of the Prince's first visit ; though as a small place, and one through which His Highness only passed en route, it might well have excused itself this expense. '.I 'fl 1 ' ^1 h'h ^^^1 ^^^^^1 1 "' ] '', IsmI^^^I .1 * 1 60 PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. r 'J fc .1 II Yet its good inhabitants seemed to think that even this was not enough, and that the honour of a second call demanded fresh acknowledgments : so more flags and more evergreens were put, till the whole place seemed like a big garden, and the air was scented with the sweet smell of the spruce firs. A king's ransom would scarcely have got a bed in Windsor on the previous evening, though why people had hired them it was impossible to say, for assuredly no one went to sleep, but remained promenading between the thinly-scattered houses all through the hot, still night. As the Prince was not to arrive before eight o'clock, of course everybody, in spite of the rain, was in their place on his line of route by five a.m., and seemed to derive a mysterious sort of satisfaction from looking eagerly up the road along which he was ex- pected to come. At last he did come, and the good people of Windsor cheered with such vigour and effect as would have led any one only listening to believe it was a populous place, or one at least which, on the whole, was rather flush of inhabitants than otherwise. His Royal Highness and suite took breakfast at the Clifton House, and, this important prelude to a long and difficult journey having been duly performed, the royal train arrived, and, amid cheers and waving of handkerchiefs, the Prince took his departure from Windsor. With him also went the hearts of half the young ladies of the province of Nova Scotia, who were wild about him, and who seemed not likely to recover their sober senses for months. A popular sonnet was once written on a pathetic — very pathetic- incident at New Orleans, On this an affecting ballad, entitled, " Let mo kiss liim for his mother," was com- posed. These words had, however, been quite divested of their melancholy associations by the young ladies of Nova Scoti him for hii ball at Ha! among all t Part of 1 almost prir provinces ai wild, more silent granc would go f< where as } where the m ash, spruce a luxuriant of North A] saw amid tl which had t if fearing 1 crash of its : of his more a route wer location of i forest again girdled roun amid the g white as sr and more S( lested for 2 piled high heapSj so gri are glad to S( and wild ras their ruins i many, but n most powerf ii ROUTE FROM WINDSOR. 61 Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and « Let me kiss him for his mother," first said archly enough at the ball at Halifax, had gradually passed into a motto among all the belles of the provinces. Part of the route from Windsor lay through the almost primeval forests, which cover so much of the provinces and of Canada, and than which nothing more wild, more beautiful, and more impressive in their silent grandeur can be imagined. Sometimes the rail would go for miles through deep impenetrable woods, where as yet apparently no man had trodden, and where the never-ending pines towered above the s4amp ash, spruce maple, and white poplar, which give such a luxuriant aspect to the otherwise formal vegetation of North American scenery. Every now and then you saw amid the thick mass of boughs a gigantic pine which had tottered, but not found room to fall, and, as if fearing to disturb the tremendous silence' by the crash of its ruin, reclined high in air amid the branches of his more sturdy fellows. Miles upon miles of such a route were passed, until it began to approach the location of some new settler, when the aspect of the forest again changed, for the great trees had been girdled round to kill them, and stood up like skeletons amid the general life around, blanched, dead, and white as snow. It is always a solemn scene' this and more so when the trees which have stood unmo' lested for 200 years at last begin to fall, and lie piled high over one another in the , most fantastic heaps, so gray, so lifeless, and so overthrown, that you are glad to see the bright green leaves of the sycamore and wild raspberry creeping over them, as if to hide their ruins from the light. Then came places where many, but not all, had fnllpn TooTri«« *u„ z-n.„ , most powerful withering alone, straight and bare aa 111. ^m ?>llf I i ■f i^ .in 62 PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. iron pillars, like a series of the most colossal hop- poles, or else, broken off some fifty feet above the earth, they seemed, like Flaxman's ruined column, to be Nature's tombstones, monuments to the memory of departed forest life and grandeur. Now and then the wild solitude is broken by a rude fence of piles of little trees enclosing a few acres of half-cleared land, where, amid tall, ragged, half-burnt stumps and twisted roots, a thick coarse grass strag- gles up, and is eagerly devoured by cows or sheep almost as wild as deer. The next patch is oats, pota- toes, or sometimes Indian corn, rich, green, and wavy- looking like fountains of leaves, and then comes the settler's hut. It is only a poor log shanty, hot and dusty in summer, cold and draughty in winter, without a tree to shade it from the sun and wind, for it is gene- rally put in the centre of the clearing. A lot of chil- dren with bare, sunburnt arms and legs are sure to be scampering about among the pigs and poultry, looking as brown, as vigorous, and as sturdy in their way as the very pines they have so lately dispossessed. Pass by this hut in ten years hence, and you will find the shanty used not as a dwelling, but a barn, and the settler already on his way to comfort and indepen- dence, if not fortune, building himself a rough, com- modious, homely mansion, at the door of which the tax-gatherer never knocks, and where there is always work and welcome for the labourer for a year, and a spare cow and horse at the end of that time, when he too takes his axe in hand and starts to clear the wil- derness like the rest. The wanton destruction of timber that is now so fast going on in the provinces and Canada must be looked upon by all that regard more than the gratification of tueir own immeuiate v.ants, a., least with regret, if nut with alar natural ei time it is. his hut t often to s dun mass the horizc But at ni a sea of : bright flai some tall play and j is one gr fiercely. tree, the { destroyed, trunk, wh] and then li depressing You go fo the sound i of any livir The dry, si feet, and t which cra( ashes, are solitude. ' a great fin nowhere d( awful as Q\ thus destrc menon had late for ev( the year bei fur even in f^lfeWi-.. DESTRUCTION OF TIMBER. 68 with alarm. The settler looks upon a tree as his natural enemy, as, indeed, within certain limits, for thb time It IS. His first act is to fell enough timber round his hut to save that from burning; his next is very often to set fire to the woods. In the day the huge dun mass of smoke from these forest fires lingers over the horizon for miles and covers the hills hke a cloud But at night it lights them with a dull red efi"ulgence a sea of fire, fanned for a moment into a sheet of bright flame as the wind rises and bears it up round some tall pme, in the branches of which it seems to play and jump a" out from limb to limb, till the whole IS one great pyramid of fire, crackling and blazing fiercely. A few minutes and it burns out, and a great tree, the growth of some eighty or hundred years, is destroyed, all save the first forty or fifty feet of its lofty trunk, which keep hissing and sparkling feebly now and then like the case of an exploded firework. It is depressing to see the devastation caused by these fires. You go for miles through a black dead country— not the sound of v. bird, not the sign of a leaf, nor a vesii - of any living thing to break iis awful silent monotony. The dry, sultry ashes of the forest crumple under your ieet, and this and the occasional falling of a trunk, which crackles lightly down in a cloud of charcoal ashes, are the only sounds which disturb the painful solitude. The aspect of ravage and desolation which a great fire causes is bad enough in all places, but nowhere does the destruction seem so complete and aw%l as on the spot where a great forest has been thus destroyed. It seems as if some natural pheno- menon had smitten the woods black, silent, and deso- late for ever. In cases wliere the fires have occurred the year before, however, the scene is uct so desolate, ior even in such a sbort space the inexhaustible fer- ' m hi V 1 -ji u PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. P i If I! tility of the soil has done much to repair the mischief, and thickets of young shrubs are seen to be fast springing up, while perfect bushes of wild geraniums, fire flowers, wood lilies, and foxgloves, crowd around the charred stumps, making such colour contrasts, as their scarlet blossoms push up between the charcoal, as give a strange, peculiar beauty to the scene. It is an extraordinary fact, but one which is strictly true, that when a forest is burnt, trees of a.i utterly diflferent kind to those which formerly grew there, spring up again in their place. Thus, if a forest of soft woods, such as pi^es and swamp ash are burnt down, oak and beech trees instantly spring, though such trees may never have been seen in the district before. The reverse of this takes place when woods of oak and beech are destroyed by fire : it is then the pines which replace the hard woods. How do natural philosophers and botanists account for this apparent phenomenon ? The result of the wholesale destruction of timber which has been going on for years shows most disadvantageously in the lands which have besn long settled. They are almost like prairies— an unbroken expanse of land— a sea of grass, and without a single tree or shrub worth the name for miles. In the longer settled parts of the Canadas the want of wood is already beginning to be felt, and of course, as time goes on it must be felt still more, especially when to the want of wood is added that which is certain to follow it— the want of water. In the wilder portions of the cor* ry— nearly nine-tenths of its whole extent at the present day— timber of all kinds is still a nuisance, and though a war of extermi- nation is levied on it in all its forms by axe and fire, and miles upon miles are burnt down in a single day. it still covers the COUrtiv in a Aa-naa Tr»qp+lo ^f pines, small q Thro passed, cheer, a pleased Eoyal E Betweer was nea put an e temps it : made at had occii terruptec course, from the many of decoratec would ha All the pi rounding streets, d: the roval signal for applause, well aime Prince. An imj formed, w] decoration green, wht address, trophy ov( erected ar CTlIIiBOIl Oil ■ LOYALTY OP TliURO. (55 fe-dng shelter to thousands of deer and moose and no small quantity of bears and wolves as well Through such a country as this the royal train passed, every little shanty turning out its in^nates to cheer and everybody seemingly in the highest degree pleased at catching a flying gliu,p,e, not indeed of His Eoyal Highness, but of His Eoyal Highness's carriage. Between he junction from Windsor to Truro the tvL was nearly taking fire, but a few buckets of wato put an end to the danger, and without further contre- rr: T^' '^™™ ^°°"'*''"- "• ^he preparations made at Truro were really beautiful. Triumphal arches t'™" ''" """f *"^ ''^°'"'-^=^ - ^'^^ - "in- terrupted succession that one took them as thin-^s of Z:L ^""n "^Truro, however, wrung admrrtLn h om the most blase m such matters. There were verv many of them their forms were beautiful, and all wer'e decora ed with a good taste and effectiveness which wou d have done honour to any to™ in Great Britain. All the people, not only of the town, but of the sur- rounding country for mUes and miles, lined the little streets, dressed i„ the most festive of costumes, and the royal salute fired by Volunteer Artillery was the signal for ,„ uproarious outburst of enthusiasm and npplause, mingled with a little shower of bouquets well^aimed at the carriage at least, if not at the' An imprcmptu procession of vehicles was soon formed, wh:ch crossed the little town under no end of decorations, and debouched upon a kind of village green, where the Prince was to reecive and repiv to an address. I„ the centre of th:, ,..«en a very I'uidsome trophy over an extemp, ranc ,,, fountair. had been erected and hung with garlands and draned with vnmsoa curtains; it really looked one of the best efforts ! :->''fii < ; " J fSJffi&ahkEj r r' 66 TRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. (J w if hi of the kind the Prince had met. Under this, a loyal address was read, and a royal reply delivered, about which nothing more need be said than that both were appropriate, and the former very long. The party then retired to lunch, after which, at twelve o'clock, the whole cortege entered carriages and began their journey across country to Pictou, a distance of forty-six miles. Kelays of horses had been arranged along the road, and it was well that this precautionary measure was taken, for along the wild and desert track which led to Pictou there was as little chance of finding a horse as finding a man. The road, the only one across the province, was really a good one, and His lloyal High- ness and suite managed to travel along this at the rate of some eight miles an hour — not bad speed when horses, roads, and carriages were considered together. So surely as any place was reached which had two nr three houses, so surely was there an arch of some kind or another ; sometimes a simple one of sweet spruce fir, sometimes a more ambitious effort, in which half the wild ilowers of the woods were woven in rich con- fusion. At the entrance to the county of Pictou there was a most beautiful arch and a numerous assemblage of people, though where ^hey all came from it was hard to imagine. From this point to the town, a distanct^ of some eighteen or twenty miles, arches and wreaths occurred frequently, till, at six in the evening, His Royal Highness came in sight of the wide harbour of Pictou, with the red, quaint little town forming a small belt of houses on its edge. Every street here wore a decoration, and the people had assembled from all parts of the country. But except for the gratification of their own feelings of loyalty, it was scarcely wortli while, for the Prince only drove through the town, and h_ 1 _,„! 1.. J ::., !.:„ i ._ _i i. i.„i' i.i,„ .1.^ „i' IIU CmUiUI^CU iil iiiS UiligC UiUiUBl WViUiC WIC GillUlve Oi the gun at Pict( gress, t] of prepi route fc knew th honour ( It wa barked, < of the o coal mil Breton '. America. found thi world. known, o: from thir From . obliged t which Cc entirely a as bright Prince at Prince alv of the royi checks of : His sta^ but short; pretty sloe bay, where miles off t] At six A.M. August, t] stemmed a Town, the DEPARTURE FROM PICTOU. 67 the guns for the royal saUite had cleared away. But at lictou, as was the case throughout the whole pro- gress, the people were amply satisfied for all then- toil of preparations, and all their patient waiting on the route far hours, if tliey only saw His Highness and knew that he saw the decorations they had erected in honour of his coming. It was almost geUing dark when the Prince em- barked, or I believe he intended to have availed himself oi he opportunity of visiting some of the celebrated coal mines of Pictou. Only at Pictou and at Capo Breton Island does coal exist in all British North America. At the former town, however, the seams are found thicker than probably in any other mines in the world. One seam, the extent of which is not yet known or only known vaguely to be very large, varies fiom thirty to thirty-six feet in tliickness. From Pictou, however, His lioyal Highness was obliged to go at once on board the « Flying Fish " which Commander Hope anowpver, before thi^ was gained, and a the last rays of the sun were ovei powered bv darkness the Aurora Bore.ilis seemed suddenly to spring into light and life in the sky, and kept playing across every part of the heavens, as if the active prin- ciple of the light which had just departed was rejoicing over its release from work. Sometimes it would entirely vanish with a sudden blink, as if the illumination was blown out, and then come faintly streaming down the sky in thin, lambent, pencilled veins, whid' spr* d out in sudden shoots, now brightening, now fadin^ . till the whole lit up in one rich vivid blaze, and dir out to re- appear again in another direction. The squadron reached Gaspe Bay so n after dark, and anchored for the night alongside the "Victoria" and the "Lady Head" steamers, which had come down with the Governor of Canada, Sir Edmund Head, Lord Lyons, our minister at Washington, and the chief members of the Canadian government, including Mr. Cartier, Mr. t -fc J li IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) A 1.0 I.I 1.25 m '^ lllli AO 12.0 12.2 1.8 U IIIIII.6 vl y c^ ^c^: c*. // /A '/ Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. M5B0 (716) 872-4503 i-V V ^- k <^ -^a:^ 6"^ %^ f/j 1%' 72 PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. Macdonald, Mr. Vankougnet, Mr. Kose, &c., to meet His Royal Highness. Early in the morning of the 13th, after a visit had been duly paid to the "Hero" by the Executive officials, the squadron was signalled to get under way and follow the commodore into the inner harbour of Gasp^. The^ whole coast line of the North American provinces abounds with natural and almost landlocked harbours, many of which are superior in size and security and depth of water to the most vaunted harbours of Great Britain. Milford Haven, Quecnstown, Bantry Bay, or Plymouth, are almost below any standard of compa- rison with these magnificent refuges; and Gaspe, though far from one of the best, is still immeasurably better than many of the best of ours. A long chain of richly wooded undulating hills encloses it on three sides, and its broad capacious mouth, some five miles wide, has a natural breakwater across half its extent in the shape of a sandbank, which, stretching out in a sharp curve, stops the angry water from passing into the inner harbour. The "Hero," followed by the "Ariadne," "Flying-Fish," "Victoria," and "Lady Head," steamed up this basin till the little town of Gaspe, with its stiJff-looking white-washed houses, its cleared fields, and regular sharp outlines of small trees, for all the world like the villages children build with a box of Dutch toys, came close in view. There was still the inner harbour of all to enter, and up this the "Hero" was, of course, to lead. On a high, commanding spit of land a heavy battery commenced firing a royal salute as the vessel ap- proached, and the echoes went reverberating among the hills in a deep, sustained roar, as if the mountains were shouting to each other in tones of thunder. All thip. time the " Hero," with the royal standard flying, seemed < unaccor uproar fainter, shadow tinned c of little pennant could w went up and it "Hero' harbour shoal, ai minutes round t frigate e backed i manceuv vain, for much w£ shoal wi got out ] Commoc and in a was brou skill and the dista nicety tb have brc words C< in a ver^ out, taki stern poi as this is THE "hero" aground. 73 unaccountably still. The last gun was fired, and the uproar which it called into being waxed fainter and fainter, till it ceased gently in a hoarse murmur, the shadow of its former self, and still the " Hero " con- tinued quiet and motionless as a rock. At last a crowd of little signals were hoisted with the "Ariadne's" pennants, and went down again before a landsman could well count their number. But, quick as they went up and down, they had been read by the squadron, and it was "Hands up —stream cables!" for the " Hero " was hard ashore. In trying to enter the inner harbour she had taken the ground on a low spit of shoal, and there she remained hard and fast. In a few minutes the "Ariadne" went ahead, and, skimming round the bay with a speed which no ocean-going frigate ever surpassed, turned in her own length and backed in, stern foremost, to assist the flag-ship. The manoeuvre was beautifully executed, though quite in vain, for where the", Hero" gets aground there is not much water for the " Ariadne." She, too, touched the shoal with her stern, but of course went off again, and got out her boats at once with hawsers to tow. The Commodore then signalled the "Flying Fish " to close, and in a minute or so afterwards that pretty little sloop was brought under the stern of the " Hero " with such skill and ease that, though the vessels actually touched, the distance was callulated with such minute care and nicety that, as sailors say, the two ships would scarcely have broken an egg between them. In a very few words Commodore Seymour gave his instructions, and in a very few minutes Commander Hope carried them out, taking the " Hero's " stream cable through the stern port, and dropping it with a bower anchor in the very spot wxiere it was necessary to haul on. Simply as this is said in words, it was on the whole a difficult m.M Mil i )i i/! J I 74 PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. : II thing to do properly ; but the " Flying Fish " did it, and did it well, too. Hading upon this, and steaming full power astern till the water was in a foam, the " Hero " made a desperate effort to clear herself, but all in vain. Nothing moved her, and there seemed at one time a strong probability that she would have to run her guns aft, if not to lower them into the " Flying Fish " entirely, before she floated. During this interval of time a number of gaily-dressed boats had come out from Gaspe town, and quite unaware of the untoward circumstances of the case, collected in a crowd under the " Hero's " bows, their crews cheering and waving handkerchiefs as if His Koyal Highness had purposely gone ashore to receive their ovations at his ease. At his ease, indeed, the Prince certainly seemed to be, " sky-larking " about the quarter-deck of the " Hero " with the younger officers with as much good-humour and sang-froid as if he visited Gaspe every day in the year, and was rather in the habit than otherwise of getting ashore in a line-of-battle ship. At last, after an hour or more had been spent in useless attempts to move the "Hero" off, the "Ariadne" passed two hawsers out astern, and, taking the flag-ship ia tow, pulled her out of her difficulties bodily and set her afloat once more in deep water. i '' 1 . i I i ■ . : - CHAPTER IV. fi THE SAGUENAT RIVER. The " Hero" aground again— Scenery of the River— A little Excursion- Mountain Echoes — Arrival at Quebec. After the narrow escape of the " Hero," which if she had gone ashore a little harder would have been placed in a very awkward position, and might have remained in it for a week, no furth^ • attempt was made by any of the squadron to enter the inner har- bour of Gaspe. As soon therefore as the flagship had recovered herself, recalled her boats, and in a manner resettled her plumage, the signal was hoisted, "Prepare to weigh." In ten minutes afterwards the squadron was steaming down the bay as fast as they could run, for a huge Atlantic fog-bank, dense as a shoal, came pouring in, and, safe as the harbour is at all times, it was not thought quite advisable to keep large ships tacking about in it in fog which was quite of the colour and almost of the consistency of butter. All, there- fore, made haste to get out at once, the "Hero" leading round Cape Gasp6— a tremendous headland of lime- stone rock, gray and solemn-looking, with its massive brow furrowed into deep chasms, like wrinkles, by the action of the elements upon it for ages past. The " Flying Fish" was afforded rather a close opportunity of studying this awful rock, for in the fog the "Ariadne," ti M ■ i \l P' fl I !i r 'I w 76 V 1' THE SAGUENAY RIVER. suddenly made lier appearance close astern, compel- Img the " Flying Fish " to turn almost into the rock to avoid a still more dangerous collision. Outside the harbour the fog was, if possible, even more dense, and in half an hour the ships were anywhere but together, and there seemed not the least chance of their coming together unless they ran into one another in the fog. To avoid the risk of this and warn her consorts, the " Hero " fired guns at short intervals but to make the confusion worse the lighthouse on Cape Gaspe began firing, while a couple of guns some- where ashore fired also. Of course when the "Ariadne " and « Flying Fish " replied to these, guns were going off on all sides through the thickest fog, none knowing why or wherefore, and the wildest bewilderment pre- vailed. On the 14th it cleared a little, and the ships went ahead fast— so fast, indeed, that the "Flying Fish" was soon making a long stern chase of it, and though her heavy guns were brought aft, and all other nautical devices adopted to increase her speed, she continued dropping astern till she would have been left behind altogether had not the commodore signalled the Ariadne " to take her in tow. To a frigate of such speed and power as the "Ariadne" it made very little difference whether she had a line -of- battle ship in tow or only a sloop like the "Flying Fish;" but on this occasion unfortunately her attempts to tow were not successful, for hardly had she got the " Flying Fish " well under weigh ere part of her engine broke down and the gallant " Ariadne " came to a dead stand-still! Ihere was nothing for it therefore, but to leave her to beat up under sail till she could repair the accident ae __ero an effort which took her the whole night to accoi plished as she i all rivei squadro 120 mil its kind had be( least tw mendou the "H " Ariadi the dair night, ai eleven h AUth the rivei little sh( to get i round Ll any line small p spot in t and on i The buo had shifl it was sa bearings been. J very litt hours. again if wouldn't guns aft she IiiOv }} THE "HERO AGROUND /.GAIN. 77 to accomplish, and which she never would have accom- plished at all if the flag-ship had not slackened speed as she neared the mouth of that most awful-looking of all rivers, the Saguenay, up which it was intended the squadron should steam. The Saguenay is only some 120 miles distant from Quebec ; but, as the river is of its kind the most extraordinary in the whole world, it had been arranged that the Prince should spend at least two days in fishing and boating between the tre- mendous cliffs which hem it in on every side. While the "Hero" was preparing to enter this river the " Ariadne " rejoined the squadron. She had repaired the damages to her engines by nine on the previous night, and had steamed up a distance of 122 knots in eleven hours. All the vessels were preparing to enter the mouth of the river when the " Hero " got ashore again on a very little shoal, but one on which she nevertheless managed to get aground, and pretty firmly too. The wat'^r round ihe entrance to the Saguenay is deep enough foi any line-of-battle ship that ever floated, except in one small place called the Four-fathom Patch, the only spot in the whole bay where she could take the ground, and on this the pilot contrived to run her rather hard. The buoys which indicated the presence of this danger had shifted considerably— so considerably, in fact, that it was said the pilot should have seen at once by their bearings that they were not where they ought to have been. As the tide was falling fast there seemed to be very little probability of her being got off for some hours. The " Ariadne " was preparing to pull her off again if she would come, or pull her in half if she wouldn't, and the "Hero" was beginning to get her guns aft, when suddenly, to the astonishment of all, she luovcu a little and then bumped a little, then * 'i I 11 - 1- ! ' > siB;s I ^ I'.' I :■ T8 THE SAGUENAY RIVEK. I ft »■ , ' moved a little more as the sweep of the tide pushed her, and at last, as she went full power astern with her screw, gradually worked clear of the shoal, and was once more quietly afloat. This made an end at once of the chance of the squadron going up the Saguenay, so the Prince and his suite disembarked and went on board the Governor's steamer, which had followed them from Gaspe, and tlms the first day's "tour was made up tlie wildest and gloomiest river in the world. The day Avas about as wretched and unfavourable as could possibly liave chanced for any other trip. For a voyage up the Saguenay, however, every one thought it the most appropriate weather that could have happened, and the wonder was that as this was the case the day was not fine. The wind was high and rushing in fierce sharp squalls which drove the rain like small shot in your face. Gloomy black clouds rested on the mountains, and seemed to double their height, pouring over the ragged clifis in a stream of mist, till, lifting suddenly with the hoarse gusts of wind, they allowed short glimpses into what may almost be called the terrors of the Saguenay scenery. It is on such a day, above all other-,, that the savage wildness and gloom of this extraordinary river is seen to the greatest advan- tage. Sunlight and clear skies are out of place over its black waters. Anything which recals the life and smile of nature is not in unison with the huge naked cliffs, raw, cold, and silent as tombs. An Italian spring could effect no change in its deadly rugged aspect, nor does winter add an iota to its mournful desolation. It is a river which one should see if only to know what dread- ful aspects Nature can assume in her wild moods. Once seen, however, few will care to visit it again, for it is with a sense of relief that the tourist emerges from its sullen gloom, and looks back upon it as a kind of SCENERY OP THE RIVER. 70 vault, — Nature's sarcophagus, where life or sound seems never to have entered. Compared to it the Dead Sea is blooming, and the wildest ravines look cosy and smiling. It is wild without the least variety, and grand apparently in spite of itself, while so utter is the soli- tude, so dreary and monotonous the frown of its great black walls of rock, that the tourist is sure to get impatient with its sullen dead reserve till I feels almost an antipathy to its very name. Some six miles above is the little town, or, as in England we should call it, village of Tadousiac. It is more than 300 years since Jacques Cartier, the discoverer of Canada, the bold adventurer who, through his misinterpretation of the Indian word "welcome," gave the present name to the country, landed here. It was almost his first real resting-place, and the first mention which we have of the Saguenay is one which now well befits its savage aspect, for Cartier sent a boat and crew to explore its rocky chasm which were never more heard of. From that day to this the river has had a name which, allow- ing for the difference of times and creeds, only the Styx can equal. At the mouth of the Saguenay the water varies in depth from ten to sixteen fathoms, but once between the walls of the river and the depth from end to end is never less than 100 fathoms, generally 150. On either side, at a distance of about a mile apart, the cliffs rise up thin, white, and straight, vary- ing in perpendicular height from 1,200 to 1,600 feet, and this is Jie character of the river Saguenay from its mouth to its source. On the right bank the cliffs are poorly mantled here and there with stunted pines, but on the left there is scarcely a sign of life or verdure, and the limestone rocks stick up white and bleached in the gloomy air like the bones of an old world. At two places, St. Marguerite and between Capes T iii m .4^ i .1 ■4 .nn. ! i I. 80 ! ( THE SAGUENAY RIVER. !: \» li ''ml 1 1 Trinity and Eternity, where smaller tributaries pour their contributions into the deep, black stream, a breach occurs in the wall of rocks, as if some giant hand had torn them forcibly back, and left them strewn and baffled of their power in uncouth lumps over the valleys beyond. But these are the only openings, the only means of escape, if they may be so called, from the silent gloom of this dead river. The Saguenay seems to want painting, wants blowing up, or draining; any- thing, in short, to alter its morose, eternal, quiet awe. Talk of Lethe or the Styx, they must have been purling brooks compared with this savage river, and a picnic on the banks of either would be preferable to one on the Saguenay ! On the occasion of the Prince's first visit, on the 15th, the mist and rain hid half its gloom, but more than enough was seen to send the party back to the " Hero" at about five o'clock wet and dull. There was rather a state dinner on board the flagship that evening, and the Prince, having to be up early the next morning, retired at twelve. Before turning in he made a bet with one of the officers of the ship that he would be up before four o'clock next morning— a bet, too, which he won, though much tired with the fatigues of the previous day— he overslept himself so far that he had barely time to make his appearance on the quarter- deck of the " Hero" in a hurried and very imperfect toilette before eight bells (four o'clock) was sounded. Before six a.m. he was again on board the Governor's steamer, and away up the Saguenay to fish. Before he left, Captain Hope, of the " Flying Fish," had received orders to get up steam and take all the officers of the squadron on an excursion up the river. Of course, everybody wished to go, and, as the day was bright and glorious, everybody that could come came. The "Flying Fish" thus had the honour of being the first man-of-^ the who] party wi that occ their sp with wlii be hard smart lii of the r bank b( these t\^ more gr the rugi and, lot capes, tl which, t with the the side clothed contrast rocks s] and wat But Ca] very re^ indignai betrays shield i Eternit respect mendou and inc' beneath fall and down s( on its I A LITTLE EXCURSION. 81 man-of-war that ever passed up the Saguenay, and if the whole navy of England is sent, I am sure a merrier party will never enter its waters than steamed up on that occasion. Even the Saguenay could not depress their spirits, and if that was not a proof of the zest with which all entered into the day's enjoyment it would be hard to say what was. From St. Marguerite the smart little sloop steamed on to where the wild scenery of the river culminates at a little inlet on the right bank between Capes Trinity and Eternity. Than these two dreadful headlands nothing can be imagined more grand or more impressive. For one brief moment the rugged character of the river is partly softened, and, looking back into the deep valley between the capes, the land has an aspect of life and wild luxuriance which, though not rich, at least seems so in comparison with the previous awful barrenness. Cape Trinity on the side towards the landward opening is pretty thickly clothed with fir and birch mingled together in a colour contrast which is beautiful enough, especially when the rocks show out among them, with their little cascades and waterfalls like strips of silver shining in the sun. But Cape Eternity well becomes its name, and is the very reverse of all this. It seems to frown in gloomy indignation on its brother cape for the weakness it betrays in allowing anything like life or verdure to shield its wild, uncouth defr i-ity of strength. Cape Eternity certainly shows no sign of relaxing in this respect from its deep savage grandeur. It is one tre- mendous cliff of limestone, more than 1500 feet high, and inclining forward nearly 200 feet, brow-beating all beneath it, and making as if at any moment it would fall and overwhelm the deep black stream which flows down so cold, so deep and motionless below. High up on its rough cray brows a few stunted pines show like \ M; ' 1 11 '» ', ' i' ■T'l k] ,. ' .- , ". i\ ' ' % ^\ *] l\ w ■' ''fe \:i .ill I F i r « 82 THE SAGUENAY RIVER. bristles their scathed whito arms, glvirjj an awful weird aspect to the mass, blanched here and there by the tempests of ages, stained and discoloured by little waterfalls, in blotchy and decaying spots, but all speak- ing mutely of a long-gone time when the Saguenay was old, silent, and gloomy, before England was known, or the name of Christianity understood. Unlike Nia- gara, and all other of God's great works in nature, one does not wish for silence or solitude here. Companion- ship becomes doubly necessary in an awful solitude like this, and, though you involuntarily talk in subdued tones, still talk you must, if only to relieve your mind of the feeling of loneliness and desolation which seems to weigh on all who venture up this stern grim watery chasm. The " Flying Fish " passed under this cape slowly with her yards almost touching the rock, though with more than 1000 feet of water under her. Even the Middies and youngsters from the squadron were awed by the scene into a temporary quietness. The solemn and almost forbidding silence at last became too much. The party said they had not come out to be overawed, chilled, and subdued by rocks, however tremendous, so it was carried nem. con. that, dead and ston)-- as they were, they must at least have echoes, and the time was come to wake them. In a minute after, and Captain Hope having good-naturedly given his consent, one of the largest 68-pounders was cast loose and trained aft to face the cliff. From under its overhanging mass the *' Flying Fish" was moved with care lest any loose crag should be sufficiently disturbed by the concussion to come down bodily upon her decks. A safe distance thus gained, the gun was fired. None who were in the "Flying Fish" that day will ever forget its sound. "PoY the space of a half a minute or so after the dis- MOUNTAIN ECHCT3S. 83 charge there ma a dead silence, and then, as if the report and concussion were hurled back upon the decks, the echoes down came on crash on crash. It seemed as if the rocks and crags had all sprung into life under the tremendous din, and as if each was firing C8-pounders full upon us, in sharp crushing volleys, till at last they grew hoarser and hoarser in their anger, and retreated, bellowing slowly, carrying the tale of invaded solitude from hill to hill, till all the distant mountains seemed to roar and groiui at the intrusion. It was the first time these hideous clifi's had ever been made to speak, and when they did break silence they did it to some purpose. A few miles further on, the " Flying Fish" passed under Statue Point, where, at about 1000 feet above the water a huge rough Gothic arch gives entrance to a cave in which, as yet, the foot of man has never trodden. Before the entrance to this black aperture a gigantic rock, like the statue of some dead Titan, once stood. A few years ago, during the winter, it gave way, and the monstrous figure came crashing down through the ice of the Saguenay, and left bare to view the entrance to the cavern it had guarded perhaps for ages. Beyond this, again, was the Tableau Eock, a sheet of dark-coloured limestone, some GOO feet high by 300 wide, as straight and almost as smooth as a mirror. After passing this the interest in the scenery de- clined, so the " Flying Fish" turned about and made the best of her way down the river at full speed. Pass- ing St. Marguerite the Prince was still busy with his fishing, and a royal salute was fired, the echoes of which, I believe, are still wandering in search of rest to this very hour. ' His Eoyal Highness returned to the "Hero" at a 2 • ■■ 1% Ui ^'^^l i li ! i I ■ 'M' r 84 THE SAGUENAT EIVEB. i 1 '"' \% < : ! about nine o'clock. His sport, owing to the fineness of the day, had not been very great, as a few small trout were all the whole party had to boast of. Mr. Price hooked a large salmon, and gave it to the Prince to land, but his attempt was not successful. The Prince had not had sufficent practice in salmon fishing to enable him to accomplish that most difficult of all feats to a beginner — that of landing a very large fish with a very small line. It was not for the want of advice, however ; there was plenty of that. Every one called out what to do, and, as a matter of course, every one suggested a different mode from every body else, sc that His Highness was bewildered, and the salmon proved the truth of the old proverb, that " in a multi- tude of counsellors there is safety ; " and, breaking the line, got clear away. Fishing, however, was not the only sport enjoyed. A. party of Indians waited at St. Marguerite with their canoes ; and in these the Prince, with the Duke of Newcastle, Major- General Bruce, and other members of the suite, embarked, and ventured down the rapids, which pour from that beautiful tributary into the main stream. I had always been of opinion that sitting in a Turkish caique was the most uncomfortable means of conveyance ever resorted to on water ; but sitting in a canoe I found was a trifle more difficult still. Nobody but an Indian ever liked a canoe, or felt at ease in it. Its bark is so thin, that the very ripple of the water may almost be felt through it as through a blanket, while in appearance the effervescence of a bottle of Allsopp would be more than enough to overset it. In reality, however, they are safe enough as long as one keeps perfectly still ; and in order to enable them to do this, the seacs on which the traveller sits are slunsf so that the body moves with every motion of the frail little i^ ^ i ARRIVAL AT QUEBEC. 85 skiff. In one of these canoes the Prince (who seemed to know as little of fear as any man that ever lived) came down the rather angry and boiling rapids of St. Marguerite. They were not, of course, equal to those of the St. Lawrence ; but even down these I believe His Eoyal Highness would have ventured, had he only had a good Oxford crew on whom he could depend to back him. It was long past daylight ere this pleasant quiet party on the Saguenay gave up their amusement and, re-entering the precincts of the gloomy river, ran quickly down its black channel to the St. Lawrence. As he came alongside the " Hero," the ship burnt blue lights, and in an instan' as if in rivalry of their pale bright fires, the aurora uorealis sprang up into the sky, playing such fantastic tricks of light and vivid colour as shamed all terrestrial illuminations into nothing. The squadron anchored for the night off the mouth of the Saguenay, and at 6 a.m. on the 17th got under weigh for Quebec. There was rather a fresh breeze and strong tide down the St. Lawrence, so that quick progress was not possible, and at seven o'clock in the evening the vessels anchored at Isle d'Orleans, twenty miles below Quebec, the first, the oldest, and the strongest of all the cities of Canada. ' ( t I til III Ml ii if* ii'.itji \$ CHAPTER V. r 1 11! k. QUEBEC. The Prince on Board — Aspect of the City — Sectarian Squabbles — Illumina- tions — The Chaudieie Falls— The Speakers of the Upper and Lower Houses Knighted — Falls of Montmorenci — The Natural Steps — Ball at Quebec — Falls of Lorette — Roman Catholics of Laval — The Heights of Abraham — Departure from Quebec. The Royal squadron remained at Isle d' Orleans till nearly two o'clock on the 18th. Long before it started, therefore, a whole fleet of river steamers had come down from Quebec all dressed with colours, and covered with festive evergreens from stem to stern. These, however, were the only demonstrations ven- tured on, for of cheering, or, indeed, any but decorative enthusiasm, there were none. It might have been that the weather exercised an adverse influence in this respect, for it was cold, rainy, and very wet ; but, what- ever the reason, there was at least no doubt of the fact, and no cheering was attempted at any time in the whole passage from Isle d'Orleans to Quebec. It was not for the want of a better example either that their rather cold decorum was observed, for the Prince, before starting, paid a long private visit to the " Ari- adne," and in leaving that magnificent frigate the crew rushed into the rigging and gave such cheers as only 500 blue jackets really can give. All the Quebec steamers tlien followed alongside the Prince as he returned in his barge to the " Hero; " but nevertheless the silence remained unbroken, and, as at St. John THE PRINCE ON BOARD. 87 the people in thei- :irning anxiety to have a good look at him, seemed : •:; to think of the usual tokens of welcome and loyal recognition. The Prince had celebrated his last night on board the " Hero " by inviting all the young officers of the ships to dine with him before parting. The smoking time after dinner was prolonged for an hour — a pri- vilege! of which His Royal Highness availed himself to the last minute, though he was the first to set the example of throwing his cigar away when the time expired. In conformity to the rules of the ship, both as to lights and smoking, he was always most strict : neither breaking them himself nor countenancing some of his particular friends among the younger officers in doing so. The result was, of course, that he was not only liked but respected by all the officers on board, though liked is perhaps much too weak a term to express the feel- ings entertained towards him. His popularity was not at all the effect of his exalted rank. Every one who knows anything of a line-of-battle ship, ward-room and gun-room, knows how little mere rank, however high, counts there, if unaccompanied by more sterling attributes. On board the " Hero," and indeed in all the ships of the royal squadron, he will not alone be remembered as the Prince of Wales, but better still as the most good-natured, courteous, fun -loving, kind- hearted gentleman that ever entered a ship. At two o'clock the squadron got under weigh. The "Hero" led, followed by the "Ariadne" and the " Flying Fish." With the flagship, of course, went the fleet of river steamers, and as the wind was up the river, each was enabled to follow His Royal High- ness's vessel with such a rlpnsp i!YiT%ov>ofvoVj« ^^..^ ^.c smoke as was never seen m the St. Lawrence before. s < ^1 i *■■ 1 '(. I i Jl ■I V ;9 ■i:.l! , ;•;; , 1 If ^1! 88 QUEBEC. Viewed from the deck of the " Flying Fish," which, as the last ship, was just clear of the sooty atmosphere, the fleet ahead seemed as though they were in some tremendous naval engagement, and as much of the scene as could be distinguished had thus rather a fine eflfect. Whether those on board the " Hero," only the very top of the mainmast of which was visible, thought as well of the display was not doubtful, for nearly every one there regarded it somehow as a most intolerable nuisance. All the little houses, churches, and villages on the banks of the river were decked with flags (nearly always the French tricolour), and the sputtering, irregular fire of guns and small arms never ceased along the route for an instant, so that with the smoke of the guns, steamers, and squadron, the St. Lawrence seemed on fire from one end to the other. But the weather almost spoiled everything. The great and naturally picturesque features of the recep- tion at Quebec were fortunately such as no amount of rain could utterly destroy; and though certainly the deluge which fell on the day of the landing did no good, it certainly did less harm than might have been expected. Just before three o'clock the squadron came in sight of Point Levi, and then slowly on the other side of the broad river, the steep rugged heights of /ibraham and lofty outlines of Quebec — the Gibraltar of North America — rose gradually into view. The appearance of this quaint old city from the bay is always grand and imposing. Its old historical asso- ciations are well borne out by the rough gray tiers of houses rising one above the other with their bright tin gable roofs contrasting with the antique fashion of the buildings themselves, amid whi^ . in huge heavy out- lines the walls of the fortress wind up and down with """^mi ASPECT OP THE CITY. 89 all the engineering eccentricities of salient and re- entering angles. But on shore it is such a combina- tion of the old and the new, of a peaceful, prosperous town built in and out of a tremendous citadel — a mdange of modern "stores," guns, bastions, crene- lated walls, suburban residences, and houses of tin and pine wood — as makes it resemble no other place under the sun. Take a large part of Malta, mix it up with St Peter's at Guernsey, add a few of the old houses at Abbeville, strew it here and there with log houses, roof it all over with tin, pave roads dnd paths with wooden logs, put an immense citadel at the top, cover the streets rather profusely with dirt, and stick the whole on one of the hills over Milford Haven, with an English Government and a French population, and there you have Quebec. Everything there seems in an anomalous state — the footpaths are ladders and the roads are slides. There is a Parlis'nent building, which is not to be used. There are good squares, which are always empty, and narrow, difficult flights of streets, which are always full. With the English the name of Quebec is indissolubly associated with the name of Wolfe. Among the Quebecians Montcalm is revered. In a strategical point of view one would say the shops of Quebec were the keys of the position, for batteries loom over the roofs of chemists and haber- dashers, and you can walk in few places without find- ing your movements inspected by huge open-mouthed guns, which lurk in ambush at every corner, behind trees, in gardens, or half concealed by roofs and stacks of chimneys. Of its kind Quebec must be unique, and I am glad to think it is, for it seems to have got old without becoming venerable, and prosperous with- out much activity or cleanliness. But from the water, before the Prince landed, it looked grand, as all lofty w^a.2.,^.k 71 W, * 1 1 1^ y 1 1 i I .l^^^l 1 %;\M 'i^'H \'(4m 1 : r il 1 90 QUEBEC. '! f il 1 J ; i i places from the water somehow or other do. The chief buildings were decorated with flaj?s, the houses, wharfs, and terraces were thronged with thousands, and up the steep streets the points of triumphal arches could be seen with their bright decorations still flaunt- ing, though rather dulled of their splendour by the ram and wind. As the "Hero" came up opposite the town the forts began to salute from the citadel, the terrace, and the batteries near Wolfe's Cove where the rugged path up which the ardent young General struggled with his men is still to be seen. Ihe effect of this repeated cannonade, as the great masses of smoke wreathed over the whole of the lofty town, through which the tin steeples and spires dimly shone, was very fine indeed, and seemed to bring out the old character of the place for war and glory more strongly than ever. His Royal Highness landed from the "Hero" at four o'clock under a tremendous cannonade from all the forts and vessels of war in the harbour-the latter having yards manned, and giving three grand cheers as the royal barge swept past to the shore. Great decorative preparations had been made for the reception at Quebec. All the streets were beauti- fully decorated, trees were set in the ground at the edge of all the footpaths, houses were screened in with deep ornamental balconies of evergreens and transparencies, and lofty arches crowded all the main thoroughfares. Nothing was really more astonislimg, when the short time of the Prince's stay m each place was considered, than the lavish expen- diture which had everywhere been incurred to give him a fitting and splendid reception. It was only after the landing, when one drove about Quebec, and found ia remote corners handsome arches which SECTARIAN SQUABBLES. 91 it was never once expected he would pass under, or even see, that the real nature and universality of the welcome given to him could be properly appreciated. Except on one or two remarkable occasions, I had never seen anything like it at royal progresses in England, and in Canada each city seemed to strive to surpass whatever had been done before. In arranging the procession that was to meet His Eoyal Highness, symptoms were shown of that reli- gious discord which was afterwards worked upon with such effect by some unscrupulous politicians as to nearly put an end to the whole tour in Upper Canada. Three-fourths or more of the population of Quebec are Roman Catholics, and this was alleged as the reason, or rather excuse, for assigning to the Roman Catholic Bishop precedence over the Protestant Bishop Mountain, in the order of the cortege. The Protestant Bishop very properly refused to submit to this implied inferiority. The Roman Catholic Bishop, it was said, would not for a time give way, and the dispute at once gave rise to a good deal of religious bitterness and feeling in the town. Eventually, however, the Roman Catholic Bishop was made to see that his claim for precedence was utterly untenable, and indeed could not be listened to for a moment, when he at length yielded. But the dispute, of course, left an ill feel- ing. Among the English the attempt was viewed as another instance of the encroaching arrogance of the Church of Rome; among the French Roman Catholics as a slight to the religion of the great mass of the people, in fact, the religion of Lower Canada.* From the visit to Quebec, or rather from the wan- * A large and important meeting was held in Toronto last month to denounce the conduct of those membeis of the Canadian op'^-osition. who for the sake of political capital, had originated, or at least aggravated, the 'i<9 U • I'll i' m ^r-^ 92 QUEBEC. ton and utterly unjustifiable manner in which a few disappointed politicians misrepresented its every act and deed to the Orange party, arose all the sub- sequent troubles at Kingston, and Belleville, and Toronto. But to resume. At the spot selected for the disembarkation of His Royal Highness, a very beautiful pavilioned canopy had been erected, under which stood all the officers of State and chief dig- nitaries of the city in full uniform. In the background a spacious balcony of seats had been raised for the accommodation of non-official visitors, and as this was amply crowded, the whole scene was rich and striking enough to impress the Prince, and all who saw it from the river, most favourably. Under the canopy the Mayor read an address, to which the Prince replied appropriately, with his royal mother's clear distinct- ness and proper emphasis that made every word as audible as though he spoke in a room to half-a-dozen listeners. Tliis ceremony over three cheers were called for, and, to a certain extent, given. For it must in truth be admitted that cheering is not the forte of the Lower Canadians. All the streets, in spite of the incessant rain, and the deepest, blackest, and most tenacious kind of mud, were thronged with people from every part of the country, many of whom had come from long distances. The Prince and all the suite seemed Orange disturbances in Kingston. In referring to the question of prece- dence between the Bishops at Quebec, Mr. J. A. Macdonald, one of the chiefs of the Canadian government, himself an Orangeman, and member for Kingston, said, that, in claiming precedence, the Roman Catholic Bishops only claimed a legal right which was guaranteed to them under the treaties by which Canada was ceded to England. On finding the strong feeling of opposition that was raised to their claim, they themselves withdrew It on the understanding that by bo doing th.>ir rights were not to be prejudiced on any future occasion. But still th.> disput" left tb- feelings I have alluded to at Quebec on both sides ' ^ ILLUMINATIONS. 93 much surprised at such a concourse in such weather, and were especially struck with the extent and beauty of some of the chief arches which, as at St. John, were better than those at Halifax, though not nearly so numerous. His Eoyal Highness passed through the city for the greater part of its entire length, issuing out under the St. Louis gate, on his way to Cataraqui, the residence of Sir Edmund Head, the Governor-General of Canada. In the evening Quebec illuminated, and a more effective display of this kind is not often seen. It was not quite as general as that at St. John, but it was almost as good, and the effect, owing to the natural advantages of the city, was infinitely greater. To see Point Levi on one side of the St. Lawrence, and Quebec on the other, from the water that night was really a charming spectacle. Every house had Hghts in its windows, all the chief buildings were lit up, and the tiers of streets, rising one above another in rich gradations of light and colour, all of which were vividly reflected back by the river, made a kind of quadruple display which is neitlier easily described nor forgotten. All night, as a matter of course, the streets were crowded, and the light-fingered professors, who were there from New York in considerable num- bers, made a splendid harvest, if all the complaints were true. Their presence, however, would have been less annoying if they had made the streets the only places for the exercise of their skilful vocation. Unfor- tunately, they penetrated the hotels with a spirit and enterprise that was bitterly felt by many. On Sunday, the 19th, the Prince rested, and attended divine service in the cathedral. Even there, however, the same gang of daring thieves were present, and money and watches to the value of more than '.A j 1 J n ■M' l\ tm Ml, I 94 QUEBEC. ifl I 600Z. were stolen from various members of the congre- gation, who, of course, attended on this occasion in most pious and considerable numbers. On the night of Sunday the rain, which for a time had lulled, set in again with vindictive impetuosity. Thus it continued during all i^'"onday, pouring down with a steady, dull monotony of water, as if it meant to wash away Quebec, winding up in the night with a terrific thunderstorm, which left the air rather thicker than it was before, and certainly no drier. By this storm the decorations of some of the arches were decomposed into the dimmest and most extraordinary outlines of their former selves, the balconies were limp and frowzy, and people groped their devious ways through the streets under the branches of small wet fir trees, that rendered an umbrella doubly necessary at the time they utterly prevented its use. In fact, these festive evergreens seemed only to answer the purpose of wetting the benighted struggling passen- gers, save in the night where the wind had overturned them across the footway in dark corners, where they all at once fulfilled another and still more unpleasant duty for those who did not cautiously look where they were treading. The streets and little by-ways of Quebec (the latter always the majority) were trodden into swamps, neither mud nor water, though par^ taking largely of the most unpleasant attributes of both, and in these crowds of Canadians squattered and splashed, for many had come into town that day to see the fireworks which were appropriately fixed for the evening, as afibrding some variety after the rather liberal allowance of the other element. On such a day, and in such weather, of course, all jumped to the conclusion that nothing would be done by His Royal aess, and the idea was encouraged by every THE CHAUDIERE FALLS. 95 rational and sober-minded person in the town. But royalty has it duties, &c., and as it had been arranged that the Prince was to make a private and unosten- tatious visit to the I'ulls of the Chaudi^re on this day, to the Falls he went accordingly. During the rest of the time he was in America, he never again passed through so much water to see so little. Mark Tapley himself would have succumbed to the damp influences of such a day, and had the trip been arranged for any but royalty, it would have been thought sheer lunacy to have adhered to it. But the programme of what the Prince was to see and do was clung to everywhere with a desperate tenacity, which made the laws of the Medes and Persians mere by- rules in comparison. So the Prince and his suite pushed their way through the dense rain as they best could, and saw the tumbling, smoking Falls of the Chaudiere, which, as their name implies, seethe away in spray as if their waiers were boiling hot and fell steaming among the rocks. Their effect, however, must have been rather lessened in royal estimation by the weather of the morning, for such a waterfall as they had passed through to reach them was almost enough to make anything short of Niagara seem tame and dull. Tuesday, the 21st, was fixed for the return of the Prince from Cataraqui, where he had been staying at the Governor-General's, to his palace at Quebec, in°the old Parliamentary Buildings, which, although he was only to occupy them for two nights, had been all re-decorated and furnished throughout in the most costly style. Fortunately, on the occasion of this return, just as he entered the city, the weather changed, and cleared up fine and warm— too warm, perhaps, for though it failed to dry the streets ) ; 1 96 QUEBEC. I I ir f 'h (wl vt #«»ii(| ?) it convrrted their slushy mud into a pa«tt "^ , tenacioui. as bird lime, and by no means so elfcau. Immediiately after his arrival, the Prince held a lev6e in the chamber of the LTppc r House, which had been richly dec. 'ated for the occasion, and which, with its handsome thruiae, its wall draped with heavy folds of crimson cloth, and overhung with a fine series of paintings, had a regal and most imposing aspect. The ministers of the Canadian Government were in uniform, and there was a very large and brilliant staff of naval and military officers, and all previous levies were therefore quite eclipsed by this. The speakers of the Upper and Lower House had the honour of receiving knighthood from His Royal Highness—the first time that the Prince had ever conferred that dis- tinction on any cne. Sir Narcisse Belleau was the first created. There was some doubt whether the speaker of the Lower House was to be so honoured, but it was soon removed, when the Prince again took the sword of the Duke of Newcastle, desired Mr. Smith to kneel, and, laying it lightly twice across his shoulders, plain Mr. Smith rose up Sir Henry. Before these honorary rewards had been bestowed, two addresses — one from each branch of the legislature — h'ul been read, first in English and then in French, and duly presented and responded to by His Royal Higlmess. Another address was also preseutcu iroiu Bishop Mountain and the members of the ViiH:? i Church of Quebec, to which the Prince likewise made a graceful and appropriate reply, that gave great satis- facti ». to the clergy. After this there was a state dSjeun, ^':. ai the hot crush of which the Prince was '. ;.. £ .:.i tw ca\;ttpe, axiu UliVU iU LiHJ i? UllU 01 soon PALLS OF MONTMORENCI. 97 Montmorenci, situated bctwe n the picturesque hills which form the left bank of liie St. Lawrence, some eight miles be] w Quebec. The road to these Falls is pretty enough ; not much m Its way, though sufficiently undulating to prove that It must at one time have been richly picturesque, before all the trees were utterly uprooted and destroyed. Now it is fine, well-cultivated land, cleared of even the semblance of a shrub, and closely dotted here and there with white wooden houses, all of which are tenanted by French Canadians, who preserve their Gallic type, Gallic language, and, in some cases, Gallic antipathies, to this very day. Like all such conserva- tive settlers, in whatever land, they are quiet, frugal, and industrious, but unprogressive, seldom meddling much in the political concerns of the colony, though, when they do so, invariably siding with their com- patriots on all subjects. The Falls of Montmorenci are said to be, after those of Yo Hamite, in California, the highest in North America. The river, rather a deep one, though only some 150 feet across, comes brawling down a series of rocky chasms to the edge of a tremendous cliff which opens on the St. Lawrence, and over which the stream rushes in one grand heavy mass down a sheer unbroken depth of nearly 300 feet. The character of this beautiful Fall is generally thin and foamy-at a distance like a huge avalanche of snow reposing softly amoiig the gaunt black rocks. Its appearance of majes- tic repose, however, soon gets broken as the visitor advances towards it, and the roar gets louder and fiercer till you come out upon a little point which overlooks its edge, and gaze upon a huge sheet of water sprmgmg madly over, white, boilincr, and angry, its long shoots of spray plunging further and further down, tiU 1 '.'^1. Ti. ill I ; ' I mn • , I ■ ! ii f, ' ( i \l ) 98 QUEBEC. the whole is lost in piles of mist below, soft, white, and irregular as a summer cloud. When the Prince saw it it was at its grandest. Unlike that lofty monarch of cascades, Niagara, to the might and rush of which the melting of the winter snows or the longest summer drought neither adds nor detracts, Montmorenci, and, indeed, all other falls, are visibly increased by much wet weather. After the very heavy and uninterrupted rain of the three previous days, therefore, the Fall was swollen to its utmost, and came down the rapids bellowing with a noise like thunder as its great final plunge, which was to shut it out for ever from the light of day, grew more imminent. It was really a grand sight, and one which is regarded almost with a re- gretful awe as the river, in all its fiercest energy of life and power, make its last leap, and, all torn and dishevelled, with not a trace of the stately grandeur with which it left the cliffs above, but a mere crowd of hurrying, broken water, enters the unfathomable hole at its base, and is never seen again. Strange as it may seem, of this tremendous body of water, which pours down within a few feet or so of the St. Lawrence, not a drop is known to enter the river which it apparently rushes to meet. A little narrow semicircular ledge of rock, a couple of feet high, surrounds the foot of the fall, separating it from the tidal mark of the great river. Over this ledge, which marks the rim of a yawning funnel-shaped hole, the batiied waters of the Montmorenci never pass, but sink at once without a sign, and rush on no one knows whither. The hole has never been fathomed, its course has never been traced, and things that pass over Montmorenci are never more seen. The almost mournful impression this creates is rather heightened THE NATURAL STEPS. 99 by the gloomy luxuriance of the scenery around. Ihe black, dead-looking rocks and lofty seared pine trees the white gravestone-looking towers of granite, which till two or three years back supported a sus- pension bridge over the Falls, when it suddenly gave way hurrying those upon it to an instant and dreadful death, all add to the sad eflfect. At the foot of these Falls, too General Wolfe made his most desperate and most disastrous attempt upon Quebec. Here he suffered a severe defeat from Montcalm-a defeat which he so signally avenged within two months afterwards by his capture of the Heights of Abraham, and Quebec itself. Montmorenci roars and plunoes now without a change as fiercely as it did on that disastrous day, yet the very name of the battle is almost forgotten, or degenerated into a local tradition and the mounds of the redoubt which Wolfe reared to cover his retreat and embarkation are mere shape- less ridges, which even the eyes of the curious can but faintly trace. From Montmorenci the Prince proceeded some three miles up the rocky banks of the stream to a place called the Natural Steps-a httie gem of Canadian scenery which, for its size and peculiar character, is not to be surpassed in any part of America. It is a wild, lonely place, where a series of rocks, as regular as colossal steps, jut out on either side into the deep, narrow rapids of the Montmorenci. Their geological formation, I have no doubt, IS curious, and some learned theories have been broached as to the cause of their being there at all though few will care to think or read of these when m that rich, wild, quiet glen where the river, not yet bravvhng angrily with upstart rocks, flows on with qiuck. silent dignity, as if it knew the massive steps as Iriends since all creation, and recognised their H 2 •ih-l' h '\\\ it f r il 100 QUEBEC. solemn limestone masses as characteristic ornaments of its own brown, decayed looking waters. Higher up, the steps, still old, worn, and imposing, break into a kind of mournful irregularity, and loom about in great gray pinnacles like the ruins of an old castle, with gaps and rents in the tremendous walls between, speaking rather of their strength than weakness. Everything tells of age and quiet here, and the woods, which almost close in the glen at the top, give a dull, solemn repose to the whole, as if the dark apertures between their trunks were vaults, and the very leaves rustled gently of the mysteries of nature. It is a pity that these exquisite scenes of Canadian beauty are seldom painted, photographed, or printed, — are in short, almost unknown by name to the world in general. If the Falls of Montmorenci and their Natural Steps were in the United States, there would be pictures of them everywhere, a fine hotel in their immediate neighbourhood, and thousands going to visit them annually. As it is, not 10 per cent.^ of those who drive to Montmorenci even see or hear of the Natural Steps at all. On the evening after this excursion, the Prince entertained a large party at a banquet; at the conclusion of which, all went to the Grand Ball given by the Mayor and citizens of Quebec to His Royal Highness. This fete was given in the Music Hall — a large and very lofty building, sometimes used for concerts, sometimes as a theatre, and once, after the fire which destroyed the Parliament House, as a place of meeting for the Canadian legis- lature. Yet in spite of these vicissitudes of fortune, it still remains a noble and well-decorated saloon; and on the occasion of the ball, it had, at great ex- pense, been entirely rehabilitated in fresh paint and gilding in such a beautiful and costly style, that the BALL AT QUEBEC. 101 recollections of the hall at Halifax were then, for the first time, quite eclipsed by comparison. About 1600 guests were present in all. Among them was a very large muster of naval and military officers ; and, as usual when the sister services meet on these occasions, the military generally go to the wall. There is an impetuosity about the gallantry of naval officers which carries all before it with the fair sex, and against which the conventional beau of a garrison town stands no chance. Thus the commanders and lieutenants whirled off the prettiest belles in triumph, while ensigns and subalterns could scarcely find partners at all. The Prince with the Duke of Newcastle and suite arrived at ten o'clock, and His Highness immediately betook himself to the festivities of the evening with that gallantry and keen relish of the scene which always distinguished the heir apparent on these occasions. He danced every dance that was danced between ten that night and four next morning! Great numbers were at the same time dancing, or rather trying to dance, and knocking against each with an energy and determination that was worthy of a better cause. None could well avoid collision when limited to a spot little larger than an ordinary table-cloth, and the Prince and his fair partners had to run the gauntlet of polkas and waltzes like the rest. During one of these terpsichorean struggles, the Prince caught his spurs in a lady's dress— tripped and fell. He was up again in an instant, laughing heartily, and dancing away more vigorously than ever. In its vulgar way the New York Herald did its best to make the Prince appear ridiculous from this little contretemps. Five minutes after the occurrence it was telegraphed to that Journal. Probably in half- ^ *m i f^ im^'- i O'' M I ^s. i' fl I It ■If )#1 i ''#! 102 QUEBEC. ill. i [It k ! 1 1 I i an-hour it was known in Texas, while the Herald drew attention to the fact in an alarming series of " headings," of which the following are only a few : — "THE CANADIAN COMMOTION. "Splendid Splurge of the Quebeckera. " The Prince at the Grand Ball given by the City. " He danced Twenty -two Times, tripped and fell, his Beautiful Partner rolling over him. " Honi soit qui mal y pense. " The Prince immediately picked himself and Partner up and continued the Dance. " Tenible Flutter of Crinoline." Certainly to judge from the accounts in this vera- cious Journal, the fall must have been an extraordi- nary one, inasmuch as it was detailed how it occurred in no less than three different ways, and with four different partners. Princes fall very much like other people, and even if they did not. His Koyal Highness would Imve found it most difficult to have touched the floor in the way indicated by the Herald, accord- ing to which he " cut his eye " while coming *' heavily on the back of his head." The supper preparations at this fete were for a time involved in a state of the most perilous uncertainty, for when the hour came for that banquet to be laid, it was found with dismay that none of the waiters were in a condition to be safely entrusted with any- thing that could be broken by dropping. Eventually by all sorts of aids and contrivance in the way of amateur assistants, this formidable diffi- culty, which had been clearly foreseen and calmly expected by many, was overcome ; and the curtain of the pretty little theatre, at the end of the hall, rose at last on the supper. Like most theatrical suppers, however, it had a bright, unreal character, for the tables would not accommodate a tithe of the guests, 'rp PALLS OF LORETTE. 103 and a very numerous majority, therefore, could only feast their eyes — the most unsatisfactory medium possible through which to enjoy a banquet, We will let the curtain fall again, therefore, over this delusive portion of the entertainment, and return to the hall, where dancing was kept up by almost undiminished numbers, and certainly with undiminished spirit, till the lights began to "pale their ineifectual fires " before the rising sun. On Wednesday, the 22d, it had been arranged that his Highness should drive out to the Falls of Lorette and visit the Indian village near. The former is a beautiful cataract ; the latter, like everything else connected with the Indians, was a delusion and a snare. The Falls pour down a very rocky glen, tumbling over a sloping mass of cliff, which beats the black waters jf the Lorette into the nearest approach to a white foam they can ever be forced to assume. From this cliff the whole mass of water rushes down a chasm in the rock some 300 feet deep, and about six feet wide, at an inclination of nearly sixty feet in a hundred. The velocity of the torrent at this part is therefore, perhaps, not to be equalled by any other fall in the world. So great is it that at the termination of its mad rush it is hurled up out of the chasm so as to form a perfect arch of water, like the letter S, thus O). The visitor to the Indian village naturally makes up his mind for wigwams, tomahawks, war-paint, and stalking chiefs wrapped in abnormal dignity and ragged blankets. He at least expects a war-whoop on enterintt, and summons up all his courtesy not to be annoyed if the chiefs take his visit in dudgeon, and receive him with sullen, dignified silence. Preparing himself, therefore, to endure anything rather than not visit the wild children of the soil, he commences a search among ^1 if « i ■4 . \ ,» f ! i \ < |.,:! .' It Ik I ** ll it -, * 104 QUEBEC. neat cottages and pretty little churches for some tokens of the huts of the Red Men. I wandered there for an hour in vain, and was at last driven to accost a young man whose features I thought showed unmistakeably that he was of Indian origin. In reply to my inquiry if there really was an Indian village anywhere near, he replied, with a bow that was almost Parisian, " Mais oui, Monsieur; c'est ici." It was a fact, and I had really driven out some twelve miles on a hot day to see an Indian village about as characteristic of the Hurons as Kew or Brentford. My informant further added that the marriage festival of the chiefs daughter was then being celebrated at his house, and kindly oifered to conduct me there. The house was something like a small English parsonage, and in which one would as soon have thought of intruding as in any private resi- dence in England, but that my guide begged me in excellent French to enter. The chief who welcomed me was dressed in a plain substantial broadcloth suit, in all respects like an ordinary English farmer, save that, as a mark of his dignity, he wore something like a beadwork toastrack on his head. Encouraged by the appearance of this peculiar head-dress, and with a faint hope that at the marriage of the chief's daughter I must see something characteristic of the race, I entered the room, where the chiefs, with their wives, daughters, and " young men of the tribe," were enjoying them- selves. I found in a clean, large room, just like any other room at a substantial farm, a party of some twenty- five or thirty, the " chiefs " in unexceptionable morning dress, the " squaws " in white muslin dresses, hats and feathers, scarfs and gloves. They were dancing the Lancers to the music of an excellent pianoforte ! This was enough for me. I had seen quite sufficient of savage life. 7^^S^-_ ROMAN CATHOLICS OP LAVAL. 105 The Prince did not visit Lorette. He had doubt- less been informed what these Indians really were like. His not visiting them, however, was a matter of small importance, for I was told that some of the gentlemen who attended the levee were " chiefs of the tribe." Instead of driving out to Lorette His Royal High- ness and suite paid a visit to the great Roman Catholic University of Laval, where he received an address from the bishops of that Church. In his reply the Prince did not address them by any title, such as My Lords, but commenced at once by saying, " I accept with the greatest satisfaction the welcome you offer," &c., &c. At this omission of what tliey claimed as their legal title, the Roman Catholic hierarchy took deep offence, and through Mr. Cartier, the Canadian prime minister, asked explanations of the Duke of Newcastle for what they said they would otherwise consider as an inten- tional affront. His grace at once replied that it was ridiculous to suppose that an "intentional affront" could have been meant in a courteous reply to an address of welcome and congratulation. The duke further stated that in the replies addressed unitedly to the Protestant and Roman Catholic clergy of St. John's, Newfoundland, no style or title had been used, and that the same rule would be adhered to in replying to the addresses of the clergy, of whatever denomina- tion, throughout the province. This explanation the Roman Catholic bishops said they would at once accept if the duke would give a promise that he would not in future allow any titles to be used in replies to the addresses from religious bodies. To this as a matter of course his grace said he would give no promise, and that if they had not sufficient confidence in his impar- ;in ■ m i !• jl ■' I Ml Ik I I I I 111 1 1 (. ,. 1 ! ]06 QUEBEC. tiality and wish to avoid giving cause of offence to any religious body, he was sorry for it, and could not help them; but give a promise he certainly would not. With this answer the bishops were obliged to be content, though they submitted with a doubtful grace, and the idea of an " intentional affront " appeared to rankle in some minds. It is necessary to mention this matter in detail, for on this visit to the University of Laval and the alleged preference it showed to the Roman Catholics, the Orangemen insisted on found- ing their grievances and their rights to an Orange demonstration. Thus, while the Orangemen regarded this visit as a marked favour to the Roman Catholics, and as an instance of the Duke of Newcastle's Popish leanings, the Roman Catholics looked on it as an "intentional affront," and as a proof of the duke's bigoted Protestant antipathies. Truly, in a country where religious animosities run so high as in Canada, it was hard to please everybody, and the duke by being rigidly impartial between all at first pleased nobody. From Laval the Prince went to the convent of the Ursulines. This convent, which was founded in 1639, holds a high position in the estimation of the Roman Catholics of Quebec. It always has a superior, fifty nuns, and six novices who give instruction and teach needlework to poor children. The rule of this convont is that no male person can ever be admitted within the wall which encloses it, save only one of the royal family or the sovereign's representative. This reser- vation was made in favour of the Bourbons, when Canada was still a proud appanage of tlie French Crown. After the capture of Quebec by Wolfe, in 1759, the privilege of entering the convent was by the then superior and nuns transferred to the English III' THE HEIGHTS OP ABRAHAM. 107 royal family or their direct representative, including all whom they might bring with them in their suite. Thus for the last century a new Governor- General of Canada in taking office always claims and exercises his privilege, as the representative of the sovereign, of paying a semi-state visit to the Convent of the Ursu- lines, and on these occasions the public are admitted with him. Beyond such visits made once in every seven years, no male person passes the outer walls, and this bigoted exclusion extends even to the relatives of the nuns. An instance was mentioned to me of a French gentleman who had a relative in this convent with whom he was most deeply anxious to have a personal interview, if only of a few minutes. To all his entreaties, however, a deaf ear was turned, and he had to wait for five years till the occasion of the Governor- General's visit, when he claimed and was allowed the right of entering with his excellency, and thus saw his relative. The Prince of Wales exercised his right of royalty of entering this convent, and many of the public entered it with him. The nuns presented him with an address praying for blessings ori his future career; and one of them, robed in white, sung a kind of hymn for his happiness, in a voice of such exquisite sweet- ness ;^,nd melody as few present ever heard surpassed. In the afternoon His Koyal Highness went to the almost impregnable citadel of Quebec, and thence drove to the Heights of Abraham, and saw the plain column which is erected on the spot where Wolfe fell, with the simple inscription, " Here Wolfe died victorious." The small redoubt which the troops threw up on that eventful day may still be faintly traced— slight mounds of earth which gave England the possession of this gigantic empire. It is a pity I '(] \um 1 ,11' # 108 QUEBEC. I u III :l 110 care is taken to preserve the remains of this little work. Wolfe might well do without a column, for to no man that ever lived does the motto over Wren so well apply, when you stand on the Heights of Abraham and look round on the magnificent panorama beneath of rivers, plains, and mountains which his skill and daring conquered at a blow. From the monument a winding road is cut down through the rock to Wolfe's Cove, where he landed from the opposite bank of the river and scaled hills to which those of Inkeraiann were mere molehills, either for height or steepness. The road that leads from this spot into Quebec is like the alleys of Shadwell in point of squalor, and the huts like the tenemei/.s that hang loosely together in that villanous quprter of Constantinople that extends between Galata and 8t. Stephanie. It is the most curious melange of dirt, ruinous houses, and historic rocks, perhaps, in all America. On this evening there was another grand banquet at Parliament House, and the long deferred fireworks for the people came off at last. The pyrotechnics were very fine, but the display was marred in the midst by an alarming accident. A large stage had been erected for the accommodation of visitors, of such slight materials that many refused to venture on it. Enough, however, essayed to bring it all to the ground, injuring many most seriously, and some fatally, in its fall. There was of course an inquiry, but it is perhaps right to add, that for the most culpable negligence employed in the erection of this stage nobody was found to be in the least degree responsible. At an early hour on the following morning (23rd August), the Prince quitted Quebec in the " Kingston " DEPARTURE FROM QUEBEC. lot steamer, and at once every one began to fly the town for Montreal as fast as possible. In a few hours Quebec was dull and empty, its faded decorations looking stained, mournful, and slatternly, like old Vauxhall in the day time. ■fti km lit] ■i'ill '?iii mm ? U ! I'fyM ik:¥i ■ 1 ■ } ■ ( 1 i ) i 1 1 j ^ 1 I* V « i ' » 1 Ji. ^1 ' f If ■• ' 'Ifi y r' f p CPIAPTER VI. — « — MONTREAL. Situation of Montreal— The Volunteers— Address from the Corporation, and the Prince's Reply— The Industrial Exhibition— The Victoria Bridge- Indian Games— Ball at Montreal— Rapids of the St. Lawrence—The Tiiousand Islands— The Lachine Rapids— The People's Ball— Eccen- tricities of Dress— Unfavouiable Weather. The Prince left Quebec in the steamer " Kingston," which had been specially hired by the Canadian govern- ment, and beautifully fitted up for the accommodation of His Boyal Highness and all the suite. Witli the •'Kingston" went the "Flying Fish," "Valorous," and " Styx." The two latter did not belong to, or form part of the royal squadron, and were only sent as a state escort in consequence of tliere not being suf- ficient depth of water to enable such large vessels as the " Hero " and " Ariadne " to follow the Prince in his visit to the fine capital of Canada. Midway between Quebec and Montreal, at a small town called the Three Rivers, the ships anchored for the night. The chief inhabitants came ofi' to present an address, which was duly acknowledged by His Royal Highness, and then the town of the Three Rivers illuminated in honour of the occasion ; and, certainly, as it was seen from the water, it appeared to be a most beautiful dis- play. Both from its extent and duration the whole SITUATION OP MONTREAL. HI affair must have cost the inhabitants (by no means numerous or rich) a very con8id3 , le sum. Yet there, as all through Caruida, cost was never allowed to enter into the consideration of these fetes. The only ques- tion seemed to be wliat would best do honour to the occasion, and when this point had once been decided, it was carried out at any price. On the following morning, soon after daybreak, the squadron resumed its slow journey up the rapid current of the St. Law- rence to Montreal. Montreal is in wealth, in population, in intelligence, and in refinement, in fact in all the great social and commercial qualities which go to form a capital— j 'among hex^elf and her family. ^ affectionate devotion to "For myself I rejoice at the opportunity which has been afforded me of visitint^ tliJo /.if., „ ^ . of r™,d, r I «ty— agreat emporium of the trade e^mpl of what may be effected by energy and enterprise ufder the influence of free institutions. "That this prosperity may be still further enlarged is my earnest hope and there can be little doubt that by the comple^ tion of that stupendous monument of engineering skiU and labour which I have come in the name'of the' Qui to inaugurate new sources of wealth will be opened to your citizens, and to the country new elements of power develope" and new Imk. forged to bind together in peaceful co-operS th^jxe^^^^ of a wide-spread and rapidly increasing popu- After this, everybody fell into the- gentle state of liurry and confusion peculiar to "making way" for the procession, which was reaUy a very long and a very grand one indeed, and one which, on the whole, it was worth waiting for a fair day to see carried out in all its projected pomp. Headingit, though notincluded in the programme was a small party of the Cawknawaaga Indians who lived near Lachine, on the rapids whence tjbeir rather inharmonious title is immediately derived, -eyare one of the iew remaining branches of the iroquois-of the six great nations which once held 12 ^■i 'i > ii I .i! !} J ' t< , ii tit f 1 « h ! IJ !| \' ■ i! ^^B 1 » ■ .1 a 1 1 1 i! ! ,' I f ! : - f i ! 1 ■" ^i ' : 11 ! 1 ' 1 \ 116 MONTKEAL. all North America as their hunting ground. No travestie on modern civilisation was attempted here, nor did they wear frockcoats decked with a backwoods' millinery of beads and feathers. The Cawknawaagas were all attired in full dress after the fashion of their nation; that is to say, with loose bead-embroidered woollen tunics, mocassins, head-dresses of beadwork and feathers, and their featm-es disfigured or adorned, as the spectator chose to think, under a profuse layer of many-coloured paints. Thus equipped, they were certainly not prepossessing objects; and, though they looked characteristic enough, I must own I pre- ferred the Indian " pure and simple " as I saw him at Lorette to those with such pigmentary eccentricities of colour on their features as these Cawknawaagians displayed. For the rest, they were persons of every size and age, though when you saw one you saw all — there was not the least appearance of individuality or character about any which would enable you, even after careful scrutiny, to distinguish him from the rest. They had the same flat, broad, Tartar features— thick-lipped and wide-mouthed, with sallow, tawny faces, long, coarse, wiry hair ; white, sharp, irregular teeth ; and small, quick, black eyes. The latter were keenly suggestive of either a genius for petty traffic, or the acquisition of small-ware generally by any means. The most intense feeling of enthusiasm and loyalty seemed to animate the populace when the Prince landed. They shouted with deafening vehemence, and all the many steeples in the city rang out tremendous peals in a confused grand clamour, that filled the air with a rich embroidery of soifnd, adding to the whiil and excitement of the whole display. In such state His Royal Highness was escorted to his residence, formerly the mansion of Mi. Eose, Chief i ;i' THE INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION. II7 Commissioner of Public Works in Canada, which had been placed at his disposal during his visit. Only a very short halt was made there, for a great deal of ceremonial and high state had to be got through this day, with but little time for breathing between each event ; so, after a short pause, just sufficient to enable the crowds that had witnessed the procession to flock to the Exhibition, His Royal Highness again com- menced a progress through the streets to formally open and inaugurate the Industrial Exhibition of Montreal and Province of Canada. The permanent building which had been erected for this exhibition stands in a commanding situation on the northern side of the city, just where the slopes of Mont Eoyale begin a slow rise. The building itself in outer form and general internal arrangement, is very like one of the end transepts of the Crystal Palace at Norvvood only on a much smaller scale, and built with brick walls, roofed in with an arched wooden ceiling For the rest, the columns, girders, and tie-rods of the interior are much the same in principle as in the English Exhibition. The outside, however, is hand- somely adorned with light ornamental woodwork and painting, which give it a clean and pleasing effect. The time for opening this exhibition, as was originally intended, should have been at least ten days or a fort- night later than the 25th of August. But advantage was taken of the presence of His Highness to inaugu- rate the exhibition with the utmost state and ^cllt • and this compelled the committee to open the building before much more than half its contents had arrived and when even of that half not more than one-third of the articles were unpacked from their cases. Thus the galleries set nnnrf f/^v +1... Tr.,,.:^„„ .^... 1 . /. - ^ ■■• "^^^«ii^^3 proiiucisof Uanadian growth or manufacture were almost empty, a fact on ''jVi ^■4 l;,|h..-f:: 1 1 ?!( I J '^H ; > a (I i ' ., Miii 118 MONTREAL. which Mr. Chamberlain, the indefatigable secretary, congratulated himself not a little when he found how pressed he was for space to accommodate spectators. The Prince arrived at the exhibition at eleven o'clock, and, passing through a marquee set aside for the dis- play of a fine collection of hothouse plants, waited a short time in a handsome reception room till a suffi- cient number of naval, military, and civic dignitaries had arrived to constitute something between a " bril- liant staff" and a small procession. This formed. His Eoyal Highness at once entered the building, and passed to the dais, amidst the warmest acclamations of enthusiasm and flutterings of handkerchiefs that ever any heir-apparent was greeted with. " God save the Queen" was sung splendidly by the chorus, after which the Governor- General read another address- nothing ever was done without reading a long address- to which, as usual, the Prince responded, and these for- malities being over, a complete tour was made of the building. There was not a great deal in it to delay this part of the ceremony. There were some rich specimens of iron and copper ores, in both of which minerals all Canada abounds, though as yet these sources of colonial wealth have been most imperfectly developed. The cop- per ore is badly and expensively worked, though, in spite of all waste, the mines yield an enormous profit, and would yield ten times more if better managed. Iron ore of the richest kind is'abundant everywhere, especially in Western Canada, where, at a place called Croxly, it yields from 60 to 70 per cent, of pure metal. Some very fine specimens of this ore were shown to the Prince. A conspicuous object in the centre of the building was a column of coal cut from one seam, and thirty-seven feet high. In Canada there is no coal formation whatever — a serious check on the profitable 1 1 L THE VICTORIA BRIDGE. 1]9 working of the iron ores. Only at Pictoii and Cape Breton is coal found, and from the mines at the former place this noble column was cut entire. The Prince inspected these and some fine specimens of native mai'bles. Among other objects in this department was a small grmdstone sent as a present to His Royal Highness, on which, in gUt letters, was inscribed the rather premature inscription, " To our hopeful King." On the upper galleries of the building was a splendid display of furs and skins in every stage of preparation, and a gallery of Canadian pictures, in which, among others of a much lower order of merit, were several really fane works. The circuit of the building made, the Exhibition was declared to be formally opened, and almost instantly after came a general and rapid rush for carriages and vehicles of every kind, for the opening of the Victoria Bridge was to take place in about an hour afterwards, and the two points of interest were just sufficiently wide apart to make it extremely doubtful whether those who left the Exhibition last would be able to reach the bridge in time. The drivers of hired car- nages of course " improved the occasion " under these circumstances, and dictated their own terms. These were hard enougli, for twelve dollars, about 21 Us. sterling, was always asked and often given for taking a fare a distance of some two miles and a half. The formal opening and inauguration of the Victoria Bridge was, in colonial importance, the chief featur. in tlie royal visit to Montreal, and the completion of this noble structure deserved to be celebrated with all the state and pomp which the presence of His Eoyal Highness could bestow. As an engineering triumph over natural difficulties of the most stupendous kind, it IS not only without its equal in the world, but the a .':'' "I'li ■'■«ls||l « !■ ij '.■'• i 1 It > 11 ' I ' 1,1 • i> I i' m 120 MONTREAL. il'i m I f I' world offers nothing which may fairly be put in com- parison with it— nothing which can be pointed to as evidencing more determined perseverance in the face of almost hopeless obstacles— more genius, or more consummate skill. The Menai Bridge is a noble structure, yet after all only the germ of the great idea here developed to its fullest. Brunei's great bridge at Saltash is remarkable for the wonderful skill with whicli it overcomes obstacles which were, in fact, almost created that that gifted engineer might have the pleasure and merit of vanquishing them. Eoeb- ling's suspension-bridge over the Eapids of Niagara— the most ingenious, and, perhaps, even the most beau- tiful bridge of its kind in the world, is only designed for a special and peculiar .^orge, and, apart from this, no fair comparison can be drawn between the Niagara and the Victoria, when the former is only eight hun- dred feet long, and the latter more than nine thousand ! To appreciate the Victoria Bridge— to do justice to its grand conception, and, what seems the almost super- human energy and skill necessary to carry out the idea in all its present grand perfection, one must see it. One must not only see it, for a merely indefinite length gives no real idea of the immensity of the undertaking. The tourist should look at the St. Law- rence in winter, when millions of tons of floating ice come crashing down it, and in summer, when even at its lowest ebb the current flows like a sluice, at the rate of eight miles an hour. He must remember that the whole of its bed is a mere quicksand, strewed over the bottom with gigantic boulders, weighing twenty-five and thirty tons, that the depth of water is seldom less than twenty-five feet, and that the stream at this point is two miles wide. When any one takes the trouble to think quietly over the nature of these obstacles, and ii THE VICTORIA BRIDGE. 12 1 then looks up at the lofty rib of iron which stretches liigh m a r from shore to shore, he must be more or less than human if he does not regard it as the grand- est and most successful engineering work which at least, has yet been accomplished. It is by no means an imposing, or even tolerably well-lookmg structure. Its height from the water and Its mnnense length gave it more the appearance of a gigantic girder than a bridge. Viewed at sunset, when Its aull tmts are,brightened into red, and with Mon- treal as a background, with all its tin roofs and steeples glistenmg like silver in the sun, it looks well enough though never much more than an iron footpath to the picturesque city beyond. Few can believe at the first glance that it is really more than five times longer and bigger than the longest bridge ever yet constructed. _ Its total length is very nearly two miles (9500 feet ) • Its height from the water little over 100 feet. It is composed of twenty-five tubes joined in lengths of two lubes, each about 270 feet, with a centre one of 330 at the highest part above the river. In weight of iron it IS actually very little over a ton per foot in' length (the hghtes bridge of its kind ever made with the same strength), and the contraction and expansion of the whole make a difference in its length between summer and winter of more than ten feet. This is of course properly allowed for in its construction. The piers' ^000 onir ''T/'^''^', '^' --^^b--' -d contain some' 3,000,000 cubic feet of masonry, were formed by forcing down coffer-dams of wood in the exact places where the foundations were to be laid, then driving rows of piles round these, and filling in between the two with wads of clay, forced down till they were water-tight. ine water insidft f.bp noffpr-z^iai^ ...^~ ^k- , - "liti-viam uuh wien pumped out by steam pumps, and the work of clearing out the • 4 4 I il i if. I ; t I t I ^:M 1 1 ,1 i '.'h- F! li'l, w 1' f |:n 1 ' j f L 1 1 l_ ' .1 1 \ .■ f i |W i * i h i I II i i i ! L 1 1 . ! \ I i ' J ' i 1 i 122 MONTREAL. gravel and mud, and laying the masonry down on the very rock commenced. Quicksands let in the water to such an extent that no pumps could keep the cotFer- dams empty, and tiers upon tiers of piles had to be driven all round them till the subterranean communication was cut oj0f at last. At other times huge boulders were in the way, and divers had to be employed for months in the bed of the river, securing chains to these rough masses before they could be hooked up and taken away. When all was clear and progressing well the mere force of the swift current would sometimes destroy the dams, and masses of floating ice in ohe short win- ter's day laid waste the labour of a whole summer. It may give the reader some idea of the varied and over- whelming nature of the obstacles contended against, when it is stated that some piers were destroyed by ice and quicksands as often as six or seven times year after year, and that on the average of the whole twenty-four piers the works of each one were actually destroyed thrice. Only the genius of Stephenson and Ross, and only the unconquerable nerve and readiness of Mr. Hodges, to whom the entire work of the building was entrusted, could have overcome such obstacles, and persevered in the face of such apparently hopeless reverses. At last the piers got above water, and were faced towards the set of the current with a long massive wedge of granite masonry, strong and sharp enough to divide even the icefields of the St. Lawrence. Gradu- ally, and only working in the summer, they were built to the required height, and then the labour of con- structing the tubes commenced. The dangerous rapidity of the stream made it impossible that the tubes could be built on shore, floated out on rafts, and then raised to their positions in one piece, as was the case with the bridge at Menai. So the whole tube was k.\ THE VICTORIA BRIDGE. 123 first actually built in England, and sent out piecemeal, with every plate, bar, and angle-iron numbered with such minute exactness that, as far as the mere putting together was concerned, there was no more difficulty than with a child's toy. Thus, with the assistance of a temporary scaffolding stretched between ihe piers, tube after tube was slowly built across to the centre, where the great span of 380 feet comes. As may be imagined, the work of building this across with no supports from below presented a series of engineering difficulties such as have never yet been encountered in any piece of ironwork that was ever put together. Mr. Hodges, however, persevered and triumphed here, as he had done elsewhere, and at length at the close of 1859, five years after the commencement of the w Drk, the first stone and iron bridge over the St. Lawrence was completed. It was tested with a strain more than ten times greater than any which the ordinary exigen- cies of traffic could ever bring upon it ; and nothing exemphfied more strongly the confidence felt by Mr. Hodges in the strength of his work than the test to which he exposed it. A train was sent through it so heavily loaded that two of the most powerful engines were unable to move it. A third epgine was obtained, and even then the three were barely able to force the weight to the centre tube. Speaking of this tremendous test, Mr. Legge, C.E.,* says he well remembers the « peculiar feelings"' he ex- perienced when standing at the marking-post assigned him, surrounded by an Egyptian darkness, dense enough to be felt, arising from the condensed steam and the smoke of the engine, and totally obscuring the Hght of a glass lamp two feet distant. To thus stand * (( The Victoria Bridge, and the Men who Built it." IMI if j| :f:'l 1 \ ( 1 .:::j ii^ ' 'n^ 124 MONTREAL. i|[ closely pressed up against the side of the tube, with eyes and lamp brought within a few inches of the datum- line intently watching its movements, and leaving but sufficient room for the slipping, groaning, but invisible engines and their heavily -loaded cars to pass, with but a quarter of an inch of boiler-plate between time and eternity; or when mentally reasoned back to safety and security, and while listening, during the stoppage of the train, to the surging, crashing ice far below, as it swept past, to have those feelings of personal security dissipated in a moment by the thought of an overloaded car breaking down and burying the deflection-observer beneath its weight, was surely reason enough for the existence of the " peculiar feelings" alluded to. The deflection under this severe test was very little more than an inch, and the tubes recovered their original level the instant the load was removed. In a strategical point of view it seems rather a mis- take to cross the St. Lawrence at this spot, and thence continue the railway to Quebec along what may be called the American side of the St. Lawrence. In case of any " difticulty" with our western cousins a corpc ral's guard would suffice to capture the wliole 180 miles of line which stretch from Montreal to Quebec. Had it been taken along tht northern bank the broad rushing stream of the St. Lawrence would have been almost a complete safeguard, perhaps not from injury, but certainly from capture. A railway bridge over the St. Lawrence was, of course, necessary for communica- tion with the States, but taking such an important length of hue as that mentioned along the American side of the stream seems not only unnecessary, but imprudent in a military point of view. The Canadians, of course, think very highly of the Grand Trunk Kail- way, ixiid Well they may, for, however little the line has f; THE VICTOKU BBIDGE. 125 done fo. Its sharohoWers, it h„3 unquestionably