University of California Berkeley 
 
 THE PETER AND ROSELL HARVEY 
 
 MEMORIAL FUND 
 
$< 
 
 
 
**'! A * 
 
MEMOIR 
 
 OF 
 
 LEBSRON BOTSFORD, M.D. 
 
 BY HIS NIECE, 
 
 FRANCES ELIZABETH MURRAY, 
 
 " A doctor for near half a century, 
 He lived and laboured for the good of men, 
 Though called to watch the sick bed of the rich, 
 And earn the fee lor care and 'tendance due, 
 He never shrank at all unseemly hours 
 From waiting on the poor man's couch of pain, 
 And seeking to alleviate the ills 
 That human nature is foredoomed to bear." 
 
 SAINT JOHN, N. B. 
 
 J. & A. MCMILLAN, 98 PRINCE WM. STREET. 
 1892. 
 
Entered according to Act of Parliament of Canada, in the year 1892, by 
 
 FRANCES ELIZABETH MURRAY, 
 At the Department of Agriculture, Ottawa. 
 
TO 
 
 SIR SAMUEL LEONARD TILLEY, K.C.M.G., C.B., 
 
 AND TO 
 
 DR. BOTSFORD'S OTHER FRIENDS AND FELLOW-CITIZENS IN ST. JOHN, 
 THIS MEMOIR OF HIS LIFE 
 
 IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. 
 
PKEFACE. 
 
 In presenting this memoir of Dr. Botsford to the public, 
 the writer's aim has been to narrate the moulding circum- 
 stances which surrounded Dr. Botsford's childhood and youth, 
 vividly to depict him as he walked among us for so many 
 years a physician, friend, and citizen and partially to 
 reveal the hidden motor-power of Christian principle which 
 impelled the various professional, social, and benevolent 
 activities of his life. 
 
 The work is offered especially to St. John citizens, trusting 
 they will appreciate and endorse the effort which has been 
 made to produce it. It is the first record that has appeared 
 in book form of the life of a St. John citizen. May we not 
 hope that it will not be the last, but that in future such 
 memorials may be given us from time to time, to serve as 
 incentives and encouragements in the battle of life. 
 
 The writer wishes to thank those who have assisted in the 
 work by furnishing letters and papers, especially Dr. Henry 
 Hartt, of New York, and Mrs. Hartc, Rev. W. O. Raymond, 
 Mr. J. W. Lawrence, and Senator Botsford. 
 
 Thanks are also due for the picture of the interior of Old 
 Trinity Church, the plate for which was kindly lent by the 
 
 Rector. 
 
 FRANCES ELIZABETH MUKKAY. 
 
 ST. JOHN, May 22, 1892. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. Early Home Parentage Youth, 1812-1830, 9 
 
 II. First Religious Impressions College Life, 1830-1835, ... 30 
 
 III. Marriage Country Practice at Woodstock, 1835-1839, ... 47 
 
 IV. Professional Life in St. John, ... 59 
 
 V. Religious Opinions Religious Work, ... ... ... 72 
 
 VI. Political Opinions Ho'spital Work, 91 
 
 VII. The First Holiday The Natural History Society 1862, 103 
 VIII. Judge Botsford's Death, 1864 The Canadian Medical 
 
 Association, ... ... ... ... . . ... 115 
 
 IX. His Long Illness, 1875 The " Great Fire," 1877, ... 1 43 
 
 X. A Trip to the South, 1878 Mrs. Botsford's Death, 1884, 162 
 
 * XI. A Trip to California Lecture upon the Trip, 1886, ... 186 
 
 XII. The Last Year His Death, 1888 , 227 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 I. Memorial Letters, 251 
 
 II. Memorial Resolutions, 255 
 
 III. Notices of the Press, 262 
 
 IV. Address before the Natural History Society on "The 
 
 Thumb," " 266 
 
 V. Lecture on Hygiene, ... ... .. ... ... ... 271 
 
 VI. Paper on "The Supernatural, based on Scientific In- 
 
 duction," 281 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Westcock, 11 
 
 Interior of Trinity Church, 21 
 
 The Little Church of St. Ann's, ... .. 27 
 
 Penn School House, 171 
 
 View of the West End of Trinity Church, 178 
 
 .XWarwona, Mariposa Grove, 221 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 EARLY HOME PARENTAGE YOUTH. 
 
 Our times are in His hand 
 Who said " a Whole I planned." 
 Youth shows but half ; 
 See all. Trust God, 
 
 Nor be afraid. 
 
 Browning. 
 
 On a low, wooded hill, overlooking the head waters 
 of the Bay of Fundy, stands the " old-fashioned country 
 seat" built upwards of a hundred years ago by Dr. 
 Botsford's grandfather, Amos Botsford " Speaker 
 Botsford," as he was popularly called. From the 
 "antique portico," across which 
 
 " Tall poplar trees their shadows throw," 
 
 you see on the right, upland pastures, fragrant with 
 sweet-scented grass (anthox-anthum odoratum) ; on the 
 left the garden and orchard. Before you stretches the 
 trim lawn, shaded by chestnut trees, bordered with 
 flowers and sheltered from bleak winds by a high, 
 well-clipt hawthorn hedge. Beyond the syringas 
 and flowering shrubs at the foot of the lawn, the eye 
 ranges over wide meadow-lands or marshes, dotted 
 with trees. Then, as now, the cloud-shadows floated 
 over the green expanse and the Bay beyond, over the 
 little settlement to the north snd the Wood-Point 
 ledges to the south. Then, as now, the coast of 
 Nova Scotia, with the Cobequid Mountains and the 
 old Fortress Beau S6jour, closed the eastern horizon. 
 
 (9) 
 
10 EARLY HOME. 
 
 Then, as now, the great tides of the Bay of Fundy 
 swept up sixty feet over the rich mud banks then, as 
 now, but all else has changed. The little settlement 
 has grown into thriving Sackville, with its colleges, 
 its Conservatory of Music, its churches, its pretty 
 houses, and, of course, its station. The ledges of 
 Wood-Point resound with the quarryman's pickaxe, and 
 send their building blocks of freestone to New York, 
 Chicago, Toronto, while close to the old, dismantled 
 fortresses one of the great engineering enterprises of 
 the day has been commenced, the Chignecto Marine 
 Railway, on which ships are to be carried overland 
 from the Bay of Fundy to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 
 Thus has this colonial outpost kept pace with the 
 march of the age. 
 
 But this is only the framework of the picture. 
 The old home itself cannot so easily be described. 
 Comfort reigned within a pretty dining-room, a 
 large, handsome family drawing-room, a library (or 
 office) well lined with books, wide halls, sunny bed- 
 rooms and the "old clock on the stair." Behind 
 the house was the large, low kitchen, with its 
 old-fashioned fireplace, the "moss covered bucket" at 
 the well, the ample barnyard and farm buildings, 
 protected by a grove of spruce trees, the huge wood 
 pile, the lowing cattle, the twittering swallows ; these 
 are some of the main features of the homestead. 
 
 Its hospitality was well known. The red Indian, 
 wrapped in his blanket, slept at the kitchen fire. 
 French labourers bivouacked at harvest time in the 
 barn. Weary immigrants stopped for a mid-day meal 
 at the kitchen table. Officers, both military and naval, 
 came for a few days of snipe-shooting. Clergymen 
 
PARENTAGE YOUTH. 13 
 
 passing with their families to distant parishes rested 
 there. Judges and lawyers on their circuits, bishops 
 on their confirmation tours, governors and their suites, 
 all were given a warm welcome by the old Speaker or 
 his still more genial son, Judge Botsford. All carried 
 away a pleasant impression of Westcock, the ideal of a 
 colonial home. 
 
 The Botsfords were an old family from Leicester- 
 shire, England. They emigrated and settled in New- 
 ton, Connecticut, where they rose to eminence and 
 wealth. Speaker Botsford was educated in Yale 
 College. He graduated in 1763, and was tutor in Yale 
 in 1768, but when the Revolutionary War broke out he 
 felt that duty and honour called upon him to join the 
 royal cause. He was then in the prime of life, and, 
 when the fight was fought and the victory gained by 
 his opponents, he took his wife, daughter and little son 
 (nine years old), and sailed from New York for 
 Annapolis, Nova Scotia, arriving there in October^ 
 1782. 
 
 Amos Botsford may very fairly be considered as the 
 pioneer of the extensive loyalist immigration which laid' 
 the foundation of the City of St. John and of the 
 Province of New Brunswick. This will be more 
 apparent from a consideration of the following docu- 
 mentary evidence : 
 
 [Extract from the " Political Magazine," Published in London, 
 A. D., 1783.] 
 
 " When the loyal refugees from the Northern Provinces 
 were informed of the resolution of the House of Commons 
 against offensive war with the rebels, they instantly saw there 
 were no hopes left them of settling down again in their native 
 country. 
 
14 EARLY HOME. 
 
 " Those of them, therefore, who had been forward in taking 
 up arms and in fighting the battles of the mother country, 
 began to look out for a place of refuge, and Nova Scotia 
 being the nearest place to their old plantations, they deter- 
 mined on settling in that province. 
 
 " Accordingly, to the number of 500, they embarked for 
 Annapolis Royal ; they had arms and ammunition, and one 
 year's provisions, and were put under the care and convoy of 
 his Majesty's ship Amphitrite, of 24 guns, Captain Robert 
 Briggs. This officer behaved to them with great attention, 
 humanity and generosity, and saw them safely landed and 
 settled in the barracks at Annapolis, which the Loyalists soon 
 repaired. There was plenty of wild fowl in the country and 
 at that time which was last fall a goose sold for two 
 shillings and a turkey for two shillings and sixpence. The 
 Captain was at 200 expense out of his own pocket in order 
 to render the passage and arrival of the unfortunate Loyalists 
 in some degree comfortable to them. Before Captain Briggs 
 sailed from Annapolis, the grateful Loyalists waited on him 
 with the following address: 
 
 " To Robert Briggs, Esq., Commander of His Majesty's Ship 
 ' Amphitrite ' : 
 
 1 The Loyal Refugees, who have emigrated from New York 
 to settle in Nova Scotia, beg your acceptance of their warmest 
 thanks for the kind and unremitted attention you have paid 
 to their preservation and safe conduct at all times during their 
 
 1 Driven from their respective dwellings for their loyalty to 
 our King, after enduring immense hardships, and seeking a 
 settlement in a land unknown to us, our distresses were sen- 
 sibly relieved during an uncomfortable passage by your 
 humanity, ever attentive to our preservation. 
 
 * Be pleased to accept our most grateful acknowledgment, so 
 justly due to you and the officers under your command, and be 
 
PARENTAGE YOUTH. 15 
 
 assured we shall remember your kindness with the most grate- 
 ful sensibility. We are, with the warmest wishes for your 
 health and happiness, and a prosperous voyage, with the 
 greatest respect, your most obedient humble servants, 
 
 In behalf of the Refugees, 
 
 AMOS. BOTSFORD, 
 TH. WARD, 
 FRED. HAUSER, 
 SAM. CUMMINGS, 
 ELIJAH WILLIAMS. 
 Annapolis Royal, the 20th October, 1782.' 
 
 " The Rev. Jacob Bailey, the S. P. G. missionary at Anna- 
 polis (himself a refugee from the Kennebec in Maine), speaking 
 of the arrival of this party said : * Every habitation is 
 crowded and many are unable to procure any lodgings. 
 Many of these distressed people left large possessions in the 
 rebellious colonies, and their sufferings on account of their 
 loyalty, and their present uncertain and destitute condition 
 render them very affecting objects of compassion.' On Octo- 
 ber 27 Mr. Bailey preached * a refugee sermon' from Psalm 
 cvii. 2, 3." 
 
 Amos Botsford was selected as an agent for the 
 Loyalists, and he proceeded to make an examination 
 of the country on the shores of the Bay of Fundy and 
 of the St. John River. The results of this examina- 
 tion were communicated in a letter of January, 1783, 
 to the Loyalists in New York, and there cannot be the 
 slightest doubt that the information thus conveyed 
 determined the large emigration trom New York to 
 "Saint John's River" the following spring. The first 
 fleet of over thirty vessels arrived May 11 and landed 
 a week later. A second fleet of thirteen ships arrived 
 
16 EARLY HOME. 
 
 June 29, and a fleet of about the same size on October 4. 
 These fleets carried about 6,000 people, and nearly 
 4,000 more arrived at intervals during the summer. 
 
 Amos Botsford had associated with him a civil 
 engineer, Frederick Hauser, who probably accom- 
 panied him on the explorations made of the St. John 
 River. 
 
 Amos Botsford drew lots 202 and 203, in Parr 
 Town, situated on the south-east corner of Union and 
 Prince William Streets, directly opposite the Odd 
 Fellows' Hall. 
 
 The letter written by Amos Botsford is found in 
 Beamish Murdoch's Hist, of Nova Scotia, Vol. III. * 
 
 Amos Botsford remained in Annapolis a year or 
 two. He then moved northward to Fort Beau Sejour. 
 He bought the hill called by the Indians Weckekawk 
 (Anglicized Westcock) from a former grantee, and 
 there, in 1790, he built his house. After its comple- 
 tion he was standing one day at the window of the 
 library with a friend. His thoughts went back to 
 his former home in the pleasant valley of the Con- 
 necticut. "Here we are, M ," said he, "on this 
 
 bleak side of the Bay of Fundy." It was the last 
 expressed regret. The strong man turned resolutely 
 from the past and set manfully to work for his 
 adopted country. During the summer he superin- 
 tended the draining and dyking of the marshes, 
 turning them into rich meadow-lands. The winter 
 found him in St. John or Fredericton assisting in 
 the organization of the new Province. He was 
 elected Speaker by the first House of Assembly, 1786, 
 
 *For this account of the arrival of Amos Botsford I am indebted to 
 the Rev. W. O. Raymond. F. E. M. 
 
PARENTAGE YOUTH. 17 
 
 and afterwards re-elected by each successive House 
 until his death, having filled the office of Speaker for 
 twenty-six years. The following interesting remarks 
 about him are made by his son's classmate in the 
 " Memoirs of the Class of 1792, Yale College," by Rev. 
 T. M. Cooley and Hon. James Cooley : " Inconsequence 
 of adhering to the royal cause, he was proscribed by his 
 country and his property confiscated, yet, such was the 
 estimation in which he was held by his numerous 
 friends in Connecticut, that by their influence that 
 State was induced to grant him the privilege of collect- 
 ing his debts, to be applied to the education of his 
 children. Such was his character for integrity that 
 when he laid his claim for losses before the Honorable 
 Commissioners appointed by Act of Parliament for 
 enquiring into the losses and services of American 
 loyalists, his own statement^of the amount of his real 
 and personal estate was deemed by them sufficient 
 without further proof." * 
 
 The Speaker's son William and his daughter Sarah 
 were sent back to Connecticut to school. Sarah 
 returned after a year or two and married Mr. Stephen 
 Milledge, afterwards High Sheriff of Westmorland. 
 She settled near her father at Westcock, and became 
 the mother of one son and five daughters. 
 
 William entered Yale College, graduating in 1792. 
 He then returned to St. John, ISTew Brunswick, and 
 commenced the study of law. He was admitted to the 
 Bar in 1795, and soon began to be successful in his 
 profession, while his genial spirit gathered round him 
 a large social circle. There are still in existence 
 several letters written in the years 1796, 1797, 1798, by 
 
 *This manuscript memoir is in the possession of Senator Botsford. 
 
18 EARLY HOME. 
 
 Elizabeth Upham, a gay, bright girl of that period. 
 They are addressed to her cousin, William Botsford, 
 during his visits to his father in Westmorland. These 
 letters sparkle with wit and good-humoured satire, and 
 contain a description of St. John society by one who 
 mingled in it and enjoyed it thoroughly. The names 
 of Chipman, Hazen, De Wolfe, Murray, White, Jarvis, 
 Botsford, frequently occur, with others, such as 
 Putnam and Bissett, which have long since passed 
 away. We hear of our great-grandmothers, their 
 " Assemblies," their " Gregories " (receptions), their 
 flirtations, their weddings, for " men may come and men 
 may go, but these go on for ever." The following extract 
 from one of these letters shows us the estimation in 
 which young William Botsford was held, and gives us 
 a glimpse of his future wife (Dr. Botsford's mother), a 
 beautiful Miss Hazen, wfio had just married the old 
 Loyalist Colonel Murray's son. The letter is dated 
 Feb. 19th, 1797, St. John : 
 
 " As you seem to have a pretty good idea of female 
 versatility you will not be surprised, dear cousin William, to 
 perceive by the date of this that I am once more, in spite of 
 all wise determinations to the contrary, a visitor in the city." 
 
 Then follows an account of an assembly in which 
 
 " We girls gave an incontestable proof of our good nature 
 by being in high spirits when there was absolutely such a 
 scarcity of beaux that Mrs. Chipman and Miss White got up 
 together in the first dance. I, who drew the first number, 
 sent to ask half-a-dozen gentlemen, and was at last obliged to 
 dance with the manager, and plaguey glad was I to get him. 
 I do not exaggerate when I say that we were all the evening 
 
PARENTAGE YOUTH. 19 
 
 chasing Dingwell, and jostling off the poor old soul's wig in 
 
 attemps to catch him for a partner 
 
 We are going to a Gregory at Lowell's this evening ; I wish 
 you were to be of the party. Your laugh, the fame of which 
 still lingers among us, and is celebrated by all lovers of mirth, 
 would be a great relief to the stupidity of our young meet- 
 ings." 
 
 But, notwithstanding the scarcity of " Beaux " and 
 the stupidity of the meetings, we find her saying : 
 
 "I cannot but feel a little alarmed at the diminution the 
 last six months have made in our number. Many of our 
 apparently most trusty characters have apostatized from their 
 declared faith, and become converts to matrimony. What 
 think you of Miss Gaynor and Miss Irons forsaking the vestal 
 standard in their old age and espousing the fashionable cause ? 
 It don't signify, the world is governed by fashion in this point 
 as well as every other. People oftener marry from the dread 
 of being thought singular (I believe) than from any par- 
 ticular fancy for each other. Not but what I suppose there 
 exists such a thing as real love. God forbid that I should 
 think there did not. I have no intention of throwing such a 
 reflection upon the human heart. Indeed, some of the dishes 
 of matrimony which have been cooked lately, I know to be 
 highly seasoned with it. The wedding I was at last summer 
 was a love match altogether, and, I am told, is like to prove a 
 very happy one. Miss Murray (the Honourable R. L. Hazen's 
 mother), I think, we may set down as a traitor of the first 
 magnitude. She acted in direct opposition to the doctrines 
 she preached. Murray's (her brother) marriage took us quite 
 by surprise at last. I have scarcely seen them. They went 
 up the river immediately after my coining to town. They re- 
 side with my grandmother for the present. It would do your 
 heart good to see how happy and laughing that good lady 
 looks upon the occasion. Well she may, for, I am sure, if I 
 
20 EARLY HOME. 
 
 am not wonderfully blinded by partiality, her son has chosen 
 a most amiable, as well as most lovely woman, for his wife. 
 Her mind, I believe to be as good as her person is charming. 
 Heaven grant that Murray may be always sensible of her 
 merit, and prove himself grateful for the preference so fine a 
 woman has honoured him with. I think him at present rather 
 too boyish and brusque in his manner, but Sally has influence, 
 and the kind of influence that will be most likely to soften 
 him." 
 
 A few weeks after this letter was written the 
 " boyish " Murray took cold while driving down the 
 river on the ice. Consumption set in, and, after a 
 short illness, he was laid in an early grave. The 
 following quaint notice appeared in the "St. John 
 Gazette" Friday, May 5th, 1797: 
 
 " Died on Wednesday last, universally and justly lamented, 
 after a short confinement with a severe hectic complaint, 
 Thomas Murray, Esq., Attorney-at-Law, and one of the 
 Masters in Chancery in this Province, in the 22nd year of his 
 age." 
 
 The widow went to live with her sister, Mrs. 
 Chipman, in the Chipman House, and there her baby 
 boy was born several months after his father's death. 
 Two years were passed in the strictest seclusion, but 
 when for the first time she took her seat in the family 
 pew in Trinity Church it so happened that the popular 
 young lawyer (William Botsford) sat opposite. It was 
 a square pew, more fitted for observation than devo- 
 tion. That Sunday he met his destiny. When an old 
 man of 86, Judge Botsford pointed out to a grand- 
 daughter, with a smile of pleasure, " the place, my 
 dear, where I first saw your grandmother, the beauti- 
 
"THE FAMILY PEW IN TRINITY CHURCH." 
 
 THIS PEW (NEAR THE THIRD PILLAR ON THE LEFT HAND) WAS SUBSEQUENTLY OWNED AND OCCUPIED BY 
 DR. BOTSFORD UNTIL THE CHURCH WAS BURNED IN 1877. 
 
PARENTAGE YOUTH. 23 
 
 ful Mrs. Murray." His visits at his friend, Judge 
 Chipman's house, became more frequent, and the 
 pretty boy was loaded with balls, tops and other 
 toys before his demure aunt, Mrs. Chipman, divined 
 the object of the young lawyer's attention. Much 
 patience and perseverance were needed ; relations did 
 not approve of the match, and three years more passed 
 away before Mrs. Murray consented to become Mrs. 
 William Botsford. They were married in 1802 by Dr. 
 Byles, the Hector of Trinity Church. Wm. Botsford 
 and his wife resided in St. John for several years in 
 the enjoyment of some of life's best gifts health, com- 
 petence, friends, and professional success. Three little 
 boys were born, in 1803, 1804, 1806, Hazen, Edwin 
 and Charles. In 1807 a change came. Speaker 
 Botsford's health was failing, though he was not more 
 than 63 years of age. He longed for the companion- 
 ship of his only son. The property needed attention, 
 and the old gentleman wrote to the young couple 
 urging them to come to the country and make West- 
 cock their home. At the present day we can scarcely 
 realize the sacrifice this involved. Now the whistle of 
 the railway train can be heard from the old homestead, 
 twenty times in the day. St. John is left after an 
 early breakfast, and Westcock is reached before 2 p. M. 
 Then a voyage of several days in a small coasting 
 schooner, or a week's ride through the forest over a 
 bridle path, were the only means of access. But there 
 was no hesitation. The call of duty was felt to be im- 
 perative, and in the early summer of 1807 William 
 Botsford, accompanied by his wife and little family, left 
 St. John, and exchanged the animation and bustle of a 
 thriving city for the isolation and tranquility of a 
 
24 EARLY HOME. 
 
 country home. Speaker Botsford lived five years to 
 enjoy the society of his son. Two more grandchildren 
 were born in 1807 and 1809, George and Chipman, 
 and on January 26th, 1812, Mrs. Botsford's seventh 
 son, LeBaron, opened his eyes in this changing and 
 changeful world. 
 
 During the following summer Speaker Botsford's 
 health failed so rapidly that it was deemed advisable 
 for him to seek medical treatment in St. John. He 
 left his home for the last time, accompanied by his 
 daughter-in-law and her infant. On reaching St. John 
 he became rapidly worse, and died September 14th, 
 1812. His remains now lie in the Rural Cemetery, 
 close to the tall old monument erected by his son to 
 the Speaker's memory. 
 
 Before returning to the country, Mrs. Botsford had 
 her infant baptized by Dr. By lea. It was natural that 
 she should wish that the old clergyman who married 
 her should baptize her child, but she did not know 
 how fitting it was that this one of her sons, whose 
 future life was to be so closely identified with St. John, 
 should be admitted into the church by the Rector of 
 Trinity. The name LeBaron was the maiden name 
 of Mrs. Botsford's mother. Family tradition says it 
 was assumed as a sir-name by one of her ancestors, a 
 French Baron, who fled from the Huguenot persecu- 
 tion in the 17th century, was shipwrecked on the JS"ew 
 England coast, where he married and settled. Little 
 LeBaron grew up a bright, joyous boy, with blue eyes, 
 a sweet smile and a merry laugh. Schiller's descrip- 
 tion of a happy boyhood, when 
 
 " The tender cares of a mother's love, 
 Guard well life's golden morning," 
 
PARENTAGE YOUTH. 25 
 
 was particularly true of the Botsford boys ; for owing 
 to their father's long absences on public and profes- 
 sional business, the supervision and training of this 
 large family fell chiefly on the mother. Just after 
 LeBaron's birth, Mr. William Botsford, at his father's 
 death, had to assume the responsibilities of a large 
 landed property. His private and professional occupa- 
 tions might well have formed an excuse for attention 
 devoted only to these claims, but with William Bots- 
 ford private interests were ever subservient to the 
 public welfare. He personally superintended the lay- 
 ing out and making of roads between the widely 
 scattered settlements, and as an old man he often re- 
 lated with humour the discovery of various tricks 
 which, trusting to his nearsightedness, country con- 
 tractors endeavoured to practise upon him. One man 
 had merely cut off the ends of the logs in a corduroy 
 road instead of removing them. They were daubed 
 with mud, but did not escape Mr. Botsford's observa- 
 tion, and " the scamp had to do his work honestly 
 before he got his money." 
 
 Mr. Botsford took an active part in the militia drill. 
 The Westmorland militia, through his personal interest 
 and energy, being far in advance of those of other 
 counties. 
 
 Education received a full share of attention. He 
 was often present at the examinations of the country 
 schools ; and, believing with Shakespeare that 
 
 " Ignorance is the curse of God ; knowledge the wing wherewith we 
 fly to heaven," 
 
 he made many efforts in aid of the Fredericton Uni- 
 versity, which owes its endowment in great part to Mr. 
 
26 EARLY HOME. 
 
 Botsford's personal exertions, both in and out of the 
 Legislature. Lastly, he was a consistent member and 
 active friend of the Church of England. It cannot 
 be denied that in this respect he met many difficulties. 
 It was very hard to get suitable men for the country 
 parishes of a distant colony, but Mr. Botsford never 
 wavered in his allegiance to the church. When diffi- 
 culties occurred, he mediated between clergy and laity. 
 He got grants of land from the government for several 
 parishes, and chiefly by his own untiring exertions the 
 little church of St. Ann's was built, not close to his 
 own house, but in a nook in the woods, where it was 
 within reach of church people, both in Sackville and 
 Dorchester. He did all in his power by precept and 
 example to promote the observance of the weekly day 
 of rest and regular attendance on divine worship. To 
 such public-spirited men of the olden time New Bruns- 
 wick owes much of its present prosperity and success. 
 
 While Mr. Botsford's time was thus fully occupied, 
 his wife held the reins of household government with 
 a gentle though firm hand. The tall stately figure 
 commanded respect, the broad fair brow was seldom 
 darkened by a frown, the sweet lips uttered no fretful 
 nor impatient words, but the mother's will was law 
 and even her wishes were obeyed. The fields and 
 woods might resound with noise and shouts, within 
 doors, and especially at table, reigned the respectful 
 silence, which in those days was thought befitting 
 young people. On New Year's day the rule was re- 
 laxed, and from early morning till late at night, tin 
 whistles, trumpets and every noise that boyish inge- 
 nuity could invent welcomed the New Year. 
 
 A large and sudden increase in Mrs. Botsford's 
 
PARENTAGE YOUTH. 29 
 
 household cares was made by the introduction into 
 the family of five nieces. Their father, Sheriff 
 Mill edge, died from a cold taken during a long winter 
 drive. The widow and only son went to Digby to at- 
 tend to some law business. As they were landing 
 from the ship in a small boat it was capsized, and they 
 were both drowned. The wail that arose when the 
 poor girls heard the news was heart-rending. Their 
 uncle and aunt did all that was possible to comfort 
 them. Room was made for them at once at West- 
 cock, and there they remained until provided with 
 homes of their own. One of them married Edward 
 Chandler, then, as he often boasted, a penniless but 
 active-brained young cousin, studying law with Mr. 
 Botsford. He died as Governor of the Province. 
 
 After LeBaron's birth, two more boys and two girls 
 were added to the family, Bliss, Sarah, Eliza, Blair, 
 and the group was complete. The elder half-brother 
 was absent at school or college, but he kept up active 
 correspondence with his mother. The following boyish 
 letter is one of several written in 1814, just as the 
 great struggle with Napoleon was supposed to be over, 
 and preparations were being made to send the regi- 
 ments which had been in active service out to the 
 Colonies : 
 
 ST. JOHN, Saturday, July 16th, 1814. 
 Dear Mother : 
 
 We arrived here last Saturday after a tedious and uncom- 
 fortable navigation. Betsey was so sick that she did not 
 move from her berth from the time of our embarkation until 
 we arrived within Partridge Island. I was pretty well until 
 Thursday, when we had a heavy sea, abundance of fog and 
 no wind, which was enough in all conscience to knock any- 
 
30 EARLY HOME. 
 
 body up. You put up enough provision to last a fortnight at 
 least, and as Betsey eat nothing and I nothing after Thurs- 
 day, there was plenty left. 
 
 I found all my friends here well. . . . The vessel goes 
 to-morrow. I have sent by her four cocoanuts, which I hope 
 you will receive safe, though I would not answer for them. I 
 do not know how Betsey did about the basket and jar, as for 
 my part the food in the devilish basket gave me such a 
 ' nausea, that I would not look at it for a dollar. I have got 
 Eliza's (one of his orphan cousins) whip, bridle and gloves. 
 The whip is good, the bridle tolerable, but as for the gloves, 
 they appear to me to be poor things, but old Lady Nutting 
 told me they were "Ladies' beaver gloves," and you told me 
 to ask her. I found all the good Fellows of the College here. 
 . . . There was a party at Mr. Peters' the first night I 
 came, and happening to meet one of the family I got an in- 
 vitation and accordingly went. I have been since at Mr. 
 Parker's and Mr. Robinson's, and we had a subscription ball 
 on Tuesday, which was very pleasant, but we had to break up 
 
 at 12 o'clock, for General and Mrs. S are residing at 
 
 the Coffee House and the old curmudgeon ordered the band 
 
 off at that hour. Mrs. S is a very pretty woman I 
 
 think, and he is poor, half-starved and insignificant looking. 
 The London fleet has arrived, which makes plenty of bustle 
 about the town. All your friends here expected you down 
 and every person I met asked, "Well, I suppose your mother 
 is down with you," and seemed much surprised when I told 
 
 them you had not come. I was walking with Mrs! M 
 
 and her two daughters one day and met Dr. N who 
 
 did not know me at first. I bowed to him, and as Mrs. 
 
 M and he, of course, stopped and spoke to each other, 
 
 I asked if he was going to Westmorland. He said, yes, he was 
 going, and, I thought, very coldly passed on ; but after he 
 passed he asked Capt. Coffin (who was with him) who it was, 
 and I heard some one come shouting back " Murray, Murray." 
 I found the Doctor running back, and then he kept me half 
 
PARENTAGE YOUTH. 31 
 
 an hour answering questions, while the whole time I was try- 
 ing to edge off. . . . They have a number of fine officers 
 here of the 99th, though some of the best went yesterday to 
 Moose Head, of the capture of which I suppose Ayres will 
 give you all information. ... I will thank you to send 
 by the first vessel a large key I left in the drawer. It belongs 
 to one of my doors at College. You may send it with my 
 shirt and the bag of money I left in the small upper drawer 
 in my room, to which you may add a doubloon if you choose, 
 for I am afraid I shall be in want of money. With my love 
 to all the family. 
 
 I am yours affectionately, 
 
 JOHN THOS. MURRAY. 
 
 P. S. Grandmother, Aunt Chipman, and all your friends, 
 desire to be particularly remembered to you. They have 
 great hope of seeing Mrs. Fitzgerald (another aunt) shortly, 
 for we find by the newspaper, that two battalions of the 60th 
 are ordered to embark from Bordeaux for America, to one 
 of which the Colonel (afterwards Sir John) belongs, so that 
 she will come with him, I think. J. T. M. 
 
 Murray returned occasionally to Westcock to see his 
 mother and to be the wonder and admiration of his 
 younger brothers, for the pretty boy had become a 
 handsome young fellow, with the courtly grace and 
 debonnair manner of his grandfather, the old Colonel. 
 Murray married in Halifax a Miss Despard, the 
 daughter of an English officer. He soon showed 
 symptoms of his father's delicacy of constitution, and, 
 after spending two years in Italy, he died in eai?iy man- 
 hood, leaving a widow and three little girls. 
 
 The Botsford boys meanwhile grew up healthy and 
 happy. They attended the country school and studied, 
 or played, or quarrelled, as the case might be, with the 
 
32 EARLY HOME. 
 
 country girls. Picnics were made to the u blueberry 
 plains" in summer, and coasting parties slid down the 
 snowy hills in winter. The younger boys chased 
 squirrels; the older ones shot snipe and partridges. 
 When they outgrew the country school, the Rector of 
 the parish took them as pupils. The Rev. Christopher 
 Milner was a sturdy, rough-and-ready Englishman. 
 He managed to hammer some knowledge into the 
 boys. He did not, however, inspire them with much 
 reverence, and innumerable pranks were played by 
 the mischief-loving, frolicsome lads on their master. 
 
 So time passed on with " arrowy swiftness." The 
 boys' characters began to take shape and to act and re- 
 act on each other. Hazen grew tall and broad, with a 
 fair skin, an eagle eye and much frank good nature. 
 Edwin was thin, taciturn and self-contained. Charles 
 had a smooth smile and a ready tongue. George, with 
 easy self-possession, had a sly twinkle in his eye he 
 could lead into mischief and yet keep clear himself. 
 Chip was quiet and grave. LeBaron combined in a 
 remarkable degree his father's firm conscientiousness, 
 with his mother's sweetness and consideration for 
 others. Many stories are told of what was called 
 boyish obstinacy, which, when controlled by maturer 
 judgment, became the indomitable firmness of a noble 
 man. Bliss was solid, very painstaking, but slow. 
 Blair, the youngest, was full of fun, frolic and quaint 
 sayings. The characters of the daughters were also 
 strongly marked. Sarah, afterwards Mrs. R. L. 
 Hazen, was tall, handsome, imperious, yet she attracted 
 even when she seemed to repel. Eliza was a pretty 
 little creature, the pet and favorite of all who knew 
 her. Such was this remarkable family in the midst of 
 
PARENTAGE YOUTH. 33 
 
 which Dr. Botsford grew up. Most of them occupied 
 prominent positions in life. All but two have now 
 passed away. 
 
 LeBaron's future profession had been settled at a 
 very early age, at least in his own mind. He often re- 
 lated the apparently trivial circumstances that decided 
 it. One evening, when he was about seven years of 
 age, as he was standing by the log fire which roared 
 up the capacious kitchen chimney, a Yorkshire labourer 
 on the place took the child on his knee. " Young 
 maister, what'll thou be when thou's a man ?" he said 
 in his broad Yorkshire dialect. The child opened his 
 eyes wide, but did not answer. " I'se knows ; thou'll 
 be a doctor. Thou 'ast a healing 'and. Thou's thy 
 mother's seventh son." The short speech in the un- 
 couth dialect was never forgotten. Dr. Botsford often 
 referred to the old Yorkshire labourer as having been, 
 in the Providence of God, the determining cause in the 
 choice of his profession. Whenever his thoughts 
 turned to the future, the idea implanted thus early 
 always recurred. 
 
 When he was fourteen years of age his father 
 sent him to Windsor to school, and after remaining 
 there two years he was removed to the Grammar 
 School at Fredericton. The following description of 
 him, on his first arrival, is given by his friend and 
 fellow-student, Dr. Henry A. Hartt, of New York: 
 "I met LeBaron Botsford first one morning in 1826, at 
 the Grammar School in Fredericton. He was playing 
 marbles before the door of Dr. Somerville's embryo 
 college. He had just come from his country home, 
 a tall lad of fourteen, in blue jacket and trousers, 
 fresh and rosy, with a pleasant but serious counten- 
 
34 EARLY HOME. 
 
 ance, and an air of independence remarkable for his 
 age. I immediately inquired who he was, and felt 
 interested in him from that moment. He was put in 
 the class to which I belonged, and we soon became 
 great friends. We sat beside each other at the desk, 
 and studied from the same book, often stopping to talk 
 on all manner of subjects, secular and sacred, and I 
 remember well how, with characteristic suddenness, 
 and apparent sternness, he was wont to bring these 
 confabs to a close by saying : " Stop, Hartt, we must 
 now go on with our lessons." 
 
 At school Dr. Botsford was thorough, painstaking, 
 but not rapid. One defect that of a verbal memory 
 he often regretted as a serious hindrance, although 
 in future life it probably gave greater originality to his 
 thoughts and compositions. Then, again, the methods 
 of tuition sixty years ago were not as advanced as at 
 present. Educational modes did not yield to in- 
 dividual peculiarities there was but one system for 
 all so that it often happened, as it did in Dr. Bots- 
 ford's case, that teacher and pupil did not understand 
 each other. Great efforts were made to learn certain 
 formularies, while the inquiring mind was seeking 
 light in other directions. The result was not satisfac- 
 tory. The pupil knew that he was not advancing, and 
 worse still, he became discouraged, and often felt that 
 he could never advance. This is not an imaginary 
 description. Dr. Botsford often spoke of it as his 
 mental attitude on leaving school previous to his 
 entering the University of Fredericton. 
 
 His residence at the University did not last long. 
 
 Dr. J , the Principal, was an able and erudite man, 
 
 but he lacked the power of maintaining discipline. Dis- 
 
PARENTAGE YOUTH. 35 
 
 orders occurred repeatedly. It was thought necessary 
 to make a striking" example, and for some slight mis- 
 demeanor, such as remaining out one night a few 
 moments beyond closing time, LeBaron and his 
 brother Bliss were rusticated for six months. This was 
 a serious drawback for studious lads. How deeply 
 LeBaron felt it may be inferred from a slight allusion 
 in a letter written fifty years afterwards : "I recollect 
 the case of Bliss and myself too keenly to think such 
 things a bagatelle." 
 
 After some consideration, Judge Botsford, for he 
 had been elevated to the Bench in 1824, determined 
 that LeBaron should proceed to Scotland to, begin his 
 medical studies at the Glasgow University. He ac- 
 cordingly sailed from St. John for Glasgow, July, 1831. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 RELIGIOUS IMPRESSIONS COLLEGE LIFE. 
 
 u Why should we fear youth's draught of joy, 
 If pure, would sparkle less?" 
 
 Keble. 
 
 The period of four years spent by LeBaron Botsford 
 in his medical studies (from the age of nineteen to that 
 of twenty-three) is, perhaps, one of the most formative 
 in a man's life. With him it was peculiarly so, for it 
 was during this time that his religious consciousness 
 awoke, his religious feelings became deep and strong, 
 his religious principles took that peculiar shape which 
 exercised such a dominant influence over his future 
 life. Hitherto, with his health and buoyant spirits, 
 life had been like a " long, long summer's day." But 
 during the many tranquil hours of a sailing voyage 
 across the Atlantic, deeper feelings were stirred. He 
 became conscious of the faint pulsations of an inner 
 life. Very seldom, indeed, did Dr. Botsford unveil his 
 secret feelings, but he spoke to a friend of this transi- 
 tion state as being one of great despondency. " I 
 felt," he said, " utterly worthless, as if I could never 
 be anything, nor do anything; as if I could never 
 think for myself, but should be led by every one with 
 whom I came in contact." What gave rise to these 
 feelings in such a self-reliant, decided nature we cannot 
 say. Perhaps the best answer is, " The wind bloweth 
 where it listeth. Thou nearest the sound thereof, but 
 (36) 
 
COLLEGE LIFE. 37 
 
 canst not tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth, 
 so is every one that is born of the Spirit." 
 
 At the time of LeBaron's student life in Glasgow, 
 Dr. Chalmers was electrifying the Established Church 
 of Scotland with his vigorous eloquence. He urged 
 upon his hearers with almost apostolic fervour that 
 form of Divine truth known as " evangelical religion." 
 These views have always been held by large numbers 
 in the Church of England, but they come into more 
 prominence at one period of her history than at 
 another. The manly preaching of Dr. Chalmers and 
 his successor in the Tron Church, Dr. Dewer, attracted 
 crowds of students, among them LeBaron Botsford. 
 He had learned the leading truths of Christianity at 
 his mother's knee, but they were lying dormant in his 
 mind until, in the good providence of God, the great 
 preacher's voice roused them into activity. From this 
 time forth consciousness of error and failure, though 
 never lost from sight, was accompanied by a firm faith 
 in the great doctrine of the Atonement and by prayer- 
 ful trust in the guidance of the Eternal Spirit. On 
 this triple foundation Dr. Botsford's religious life was 
 built. This was the spiritual force from which resulted 
 long years of devotion to God and of unwearied activ- 
 ity for the good of his fellow-men. 
 
 We may not try to look too closely into the myster- 
 ious workings of the human heart, yet we may say 
 there were three marked characteristics of Dr. Bots- 
 ford's inner life his unfeigned humility, his prayer- 
 fulness, his interest in the spiritual welfare of others. 
 His humility was especially to be noticed in his family 
 prayers, which were usually extemporaneous. The 
 penitential expressions of the Psalms seemed to rise 
 
RELIGIOUS IMPRESSIONS. 
 
 spontaneously to his lips, and, although he heard con- 
 stantly words of direct or indirect appreciation from 
 others, he never was forgetful of his own short- 
 
 " God many a spiritual house has rear'd, but never one 
 Where lowliness was not laid first, the corner stone." 
 
 Archbishop Trench. 
 
 His prayerfulness was, owing to his reserve, known 
 but to few. Sometimes an outburst of confidence 
 from a friend would elicit something of the kind in 
 return. On one such occasion he said : " I was 
 
 very anxious about M 's child, and all day long, 
 
 whether in the street or in the house, my heart 
 went up in one constant prayer." His private devo- 
 tions and daily reading of the Bible were never 
 neglected, and but seldom hurried, even in the height 
 of a busy practice. Sometimes his devotion was so 
 intense that, "unconsciously, it became audible, and 
 more than one person has spoken of the earnest, plead- 
 ing tones of his voice, although the words could not be 
 heard. 
 
 This earnestness naturally led him to take great 
 interest in the spiritual welfare of others. When life 
 had become to him an upward journey from doubt and 
 despondency to ever-increasing light and fuller life, he 
 longed to have others share the relief and happiness 
 he felt. His letters to his young friends and relatives 
 in ]STew Brunswick were filled with glowing words, 
 advising, entreating, exhorting. Some of his corres- 
 pondents were light-hearted and careless ; they were 
 amused at the zeal of the young enthusiast. " Old 
 Fight and Pray " was the boyish name by which they 
 
COLLEGE LIFE. 39 
 
 designated him. Ojhers who were fighting the same' 
 battle, though on different lines, were partly aggrieved. 
 " He writes," they said, " as if we never had a serious 
 thought." 
 
 None of these letters have been kept, but one is 
 inserted, written at a much later date. His interest in 
 others was then as deep as ever, but a greater knowl- 
 edge of himself and of the world, gave a calmer, more 
 argumentative tone to his entreaties : 
 
 DEAR : One thing has long been a trouble to me, and 
 
 when I visited you in your illness it was a very, very heavy 
 weight upon me. Years had passed many years, I may 
 say and no interchange of thought had taken place on a 
 subject on which I have instinctively felt we were not in 
 accord. My faith is strong in the Scripture revelation of our 
 acceptance and final peace through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 My impression is that this is looked upon by you in a philo- 
 sophical aspect, and the whole subject ascribed to the general 
 superstition of the race, and that you have formed your own 
 system in the strength of human intellect. I have no desire 
 to engage in controversial discussion, and yet I must urge a 
 very few suggestions. 
 
 The laws in operation in all nature are very exacting. We 
 may run counter to them, but must take the consequences. 
 Stand in the way of gravity, and simple force will crush us. 
 Violate any physical law, and loss of limb or life will be the 
 penalty ; and will the great Creator depart from His charac- 
 ter (manifested by His laws as unchanging) and permit us 
 with impunity to cast aside His system, which is " peace 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ." " Shall we escape if we 
 neglect so great salvation ? " 
 
 As I have stated, my dear , no expression of opinion 
 
 has passed between us, and yet I instinctively feel that in this 
 great point there is between us a wide and, to me, very sad- 
 dening chasm. 
 
40 RELIGIOUS IMPRESSIONS. 
 
 When I saw - (a mutual relative) a day or two 
 before his death, as I sat beside his bed, I could no longer be 
 silent, and I put the question : " Do you feel that your peace 
 with God has been granted ? " His eye, which had been 
 looking full, clear and intelligent, fell, and his head slightly 
 bent forward. I at once saw that I had mis-shaped ray ques- 
 tion, that his strong intellect took it in in its full length and 
 breadth, and the assurance was more than he felt justified to 
 give. I repeated my question immediately: " - , do you 
 think you can trust in the mercy of God through Christ ? " 
 The head was raised, the full eye met mine, and slowly, yet 
 firmly, he replied, "I think I can." To me it was a moment 
 of intense interest and great satisfaction. I have often dwelt 
 upon it. Knowing the man, his clear intellect, and his appre- 
 hension of all his answer conveyed, I felt it came from his 
 inmost soul. I must not write any more now, may never 
 write again on this subject, but I could not refrain this one 
 time from bringing this to your notice. 
 
 LEBARON. 
 
 The enthusiasm of LeBaron Botsford in the first 
 fervour of his religious life soon gave rise to mental 
 conflict. He had not, as a lad, had much training in 
 the especial doctrines of his church. Confirmations 
 were infrequent in the widely extended dioceses of 
 Canada. It was not strange, therefore, that Dr. Bots- 
 ford was at this time strongly inclined to join the 
 Presbyterians, among whom his spiritual life had 
 received such a powerful impulse. Kind friends in the 
 Tron Church opened their houses to the earnest young 
 student. Many gifts of religious books were received 
 and treasured in after years as mementoes of early 
 friendships. Finally, LeBaron wrote to his father on 
 the subject. The old gentleman, whose religious ideas 
 
COLLEGE LIFE. 41 
 
 had been fashioned in the High-Churchism of the 18th 
 century, had not much sympathy with this newly 
 awakened fervour. He wrote, however, a kind judi- 
 cious letter, saying that he should put no obstacle in the 
 way of his son if he wished to follow out his con- 
 victions, but he asked him to deliberate carefully before 
 he took any decided step, closing with some forcible 
 arguments in favour of the Church of England. This 
 letter made a deep impression, and after much anxious 
 thought and earnest prayer, LeBaron Botsford deter- 
 mined to remain true to the church of his forefathers. 
 He, however, always retained much brotherly sym- 
 pathy for Presbyterians and members of other Chris- 
 tian bodies, and he loved to meet and co-operate with 
 them in religious and benevolent associations. 
 
 As month after month passed on under circumstances 
 well calculated to intensify his zeal, another question 
 came up for consideration. Should he change the 
 plans he had formed for his future life ? He was con- 
 scious of an ever increasing desire to devote himself, 
 his life, his all, to the service of God and man. It 
 seemed to him he could do this best by entering the 
 Christian ministry. Again there was a period of 
 doubt and uncertainty, a time of self-questioning and 
 of prayer. At last he decided upon pursuing his 
 medical studies, for he considered he could serve God 
 and his fellow-men as effectually in this profession as 
 in any other. Perhaps more so, for he reflected that 
 a medical man, when called in at the beginning of an 
 illness, might have many quiet opportunities more 
 available for religious purposes than the later period 
 to which clergymen's visits are usually restricted. 
 Then, again, his decision was strengthened by the 
 
42 RELIGIOUS IMPRESSIONS. 
 
 thought of the disappointment a change in his plans 
 would occasion his father after the expectations which 
 had heen raised ami the expense incurred. Dr. Bots- 
 ford seldom returned to a question after it had been 
 once settled, so that from this time we may look upon 
 him as an earnest member of the Church ot England, 
 pursuing his studies in the profession he had chosen, 
 not as a means of advancing in life or accumulating 
 money, but chiefly that he might have opportunities of 
 benefiting his fellow-beings in their souls as well as 
 their bodies. 
 
 The following undated paper, embodying Dr. Bots- 
 ford's ideas of the work of a medical man, was found 
 amongst his writings : 
 
 " The first step of a physician is to observe the ordinary 
 events of life, and from them draw conclusions, and obtain a 
 knowledge of the laws of nature and of being. Then to 
 grapple with the powers which cause the ceaseless changes of 
 the world, and master their secrets, so that he may say to the 
 lifeless mass, this is my will and it obeys. Then through the 
 study of the Infinite and contemplation of the All-Powerful 
 to be so filled with light and knowledge that he is prepared to 
 go forth to assuage the pains of the suffering, and bring hope 
 and life to the chamber of the dying. Then, if need be (as 
 has been done by many of our brethren), to bend calmly over 
 the prostrate form of countryman or foe, where the battle 
 strife is loudest and death most imminent, or to look with 
 courageous gaze at the coming pestilence, and while others 
 seek a shelter, to stand in the path of the destroyer bent on 
 snatching some victim from its fury. This is, indeed, a high 
 phase of existence." 
 
 LeBaron pursued his medical studies carefully and 
 thoroughly, allowing but few things to distract his 
 
COLLEGE LIFE. 43 
 
 attention. He has left a record of the classes he 
 attended. It is headed : 
 
 " LIST OF CLASSES ATTENDED BY L. B. BOTSFORD." 
 Session 1831-32. Session 1833-4. 
 
 Anatomy, Midwifery, 
 
 Chemistry, Practice of Medicine, 
 
 Surgery, Materia Medica. 
 
 Practical Anatomy. 
 
 Session 1832-3. Session 1834-5. 
 
 Anatomy, Institutions of Medicine, 
 
 Practical Anatomy, Anatomy, 
 
 Chemistry, Chemistry. 
 
 Surgery. 
 
 Likewise Botany in 1833, Lectures on the Eye in 1834, 
 with two years hospital attendance, six months clinical sur- 
 gery and six months of clinical medicine, with three months 
 attendance in the Infirmary Shop. 
 
 Dr. Botsford kept the certificate cards of attendance 
 at these various classes, presumably to show his father. 
 Many of them, besides the formal printed notice, have 
 additional lines written by the Professors. Thus Dr. 
 Graham writes : " He was an ardent student and 
 evinced great knowledge of the science." Dr. Weir 
 adds to his card : " He attended my classes with dili- 
 gence and regularity." 
 
 The Professor of Chemistry, at the close of the 
 course, gives a longer written testimonial in these 
 
 words : 
 
 " GLASGOW COLLEGE, 26th April, 1833. 
 
 " Mr. LeBaron Botsford attended the Chemistry Class in 
 the College of Glasgow during the sessions 1831-2 and 1832-3, 
 and also the weekly examinations, with the utmost punctuality 
 
44 COLLEGE LIFE. 
 
 and attention. His behaviour was perfectly correct, and he 
 highly distinguished himself at the examinations, having 
 obtained in 1832-3 the first prize by the votes of his fellow- 
 students for having acquitted himself with much credit at the 
 examinations. 
 
 " Certified by, 
 
 " THOMAS THOMSON, M. D., 
 
 " Professor of Chemistry." 
 
 To these scanty and brief notices of Dr. Botsford's 
 college life is appended a communication from Dr. H. 
 A. Hartt, the friend and fellow-student mentioned in 
 the previous chapter : 
 
 " When I crossed the Atlantic to study medicine, I selected 
 the University of Glasgow, Scotland, solely because LeBaron 
 Botsford was there. He had preceded me at the college by 
 one year ; but we pursued our medical studies together in the 
 University, and dwelt in the same house for three years, and 
 I look back upon them now as among the happiest of my life. 
 
 " His nature was conscientious and upright.. As a boy he 
 was too proud to lie, or to stoop to any form of meanness. 
 By the power of earnest faith, his native pride disappeared, 
 and in its place came a beautiful humanity which gave him 
 an irrepressible interest in all things noble and good, and led 
 him to embrace in his sympathies all races and conditions of 
 men. 
 
 " It was at this time that the insurrection in Jamaica raised 
 the question of West India Emancipation. A great discus- 
 sion took place throughout the British Isles. Glasgow was 
 the centre of the fight, and a memorable debate was held 
 there between Peter Both wick, a hired advocate of the Liver- 
 pool merchants, and George Thompson, the eloquent cham- 
 pion of freedom. In this controversy Mr. Botsford took a 
 special interest, and soon became a pronounced abolitionist. 
 
 " He had a decided talent for drawing, and used to amuse us 
 
COLLEGE LIFE. ^ 45 
 
 with striking caricatures, setting forth the oddities of those 
 with whom we came in contact. 
 
 " He was fond of literature, and read extensively even in 
 those early days. But his genius was of a philosophic cast. 
 He loved to look into the causes of phenomena, in the physical, 
 moral and spiritual realms, and to work out the probable re- 
 sults of all that was transpiring in the world around him. 
 
 " I find on the inside of a cover, and on a blank half of a 
 page of an old copy of Hume's History of England, two 
 characteristic writings, the only souvenirs of the kind that I 
 have of those times : 
 
 " ' Hume has gone ; but where ? Has he become as nothing 
 and entered into that state of annihilation his vain philosophy 
 taught? Can all that once formed man, be contained in a 
 small heap of dust and rest in eternal oblivion ? Is there 
 nought to which he could look forward but to rest in the 
 lonely tomb, and to be forever enveloped in the darkness of 
 non-existence? Or has his spirit, indeed, gone to another 
 world? Has the mysterious veil been uplifted? Has the 
 soul of the daring sceptic been ushered into the presence of 
 his God? Methinks I see him, amazed, confounded, doubting, 
 and afraid to doubt. Awful reality surrounded him. Wither- 
 ing before the Majesty of Heaven his spirit takes its flight. 
 Fleeing, but still unable to escape, remorse goads it on. Re- 
 volving ages finds but commenced its flight. 
 
 " ' Hume's ruling passion was love of literary fame. Poor, 
 vain philosophy ! Can fame be of use to what does not exist ? 
 Still this great philosopher toiled for it. Can any one deny 
 that in doing so this wise man was a contradiction an ab- 
 surdity?'" 
 
 Dr. Hartt adds with pardonable enthusiasm : 
 
 " LeBaron Botsford was one of the most remarkable men I 
 have known on this earth, and if ever the people at large 
 shall be brought up to his standard, the sun of the golden age 
 
46 COLLEGE LIFE. 
 
 % 
 
 will rise. From his boyhood he devoted himself to the cause 
 of humanity ; he stood like a rock against injustice and wrong ; 
 he uniformly set an example of inflexible honour and Chris- 
 tian uprightness. From his inmost soul he abhorred all 
 shams in public and private life. He was ever found an 
 unflinching advocate of what he believed to be truth. In his 
 youth he examined carefully and critically the evidences of 
 the Christian faith, and from that time to the end of his life 
 laughed to scorn the attacks of infidelity on the one hand and 
 the temptations to frivolity and self-indulgence on the other." 
 
 These expressions may seem to some to border on 
 exaggeration, but to those who knew Dr. Botsford best r 
 the words of his college friend and fellow-student will 
 not appear too glowing. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 MARRIAGE COUNTRY PRACTICE. 
 
 Wo Starkes sich und Mildes paarten. 
 Da gibt es einen guten Klang. 
 
 Schiller. 
 
 The religious and intellectual influences which sur- 
 rounded LeBaron Botsford during his college life 
 tended, as has been shown, to foster a rapid maturing 
 of his strongly-marked, but hitherto undeveloped char- 
 acter. A third influence, that of society, made a not 
 less powerful impression on the young man. 
 
 Before he left New Brunswick his father had refused 
 to accept for him several letters of introduction which 
 influential friends offered to give, as he feared the 
 claims of society would occupy too much of his son's 
 time. He had, however, a few introductions, one to a 
 widow lady, with whom it was hoped he might find a 
 quiet home during his college life. He did so, and 
 much more, for in one of the widow's daughters the 
 young student found his life's companion. Margaret 
 
 M was older than LeBaron, but she did not look 
 
 it, for she had a petite, plump figure, fair complexion, 
 bright colour, blue eyes, and golden curly hair. She 
 had seen something of society among her mother's 
 friends in Bath, had a piquant, naive manner, and was 
 full of fun, frolic and repartee. Although she was not 
 what is called intellectual, she was well read and con- 
 versed brightly and intelligently on the literature and 
 topics of the day. She wrote with facility, her letters 
 
 (47) 
 
48 MARRIAGE. 
 
 giving great pleasure to her correspondents, and she 
 read aloud in polished, well-modulated tones, with but a 
 faint trace of Scotch accent. Her voice had been 
 thoroughly trained, but she was shy of singing except 
 when accompanied by her sister. Often, however, in 
 the evening twilight she would sing without accom- 
 paniment many old Jacobite songs such as " On hills 
 that were by right his ain he wanders now a 
 stranger," or " Come o'er the seas, Charlie," etc. At 
 these times the interest she felt in the old lost cause 
 gave much pathos to the sweet tones of her rippling 
 voice. In short, she was a charming and fascinating 
 companion. LeBaron soon found himself strongly 
 attracted to the bright, merry girl, while his more 
 mercurial friend, Henry Hartt, was paying quiet atten- 
 tion to her demure little sister, Jesse. Before the 
 young students left Glasgow, the two Scotch " Lassies "" 
 had promised that, at some future time, they, accom- 
 panied by their mother, would follow their " Laddies " 
 to America. 
 
 LeBaron took his surgical degree in 1834, and his 
 medical degree in 1835. He then went to Paris for a 
 few months to complete his studies. Late in the 
 autumn of 1835 he sailed for St. John, thence to 
 Westcock, where he arrived about Christmas. 
 
 The following account of his return is taken from 
 the journal of a relative who was staying at Westcock 
 at that time : 
 
 " The seventh son, the doctor, was daily expected. It was 
 near Christmas, and all the family were assembled to meet 
 him on his return from Scotland. It was four years since 
 they had seen him. 'I tell you what/ said one of the 
 brothers one evening, ' Le Baron's letters are as good as ser- 
 
COUNTRY PRACTICE. 49 
 
 mons ; let us shew him we know more than he does.' . . 
 The doctor arrived a very handsome young man. I looked 
 at him with interest and wonder. He was on the road to 
 heaven, which I could not find. Yet he laughed a most 
 hearty laugh, and danced a Scotch reel with greater glee than 
 any of us. Several efforts were made that same evening by 
 his brothers to get LeBaron into a religious argument. I 
 was much pleased and amused to see how he avoided it, and 
 with what good humour he turned off the shafts directed 
 against his opinions. He took refuge by his mother, and 
 answered her many questions about Scotland. 
 
 " The house was now gayer than ever, visitors coming at 
 all hours to welcome the newly arrived. Not only visitors in 
 the parlour. The hall and kitchen were filled with patients 
 from thirty miles round all sure the doctor would cure 
 the friends he had known from a child, and that without fee 
 or charge, so that the doctor's mornings were engaged with 
 the sick or maimed, and his afternoons in preparing medicine. 
 His fame soon spread further than he wished, and wonders 
 were told of the cures he had made. The evenings, when 
 strangers were not there, were spent in very warm debates 
 upon religion. LeBaron could no longer avoid it, and 
 perhaps thought it right to 'let his light shine.' There 
 were long, earnest and ably supported arguments on the exist- 
 ence of the soul or spirit separate from matter. I listened in 
 silence, but deeply interested. One evening, after I had said 
 good night to him at the door of my room, I thought, * What 
 will become of me? If I were only a good Christian like 
 LeBaron !' But I continued in the valley of shadows for two 
 years before I found peace through the Blood of the Cross. 
 
 " LeBaron did not remain long. He said it was necessary 
 to settle himself somewhere. At Westcock he could get 
 plenty of practice, but little pay, and there was a Scotch girl 
 waiting for him till he had found a home." 
 
 After many inquiries and repeated consultations 
 
50 MARRIAGE. 
 
 with his father, LeBaron decided on making Wood- 
 stock his starting point in life. It was then a pleasant 
 village, though not half its present size. He moved 
 there in the earl} 7 spring of 1836, the people welcoming 
 warmly the son of the genial old judge. He soon 
 found comfortable quarters and began the practice of 
 his profession. 
 
 In July of the following year, 1837, the two young 
 doctors went to New York to meet their brides. They 
 were quietly married in church July 22nd, and re- 
 turned at once to New Brunswick. Dr. Hartt settled 
 in Fredericton. Dr. Botsford took his wife to the home 
 he had prepared for her at Woodstock. 
 
 Life in this pretty village on the St. John river was 
 to Dr. Botsford a new life full of interest and activities. 
 It was to him the beginning of many things. There 
 commenced that unceasing devotion to his profession 
 which characterized him through life. Day or night, 
 for forty years, when the call of professional duty 
 came, he was found ready to respond to it. But once 
 during that time did he take more than t\vo or 
 three weeks' vacations during the year. He has 
 been known to sit down after a long morning's 
 work with a pleasant luncheon party. A call would 
 come. "Duty first; pleasure afterwards," he would 
 say, and leave at once the un tasted meal. 
 
 It was at Woodstock that his active, energetic habits 
 of mind and body were at once brought into play. 
 Springing into the saddle after an early breakfast, he 
 would ride all day through the settlement and far over 
 the surrounding country, often not returning until late 
 in the evening. His fees, like those of many other 
 young country practitioners, amounting 
 
COUNTRY PRACTICE. 51 
 
 only to a small bag of buckwheat meal. If called up 
 at night, he seldom allowed himself a longer rest in the 
 morning. Seven o'clock in summer and eight o'clock 
 in winter were his regular breakfast hours, his theory 
 being that the more light and sunshine the physical 
 frame enjoys the better will a man be both in mind and 
 body. 
 
 Then, again, Dr. Botsford began life with habits of 
 strict economy. Sometimes his wife, naturally a little 
 solicitous about his appearance, would lament over his 
 country-cut garments, which showed evident traces of 
 hard usage and repairs. " Never mind," the rector's 
 wife would say, " he looks like Judge Botsford's son 
 whatever he wears." 
 
 And so the first winter passed. It was a cold season, 
 far colder than the young Scotch wife anticipated. 
 The cream froze on the breakfast table; nay, the breath 
 froze on the sheets during the night. The little dwel- 
 ling was far from comfortable and in the early spring 
 Dr. Botsford began to build a cottage. He drew the 
 plans; the workmen were inspired by his energy; it was 
 finished in the autumn, and they moved in before the 
 first snow storm. During the winter the village was 
 
 enlivened by a detachment of the Regiment, which 
 
 was stationed there for some months. The officers 
 soon found their way to the cottage and enjoyed many 
 pleasant evenings with the cheerful doctor and his 
 bright little wife. "What would you do to amuse 
 yourself if we were not here ?" queried a young fellow 
 as he lounged in one morning. " Just what I am doing 
 now " was the quick answer; " making a shirt for my 
 husband." 
 
 In the following summer Judge Botsford paid the 
 
52 COUNTRY PRACTICE. 
 
 young couple a visit. He Rtaid with them while the 
 court was sitting and was much pleased with LeBaron's 
 industry and progress. He used to remind Mrs. Bots- 
 ford in after times of this visit to the pretty cottage. 
 How he was aroused in the early morning by a 
 " poultry chorus," and looking out of his window saw 
 her surrounded by her feathered friends. They were 
 not only at her feet, but on her shoulders and her head. 
 They were her pets, her family. No other nestling 
 had come to the doctor's cottage. Once when Mrs. 
 Botsford was suffering from a headache, as she was 
 lying on a sofa, a squaw with baskets peeped in at the 
 door. Keceiving a smile of welcome, she came up to 
 the sofa and gently lifting the corner of a shawl, "Pap- 
 poose ? sister," she asked. There was no " baby." 
 This one of God's good gifts was never granted. Dr. 
 and Mrs. Botsford were both fond of children and 
 young people. More than one nephew and niece 
 can testify to the almost parental love, care and 
 assistance they have received. One nephew remarked 
 not long before Dr. Botsford's death: "I owe 
 my earthly existence to my parents, but to my 
 uncle I owe everything else my education, my 
 position, everything I have, or am in the world, I owe 
 to his kindness." During the last years of Dr. 
 Botsford's life, after he had been frequently called 
 upon to sympathize with parents who were grieving 
 over their suffering or erring children, he would often 
 say that he was truly thankful that such a source of 
 happiness and sorrow had not been opened to him. 
 Sometimes he makes playful allusions to the subject in 
 his letters. For instance, in writing to one of his 
 brothers in June, 1881, he says : " H is with us, and 
 
COUNTRY PRACTICE. 53 
 
 has been for a fortnight. She is a very fine girl. 
 
 F returns home on Tuesday, so that we shall have 
 
 a i real pleasant ' pair of nieces, i and enjoy the com- 
 fort, though a borrowed one.' ' 
 
 During the winter of 1838 and 1839 there occurred 
 at Woodstock a " revival," namely, one of those mys- 
 terious religious movements, which, from primitive 
 times, have been experienced at intervals in the 
 Christian Church. They differ at different periods of 
 the Church's history. They vary according to the 
 intelligence and education of those aroused by them. 
 In mediaeval times, crusades, pilgrimages and the 
 various religious " Orders " were the effect of these 
 mass inspirations. Later on the words of such men as 
 Luther, Bossnet, Wesley, Chalmers or Newman were 
 the means of stirring up great tidal waves of religious 
 enthusiasm. And at the present day revivals, under 
 the name of u Missions," are as recognized an agency 
 in the Church of England as among other Christian 
 bodies. This was not the case when Dr. Botsford came 
 in contact with this religious movement among the 
 Methodists at Woodstock. He was at once attracted, 
 and, although he was a regular attendant at the Parish 
 Church (he and his wife being members of the choir), 
 he went to several of the " Revival Meetings " and 
 studied the subject not only in its religious, but also in 
 its scientific aspect. Some years afterwards, when 
 widespread religious movements were taking place in 
 Philadelphia and in the north of Ireland, he read 
 before a meeting of the Evangelical Alliance the fol- 
 lowing thoughtful paper. Its deductions were drawn 
 from the personal observations and reflections made at 
 this time at Woodstock. 
 
54 RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 
 
 THOUGHTS UPON PHYSICAL MANIFESTATIONS 
 ACCOMPANYING KELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 
 
 The few remarks which I bring under your notice this even- 
 ing are connected with the subject of the physical manifes- 
 tations which are apt to disclose themselves in times of more 
 than ordinary religious movements. I am aware, in doing 
 this, I am treading on debatable ground, but truth, and truth 
 only, should be the aim of every Christian heart. Whilst I 
 would strongly urge the necessity laid upon us to investigate, 
 I would also acknowledge the difficulty and the responsibility 
 attending the discussion of a subject which deals with the 
 soul of man, and the influences of the Holy Spirit upon that 
 soul. Nevertheless, the responsibility cannot, be evaded ; the 
 difficulty must be met. 
 
 In the ordinary course of events, when men are turned 
 from darkness to light, "the still small voice" sinks into the 
 soul like gently falling dew, producing repentance towards 
 God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. On other occasions, 
 when the spirit of God works mightily, and many are con- 
 strained to cry out, " What shall I do to be saved," there are 
 frequently to be observed bodily disturbances as an attendant, 
 or as the direct, result of religious influences. As you are 
 aware, these " bodily exercises " have differed, and do differ, 
 among various people and in different countries. The ques- 
 tion I suggest for your consideration is : " Are they the direct 
 effects of religious influence ; or are they to be considered as 
 disturbances in the animal frame, the result of mental and 
 physical laws?" To understand this subject we must, in 
 some measure, understand the workings of the intellectual 
 and moral faculties, and their effect upon the rest of the 
 system. If the intellect is working powerfully, producing 
 what is called abstraction, then, in proportion to the absorb- 
 ing character of that abstraction, is there an unconsciousness 
 of surrounding events. Many instances of this must be fami- 
 liar. When the moral emotions are called into play, they 
 
RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 55 
 
 exercise an influence in proportion to their intensity upon the 
 intellect and upon the physical frame, at one time paralyzing 
 all effort, at another developing superhuman strength. Who 
 has not seen the poor stricken soul crushed beneath a weight 
 of sorrow, stupified with anguish so bitter that the tears were 
 driven back to their fountain, while the parched eyes stared 
 upon vacancy ? And who has not seen the faculties be- 
 numbed, the muscles paralyzed, when intense fear oversha- 
 dowed the soul? There is no doubt, therefore, that moral 
 forces and mental powers do frequently produce overwhelming 
 disturbances in the animal system. These disturbances are 
 in accordance with what may be called laws of our nature. 
 
 The history of the human mind bears witness to another 
 fact, namely, the tendency of the individual to develop what 
 is exhibited by the mass. It matters not whether it arises 
 from sympathy, or imitation, or from direct influence, the 
 result is before us in the epidemics which have at times swept 
 over nations and over continents. I can allude to the dancing 
 mania of the middle ages, when thousands were the supposed 
 victims of the bite of the tarentula. The patients fell down 
 senseless and motionless, with difficult breathing and heavy 
 sighing. As these symptoms subsided they became despond- 
 ing and melancholy. At the sound of music (which was 
 supposed to be the only cure), they began to dance, throwing 
 themselves into every variety of fantastic attitudes. In later 
 times the falling sickness also numbered its thousands, and 
 passed over large tracts of country. To illustrate by a more 
 limited example, I will cite the instance of the school at 
 Bickfort, in Germany, in which, when two girls were seized 
 with epileptic fits, in less than half an hour twenty other cases 
 occurred among the pupils. A peculiarity worthy to be noted 
 attends all such disturbances. It is this: the symptoms 
 assume the shape and direction which are previously suggest- 
 ed to the mind. At one time we have the dancing mania, at 
 another the epileptic, and at another the extraordinary scenes 
 attending the witch hallucination of New England. 
 
56 RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 
 
 These phenomena of mind and body occur not only spon- 
 taneously, but they can be produced artificially, and did time 
 permit, instances of a deeply interesting and instructive nature 
 could be made to throw light upon this curious phase of life. 
 On these data I ground the following propositions : 
 
 First. Strong mental or moral emotions tend to produce 
 disturbances in the physical frame. 
 
 Secondly. These disturbances have frequently developed 
 themselves in the form of epidemics when there has been no 
 admixture of religious influences. 
 
 Thirdly. The phenomena take the direction previously 
 suggested to the mind, and become intense in proportion to 
 the result anticipated. 
 
 As the above laws are undoubtedly active in man, the next 
 point to consider is do they continue active in those who are 
 guided by the spirit of God ? In other words do the natural 
 faculties in the religious man continue to be influenced by 
 natural causes ? Are we subject to aberrations in our physical 
 and mental workings, though we truly are the children of 
 God? or does the influence of the Holy Spirit supersede 
 natural laws ? 
 
 We answer natural causes do certainly act on the child- 
 ren of God. The mind is subject to disease, the body to death, 
 and whilst the Holy Spirit changes the inner man, the natural 
 laws are permitted to hold their sway, so that in the battle of 
 life there is a commingling of the spiritual and the natural, 
 each working in their peculiar sphere and reacting on each 
 other. 
 
 We have seen that often the effect of strong emotion is to 
 stupify the mind and paralyze the body. Now I cannot con- 
 ceive any moral emotion to be as powerful in disturbing the 
 physical frame as the conviction of conscience, when the soul 
 is brought, as it were, into contact with God Himself. On the 
 one hand stands the High and Holy One, of purer eyes than 
 to behold iniquity ; on the other a soul convicted of sin and 
 seeing in the light of God's presence its own utter deformity. 
 
RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 57 
 
 It need not excite wonder that when God thus reveals Him- 
 self to His sinful creature, the sense of despair should paralyze 
 both mind and body. If the physical frame can be over- 
 whelmed by emotions proceeding from fear or grief, why not 
 by those which are called into play by religion ? In both 
 cases the process is the same. In one case a heavy affliction 
 fills the soul with a sorrow that prostrates ; in the other the 
 Holy Spirit produces remorse and repentance so poignant that 
 the outer man is overwhelmed. 
 
 I now invite your attention to two places in which a " re- 
 vival of religion " is producing great results. The first is 
 Philadelphia, which for two years has been the centre of a 
 wondrous work. Day after day the halls have been filled 
 with hearts overflowing with zeal, or with souls stirred to their 
 very depths in their endeavour to enter the straight and 
 narrow way. Week after week, and month after month, does 
 the same God-seeking spirit pervade their assemblies. During 
 the period of this pentecostal visitation, their meetings have 
 been marked with great solemnity, and though sobs may 
 occasionally burst forth from hearts surcharged with sym- 
 pathy, a deep and holy influence rests upon the gatherings 
 and no bodily contortions or physical phenomena are associ- 
 ated with their emotions. 
 
 The second place of which I would speak is the north of 
 Ireland, where the work of God has begun, and thousands 
 are being brought to the knowledge of the truth. As you 
 are, however, aware through the accounts that reach us, 
 many and frequent are the instances in which manifestations 
 of great bodily disturbance accompany these religious awak- 
 enings. In view of these facts, I submit for your considera- 
 tion the following conclusions : 
 
 First. A great and continued revival may take place 
 without any disturbance of the physical system accompany- 
 ing it. 
 
 Secondly. Spiritual and mental emotions act with equal 
 power on the human system, and produce the same results. 
 
58 RELIGIOUS REVIVALS. 
 
 Thirdly. The phenomena of these physical disturbances, 
 assuming a peculiar form in each place, manifest a tendency 
 to develop in natural epidemics. 
 
 Fourthly. Man being subject to infirmity, it is more in 
 accordance with truth to ascribe these " bodily exercises " to 
 natural laws than to the direct agency of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 I have considered it my duty, gentlemen, to bring these 
 thoughts before you. I am aware that a great responsibility 
 rests upon us. As rational beings we are called upon to 
 discern between good and evil, and while it is incumbent on 
 us to ascribe all glory to the Eternal Spirit for His mighty 
 works of grace, we must also beware lest we fill our censers 
 with " unsanctified incense." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ST. JOHN CITY LIFE AND PRACTICE. 
 
 Plying their daily task with busier feet 
 Because their secret souls a holy strain repeat. 
 
 Keble. 
 
 Dr. Botsford, though comfortably settled in his new 
 cottage, and making his way successfully in country 
 practice, was not destined to remain long at Wood- 
 stock. Friends in St. John wrote that there was a 
 good opening in the city tor an energetic young medical 
 man, and they urged Dr. Botsford to take advantage of 
 it. His friend Dr. Hartt, who paid him a short visit at 
 this time, gave strong advice in the same direction. 
 After a little hesitation, the change was decided upon. 
 There is no record of the motives which prompted this 
 important step. No doubt in this, as in other decisive 
 moments of his life, Dr. Botsford sought God's good 
 guidance and then made use of his natural powers of 
 judgment and foresight. He had that innate consci- 
 ousness of power at once the guarantee and means of 
 success which urges its possessor forward to wider 
 fields of action. Probably one of the strongest motives 
 which influenced the home-loving man was the desire 
 to avoid those long absences so trying to the young 
 wife which country practice naturally entailed. There 
 was great regret among his Woodstock friends when 
 his decision became known. An address was presented 
 to him, accompanied by a handsome silver snuff-box 
 with the following inscription : " Presented to LeBaron 
 D (59) 
 
60 ST. JOHN. 
 
 Botsford, M. D., on his departure from Woodstock, by 
 a few of his most intimate friends, as a token of their 
 high respect and esteem for him as a physician and 
 member of society, 1839." 
 
 On reaching St. John, Dr. Botsford took lodgings in 
 Charlotte street, thence he removed to Horsfield street. 
 During his first winter in town he was much occupied 
 by attendance on his sister Eliza, who had been brought 
 from "Westcock in the last stages of consumption. 
 Nothing could be done to prolong the sweet young 
 life, yet her brother's daily visits were a comfort to 
 both body and mind. After some months of suffering 
 she passed away in perfect peace. 
 
 In May, 1841, after having been in St. John two 
 years, Dr. Botsford moved to the well-known house in 
 Wellington Row, and the place and the sphere of his 
 life-work was settled for all the future of his earthly 
 years. His energy, which branched out in after life in 
 so many different directions, was at first wholly 
 absorbed in the duties of his profession. It was uphill 
 work, for he began, as all young doctors must, with 
 poor, non-paying patients. He had, it is true, many 
 connections in town, whose practice he eventually 
 secured ; but old family doctors cannot, and ought not, 
 to be superseded at once by a young practitioner, even 
 though he be a cousin. One of the first to hold out to 
 the young doctor a helping hand was a wealthy rela- 
 tive*, to whose munificence the Church of England in 
 New Brunswick is so much indebted. He told his 
 young, cousin to draw upon him yearly for a certain 
 sum as long as it was needed. The offer was accepted 
 
 *The late Chief Justice Chipman. 
 
CITY LIFE AND PRACTICE. 61 
 
 with frank gratitude, and for three years Dr. Botsford 
 drew half the amount mentioned. With this exception 
 he was dependent on his own exertions, for after the 
 liberal education he had received, he did not wish to 
 call upon his father for aid. The same prudent econ- 
 omy with which he began life at Woodstock was con- 
 tinued in the city. His household was a model of 
 primitive simplicity even in those days, less ostentatious 
 than our own. Bills were not allowed to accumulate. 
 For many years he did not keep a horse and but seldom 
 hired one, his long walks at this time contributing 
 much to the health which he enjoyed in after years. 
 His day's work was regularly planned, and if, during 
 the morning, a visit was forgotten, he patiently retraced 
 his steps in the afternoon, "to teach his memory a 
 lesson." Sometimes after a long day's work, when 
 resting in the twilight, a message which ought to have 
 been sent hours before, would summon him to a house 
 which he had passed during the day. His wife's 
 anxious words would be met with " Never mind, 
 Maggie, we are all inconsiderate in some directions," 
 and swallowing his evening meal, he would hasten 
 away. 
 
 It was thus by hard-working, unwearied industry 
 Dr. Botsford succeeded in laying the foundation of a 
 solid practice among the business men of St. John. 
 He had many elements of character which attracted 
 their confidence. His straightforward sincerity was 
 very apparent. Anything approaching to what is 
 called humbug was foreign to his nature. He disliked 
 to employ slight deception, even when professionally 
 necessary. For instance, when a child died in a house 
 where there was a babe a week old, to avoid giving 
 
62 ST. JOHN. 
 
 the mother a fatal shock, her questions about the dead 
 child had to be answered, and the doctor had to pass 
 through a certain door in order to keep up the illusion 
 of visiting the child. Any such circumstance, often 
 so unavoidable in the profession, was a great trial to 
 him. He was very reticent about his patients, care- 
 fully avoiding allusions to the gravity of an illness lest 
 he should seem to desire to enhance the importance of 
 the cure ; all such contrivances which strong profes- 
 sional competition almost forces upon men were un- 
 known or unpracticed by him. 
 
 A friend writes since his death : " In the midst of 
 the shams and hypocrisies by which \ve are surrounded, 
 it is an unspeakable satisfaction and joy to be able to 
 point to even one man and say with absolute confi- 
 dence, i Behold an Israelite indeed in whom there is no 
 guile.' " 
 
 There was no assumption of dignity, the transparent 
 simplicity of his character shining out in all the details 
 of his profession. Then, again, his punctuality was 
 proverbial. In professional business or social engage- 
 ments he was always " on time." Consideration for 
 others, he used to say, ought to prompt us to avoid 
 delay. These characteristics of industry, economy, 
 sincerity, and punctuality, in addition to his profes- 
 sional skill, might be considered the basis of his life's 
 success. The details given may seem trivial and unim- 
 portant, but they are proofs of a substantial foundation 
 upon which much life-work may be built. In Dr. 
 Botsford's character there were, however, two elements 
 which gave peculiar and additional power to his 
 other traits his personal magnetism, and sympathy. 
 Perhaps these are but the objective and subjective 
 
CITY LIFE AND PRACTICE. 63 
 
 forms of the same thing. His personal magnetism 
 influenced the patient, his sympathy seemed to assume 
 the sufferer's burden, in order to understand and 
 lighten it. This double characteristic may be con- 
 sidered Dr. Botsford's chief " power-winning, love- 
 winning " peculiarity. His sympathy was intense, and 
 often very exhausting. At one time, when he had 
 been absent two days, his wife and niece went to see 
 him, and give some important messages. When he 
 came into the room, he said in answer to inquiries, 
 that mother and child were both doing well, then cov- 
 ering his face with his hands, he sobbed aloud, quite 
 overcome by his sympathy with the suffering he had 
 witnessed, and this was not at the beginning of his 
 practice, but after fifteen years might be supposed to 
 have made him tolerably familiar with such scenes. 
 
 At another time a patient, after many years of mar- 
 ried life, gave birth to a daughter. When the doctor 
 had finished his professional services, he sat down by 
 the bedside of the happy mother, and read the 103rd 
 Psalrn. Sometimes his sympathy took a very practical 
 form. He was called, for instance, to a patient who 
 had just entered a new house. Nothing was ready 
 when baby came. The doctor, after attending to his 
 professional duties, assisted in putting up the bedstead, 
 and making the bed. 
 
 His personal magnetism Avas both consciously and 
 unconsciously exercised. At the beginning of his pro- 
 fessional career in Woodstock he first became cognizant 
 of the phenomena of animal magnetism, or hypnotism, 
 as it is now called, and was conscious of his magnetic 
 power over others. He felt his way cautiously, as was 
 his wont, but the more he observed and experimented, 
 
64 ST. JOHN. 
 
 the more he became convinced of the reality of the 
 phenomena. He was fully aware of the mystery and 
 uncertainty that enshrouded the subject, of the de- 
 ception that could be so easily practiced by the mag- 
 netizer and the patient. Yet, he soon felt assured that 
 a power did exist under the name of magnetism or 
 mesmerism, which could be employed for the benefit 
 of others. He had no hesitation in making use of this 
 power in his practice, and by means of it more than 
 one sufferer was restored to health. These were ex- 
 ceptional cases ; generally he used his magnetic influence 
 to relieve temporary pain, sometimes to the astonish- 
 ment of patient and nurse. For instance, after being 
 sent for twice to soothe a sufferer, the nurse exclaimed 
 as he was leaving, " Oh, doctor, if we could only keep 
 your hand." As he advanced in life, he used his 
 direct magnetic power but rarely, and when questioned 
 on the subject, he said, that it occupied much time and 
 exhausted his vital energy. 
 
 His unconscious personal magnetism was universally 
 acknowledged, but difficult to describe. As a medical 
 friend writes : " A large proportion of the things 
 which went to make up our estimation of Dr. Botsford 
 were not such as taken by themselves could make a 
 like estimate in the mind of another. There were a 
 thousand and one things impossible to enumerate, the 
 genial manner, the pleasing countenance, in fact the 
 tout ensemble of our dear friend which combined to 
 form the attractive power." Probably his tall, athletic, 
 well-proportioned frame had its influence. His en- 
 trance into a sick-room has often been compared to 
 sunshine. As a young man, the first notice of a pro- 
 fessional visit would be Dr. Botsford's cheery laugh as 
 
CITY LIFE AND PRACTICE. 65 
 
 he encountered a friend in the hall; then he would 
 mount two stairs at a time, his quick, elastic tread 
 would be heard along the corridor, and when he stood 
 beside the bedside with his bright smile and beaming 
 eye, his very presence seemed to radiate life and health. 
 A few months after he had entered into rest, a dying 
 friend was asked it she were comfortable, " Oh yes, 
 but I do so weary to see Dr. Botsford come in." 
 
 It would be thought presumptuous for a non-pro- 
 fessional to venture to describe the peculiarities of Dr. 
 Botsford's medical treatment, and in a memoir intended 
 for general readers it is not necessary. Yet we all 
 know that marked men in every profession, taught by 
 experience, influenced by their own individuality, grad- 
 ually develop a certain system of work to which they 
 partly owe their success, but which can never be satis- 
 factorily copied by another. Therefore a record of Dr. 
 Botsford's life would not be complete without giving 
 some general outlines of his medical treatment. 
 
 In the first place, his opinion of- an illness, the 
 diagnosis of a case, to speak technically, was slowly 
 and carefully made, and always leaned to the favorable 
 side if possible, so that if Dr. Botsford's opinion was 
 unfavorable, he was seldom mistaken. 
 
 Then, again, he never gave any large quantity of 
 medicine, even when it was customary to do so. His 
 principle was to watch nature, and assist her. His 
 basis of operation, the stomach and diet. " What have 
 you been eating ?" was often the first question asked 
 of a sick person, and many said that Dr. Botsford 
 starved his patients. But his general success encour- 
 aged him in this peculiarity. He himself was most 
 abstemious, and as he advanced in years, he became 
 
66 ST. JOHN. 
 
 more fully convinced of the truth of his favorite say- 
 ing, "That more disease is engendered by over-feeding 
 than by want of food." 
 
 Although he was near-sighted, he was successful in 
 surgical cases. His touch was peculiarly gentle; he 
 seemed to be able with his smooth, soft fingers to 
 handle inflamed or wounded parts without giving pain ; 
 he was skilful in any mechanical device that might be 
 required to relieve, and was continually planning 
 peculiar-shaped cases for broken limbs. During the 
 last years of his life he contrived a frame by which a 
 patient might be raised so as to make his bed. Of 
 course, there are many such arrangements, but the 
 peculiar excellence of Dr. Botsford's bed is that by 
 loosening the head and foot rests, the whole bed re- 
 laxes and forms an easy instead of a tightly stretched 
 surface for the patient. The bed was tried in the 
 Marine Hospital, and in the " Home for Aged 
 Females " in St. John, with success. "When urged to 
 patent it, lie said, that if it was of any benefit to 
 sufferers, he did not wish to restrict its use. He sent, 
 however, a model to London with a description, which 
 was published in the Lancet, January 2nd, 1886.* 
 
 In one department Dr. Botsford was unusually suc- 
 cessful in attending mothers at the birth of their 
 children. It is believed that at the close of his forty 
 years practice, he could say with'truth, that he had 
 never, in such cases, lost one patient. All who ex- 
 perienced his services at those times were unanimous 
 in their praise of his kindness, sympathy and skill. 
 
 His manner to his patients was, as has been said, 
 
 *See Appendix. 
 
CITY LIFE AND PRACTICE. 67 
 
 full of gentleness and sympathy, but at the same time 
 it was most decided. He never took his patients into 
 his confidence; he required from them absolute trust 
 and submission. Sometimes he may have seemed to 
 carry this very far, but in a general way his plan 
 worked well. One day, on leaving the room of a new 
 patient, he met an attendant carrying a rich delicacy, 
 
 " Is that for ?" " Yes, sir." The doctor returned 
 
 to his patient and explained that he expected attention 
 to his directions, as well as to his prescriptions. Tears 
 followed. He then said that unless she could make up 
 her mind to obey him, she must look elsewhere for a 
 medical attendant. After a little hesitation she agreed 
 to submit, and though she had been a sufferer for 
 years, she was, in a few months, restored to health. 
 " Doctor," a sick man would say, " I am not one par- 
 ticle better this morning." The doctor, after an ex- 
 amination, would seat himself at the bedside, look 
 straight into his patient's eyes and say, " You are better 
 I can see it trust me. In a few hours you will 
 feel that I am right." " Mind acts on mind." Yes, 
 and mind acts on matter also. As Dr. Botsford ad- 
 vanced in age and experience, he became more and 
 more conscious of the power of mind over matter, and 
 he sought by the force of his own personality to rouse 
 and stimulate his patients. He seemed to anticipate 
 this modern idea wlrrch, much as it has been caricatured 
 by the exaggerations ot " mind science," has never- 
 theless its foundation on facts. Dr. Botsford's views 
 on this subject were given in a paper read before the 
 New Brunswick Medical Association. We select some 
 extracts suited to general readers. The paper is 
 entitled 
 
68 ST. JOHN. 
 
 MIND A FACTOR IN DISEASE. 
 
 There is no one factor among the many which tend to 
 induce disease, or to remove it, more powerful than the influ- 
 ence of mind ; and yet there is no fact more persistently over- 
 looked in our medical treatment. 
 
 This may be attributed to the number of palpable causes 
 which take so much time to master ; also to the impalpable 
 or uncertain character of the mental forces. 
 
 I need not say anything about hysterical phenomena, which 
 are protean in character and simulate almost every disease. 
 I wish to direct your attention to organic or functional de- 
 rangement. We are all aware of the effect of sudden emotion 
 upon functional action how the heart's action may be 
 arrested or the digestion paralyzed. These results, though 
 involuntary, arise from the mind disturbing the circulation 
 of the blood. And if such effects are produced without the 
 conscious direction of the nervous centres, why may not simi- 
 lar and more varied results follow when the will directs and 
 moves nervous force to expected results ? I have but to allude 
 to the sickness which follows an army when demoralized by 
 defeat. In our professional work we have all seen the effect 
 of this principle how readily those patients who are hope- 
 ful and have confidence in their medical man will respond to 
 medicine; on the other hand, how the desponding and the 
 distrustful often baffle our best and wisest efforts. I have 
 always disliked to come into contact with the latter class of 
 patients. It is evident we should look for good or bad results 
 in our patients just as their minds are Jed to look for them. 
 Not that all patients will respond, for there is as wide a dif- 
 ference in the impressibility of people as there is in their other 
 powers, imagination, music, benevolence, veneration. . . . 
 I have no doubt but that the success which sometimes attends 
 patent medicines can be traced to the strong expectations 
 created by recommendations and advertisements. In the 
 early days of magnetism, tractors were in vogue and were 
 apparently efficacious. But a shrewd observer who doubted 
 
CITY LIFE AND PRACTICE. 69 
 
 quietly introduced wooden shams made to resemble the real 
 magnets, and with them produced similar results. The bubble 
 burst. Tractors fell at once into disrepute results antici- 
 pated no longer followed. The real force at work beneath the 
 phenomena was not recognized, and consequently not used. 
 I am inclined to think that in devotion to palpable remedies 
 we overlook the subtler energies of the system, and lose much 
 of our power in battling with disease. 
 
 Sydney Smith sarcastically remarks that a medical man 
 reminds him of a "person thrusting a needle among the 
 wheels of a watch to correct its action; failing with one 
 thrust, he tries another push among the wheels ; so the medi- 
 cal man, finding no healing from his first dose, tries another 
 and then another." In this way electricity is often used. It 
 is a subtle agent, and can interfere with the processes of life, 
 but who can tell when it should be used and how it should be 
 used except by experience ? Systems of medicine rise and 
 fall. The power of a drug is at one time thought supreme, at 
 another time its use- is neglected. New remedies in favor to- 
 day give place to others to-morrow. One need not take a 
 Rip Van Winkle sleep to wake up to a new order of things 
 in the medical world. Not a year passes but new land-marks 
 meet the eye, some to point out what has been erroneous, 
 some, however, to remain a witness to a steady, though it be a 
 slow, progress. My remarks thus far have been confined to 
 the subjective forces in the human system those which show 
 the action of the mind upon the body. Are there any facts 
 which tend to show that mental or physical force can be pro- 
 jected from the individual so as to produce results upon other 
 minds? In connection with this part of the paper I will 
 give an account of what fell under my own observation. If I 
 had been the only witness, I could readily believe that I might 
 have been the dupe of my own fancy, and that I might have 
 been perhaps in that biological condition when the subjective 
 working of the brain is received as objective realities. There 
 were, however, several persons present who were well capable 
 
70 ST. JOHN. 
 
 of judging, and who never showed any biological tendencies. 
 More than thirty years ago I knew a young man, Robert 
 Trainor by name, a journeyman painter, who was a good sub- 
 ject for biological experiments. As such he was frequently 
 operated upon by a club of investigators much interested in 
 the subject of hypnotism. One set of experiments was made 
 with a man, a native of Carleton, deaf and dumb from his 
 birth. When Trainor was hypnotised, he directed the experi- 
 ments upon Beatty, of Carleton, who was easily thrown into 
 a hypnotic state, and began to utter uncouth sounds. Trainor 
 stated that Beatty could be made to speak, and that the first 
 words that he would speak would be his (Trainor's) name. 
 One evening, when several gentlemen were present, the usual 
 course was pursued, and the efforts to stimulate the deaf-mute 
 were continued for some time. Beatty began to make un- 
 couth sounds, which presently assumed syllabic form, until 
 the words " Rob Trainor, Robert Trainor," were articulated a 
 number of times as clearly and as distinctly as could be done 
 by mortal man. The case required persistent effort, the 
 novelty wore off, the persons in charge ceased their efforts, 
 and the experiments were discontinued. Beatty lost what 
 little benefit had been received, and returned to his deaf and 
 dumb condition. During the experiments Trainor was not in 
 contact with Beatty, and if any influence was exerted, it 
 must have been of a mental or nervous character. To sup- 
 pose that Beatty's brain was the source of the cerebration 
 which developed articulation in his untrained vocal muscles, 
 or to suppose that Trainor, through Beatty's brain, called into 
 play his power of speech, involves more difficulty than to 
 suppose that Trainor acted directly on the man's vocal organi- 
 zation. This is the simplest explanation, and is strengthened 
 by the fact that the efforts to make sounds increased as long 
 as the experiments were continued. 
 
 I am perfectly aware, gentlemen, that in submitting this 
 statement to you, I must be ready to meet the ridicule of 
 some, to be considered a deluded crank by others. 
 
CITY LIFE AND PRACTICE. 71 
 
 I am, satisfied, however, that this fact is one only among 
 many similar in character. These facts when investigated, 
 their natural causes determined, and their conditions better 
 known, will prevent delusions based on ignorance from mis- 
 leading people, and blinding even men of genius. 
 
 A little more light upon these obscure psychical phenomena, 
 a/id a little less dogmatic philosophy will cause the wild 
 vagaries of modern spiritualism, the pretentious assumptions 
 of mental scientism, and many crude theories to scatter and 
 disappear. 
 
 There is one other characteristic of Dr. Botsford 
 which must not be omitted in this chapter his unfail- 
 ing courtesy, and gentlemanly bearing towards younger 
 practitioners. The following is only one out of many 
 cases which occurred. He was sent for to see a sick 
 person. On entering the house, he inquired if any 
 other medical man was in attendance. " Oh, yes, Dr. 
 
 has been visiting here, but he is young ; we think 
 
 he does not know much ; we wish you to take charge 
 of the case." " Indeed, I can do nothing of the kind," 
 
 was the answer, " send for Dr. ; I will meet and 
 
 consult with him." So Dr. came and matters 
 
 were arranged. Dr. , who became afterwards a 
 
 well known physician, but was then struggling into 
 practice, thanked Dr. Botsford warmly, and said he 
 had not often met such kind consideration. At the 
 same time it is not the intention of this memoir to 
 represent Dr. Botsford as uninfluenced by the ordinary 
 feelings and impulses of human nature, perhaps few 
 stood more unyieldingly on his dignity. He claimed 
 very strongly what he considered his right, and re- 
 sented most indignantly any interference with his 
 patients, or his practice. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS RELIGIOUS WORK. 
 
 We faintly hear, we dimly see 
 In differing phrase we pray 
 But, dim or clear, we own in Thee 
 The Lord, the Life, the Way. 
 
 Whittier. 
 
 The deep religious tone which Dr. Botsford's char- 
 acter acquired in Scotland, has already been mentioned. 
 When he settled in St. John he had reached that 
 period of life (twenty-seven years) when an earnest 
 man's inner sentiments more visibly influence his outer 
 life and lead him to take an active part in the religious 
 and benevolent movements around him. Dr. Botsford 
 became a regular attendant at Trinity Church, a vestry- 
 man,* and an intimate friend of the rector, the Rev. J. 
 D. W. Gray. 
 
 Dr. Gray had been assistant minister in Trinity 
 Parish since 1826, but he succeeded his father as rector 
 soon after Dr. Botsford's arrival in St. John. He was 
 a noble type of an evangelical clergyman, then a novel 
 character in St. John, and not quite acceptable to the 
 easy-going Church people of the period. Dr. Gray's 
 sonorous voice made Trinity resound Sunday after 
 Sunday with earnest appeals to " flee from the wrath to 
 come;" " to forsake the world;" "to let their light 
 shine." He denounced cards and dancing as " worldly 
 
 * He continued to be a member of the vestry for thirty years. 
 
 (72) 
 
RELIGIOUS WORK. 73 
 
 amusements." His preparations of candidates for con- 
 firmation was very strict. He made demands on the 
 purses of his congregation for missionary and Bible 
 societies; demands unknown before. Colonists were 
 accustomed to receive, not to confer, benefits. Dr. 
 Gray went further. Trinity had pews. Public opinion 
 had been, and was still altogether in their favor. 
 Bishop Inglis writes : "It gave me no small concern 
 to learn that the pews in Kingston Church were all 
 held in common. I never knew an instance of this in 
 
 England or America The worst characters 
 
 might come to sit themselves down by the most relig- 
 ious and respectable in the parish What 
 
 could occasion such an innovation ? I earnestly recom- 
 mend to your consideration the removal of this strange 
 arrangement." But the injurious limitations of the 
 pew system made themselves felt. During the lifetime 
 of Dr. Gray's father a small free church (Grace Church, 
 Portland) had been erected. When Dr. Gray became 
 rector, after much opposition Trinity was opened free 
 on Sunday evening. The sleepy afternoon prayers 
 were changed into a bright six o'clock service, not 
 arranged exactly according to our " advanced " ideas, 
 but still a vast improvement on the old style. Great 
 was the dissatisfaction in many quarters. " Any one," 
 it was said, " who washed to attend church could 
 certainly go in the afternoon." " The prayer books 
 would be injured." " The young people merely 
 went in the evening to walk home together." Dr. 
 Gray, however, persevered. The evening services be- 
 came popular, and were attended by large numbers of 
 people, attracted not merely by the fine anthem which 
 then usually dosed the service, but by Dr. Gray's 
 
74 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS. 
 
 earnest, intellectual sermons. There are few now to 
 remember the power with which the deep tones of his 
 rich voice fell on the ear, making even his abstruse and 
 philosophical arguments attractive to ordinary hearers. 
 A Sunday school had been established by Dr. Gray 
 when he first came to the parish in 1826, an innovation 
 considered quite unnecessary except for poor children, 
 but a band of devout men and women gathered round 
 the rector, and in 1847 a large school-house was built.* 
 In those days there were no leaflets or teacher's assist- 
 ants. Dr. Gray himself drew up yearly a system of 
 Bible and Prayer Book lessons for his young people. 
 
 For some time Dr. Gray struggled through great 
 difficulties. Instances occurred when a neighbouring 
 clergyman would be called in to attend an invalid in 
 the parish, Dr. Gray being absolutely refused entrance 
 into the sick room, lest his earnestness should alarm 
 the sufferer. Through all these trials Dr. Botsford 
 stood by his friend. It was at this time that his 
 church ideas took definite shape, he was confirmed, 
 and henceforth, though he was always ready to join 
 other Christian bodies in any good work, yet he was 
 prepared when attacked to do battle for his church, 
 her liturgy, her articles, according to his reading of 
 them. 
 
 *The school was first opened in the Madras School buildings, north 
 side of King square. Among the first teachers were L. H. DeVeber, 
 George Sears, Sarah deBlois and Isabella Kinnear. One of the scholars 
 was J. W. Lawrence. At the death of Dr. Gray, 1868, Beverly Robin- 
 son had been connected with the school over a third of a century. In 
 1855 Henry B. Nichols, a scholar and teacher, was ordained a Deacon, 
 and 1856 a Priest. In 1862 he left for England to prepare for mission- 
 ary work. His field was Burmah. He died 1864 from brain fever, 
 The first missionary of the Church of England from New Brunswick 
 to find a grave in heathen lands. J. W. LAWRENCE. 
 
RELIGIOUS OPINIONS. 75 
 
 After a time Dr. Gray became one of the most 
 esteemed, and one of the most popular men in the city, 
 and religious thought and feeling moved on smoothly 
 and quietly in the new channels. But 
 
 " God's universe may know no rest 
 We must go on forever changing 
 Through endless shapes forever ranging 
 And rest we only seem to see." 
 
 Goethe. 
 
 St. John was not to prove an exception to this rule. 
 It was not possible that the colonies could escape the 
 influence of the great " Oxford movement " which in 
 the mother country was stirring men's minds to their 
 very depths. As has been well said by Sir Charles 
 Eastlake : 
 
 " A remarkable change was gradually taking place in the 
 convictions of English Churchmen, which resulted in a move- 
 ment known under various names at various stages of its pro- 
 gress, really representing a tendency to invest the church with 
 higher spiritual functions, and to secure for it a more imposing 
 and symbolical form of worship." 
 
 The first or at least the first prominent exponent 
 among us of this new movement was our present 
 beloved Diocesan, the Metropolitan of Canada. He 
 came to us in 1845, in the fullness of his intellectual 
 powers, with his decided Church views, his cultivated 
 literary taste, and his English habits and manners. 
 When his quiet voice, so sweet, and yet so penetrating,, 
 was heard in our pulpits, it was soon discovered that 
 the new opinions which were being promulgated on 
 the other side of the Atlantic had reached our shores. 
 Before long there was another storm in the ecclesi- 
 E 
 
76 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS. 
 
 astical atmosphere, and this time it extended from St. 
 John throughout the Province. " Apostolical Suc- 
 cession," " Baptismal Regeneration," were the watch- 
 words of debate. Those who had been formerly 
 " innovators " now found their position reversed. 
 They were on the defensive. In opposition to the new 
 movement, Dr. Gray and several of his friends issued a 
 weekly neAvspaper called the Church Witness. It was 
 on the whole ably conducted, but was strong and some- 
 times fierce in its opposition. Dr. Botsford gave it 
 great financial support, and often contributed to its 
 columns. His character was one of much firmness, 
 and the principles which he held so strongly, and 
 maintained so persistently, were held and maintained 
 to the end of his life. Again, and again, he descended 
 into the arena to do battle for what he considered " the 
 truth." But, could he now return to us from where 
 
 " Beyond these voices there is peace," 
 
 he would be the last to desire that the details of those 
 past controversies should be revived. Even before lie 
 left us he saw other ideas looming in the distance, 
 ideas which, he felt, were more dangerous than 
 " Sacramentarian tendencies" or "Ritual innovations." 
 The famous " Essays and Reviews " were published, 
 and ten years after the Church Witness was established. 
 The following significant passage, probably from his 
 own pen, is tound in one of its editorials : " No one 
 who has watched the progress of religious controversy 
 during the last ten or fifteen years can have failed to 
 observe how greatly the ground of it has shifted in the 
 course of that period. The question was formerly of 
 particular doctrines, of forms of discipline and belief; 
 
RELIGIOUS OPINIONS. 77 
 
 and the appeal on either side was confidently made to 
 Holy Scripture as a decisive authority. Now the ques- 
 tion in debate has changed. The main controversy is 
 no longer what is the teaching of Scripture ? but 
 what is the value of its teaching? What is the au- 
 thority of Scripture itself?" Allusion is then made to 
 the " Essays and Reviews," to Colenso, to Huxley 
 the paragraph closes thus : " The Bible has passed 
 through many severe trials, and survived them all. It 
 will survive ' the present assaults, and come forth 
 stamped anew with the Divine Signet that it is the 
 "Word of God, which will live and abide forever." 
 [Church Witness, November 12, 1862. 
 
 In the latter years of Dr. Botslord's life the wide 
 prevalence of the sceptical views alluded to in the 
 above paragraph was frequently forced upon his atten- 
 tion, especially in travelling in the United States. 
 During these journeys he constantly entered into con- 
 versation with those around him, particularly with young 
 men, endeavouring to draw out opinions and quietly 
 to instruct or influence. One instance can be recalled. 
 It was on the deck of a New York and Savannah 
 steamer, as under a bright Southern sun it ploughed 
 its way through a heavy sea off Cape Hatteras. A 
 group of men of "all sorts and conditions" were 
 gathered round the " English doctor," who seemed so 
 much younger than his white hair betokened. Various 
 subjects were discussed politics, natural philosophy, 
 art. Dr. Botsford, in an almost Socratic fashion, ques- 
 tioned and cross-questioned as was his wont. Natural 
 philosophy led up to religion. The Mosaic records 
 were mentioned. " Surely, doctor," exclaimed one 
 of the group, a Harvard man, "you are too wise 
 
78 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS. 
 
 to give any credence to those old Jewish writings." 
 For an instant Dr. Botsford was startled by this sudden 
 and unexpected challenge, but after a moment of self- 
 recollection he answered : " Why should I not ? " and 
 then proceeded in his favourite inductive method to 
 demonstrate the claim Holy Scripture has upon our 
 belief, to show the reasonableness of Christian truth 
 and the contradictions involved in scepticism. Hours 
 passed away. Twilight crept over the ocean before 
 the discussion was ended ; and so much was Dr. Bots- 
 ford interested in one of his fellow-travellers, that 
 earnest letters were written months afterwards to him 
 at Harvard College, with what results the future only 
 can tell. 
 
 The untenableness and contradictions of scepticism 
 were favourite subjects with Dr. Botsford. He often 
 touched upon them in his addresses to the Bible 
 Society and the Natural History Society. He read two 
 lectures on Scepticism before the Young Men's Chris- 
 tian Association. He also wrote with great care and 
 much thought a short paper entitled, " The Super- 
 natural Based Upon Scientific Induction/' which, after 
 receiving a note of encouragement from Dr. McCosh, 
 of Princeton, New Jersey, he published. It will be 
 found in the Appendix. 
 
 It may be supposed, with Dr. Botsford's strong re- 
 ligious convictions, he would soon be claimed as a 
 worker by the various religious organizations which 
 are endeavouring to further the cause of truth in the 
 world. The New Brunswick Auxiliary of the British 
 and Foreign Bible Society, the Young Men's Christian 
 Association, the Evangelical Alliance, the Church 
 Missionary Society, the Colonial and Continental 
 
RELIGIOUS WORK. 79 
 
 Church Society, all shared in various degrees his 
 interest, his work and his financial support. Of these, 
 the British and Foreign Bible Society stood foremost 
 in his estimation. Soon after he settled in St. John he 
 became an active member, Chief Justice Parker then 
 being President, and the Honorable "W. B. Kinnear one 
 of the Yice-Presidents. At the death of the Chief 
 Justice Mr. Kinnear became President. He occupied 
 the position but three years, and, at his death, in 
 February, 1868, Dr. Botsford, who had been for many 
 years a Vice-President, was requested to take the 
 Presidency.* He at once declined, and all his friends 
 could say, or the members of the Society could urge, 
 was of no avail to change his opinion. For a time 
 the position was vacant. In the spring he spent a 
 Sunday in Philadelphia, when a " winged word " of 
 that prince of preachers, the present Bishop of Massa- 
 chusetts, Dr. Phillips Brooks, was the means of influ- 
 encing him to accept the responsibility and distinction 
 from which he shrank with so much humility. " The 
 opportunity for service is God's call to it," and, feeling 
 this, he no longer hesitated. When he was President)* 
 with what eager interest did he fulfill even the smallest 
 duties of his office. It was a pleasure to him to have the 
 
 * The following note on the subject was received from the late T. W. 
 Daniel, Esq., shortly before his death: 
 
 Dec. 11, 1891. 
 
 I see by the 48th report of our Auxiliary that Hon ble - W. B, 
 Kinnear died Feb. 21st, 1868, and that on the 3rd of March, at the 
 Regular Meeting of the Committee, Dr. Botsford was duly elected 
 President. Mr. Kinnear had been Vice-President for forty years 
 during the presidency of Chief Justice Parker. T. W. DANIEL. 
 
 t Dr. Botsford continued President for twenty years, from 1868 until 
 his death. 
 
80 RELIGIOUS WORK. 
 
 monthly meeting of the Executive Committee at his 
 liouse. In his cosy parlour there must be a bright lire, 
 good light, comfortable seats for the earnest men who 
 met to talk over this work. Then when the annual meet- 
 ing approached, with what care were the resolutions 
 drawn up, the speakers selected, the hymns chosen. On 
 the evening of the anniversary, he would look round in 
 the Mechanics' Institute with satisfaction on the well- 
 filled platform, the crowded house, all interested in the 
 same great cause the distribution among the nations 
 of the earth of the Book of Books. His speeches as 
 President were generally read. Once or twice his annual 
 address was extempore, and it was then observed that 
 he spoke with more fire and energ}-, but not possessing 
 a good verbal memory, he generally preferred writing 
 ovit what he wished to say beforehand. He varied the 
 subject of his speeches as much as possible, and he 
 always tried to make them brief. One address con- 
 tained an account of the Rev. H. LansdelPs distribu- 
 tion of Bibles among Siberian prisoners ; another 
 touched on the popular craze about Budha, and the 
 comparison often instituted between the sacred books 
 of the Buddhist and the Holy Scripture. From the 
 annual address made in 1883, the following passage on 
 the intellectual influence of the Bible, and the Bible 
 Society, is selected : 
 
 " It is impossible to estimate the influence which this Society 
 is now exercising upon the civilization of the world. Inde- 
 pendent of the vitalizing force of the moral principles in- 
 culcated in the Bible, this Society, according to Max Muller 
 (no mean authority), has, by its numerous translations of 
 the Scriptures, conduced largely to the elevation of the race. 
 The bare fact that a mass of writings such as our com- 
 
RELIGIOUS WORK. 81 
 
 mon Bible contains has been translated into 250 languages 
 or dialects, stamps this Society as a power in the mental work 
 of the world. And when we further take into consideration 
 that this amount of work is carried on by educated men, we 
 must admit the claim of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society to a high position among the intellectual forces of the 
 century. But not only have these translations been made 
 into languages whose written characters were already formed, 
 but they have in many instances entailed upon the men 
 engaged in the work the necessity of originating a written 
 language when no method previously existed for communicat- 
 ing knowledge. Such a preparation for any people must be 
 regarded as an important factor in the problem of civiliza- 
 tion. And were there no other claim for the existence of the 
 Bible Society, this one alone will be regarded by thinking 
 people a sufficient reason for the support of this noble insti- 
 tution. These are far from being its strongest claims. There 
 are reasons of much greater weight, as much greater as the 
 moral transcends the intellectual ; and a still higher phase of 
 life is opened up to us by the book it circulates. Upon the 
 spiritual condition of man does the permanency of his moral 
 and intellectual attainments depend. 
 
 " Without an authoritative criterion there cannot be a sound 
 foundation for moral laws, and no guarantee for intellectual 
 progress. No doubt nations have risen to a certain height, 
 and others may rise, but they must fall back into a moral 
 chaos, and their civilization break down beneath the load of 
 corruption which besets humanity. The surface of the earth 
 is strewn with the wrecks of the nations which have perished. 
 
 " Such has been the case on this continent. Mexico rose to 
 eminence in wealth, in commerce, in the conveniences of life, 
 in luxuries but she "had no standard of morals. And who 
 cannot recall the historian's description of that dreadful night 
 when the boom of the monster gong fell upon the ears of the 
 Spanish prisoners who knew that the first beams of the morn- 
 
82 RELIGIOUS WORK. 
 
 ing sun would witness their bodies stretched upon the stone 
 of sacrifice their breasts cut open, their hearts torn out, 
 and, whilst still palpitating, thrown upon the burning altar. 
 And yet a handful of hardy soldiers under Cortes blotted out 
 an empire which had culminated in effeminacy and was stained 
 with the blood of human sacrifices. In the old world Egypt 
 embodied her once elevated thoughts in forms and symbols ; 
 bowed before them in adoration, and buried her centuries of 
 civilization deeper than the sands which cover the monuments 
 of her greatness. The kingdoms of Asia were once civilized 
 and prominent among men, but now the stranger digs among 
 the ruins of empires and can scarcely recognize the sites 
 of their overturned capitals. And China, the most persistent 
 of the nations, has been stagnated for centuries, and is covered 
 with gross idolatry. Such has been the experience of the 
 world when there has been no criterion for truth, no authority 
 to stamp its demands ; when every man formed his own 
 standard of right and wrong. In the very nature of things 
 this must be. For the laws which govern human actions, as 
 well as the material universe, will shape the destiny of men, 
 as well as the rise and fall of nations. Is there then no hope 
 for man, even though his intellect be lifted up to great attain- 
 ments? None; unless a light comes from an external source, 
 and unless there exists a spiritual force which shall influence 
 his principles of action, hold out pure motives for conduct, 
 and help him to attain a higher plane of life." 
 
 Occasionally Dr. Botsford attended anniversary 
 meetings in country places. He was in Sackville in 
 1886, and in his address said : " I feel it a duty and a 
 privilege to be present at this meeting in my native 
 place. . . . Almost sixty years have passed since I 
 left my native county to light the battle of life. I re- 
 turn to the old scenes, but the old familiar faces are 
 not here. Another generation has entered the field. 
 
RELIGIOUS WORK. 83 
 
 I appear before you to express my belief, my growing 
 belief in that blessed Word of God which the Bible 
 Society is endeavouring to disseminate through the 
 world. Believing the Bible, I also believe in its im- 
 portance, as the only rule of life, the source of liberty, 
 and of all right government." To these earnest words 
 Dr. Botsford's private life bore witness. He read and 
 studied his Bible diligently it was filled with pencil 
 marks to assist his memory. As may be supposed, he 
 was a generous contributor to the funds of the Bible 
 Society, though at the anniversaries his donation was 
 generally put in the plate in several notes to avoid 
 ostentation. When the various churches appointed 
 collectors, he did the work on behalf of Trinity 
 Church. Nor did he forget the New Brunswick Aux- 
 iliary of the British and Foreign Bible Society in his 
 will. His last annual address was made at the Anni- 
 versary Meeting of 1888, about three weeks before 
 his death. It is here given from his manuscript : 
 
 " We are privileged to meet once more on this, our anni- 
 versary, to hear and consider the claims of the B. & F. B. 
 Society, and to express our gratitude to the Giver of all for 
 its continued success. Some one may ask, Why do you 
 assemble year after year ? What is your object ? Is its im- 
 portance not sufficiently acknowledged ? I would reply that 
 its importance can hardly be over-estimated ; it is yearly as- 
 suming greater dimensions. At the same time such is the 
 tendency of every -day life to shut out all else, that it is neces- 
 sary to stir up men to consider these high and growing claims, 
 that they may apprehend and do the work which is required 
 at their hands. 
 
 " It is not for us to question why this should be so ; why He 
 who could reveal Himself without human agency to every 
 
84 R ELK il US WORK. 
 
 soul of man does not do so ; why in His wisdom He has seen 
 n't to exalt man to be a co-worker with Himself; why we can- 
 not throw off the responsibility He has laid upon us; and 
 why He has constituted us our brothers' keepers. 
 
 "Agency is the principle by and through which the Ruler 
 of the Universe condescends to work, not only in the physical 
 world, but also in our every-day life, where man must be 
 taught before he can perform its ordinary duties must sow 
 before he can reap. Labour in some form or other is a neces- 
 sary ingredient in progress, and to produce results we must 
 be stimulated to labour by our necessities or by a sense of 
 duty. It is a principle which permeates all society, and when 
 acted upon produces a corresponding reward. So in the 
 spiritual world, our Heavenly Father has associated results 
 with work. He has laid upon man the responsibility of using 
 spiritual forces to benefit his fellow-men. Thus in the old 
 dispensation, the Jews had the lively oracles of God committed 
 to their charge, and they were commanded ' to teach them to 
 their children/ ' to write them upon the door-posts of their 
 houses and upon their gates.' Then when the fulness of time 
 had come, and the Gospel of the Kingdom was to be pro- 
 claimed, chosen men were ordained to make known this 
 revelation of the Messiah to be the witnesses of this life and 
 death, and to commit all to writing (as in the former dispen- 
 sation), so that the truth might descend from generation to 
 generation, to be a permanent record of the Divine Will. 
 
 " Now, whilst we fully recognize the necessity of a human 
 agency to preach personally, and to instruct men in the truth ; 
 whilst we acknowledge that preaching is a great and ordained 
 method by which men are led to receive the truth, and are 
 built up in the truth, we are also as fully convinced of the 
 supreme importance of sending the written Word to every 
 inhabitant of this earth. 
 
 " There are many, very many instances, recorded in the 
 reports of the Society in which, without human teaching, the 
 
RELIGIOUS WORK. 85 
 
 \Vord of God, under the Holy Spirit, has led souls to a 
 knowledge of God's mercy, the atonement of Christ. On 
 the other hand, many, like the Ethiopean Eunuch when read- 
 ing the Scriptures, require another Philip to explain the 
 meaning of the Word that they may understand it. 
 
 "To print and distribute the Word of God is absolutely 
 necessary, not merely for the people which do not have it, but 
 for the nations which profess Christianity. It is necessary 
 also that men who have entered upon the Christian life should 
 be furnished with it, that they may increase in wisdom and 
 spiritual understanding by a constant personal contact with 
 the Word of God. 
 
 " The necessity for such a contact to keep the truth alive 
 has perhaps never been more clearly demonstrated than in the 
 case of the Nestorian Church and its mission to the Chinese 
 people. Christianity was carried by that church into China 
 1250 years ago. But the only evidence as yet known that 
 such was the case is derived from a remarkable monument 
 upon which was written an account of its introduction and its 
 progress. 
 
 " This tablet is of granite. It is nine feet high and over 
 three feet broad. The inscription, in Chinese, consists of 1800 
 words or characters. A small part has statements which are 
 in the Syriac. The Chinese writing consists of a statement of 
 the Christian doctrines introduced, the government of the 
 church, also a general history of its progress. 
 
 " This granite tablet was unearthed about 250 years ago by 
 some Chinese labourers who were digging a foundation for a 
 house. At present it is standing in the grounds, and amid 
 the ruins of a Buddhist temple in a row of Buddhist tablets. 
 
 " According to the inscription the monument was erected in 
 the year 781. 'It was set up on a Sunday, the seventh day 
 of the first month in the second year of King Chung, of the 
 T'ang dynasty.' The text was written by Sii Sin Yen, Secre- 
 tary of the Imperial Council. 
 
86 RELIGIOUS WORK. 
 
 " It states that in the year 635 Christianity was introduced, 
 that it rapidly extended among the people, and that illustrious 
 churches were erected in every province. It enumerates the 
 chief Christian doctrines. That the sacred books, twenty- 
 seven in number (same number in our New Testament canon) 
 were translated in the imperial library. That the Sovereign 
 investigated the subject in his private apartments, and gave 
 special orders for its dissemination. The following are a few 
 sentences taken from his proclamation : ' Having examined 
 the principles of this religion, we find them to be purely ex- 
 cellent and natural. Investigating its originating source, we 
 find it has taken its rise from the establishment of important 
 truths ; its ritual is free from perplexing expressions ; its prin- 
 ciples will survive when its frame-work is forgot ; it is bene- 
 ficial to all creatures ; it is advantageous to mankind. Let it 
 be published throughout the Empire/ Thus Christianity was 
 introduced into China 1250 years ago. It flourished for a 
 century and a half as stated on this remarkable monument. 
 But there has not been found as yet any record to show how 
 it was thoroughly blotted from the face of the country. This 
 tablet is the sole proof of its existence and general prevalence. 
 It is, however, possible that histories connected with the 
 period, and it may be copies of the translated Scriptures, may 
 yet be disinterred from the archives of that singular people, 
 for it is expressly stated that such were ordered to be made 
 by the King. If the art of printing had been known in those 
 days, as it is now, there would, without doubt, have been a 
 large number of the sacred books struck off, and being 
 brought into contact with many individual Christians, the 
 truths contained in them would have been treasured up, and 
 would have produced more permanent results. 
 
 " This striking, nay startling fact in history, should deeply 
 impress us with the necessity of such a society as the British 
 and Foreign Bible Society, and the duty laid upon us to 
 further its aim, which is to furnish this great gift, the Word 
 
RELIGIOUS WORK. 87 
 
 of God, to every man, in every nation, and in his own lan- 
 guage. 
 
 "Without the living Word (which is the Word of the 
 Spirit) individuals may lose sight of the truth. Communities 
 drift away from it. Nations lapse into spiritual ignorance, 
 and church organizations, as in China, prove inefficient to 
 keep alive the -knowledge of the true God." 
 
 The next society with which Dr. Botsford heartily 
 co-operated, was the Young Men's Christian Associa- 
 tion. He deemed it was doing an important work 
 among the young men in the city. For several years 
 he filled the position of President, and occupied a seat 
 in the Board of Management for a much longer period. 
 He took even deeper interest in the more spiritual side 
 of the work. For many years he taught a Bible 
 Class in the Y. M. C. A. on Sunday afternoon. Thirty 
 or forty young men were often present. He prepared 
 for this Bible Class very thoroughly, as anxious and 
 puzzling questions were often asked, but so great was 
 the doctor's earnestness, that neither trifling nor flip- 
 pant remarks were made by the most thoughtless 
 present. Many youths in after life looked back to 
 those Sunday afternoons as to a time when permanent 
 religious impressions had been received, and firm re- 
 solves made to lead a life regulated by high Christian 
 principle. Dr. Botsford lectured repeatedly before the 
 Y. M. C. A. on religious, intellectual and moral sub- 
 jects. One address to men only, on drinking, gambling, 
 and other vices, is said to have been most judicious 
 and instructive. He maintained his interest in the 
 Young Men's Christian Association to the end of his 
 life, and remembered it in his will. 
 
 The meetings of the Evangelical Alliance were 
 
88 RELIGIOUS WORK. 
 
 always attended by Dr. Botsford with great regularity. 
 When President of the St. John Branch he went as 
 delegate from St. John to the World's meeting of the 
 Alliance which was held in New York in September, 
 1873.* He enjoyed the discussions on Evolution and 
 other great topics of the day, and he met and con- 
 versed with the Dean of Canterbury (Dr. Payne Smith), 
 Dr. McCosh, of Princeton University, Dr. Parker, the 
 eminent Congregationalist divine from London, Henry 
 Ward Beecher, Dr. Christlieb from Germany, and 
 other celebrities who were present. 
 
 Dr. Botsford aided with zeal in the efforts of the 
 Alliance in St. John for a better observance of the 
 Lord's day, and other good works. He especially 
 enjoyed the yearly week of prayer held in January, 
 and usually presided over one of the noonday meetings. 
 Many spoke of the devotional earnestness with which 
 he conducted the prayers and praises of the worship- 
 pers. The broad benevolence of his religious opinions 
 found free scope at such times. It is true, not many 
 of his own church could see their way to attend these 
 meetings, but some, like his valued friend, the late 
 Rev. G. M. Armstrong, found satisfaction and profit in 
 so doing. In such things one may not judge another. 
 There are many now, as in the olden time, who would 
 forbid "because he followeth not with us." But, dis- 
 tinct and clear, comes to us from the Master the re- 
 proving command, " Forbid him not, for he that is not 
 against us is for us." (Luke ix., 30.) 
 
 Dr. Botsford was an active member of the Local Com- 
 mittee of the Colonial and Continental Church Society, 
 
 * He was accompanied by Mr. J. E. Irvine, and several other dele- 
 gates from St. John. 
 
RELIGIOUS WORK. 89 
 
 and later in life President of the St. John Branch of the 
 Church Missionary Society. Other good works were 
 assisted by him of which little record remains, as he 
 had a special dislike to see his name, or even his 
 initials, in subscription lists. He tried to act out the 
 principle of not letting the left hand know " what the 
 right hand doeth." 
 
 His attitude as regards the temperance movement 
 was peculiar. Accustomed in his father's house to see 
 wine always on the dinner table, he probably gave no 
 consideration to the subject until he began to practice 
 in St. John. Then sad cases of self-indulgence w r ere 
 encountered, and the sorrow and suffering caused in 
 many families by intemperance forced themselves upon 
 his attention. When the temperance question began 
 to be strongly agitated in St. John he was at first in- 
 clined to join the movement, but the admixture of 
 politics, which spon took place, repelled him. He never 
 took the pledge. Many may regret this, but it can be 
 stated that he gave his influence in other ways to the 
 temperance cause. He refused to be present at scenes 
 of conviviality. He never joined in public dinners, 
 the first thing of the kind he attended being a tem- 
 perance dinner given to Sir Leonard Tilley in 1874. 
 He was most cautious in prescribing stimulants to his 
 patients, and, as the importance of the question in- 
 creased in his estimation, he banished wine altogether 
 from his own table. 
 
 His abstinence from the use of tobacco might be 
 mentioned here. He said he felt the habit growing 
 upon him. He feared he should become its slave ; so, 
 in the first year of his St. John life, he gave it up. It 
 was a struggle at first. The desire sometimes recurred 
 
90 RELIGIOUS WORK. 
 
 to him in dreams, but he finally conquered what he 
 was wont to term a " pernicious and degrading habit." 
 When the Anti-Tobacco Society was established in St. 
 John he became a member, and a few days before his 
 death he was engaged in preparing an address to 
 be delivered at the annual meeting of that society. 
 
 Thus was Dr. Botsford actively engaged in further- 
 ing various plans, and in assisting many organizations 
 for the help and benefit of others. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 POLITICAL OPINIONS PROTESTANT ORPHAN ASYLUM 
 
 HOSPITAL WORK. 
 
 We all are changed by slow degrees, 
 All but the basis of the soul. 
 
 Tennyson. 
 
 After the first ten years had been passed in the busy 
 activities of professional life, Dr. Bqtsford was recog- 
 nized as one of the leading physicians of the city. He 
 was, as has been remarked, a man of " strong views 
 and decided convictions " in all directions ; therefore 
 it is not strange that we find it said of him : "At this 
 time (1849-1850) he was a leading figure in our political 
 affairs, although he never sought representative 
 honours. His appointment in 1857 to a public position 
 (that of medical attendant to the Kent Marine Hospital) 
 withdrew him to some extent from active participation 
 in public affairs, but he was a man whose intellect never 
 dulled, and whose interest in the world around him 
 never slackened." (Globe, Jan. 81st, 1888.) He was 
 at the time of which we are speaking a Liberal. 
 "When, in 1867, the isolated Provinces of British North 
 America were to be united, when the Dominion of 
 Canada was to take her place as an influential member 
 of our colonial empire, then occurred many changes. 
 Conservatives, who were Anti-Confederates, joined 
 hands with former opponents, and Liberals, who ap- 
 proved of the wide-reaching policy of the measure, 
 went over to the Conservative ranks. Among the 
 
 F (91) 
 
92 POLITICAL OPINIONS. 
 
 latter was Dr. Botstbrd. From the first he took great 
 interest in the movement. He writes to his brother 
 Edwin, under date January 25th, 1865 : " There will 
 be a stirring time here until the elections are over. I 
 can form no idea of affairs from anything I see or hear. 
 I am strong for Confederation, and will not be found 
 on the fence." To the end of his life he continued to 
 note with pleasure the various benefits which he 
 thought had been brought about by Confederation. A 
 friend (the Honorable John Boyd) writes : " His 
 politics \vere pronounced, but^he had warm friends in 
 both parties. He w r as an all round, many-sided, good 
 man." The attitude of Dr. Botsford's mind during the 
 
 o 
 
 latter years of his life regarding politics is probably ex- 
 pressed in the following sentences from a letter written 
 to one of his brothers on the eve of an election : " I have 
 my predilections, as a matter of course. At the same 
 -time I hope that the men best calculated to hold the reins 
 may get*them." 
 
 In 1848, Judge Botsford, who, on account of his 
 deafness, had retired from the Bench, came to St. 
 John, and spent two winters under his son's roof. 
 The old gentleman was much pleased with the suc- 
 cess which Dr. Botsford had attained in his profes- 
 sion, and with the evident esteem in which he was 
 held by his fellow-citizens. Judge Botsford was accom- 
 panied by his wife. The dignified and handsome old 
 lady, who Avas aunt or cousin to so many in St. John, 
 held what might be called daily " receptions " in the 
 pretty room assigned for her use. Young people would 
 gather round her wdiile the afternoon sun lighted 
 up the tall figure, and the sweet face so serene 
 in the calm beauty of old age. At the close of the 
 
WATER SUPPLY. 93 
 
 second winter Mrs. Botsford went to spend a few 
 weeks with her daughter, Mrs. R. L. Hazen. She 
 took a severe cold, and after a short illness entered 
 into rest May, 1850. It was a source of great satis- 
 faction to Dr. Botsford that he could be with his 
 mother during the closing hours of her life, and his 
 thoughtful care alleviated much suffering. After her 
 death Judge Botsford longed for the quiet of his coun- 
 try home. He returned to Westcock almost immedi- 
 ately, accompanied by one of his grand-daughters (the 
 eldest child of his stepson Murray), who had just re- 
 turned from Europe, where the widow had resided near 
 her mother since Mr. Murray's death. 
 
 As time went on alternate clouds and sunshine passed 
 over St. John. Dr. Botsford, like a good citizen, re- 
 joiced in its prosperity, and sympathized in its adverse 
 circumstances. In 1851, the waterworks for the city 
 were finished. The event was duly celebrated. Sir 
 Edmund Head, the Lieutenant-Go vernor, turned on 
 the water. Cannons were fired. There w r ere great 
 rejoicings, an exhibition and a trade procession. The 
 city had hitherto been supplied with drinking water 
 from the carts of water carriers, who sold the water at 
 " a penny a bucket." The introduction of a supply 
 of good water into the city was of great importance, 
 especially in the eyes of one who, like Dr. Botsford, 
 thought, wrote, and lectured repeatedly on Hygiene 
 and Sanitary Laws. One of his medical lectures on 
 Hygiene will be found in the Appendix. 
 
 The spring of 1853 saw the commencement of the 
 Intercolonial Railroad, the first railroad in New Bruns- 
 wick. The sod was turned with great ceremony by 
 Lady Head, and the scene was as impressive as crowds, 
 
94 ASIATIC CHOLERA. 
 
 banners and bands could make it. The hills on each 
 side of " The Valley " were literally black with enthu- 
 siastic spectators, and shout after shout went up as 
 Lady Head raised the first turf with her silver spade. 
 Dr. Botsford took much interest in the proceedings, 
 and when, after the National Anthem, one of the 
 bands played Old Hundred, his devotional nature was 
 touched. He spoke of it afterwards as one of the 
 solemn moments of his life. He recognized the jimpor- 
 tance of the event in the history of his province, and 
 the appropriateness of this tribute to the unseen Ruler 
 of the Universe. He was in touch with all that 
 betokened improvement and progress, and would not 
 on this occasion allow himself to be discouraged by a 
 pessimistic friend, who prophesied that the railroad 
 would not be built; that, if it were built, it would not 
 pay ; but that probably the sleepers might be taken up 
 and a good post road secured for practical purposes. 
 No one, not even Dr. Botsford, with his sanguine 
 hopes, could then foresee that in less than forty years 
 1,400 miles of railroad would have been built in New 
 Brunswick. 
 
 In 1854 St. John was visited by the Asiatic Cholera. 
 It raged from July to the end of August, and the mor- 
 tality was very great, 1,500 persons, men, women and 
 children, falling victims to the epidemic. All the 
 physicians and clergy of the city had their time and 
 strength severely taxed. Doctor Botsford, with his 
 healthy, powerful physique, was able to endure im- 
 mense fatigue. He was unremitting in his attentions 
 to the sick and dying. Day after day was spent in 
 scenes of sadness and horror, generally in the poorest 
 quarters of the city. The calls for him at his house 
 
PROTESTANT ORPHAN ASYLUM. 95 
 
 were incessant. The only way he could obtain rest 
 was by remaining an hour or two with his friends, Mr. 
 and Mrs. James McMillan, who considerately offered 
 him the use of a room. He often recalled their kind- 
 ness to him at this trying time. During these fearful 
 weeks much experience was gained. It is believed 
 that at first Dr. Botsford was not inclined to think the 
 epidemic contagious. He was soon convinced of the 
 contrary, and with his usual frank sincerity he did not 
 hesitate to avow his change of opinion. 
 
 One memento of that sad time was the establishment 
 of the " Protestant Orphan Asylum." An appeal for 
 such an institution was made in the Church Witness 
 (Nov. 1st, 1854) by the city clergy, headed by the Rev. 
 Dr. Gray. On the 12th of November, a meeting was 
 held at the Mechanics' Institute to consider the ques- 
 tion of an orphanage. Resolutions were passed and 
 speeches made by clergymen and laymen. Among the 
 latter Dr. Botsford's name occurs. When the project 
 was carried out, and the Protestant Orphan Asylum 
 was incorporated at the next session of the Legislature, 
 Dr. Botsford was one of the twenty-two corporators 
 named in the Act. He always took great interest in 
 the institution, and even during the busiest periods of 
 his life he visited it occasionally. Pie and Mrs. Bots- 
 ford were present at the large meeting which assembled 
 at the Orphanage on the evening of November 17th, 
 1881, to celebrate its rebuilding and reopening after 
 its destruction by the " Great Fire " of 1877. On that 
 evening $1,500 were raised by the friends of the insti- 
 tution to pay off its last indebtedness. The idea of 
 the collection originated with Mr. S. T. King, who 
 headed the list with $100. All present responded gen- 
 
96 PROTESTANT ORPHAN ASYLUM. 
 
 erously to the appeal, Mrs. Botsford subscribing $50. 
 During the leisure of his latter days, Dr. Botsford and 
 his wife visited the Orphanage frequently, and at 
 Christmas, donations of toys and sugar plums glad- 
 dened the little ones. At such times a few cheery 
 words would bring the circle of young faces closer 
 round their kind friend, who would then talk to them, 
 and by simple questions draw out their childish ideas 
 and impress what he was saying, while his own sim- 
 plicity of nature thoroughly enjoyed this contact with 
 the freshness and joyousness of childhood. With his 
 usual consideration he never left without saying a 
 friendly word of encouragement to the worthy matron. 
 He assisted the Asylum financially during his lifetime, 
 and at his death he left it heir to the sixth part of his 
 estate. 
 
 There was also another institution in which Dr. 
 Botsford was deeply interested, "The Boys' Industrial 
 School." This school, mainly through the efforts of its 
 President, Mr. H. W. Frith, was maintained in efficient 
 working order for ten years. As it was situated in 
 Carleton, Dr. Botsford could not often find time to 
 visit it, but he was a liberal contributor to its funds. 
 He had some years before adopted a plan of systematic 
 giving. A tenth of his income was devoted to religious 
 and benevolent purposes, and, in his usual methodical 
 way, this tenth was equally sub-divided among four or 
 five objects. One of these objects was the Bible So- 
 ciety, another the "Boys' Industrial School," and when 
 on one occasion the president remarked on the fre- 
 quency of the contributions, Dr. Botsford said, he was 
 "only giving the school its dues." There were not 
 many as interested in this object as he was, and con- 
 
HOSPITAL WORK. 97 
 
 frequently, after the president and directors had strug- 
 gled on for ten years amid difficulty, the school had to 
 be given up, much to the regret of those who felt that 
 every city needs a reformatory, or an industrial school, 
 or some institution of a similar nature.* 
 
 In 1857, Dr. Botsford added to his professional work 
 by accepting the appointment of visiting physician to 
 the Kent Marine Hospital. He had, in 1850, refused 
 the charge of the Lunatic Asylum in Carleton, but 
 when, on the death of Dr. Boyd, who had been for 
 many years the visiting physician at the Marine Hos- 
 pital, his position was offered to Dr. Botsford, he ac- 
 cepted it, as he had assisted Dr. Boyd for some time 
 previously, and he knew and liked the work. Hence- 
 forth a daily visit to the hospital became part of the 
 routine of his life. The Marine Hospital was estab- 
 lished by the Imperial Government in 1822, and was 
 named after the Duke of Kent. It was at this time a 
 low wooden building with no " modern improvements," 
 but the ground about it was laid out as a garden, and 
 afforded fresh air and sunshine to the convalescents. 
 Most of the widely-scattered races of the globe are 
 represented in the motley groups of invalid sailors, 
 who come and go in the Kent Marine Hospital, Eng- 
 lish, Scotch, Irish, Swedes, Norwegians, Dutch; Ger- 
 mans from the shores of the Baltic; Italians and 
 Spaniards from the Mediterranean ; Japanese, Chinese, 
 Negroes. Sometimes, in his leisure moments, the 
 doctor's ready pencil would sketch in the blank pages 
 
 * While these pages are passing through the press, it has been learned 
 that Lady Tilley has made a move towards establishing a " Boys' Re- 
 formatory " in St. John. It is to be hoped that this effort will receive 
 the cordial sympathy and efficient aid which it deserves. 
 
98 HOSPITAL WORK. 
 
 of his Physician's Diary the facial peculiarities of 
 the different nationalities. Sometimes his sense of the 
 ridiculous would be touched, his merry laugh would 
 echo through the ward and awaken a S3 7 mpathetic 
 smile on many a suffering face. For instance, one 
 day he was vainly trying to speak professionally 
 with an Italian sailor French and Latin had been 
 tried in vain when a "bright little Jap" came 
 to the rescue, and acted as interpreter between the 
 English doctor and the puzzled foreigner. There was 
 much opportunity in this institution for the exercise of 
 Dr. Botsford's characteristic benevolence and sympathy. 
 Vessels would come into our port in the depth of 
 winter, encrusted with ice and with many sad cases of 
 frost-bitten sailors. One instance recurs to memory. 
 A vessel was wrecked off Grand Manan. Many of 
 the crew perished. The three that survived were 
 exposed all night on the rocks without shelter, the 
 thermometer below zero. When they reached the 
 hospital all was done that skill or kindness could 
 devise. Two lost parts of their feet. The third, a 
 colored man, had both legs amputated. Artificial 
 limbs were procured, but the shock to the system had 
 been so terrible that it was many months before the 
 poor fellow could leave the hospital. Sometimes fear- 
 ful accident cases would be brought in, falls from the 
 mast or rigging, often much aggravated by the distance 
 travelled before the hospital could be reached. One 
 case was an almost dying sailor put ashore by a vessel 
 at St. Martins, and jolted in a wagon all the way to 
 St. John. The doctor, hoping against hope, watched 
 day after day over the poor fellow with the solicitude 
 of a mother over her son, until finally Mrs. Botsford 
 
HOSPITAL WORK. 99 
 
 heard with sympathetic gladness that the injured man 
 was creeping back to life. And in the midst of 
 all the medical care, iiigher interests were never for- 
 gotten. Words of reproof, or comfort, or warning, 
 would be spoken here and there as occasion offered. 
 One or two, out of many instances, may be given. 
 One day as the doctor entered the corridor off the 
 ward, he was met by a convalescent patient, who said 
 that when he had been allowed to go out the previous 
 evening, temptation had met him w r hich he could not 
 resist, that he had been drinking, that he was truly 
 sorry, and longed to be able to reform. The doctor 
 answered with kindness and decision ; he told the man 
 in strong words the utter ruin of soul and body to 
 which he was exposing himself, and advised him as his 
 only means of safety to abstain totally from anything 
 of an intoxicating nature. At another time, after go- 
 ing his rounds in the wards, he noticed in a private 
 room the deep shadows of heartsickness and hopeless- 
 ness upon the face of an -invalid. Seating himself by 
 the young man, he spoke to him of sorrow and suffer- 
 ing, and the effect they are intended to have upon the 
 characters of men. He alluded to the all-protecting 
 care of "Our Father" in heaven, and as "these lov- 
 ing echoes of the Master's tone " fell on the ear, the 
 young face grew brighter, and the weary, hopeless look 
 began to pass away. The bells were ringing for church. 
 " Now," said the doctor, with a kindly smile as he 
 was leaving, " I have preached you a sermon. Now I 
 must go and hear one preached to me." Christmas is 
 always well remembered by sailors. It was an espec- 
 ially pleasant time at the Marine Hospital during the 
 latter years of Dr. Botsford's life, when the Ladies 
 
100 HOSPITAL WORK. 
 
 Hospital Committee of the Church of England Insti- 
 tute began to give a Christmas supper to the inmates 
 of the hospital. After stipulating that nothing very 
 injurious to invalids should be set before the men, the 
 doctor would enter with great zest into the proceed- 
 ings. When beef, turkey, jelly, etc., had been fully 
 discussed, a cabinet organ would be drawn into the 
 hall, and then the sailors would join heartily in their 
 favorite songs, " Pull for the Shore," " Let Your Lower 
 Lights be Burning," and other hymns. Sometimes a 
 Swede or Norwegian would sing a Christmas hymn in 
 his own language. Then, after a few words of advice 
 from their Chaplain, Mr. Spencer, and from the Presi- 
 dent of the Institute, Canon Brigstocke, " these en- 
 tertainments," as the sailors called them, were closed 
 by singing the Doxology, in which the doctor would 
 join with heart and voice. The sailors often said that 
 in other ports they had good Christmas dinners, but 
 only in St. John did they enjoy " good entertain- 
 ments." 
 
 After repeated solicitations, the Dominion Govern- 
 ment determined on replacing the old wooden structure 
 which represented the Marine Hospital by a handsome 
 brick building. Dr. Botsford was deeply interested in 
 its erection. He visited the principal hospitals in the 
 United States, that he might get ideas as to the best 
 mode of construction, heating, ventilation. He ex- 
 amined the windows, fireplaces, bedsteads and mat- 
 tresses, and the result has been one of the most com- 
 modious and well-planned buildings (for its size) on 
 the continent. Before leaving this subject it might be 
 added that, though Dr. Botsford's manner to the sailors 
 was frank, hearty and almost jovial, yet he was a strict 
 
HOSPITAL WORK. 101 
 
 disciplinarian, and if, in defiance of the rules, an old 
 salt would smoke in his "bunk," as he called his bed, 
 instead of in the room allotted for that purpose, or if 
 an inj udicious friend would bring mince-pies to a fever 
 patient, Dr. Botsford could be stern, indignant and 
 righteously angry. His mariner to the employees of 
 the hospital was always very considerate. He assisted 
 them in difficulties and upheld their authority, smooth- 
 ing away any unpleasantness by his bright, genial 
 manner. 
 
 Some time after Dr. Botsford's appointment to the 
 Marine Hospital, he was asked to take an interest in 
 an effort to erect a General Public Hospital. In the 
 Church Witness, dated November 23, 1859, the follow- 
 ing paragraph occurs : 
 
 " The News and other journals are advocating with much 
 energy the erection of a hospital in this city. It is admitted 
 now, we believe, by every reflecting citizen that such an insti- 
 tution is indispensable. The only question is how the work 
 shall be accomplished. A few years ago Dr. William Bayard, 
 with the most praiseworthy zeal, obtained subscriptions to a 
 large amount towards it, and an appeal was made to the 
 Legislature for aid, which proved to be unsuccessful, and 
 nothing further was done. We trust Dr. Bayard will again 
 take the matter up, as the public mind is now fully prepared 
 to act. The Legislature should unquestionably aid the under- 
 taking, at all events, at its commencement, but it should be 
 maintained by local taxation, if the subscriptions of our 
 wealthy citizens should prove insufficient for the purpose." 
 
 Dr. Bayard did " again take the matter up," and 
 through his exertions, aided by others, the General 
 Public Hospital was built and opened in June, 1865. 
 
102 HOSPITAL WORK. 
 
 Dr. Bayard became President, and a medical [staff was 
 appointed, consisting of Dr. Botsford, Dr. Harding, 
 Dr. Steeves, Dr. Edwin Bayard, Dr. Keator,fDr. J. W. 
 Smith. Dr. Botsford continued an active member of 
 this medical staff for three years. He then sent in his 
 resignation, March, 1868. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE FIRST HOLIDAY THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 
 
 Thus the men 
 
 Whom Nature's works instruct with God Himself 
 Hold converse ; grow familiar day by day 
 With His conceptions ; act upon His plan 
 And form to His the relish of their souls. 
 
 Akenside. 
 
 Dr. Botsford had passed his fifty-first birthday be- 
 fore he allowed himself a well-earned holiday of three 
 months' duration. The last few years of this busy 
 period of his life had brought many changes, both at 
 home and abroad. The Crimean war had been fought 
 to its close of sorrow and triumph. The Indian mutiny 
 had stirred our sympathies, and our churches had 
 resounded with the litanied petition, " Especially for 
 our suffering fellow-countrymen in the East: we, beseech 
 Thee to hear us, good Lord." The year 1860 had seen 
 the railroad opened from Moncton to St. John, and 
 had also brought the Prince of Wales to our shores. 
 It was a gala day for St. John when, in the bright 
 summer sunshine, the young heir to the throne drove 
 from Reed's Point through cheering crowds to the old 
 Chipman House, where his grandfather, the Duke of 
 Kent, had been entertained long years before. Dr. 
 and Mrs. Botsford saw the procession from a relative's 
 house on Chipman's Hill, and Dr. Botsford ? s voice led 
 the ringing cheer that greeted the Prince as he passed. 
 
 In the spring of 1861 a gun fired from Fort Sumter 
 announced the beginning of the American Civil War, 
 
 (103) 
 
104 THE SLAVERY QUESTION. 
 
 and Canadians watched with eager interest and divided 
 sympathies the progress of the bitter contest. The 
 excitement was increased during the following winter 
 by the arrival of an unusual number of regiments from 
 the mother country. These troops were welcomed 
 with great enthusiasm, and officers and men were en- 
 tertained on their way through St. John to Upper 
 Canada with right royal hospitality. At one large 
 supper given to a recently arrived regiment, the Bishop 
 of the Diocese was present and was asked to address 
 the men. The crowd was so great that it was almost 
 impossible either to see or hear His Lordship. Dr. 
 Botsford, perceiving the difficulty, contrived with 
 prompt ingenuity to erect a stand, from which the 
 Bishop's voice could be distinctly heard by the largo 
 assembly. 
 
 The doctor's views on the Slavery question had 
 been settled, as we have seen, during his college life at 
 Glasgow. Writing in October, 1857, to his friend Dr. 
 Hartt (now a resident in New York), Dr. Botsford 
 expresses his ideas on the subject. 
 
 " The American nation have deliberately sinned in the face 
 of light. Supposing the continuance of slavery to be for 
 their interest, they give no heed to the warning of inspiration, 
 ' Woe to you that are rich. Behold the hire of labourers who 
 have reaped your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, 
 crieth, and the cries of them have entered into the ears of the 
 Lord of Sabaoth.' The nation says it is for our interest to 
 support a slave system of government. Our interest requires 
 that things should be maintained as they are. They will find 
 that God is stronger than they." 
 
 These are stern words, but Dr. Botsford felt strongly 
 on the subject, and no one rejoiced more than he did 
 
THE FIRST HOLIDAY. 105 
 
 when, at the close of the war, the United States was 
 freed from the curse of slavery. 
 
 In the autumn of 1861 Judge Botsford's eldest son, 
 Hazen, died at Westcock, after an illness of a few 
 months. Dr. Botsford visited his brother as frequently 
 as possible, and was with him at the end. This trial 
 was followed by a long cold winter of arduous w r ork. 
 When spring came he found that rest and relaxation 
 were needed, and suggested to his wife that they should 
 again visit England and Scotland. The doctor's first 
 preparation for his outing was to calculate the expense. 
 Then he placed an equal sum in the hands of the 
 Vestry of Trinity Church for the benefit of destitute 
 orphans. He said that before spending so much on 
 his own pleasure, he wished to do something for 
 others. He and Mrs. Botsford crossed the Atlantic in 
 a Cunard steamer, early in May, 1862. They enjoyed 
 the voyage, as neither of them knew what it was to be 
 sea-sick. It is supposed that one of the main objects 
 of Dr. Botsford's trip was to see the second Interna- 
 tional Exhibition, which was opened May, 1862. He 
 visited it several times. He was also much interested 
 in the Industrial and Mechanical exhibits at the Syden- 
 ham Crystal Palace. We may conclude that he did a 
 large amount of sight-seeing in London, from a remark 
 made by him some years afterwards, "Oh, it requires 
 the strength of an elephant to see sights in London." 
 His experience in the great Metropolis of our Empire 
 was interest and fatigue, and it was not until he reached 
 Scotland that his real holiday began. Although Mrs. 
 Botsford had been absent from her native land for 
 more than twenty-five years, she had kept up an active 
 correspondence with many friends and relatives in 
 
106 THE FIRST HOLIDAY. 
 
 Edinburgh, from whom she and her husband received 
 a warm welcome. Dr. Botsford felt at home in the 
 intellectual atmosphere of the Scotch capital, and a 
 good deal of attention was paid to the " line-looking, 
 intelligent colonial doctor." 
 
 It is to be regretted that no letters nor papers can be 
 found, recording Dr. Botsford's ideas on the progress 
 of medical science since his last visit to Edinburgh, 
 twenty-five years previously. There is no doubt that 
 he had abundant opportunities for observation in his 
 intercourse with medical men, and in his visits to vari- 
 ous hospitals. For instance, a St. John medical student 
 in Edinburgh at that time, writes : 
 
 "I was a dresser in the Infirmary, Edinburgh, in 1862, 
 under Professor Syme, and while acting in that capacity, Dr. 
 Botsford came in one summer's morning with the professor. 
 I recognized him, and after the walk was finished, went up 
 and introduced myself." 
 
 Before leaving Scotland, Dr. Botsford took an in- 
 tensely enjoyable trip through the Highlands. He had 
 a great appreciation of fine scenery, and he often spoke 
 of the indescribable awe which almost overpowered 
 him when, while travelling through the Trosachs, a 
 veil of mist lifted, and he saw r the giant forms of the 
 mountains looming up around and above him. 
 
 In August he returned to St. John w r ith renewed 
 health and vigour, to take up his daily routine of 
 work, or as he expressed it, " to go into harness 
 again." 
 
 It was about this time that a fresh object of interest 
 claimed his attention, " The Natural History Society of 
 New Brunswick," and to it he devoted more and more 
 
NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 107 
 
 of his time and thoughts. His work in connection 
 with it is thus alluded to in the seventh Bulletin of the 
 
 Society : 
 
 " Dr. L. B. Botsford has been at the head of this Society 
 since its organization, except for a short time during the 
 middle term of its existence. Among the many benevolent 
 activities in which he was engaged, it received a large share 
 of his attention. He entered heartily into all its aims and 
 objects, and was always ready to support and encourage any 
 project to extend its usefulness. 
 
 " For a quarter of a century our late President maintained 
 his warm interest in this Society, attending its meetings with 
 the regularity and promptness for which he was noted, and by 
 his facility in public affairs, his ready tact and genial man- 
 ners, added greatly to the interest of the meetings. 
 
 " Always ready during his lifetime to aid it with his means, 
 as well as with his influence, the Society acknowledges with 
 gratitude that at his death its prospective wants were not for- 
 gotten by him." 
 
 Dr. Botsford was strongly impressed with the im- 
 portance and usefulness of a Natural History Society. 
 In one address he says : 
 
 " An association of men forming a society for the study 
 of Natural History, is a necessity in any community, if that 
 community is to keep abreast of the tide of knowledge which 
 is sweeping over the nations of the earth." 
 
 In another address he says : 
 
 " One of the objects of this Society is to lead its members 
 to broad and pleasant fields of enjoyment, to stimulate their 
 faculties to a healthy activity, and to add to the general as 
 well as to the individual welfare. . . . Certainly if 
 knowledge is power, and the working of the mind is in itself 
 G 
 
108 NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 
 
 a source of happiness, then the study of one or more 
 branches of Natural History will lead to a higher standard 
 of existence, even should the experience be confined to the 
 individual. This, however, will be much furthered by inter- 
 change of thoughts with others similarly engaged. . . . 
 However varied the construction of human minds may be, 
 each mind can find a subject in the various studies of Nat- 
 ural History which will commend itself to its peculiar powers 
 and afford a pure and elevating pleasure. A higher plane of 
 existence will be attained ; higher aspirations will be roused 
 until the highest attainments are reached. Man, from the 
 cradle to the grave, must have employment. Without em- 
 ployment the weariness of life will seek to bury itself in folly 
 or vice." 
 
 The Natural History Society of New Brunswick was 
 formed in 1862, and the following brief sketch of its 
 rise and progress, given by Dr. Botsford in his last 
 annual address, will not be thought out of place by 
 those who know how closely he identified himself with 
 its interests : 
 
 " The twenty-fifth anniversary of the Natural History So- 
 ciety of New Brunswick has passed, and the history of our 
 Society does not differ from that of similar institutions. Its 
 experience has been like that of others the world over. 
 
 " The law of progression is not always one of continuous ad- 
 vance. Night and day alternate in all things. Individuals, 
 communities, cities, peoples and nations have their ebb and 
 flow, and why not societies ? And such has been the experi- 
 ence of the New Brunswick Natural History Society in this 
 city. 
 
 " January 29th, 1862, a meeting was held in the Mechanics' 
 Institute, for the purpose of forming a society for the culti- 
 vation of natural science. Forty-two persons were present. 
 
NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 109 
 
 At that meeting the following resolutions were carried unani- 
 mously : 
 
 "1st. That a scientific association should be formed, and 
 that it be called ' The Natural History Society of New Bruns- 
 wick.' 
 
 " 2nd. That it shall be one of the efforts of this society to 
 form a collection of books of a scientific character for the use 
 of the members. 
 
 " 3rd. That it shall be another special aim of the society 
 to form in connection with it, such a collection of specimens 
 in the different branches of scientific research as shall fully 
 illustrate the natural history of this Province and, as far as 
 possible, that of other countries. 
 
 " 4th. That in order to carry these views into effect a com- 
 mittee be appointed to prepare a constitution for the society. 
 
 " The committee consisted of H. W. Frith, William Jack, 
 M. H. Perley, W. P. Dole, R. P. Starr, L. B. Botsford, and 
 G. F. Matthew. 
 
 " February 5th, the committee submitted their report, the 
 constitution and by-laws were adopted, and the society ad- 
 journed to meet February 14th to elect office-bearers. 
 
 ".On the 14th the following were elected : L. B. Botsford, 
 President; M. H. Perley, Vice-President ; R. P. Starr, Re- 
 cording Secretary; H. W. Frith, Corresponding Secretary; 
 G. F. Matthew, Curator and Librarian ; W. P. Dole, W. Jack 
 and C. F. Hartt, Members of the Council. At the first 
 meeting thirty-two members were enrolled, and soon after 
 eight others. Meetings were held once a fortnight, with an 
 average attendance of twenty-five. 
 
 " At the annual meeting, January, 1863, the roll consisted 
 of two honorary, ten corresponding, and sixty-nine ordinary 
 members. Of the latter nine had been admitted during the 
 year. 
 
 " Messrs. Hartt, Matthew, Starr, Payne and Hegan, mem- 
 bers of the Steinhammer Club, gave their valuable collection 
 
110 NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 
 
 to the society. Dr. C. K. Fiske donated a valuable collec- 
 tion of Aquatic birds. Measures were taken to secure to the 
 society the very valuable collection of Devonian Fossils 
 made by Mr. C. F. Hartt, 
 
 " In 1864 there were in the Museum 10,000 minerals and 
 fossils, 2,000 marine invertebrate, 750 insects, 500 plants and 
 30 birds. Mr. H. F. Perley gave a collection of minerals, 
 illustrating the gold formation of Nova Scotia. 
 
 " In 1868 the Society concluded to secure another place for 
 their meetings and their collection. The basement of the 
 Grammar School, Germain street, was occupied. The change 
 did not prove advantageous. The room was too small ; it 
 was gloomy and uncomfortable ; its dampness threatened to 
 injure the collections. Arrangements were then made with 
 the Directors of the Mechanics' Institute. During two years 
 only five meetings of the society were held, and from 1874 to 
 1880 the society slept a quiet sleep. In March, 1880, a 
 meeting to resuscitate it was convened. The members present 
 were W. Jack, Esq., President; Dr. Inches, Dr. Hamilton, 
 G. F. Matthew and R. P. Starr. New energy was infused by 
 the election of twelve members. Regular meetings of the 
 council and society have been held from that time to the 
 present, and the tide of prosperity has continued. 
 
 " In 1881 arrangements were made to occupy our present 
 quarters. These have been kindly granted us by the City 
 Corporation. This same year another step in advance was 
 taken, and lady associate members were introduced, very 
 much to the benefit of the Natural History Society. 
 
 " Mr. G. U. Hay presented the Museum with 400 specimens 
 of the native plants of the Province. These were supple- 
 mented by a number from Mr. W. R. Chalmers and Mr. I. A. 
 Jack. In 1882 our first Bulletin was issued, in which were 
 valuable original papers by members of the society. This 
 year were added to our collection 146 specimens of birds. 
 
 " During this year, 1882, Mr. Chamberlain gave several 
 
NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. Ill 
 
 free lectures on Ornithology to the pupils of the public 
 schools. Other members of the society, Dr. Colemau, Dr. 
 Allison and Mr. Best, gave lectures on different subjects. 
 
 " The summer field camp was commenced in 1883. It has 
 continued its meetings, and yearly adds to the success of the 
 society. The practical knowledge acquired proves it to be 
 beneficial and almost a necessity for our progress. Donations 
 of the food fishes in our waters were received from Mr. P. 
 Campbell, and many specimens of insects collected near St. 
 John by Mr. Herbert Gould. In 1884 Mr. G. F. Matthew 
 presented his herbarium of over 2,000 species of foreign 
 plants. 
 
 " The society has been incorporated, and has a proper seal 
 to stamp our acts. It is evidently now firmly established. 
 Our Bulletin is yearly issued, and reflects great credit upon 
 the society. It is especially intended for contributions show- 
 ing original research. At the request of the Royal Society of 
 Canada delegates have been yearly sent to represent this 
 institution at their annual meetings. 
 
 " The Provincial Government now gives us an annual grant, 
 and this enables us to extend our usefulness. 
 
 "During the summer vacation, a class composed of the 
 teachers in our public schools availed themselves of lectures 
 given by members of this society. These lectures were the 
 more instructive, as they were illustrated by the abundant 
 material in our museum. It is proposed to extend this course 
 in the future. 
 
 " During this winter a series of lectures upon different 
 branches of Natural History was inaugurated, and will be 
 delivered by members of the society. 
 
 " Such is a brief outline of the Natural History Society, 
 embracing a period of twenty-five years. It has passed 
 through the difficulties which generally attend the formation 
 and growth of similar institutions, and we feel confident that 
 it has entered upon a wider field of usefulness. 
 
112 NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 
 
 "It has not a numerous membership, and its field is 
 limited, and yet there are some on our little roll of names well 
 known elsewhere, and who have secured a place for them- 
 selves in the prominent ranks of science." 
 
 The social element of the Natural History Society, 
 as manifested in the annual conversazione, gave great 
 pleasure to Dr. Botsford. In one of his addresses 
 at these gatherings, he says : 
 
 " Many will perhaps wonder how we members of a grave 
 society can descend from our position among the abstractions, 
 and associate the study of science with a merry meeting such 
 as we hope to enjoy to-night. Ladies and gentlemen, phil- 
 osophy despises no one relationship of being, physical, moral 
 or intellectual, and our gathering to-night, springing out of 
 the social relationships of life, is as truly connected with 
 philosophy, as are the midnight studies of the metaphysician." 
 
 In another address he speaks of the influence of 
 women in the Natural History Society : 
 
 " We have departed from the old constitution, and a new 
 order of members has been established, which innovation I 
 am satisfied will be attended with the best results. I allude 
 to the lady associates. We know from the very nature of 
 things that society must be benefitted and its civilization ad- 
 vanced when woman takes her position with a duly cultivated 
 brain. ... It is, then, with great satisfaction that I per- 
 ceive that our Natural History Society boasts of having on 
 its roll a goodly number of associate members, who, becoming 
 engaged in scientific pursuits, get their intellects sharpened, 
 and their brains developed, and thus to both men and women 
 an impetus is given towards the rational development of our 
 common nature." 
 
NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 113 
 
 A description of the conversazione in 1882, will give 
 a general idea of these pleasant gatherings : 
 
 " The conversazione of the Natural History Society, which 
 was held last evening, was one of the most brilliant affairs of 
 the season. All the rooms of the society were tastefully 
 decorated, and by 8 o'clock they were thronged by a large 
 number of ladies and gentlemen, who evinced great interest 
 in the proceedings. On entering the first of the series of 
 rooms, it was found to be devoted to entomological specimens, 
 plants, and a number of rare butterflies and moths. In an 
 adjoining room is an interesting collection of fossils. On a 
 table in this room were arranged several microscopes. These 
 were a centre of considerable attraction during the evening. 
 The main room was devoted principally to ornithology, min- 
 eralogy and the invertebrates. The President read an address 
 reviewing the work of the society during the past year. 
 Several carefully prepared and interesting papers were read 
 by members of the society. Ice cream and other refresh- 
 ments were served by the ladies' committee, shortly before 10 
 o'clock, when this successful and enjoyable meeting came to a 
 close." 
 
 On these occasions, after reading his address, Dr. 
 Botsford would move about among the guests, with a 
 kind word for one, a pleasant smile for another, or a 
 hearty laugh as something amusing struck his fancy. 
 His tall figure could be seen by all as he walked 
 through the rooms, forgetful of self, and only anxious 
 that all should be amused, interested and instructed. 
 His addresses were always very carefully prepared. 
 Several have been quoted, but one of the most char- 
 acteristic, that on the Human Thumb, is given in full in 
 the Appendix. 
 
 Then there were field-days, when the Natural His- 
 
114 NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 
 
 tory Society and their friends, would spend many 
 hours on the sea-shore or in the country. A spot was 
 always chosen where the fossils and flora offered ob- 
 jects of interest. After luncheon various groups would 
 be formed. Some would follow Mr. Matthew in the 
 study of geology ; some would accompany Mr. Hay 
 to study botany. On all these occasions the President 
 was the central figure, taking even more than his 
 share of the fatigue and responsibility necessarily at- 
 tending the organizing and superintending of these 
 expeditions. 
 
 In fact he was interested and took part in all the 
 work of our Natural History Society in every direc- 
 tion. He felt that it was but in its infancy ; he looked 
 confidently forward to its large growth, and he closed 
 his last annual address as President, delivered but a 
 fortnight before his death, in these hopeful words : 
 
 " Not only do I wish that great success may attend the 
 future of the society, but I feel assured that such will be the 
 case. You have material that would secure a prominent 
 position to any society, and I have no doubt that a first rank 
 will be maintained by the Natural History Society of New 
 Brunswick among those of the Dominion." 
 
CHAPTER VIIi: 
 
 JUDGE BOTSFORD'S DEATH SOCIAL LIFE IN ST. JOHN 
 THE CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Grow old along with me, 
 The best is yet to be, 
 The last of "life, for which 
 The first was made. 
 
 Browning. 
 
 Between the years 1860 and 1870 Dr. Botsford was 
 called upon to part with several much-loved relatives. 
 In 1864 his father died at the ripe age of ninety-one. 
 Judge Botsford had resided at Westcock since his 
 wife's death, his two eldest sons and his step-grand- 
 daughter, Miss M , being his companions. His 
 
 was an ideal old age. He enjoyed the full use of 
 his faculties, both of mind and body, except that his 
 deafness prevented his joining in general conversation, 
 although he heard easily when addressed in a clear, 
 distinct voice. He was much in the open air, in the 
 pretty grounds round his house. He would walk up 
 and down beside the hawthorn hedge, of which he 
 was so proud, or he would wander among the apple 
 trees in the orchard, or watch the progress of the 
 flower-beds. One large square was given up to roses 
 of the hundred-leaf kind. He would linger beside 
 them, enjoying their fragrance and beauty, with all the 
 zest of youth. Sometimes a bushel basket of full- 
 blown roses would be o-athered from that bed in one 
 
 O 
 
 morning, for rose-water distilled from these flowers 
 
 (115) 
 
116 THE LATE JUDGE BOTSFORD. 
 
 was one of the Judge's favourite perfumes. In the 
 autumn dahlias were his delight. He would watch 
 while their glowing flowers were piled into bouquets 
 for the table or the mantel-piece, according to the then 
 prevailing fashion. Often he would examine his rasp- 
 berry, currant and gooseberry bushes, or watch his 
 pears, green-gages and damsons as they ripened, giving 
 constant directions about them, for much care and work 
 are necessary in this northern climate to secure the 
 supply of delicious fruit for which Westcock wa& 
 famous. 
 
 The house kept up its reputation for hospitality. 
 Nothing delighted the old Judge more than to have 
 his rooms filled with relatives and guests from St. 
 John, Fredericton, and Boston. His daughter, Mrs. 
 E. L. Hazen, and her children, generally spent two or 
 three summer months with him. Dr. Botsford and 
 his brothers would meet for a few days to enjoy the 
 country air, to talk over old times, and tell school 
 stories. Young people came and went, and Westcock 
 echoed with the cheerful voices of a second genera- 
 tion of ITazens and Botsfords. 
 
 "All are scattered now and fled, 
 Some are married and some are dead." 
 
 In the winter, when the guests had departed and 
 the marshes were one wide expanse of dazzling snow, 
 the Judge would spend the morning in his library. 
 The sunshine streamed in over the flowering plants 
 w r hich filled the low, old-fashioned window seats. The 
 newest books and leading magazines were found on 
 the table, and here the old gentleman, in his ninety- 
 first year, would read hour after hour without glasses. 
 
THE LATE JUDGE BOTSFORD. 117 
 
 In the evening he enjoyed a rubber of whist, or talked 
 over some articles in the reviews, his wonderful memory 
 going back over points in history and literature with 
 legal accuracy. So Judge Botsford walked slowly 
 down his long decline of life. In 1863 he had a heavy 
 attack of illness from which his great vitality enabled 
 him partially to recover. Then there was a relapse, 
 and he finally lay down to die, his last conscious look 
 and smile resting on a beautiful bunch of flowers at 
 his bedside. Thus passed from among us one of New 
 Brunswick's remarkable men.* His remains rest in the 
 St. John Rural Cemetery, near the monument which 
 he had erected in memory of his father, Speaker Bots- 
 ford. The following lines, which he much admired 
 and often quoted, are singularly appropriate to himself: 
 
 " So live that when thy summons comes to join 
 The innumerable caravan which moves 
 To that mysterious realm where each shall take 
 His chamber in the silent halls of death. 
 Thou go not, like the quarry slave at night, 
 Scourged to his dungeon, but sustained and soothed 
 By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave 
 Like one that wraps the drapery of his couch 
 About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." 
 
 Bryant's Tftanatopsis. 
 
 After the Judge's death, Dr. and Mrs. Botsford 
 invited Miss M to make their house her home. 
 
 * Judge Botsford was born in 1773. At the age of nineteen he took 
 his degree at Yale. At twenty-two he was admitted to the Bar in St. 
 John. At thirty-four he was appointed Judge of the \ 7 ice-Admiralty 
 Court. At thirty -nine he represented the County of Westmorland. 
 At forty-four he was appointed Solicitor General, and was elected 
 Speaker of the House. He was continued in the office by re-election 
 until, at the age of fifty, he was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court. 
 He resigned at the age of seventy-two, in 1 845. 
 
118 THE HAND OF DEATH. 
 
 The constant intercourse, the interchange of thought 
 thus afforded, ripened into a warm and lasting friend- 
 ship. Miss M 's eyes were never very strong-, and 
 
 at one time it was feared that she would become blind. 
 Her uncle bestowed much care and attention upon her, 
 and mainly, through his skill, her eyesight, after a 
 cessation from all work for two years, was restored. 
 During that time Mrs. Botsford devoted hour after 
 hour to reading aloud, and the doctor, even in the 
 height of his busy practice, always contrived to reserve 
 one hour daily to read to her some book on science, 
 history or metaphysics, which formed the basis after- 
 wards of many interesting " talks." Such kindness 
 could not fail to call forth warm feelings of gratitude 
 and affection. The niece became almost, if not alto- 
 gether, a daughter to the childless pair. Mrs. Botsford, 
 in declining years and feeble health, leaned more and 
 more upon her. Dr. Botsford looked to her for sym- 
 pathy in his intellectual pursuits. She became his 
 companion in travel ; she superintended his household 
 after Mrs. Botsford's death, and when he, too, passed 
 away, she has endeavoured to perpetuate his memory 
 by becoming his biographer. 
 
 In the autumn of 1866 Mrs. Botsford's meek and 
 gentle mother entered into her rest. She had resided 
 with Mrs. Botsford almost ever since her younger 
 daughter had gone to New York. Dr. Botsford's 
 manner to his mother-in-law was wonderfully courteous 
 and reverential, and she, on her part, almost idolized 
 her kind son-in-law, who, ever since his own mother's 
 death, addressed her as " mother," and sought to 
 gratify her slightest wish. 
 
 A few months after Mrs. Main's death, Dr. Botsford'a 
 
SOCIAL LIFE IN ST. JOHN. 119 
 
 sister, Mrs. K. L. Hazen, and his brother Chipman, 
 passed away also to the " Shadowless Land," 1867. 
 
 At this time Mrs. Botsford began a journal, from 
 which we give some extracts in order to show the 
 phase of St. John social life in which she and her hus- 
 band participated. They were not seen at balls, dances 
 nor card parties. Those who followed Dr. Gray's lead 
 generally refrained from these " worldly amusements." 
 But there was constant social intercourse. Friends 
 met every week, sometimes oftener, in pleasant parties, 
 where they had a little music, a fair amount ot talking, 
 and a good supper. Those who remember these even- 
 ings know how enjoyable they were. Mrs. Botsford 
 especially made a model hostess. She had a pretty 
 speech, a bright compliment, or a little hit for each of 
 her guests, while Dr. Botsford's hearty laugh and 
 mirthful manner enlivened everything. Mrs. Bots- 
 ford's journal abounds with such notices as these : " I 
 had my clerical party last night, which passed off very 
 pleasantly ; every one seemed to enjoy it." Again : 
 " Had my party for the two brides ; very good music 
 and nice supper, though I say it. Both brides looked 
 very well." Mrs. Gilchrist (" Prudie," as the doctor 
 called her), and Mrs. William Lawton, by their musical 
 talent, added greatly to the pleasure of Mrs. Botsford's 
 parties. We read : "April 9th (1872). At Mrs. W. 
 
 J k's party last night, and a pleasant one it was ; 
 
 met a great many nice people ; got home at 1 o'clock." 
 
 Again : " Spent a pleasant evening at Mrs. L 's ; 
 
 me t and , from Montreal ; fine music ; had a 
 
 most agreeable evening; got home at midnight." 
 The following entry shows some energy : " Thursday, 
 January 6th. I went to the Bible Society meeting, 
 
120 SOCIAL LIFE IN ST. JOHN. 
 
 and was delighted with my dear husband's short ad- 
 dress ; also liked Mr. H. W. F th very much ; he 
 
 is a good man. I heard another speech that I did not 
 
 like at all. I came away with Miss A , dressed, 
 
 and went to Mrs. J. McM 's party ; drove home at 
 
 twelve." 
 
 Then there were larger gatherings. We read : "Aug. 
 
 10th (1872). We were last night at Mrs. B ? s 
 
 (Hon. John Boyd) ; a very large party ; a number ot 
 lawyers, doctors and clergy ; the Lieutenant Governor, 
 several Senators and M. IVs. The band played all the 
 evening; got home at 1.30 a. m.; splendid supper; two 
 hundred guests." Again : " Spent last evening at Rock- 
 wood ; quite a large party ; dear good Mr. Kellogg was 
 there ; we had some capital music ; about fifty guests. 
 My doctor had nice conversation with several clergy- 
 men and others." There are also occasional notices of 
 dinner parties and lunches. "Went to lunch with 
 Mr. and Mrs. R. T. Clinch ; met Rev. George Hill and 
 Miss Hill, from Halifax, and several other pleasant 
 people." Again: "Aug. 6th (1873). Lunched with a 
 great many medical men at Dr. W. Bayard's ; very 
 pleasant." Also : " Lunched at Newlands with our 
 new rector (Rev. F. H. J. Brigstocke) ; a large party. 
 Watched some of the guests walking on snow-shoes ; 
 bright and pleasant." * Then she writes : " We went 
 to dinner at Mrs. R. DeV.'s; spent quite a pleasant 
 evening; fifteen guests; got home about 11 p. m." 
 Then, " Dined at" Dr. Waddell's at 7 o'clock, March 
 
 *The Rev. J. W. D. Gray resigned from ill-health in 1867; he was 
 succeeded by Rev. James Hill. On his resignation in 1873, the Rev. 
 F. H. J. Brigstocke, from England, was chosen as rector of Trinity 
 Church. 
 
SOCIAL LIFE IN ST. JOHN. 121 
 
 18th, his birthday, and a very pleasant party we had. 
 Drove home by moonlight ; not cold." Then, " Dined 
 at Mr. R. F. Hazen's; got home at 11.30, much 
 pleased." Sometimes the notices are longer, as June 
 28th : " Last evening I went with L. B. and the 
 Senator (Botsford) to the most elegant dinner of thirty- 
 two at Mrs. B.'s (Hon. Isaac Burpee). The whole was 
 in perfect keeping ; appointments as good as possible ; 
 attendance excellent. It was the most stylish dinner 
 I have been at in this country ; seven courses, well 
 cooked and well served. My dear husband and I 
 really enjoyed the evening." 
 
 These selections from Mrs. Botsford J s journal have 
 been made promiscuously. Many other names occur 
 more or less frequently, for Dr. and Mrs. Botsford had 
 a large circle of friends ; but the most numerous visits 
 mentioned are those to Rockwood and Rothesay. 
 Whenever Dr. Botsford felt that he needed a little 
 relaxation from his professional cares, it was at Rock- 
 wood (the residence of T. W. Daniel, Esq.), or at 
 Rothesay, that he sought it. Always passionately fond 
 of beautiful scenery, he enjoyed the wide view at 
 Rockwood over the city, harbour and bay beyond. 
 From some favourite seat in the grounds he would 
 watch the sunset clouds while he discoursed gravely 
 with his host and hostess, or exchanged playful banter 
 with the younger members of the family, with whom 
 he was a prime favourite. On these visits Mrs. Bots- 
 ford generally accompanied him, and no entry in her 
 journal occurs more frequently than "We drove to 
 Rockwood and spent a pleasant afternoon and even- 
 ing." To Rothesay, being more distant, he usually 
 went alone and staid all night at Mr. H 's or Mr. 
 
122 SOCIAL LIFE IN ST. JOHN. 
 
 Ch. F 's. From the high position of these houses 
 
 he loved to look at the twilight shadows as they fell 
 over the Clifton hills and the beautiful Kennebeccasis. 
 There was generally a rubber of whist in the evening, 
 over which his merry laugh would be often heard. 
 He retired early, and rising at six the next morning, 
 would roam in the woods until breakfast time. One 
 shaded path is still called " The Doctor's Walk." In 
 summer a lovely bunch of flowers for Mrs. Botsford was 
 always ready for him, and we find frequently in the 
 journal : " L. B. returned from 'Rothesay with a beau- 
 tiful bouquet for me from Mrs. H ." Dr. Botsford 
 
 often speaks in his letters of the extreme kindness of 
 his Rothesay friends. Indeed, he was received there, 
 and elsewhere, with such a warm welcome, that it was 
 often a genuine surprise to him, all unconscious as 
 he was of the attractive power of his own love and 
 kindness. " He that hath friends must show himself 
 friendly," is as true now as when it was uttered three 
 thousand years ago. 
 
 Dr. Botsford was, in appearance and feeling, still in 
 the prime of life, although he was approaching his 
 sixtieth year. He was always fond of travelling, and 
 he now began to indulge in it frequently, as he felt 
 the necessity of more rest and recreation than he had 
 hitherto allowed himself. For some years many of 
 his journeys were taken in connection with the meet- 
 ings of the " Canadian Medical Association." This 
 society was organized in Quebec in the autumn of 1807. 
 A medical friend (Dr. Charles Johnston) tells us : 
 
 
 
 " The first annual meeting was held in Montreal in Septem- 
 ber, 1868. Dr. Botsford, Dr. Harding, myself, and other 
 physicians, whose names I cannot remember, were present, 
 
CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 123 
 
 going to Portland by steamer, and taking the Grand Trunk 
 Railway for Montreal. We all staid at St. Lawrence Hall. 
 The meeting was a great success, was largely attended, and 
 closed with a conversazione at McGill College. At that 
 meeting Dr. Tupper (Sir Charles Tapper) was President, and 
 I am of the opinion Dr. Botsford was chosen Vice-President 
 for New Brunswick." 
 
 He probably attended the second animal meeting in 
 1869. The third annual meeting was held in Ottawa 
 in 1870, and Dr. Botsford's first visit to Niagara was 
 made on his way thither. He left St. John for New 
 York, accompanied by his wife, his niece, Miss M., 
 and a young friend. After a short visit to New York, 
 they went up the Hudson to Albany, thence by rail to 
 Niagara, where they staid at the Clifton Hotel on 
 Saturday and Sunday. Dr. Botsford's intense enjoy- 
 ment can be better imagined than described. He 
 seemed to be irresistibly attracted to the " Falls." 
 He stood beside them at sunrise, at noon, in the moon- 
 light. He was never weary of listening to the rush 
 and roar of the moving mass of waters. He expressed 
 his feelings in the following enthusiastic words, which 
 a friend not inaptly calls a prose poem : 
 
 " I sat speechless beside the surging turmoil of Niagara. 
 Dumb while drinking in the wonders of the great cataract. 
 The imagination wandered to the far regions from whence its 
 waters flowed ; to the southern bounds of the wide sea-lakes ; 
 to their northern slopes ; to the distant lands of the setting 
 sun, whence came the commingling floods gathering their 
 forces to leap in untold volumes over the rock-barriers to the 
 stony masses beneath, whilst day and night, and night and 
 day, the mist ascends in clouds to the heavens, a perpetual 
 witness of wondrous power. And as I gazed, there came over 
 H 
 
124 CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 me the blessed thought of Him whose hand formed it all, who 
 was the express image of the Father's glory, the manifestation 
 of that Father's love, who, coming forth out of the Infinite, 
 manifests all that love in Himself, and bursting over the rocky 
 barriers of sinful humanity, falls with such force on the 
 stony hearts of men that, like the mist of the great cataract, 
 evermore, day and night, there rises towards heaven the 
 incense cloud of prayer, whilst amid the cloud the assuring 
 bow of God's love appears. And as I gazed the love of 
 Christ filled all my heart with wondrous power. My eyes 
 grew dim with the tears of a great joy, for His love was forc- 
 ing the incense of praise from the very depths of my soul." 
 
 On Monday the party left for Toronto, thence by 
 boat through the " Thousand Isles," to Kingston. Dr. 
 Botsford, of course, was out of his stateroom long be- 
 fore sunrise, that he might not lose the beautiful 
 scenery through which we were passing. From Kings- 
 ton to Ottawa by rail. There the third annual meet- 
 ing of the Canadian Medical Association opened 
 September 14th. Dr. Botsford attended the meetings 
 assiduously, and took great interest and active part in 
 the debates. His pleasant, hearty manner soon made 
 him a favourite, and he gained several warm friends, 
 especially Dr. David, Dr. Kingston (Mayor of Montreal 
 in 1875), and Dr. Marsden. 
 
 Mrs. Botsford's journal gives this account of the 
 trip : 
 
 " We steamed from New York up the most beautiful Hud- 
 son to Albany ; got into a sleeping car for the first time. By 
 daylight were passing through rich cultivated lands. Met 
 conversible people. While crossing the railway bridge at 
 Niagara, I stood on the platform with L. B., F. M. and F. S. 
 The scene was awfully grand. No one thing I had ever seen 
 
CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 125 
 
 or felt, brought so strongly before me the wonderful power of 
 the Most High. As soon as possible we got a carriage, drove 
 to Goat Island, the Rapids, saw everything, returned very 
 tired. Next morning, Sunday, September llth, the doctor, 
 F. M. and F. S., went across the bridge to church, and heard 
 Bishop Odenheimer. In the evening we went to a little, 
 country-looking, retired church, heard a beautiful service and 
 a plain, short sermon. We got back to the hotel before ten, 
 viewing the Falls all the way, and feeling the spray in our 
 faces. Next morning, still splendid weather, left for Ottawa. 
 Were there nearly four days and saw everything the 
 Houses of Parliament, Rideau Hall, the Chaudiere Falls. 
 We left Ottawa for Montreal ; went about there as much as 
 we could, seeing everything. Had to leave Saturday night. 
 Staid at Island Pond on Sunday. No church, no service of 
 any kind. L. B. went to a Sunday School ; taught a large 
 class of boys and young men. Off the next morning to Port- 
 land ; took the ' New England' to St. John." 
 
 In the spring of 1871, Dr. Botsford spent a few 
 weeks in Philadelphia, in order to shake off a heavy 
 attack of influenza, and he has left no record of his 
 attendance at the Medical Association that autumn. 
 In 1872, the annual meeting of the Association was 
 held at Montreal in September. We find Dr. Botsford 
 there, taking part in the discussions, and also joining 
 heartily in the dinner which closed the proceedings. 
 He was quite hoarse the next morning from the vigor- 
 ous manner in which he cheered the speakers. On his 
 way home he staid for a day or two at Quebec. He 
 visited the Citadel, and looked in silent admiration on 
 what has been called one of the four greatest views in 
 the world. He and his niece went over the historic 
 battlefield, saw the falls of Montmorenci, and returned 
 
126 CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 to St. John by the St. Lawrence, the Gulf and the 
 Shediac railroad. 
 
 In 1873 the Canadian Medical Association met at 
 St. John, where a large lunch was given to their guests 
 by the St. John medical men, in the grounds of the 
 Lunatic Asylum, on the Carleton Heights. There 
 were also several private entertainments, one at Dr. 
 Bayard's beinsj particularly pleasant. 
 
 In 1874 the Association met, August 5th, at Niagara 
 Falls, and soon after Dr. Botsford's arrival, a friend 
 remarked to him : " We have dropped your name from 
 the nominating committee. It is our intention to 
 nominate you as President." This was accordingly 
 done, and Dr. Botsford was elected. The whole pro- 
 ceeding took him by surprise, but he could not help 
 feeling gratified by the honour conferred. He was also 
 requested to represent the Canadian Association at the 
 twenty-sixth annual meeting of the American Medical 
 Association, which was to be held in Louisville, Ky., 
 the following spring. 
 
 Dr. Botsford looked forward through the winter to 
 this trip with much pleasant anticipation. He started 
 from St. John April 29th. The party consisted of 
 himself, his niece, Dr. Steeves and Mr. Walker. Pass- 
 ing through Boston and New York, they crossed the 
 Alleghanies, descending their western slopes amid 
 beautiful scenery to Pittsburg. At the various sta- 
 tions medical men boarded the train, and a large and 
 merry party was formed bound for Louisville. Many 
 prominent physicians from various States were there, 
 Dr. Gross of Philadelphia and his son among them. 
 Kepartee and fun, merry jokes and " quips and jests" 
 were the order of the day, and Dr. Botsford's hearty 
 
CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 127 
 
 laugh was frequently heard above the buzz of conver- 
 sation. Cincinnati was reached on Saturday night. 
 Most of the party took the Sunday steamer for Louis- 
 ville, but Dr. Botsford and his niece remained in Cin- 
 cinnati, attended church morning and evening, and 
 spent part of Monday in sight-seeing. We tried the 
 elevator cars, which were then a novelty, and we also 
 went over a large brewery. In the afternoon we em- 
 barked on the " Ohio " for Louisville. The early spring 
 foliage and Kentucky blue grass clothed the hills on 
 either side, but twilight had closed over the lovely 
 landscape before we reached our destination. The 
 next morning the Association began its sessions. The 
 following extract is from the columns of the Louisville 
 Courier- Journal, dated Wednesday, May 5th, 1875 : 
 
 " The opening session of the twenty-sixth annual meeting 
 of the American Medical Association was convened in Public 
 Library Hall, yesterday morning. Convention assembled at 
 11.30. There were between four and five hundred delegates 
 present, and it can be truly said that a body of finer, and 
 more intellectual-looking men have never assembled in this 
 city. The meeting was called to order by Dr. Richardson, 
 and the proceedings were opened with prayer by Rev. Dr. 
 Lamar. Dr. Tuor, the former President of the Association, 
 then stepped forward and introduced Dr. W. R. Boiling, of 
 Tennessee, the present presiding officer. Dr. Boiling took the 
 chair, and announced that the first business would be the re- 
 port of Committee of Arrangements. Dr. E. Richardson, the 
 Chairman of the Committee, advanced to the front of the 
 stage and delivered an address of welcome. He then pre- 
 sented the report, and the list of delegates was read. Dr. 
 Davis, of Chicago, announced that Dr. Botsford, President of 
 the Canadian Medical Association, was present, and moved 
 that he be invited to a seat on the platform. The motion was 
 
128 CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 carried, and upon complying, Dr. Botsford addressed the con- 
 vention as follows : 
 
 " * Gentlemen, I have been called upon by your President 
 to address you upon this occasion. The fewer words I say 
 the more acceptable, no doubt, they will be. As you are 
 aware, the country which I have the honour to represent, ex- 
 tends along your Northern border, touching the Atlantic on 
 the East and the Pacific on the West. I have come to learn 
 the principles which have secure^ your success a success 
 manifest from the assemblage which I see before me. We 
 Canadians are as yet few in numbers, scattered over a large 
 surface, but we are making an effort to advance the interests 
 of our profession. As yet we cannot be said to show great 
 results, but we trust before long to prove ourselves worthy 
 competitors in the arena, not of conflict, but of emulation, 
 prepared to maintain the principles which are the foundation 
 of our profession, and to foster as benefactors of the race all 
 that may conduce to the well-being of humanity. For with- 
 out arrogating to medical men undue prominence, I think I 
 may claim for them an amount of self-denial and sympathy 
 for their fellow-beings not to be surpassed or equalled in any 
 profession.' 
 
 11 Dr. Haley, of Texas, said he wished Canada the same 
 good luck that had attended Texas annexation to this 
 country medically and politically." 
 
 The remainder of this morning session was occupied 
 by the eloquent address of the President, Dr. Boiling, 
 of Tennessee. In closing he made the following al- 
 lusion to Dr. Gross, of Philadelphia, and to Dr. Yan- 
 dell, a retired physician of Louisville : 
 
 " One, S. D. Gross, whose fame has filled the world, stands 
 in a green old age like the statue of a demigod, raised on the 
 apex of its monumental shaft, far above all surrounding 
 
CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 129 
 
 things, pointing to an earlier day star than greets the vision 
 of ordinary mortality ; and another, L. P. Yandell, happy in 
 the memories of a well spent life, lingers in the peaceful en- 
 joyment of that subdued enchanting twilight of life, between 
 the sunset and the deeper gloaming." 
 
 As there was but one session, the rest of the day 
 being devoted to committees, we were driven in the 
 afternoon four miles out of town, to visit Mr. John 
 McFerran's Stock Farm. Very beautiful were the 
 creatures, horses, mares, and colts which were led or 
 trotted past us for inspection. In the evening a splen- 
 did reception was given at our hotel (the Gait House) 
 by the physicians of Louisville to their visitors. It 
 was a magnificent affair 2,000 invitations. There 
 were quantities of flowers, lots of pretty v women, most 
 elegant dress and good music. The variety of costume 
 was amusing. By the side of some rich creations of 
 Worth's genius, or the gauzy ball-room robes of the 
 period, would be seen the prim black silk of a doctor's 
 wife from some quiet New England town, or a stylish 
 tourist outfit from New York. The next day public 
 attention and curiosity were much occupied with Dr. 
 Gross and his lecture on " The Lost Art." Many con- 
 jectures were hazarded as to what this lost art might 
 be, and the name of the lecturer, as well as curiosity 
 about his subject, gathered a large audience of both 
 sexes. Dr. Gross began by telling us that fashion not 
 only ruled our dress, but also our ailments and their 
 remedies. He gave a short popular sketch of the his- 
 tory of medicine. He then named " Bleeding " as the 
 lost art. He said his subject was " Blood Letting as a 
 Therapeutic Agent." He regretted that this remedy 
 had been so completely abandoned, and proceeded to 
 
130 CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 point out the cases in which he supposed bleeding 
 might be beneficial. The interest of a lecture does not 
 depend upon its subject, but upon the way in which 
 that subject is handled, and the old doctor contrived to 
 make even this unattractive theme interesting to all. 
 When Dr. Gross had concluded his lecture, for which 
 he was heartily thanked, the following communication 
 from the Canadian Association was read and referred 
 to the Committee on Nominations : 
 
 MONTREAL, April 10th, 1875. 
 To W. H. Atkinson, Secretary American Medical Association: 
 
 As the time is approaching for the meeting of the American 
 Medical Association, I have the pleasure in forwarding a copy 
 of a resolution unanimously adopted at the last meeting of 
 the Canadian Medical Association, held at Niagara Falls on 
 the 5th and 6th of August, 1874, and request you will kindly 
 bring it to the notice of your Association. 
 
 The Canadian Medical Association will meet this year at 
 Halifax, on the first Wednesday in August, and we shall be 
 much pleased at meeting, as heretofore, delegates from your 
 Association. I think it more than probable that our Associa- 
 tion will be represented at your meeting by at least two of our 
 members, one of whom will be the president. 
 
 S. H. DOUD, Secretary. 
 The resolutions are as follows : 
 
 " That in the consideration of the best interests of medical 
 science, it is desirable that a medical conference should take 
 place between the American and Canadian Medical Associa- 
 tions, at some central point, to be determined upon, and that 
 the American Medical Association be advised as to the desir- 
 ability of such a conference, for the purpose of becoming 
 more intimately acquainted and of affording an opportunity 
 
CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 131 
 
 for the discussion of medical and surgical subjects on a com- 
 mon basis. 
 
 "That the need of such a conference being determined 
 upon, it would be desirable that the Secretary of the Canadian 
 Medical Association notify the various local medical societies, 
 so that our Dominion might take part in a manner worthy of 
 the occasion, and in keeping with the best interests of medical 
 science." 
 
 The afternoon of Wednesday, March 5th, was de- 
 voted to sight-seeing in Louisville, and in the evening 
 we attended four receptions given by leading citizens 
 of the city in honour of the Association. One of these 
 receptions was at Dr. Yandell's, to whom Dr. Boiling 
 alluded in his opening address. Another was at the 
 mansion of Mr. and Mrs. James Trabue. There we 
 were told by a friend that our hostess had been a 
 reigning belle in Louisville for fifty years. This did 
 not seem incredible, when we looked at the sprightly 
 old lady in her white lace dress, her bare neck and 
 arms flashing with diamonds. Her reception boudoir 
 was lighted with wax candles, and after receiving a few 
 words of cordial greeting, we passed from that soft 
 light to the more brilliant parlours and supper room 
 beyond. 
 
 After we had enjoyed these hospitalities, we left 
 Louisville at midnight, for, although Dr. Botsford was 
 interested in the medical discussions, and enjoyed the 
 society of his professional brethren at the Association, 
 his time was limited, and he felt that his stay must not 
 be prolonged. The next point of interest was the 
 " Mammoth Cave," which we reached by rail and a 
 fatiguing stage drive at noon the next day. Guides 
 were engaged, we entered the rock archway, and began 
 
182 CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 our wonderful walk below the earth. Soon the " black- 
 ness of darkness" shrouded us, and we could only see 
 by the torches of the guides that we were passing 
 through " columned aisles," surrounded by beautiful 
 and fantastic shapes. Occasionally a rocket would be 
 sent off to show us the " fretted roof," arching far 
 above us. Sometimes we had to clamber on hands 
 and knees through a narrow passage, which would 
 gradually widen into a noble hall of more wondrous 
 beauty than any passed through before. At one time 
 we heard rushing waters near us, and stood upon a 
 bridge looking down into the " bottomless abyss," 
 listening to the echo of a stone which seemed to roll 
 down, down, down forever. At last we reached the 
 dim, silent lake ; the water was too high for us to em- 
 bark on it, but we saw the little boat floating on the dark 
 water, and it recalled the myth of Charon, the ghost 
 ferryman. We returned to the surface of the earth. 
 It was night, and we retired to rest to wander again in 
 dreams through the Mammoth Cave. The next day 
 we passed through Louisville and Indianapolis to St. 
 Louis. Saturday was spent in driving through the 
 streets and looking at the merchant palaces of the 
 " Queen of the West." We visited the botanical 
 gardens, steamed across the Mississippi at the foot of 
 the famous Lindell Bridge, which spans the wide 
 breadth of the "Father of Waters" with five light 
 graceful arches. On Sunday we attended St. George's 
 twice ; heard for church music most beautiful quartette 
 and solo singing, which Dr. Botsford enjoyed, as he did 
 also Dr. Holland's intellectual and imaginative sermons, 
 which seemed to set the mind adrift on the ocean of 
 thought. Monday was a long day across the rolling 
 
CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 133 
 
 prairie to Chicago. A few hours sight-seeing there, 
 and then through Detroit, Toronto and Niagara to 
 Boston and Milton. On Sunday we went into Boston 
 to worship in Trinity, and to hear one of Phillips 
 Brooks' grandest sermons. It was Whitsunday, and 
 the subject " The Power and Presence of the Holy 
 Spirit in the World." The congregation listened in 
 breathless silence. It seemed in the solemn stillness 
 that prevailed as if the Eternal Spirit were indeed 
 present in an especial manner, " brooding," as of old, 
 over the vast assembly, and revealing Himself to men 
 through the utterances of His gifted servant. Bishop 
 Brooks always takes advantage of these Festival days 
 to emphasize the distinctive doctrines of the " Holy 
 Catholic Church." On Tuesday Dr. Botsford reached 
 his own home, after what he called in one of his letters 
 " a most pleasant trip, in which I saw many things, 
 and was absent but just three weeks." 
 
 The eighth anniversary of the Canadian Medical 
 Association was held at Halifax, August, 1875, Dr. 
 Botsford being then the President. We close this 
 chapter by giving a full account of this meeting, in- 
 cluding some passages from the President's Address, 
 as reported in the Morning Chronicle, Halifax, August 
 5th, 1875. 
 
 CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 The annual meeting of the Canadian Medical Association 
 commenced in this city, yesterday morning, in the Young 
 Men's Christian Association Hall. The meeting was called 
 to order at 11.30 by the President, Dr. Botsford, of St. John. 
 There were present besides Dr. Botsford, Drs. Tupper, Thor- 
 burn, Hodder, Walker, White, Robillard, Muir, Monroe, 
 
134 CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Hamilton, Roseburg, Harding, Atherton, Ryan, DeWolf, 
 Lawson, Flemraing, Jennings, Farrell, Johnston, Peppard, 
 Burgess, Moren, Campbell, McMillan. Kingston (Mayor of 
 Montreal), David, Gordon, Oldright, Christie, Dawson, Kerr, 
 Sanford, Clay, R. 8. Black, J. F. Black, Parker, and others. 
 
 Dr. Pineo, of the United States Marine Service (a native 
 of Nova Scotia), and Dr. Tyler, of Boston, were introduced 
 to the meeting. They were cordially received and made a 
 few remarks. 
 
 Dr. David, of Montreal, Secretary, read the minutes of the 
 Association's last meeting, which were confirmed. Drs. Baxter 
 and Sharpe, of Moncton, N. B. ; Fleming, of Sackville, N. B. ; 
 Carr, of Londonderry ; Burgess, of Cheverie, Hants ; Pep- 
 pard, of Great Village; and Lawson, Woodill, Campbell, 
 Walsh, Clay, and Dodge, of Halifax, were elected members 
 of the Association. 
 
 Letters were read from Professor Gross (Philadelphia), 
 Marsden (Montreal), and Trenham, expressing regret for 
 their inability to be present. 
 
 Dr. Hodder, of Toronto, made a few remarks on medical 
 education. He thought the system of education in Ontario 
 was excellent, and, if it were possible, that one standard and 
 system should be adopted throughout the Dominion. He 
 would like to have the matter referred to a committee from 
 all parts of the Dominion. The duty of this Society was to 
 elevate the standard of the medical profession in order to put 
 down quacks and other illegal practitioners. 
 
 Dr. Oldright, of Toronto, said he thought that students 
 should be examined yearly, and that practical work should 
 be added to the examinations. 
 
 Dr. Pineo presented four volumes of reports of the U. S. 
 Marine Hospital Association, and the thanks of the meeting 
 were tendered to him for the same. 
 
CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 135 
 
 THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 
 
 Dr. Botsford then delivered his address, as follows : 
 GENTLEMEN, 
 
 In the order of business it is now my duty to address you 
 on this our eighth anniversary. With one exception the 
 Association has held its meetings in the Provinces of Quebec 
 and Ontario. On this occasion we have the pleasure of as- 
 sembling in one of the oldest cities of the Maritime Provinces, 
 which with its noble harbour adorns the Atlantic coast of the 
 Dominion. Perhaps the day is not distant when a session of 
 this same Association will be held on that other shore where 
 the waters of the Pacific wash its Western boundary. 
 
 Those among us whose heads are nearing their resting place 
 may not see this event, much less the gatherings of our pro- 
 fession in those intermediate regions which must one day be- 
 come the home of millions ; but you who have commenced 
 the battle of life, when you take your stand between the 
 present and the future, you will witness vast changes, and in 
 the meetings of the " Canada Medical Association" will find 
 yourselves surrounded with brethren, coining from the different 
 quarters of the Dominion from the Pacific coast, with its 
 genial winters, from the valleys of the Saskatchewan and 
 Assiniboine, from the prairies of Manitoba, from the old 
 homestead provinces of Ontario and Quebec, from these 
 Provinces by the sea, and you will reap the benefits which 
 such meetings are so well calculated to confer, for they will 
 embrace the experience of the profession under varying 
 climates and under many conditions. And, gentlemen, we 
 must not be discouraged by seeming failures. These are in- 
 cidental to the commencement of all such institutions. The 
 time will come when full success will crown our efforts, and 
 our Association will be commensurate with our nation. We 
 must have our evening as well as morning to constitute a 
 perfect day. We cannot measure the results by present bene- 
 
136 CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 fits. They will assume proportions which will surpass the 
 anticipations of the most ardent. For no matter how exten- 
 sive the experience of the individual practitioner, how close 
 his observation, how powerful his mental capacity, he will, if 
 confined to one locality, become cramped by its limits, and 
 his professional growth may be checked by the incrustation of 
 routine so apt to settle upon us all. Throw the same person into 
 contact with genial minds from other regions, arid he will 
 enter upon new fields of thought, and receive as well as impart 
 new suggestions. This has been the case in other departments 
 of culture, and will prove true in this. When professional 
 brethren meet, each member, from his contact with disease 
 under varying circumstances, will bring to light some new 
 experience, and at the same time will carry away that detailed 
 by others, each having some special opportunities in the wide 
 field of observation ; whilst the most cultivated will be bene- 
 fitted even in their own special direction by the critical 
 shrewdness of those who may be their inferiors in their 
 specialty, yet their equals, if not their superiors, in other 
 departments of the profession. 
 
 Another result will be the modifying influence which will 
 be exercised upon the profession. The too hasty will be held 
 in check by the naturally conservative, whilst the bitter will 
 be stimulated to new life by the impulsive energies of the 
 former. All will be stirred up from a sluggish routine which 
 dislikes to have its calm disturbed, and will be induced to 
 enter upon that strict investigation and careful line of thought 
 so necessary to all progress. 
 
 By such collisions of mind may we not hope that there will 
 arise some check to fashion, which has lessened, and still les- 
 sens, the influence of the profession. No one can deny the 
 prevalence of fashion. Not merely in the past, when dogma- 
 tism prevailed in proportion to existing ignorance, but even 
 now in our own times. The evil is ever ready to come to the 
 surface. 
 
CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 137 
 
 No doubt a few active or powerful minds lead to such re- 
 sults. By their force they set the new system in motion, and 
 the mass follow ; and " the followers of a sect are always more 
 inclined than the founders to push systematic opinions to the 
 most absurd extreme ; " " and if we are to believe the re- 
 corded results of therapeutic research, conducted under com- 
 plicated conditions, we shall be obliged to admit that the same 
 diseases have equally well been cured by the interposition of 
 the gods by witchery and priestcraft by the most san- 
 guinary and antiphlogistic and by the most mild and expect- 
 ant treatment ; by remedies founded on the rational pathology 
 of the disease ; by the administration of infinitessimal parts of 
 nothing; by peppermint water and bread pills. Each and all 
 of these diverse plans of treatment have had their advocates, 
 who bring forward in their favour accumulated masses of 
 evidence." 
 
 There can be no effect without a cause. But the difficulty 
 is to determine, amid the complicated actions of the human 
 body, what is the cause which makes efficient the varying 
 systems of treatment. Men become the subject of disease, 
 and under every system throw off the morbid state and 
 resume a healthy condition. Many a medicine has been used 
 and proved apparently successful in the hands of the regu- 
 lar practitioner, but the thorough empiric can also parade 
 the cures which have attended his panacea. And both the 
 regular and the empiric have succeeded, not because their 
 remedies were beneficial in themselves (in many cases they 
 may have been injurious) but independently of the means 
 used. We have, therefore, to look for a reason why this 
 should be. Why judicious means shall fail in the hands of 
 one man, and why inert, or it may be injudicious medication, 
 shall be attended with favourable results in the hands of an- 
 other. It is a common experience to witness the eventual 
 failure of the theories, or of the medicines which have been 
 initiated by strong and ardent minds because they are un- 
 
138 CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 philosophically based, yet the success which has attended 
 theories demonstrates the necessity of looking for some prin- 
 ciple beyond mere physical agencies, some underlying cause 
 for the success which follows the same or varying treatment. 
 It may be urged that the vis medicatrix explains the dif- 
 ficulty; but that power has been present in the same case in 
 which the philosophical attendant has failed, and the inert 
 globule has afterwards succeeded. We are, therefore, com- 
 pelled in many cases to look further for the efficient cause ; 
 one which aids the ignorant empiric as much as it does the 
 regular practitioner; one which stimulates the force of the 
 system to renewed activity and to a healthy termination; 
 one which is more than a natural tendency to a sound 
 state; one which exercises a curative power when called 
 into play, and residing in the mind and proceeding from 
 it aids the physician, who enlists in his favour a strong 
 anticipation more potent in certain temperaments than well 
 adapted drugs. This is no new idea. It is one we all 
 recognize, yet one we continually overlook. We are so 
 engaged in the contest with disease so bent upon effecting 
 results by the power of medicine that we are practical 
 sceptics as to the enormous force which the mind exercises 
 not only over the functions of the organs, but over the 
 structure of the organs and tissues themselves. 
 
 This is an aspect of our profession which demands our con- 
 sideration ; for though it has been well determined that the 
 mind is often seriously affected by the condition of the body, 
 it is questionable whether the body is not as much influenced 
 by the mind, and that changes may thus be brought about 
 even in the tissues themselves. If this is so, it will give one 
 solution why recoveries occur under the same or varying 
 systems of treatment, when the vis medicatrix cannot be re- 
 garded as the cause. There is a class of cases which gives 
 efficacy to, and confirms each peculiar system of treatment in 
 the estimation of its followers ; and it will be futile to reason 
 
CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 139 
 
 with any one as to the merits of his system, if he is conscious 
 that he has been relieved when using it. We can only do so 
 by going behind the system and showing that there is a cause 
 which is operative, though not generally acknowledged a 
 cause capable of producing results of a wondrous character, 
 and, when recognized, sufficient to reconcile to sound philoso- 
 phy what now appears a mass of contradictions. 
 
 I do not say that the class of persons on whom the mind is 
 capable of producing such results is very numerous; but it 
 is numerous enough to make the results a disturbing ele- 
 ment in our medical progress, to such an extent as seriously 
 to aftect the laity in their belief, and the profession itself in 
 its certainty. . . . But, however subtle the principles 
 which are operative, they can be mastered by a rigid system 
 of investigation, and as soon as the phenomena become tangi- 
 ble they will not long escape the penetrating power of the 
 medical mind. 
 
 Facts, no matter how incompatible with our previous ex- 
 perience and theories, ought to be faithfully registered, and 
 when a sufficient number has been accumulated, then some 
 one will rise to the emergency and establish the law of their 
 production. 
 
 Medical science has always required patient research, and 
 never more so than at the present time. Its foundations are 
 based upon the laws of being, and these laws are bound up 
 with, and modify every change in the organism. And as 
 there is no domain of nature but what may throw light upon 
 our path, the amount of knowledge requisite to become a well 
 grounded member of the profession will steadily increase. 
 And if the scientists who can stand on the firm earth, and 
 have to deal with matter in its more simple combinations, 
 have still before them vexed problems and long years of 
 patient research, how much greater must be the endurance 
 of the physician who has to determine his certainties amid 
 the shifting sands of life, where the varying phases are all 
 
140 CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 but infinite and the organic forces and mental powers assume 
 protean shapes. 
 
 In May Dr. Steeves and I went to Louisville to attend the 
 meeting of the American Medical Association. We were 
 most kindly received, and they have responded by appointing 
 six of their number to be present at our session. There is 
 evidence that the meetings of their Association are producing 
 a very beneficial result upon the whole profession in that 
 country. Not only is the tone of the profession raised by the 
 mixing of the leaders and veterans with the general body, 
 but its culture and intellectual attainments force upon the 
 public a truer estimate of its importance. 
 
 In closing, Dr. Botsford said : There is one subject which I 
 would submit to the Association for its consideration, and that 
 is, the want of a registration of births, deaths and marriages. 
 In some of the Provinces it does not exist, and it will be for 
 you to decide whether a memorial from this Association to the 
 general government will tend to hasten that most to be desired 
 action of the Dominion legislature. 
 
 Dr. Tupper moved a vote of thanks to Dr. Botsford for his 
 address, and heartily seconded the suggestions in regard to 
 the importance of vital statistics. 
 
 Dr. Hodder seconded Dr. Tupper's motion. He thought 
 the matter of vital statistics should be undertaken entirely by 
 the Government. 
 
 The vote of thanks was unanimously tendered to Dr. 
 Botsford. 
 
 Drs. Tupper, Parker, Wickwire, Robillard, Thornburn, 
 Kingston, Harding and Oldright, were appointed a committee 
 to nominate officers. 
 
 The meeting then adjourned until two p. m. 
 
 AFTERNOON SESSION. 
 
 The meeting was called to order at half-past two p. m. 
 Several wax specimens of diseases were exhibited by Dr. 
 Black, of Halifax. 
 
CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 141 
 
 Dr. Botsford then read a paper on "Sanitary Science;" 
 also one on " The Climatology of New Brunswick and its 
 Relation to Disease." 
 
 Dr. Parker moved that a committee be appointed to re- 
 quest the Dominion Government to take up the whole subject 
 of vital statistics. Referring to the drainage of houses, he 
 said he was perfectly satisfied that many cases of typhoid 
 fever had resulted from this source. 
 
 Dr. Kingston, of Montreal, referring to climatology and 
 vital statistics, suggested that a medical man from each of the 
 larger cities should be appointed to draw up a memorial for 
 the Government. He thought that compulsory vaccination 
 could not be carried out. 
 
 Dr. Oldright read a paper on " The Ventilation of Drains," 
 which elicited a discussion in which Drs. Farrel, Pineo, 
 Walsh, Jennings, Christie, Hamilton and Warner took part. 
 
 Dr. Farrell then read a paper on " Surgical Cleanliness," 
 which was discussed by Dr. Parker and others. 
 
 Dr. Hodder moved a resolution to the effect that two mem- 
 bers of the Association, together with the local secretaries, be 
 appointed a committee to wait upon or memorialize the 
 Dominion Government with regard to the establishment of 
 one general system of education. 
 
 The meeting then adjourned. 
 
 EVENING SESSION. 
 
 The meeting opened at eight o'clock. 
 
 A paper was read by Dr. Dodge on some cases of eye 
 disease. Dr. Bent, of Truro, read a paper on a case of bent 
 knee joint, which contained many practical points. Dr. 
 Kingston made some very terse remarks on disease of the 
 joints. A discussion ensued on this disease, and was con- 
 tinued for some time. Dr. Roseborough read a paper on 
 some of the more common diseases of the eye, as met with in 
 private practice. 
 
142 CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
 
 TO-DAY'S PROGRAMME. 
 
 It is probable that the business of the Association will be 
 finished to-day. The medical men of this city are sparing no 
 pains to make the visit of their brethren from abroad an en- 
 joyable one. At noon the steamer " Goliah " will take the 
 party for an excursion on the harbour, Basin, and N. \V. Arm. 
 The Admiral's flagship " Bellerophon," and the Mount Hope 
 Insane Asylum, will be visited, and at the latter the party 
 will be entertained at dinner. During the cruise a stoppage 
 will also be made at Point Pleasant, to witness the Halifax 
 Field Battery's practice. To-night a ball will be given by 
 Dr. W. J. Alnion, at his residence in Hollis street, in honour 
 of the visitors. In the evening a concert in the Public 
 Gardens will enable them to judge of the efforts made by the 
 Corporation to provide healthy enjoyment for our citizens. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 LONG ILLNESS THE " GRI 
 
 " But suffering is my work and worship now." 
 
 Eichter. 
 
 The year 1875 was an era in Dr. Botsford's life. At 
 its commencement he may be said to have attained the 
 apex of his career. He had not only worked his way 
 in his profession in his native Province, so that he now 
 stood among the foremost medical men here, but he 
 had been acknowledged by the Canadian Medical 
 Association, as one worthy to stand at its head. He 
 was esteemed by his fellow-citizens, and was prominent 
 in most of their benevolent and religious organiza- 
 tions. He was not wealthy, yet, by his own exertions, 
 added to the small inheritance derived from his father 
 and mother, he had laid up as capital that moderate 
 sum which, at the outset of his life, was the limit of his 
 wishes. His sixty-fourth year was nearly completed ; he 
 had a good constitution, and was full of vigour. To all 
 human probability many years of active life and work 
 lay before him, when suddenly he was touched by one 
 of those swift strokes to which the medical profession 
 is so exposed. He was laid for months on a bed of 
 suffering, and when he rose from it he knew that his 
 regular work as a medical man must be given up for 
 ever. 
 
 It was a case of pyaemia, or blood poison. He had 
 been called upon to attend a brother physician suffering 
 from this terrible malady, and in lancing an abscess it 
 
 (143) 
 
144 LONG ILLNESS. 
 
 is supposed some of the virus or poison touched a 
 scratch in the forefinger of Dr. Botsford's right hand. 
 He was at the same time visiting a severe case of 
 puerperal, or childbed fever. In his anxiety to save the 
 patient, he " worked over her," to use his own expres- 
 sion, for an hour, inhaling the feverish atmosphere. 
 This he considered aggravated his own attack. For 
 some days he did not feel well, though he went about 
 as usual, but one chill, damp November morning, after 
 being out for an hour or two, he returned and lay 
 down on his bed, to endure for the next seven months 
 a terrible struggle between life and death. Mrs. Bots- 
 ford's entry in her journal is : " Monday, Nov. 22nd. 
 The doctor not very well." " Tuesday, 23rd. The doc- 
 tor breakfasted and went out as usual. Soon returned. 
 He appeared quite ill and complained of great pain in 
 his right hand. I sent for Dr. Harding. The doctor 
 seems quite feverish. Cannot eat anything." In a 
 few days Dr. MacLaren was called in. The inflam- 
 mation increased and extended up the arm. One night 
 
 he called his niece to him and said : " F , I do not 
 
 think that my frame will bear this attack. I was not 
 sure for a while what it was, but I know now, and I 
 doubt if I can stand it." His niece was much startled, 
 not having been fully aware of 'the serious nature of 
 the illness, but she tried to speak hopefully, suggesting 
 that it was nervousness which made him feel depressed, 
 and doubtful of recovery. He said, " Perhaps so," and 
 never, during the long course of his illness, did he 
 again allude to the subject. 
 
 In the beginning of December, young Dr. Hartt, 
 Mrs. Botsford's nephew, came from New York to 
 assist in nursing. He staid for three weeks. " Harry 
 
LONG ILLNESS. 145 
 
 is such a comfort," says the journal. The inflamma- 
 tion, after passing up the right arm, quickly extended 
 to the left, forming several dreadful abscesses. Mrs. 
 Botsford writes : " December 24th. My dear, patient 
 sufferer's arm was opened above the elbow; it was 
 severely painful, and he said, 'Thank God, that is 
 over.' His medical attendants are unremittingly kind 
 and attentive, and such universal sympathy." After 
 Dr. Hartt left, many kind friends offered to sit up at 
 night until a nurse could be found a difficult thing 
 to do. Finally Marshall, an old soldier, was engaged. 
 He proved a most faithful attendant. He took the 
 night watches ; but Mrs. Botsford seldom left the room 
 day or night, sleeping on a sofa at the foot of the bed, 
 while Marshall kept watch at the head. Her journal 
 at this time contains frequent allusions to the number 
 of people who called to inquire for her husband ; to 
 the kind messages she was constantly receiving ; to the 
 jellies, fruits, wines, flowers, which were daily sent by 
 loving friends, who appeared to think they could not 
 do enough to show their interest and their sympathy. 
 Very few were allowed to see him. His clerical friends, 
 Canon Brigstocke (the Rector of Trinity) or Mr. George 
 Armstrong (the Rector of St. Mark's) would be admit- 
 ted for a few moments to read a verse or two and say 
 a short prayer ; but all excitement had to be carefully 
 avoided. His brothers George and Blair came down 
 whenever they could spare time, and would sit up at 
 night, so as to give Marshall a rest. Thus day after 
 day, and night after night, passed on in patient suffer- 
 ing on the one hand, and in wearing anxiety on the 
 other. Regular as clock-work the two medical men 
 came at nine in the morning and at seven at night to 
 
146 LONG ILLNESS. 
 
 dress the right hand, which had to be lanced several 
 times, and the left arm, which, from a little below the 
 shoulder to a little above the wrist, was one dreadful 
 running sore. The patient was perfectly helpless ; he 
 could not even use his handkerchief, nor brush his 
 teeth, nor do anything for himself, and this was a 
 great trial to one of his neat, personal habits. The 
 pain in the arm was very severe, and it was difficult to 
 find an easy position for it until the doctor himself 
 suggested that a rest should be suspended from the 
 ceiling, upon which the arm was laid. At length the 
 first symptoms of healing appeared "granulation" 
 the doctors called it and the patient was reported as 
 progressing. The journal says : "January 12th. The 
 doctor declares he has not felt so well as he does to-day 
 since his illness began. Mr. Daniel brought him some 
 tomatoes from the greenhouse, and some beautiful 
 flowers ; both were a treat. He saw Mr. Daniel for 
 a minute, and Charles Drury ; took his food, and feels 
 comfortable." 
 
 " Thursday, 13th. Still the same ; very weak, and 
 oh! so thin." 
 
 " Sunday, 16th. Getting on, but so very slowly." 
 
 " Wednesday, 26th. The doctor's birthday. George 
 came down. The arm not quite so well. I wish I 
 could see the doctor gaining strength, which I have not 
 done yet. It may be that strength cannot come till, 
 the arm has done discharging, which it does very 
 freely. He was much tired to-day and is very weak." 
 
 The doctor had now been confined to bed for three 
 months ; his hand and arm were improving, but he did 
 not seem to be gaining strength. He had been up for 
 a short time one or two days, and felt so exhausted 
 
LONG ILLNESS. 147 
 
 afterwards that he was unwilling to renew the effort. 
 Mrs. Botsford writes : " Had his room changed. The 
 doctors carried him into the drawing-room; it is a 
 much more cheerful room, and we had a spring-bed 
 put in, on which I trust he may rest comfortably." 
 One morning, in the beginning of March, his feet were 
 observed to be swollen ; the same symptom gradually 
 showed itself in various parts of the body, and when 
 it reached the neck a terrible attack came on. The 
 journal says : " March 7th. Awful day for me ; the 
 doctor appeared so well before I laid down, but Mar- 
 shall called me at three o'clock, as L. B. was alarmingly 
 
 worse. I sent immediately for Dr. M ; Dr. II 
 
 was out of tow r n. Then I sent to the hotel for George. 
 
 I do not think Dr. M had any hope whatever." Dr. 
 
 Botsford was at this time unconscious, in convulsions, 
 foaming at the mouth. The swelling had so affected 
 his face that not even his nearest friends could have 
 recognized him. It is difficult to say how we lived 
 through the next three weeks. The doctor talked in- 
 cessantly and incoherently. Pie did not know his wife, 
 and it was pitiful to hear him hour after hour entreat- 
 ing his niece to let him " go home ; I shall be so much 
 better at home." One seemed almost willing to breathe 
 the prayer, " Let Thy servant depart in peace." 
 
 When this change in Dr. Botsford's illness became 
 known in town, the inquiries at the door were so in- 
 cessant that the medical men had to put up a bulletin 
 on the hall door three times a day. Old and young 
 showed their interest in the sufferer. The first ques- 
 tion when business men met in the street was, " Have 
 you heard how Dr. Botsford is this morning?" One 
 of his patients said to her little daughter, " What were 
 
148 LONG ILLNESS. 
 
 you doing so long alone in your room ? " "I was ask- 
 ing God to make our dear doctor well." And hers 
 was not the only intercession. Sunday after Sunday 
 Dr. Botsford was prayed for in Trinity Church, and 
 after his most wonderful recovery it was said that he 
 must have been prayed back to life by the supplica- 
 tions of Trinity congregation. 
 
 The delirium was succeeded by a heavy death-like 
 sleep, which could hardly be distinguished from 
 " coma." On Monday, 13th, a week after the attack, 
 the journal says : " Sleeping heavily, stertorous breath- 
 ing, almost without a ray of hope." That day, while 
 his wife and niece were sitting beside him, the heavy 
 breathing suddenly ceased, and the quieter breathing 
 which succeeded was almost imperceptible. Mrs. 
 
 Botsford exclaimed, " F , he is gone! " but a faint 
 
 pulse at the wrist showed that he was still with us, and 
 the next day the journal says : " Sleeping quietly; not 
 coma ; the slightest shade of hope." And so alternate 
 hope and fear went on for a fortnight longer, and even 
 then the entry is, " Much the same ; physicians say no 
 worse." Marshall, poor fellow, was quite worn out, 
 and was replaced by two men, who relieved each other 
 by turns. The journal says : " The men are both 
 
 good nurses and seem very faithful. F does much. 
 
 I think her dear uncle likes her to be near him. How 
 thankful I feel that she is here." 
 
 When Dr. Hartt, in New York, heard of this last 
 attack, and of the little probability there was that 
 his friend's strength would hold out, he " dropped 
 everything," to use his own phrase, and although a 
 very busy man, he rushed to St. John, telegraph- 
 ing to the doctors to meet him in consultation as 
 
LONG ILLNESS. 149 
 
 soon as he arrived. The conference lasted two hours, 
 and when concluded, Dr. Hartt said in his impulsive, 
 sanguine fashion, " Dr. Botsford will get well. I do 
 not see why he should die." This was some encour- 
 agement, but three weeks more of anxiety were passed 
 before Mrs. Botsford could write : " Easter Sunday, 
 April 16th. The doctor improving slowly." The 
 next week : " L. B. waked, asked me to read the 
 psalms of the morning for him. The doctors came. 
 Said he was going on well. Boils still discharging 
 and painful." A week later: "April 30th. After 
 breakfast had a little church at home. We read the 
 
 service together. Then F read a chapter of Far- 
 
 rar's Life of Christ, and dear L. B. said he quite en- 
 joyed the day." At length, on llth of May, Mrs. 
 Botsford writes joyfully : " Carried down stairs on a 
 swinging chair of his own contrivance." 
 
 " May 14th. Out in Hamm's barouche. Is gaining 
 strength, though very slowly. He wishes to go to Hali- 
 fax this week. The medical men are saying all they can 
 to dissuade him from going so soon, but I know he will 
 go." And go he did. Many friends met him in the sta- 
 tion. He was lifted into a Pullman, the bed arranged, 
 and the easy, swaying motion of the car put him into a 
 healthy, refreshing sleep soon after the train started. 
 The journal says: " We reached Halifax early the next 
 morning and drove to Elm Bank. Mr. Walker had a 
 bed ready in the drawing-room, as the doctor could 
 not go upstairs; indeed every possible kindness was 
 shown us during our six weeks' stay." About the end 
 of June he returned to St. John, not very strong, nor 
 capable of much exertion, but no longer an invalid. 
 The terrible illness, lasting from the 23rd of November 
 
150 LONG ILLNESS. 
 
 to the middle of the following June, had been borne 
 with the most astonishing fortitude and patience. His 
 nurses cannot recall one fretful word during his con- 
 scious hours. It was necessary frequently to lance the 
 gatherings, and in his " supersensitive state " this gave 
 great pain only once he uttered a sharp cry. At 
 such times he would like to have a gentle hand press 
 his head, and his lips would move in secret prayer. 
 During the first part of his illness the dressing of the 
 fearful abscesses occupied the medical men fully an 
 hour every morning and evening. He was often much 
 exhausted, but it was all borne with cheerful composure. 
 Sometimes a quiet joke would come to the surface, 
 and he never failed to acknowledge the extreme kind- 
 ness and attention of his physicians. In his weakest 
 hours, when reading fatigued him, he would like a 
 psalm or hymn repeated, often asking for the 23rd 
 Psalm. His favourite hymns were "Rock of Ages," 
 " Art Thou Weary," and "Abide with Me." 
 
 Upon Dr. Botsford's return to St. John he was able 
 to attend church, and Mrs. Botsford's feelings of thank- 
 fulness, when they sat again together in the old pew, 
 may be better imagined than described. Her hus- 
 band's recovery seemed almost like a resurrection. 
 They were very early, and Dr. Botsford whispered : 
 " I think I will go and speak to the rector." She 
 looked, saw his eyes were full of tears, and merely 
 pressed his hand. When he got to the vestry hia 
 emotion nearly overcame him ; he could only utter a 
 
 few 7 inarticulate sounds. Canon B saw at once 
 
 how much he was moved. " I suppose, Dr. Botsford, 
 you wish to return thanks for your recovery." Dr. 
 Botsford bowed an assent, and left the vestry, lest he 
 
LONG ILLNESS. 151 
 
 should lose control of his feelings. It was some time 
 after he returned to his pew before his emotion sub- 
 sided, and many a heart in Trinity Church that morn- 
 ing united in the thanksgiving, and felt grateful that 
 God had spared his servant's life, and had granted 
 him a few more years in which to do his Master's 
 work. Dr. Botsford remained a short time in the city, 
 then he went out to Rothesay and spent a fortnight 
 
 with his kind friends, Mr. and Mrs. H . Every 
 
 change seemed to give him additional energy. From 
 Rothesay he went to Milton, six miles out of Boston, 
 
 where Miss M was spending the summer with her 
 
 sister, Mrs. R . The journal says: "The doctor 
 
 very much enjoyed his visit to Milton; all so kind. 
 
 Mr. R drove him out frequently, and he took 
 
 lovely country walks." From Milton he went on to 
 New York, where he remained five weeks, the guest 
 of his friend, Dr. Hartt. While there he received the 
 following letter from Dr. Gross : 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, August 8, 1876. 
 Dear Doctor Botsford: 
 
 Upon my return home a few days ago, I had the pleasure 
 of finding your kind letter of the 22nd ultimo. I need not 
 tell you how sincerely rejoiced I am at your recovery after so 
 terrible an attack of pyaemia. You must, indeed, have been 
 at death's door. You are, of course, a sensible man, and, 
 therefore, fully able to take care of yourself without any 
 warning on my part. Keep away from this city as long as 
 you can. We are again suffering frightfully from the heat. 
 Do not fail to be here at the opening of the International 
 Medical Congress, and at the meeting of our " Conference " 
 on the previous Saturday. We need your presence. By that 
 time we shall certainly have pleasant weather. When you 
 
152 LONG ILLNESS. 
 
 write to Mr. Walker, thank him kindly for his invitation. 
 If I am ever so fortunate as to visit Halifax, it will afford me 
 great pleasure to spend a few days under his hospitable roof. 
 God bless you ! 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 S. D. GROSS. 
 
 Dr. Botsford did not attend the Medical Congress, 
 as suggested in the above note. His strength was not 
 equal to the exertion ; but he did make a short visit to 
 the "Centennial Exhibition" with his niece, and by 
 means of rolling chairs was able to visit most objects 
 of interest in the " great show." The machinery de- 
 partment especially attracted his attention. In the 
 autumn he returned to St. John with his wife and niece 
 to take up again the life which had been so wonder- 
 fully restored to him. 
 
 He looked at this time the picture of health. His 
 bright colour and clear complexion had returned. 
 There was no trace of weakness in his figure or 
 bearing. He was rather stouter than he had been 
 before his illness, yet his medical friends told him, 
 and his own knowledge confirmed the dictum, that 
 traces of the disease remained in his system, and that 
 strenuous work and excitement must be avoided. He 
 himself told his niece that, though he felt perfectly 
 well, he knew that his vital force was weakened, and 
 that, it at any time his lungs, digestion or heart were 
 attacked by disease, he would have but little power of 
 resistance. He formed his plans accordingly. His 
 daily visits to the Marine Hospital were resumed, but 
 his patients, to their often expressed regret, had to be 
 told that his general practice was given up. There 
 
LONG ILLNESS. 153 
 
 were a few old friends whose entreaties he could not 
 resist, but even then, if a long illness threatened, he 
 felt that his strength could not stand any continuous 
 strain, and generally requested that the case might he 
 handed over to some other medical man, and he abso- 
 lutely refused all night work. 
 
 It was at first feared by his friends that he would 
 miss the interest and occupation of a large practice. 
 But it was not so. He had, it is true, stepped 
 suddenly from the burden and heat of the day to 
 the " afternoon " of life, but his active, energetic 
 spirit soon found many objects to take up his atten- 
 tion and much to do for his fellow-beings during 
 the twelve years of life yet allotted to him. He was 
 always fond of reading. Besides his medical works 
 and periodicals, he had gone through a few scientific 
 books, but now, for the first time in his busy life, he 
 had leisure to devote to general literature. History, 
 travel, but especially biography, gave him great plea- 
 sure. He often said, after reading a life like that of 
 Louis Agassiz, of Lord Lawrence, of Bishop Hanning- 
 ton, or of Henry Fawcett, that he felt as if he had 
 made another friend. His reading was not merely for 
 his own amusement ; the thoughts thus acquired were 
 reproduced in various shapes in conversation or in his 
 lectures before the Y. M. C. A., and often in annual 
 addresses before the different organizations with which 
 he was connected. Thus occupied, he was more at 
 home than formerly a great pleasure to Mrs. Bots- 
 ford, whose health of late years, never very strong, had 
 been much weakened by the anxiety and fatigue of the 
 preceding winter. We find such frequent entries in 
 her journal : "I have had much pain in my gouty 
 
154 LONG ILLNESS. 
 
 foot ; often feel weary and stupid now ; not good for 
 much." Yet her buoyant disposition enabled her to 
 make the best of everything, and it was a perpetual 
 delight to her to watch her husband's improvement in 
 health and strength. She writes : "April 25th. The 
 doctor is getting stronger. I am not able to go out 
 this week, and feel weary and sick and stupid, but so 
 happy to see my husband getting stronger." She 
 chronicles the pleasant " high teas" which had now in 
 St. John generally taken the place of the more cere- 
 monious dinner parties, and observes at the end of a 
 week : " We have been out two evenings this week, 
 and the doctor does not seem tired." 
 
 To his other evening engagements Dr. Botsford now 
 added the meetings of a literary association of about 
 forty members, calling themselves " The Eclectic 
 Reading Club." The literary and social evenings 
 arranged every month by this Club were much enjoyed 
 by the doctor. Six readings or recitations were usually 
 given at each meeting by different members in turn, 
 Dr. Botsford's readings being very popular, as he made 
 his selections carefully, and read in a clear, distinct 
 voice. At the annual meeting of the Club he was 
 elected President, and contributed not a little to its 
 continued success and progress. He felt that it sup- 
 plied a need in St. John society by furnishing a social 
 gathering for persons of intellectual culture and taste. 
 Mrs. Botsford was not often able to attend the meet- 
 ings, but she was always glad to welcome the Club to 
 her own house, and enjoyed getting up a nice supper 
 for the benefit of the members. 
 
 And thus the year 1877 found Dr. Botsford, though 
 retired from general practice, yet still busily engaged. 
 
LONG ILLNESS. 155 
 
 There was work connected with the Bible Society, with 
 the Natural History Society, with the Evangelical 
 Alliance, and with various other societies of which he 
 was a member. His morning walk to the Marine 
 Hospital was the prelude to the day, followed perhaps 
 by one or two medical visits. Sometimes he would go 
 in for a few minutes to the Girls' High School, where 
 the principal, Mrs. Carr (Mrs. deSoyres), always felt 
 his presence to be an incentive and a stimulus. Oc- 
 casionally he would make a short address to the pupils 
 on some popular scientific subject, or give them a plain 
 " talk " upon Hygiene. A book or his pen filled up 
 his leisure hours. Once more his tall figure was seen, 
 and his ringing laugh was heard day after day in the 
 streets of St. John. " Do not forget Dr. Botsford's 
 hilarity," was the advice given to the writer of this 
 memoir. " I told him once that he must be the hap- 
 piest man in the world, for he was always humming 
 some lively tune when he came into my office." 
 
 His sixty-fifth birthday, January 26th, 1877, Mrs. 
 Botsford celebrated by giving a little luncheon party 
 of twelve. There were the doctor's three clerical 
 friends, the Rectors of Trinity, St. Mark's, and St. 
 
 Paul's; his two faithful physicians, Dr. H and 
 
 Dr. M ; his cousin, Mr. Drury ; two lawyer friends, 
 
 Mr. W. M. J and Mr. Ch. W ; and Mr. T. W. 
 
 Daniel. The journal says: "It was a nice, pleasant, 
 and very harmonious luncheon at half-past one ; they 
 did not leave till four." 
 
 The first sad event of the new year was the death of 
 Dr. Botsford's good friend, Mr. Walker, of Elm Bank, 
 whose kindness and attention during both the doctor's 
 illness and convalescence had been very great. Dr. 
 
156 LONG ILLNESS. 
 
 Botsford went twice to Halifax to see him. The jour- 
 nal says : " Never can I forget what Mr. Walker did 
 
 for my husband, who feels this very much. L. B 
 
 was with Mr. Walker, at his own urgent request, till 
 shortly before his death, and came home so worn out, 
 and looking so weary, I felt almost alarmed at his 
 appearance. He said he felt unable to stay longer." 
 Mr. Walker died shortly after Dr. Botsford left, and 
 his remains were brought to St. John for interment. 
 
 During the whole winter the journal contains fre- 
 quent notices of Dr. Botsford's increasing vigour : 
 " Sunday the doctor was at the Marine Hospital, and 
 twice at Trinity. How delighted I was to be with him 
 in dear old Trinity again. First-rate sermons both 
 times, and so earnestly delivered." On May 21st: 
 " Splendid day ; the doctor went with Dr. Harding in 
 his new boat as far as Pisarinco ; had a lovely sail. I 
 wish he could get away in this very fine weather." 
 About a fortnight after this was written, the doctor did 
 get away on a little trip with his niece and his friends, 
 Canon and Mrs. DeVeber. They were to visit the 
 northern part of New Brunswick the Metapedia and 
 the Re'stigouche. 
 
 We left in the train on the llth of June, a lovely 
 day. Dr. Botsford was in the best of spirits, laughing 
 and talking with the passengers in the car. " Was 
 that an old friend with whom you have been chatting 
 so merrily for the last half hour ? " asked Dr. Bots- 
 ford's grave and reserved fellow-traveller, Canon DeV. 
 "I never saw the man in my life before," was the 
 answer, " but I liked his face and felt inclined to ex- 
 change thoughts with him." At the Junction, while 
 waiting for a " Special " to take us to Chatham, an 
 
LONG ILLNESS. . 157 
 
 employee of the road, a long-headed sceptical Scotch- 
 man, was using some strong language in Dr. Botsford's 
 hearing. The latter felt he could not hold his peace, 
 but the reproof was given so kindly that no offence 
 was taken, and the result was a religio-metaphysical 
 discussion which lasted till the " Special " was ready. 
 The next day we proceeded via Campbellton to the 
 Metapedia, where we staid, as all travellers then did, at 
 " Dan Fraser's." The doctor revelled in the glorious 
 scenery, and, in his newly acquired strength, he climbed 
 the hills around to get the best views, and thrashed 
 through the underbrush with the most astonishing 
 vigour. One day was devoted to floating down the 
 Restigouche in canoes paddled by Indians, and Dr. 
 Botsford sat almost speechless with delight as we 
 glided swiftly and quietly down the clear stream, while 
 the hills on either side seemed to enfold us in beauty. 
 From the Metapedia we returned to Bathurst on the 
 Nipisiguit, along the banks 'of which we had a lovely 
 drive. At the little country inn at Bathurst, a char- 
 acteristic incident occurred. When we arrived, as the 
 meek, quiet landlady was showing us our rooms, her 
 tipsy husband appeared, and reeling up to Dr. Botsford 
 began to talk about the old Judge, how often he had 
 staid with him, etc. With some difficulty the poor 
 mortified wife persuaded her husband to leave the 
 room, but not before Dr. Botsford had got thoroughly 
 indignant and excited. He walked up and down, 
 talking about temperance, wondering why men would 
 make fools of themselves, and he could not calm down 
 until his niece opened an old melodeon, and played 
 some favourite hymns. The next day we left for 
 Moncton, where the party separated. Dr. Botsford 
 
158 THE GREAT FIRE. 
 
 went to Halifax to meet Mrs. Botsford. The rest of 
 the party returned to the city, no one imagining that 
 before they met again the following week, the " Great 
 Fire " would have swept over St. John, and laid the 
 greater part of it in ruins. 
 
 The story of the St. John fire has been so often told 
 that it seems unnecessary to repeat it here, as it did 
 not form part of Dr. Botsford's personal experience. 
 Those who were then in St. John have the terrible 
 scenes photographed in their memories. Those who 
 were absent can never, by the aid of any description, 
 fully imagine its horror. It came upon us with such 
 swift rapidity as almost to paralyze exertion. A 
 suffocating pall of black smoke and ashes hung low 
 over the city ; the howling of the wind and the terrific 
 roar of the flames were appalling. The most sub- 
 stantial stone houses burnt like wooden shanties, huge 
 granite blocks curling up in the intense heat and 
 blazing like sheets of cardboard. House after house, 
 street after street, square after square, were enveloped 
 in fire, until from the harbour the city seemed one vast 
 glowing furnace. Dr. Botsford's house stood in a 
 comparatively safe part of the city, and was soon filled 
 with furniture, plate and valuables from other houses. 
 His niece knew how anxious he would be that all pos- 
 sible assistance should be given, so that beds were 
 made up and bread prepared, as the bakeries were all 
 burnt or burning. At one time it was feared that 
 even this part of the city would be included in the 
 conflagration, but, by a merciful Providence, the wind 
 changed, and the flames were blown towards the har- 
 bour. 
 
 Dr. Botsford did not hear of this terrible calamity 
 
THE GREAT FIRE. 159 
 
 until the next morning, just as he was leaving Hali- 
 fax for St. John. By that time the fury of the 
 flames had spent itself, but two-thirds of the city 
 lay in ashes. Churches, banks, shops, public institu- 
 tions were in ruins. The principal streets were so 
 choked with debris arid masonry that they were almost 
 impassable. Fifteen millions' worth of property had 
 been destroyed, and twenty-five thousand people were 
 homeless and houseless. Dr. Botsford had intended 
 to make a visit in Sackville, but he came direct to 
 St. John, hearing at every station additional details 
 of the great destruction, and by the time he reached 
 his home he could form some idea of the work that 
 lay before him. Relief committees were at once organ- 
 ized to distribute wisely the provisions and clothing 
 which were so quickly and so generously poured into 
 St. John not only from Fredericton, and different 
 parts of the Province, but from the United States. 
 Portland sent a relief train immediately, and Boston 
 was not far behindhand. Large sums of money were 
 also most generously contributed in the States and 
 elsewhere, and every effort was made to alleviate the 
 distress. Dr. Botsford was on both the General Relief 
 Committee and the Special Church of England Relief 
 Committee, the meetings of the latter being held at 
 his house. Only those who have had the experience 
 know what an amount of labour and responsibility 
 such work implies. Dr. Botsford stood the strain 
 wonderfully well. For three weeks it was incessant 
 toil from early morning till late at night toil of both 
 hands and brains, but especially the latter. It was 
 thought the fatigue and excitement would be too much 
 for Mrs. Botsford, so, at her husband's request, she 
 
160 THE GREAT FIRE. 
 
 remained several weeks with her Halifax friends. 
 Meantime, Dr. Botsford kept open house twelve, 
 fifteen, sometimes eighteen, friends or acquaintances 
 dined with him every day. Besides the work on the 
 General Relief Committee at the Rink, and that in 
 connection with the Church of England Committee, a 
 large Needlework Society was organized in St. Mark's 
 school-room and in the Mechanics' Institute, where 
 numbers of young girls, thrown out of employment, 
 were engaged and paid to make up undergarments 
 and cotton dresses for those who had only saved from 
 the lire the clothes in which they were dressed. 
 
 When Mrs. Botsford returned she writes: " The most 
 awful conflagration ! Our venerated church and all the 
 public buildings swept away. I drove over part of the 
 city to-day, and did not know in what street I was. 
 Everything that can be done is doing for the relief of 
 the sufferers. Our own home has been open to any 
 in want of a dinner, and the Church of England Com- 
 mittees are held here every day from three till five. 
 I hope my dear husband's strength may hold out, and 
 that he may be able to do what is so needful. He 
 has for the past four weeks been very busy helping, 
 cheering, managing. He is chairman of the Church 
 of England Committee. He is very active, and so 
 much interested, that he will not allow himself to 
 rest." Again : " Friday, July 27th. The doctor and 
 I have been busy all day about the people's clothing." 
 
 After a whjle the streets were cleared, gangs of busy 
 workmen passed to and fro, the tap of the hammer 
 and the click of workmen's tools were heard from one 
 end of the city to the other, men began to take heart, 
 and by October the doctor was able to write this hope- 
 
THE GREAT FIRE. 161 
 
 fill letter to his brother, the Senator. The letter shows 
 how closely Dr. Botsford watched and observed the 
 progress of the buildings in the city, and how much 
 he was interested in its welfare : 
 
 ST. JOHN, Oct. 8th, 1877. 
 My Dear Edwin : 
 
 I did not answer your letter written on the eve of your 
 going north. . . . We are progressing in the way of 
 building. I think I may say there are now 280 brick stores 
 in process of construction. Many have the brick work finished 
 and the roofs on, and many more are well advanced, and 
 about 120 dwelling houses of brick. Each store 1 count as 
 one, though in some buildings there are two or three. I sup- 
 pose you may put down $6,000 as the average cost of each ; 
 that is certainly a low estimate, so that you can form an idea 
 of what is doing. There are about 450 wooden buildings, 
 one-third of them shanties or ells, the remainder better build- 
 ings than those which were burnt ; average cost of each say 
 $1,200. The cost of what is now undertaken cannot fall 
 short of two and a half millions, a pretty big sum. The 
 churches alone are a heavy item. Centenary, $60,000 ; St. 
 Andrew's, $40,000 ; St. David's perhaps the same ; St. Mala- 
 chi's, $25,000; Victoria School, $45,000; Trinity, not yet 
 decided, will not fall short probably of $50,000 ; Baptist, 
 Germain Street, $40,000. Dock street, now widened, has the 
 west side mostly roofed ; the east side not much done on ac- 
 count of delay in widening. How are the " Jacky snipes " 
 this autumn ? Your affectionate brother, 
 
 L. B. BOTSFORD. 
 
 And thus closed the year 1877, so fateful for St. 
 John and St. John citizens. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 A TRIP TO THE SOUTH MRS. BOTSFORD'S DEATH. 
 
 " Grief walks the earth, and sits down at the feet of each by turns." 
 
 JEschylus. 
 
 At this time Mrs. Botstord's journal contains fre- 
 quent allusions to her health, which was evidently 
 failing. She felt deeply the loss of a much-loved niece 
 in New York, Maggie H , who died the week be- 
 fore Christmas, just after the birth of her first baby. 
 Mrs. Botsford wished to go to her " poor afflicted 
 sister, but I am weak and weary, and not able to do 
 so. I have written her to visit me ; the change would 
 do her good." Mrs. Hartt was not strong enough to 
 travel in the cold weather, and the sisters did not meet 
 till the following summer. 
 
 The winter was spent quietly. While the doctor 
 was out in the morning at the hospital, Mrs. Botsford, 
 
 if she were able, would take a walk with Miss M . 
 
 In the afternoon, while her husband attended his com- 
 mittee meetings, or looked at the papers in the News 
 Room, she would have pleasant chats with her visitors, 
 for a day seldom passed without her receiving several 
 " calls." In the evening, friends would come in to 
 play bagatelle with the doctor; or, if they were alone, 
 he would read aloud. She often mentions spending a 
 quiet evening, with a few other people, at a friend's 
 house, but she did not feel able to attend larger gather- 
 ings. On Sunday she always made an effort, even if 
 not very strong, to go to church with the doctor, either 
 (162) 
 
A TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 163 
 
 to the u Stone Church," or to the Madras school-room, 
 where Trinity congregation now worshipped. As for 
 the doctor's health, he was wonderfully well, and 
 stouter than he had ever been, weighing 188 Ibs. 
 This was probably owing to the milk diet, which he 
 continued to take until every trace of the disease had 
 disappeared. 
 
 When the long, chilly spring of 1878 opened, Dr. 
 Botsford took a slight cold, and this, combined with 
 what he called a " migratory" feeling, induced him to 
 think of another trip. Thia time it was to be towards 
 the South. Mrs. Botsford was not strong enough to 
 accompany him, but young Dr. R. L. Botsford, the son 
 of his brother Bliss, came to stay with her and to take 
 
 charge of the Marine Hospital. Miss M 's sister, 
 
 E M , and her friend, Miss L. M. Towne, 
 
 from Philadelphia, had been engaged for many years in 
 educational, temperance and missionary work among 
 the freedmen of South Carolina, and when it was known 
 that Dr. Botsford contemplated a trip to the South, Miss 
 Towne kindly invited him and his niece to visit Frog- 
 more, the pretty home she had made for herself in the 
 Island of St. Helena. 
 
 We left St. John on a dull, chilly Thursday in April. 
 Little patches of dirty snow could be seen in the streets. 
 It was a decided case of " Winter lingering in the lap 
 of spring." When we caught sight of Mount Katahdin 
 on our way to Portland, it was glittering, white as an 
 Alpine peak. During our few hours' stay in Boston 
 we went to hear one of Phillips Brooks' Friday Lent 
 lectures. Dr. Botsford never lost an opportunity of 
 listening to that earnest and intellectual preacher. 
 Trinity was full to overflowing on this week-day after- 
 
164 A TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 
 
 noon, and there were more men than women in the 
 congregation. We left the same evening for New 
 York, where, after spending an hour or two with Dr. 
 and Mrs. Hartt, we embarked for Charleston, crossing 
 the bar and landing there on Tuesday morning. The 
 transformation scene appeared magical. We had step- 
 ped suddenly from winter to summer. Trees were in 
 leaf, shrubs in blossom ; the air was balmy with the 
 breath of flowers, and clustering roses in full bloom 
 were climbing over windows, porches and houses. 
 When we went to the hotel, which was built round 
 a large inner square, filled with tropical plants, the 
 waiter brought us, as an appetizer for breakfast, a 
 plate of fresh strawberries. Two days were spent in 
 Charleston. We drove about the city and out into 
 the country beyond. The luxuriance of vegetation 
 was marvellous. For miles along each side of the 
 road the Cherokee rose, with its large white flowers, 
 and their golden centres, threw its sprays over the 
 hedges. It was literally 
 
 "One boundless bloom, one white and golden shower 
 Of mingled blossom !" 
 
 We were certainly in the South. The dusky faces far 
 outnumbered the white ones, and in the large straw- 
 berry plantations, coloured women only were picking 
 the fruit for the northern market. A little before sun- 
 set we took a boat and sailed out to Fort Sumter. 
 " Silent it lies," but on just such an April day, thirteen 
 years before, it had proclaimed, by a thundering roar 
 of cannon, that the Great American Civil War was 
 ended that the slave was free. 
 
 From Charleston we went by train to the Yemesse 
 
A TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 165 
 
 Junction, thence to Beaufort, where E met us. 
 
 We crossed the Beaufort River in an open boat, rowed 
 
 by negroes. The carriage was waiting, and E 
 
 drove us ten miles to Frogmore, where Miss Towne 
 gave us a warm welcome. " Why did you not tell me 
 what a handsome man your uncle was?" was Miss 
 
 Towne's remark to E M as soon as they 
 
 found themselves alone. 
 
 We spent a delightful fortnight at Frogmore, enjoy- 
 ing the kindest hospitality. To travellers from the 
 north it seemed a " bower of beauty." Ivy, roses, 
 jessamine, mantled the long verandah and crept in 
 at the windows; within, beautiful pictures of Miss 
 Towne's well-known artist sister, Mrs. Darrah, of Bos- 
 ton, adorned the walls, while the large rooms and 
 high ceilings promised coolness in the hottest weather. 
 Dr. Botsford, in writing to his brother, says: "I en- 
 joyed a fortnight at St. Helena very much. The ther- 
 mometer ranged from 70 to 80 ; a brisk breeze came 
 in from the sea every day soft and pleasant. The trees 
 were in full foliage; the orange trees added to the 
 scene by their clusters of ripe fruit. The rose bushes, 
 or rather rose trees, were covered with various species 
 of roses. Phlox of every hue sprang up on the lawn 
 like weeds; the pomegranate was in blow, and all 
 around was one summer enjoyment. Our welcome at 
 Frogmore, where Miss Towne and Ellen reside, was 
 warm and hearty, and the comforts of a home added 
 in no small degree to the pleasure of the climate." 
 
 We reached St. Helena the day before Good Friday. 
 That day and Saturday were spent in resting, reading, 
 talking, and walking about the garden and grounds. 
 On Sunday E drove us to Beaufort to church. It 
 
166 A TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 
 
 was Easter Sunday, and the richest northern churches 
 could scarcely vie with the wealth of flowers displayed 
 by this little southern church. The chancel was 
 banked with roses, lilies, and honeysuckle. Bishop 
 Howe, of South Carolina, preached a magnificent ser- 
 mon on the Resurrection, and it was a great pleasure 
 to Dr. Botsford and his two nieces to meet together in 
 a joyous Easter " celebration." It was the first and 
 last time they did so. 
 
 The following Easter week was a school holiday, 
 and for almost every day some pleasant drive or boat- 
 ing excursion was planned. One was a picnic to 
 Hunting Island to see the light-house and the alligator 
 swamp beyond. Dr. Botsford alludes to this in a 
 letter : " On one of the islands we visited there was 
 a pond, perhaps about a mile in length, and before we 
 left a Southerner, good with the rifle, shot an alligator, 
 which a coloured servant dragged to shore. It was 
 between five and six feet in length. The palmetto 
 grew in every direction, and the enchantment of 
 southern scenery was around us. I would not like 
 to spend a summer in these latitudes, but the spring 
 is truly enjoyable." 
 
 These expeditions were delightful. There was so 
 much that was new and wonderful to Dr. Botsford. 
 The long, grey moss that, like a misty veil, draped 
 the gigantic " live oaks ; " the stately magnolia, with 
 its fragrant white blossoms ; the palmetto ; the dwarf 
 palm, with its cluster of bright green fan leaves ; the 
 Yuca gloriosa ; the pink and white azaleas ; the trum- 
 pet honeysuckle, and other blossoming shrubs and 
 flowers too numerous to mention, all combined to 
 form a picture of beauty unknown and unimagined 
 
A TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 167 
 
 before. But more interesting to Dr. Botsford than 
 even these wonders of nature was the sight of the 
 progress of the coloured people since they had received 
 their freedom. The slave huts, in which children 
 formerly sat on the mud floor and quarrelled like 
 animals round the hominy pot for their food, were 
 replaced by neat cottages, each surrounded by a small 
 farm purchased from government by the labour of its 
 owner. Inside there was plain, substantial furniture. 
 Outside there were fences, hen-houses, clumps of peach 
 trees, whose pink blossoms were just opening. The 
 fields of cotton, corn, sweet potatoes and pea-nuts, 
 which we passed, were clean and well hoed, and if 
 we came across a weedy patch Miss Towne would stop 
 the horses to inquire the cause. " Done hab fever ! " 
 or " Wife done hab fever ! " was often the answer, 
 accompanied by a request for medicine. " Come to 
 my house at ten to-morrow morning ! " Miss Towne 
 would say. At that hour there was generally a group 
 of invalids in the back porch at Frogmore. Young 
 women with sick children ; old women with " rheu- 
 matiz;" men with fever or wounds. Miss Towne 
 would go round among them, distributing medicine 
 and giving good advice, and the progress the coloured 
 people on the island have made in cleanliness and 
 hygiene is doubtless due, in great measure, to Miss 
 Towne's influence. 
 
 Thus this holiday week passed quickly away. On 
 the Monday following, at the reopening of the Penn 
 School, Dr. Botsford would be able to see something 
 of the educational work which had been carried on 
 for sixteen years by the ladies whose guest he was. 
 Before describing the school it will be of interest to 
 
168 A TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 
 
 give a brief history of its formation, taken from an 
 annual report, printed by the scholars themselves on 
 their school press: 
 
 PENN NORMAL AND INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, 
 
 Established 1862. 
 PRINCIPALS: Miss L. M. TOWNE, Miss E. MURRAY. 
 
 On the coast of South Carolina, near its southern border, 
 lie a group of islands nestling together between St. Helena 
 Sound on the north, and Port Royal Entrance on the south. 
 Beaufort, the county town, and also the old fort of Jean 
 Kibault, are on Port Royal Island. 
 
 St. Helena, called by the Indians, Chicola, lies between 
 Port Royal Island and the sea. It is about fifteen miles long, 
 four to seven wide, and contains a population of about thirty 
 whites to nearly six thousand coloured. 
 
 When, in the late civil war, these islands were taken pos- 
 session of by the Union forces, among those who came down 
 to help and teach the freedmen were two ladies, Miss L. M. 
 Towne from Philadelphia, and Miss E. Murray from England. 
 
 Deciding on St. Helena for their field of work, they founded 
 the Penn School, so called in honour of the Pennsylvania 
 Freedmen's Relief Association, which had given them their 
 commission, and continued generously and liberally to support 
 the school. 
 
 When this Association disbanded, its work being done, an 
 Auxiliary Society, the Benezet, with the kindest interest, 
 cared for the school for years, and still gives occasional dona- 
 tions. When the Benezet support ceased, the two ladies, as 
 Principals of the school, with the help of their own near 
 relations only, undertook its support, and though necessarily 
 cramped for means, have for many years kept it open and in 
 working order. 
 
 When they first commenced they were told that the " field 
 
A TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 169 
 
 hands " of these islands were too low to learn anything ; that 
 " it was a waste of time to attempt to educate or civilize them ; 
 that few of them could count their fingers correctly, their 
 language was unintelligible jargon, and it was impossible to 
 teach them arithmetic." 
 Determined to prove that 
 
 " A man's a man for a' that," 
 
 the ladies called the school together in the Brick Church, in 
 the centre of the island, where, in 1862, the first division 
 of the school was made into those who could repeat the 
 alphabet and those who could not. 
 
 Sixteen years of work lie between that time and this, and 
 now the school has its Normal, High, Grammar, Intermediate, 
 Primary and Infant Divisions, with its Industrial Annex. 
 
 The Industrial Departments consist of a Carpenters' Class 
 in a shop erected by the young men of the school, and a 
 Sewing Class. 
 
 The school has no State or County aid, and is a free school, 
 furnishing higher instruction to the graduates of the District 
 Schools of the island and preparing them for State examina- 
 tions. Its graduates are employed as teachers in the different 
 divisions of the Penn School, in the County schools of the 
 island ; also in other parts of the State, and as clerks in stores. 
 
 Especial attention is given to moral and religious training, 
 and to the principles of teaching. 
 
 This brief history may well close with Gen. Saxton's com- 
 ment, who, in revisiting the island after twenty years, said : 
 " They do not seem to be the same race that we found here, 
 their expression and bearing are so changed and improved." 
 
 The report then gives the names of the teachers, the 
 rules of the school, and outlines the course of study 
 for the year. At the end we find a list of benefactors, 
 among whom Dr. Botsford appears, and also the fol- 
 
170 A TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 
 
 lowing poem, written by Whittier, for the first Christ- 
 inas in the Penn School : 
 
 CHRISTMAS, 1862. 
 
 O none in all the world before 
 
 Were ever glad as we ! 
 We're free on Carolina's shore, 
 
 We're all at home and free. 
 
 Thou Friend and Helper of the poor, 
 
 Who suffered for our sake, 
 To open every prison door, 
 
 And every yoke to break ! 
 
 Bend low Thy pitying face and mild, 
 
 And help us sing and pray ; 
 The hand that blessed the little child, 
 
 Upon our foreheads lay. 
 
 We hear no more the driver's horn, 
 
 No more the whip we fear, 
 This holy day that saw Thee born 
 
 Was never half so dear. 
 
 The very oaks are greener clad, 
 
 The waters brighter smile ; 
 O never shone a day so glad 
 
 On sweet St. Helen's Isle. 
 
 We praise Thee in our songs to-day, 
 
 To Thee in prayer we call, 
 Make swift the feet and straight the way 
 
 Of freedom unto all. 
 
 Come once again, O blessed Lord ! 
 
 Come walking on the sea ! 
 And let the main-lands hear the word 
 
 That sets the islands free. 
 
A TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 173 
 
 When we reached the school-house* on Monday 
 morning, we found the children there before us. Some 
 of them had walked six miles from their homes, and 
 that after having finished the " task " of cotton-hoeing 
 required by their parents. At the sound of the 
 school bell they formed in long lines, their erect, lithe 
 figures and dusky faces showing to advantage in the 
 almost tropical sunshine. They marched into school 
 
 to the sound of a lively tune played by Miss E. M -, 
 
 and when they were seated they recited the Lord's 
 Prayer, and sang a hymn. Their voices are very 
 sweet. The whole building seemed filled with sound, 
 not a deafening noise, but full-toned music. The big 
 boys take the bass and tenor, and many of the girls 
 sing by ear the alto of almost any tune. The children 
 then separated to their several departments. Dr. 
 Botsford be^an in the highest room, and after Miss 
 
 E. M 's daily Bible lesson, he heard recitations in 
 
 arithmetic, algebra and Latin. In the grammar de- 
 partment there was a geography and a history recita- 
 tion ; in the primary there were spelling, reading and 
 writing, while the little ones were learning the 
 alphabet. The next day found Dr. Botsford at the 
 school again. This time he wished to examine the 
 scholars himself. He was much pleased with their 
 answers, which showed the progress they had made, 
 
 *The accompanying sketch of the school-house, the sketches of 
 Westcock and St. Ann's, are from pencil drawings by Mrs. Murray, the 
 widow of Dr. Botsford's step-brother. After her mother's death, Mrs. 
 Murray and her daughters came out to Boston. In 1861 she accom- 
 panied her daughter to St. Helena, South Carolina. She took an active 
 part in work among the coloured people, and died of malarial fever, 
 August, 1867. 
 
174 A TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 
 
 and the fund of knowledge they possessed. After 
 asking a great many questions, he would suddenly put 
 a catch question, that he might see the studious faces 
 relax with a smile only prevented by school decorum 
 from breaking into laughter. He had brought with 
 him for the school, from St. John, a large engraving ot 
 the " Good Shepherd," but after getting it framed in 
 Charleston it was forgotten in the train, so that he 
 could not present it himself, but it reached St. Helena 
 after he left, and now hangs in the school-house, a 
 memento of his visit. 
 
 The time had come for saying good-bye, and on our 
 last evening at Frogmore, a man, a former pupil of the 
 school, who had been working for Miss Towne, sent in 
 his account. She happened to show it to Dr. Botsford 
 as a good specimen of handwriting. He asked at once 
 if he might keep it, for, he said, he had never seen a 
 white man's bill made out more correctly, or in better 
 form. He folded it up in his pocket-book, and when 
 on his return journey, he got into a discussion about 
 the things he had heard and seen (and this was a 
 frequent occurrence), if the capabilities of coloured 
 people were called in question, he would produce this 
 paper and nourish it triumphantly before his opponent. 
 Even after his return to St. John, he carried it about 
 with him, and for several months it did duty on exhibi- 
 tion. We took the Savannah steamer and returned 
 via New York and Boston to St. John. We had Been 
 absent just a month. Mrs. Botsford's journal says : 
 "May 10th. Rainy; disagreeable day; still cold, lia 11 
 stove lighted. L. B. and F. returned. I am so de- 
 lighted to have them home again, L. B. looking so 
 well." 
 
A TRIP TO THE SOUTH. 175 
 
 The doctor enjoyed his trip so much that he repeated 
 it the next year, accompanied this time by his brother, 
 the Senator. He was again invited to Frogmore, but 
 their stay was not long, as they intended to visit 
 Florida. The experience of travel was much the same 
 and need not be repeated. One amusing mistake, 
 however, occurred on their Sunday at St. Helena. 
 E. M. took them to the Brick Church, the largest 
 coloured church on the Island. They were ushered 
 respectfully into a front pew. Presently an old black 
 " elder " came bowing to the Senator : " Would the 
 Reverend kindly give us a sermon this morning?" 
 The idea of being mistaken for a preacher was almost 
 too much for the Senator's dignity. He answered with 
 a cynical smile, " That is not in my line. You had 
 better try my brother." The request was accordingly 
 repeated to Dr. Botsford. After a little hesitation he 
 complied, and found himself standing beside the black 
 preacher. It was a different audience from that which 
 he often addressed from the Bible Society platform, 
 and for a moment he felt puzzled, and almost shy, but 
 remembering that God " hath made of one blood all 
 nations of men," he told, in as simple phrase as he 
 could, " the old, old story " of God's love and man's 
 duty. They thanked him afterwards, and the next 
 day he and the Senator left for St. Augustine. After 
 a short stay they returned to New York, where Mrs. 
 Botsford met them, and they soon found themselves 
 in their own home again. 
 
 The next few years were not marked by any great 
 changes. Mrs. Botsford's journal gives a faithful re- 
 flection of the usual panorama of life. Deaths occurred 
 among friends and relatives. Governor Chandler, who 
 
176 DECEASE OF FRIENDS AND RELATIVES. 
 
 has already been mentioned in this memoir, died at 
 Government House, Fredericton. Two cousins, Mr. 
 
 Charles H and Mr. Charles D , passed away; 
 
 and younger than any of these, Mrs. Botsford's much 
 loved nephew, Dr. Henry LeBaron Hartt, who had so 
 kindly assisted in nursing during the doctor's severe 
 illness, caught diphtheria from a patient and suc- 
 cumbed to the disease in a few days. More unex- 
 pected still was the death of the young son of Dr. 
 
 Botsford's intimate friends, Mr. and Mrs. R. P. S . 
 
 There was a consultation, and Mrs. Botsford notes with 
 keen anxiety how little hope her husband could give 
 from the very first, and when all was over, her sym- 
 pathy with the bereaved parents was great. Though 
 not at all well, she made an effort to attend the funeral 
 at St. Paul's. She speaks of " the six little pall-bearers, 
 the lovely flowers, the beautiful music," adding : "Fare- 
 well, little boy, till the resurrection morning. God be 
 with the parents and comfort them." Afterwards, both 
 the Dr. and Mrs. Botsford, in their occasional attend- 
 ance at St. Paul's, loved to linger beside the memorial 
 
 font of " Dear little A S ," the doctor's artistic 
 
 eye resting with especial pleasure on the exquisite 
 design and almost perfect finish of the carved reredos. 
 Then, also, there were numerous weddings. They 
 are frequently mentioned in the journal, and the selec- 
 tion of a pretty bridal gift was one of Mrs. Botsford's 
 pleasures. One marriage which she notices particu- 
 larly is that of Juliet D , the beautiful daughter ot 
 
 their Rockwood friends: "July 13th. This day we 
 attended the wedding of dear and lovely Juliet. It was 
 one of the best I ever saw. The church was densely 
 crowded ; the bride's dress perfect ; she herself what 
 
ILLNESS OF MRS. BOTSFORD. 177 
 
 she ever has been. Mr. Armstrong married them, 
 assisted by Mr. Schofield. We drove to Kockwood 
 to lunch, everything going on beautifully. Shortly 
 after luncheon the bridal pair left. May she be happy. 
 Her absence will be felt by all who knew her." How 
 little could any one imagine, when the youthful bride 
 bade farewell, in the fulness of life and strength, that 
 in less than four years we should see her in St. John 
 again, but with the smile of eternal peace on her sweet 
 lips, her eyes closed in 
 
 "That blessed sleep 
 From which none ever wake to weep." 
 
 During these years Mrs. Botsford had several slight 
 attacks of illness. She had to be very careful in her 
 diet and to avoid exposure in the damp. She writes, 
 May 19th, 1879 : " Very wet and foggy. I could not 
 go to the ceremony of laying the corner-stone of Trinity 
 Church. L. B. and F. were present, and in the even- 
 ing they went without me to a party of thirty-two at 
 our rector's. Bishop staying there. The doctor and 
 F. came home at half-past ten, both quite pleased;" 
 and then, when the handsome church was consecrated, 
 December 9th, of the following year, she again writes : 
 " December 10th. Yesterday our new church was con- 
 secrated by the Metropolitan, and there was a lunch for 
 the clergy and congregation in Trinity school-house. 
 I was too ill to go. Several people were very kind in 
 coming to see me. The doctor went to Fredericton 
 in the morning, returned in the evening, and then went 
 to church with F. I was quite unable to go." She 
 was much interested in the West window, a large 
 memorial window, with three lights, which had been 
 
178 MEMORIAL WINDOW. 
 
 given by Dr. Botsford and his niece, and Mrs. Charles 
 Hazen. It was manufactured by Clayton & Bell, of 
 London, but, to our great disappointment, was not 
 finished in time for the consecration. It was not till 
 February 21st that Mrs. Botsford writes: "Monday. 
 Splendid day; streets dry; not cold. Went with the 
 
 doctor and F and Mrs. Charles Hazen, to see our 
 
 window for Trinity Church. Mr. Brigstocke was also 
 there. All were perfectly satisfied, and think it most 
 beautiful. The subject is the Transfiguration. The 
 doctor gives the left light in memory of his father and 
 mother; Mrs. Charles the right for her husband. 
 
 F has the centre in memory of her father and 
 
 great-grandfather, the old Loyalist, Col. Murray." 
 
 Among other notices in Mrs. Botsford's journal are 
 those of the "Fancy Sales" she attended. She loved 
 pretty things, and always bought a nice piece of work 
 " to help on the cause." Dr. Botsford was generally 
 present at the " high tea " with which these sales 
 closed, as he desired in this, as well as in other ways, 
 to show his appreciation of woman's work. 
 
 As a physician, he had seen the sex in its worst and 
 in its best aspects fretful, selfish, exacting, querulous 
 or patient, self-forgetful, self-denying, self-sacrificing. 
 As a physician, also, the distinction and limitation of 
 sex had forced itself upon his attention. With Ten- 
 nyson he would say, "ISTot like to like, but like in 
 difference," and while he fully recognized the import- 
 ance of training schools for the higher education of 
 nurses, he did not take kindly to the idea of lady 
 doctors. 
 
 As regards woman's political rights, Dr. Botsford 
 held what might be called "advanced" opinions, which 
 
VIEW OF THE WEST END OF TRINITY CHURCH, SHOWING THE WEST WINDOW (OF 
 
 WHICH DR. BOTSFORD GAVE THE LEFT LlGHT); THE BUST OF THE QUEEN, 
 
 PLACED THERE AT THE JUBILEE SERVICE, 1887; THE ROYAL COAT 
 
 OF ARMS, BROUGHT BY THE LOYALISTS FROM NEW YORK ; AND 
 
 THE OLD COLOURS OF THE 2ND ST- JOHN CITY MILITIA 
 
ASSOCIATIONS AND SOCIETIES. 179 
 
 he did not hesitate to avow when questioned on the 
 subject, although he never brought his ideas promi- 
 nently forward. He believed in the propriety of ex- 
 tending the franchise to women, and when, under our 
 new municipal law, his niece was asked for her vote, 
 he advised her to exercise her right, and went with 
 her to the polls. 
 
 He was sympathetic and helpful in various Ladies' 
 Auxiliaries and Associations, and in the leisure of his 
 latter years often assisted in the details of the work. 
 One of these was the Ladies' Auxiliary of the S. P. C. A. 
 (Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). Dr. 
 Botsford was a member of the Parent Society, and was 
 particularly interested in the ladies' work connected 
 with the Bands of Mercy. He always occupied a seat 
 on the platform at the anniversary meetings held in 
 Mechanics' Institute. He enjoyed seeing hundreds of 
 bright young faces gathered from the most diverse 
 Sunday Schools in St. John. There were Church of 
 England, Presbyterian, and Methodist children. He 
 watched them as they came in with their banners and 
 badges, and he loved to hear their songs and recita- 
 tions. 
 
 Another Association with which Dr. Botsford was 
 latterly connected was the Church of England Insti- 
 tute. The Institute was formed in 1876 for the purpose 
 of giving to all who belonged to the Church of Eng- 
 land in St. John a centre for united Church work. It 
 numbers between three and four hundred members. 
 It has its hospital work both on Sundays and week 
 days, its Flower Mission, its Charitable and Missionary 
 Aid Committee, its Lecture and Religious Instruction 
 Committee. A branch of the G. F. S. (Girls' Friendly 
 
180 CHURCH OF ENGLAND INSTITUTE. 
 
 Society), and of the Zenana Society (for women in 
 India), are affiliated with it. 
 
 For a time Dr. Botsford held aloof from the Insti- 
 tute, fearing it would maintain a " too high" platform, 
 but when the Record and the Evangelical Churchman lay 
 peacefully by the Church Times and the Church Guar- 
 dian on the table in the reading room, he was reassured, 
 and became a member. He spent many pleasant hours 
 among the books and papers of the Institute, and soon 
 got interested, and assisted in its work. 
 
 Various objects have from time to time engaged the 
 attention of the committees. Barrels of clothing have 
 been packed and sent to the Indian homes in Algoma ; 
 boxes of useful Christmas presents are sent to poor 
 parishes in our own diocese ; funds have been collected 
 for an organ and invalid chairs in the Public Hospital. 
 
 In 1883 a more responsible work was undertaken. 
 "When the new cotton mill was built, a committee ot 
 the Institute collected funds, rented and furnished a 
 large house near the mill, procured a matron, and 
 opened a lodging-house for the operatives, who were 
 expected to arrive shortly from England, strangers and 
 friendless. It was at first intended for girls only, but 
 afterwards married people were admitted. A room 
 was reserved for meetings, and several clergymen and 
 others kindly consented to go once a week to give 
 simple lectures on religious and secular subjects. Dr. 
 Botsford went several times. One lecture on the Cir- 
 culation of the Blood was heard with great attention 
 by a crowd of men and boys. After trying to explain 
 to them a little of the wondrous arrangement by which 
 the blood courses through our veins and arteries, he 
 told them how to bind up wounds; when to press 
 
ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY. 181 
 
 above and when below a cut, etc., saying that life may 
 often be saved by a little knowledge and presence of 
 mind. 
 
 This lodging-house was finally transferred to a re- 
 spectable Englishwoman, and though the work was 
 thus virtually given up, yet from that time a permanent 
 improvement of the neighbourhood is acknowledged 
 by all who live there. 
 
 This was only one of many instances in which Dr. 
 Botsford assisted the benevolent enterprises going on 
 around him. Owing to Mrs. Botsford's frequent at- 
 tacks of illness in these last years of her life, the 
 doctor did not often leave home except for a short time 
 in the autumn, when he attended the annual meeting 
 of the Canadian Medical Association in Toronto, 
 Hamilton, Ottawa or elsewhere. In the autumn of 
 1882 she appeared to be a little stronger, and on the 
 doctor's return from the medical meeting in Toronto, 
 she was able to accompany him to Sackville, where, at 
 the invitation of Senator Botsford, the descendants ot 
 old " Speaker Botsford " met to celebrate the hun- 
 dredth anniversary of his landing in this country. 
 The doctor looked forward to this meeting with great 
 pleasure, as we see from the following jocose letter : 
 
 My Dear Edwin : 
 
 I received your letter yesterday, and have been as busy as 
 a hatter ever since, and now reply to your cordial invitation. 
 Nothing in the social line could give me more pleasure than 
 to join the collection of the Westcock boys which you propose 
 to have on or about the 21st of the month. As you are the 
 head of them now, it will be but just respect to yourself and 
 to our father, to make an effort to meet again near to, if not 
 under, the old roof. Margaret will be there, sure, if able to 
 
182 ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY. 
 
 travel, and F M will answer for herself very soon, 
 
 for she is coming. I have only an old flute, for Bliss ran 
 away with my very good one. He must bring that. Have 
 you any geese ? If not, you must buy a small flock, that we 
 may make a raid upon them as in the old time. ... I 
 have written to George, and told him I could give him a bed 
 and we could leave the next morning, picking up Bliss and 
 Blair and their wives on the way. 
 
 Accordingly, George came from Fredericton on 
 Monday, 20th, and we went to Sackville on Tuesday. 
 The Senator gave a warm welcome to Acacia Grove, 
 and the rest of the week was one continuous fete. 
 Sumptuous meals were served, every delicacy in or out 
 of season appearing on the table. Friends and young 
 people came in the evening for music, whist or games. 
 The " boys " chaifed each other, told stories of their 
 childhood and youth, called each other " Whack," or 
 " Gride," or " Pepper-pot," or " Tony," as they had 
 done fifty years before, for the youngest was in his 
 sixty-second year. When they returned to St. John 
 the doctor writes : " Dec. 4th. My Dear Edwin : I 
 believe I have settled down to a medium size and quiet 
 disposition. We had an enjoyable time, which has 
 dusted away any difficulties which threatened the latter 
 days of the i Boys.' All I think are more or less 
 rejuvenated. Margaret has been pretty well since her 
 return." 
 
 During the following winter Mrs. Botsford had 
 several slight attacks of illness, and spring found her 
 far from well. When St. John celebrated its centen- 
 nial, in May, 1883, she took great interest in it. She 
 bought a large St. George's flag, which she got Dr. 
 Botsford to suspend from the upper windows of the 
 
DEATH OF MRS. BOTSFORD. 183 
 
 house, but to her great regret she did not feel able to 
 go with her husband and niece to Trinity, where a 
 grand Loyalist service w r as held. She saw the pro- 
 cession from a window, and did all she could to have 
 the house well illuminated. 
 
 At this time the journal ceases. It closes with these 
 words : " May 24th. Queen's birthday ; replied to my 
 sister's letter. May 25th. This day is fine ; I hope I 
 may be able to go out for a very short walk, but am so 
 weak and weary, can do so little." 
 
 As summer advanced she grew stronger, and when 
 the doctor left in the beginning of September to attend 
 the Medical Convention she was able to go with him 
 as far as Milton, where she staid during his absence 
 for about a fortnight. How much she enjoyed that 
 last visit. The pure, sweet air seemed to reinvigorate 
 her. She was always fond of animals. She liked to 
 see the calves and the cows, the chickens, the big dog. 
 All the sights and sounds of country life were a plea- 
 sure to her. Every day Mrs. E would take her 
 
 for a drive to the beautiful cemetery of Forest Hills, to 
 Brush Hill, to Cedar Grove. She loved children, and 
 
 took particular notice of Mrs. R 's youngest boy, a 
 
 bright, curly-headed little fellow of eight years old, 
 called LeBaron after the doctor. When she returned 
 to St. John, however, she was again far from well, and 
 her niece hurried home to assist in receiving guests 
 who had been invited to attend the St. John Exhibi- 
 tion. Then came a long, cold winter. The doctor 
 did all that skill, attention and love could do, but the 
 springs of life were evidently failing. In June she 
 had a very severe attack of illness. Then again she 
 revived; was out almost every fine day either with 
 
184 DEATH OF MRS. BOTSFORD. 
 
 the doctor or with F for a short walk or a drive, 
 
 and when, after an absence of a few weeks at Milton, 
 
 F returned home by boat, Mrs. Botsford drove 
 
 down to Keed's Point with the doctor to meet her. 
 That week the Eclectic Reading Club met at the 
 house, and though Mrs. Botsford seemed a little tired, 
 she had a bright word for each of her guests, and ap- 
 peared none the worse for the exertion. In the course 
 of the next fortnight she went out shopping and visit- 
 ing several times with her niece. 
 
 On Monday, October 20th, the Governor-General, 
 Lord Lansdowne, and Lady Lansdowne arrived in St. 
 John. On Tuesday an address was presented by the 
 Mayor, but Mrs. Botsford did not feel quite able to 
 accompany her husband to the Court House. On 
 Wednesday, however, she had a little walk in town 
 with him, and paid some bills. That same night about 
 three o'clock she rose to get a glass of water. A 
 slight noise awoke the doctor. He saw her totter and 
 sprang from the bed just in time to save her from 
 falling. He called his niece; she reached the room 
 quickly, but her aunt was unconscious. It was a 
 stroke of paralysis. When Canon Brigs tocke came 
 in, his clear, deep voice in prayer seemed partially to 
 rouse her, and his words were probably the last 
 sounds she heard. We watched beside her Thursday, 
 Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The only token of 
 life was the motion of her hand as if in writing. 
 That soon ceased, she lay very still and did not appear 
 to suffer. Her strength gradually failed, her breathing 
 became almost imperceptible, and very early on Mon- 
 day morning, October 27th, her " worn and weary " 
 spirit entered into rest. 
 
DEATH OF MRS. BOTSFORD. 185 
 
 Dr. Botsford himself designed the simple monument 
 he raised to her memory a white marble anchor and 
 cross combined an emblem of "Hopeful Trust," 
 and when he wrote to Mrs. Hartt giving the details of 
 her sister's illness he concluded thus : " It cannot be 
 long before I shall be called to join those who have 
 passed the bounds of our earthly pilgrimage. My 
 hand is on the door. I feel that it may open at any 
 time." 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 CALIFORNIA THE YOSEMITE VALLEY. 
 
 " These are Thy glorious works, Parent of good 
 Almighty ! Thine this universal frame 
 Thus wondrous fair, Thyself how wondrous then." 
 
 Milton. 
 
 The winter that followed Mrs. Botsford's death was 
 sad and sombre. Life's daily duties were regularly 
 performed, but the shadow of recent sorrow rested on 
 the household. Dr. Botsford knew what a constant 
 correspondence was kept up between his wife and her 
 sister in New York, and, with his usual kindly con- 
 sideration for others, he occasionally took his pen to 
 fill up, in some measure, the blank this caused in Mrs. 
 Hartt's life. By her thoughtful care several interesting 
 letters of the last years of Dr. Botsford's life have been 
 preserved. One of the first letters is dated a month 
 after Mrs. Botsford's death, November 26th, 1884 : 
 
 My Dear J : 
 
 On Sunday Ch (Mrs. Botsford's brother) wrote you 
 
 during the afternoon. He dined with us and was very well. 
 Looking over the diary left by Margaret, there 
 continually occurs a notice of a letter received from you, 
 and that it was answered the same day. This agrees with 
 what I remember, that as soon as she received a letter 
 from you it would be answered at once no time lost. It 
 was a rule with her, and she always longed for your letters. 
 . . . I am remarkably well and have seldom had such 
 continual freedom from malaise in every respect, but cannot 
 at my time of life (seventy-three in January) expect a long 
 (186) 
 
INTERESTING LETTERS. 187 
 
 continuance of such health. But what matters it ! True, I 
 enjoy physical life, and should not delight in pain or weakness, 
 but, should I not have the exemption, it cannot be long before 
 I am called to join those who have passed the boundary of 
 
 our earthly existence. Miss M sends love to you. She 
 
 is very busy in her church and school employments, and 
 certainly will not let dust settle upon her ways. 
 
 Love to A . Yours affectionately, 
 
 L. B. B. 
 
 The next letter is dated March 19th, 1885 : 
 
 Dear J : 
 
 Your letter of the 19th was duly received. I will try to 
 answer your questions. First, as regards myself, I am in good 
 health ; eat somewhat carefully ; sleep as much as any man 
 of my age ; attend daily to my hospital, walking there and 
 back, unless it is stormy, when I take a cab to save my legs. 
 
 So much for No. 1. Miss M is very well this winter, and 
 
 very busy. I do not know what I should have done without 
 her thoughtful care since I have been left alone. Our ser- 
 vants also are very attentive. I have many reasons to be 
 thankful, and try to cultivate the feeling for the few days 
 that are now left of my life. When a man is seventy-three 
 he may expect at any time to be called upon to put off the 
 mortal coil then blessed if he has the hope of immortal life. 
 [He then mentions some mutual friends, and adds] : You 
 speak of Ingersoll and his crowded meeting. That may be 
 for a time, but the puny efforts of man cannot prevail against 
 the Almighty. Many silly and vicious people may wish to 
 have it so, but the word of the Lord abideth forever, and 
 Ingersoll will *pass into oblivion as others of the same type 
 have done before him. If men will glorify him, it will end in 
 some way to their disgrace and punishment ever here on 
 earth. . . . Love to Jessie. 
 
 Yours very truly, L. B. B. 
 
 M 
 
188 INTERESTING LETTERS. 
 
 Iii the spring there was much excitement in St. John 
 on the subject of the "Kiel rebellion" in the ^forth- 
 West. Dr. Botsford watched the progress of events 
 with much interest. He was in Prince William street 
 when the Fredericton volunteers arrived, and saw the 
 troops leave the St. John station amid much enthu- 
 siastic cheering. He prophesied a long continuance 
 of the contest, and was thankful' when the affair was 
 over so much sooner than he anticipated. During the 
 summer he went to Fredericton and Sackville, and 
 made several visits to Rothesay. In the autumn he 
 attended the annual meeting of the Canadian -Medical 
 Society, which was held that year in Montreal, spend- 
 ing a week at Milton on his way thither. By the end 
 of September he and his niece were settled at home 
 for the winter. In the following letter to Mrs. Hartt, 
 written December 14th, 1885, he mentions his various 
 engagements : 
 
 My Dear J : 
 
 It is a long time since I wrote to you, or have had a letter 
 from you. If I mistake not, you did not reply promptly, and 
 that set me a bad example ! As regards myself. I am wonder- 
 fully well in most respects, eat and sleep well, but find there 
 are weak points beginning to show. No wonder, when the 
 system has been running for near seventy-four years. I can 
 hardly realize the fact that I am so old a man. The muscles 
 of my legs cannot bear the brisk walking of former days. I 
 feel no flagging in the mental direction, and am engaged in a 
 good many things. The Bible Society must have its annual 
 address, and I have to attend two meetings next week, one at 
 Quaco and one at Upham, being one of a delegation to attend 
 those places. Then comes our week of prayer, on the first of 
 the year, when I was called upon to preside on one day. 
 
INTERESTING LETTERS. 189 
 
 I have also the Natural History Society to attend to twice a 
 month, and must be ready with the annual address, as Presi- 
 dent, on the 19th January. I attend also Mr. Armstrong's 
 Monday night prayer meeting ; also preside once a month at 
 our Club Reading. The Marine Hospital I attend every day, 
 and have about fourteen patients to look after. The hospital 
 is nearly built, and a very convenient one for sailors. I think 
 I have given a very good and egotistical account of myself. 
 Our servants are the same, and right good girls they are, most 
 respectable and respectful. Every Sunday Ch - makes his 
 appearance. ... I have heard but very little about 
 Fredericton. Our railroads now connect with that Celestial 
 City, starting from our depot and crossing at the Falls over 
 the new cantilever bridge. We are having rather, tough times 
 in the city. Business dull, but it is dull everywhere. I do 
 not think that we have more poor than elsewhere relatively. 
 
 Yours truly, L. B. B. 
 
 The fact mentioned in this letter that " his muscles 
 could not bear the brisk walking of former days," was 
 probably the first intimation he had of his last illness. 
 In his usual morning walk to the Marine Hospital he 
 began to have a feeling of suffocation, which ceased as 
 soon as he stopped walking. A pause of but two or 
 three minutes was sufficient to allow him to proceed. 
 He supposed that this difficulty might be caused by 
 something he was taking for breakfast. He made a 
 little change in his diet, and the disagreeable feeling 
 for the time completely passed away. It may have 
 been this attack, or a talk with a friend who had 
 recently seen his nephews in San Francisco, which in- 
 duced him about midwinter to think of a trip to Cali- 
 fornia. Miss M entered into his plans, assisted 
 
 him in his preparations, and assured him that the 
 
190 INTERESTING LETTERS. 
 
 house-cleaning should be all done, and the house ready 
 ior him by his return. All at once he seemed fully to 
 realize the length and loneliness of the journey. He 
 apparently gave up the project, and wrote the follow- 
 ing letter to Mrs. Hartt : 
 
 ST. JOHN, April 7th, 1886. 
 My Dear J : 
 
 After waiting some little time, I received a reply to my 
 last. I was sorry to hear that you have had a sharp attack. 
 I trust that you have thoroughly recovered. The winter and 
 spring are trying seasons on this coast from Labrador to 
 South Carolina. Our winter has been moderate for us, and 
 our spring fine, though cold. The town and country are hot 
 enough now with elections, one for the government of the 
 Province on the 29th, and one day after to-morrow, to decide 
 the adoption of the Scott Act. The object of that act is to 
 prevent the ordinary sale of spirits in other words, the 
 Maine law. I hope that it may be well carried, and with a 
 rousing majority. 
 
 Charles appeared last Sunday as usual. He certainly re- 
 tains his health famously, and will outlive us all. He has 
 had a fit about going to Scotland, but of course it ends in 
 talk, like a visit to California which I planned and all but 
 accomplished, but it ended in smoke. I have two nephews 
 there, Dr. William Botsford and his brother George, the 
 latter a dentist. I intended to go direct to San Francisco, 
 then up to the terminus of the Canadian Pacific, then by that 
 road home. It would be a pleasant, though somewhat tire- 
 some journey. Our Dominion has pushed our road through 
 to the Pacific with greater energy and success than the people 
 on the other side of the line, who boast so much of their 
 go-a-head powers, gave them credit for. Occasionally you 
 are inquired for by old friends, but the people who were 
 young with us are fast disappearing. [Some friends are then 
 
CALIFORNIA YOSEMITE VALLEY. 191 
 
 mentioned and the letter concludes] : You should see our 
 hyacinths some of the largest we have ever had. The 
 house is perfumed by them. Half a dozen of these are 
 placed on our breakfast table every morning, and they take 
 the edge off the ruggedness of winter. They remind me of 
 olden times in the country, where the hawthorn blossoms 
 and the wild flowers deck the old ruins of Cruikston. Sur- 
 rounding oneself with those old memories, how startling it is 
 to wake to the present. Then there was but a far off vision of 
 futurity. Now it is a reality and a few, few days before us. 
 Love to Addie and Florrie. 
 
 Yours affectionately, L. B. B. 
 
 Shortly after this letter had been written, the wish 
 for the California journey revived, and as soon as his 
 niece offered to accompany him, he decided to carry 
 out his former plan and to leave St. John about the 
 first of May. 
 
 Easter day was April 25th, and Easter week was 
 such a busy week with both Dr. Botsford and his niece 
 that but little thought .was given beforehand to the 
 
 expedition. Miss M had the arrangements for 
 
 the Church Institute Fancy Sale to make and carry 
 out. Dr. Botsford's attention was also occupied, for 
 Bishop Kingdon (the Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese) 
 was his guest. Dr. Botsford enjoyed conversation, and 
 he understood and appreciated the jeu d' esprit by which 
 intellectual men often seek to conceal their depth and 
 earnestness. So the week passed away in committee 
 meetings and hospitable devoirs until Saturday, when 
 the doctor purchased through tickets to San Francisco. 
 On Sunday we were in Trinity Church and remained 
 to the holy communion. After evening service, Canon 
 and Mrs. Brigstocke, and the Mayor and his wife (Mr. 
 
192 CALIFORNIA YOSEMITB VALLEY. 
 
 and Mrs. B. DeV.), called to wish us bon voyage. On 
 Monday morning, May 3rd and a bright, beautiful 
 May morning it was we started in the Boston train 
 on our long tour. Dr. Botsford was in a state of quiet 
 enjoyment. u Where are you bound now, doctor?'* 
 said an acquaintance, as we were crossing the cantilever 
 bridge. " To California." u is T ot much," was Mr. 
 Robert R.'s quick answer. 
 
 Dr. Botsford, by request, gave an account of his 
 California trip in a lecture before the Mechanics' Insti- 
 tute, January 10th, 1887. This lecture is included in 
 the present chapter, but as there are some points not 
 touched, and as the return by the Panama route is but 
 slightly mentioned, a preliminary sketch of the journey 
 is given at the risk of occasional repetition. 
 
 We reached Boston and Milton on Tuesday, and, 
 after a pleasant day's rest, left for Chicago, where we 
 met some St. John friends and visited several places of 
 interest. On Friday night we started for Omaha by 
 the Union Pacific Railroad. This was an entirely new 
 route to us, and, instead of feeling fatigue, the farther 
 we travelled the brighter and . more interested Dr. 
 Botsford became. Turning to his travelling companion 
 
 suddenly he would exclaim: "F , do you really 
 
 feel that we are going to San Francisco ? " On Satur- 
 day afternoon we passed through Council Bluffs, and, 
 crossing a high trestle bridge over the Missouri, we 
 entered Omaha and rested there on Sunday. We at- 
 tended service in the Cathedral, a substantial stone 
 edifice. The Bishop was assisted by several clergy, the 
 music was good, and, from all we could learn, the Pro- 
 testant Episcopal Church is making progress in the 
 West. 
 
CALIFORNIA YOSEMITE VALLEY. 193 
 
 It was just a week after we left St. John when, from 
 Omaha, we began to climb the Rocky Mountains, an 
 ascent so gradual, so monotonous, and so utterly devoid 
 of characteristic scenery, that when, at 10 p. m. on 
 Monday night, we stopped at the highest station, and 
 from the Pullman platform looked round on the low, 
 conical hills, covered with snow, we could hardly be- 
 lieve that we had accomplished the great ascent, and 
 that we were actually on the top of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains ten thousand feet above the level of the sea. 
 The descent soon began, and in th'e early morning w T e 
 were among the cliffs and precipices, the gorges and 
 mountain torrents of the western side of the great 
 mountain range. Echo Cafion, Weber Canon are now 
 familiar names to most people, but only those who 
 have passed down through them can have any idea of 
 their stupendous grandeur. Huge cliffs of fantastic 
 shapes overhung our road ; mountain torrents rushed 
 and foamed along their rocky beds close to the railway 
 track, or crossing beneath it leapt down the precipice 
 on the opposite side. It was one continuous excite- 
 ment of wonder ai^d enjoyment until we reached 
 Ogden in the afternoon. There we took the Utah 
 train for the Salt Lake City. It may as well be con- 
 fessed that feminine curiosity chiefly induced this 
 digression, but Dr. Botsford soon found there was 
 very much beside the scenery, beautiful as that is, to 
 repay the traveller. It was a new experience. To 
 stand in the " Tabernacle," a vast, low, dark and dingy 
 building, which spreads over the ground like some mon- 
 strous fungus growth, on the ceiling of which sacred 
 scenes from Holy Scripture, and scenes in the life of 
 " Joe Smith" are depicted side by side, and then to go 
 
194 CALIFORNIA YOSEMITE VALLEY. 
 
 out into the brilliant sunshine, to look up at the snowy 
 peaks of the great Wintah range, or to look down at 
 the clear rivulets, that run pure from their mountain 
 springs through every street of this extraordinary city. 
 What a contrast ! Vividly as anywhere on earth you 
 feel the force of Bishop Heber's well-known antithesis : 
 
 " And every prospect pleases, and only man is vile." 
 
 Dr. Botsford, in his lecture, describes our beautiful 
 mountain walk. As we went along we inquired our 
 way of several women who were passing. They 
 answered in a foreign accent. It is said that many of 
 the new settlers in Utah, and most of the recent ad- 
 herents to Mormonism, are foreigners who come out 
 quite ignorant of the peculiar doctrines of the sect, 
 but the Protestant Episcopal Church and other Chris- 
 tian organizations are holding up the standard of 
 truth in the Mormon city, and steadily gaining ad- 
 herents. There are two Episcopal chapels, and Bishop 
 Tuttle told us that the church was making many con- 
 verts, especially from among those who had come from 
 abroad to join the Mormons without knowing much of 
 Mormonism, and who, when they became acquainted 
 with its tenets, drew back in disgust. 
 
 We returned to Ogden on Wednesday evening and 
 continued our journey on the Union Pacific. All the 
 next day we could see nothing from our Pullman but 
 long stretches of sage grass, with its little tufts of pale 
 green pushing through the sand ; sometimes a coyote 
 or prairie dog would come out of its burrow and look 
 at us as we passed ; sometimes in the distance a bril- 
 liantly blue lake would be seen, apparently surrounded 
 by snow-drifts, but they were only incrustations of salt. 
 
CALIFORNIA YOSEMITE VALLEY. 195 
 
 Thursday night we climbed the Sierra Nevada, and on 
 Friday morning found ourselves in all the richness and 
 fertility of the Sacramento Valley. The greenest of 
 green grass, and the loveliest flowers, the meadows 
 being yellow with escholzias, well named the Cali- 
 fornian poppy. As we approached the sea-coast the 
 soil grew more sandy and the landscape more dusty. 
 We crossed the San Joaquin Ferry and reached Oak- 
 land about midday. There Dr. William Botsford met 
 us and greeted his uncle with a warm Western salute. 
 They had not seen each other for years. The nephew 
 was a trifle taller and stouter, with a black beard and 
 dark eyes, but the family likeness was unmistakable. 
 Both men attracted much attention as they stood or 
 walked side by side, fine specimens of manhood, one 
 in the prime of life, the other in the fulness, but not 
 the decadence, of age. 
 
 We crossed the wide ferry and were really in San 
 Francisco, passing through the motley crowd of many 
 nationalities which thronged its streets. Dr. William 
 took us to the pleasant quarters he had secured in a 
 large family hotel near his own office, that he might 
 see as much as possible of his uncle, and he informed 
 us with Western hospitality and generosity that we 
 were his guests. Every day for the next fortnight was 
 crowded with excitement and interest. Dr. William 
 drove us to Golden Gate Park, which it is supposed 
 will eventually rival Central Park, ~New York. Then 
 we visited the Chinese quarter. We saw them wor- 
 shipping idols in their temples ; we took tea and tasted 
 sweetmeats in their eating-houses ; we went one even- 
 ing to their theatre, and almost fancied ourselves in 
 China. One day we drove to the Cliff House, of which 
 
196 CALIFORNIA YOSEMITE VALLEY. 
 
 Dr. Botsford speaks in his lecture, and we watched 
 the sun set in the Pacific Ocean. We visited Oak- 
 lands and Montpelier, one of its summer resorts. "We 
 went up California Hill in the cable cars, and saw on 
 either side the grand residences of the California^ 
 millionaires, among them the splendid mansion of Mrs. 
 Hopkins, who, two years afterwards, became Mrs. 
 Searles. We saw the Presidio (the military quarters), 
 and last, but not least, the Palace Hotel, of which San 
 Francisco is so proud, and where, to our surprise, we 
 met our St. John friends, the genial Mr. and Mrs. 
 Murray Kay. Dr. Botsford never seemed to think of 
 fatigue ; he was eager to go anywhere or see anything 
 his nephew thought worthy of notice. The hospitals 
 were not omitted, and while he visited them Miss 
 
 M went to the beautiful shops in Kearny street 
 
 under the guidance of a New Brunswick friend, Mrs. 
 
 W. !N" , the w r ife of a clergyman in San Francisco.* 
 
 Sunday is a most extraordinary day in San Francisco. 
 It appeared to be a regular gala day. The large shops 
 were closed, but bands played, processions with their 
 banners paraded the streets, crowds moved to and fro 
 in holiday attire. On the first Sunday we went to 
 Trinity (Dr. Beers the rector), and on Monday we at- 
 tended a church " social meeting " held in Trinity 
 school-house. We introduced ourselves, were warmly 
 welcomed, and spent a pleasant evening, not unlike 
 one in St. John; pretty decorations, nice amateur 
 music, cake and ice cream, and a profusion of flowers, 
 
 * The Eev. W. Neales (brother of Canon Neales, of Woodstock, N. B.). 
 He was rector of St. Paul's Church, California street, San Francisco. 
 He was elected Secretary of Convention for the Diocese of California, 
 May, 1886, and died in San Francisco in 1891. 
 
CALIFORNIA YOSEMITE VALLEY. 197 
 
 especially calla-lilies and roses. On the second Sunday 
 we went to Grace Church, where the rector, being an 
 old Confederate officer, preached a very martial sermon, 
 At length it was time to think of our intended trip 
 to the Yosemite, for although Dr. Botsford's power 
 of sight-seeing appeared unlimited, his time was 
 not. Accordingly we left San Francisco by rail on 
 Thursday, May 20th, and reached Raymond the next 
 morning. This is as yet the last railway station, and 
 after we had breakfasted in a large tent, with a plenti- 
 ful accompaniment of flies, we took our places with 
 eight other passengers in a stage drawn by six horses, 
 who dragged us laboriously over rough and dusty 
 roads. The ascent towards the Yosemite Valley, 
 which is 4,000 feet above the sea level, was made very 
 slowly. We saw in the morning a smoke in the woods 
 high up among the hills, and we zigzagged all day up 
 the mountain side before we reached it, but the mag- 
 nificent scenery prevented this slow progress from 
 seeming tedious. Then, too, the wild flowers were a 
 constant delight. Sometimes we would walk on in 
 advance of the lumbering stage and gather a bouquet 
 of eighteen or twenty different specimens. The blue 
 lupins were in such profusion that, even more than the 
 English " sheets of hyacinths " of which Tennyson 
 sings, they 
 
 " Seemed the heavens upbreaking thro' the earth." 
 
 When we ascended higher the curious snow-flower 
 thrust its spike of crimson blossoms like a red finger 
 through the dry soil. The road was too narrow 
 for stages to pass except at certain places, where the 
 coaches waited for those approaching in the opposite 
 
198 CALIFORNIA YOSEMITE VALLEY. 
 
 direction. There were no bridges over the mountain 
 torrents, and the jolting was worse than that on any 
 " corduroy road " in Canada. By dusk we had ac- 
 complished 34 miles, and we rushed down a steep hill 
 before arriving at Warwona (Clarke's), where we staid 
 for the night. We left early and reached the Yose- 
 mite Valley about noon the next day. The descent 
 into the valley is long and in many places steep. The 
 driver would gather up the reins, and drawing his 
 horses close against the rocky wall on one side, would 
 allow them to dash down the hill with terrific speed. 
 At a point about half way down and 1,500 feet above 
 the level of the valley, we halted. It was " Prospect 
 Point." There we had a view of the mountains which, 
 cleft apart, form the walls of the Yosemite Valley. 
 At a little distance to our right hand was the " Bridal 
 Veil," which bursting from the mountain side, falls 
 900 feet in a volume of foam. Eager to see more we 
 hastened fm till we reached Barnard's Hotel. There 
 we found primitive accommodations. Small rooms, 
 just large enough to hold a bedstead, a wash-stand 
 and a chair. At table, mountain trout, and bread and 
 butter and New York prices. But what mattered 
 it ? We were in the Yosemite Valley. Its snow-clad 
 peaks were around us, and on our little hard beds we 
 were lulled to sleep by the dash of the Yosemite Falls 
 2,700 feet high. 
 
 The next day was Sunday. There is a little chapel 
 in the Valley, but as this week there was no clergy- 
 man among the visitors, the chapel was not open. Dr. 
 Botsford says of this day : " We strolled along the 
 river, and in the shade of the trees listened to the 
 voice of the distant waterfalls, and looked up to the 
 
CALIFORNIA YOSEMITE VALLEY. 
 
 beetling rocks. Then we sat down in a shady nook 
 and read the simple service of the Prayer Book, and 
 felt that we were in the presence of One whose works 
 manifested His greatness. The thought stole into the 
 heart that ' As the mountains are round about Jeru- 
 salem, so the Lord is round about His people from 
 henceforth even for ever.' ' On our return from our 
 
 walk we met Judge C , of Cleveland, Ohio. He 
 
 stopped his carriage and asked us to take a drive. 
 Dr. Botsford quietly declined. He did not wish to 
 countenance the thoughtlessness by which visitors 
 generally deprive this secluded valley of its day of 
 rest. 
 
 On Monday we hired horses and guides, and with a 
 party of ten went up " a trail," or mountain path, to 
 Glacier Point. Some of the party went further on to 
 the top of Sentinel Dome, wading through snow to 
 reach the summit. From Glacier Point we had a 
 bird's-eye view of the Yosemite Valley, six miles long 
 but one mile wide. There, like a brilliant emerald 
 encircled in a rough setting, it lay at our feet, with its 
 green meadows and trees, and its little river Merced 
 flashing in the sunlight, while around it rose perpen- 
 dicular rocky walls 4,000 feet in height. All along, 
 down these walls cascades and waterfalls threaded 
 their way like streams of silver, and here and there a 
 giant mountain would lift its snowy head, sentinel 
 fashion, far above the surrounding peaks. But no 
 words can describe the wondrous beauty of this lovely 
 valley, nor the magnificent grandeur of the towering 
 heights which surround it. 
 
 The ascent to Glacier Point, along a path just wide 
 enough for the horses' feet, occupied four hours. It 
 
2?)0 
 
 CALIFORNIA YOSEMITE VALLEY. 
 
 was fatiguing, but not nearly as trying as the descent, 
 which was almost as slow. It was fearful to look for 
 hours down precipices into which a slight stumble of 
 your horse might hurl you, and although what is 
 justly called " the grandest rock scenery in the world " 
 was unrolled before us, it was positive relief when -we 
 reached level ground and could canter quietly to our 
 hotel. In the evening we gathered in the " reception 
 parlour," a large, low room built round a huge tree, 
 from the lower branches of which lamps were sus- 
 pended. It was a curious assemblage. There were 
 travellers from almost every state in the Union ; Eng- 
 lish officers from India, on their way home on leave ; 
 a large party from Melbourne, Australia, consisting of 
 the ex-Premier of Victoria, with his daughters and 
 friends. It was interesting to compare notes with 
 these fellow-colonists from the Antipodes. 
 
 The next day we began our return journey. At 
 Warwona we made a digression to visit the Mariposa 
 Grove of " Big Trees." Dr. Botsford gives a full ac- 
 eount of them in his lecture, so that it will not be 
 necessary to describe them here. We reached San 
 Francisco on the 26th, and the doctor gives his brother 
 a resume of his journey in the following letter : 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO, May 27th. 
 
 My Dear Edwin: From what I see in the papers, this 
 may have to travel by way of Ottawa to Sackville. We are 
 so far from the Government of the Dominion that you will 
 probably adjourn some days before we hear of the fact. I 
 have gone over a good deal of ground since I came here. 
 Yesterday we returned from the Yosemite Valley and the 
 " Big Trees." We left on Thursday last by rail for Berenda, 
 then took the stage over mountain roads to Clarke's, 40 miles, 
 
CALIFORNIA YOSEMITE VALLEY. 
 
 201 
 
 a long and rough ride; next day 25 miles to the Valley, 
 reaching the hotel about 12 noon. The rest of Saturday, 
 Sunday and Monday we spent among the rocks and moun- 
 tains, the last day ascending and descending a mountain trail 
 to a point of look-out 3,000 feet up. We did this on horses 
 over pokerish roads, where a horse stumbling might throw his 
 rider over a precipice. Fanny ascended 1,000 feet higher, but 
 had to go through the snow. On Tuesday morning we again 
 took the stage, reached the hotel (Clarke's) at noon, and, 
 after lunch, visited the grove of the " Big Trees," riding to 
 and fro and around about twenty-four miles. Next morning 
 had breakfast at 3.30 a. m., left at 4, and arrived 11.40 at the 
 station, where we took the cars for San Francisco, 160 miles 
 distant. That was luxury itself compared with the tossing, 
 bumping, shaking, and dusty mountain wagon. Strange to 
 say I was not tired. To-day I have completed my arrange- 
 ments for our return, having taken our passages by steamer to 
 Panama and New York. It makes the journey longer, but 
 I think it a more pleasant method of travel. We leave on 
 Monday, 31st. To-day we go down to Monterey, which is 
 spoken of as a lovely place. The roses are said to be in their 
 glory in that neighbourhood, and if they surpass those we see 
 here, they must be grand indeed. 
 
 We went down to Monterey by rail, Dr. William 
 Botsford accompanying us, and remained there two 
 days. The following account of this place is found in 
 one of a series of short articles which Dr. Botsford 
 wrote for the St. John Daily Sun, under the heading 
 "A St. John Gentleman's Impressions on a Western 
 Trip": 
 
 On the 27th May we took the cars for Monterey, 125 miles 
 south of San Francisco. They claim that there are only two 
 trains in the world that make faster time than this line. The 
 
202 CALIFORNIA YOSEMITE VALLEY. 
 
 road was built by a syndicate, few in number, but very 
 wealthy. They purchased some thousands of acres near and 
 around the old town, a Spanish place founded on the shore at 
 the head of the harbour of Monterey. This harbour is virtu- 
 ally an open roadstead. Near this old town the company 
 built a very large hotel for both summer and winter resort. 
 They also have erected a large number of cottages, some with 
 canvas walls only, others of wood of very slight construction 
 in fact, streets of them situated among the trees of the 
 Pacific grove near the shore, affording accommodation for 
 many hundreds of visitors. The old town of Monterey lies 
 between this grove and the grounds occupied by the hotel. 
 It is Spanish in structure and quaint in appearance. The 
 Hotel Del Monte is built in the midst of a grove of oaks and 
 pines, many of which, from their gnarled appearance and size, 
 have for ten or fifteen centuries drawn their nourishment from 
 the fields of sand and battled with the breezes off the Pacific, 
 which have bent their branches mainly to the east. One 
 specimen among the most exposed is near the station. Its 
 grizzly appearance would mark it as the survivor of many 
 centuries, probably one of the oldest trees in the grove. Its 
 huge trunk inclines to the east, and of the many branches not 
 one takes a westward course all, when twigs, were forced to 
 yield to the winds, which, in the dim distant past, blew as 
 freely from the ocean as they now do. It might be considered 
 a freak of nature, but others gave evidence of a general cause 
 being in operation. The company was wise in placing their 
 building so as to be well sheltered in making it face to the 
 east, so that the morning sun lightened up the broad verandah, 
 which also afforded a protection from the afternoon winds. 
 
 We approached the hotel through an avenue of large trees, 
 surrounded with a sward of the richest green. The entrance 
 to the hotel was flanked by beds of roses, whilst the spaces 
 between the pillars of the verandah consisted of arches of 
 roses, which, climbing the pilaster, had met in the centre. We 
 
CALIFORNIA YOSEMITE VALLEY. 208 
 
 entered a large square reception hall. At one side was the 
 office for registering our names. Looking at the other side 
 was a queer sight to be seen on the last week of May. 
 Around a large fire-place, basking in the genial warmth of 
 the blazing wood, were grouped some twenty or more visitors 
 in a circle. 
 
 Before breakfast next morning we took a stroll over the 
 grounds. A number of Chinese were employed in watering 
 the lawn and giving the flower beds their morning bath. 
 
 In every direction water was freely used by the aid of hose 
 upon the flowers or movable sprinklers on the grass plots. 
 These sprinklers could be attached to the service pipes, 
 which, running in various directions, afford an opportunity 
 for irrigating every part of the land. No wonder the grass 
 was so green and the plants showed vigorous growth and such 
 a profuse bloom of roses and flowers. It is said that on any 
 part of the sandy soil of California, with plenty of water, you 
 can produce any result in the way of growth, and here cer- 
 tainly it was manifest. As there is absolutely no winter, 
 there is nothing to check the growth of plants. A single 
 instance will suffice to show this. On one end of the hotel 
 was a mass of heliotrope, twenty-four feet at the base, and 
 extending up the side eighteen feet, except where space was 
 required for two windows to light the interior. 
 
 Sunday, May 30th, was our last day in San Fran- 
 cisco. We were twice at church. The convention of 
 the California diocese had been in session, and to mark 
 its close there was a grand missionary service in Grace 
 Church, which we attended. The venerable Bishop 
 Kip was in the chancel tall, erect and portly, although 
 upwards of eighty years of age. After a shortened 
 "Evening Prayer," there were several stirring ad- 
 dresses, and the united choirs of the Episcopal 
 churches gave three pieees of music : Mozart's 12th 
 
 N 
 
204 CALIFORNIA YOSEMITE VALLEY. 
 
 Mass, Hay den's " The Heavens are Telling," and Han- 
 del's Hallelujah Chorus. It was an interesting close 
 to a delightful visit. 
 
 The next morning, May 31st, Dr. William Botsford 
 accompanied us to the " San Jose," and after many last 
 farewell words we steamed out of the " Golden Gate " 
 about noon. Our three weeks' voyage to Panama was 
 not monotonous. Occasionally we were out of sight 
 of land, but often er we would be near enough to hear 
 the roar of the breakers, and to see the surf as it 
 dashed high up against the cliffs. Sometimes the 
 mountain ranges would rise in all their greatness above 
 the waves, and then thick mists born of tropical sun- 
 shine and ocean vapours would roll down like a cur- 
 tain over the scene ; only once did we see a volcano 
 belching forth flames, stones and lava, but it was a 
 sight never to be forgotten. Dr. Botsford always en- 
 joyed life on the ocean, and even this long experience 
 of it he did not find tedious. He soon struck up a 
 
 friendship with Captain , and was never weary of 
 
 pacing the deck, looking at the distant headbanks, or 
 watching the flying fish dart past on their gauzy 
 wings, while he listened to the captain's stories of his 
 stormy adventures. Then at night the ocean would 
 glitter with phosphorescence, the stars in those clear 
 southern skies seemed larger and brighter than at 
 home, and when we entered the tropics the glorious 
 constellation of the Southern Cross lifted itself out of 
 the sea and gradually rose higher and higher in the 
 sky. The sailors, most of them foreigners, would 
 sing in their rich deep voices Italian or Spanish songs. 
 Altogether it was like a tale of the Arabian Nights. 
 
 The " San Jose" made several stoppages for freight, 
 
CALIFORNIA YOSEMITE VALLEY. 205 
 
 but owing to the violence of the surf, landing was diffi- 
 cult. At one port passengers, who were obliged to land, 
 were drawn up to the wharf in an iron cage. We did, 
 however, spend two days on shore in Mexico, one at 
 Mazathan and the other at Acapulco. Mazathan was 
 curious with its swarthy Mexico-Indian population, but 
 Acapulco was unique ; its beautiful land-locked har- 
 bour is considered one of the finest in the world; 
 <even in the time of the Spanish Armada it was the 
 favourite resort of the galleons of Spain as they were 
 sailing 'with their treasures across the Pacific. * We 
 entered the harbour in the early morning; the sun 
 shone on three mountain ranges, which, one above the 
 other, formed a background to the antique city and its 
 groves of cocoanut trees. It was Sunday. When we 
 landed we saw a few women wrapped in Spanish 
 mantillas, with books in their hands, apparently on 
 their way to mass. We followed them into a quaint 
 Templar-like Church of Adobe. Two nuns and a few 
 old men and women formed the congregation. After 
 the short service we went to the market ; it was 
 crowded, and the shops were all open. They were 
 curious, long, low buildings, without a second story, 
 and with gratings instead of windows, on account of 
 the frequent earthquakes. We walked up the hill to 
 Fort San Diego, and on our way saw many odd things 
 which furnished subjects for Dr. Botsford's ready 
 pencil. There is a magnificent view from the fort, and 
 when we looked round on the tropical scenery, and in- 
 haled the perfume of limes and lemon trees which were 
 blossoming near us, we realized that we were indeed 
 in Mexico, the land of Cortez and Montezuma, and 
 the land also of Maximilian. We returned to our ship 
 
206 CALIFORNIA YOSEMITE VALLEY. 
 
 and steamed out of this beautiful harbour in all the 
 glory of a Southern sunset. 
 
 There were many pleasant people among the pas- 
 sengers, the most interesting to us being a young 
 married couple returning with their little daughter 
 from ranche life in the "West to New York. While 
 Dr. Botsford and Mr. R talked of cattle and pas- 
 turage, the ranche, and the rainfall, Mrs. R gave 
 
 Miss M an insight into the experiences of a 
 
 woman's life in the West. It was probably an often 
 repeated tale of Western life. A pretty, intellectual 
 New England girl, tempted by a high salary, goes as a 
 teacher to the far West. The owner of a ranche, son 
 of an ex-governor of New York, falls in love and 
 marries her, builds a pretty house and furnishes it. 
 Then the struggle begins. No servants, and " when I 
 got one I had to wait on her as if she were my guest. 
 My health gave way, for, after baby came, the work 
 was too much for me. My husband tried to assist, and 
 indeed he can make beds and < wash dishes ' quicker 
 than any woman ; but I could not let that go on long." 
 So a partner was found to take charge of the ranche, 
 and they were returning to the comforts of civilized 
 life. 
 
 Beside our cabin passengers, the "San Jose" carried 
 a number in the steerage. Probably they were as 
 comfortable as are most steerage passengers, but no 
 where do the sharp contrasts of life strike one as for- 
 cibly as on shipboard. In the steerage, crowded 
 quarters, the plainest of plain fare; a few yards off, 
 comfortable state-rooms, soft beds, saloons scented with 
 tropical flowers, and a luxurious menu of five or six 
 courses that could hardly be exceeded in the Palace 
 Hotel. 
 
CALIFORNIA YOSEMITE VALLEY. 207 
 
 On Friday, May 18th, we reached Panama, and were 
 landed by boats at the railway station. We found that 
 we had to wait two hours for the train, but when a 
 stroll through the town was proposed we were told it 
 would be highly imprudent. Yellow fever, intermittent 
 fever, Chagres fever, bilious fever, Panama fever all 
 were floating about in the atmosphere ready to alight 
 on the luckless stranger. So we waited on the plat- 
 form and watched the motley crowd of coloured pas- 
 sengers in their original costumes. A bright gauze 
 scarf round the neck, crossed on the chest, or a little 
 cape of embroidery, with a white skirt, were generally 
 considered sufficient attire in that warm climate. When 
 we started every one was eager to see the progress that 
 had been made in the construction of the Lesseps canal. 
 A low hill, one side of which had been partially cut 
 away, was pointed out in one place; a ditch, a few 
 feet deep, perhaps a mile long, in another; some 
 blasted rocks, about the middle of the isthmus, where 
 the canal is to cross beneath the railway ; but all seems 
 little in comparison to what is yet to be done. There 
 were many picturesque cottages built for the employes, 
 and we saw the red roofs of the alas ! too significant 
 hospitals. The tales of sickness and death which we 
 heard in the cars were appalling, and we found after- 
 wards only too true. A young telegraph operator, 
 returning north, was one of fourteen who had gone to 
 Panama two months before thirteen had died of one 
 or other of these fatal fevers ; this last one was hurry- 
 ing away to save his life. In the afternoon a tropical 
 shower came on, the pelting rain forming deep pools 
 in the soft soil. At the door of a cottage we saw, as 
 we rushed past, a mother giving her little girl a bath 
 
208 CALIFORNIA YOSEMITE VALLEY. 
 
 at fresco in a pool at the doorstep, quite unconcerned 
 as to spectators in the train or elsewhere. The isthmus 
 scenery, which was rather rocky and picturesque on 
 the west coast, becomes more level as you approach 
 Aspinw r all. In the meadows we saw many specimens 
 of the dove-flower. This beautiful white lily is called 
 Espiritu Santo by the natives, because, when you look 
 into it, you see, with but a little effort of imagination, 
 that the petals are curled up into a miniature altar r 
 behind which the stamina group themselves into the 
 semblance of a white bird with outspread wings. 
 
 At Aspinwall the train carried us to the steamboat 
 landing, and we went on board immediately. It is 
 considered prudent to do so on account of the preva- 
 lence of malarial fevers. It was a large steamer full 
 of passengers, principally Spaniards and Mexicans. 
 Fierce hidalgo-looking men, proud women with dark 
 eyes and flashing jewels. It was a rapid passage with- 
 out any stoppages. We sighted Hayti, strained our 
 eyes to see San Salvador, the first land that Columbus 
 discovered', then steering out into the Atlantic and 
 steaming due north, we saw the Long Island electric 
 lights and reached New York on Thursday evening. 
 Early the next morning we were duly inspected by the 
 health officer, and after he had assured himself that 
 we were free from yellow fever, we were allowed to 
 land. 
 
 I)r. Botsford was full of health and life and spirits. 
 As we crossed a square, two little bootblacks ran up 
 with " Shine, sir ?" They looked so eager that he 
 good-naturedly employed them both, and passers-by 
 smiled as they saw a tall man, his shoulders propped 
 against an iron railing, both feet elevated on stools, and 
 
CALIFORNIA YOSEMITE VALLEY. 209 
 
 a boy rubbing away on each side. He then proposed 
 a walk across Brooklyn bridge, as he had not seen it 
 since it was finished. On the other side we went to 
 see Mrs. Hartt, lunched with her, and returned to ]S"ew 
 York to take the Fall River line to Boston. When on 
 board Dr. Botsford announced his intention of retiring 
 early, but after supper the band began to play, and he 
 did not think of his state-room till the last note ceased 
 somewhat late in the evening. Saturday, Sunday and 
 Monday were spent with our friends at Milton, talking 
 over our travelling adventures. Monday night we 
 left for St. John, and then the first contretemps oc- 
 curred and it was a serious one. Dr. Botsford gives 
 an account of it to his brother in a letter dated two 
 days after his return, July 1st, 1886 : 
 
 My Dear Edwin : 
 
 I sent you a postal from Milton saying that I would be at 
 home by the time you received it. We returned by rail on 
 Tuesday afternoon and I was glad to be at home again, though 
 I have enjoyed every part of my journey very much indeed. 
 I am glad that I have had the experience by land and by 
 sea, and what has pleased me more than anything else is the 
 position of "the boys" in California. [He then speaks of 
 his two nephews and continues] : Everything went well until 
 we reached Bangor, when, after leaving the Pullman sleeper 
 on Tuesday morning, I went back hurriedly to get my hat, 
 which I had forgotten. The station is a dark one, and going 
 fast along the aisle of the car, I came in contact with the 
 steps carelessly left by the porter, and fell headlong, striking 
 the corner of a seat. It was a severe blow. It cracked the 
 connection of my second rib and jarred my whole body. I 
 felt it a good deal on the train and had to avoid conversa- 
 tion. To-day I am decidedly better. 
 
210 LECTURE ON A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA. 
 
 In the next letter written to Mrs. Hartt, July 21st, 
 he describes the accident and says : 
 
 "After the uncomfortable symptoms abated, I undertook 
 the hospital, and walked about a good deal settling some busi- 
 ness. But the concussion of the nervous system, possibly of 
 the spine, was much more than I suspected, and the muscles 
 of the thighs and legs became disorganized in their action. I 
 had to rest, and kept my bed for a week. I am now steadily 
 improving, and can move about, but must take care not to 
 repeat my indiscretion. At present I am in good quarters in 
 
 Rothesay. Mrs. H is, and always has been, so very 
 
 kind. . . . To-morrow I intend to go to Westmorland to 
 see my brother Edwin." 
 
 Dr. Botsford seemed to recover entirely from this 
 accident. It was the only cloud on what he often 
 called " two months of almost perfect enjoyment." 
 
 LECTURE ON A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA. 
 
 The love of adventure is a strong element in human nature, 
 and the desire to read of adventures, and more especially to 
 hear of them from the living voice, is as universal as the race. 
 Presuming upon this natural desire to hear what may be said 
 about other lands, and other peoples, I appear before you to- 
 night to speak of a visit lately made to the Pacific Coast. 
 
 Before entering upon the journey, it will be well to take a 
 cursory look at the geographical relation of the country. As 
 you are aware, the Atlantic Ocean washes the eastern coast of 
 the continent ; the Pacific forms its bounds on the west, whilst 
 rivers, and lakes, and mountains, and broad prairies, and 
 alkaline deserts vary the scenery as you pass over sixty de- 
 grees of longitude which divide us here in our eastern home 
 from the eldorado of the sunset laud three thousand miles 
 away. There are three mountain ranges. They, perhaps, 
 
LECTURE ON A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA. 211 
 
 form the chief factors which influence the climate of the con- 
 tinent, especially its middle and western portions. The first 
 range, know r n as the Alleghanies, commences in the south, 
 and, taking a north-west direction, terminates on our northern 
 border. The second is formed by the Rocky Mountains. 
 This range constitutes the great back-bone of the continent. 
 It runs northerly with more or less variation until it reaches 
 the Arctic regions. The third is the Sierra Nevada range. 
 It bounds the saline plains which stretch between it and the 
 Rocky Mountains. Of the effect of these ranges we will 
 have occasion to speak as we proceed. 
 
 We left St. John on May the 3rd, and arrived in Boston 
 early next morning. On Wednesday afternoon wfe left Bos- 
 ton, and reached Chicago at nine Thursday evening, a distance 
 of 536 miles, passing through Massachusetts, New York, 
 Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and skirting the south- 
 ern shore of Lake Erie. 
 
 Friday we spent in Chicago. There we met an old friend, 
 Dr. Coleman, who for some years practiced in St. John, and 
 we passed a very pleasant evening with the doctor and his 
 wife. The same evening we left Chicago for Omaha, 490 
 miles distant, passing through Illinois and Iowa. For many 
 hours sleep and darkness ruled, but when morning came, day- 
 light disclosed a level prairie country, well cultivated, and of 
 much promise. Towards evening we crossed the Missouri, 
 and rested that night and the next day (Sunday) in Omaha. 
 It is stated that within a radius of 500 miles there is a popu- 
 lation of 12,000,000, and 26,000 miles of railroad. 
 
 Sunday evening we left for Ogden, 1,050 miles distant, in a 
 Pullman sleeper, and saw nothing of the Platte Valley until 
 we reached Brady Island Station, 170 miles from Omaha. 
 Cheyenne was reached Monday evening, 516 miles from 
 Omaha. It has an elevation of 6,000 feet above the sea, or 
 5,000 feet higher than Omaha. Leaving Cheyenne we con- 
 tinued our gradual ascent of the Rockies ; as it was dark, the 
 
212 LECTURE ON A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA. 
 
 only indication I had of an approach to the region of clouds 
 was some bleeding from the nose. The air was so rarified 
 that the vessels yielded to the force of the circulation. We 
 crossed the crest of the Rockies during the night and de- 
 scended the Western slopes the following morning, through 
 wild scenery and mountain ranges, among them, in the dis- 
 tance, the Wintah. The highest peak of this range is over 
 13,000 feet above sea level. That evening, after passing 
 through Echo Gorge or Canon, as it is called here, Weber 
 Canon, and Ogden Canon, with their perpendicular rocks 
 barricading the narrow passway, we reached Ogden. There 
 taking passage on the Central Utah road, we landed in Salt 
 Lake City on Tuesday evening. We spent Wednesday in 
 rambling through the streets, looking at the buildings, visit- 
 ing the Tabernacle where meetings are held and worship 
 conducted, where ten thousand people can assemble, but 
 which has no architectural beauty to commend it. In shape 
 it gives the idea of a large low mound, a fit emblem of their 
 system of social life. The new temple, however, has an im- 
 posing appearance. The main building is 120 feet high, and 
 quantities of stone are collected, hewn and ready for the 
 towers, which are to add 120 feet more to its height to be 
 used, let us hope, by a people of more correct views and prac- 
 tice ; for Mormonism is like all abnormal conditions, a local 
 temporary disturbance in the great river of a nation's prog- 
 ress a mere eddy in the stream. 
 
 Leaving the temple and the city, we commenced an ascent 
 of the mountain slopes. On the one side was a deep ravine, 
 worn by the mountain stream which flashed from the depths 
 below ; on the other the wild flowers tempted us to loiter on 
 our way ; cattle were browsing lazily around. Again, the 
 mountain side above us was alive with thousands of sheep, 
 passing like a white cloud along its broken surface. At 
 length we reached a point at which a panorama opened be- 
 fore us ; Salt Lake city, with its temple and buildings, was but 
 
LECTURE ON A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA. 213 
 
 a spot beneath us ; the plain extended to the right and left, 
 and before us, until it touched the lake, which stretched far 
 away to the west and north ; whilst the mountains with their 
 peaks and sides covered with snow (this was May 12th), en- 
 circled a valley, fruitful now, but made so by man's energy, 
 and by the melting snows which yield abundant waters for 
 the irrigation of the land. 
 
 The Mormons immigrated to that valley in 1847. The 
 following year the whole country was ceded to the United 
 States. In the first years of its settlement money was hardly 
 known, there not being more than $1,000 among them. But 
 now all is changed. Money is abundant, and a number of 
 fine stores offer good opportunities to spend it. Among these 
 was one large one with its sign stretching over three or four 
 entrances, " Zion's Co-operative Store." There were many 
 divisions and entrances, and each division confined to a 
 special class of goods. In this store, as in Utah generally, 
 copper cents were not used, and nothing less than a five cent 
 piece would be taken. In all the streets water was running 
 freely. During the heat of summer this must prove refresh- 
 ing to the eye and ear. The lake is 80 miles long by 50 in 
 width. It is intensely salt, more so than sea water by six per 
 cent. 
 
 That evening we returned to Ogden, took our places for 
 San Francisco, and faced the great desert which intervened. 
 Of its desolation we were not conscious for some hours. The 
 night closed in, and dreams of the desert may have flitted 
 through the brain, but they did not trouble us. Next morn- 
 ing we awoke to the realities of that weary way. Stretches of 
 alkaline plains, with stunted sedge grass struggling for its 
 existence ; mountain ranges far, far away, as if to mock the 
 speed and endurance of the iron horse ; rocky cliffs of every 
 shape and size closing in as if to stop our progress ; the white 
 ealt that formed the boundaries of the desert lakes, the track 
 along which, in past times, emigrants to the west threaded 
 
214 LECTURE ON A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA. 
 
 their toilsome way ; and now and then the one solitary wagon, 
 with young heads looking curiously from beneath its canvas 
 cover at the passing train, and one stout heart that for wife 
 and family was bravely facing some hundreds of miles of 
 sandy waste which lay before him. 
 
 This dreary valley lies between the Rocky Mountains and 
 the Sierra Nevada, and, though a valley, is in no place less 
 than 3,900 feet above the level of the ocean. It is surrounded 
 with mountain ranges, which chill and rob the moist winds of 
 their treasure, blow from what quarter they may. 
 
 About three in the afternoon we stopped at Humboldt, 450 
 miles from Ogden. At this station our eyes were greeted with 
 a real oasis in this great desert ; there trees, the first seen since 
 we left Ogden, were flourishing. The grass formed a rich 
 green sward. A ipuntain sent forth sounds like sweet music. 
 Here fruitful trees were repaying the labour of man, and the 
 yield of the universal potato was abundant. All this is the 
 result of irrigation. Here in this great desert, with moun- 
 tains on the one side, and a huge alkaline flat, with its 
 barrenness and desolation, on the other, nestling under the 
 towering cliffs as though it would claim shelter and protec- 
 tion, is the oasis of the desert. This successful experiment 
 proves that the desert can be reclaimed and made to be fruit- 
 ful, and the snows which gather in winter upon the mountain 
 will descend in rivers of blessing. 
 
 Another hundred miles, and the shadows of another night 
 were settling down upon us. We were approaching the Sierra 
 Nevada, and the conversation naturally turned upon the 
 scenery before us. These mountains were the last barrier 
 that, in former times, met the emigrants who had crossed the 
 sandy plains. Should their journey be in winter, the snows, 
 which are then heaped on those mountain tops from 10 to 100 
 feet in depth, would offer more danger to their progress than 
 did the hundreds of miles of dreary desert which lay behind 
 them. Many a poor wanderer, in his efforts to cross those 
 
LECTURE ON A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA. 215 
 
 summits, had perished, having the snow for his winding sheet. 
 Near the summit is Starvation Camp, fitly named. Here, in 
 the winter of 1846 and 1847, a company of 82 persons, many 
 of them children, were overtaken by snow. They lost their 
 cattle, and were reduced to such straits that many of the 
 survivors fed upon the remains of their starved companions. 
 Thirty-six perished. Of a party of thirteen who went for 
 help, only three survived. Early in March relief was sent, 
 but it was impossible to save them all. 
 
 How different is the lot of the traveller now. In the Pull- 
 man car we were passing over the scenes of many a hopeless 
 struggle, and when morning lightened our road, we found 
 ourselves rolling down the mountain slopes to the plains of 
 California. We missed the imposing grandeur of the snowy 
 heights. But here trees were around us in luxuriant verdure ; 
 the mountain slopes were clothed with grasses in all their 
 freshness; vineyards dotted the hillsides and valleys; wild 
 flowers decked the embankments ; canals and ditches afforded 
 evidence of former mining operations and of present irriga- 
 tion. 
 
 The transition from the dreary wildness of the salt plains, 
 'and the beetling cliffs, with their deathlike stillness, to scenes 
 of such living beauty, must be made before one can realize 
 the fulness of its pleasure. Passing through Sacramento and 
 a great extent of low, wet lands, covered with reeds, we 
 reached the level farming country. Here a change was 
 noticed ; the winter rains had given place to the cloudless 
 sky of spring and summer. The green of the mountain sides 
 was replaced by the tawny hues of juiceless grass. Fields of 
 harvested hay or ripening grain suggested autumn rather 
 than our month of May. The surface was becoming parched 
 and dusty ; vegetation wilted, except where water for irriga- 
 tion could be obtained. In fact, the earth was entering upon 
 its period of rest, to sleep until the heats of summer were past. 
 
 Thirty miles from San Francisco we crossed the river formed 
 
216 LECTURE ON A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA. 
 
 by the junction of the Sacramento and San Joaquin. Our 
 train was run on a boat about 500 feet in length, and suffici- 
 ently broad for four railroad tracks. At this point ships and 
 sea-going steamers were at anchor, discharging and receiving 
 ocean freights, thus affording evidence of the great facilities 
 for shipping in the bay and harbour of San Francisco. 
 
 Skirting the eastern shore of the bay, we approach Oak- 
 land, which is separated from San Francisco by a ferry six 
 miles wide. Oakland is to the city what Brooklyn is to New 
 York. It had a population of 50,000 in 1880. 
 
 Noon, the 15th of May, we embarked on board the splendid 
 ferry-boat, which soon lauded us at the foot of Market street. 
 When we went on board we were warned to put on our over- 
 coat to be guarded against the wind, which was fresh and 
 cold. I expected to meet with cold when crossing the moun- 
 tains, and was prepared for it, and little dreamt that the 
 necessity for extra clothing was to be first experienced when, 
 about to enter the Queen City of the West. We took out- 
 side seats on the cable car and rode up the principal street of 
 the city. Many people were moving on its sidewalks, among 
 them ladies dressed in furs and seal-skin sacques, and then I 
 felt the benefit of the caution about my overcoat, and, button- 
 ing it more closely, enjoyed its protection against the cold, 
 chilly wind we had to face as our car moved rapidly along. 
 The Palace Hotel, the largest in the Union, is on this street. 
 Other hotels and places of business line either side of the 
 broad roadway. Cable cars, horse cars and 'busses, and men 
 and women and children, and almond-eyed and felt-footed 
 Chinese, were going to and fro in all the bustle of a large city. 
 
 One of the first places visited was the market. Beef, veal, 
 mutton and lamb abounded. But, though the display was 
 good, yet compared with similar articles in our market, I did 
 not see anything that would be ranked among our first-class 
 meats. 
 
 On the afternoon of the 16th, we drove in an open 
 
LECTURE ON A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA. 217 
 
 barouche through the Golden Gate Park to the Cliff House. 
 The park lies between the city and the coast. The grounds 
 consisted of sand hills, but have been reclaimed. The grass 
 is fresh and green, the trees are thrifty and abound. Trees 
 which grow in southern latitudes, suggest thoughts of un- 
 checked vegetation, and hold out the promise of increasing 
 enjoyment for the citizens. The Cliff House is a place of 
 much resort, and hundreds daily visit it. It is situated on a 
 bluff which overlooks the Pacific Ocean, and above it, on a 
 hill, there is the residence of Mr. Slitter, one of the rich men 
 of California. 
 
 This house had beautiful surroundings, upon which its 
 wealthy owner has lavished large sums. Leaving our car- 
 riage we ascended, by many steps formed in the solid rock, 
 until, from its parapets, we had a view of the Pacific Ocean 
 stretching to the west, whilst to the north and south a line of 
 breakers rolled ceaselessly against the shore. Immediately in 
 the foreground were the islands, which are the resort of the 
 sea lions. These animals are specially protected by a State 
 law. Some were basking in the sun ; some were floundering 
 with an ungainly gait ; others were fighting, which they do 
 furiously ; whilst above the noise of the surf was to be heard 
 the mournful hollow bark of the contending animals. 
 
 When preparing for this visit to the Cliff House I was 
 again advised to take an overcoat. Again we met the chilling 
 wind, but with a winter coat and warm knee blanket, we 
 were well guarded. This strong sea breeze, or rather, trade 
 wind, prevails during the summer on this coast, and makes 
 extra clothing necessary. 
 
 Looking at the geography of this western country will 
 enable us to understand the peculiarities of its climate. 
 Running parallel with the coast and 150 miles from it is the 
 lofty range of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Along the 
 coast are hill ranges. As summer advances this whole 
 country, 150 miles wide and extending through several 
 
218 LECTURE ON A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA. 
 
 degrees of latitude, becomes heated by the sun's unclouded 
 rays. The warmed and rarified air ascends from the heated 
 earth. The lofty Sierras shut off all wind from the east, the 
 supply of the displaced air must come from the Pacific 
 Ocean. The temperature of the waters of this ocean does 
 not vary more than two degrees during the year. The air 
 which rests upon or moves over its surface has a correspond- 
 ing temperature, and becomes saturated with its vapour. This 
 western breeze is therefore comparatively cold when it strikes 
 the land, and only loses this sensation when it reaches a few 
 miles inland. San Francisco is seven degrees further south 
 than St. John, yet its mean temperature in the month of July 
 is 57 degrees. The months of June, July and August, when 
 the trade winds are strong, are called their foggy season. I 
 have stated that the ocean breeze in the first instance is 
 loaded with moisture, but an increase of temperature doubles 
 the rate of evaporation for every 20 degrees ; the capacity of 
 the air to contain vapour also doubles at an equal rate. Air 
 at 70 degrees contains twice the quantity of water that it 
 does at 50 degrees. But not only is the chill removed by the 
 warmer air of the land, but the greater capacity for moisture 
 prevents the formation of any clouds, and therefore from* 
 spring to autumn, there is one blaze of sunshine over this 
 land from the coast to the summit of the Sierra Nevada. 
 
 During the winter months the sun returns to the south ; 
 his slanting rays no longer overheat the earth ; gentle western 
 airs from the Pacific meet a cool reception, and unload their 
 moisture over the land. The same winds which, in summer, 
 felt cool on the coast, produce an opposite feeling during the 
 winter. They are warmer than the air on the land, and make 
 the country agreeable to all who dislike and shiver at the 
 cold. There is no check to vegetation. Roses of every kind 
 flourish. Shortly after my arrival I was greeted with a 
 bouquet from an old friend, which was a foot in diameter. 
 It contained fifty roses, among them the moss, the cabbage, 
 
LECTURE ON A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA. 219 
 
 the yellow, and others of various hues. The lawns of dwel- 
 lings in Oakland abounded with them. The trellis work of 
 cottages was interwoven with vines of red and white roses. 
 
 The city does not differ much from other cities on the con- 
 tinent, except in not being so regularly built, and in having 
 more wooden structures. San Francisco must progress. Her 
 harbour is a bay of vast facilities. She must continue to be 
 the centre of business of that coast for hundreds of miles. 
 The country around is rich in agricultural products wheat 
 and cattle ; vegetables and vineyards ; fruits of various kinds 
 the orange, the apricot, and the pear ; with abundance of 
 snow stored up every winter to yield its waters for summer 
 irrigation. All these must make a city so situated continue 
 to prosper. 
 
 Two features peculiar to the city are the cable cars and the 
 Chinese population. The car is double. The chief one is 
 similar to the ordinary horse car. The front of it is a cab, 
 with open seats on its sides for passengers ; with a central 
 space for the engineer ; also for the gearing which connects 
 the car to the cable, which is beneath the roadway. In 
 Market street, one of these cables has a length of 18,000 feet, 
 t>r more than three miles. Several streets to the north of 
 Market run parallel with it, some of them up grades steeper 
 and longer than our King street. The ordinary speed is 
 eight miles an hour. At this rate we went up the steep 
 grades of California street, having a good view of the houses 
 of the wealthiest citizens. Some of these palaces cost over a 
 million of dollars. 
 
 The Chinese number about forty thousand. They occupy 
 a section by themselves, and this in the very heart of the city. 
 A visit to their quarters throws you among a people and 
 customs as distinct as would be met in China itself. There 
 were stores for goods ; shops containing every Eastern curi- 
 osity ; stalls for meats in queer forms and sizes, or for vege- 
 tables various and strange in appearance ; barber shops with 
 
220 LECTURE ON A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA. 
 
 a razor gliding deftly over tawny bare skulls ; eating-houses 
 where you were served with tea made in Chinese fashion, 
 handed to you in Chinese cups by Chinese waiters on Chinese 
 trays ; also conserves of strange substances. There was the 
 Joss House, or Idol Temple, where hideous gilded images 
 appeal to the fears of superstitious worshippers. There the 
 theatre, with the actors dressed in gorgeous robes, long feathers 
 floating from their head-dress, and all the tinsel paraphernalia 
 of Eastern life, whilst the speakers in shrill voices kept time 
 to a music of harsh sounds from clanking drums. Add to 
 this an audience of stolid N faces, as if cut out of motionless 
 stone. Such scenes leave the impression that by a rub of 
 Alladin's lamp a genii had transported you to the flowery 
 land itself. 
 
 [Dr. Botsford then enters at some length on the subject 
 of emigration to California. His opinion may be briefly 
 summed up in his own words] : From a limited personal ex- 
 perience, confirmed, however, by what I have heard, it appears 
 to me that capital is as necessary for success in California as 
 elsewhere. 
 
 [He then proceeds to make some remarks upon the rain- 
 fall, and says] : The winter rains stimulate vegetation of all 
 kinds. Nothing could impress this more forcibly than the 
 " Big Trees " of the Mariposa Grove. We visited them on 
 our return from the Yosemite Valley, where we had seen 
 nature in some of her grandest aspects. This valley is 
 hemmed in by mountain walls, which average 4,000 feet in 
 height. In some places they are perpendicular, in some over- 
 hanging, and everywhere so steep as to shut out the possibility 
 almost of scaling the barriers. On our left, as we entered, 
 was El Capitana, with its broad front 4,000 feet. Near it the 
 Falls of the Yosemite, which, at its first bound, does not 
 touch the mountain side for 1,500 feet, then dashing through 
 a rocky channel for 600 feet, again makes a sheer leap of 400 
 feet to the talus at the foot, or 2,700 feet in all. On our right 
 
"THIS TREE WAS GROWING WHEN THE SUN SHONE ON THE 
 PAGEANTRIES OF MUMMIED PHARAOHS." 
 
LECTURE ON A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA. 223 
 
 the Bridal Veil was pouring its waters in a mass of white 
 spray and mist as it fell 900 feet. A little beyond this was 
 Glacier Point, about 4,000 feet high, from which, before we 
 left, we had a panoramic view of the valley and its mountain 
 guards, and also of two falls on the Merced River, the Nevada 
 and Vernal, one 750, the other 350 feet high. On the north 
 towered up the Half Dome, 6,000 feet, as if it were the pillar 
 upon which the blue heavens rested. The whole scene was 
 oppressive, and a deep awe fell upon us as we gazed upwards 
 and around at the results of primeval forces. Huge masses 
 of rocks, thrust far above the earth's surface, have remained 
 unmoved through untold ages. Silent greatness was the im- 
 pression made by the Yosemite, but life and its wondrous 
 results is the thought suggested by the Mariposa Grove. 
 Entering it, a number of trees from three to six feet or more 
 in diameter commanded our admiration. Their stems, like 
 shafts, rose to a great height before the foliage of their 
 branches formed a canopy over our heads ; but standing 
 apart, in all the majesty of a monarch, was the oldest living 
 tree in that Grove, the Grizzly Giant. The diameter of this 
 tree at the ground is 33 feet. At 30 feet from the surface 
 the trunk has a diameter of 18 feet. This it retains for about 
 100 feet, when it gives off its first branch, which is six feet 
 through. Soon after, another giant stood directly in our way. 
 Our horses stopped for about a minute, and then horses and 
 carriage entered an archway cut through the tree. Here we 
 stopped to realize our position. There was wood on our right 
 and on our left and overhead, for the tree was 300 feet high. 
 The coach (carrying six passengers), as well as the horses, 
 were all contained in the archway. Here we are in contact 
 with a principle of life a principle by which this tree 
 through many, many ages had gathered from the earth be- 
 neath, and the air above, the material which formed its 
 growth and strength. How long? Who can tell? It is 
 surmised 5,000 years. The shattered branches of the old 
 
224 LECTURE ON A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA. 
 
 Grizzly Giant show that old age has overtaken it, that time 
 is placing its mark upon it, as it does upon all things having 
 life ; but the tree was old before the pioneers of the American 
 nation landed on Plymouth Rock ; old before Columbus 
 ventured across the western ocean ; old when the Druids 
 worshipped amidst the oak forests of Britain ; old when the 
 twin founders of ancient Rome drew their life from the dugs 
 of their fierce foster mother ; old when Moses stood on Pisgah 
 and looked upon the land where his people were to dwell. 
 
 It was a living tree when Egyptian serfs toiled to raise the 
 Pyramids, and when I touched this living tree, I felt that my 
 hand was on the living link connecting the present with the 
 old, old dead past, for this tree was groiuing when the sun 
 shone on the pageantries of mummied Pharaohs. 
 
 To return to the climate. The mildness of the winter com- 
 mends itself to those who shiver at the idea of cold. The 
 thought of grapes and oranges appeals to the imagination, 
 and men picture to themselves a veritable Eden, where such 
 fruits are found. But luscious fruits are not the whole of life. 
 To bask in the warmth of a cloudless sky is not the only 
 source of health. Other ingredients must enter into our 
 enjoyments to produce a vigorous existence. 
 
 Wide experience shows that in the most favoured lands 
 there -will be conditions wanting for the full development of 
 man. That a law of compensation reigns and causes an 
 equality among the countries of the earth. That while each 
 may excel in some special points, there are other points in 
 which it is deficient. That the superiority of no country 
 can be inferred from a few favoured localities, nor from a few 
 exceptional conditions. Regard must be had to every circum- 
 stance before a balance can be struck. Let this be done, and 
 I am inclined to look upon the claims of our own country as 
 being equal to, if not beyond, that of the western coast. 
 
 In connection with this subject, let me state a circumstance 
 which came under my notice some few years ago. When I 
 
LECTURE ON A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA. 225 
 
 was a younger man, young enough to go upon a fishing ex- 
 pedition with a brother doctor, we went on wheels thirty 
 miles on good roads, and then some distance over a by-road, 
 threading our way through mud, over cradle hills and young 
 granite boulders until we reached a farmhouse situated on the 
 border of the lake, where we anticipated a good day's sport 
 among the fish. I need hardly tell you that though we fished 
 and paddled, and paddled and fished all the next day, we did 
 not catch a single fin. Perhaps the fish recognized our profes- 
 sional prowess. Well, it was late when we reached the place, 
 and, being tired, we intended to take to the hay mow for the 
 night. A hay mow, I always thought, as a boy, was a grand 
 place to sleep in. But no, the owner of the farm insisted 
 upon showing us hospitality, and persisted until we yielded. 
 The dwelling was a log house, but the barn was of good size 
 and a well enclosed framed building. The fields were well 
 cultivated, though in many parts the stumps still held pos- 
 session. There was a look of comfort around and a look of 
 content in our host. During the evening the farmer let us 
 into the secret of his success and his contentment. Some 
 years before he had thought his native land a poor place, too 
 poor for a man who had muscle and sufficient self-assurance 
 to make his way in some more favoured land. He sought 
 the Western States, then spoken of as a land of great expec- 
 tations. He sought and obtained labour in the Mississippi 
 Valley worked for an employer who exacted a full return 
 for the wages given. He saw and felt that there was more 
 work for his muscles than in swinging the scythe or handling 
 the hoe. In fact, that fever and ague was master also, and 
 that the chances of being a landowner were not great. He 
 left and tried Upper Canada, with no better prospect. It 
 ended in his return to New Brunswick, his settling upon a 
 wilderness farm, and his being in a condition to look with 
 great satisfaction upon the result of his labour, and upon the 
 health he enjoyed. This man's experience is not a solitary 
 one ; it is, I believe, one among many. 
 
226 LECTURE ON A TRIP TO CALIFORNIA. 
 
 Of our own country, what can we truly say ? We have a 
 climate that is healthy. We have a land well watered in 
 every part. Springs, and brooks, and rivers abound. We 
 have a soil that gives liberal returns. Our yield of hay is 
 equal to that of the most favoured State in the Union, and 
 greater than in most. Our oats, and barley, and wheat give 
 generous crops. Our vegetables are good and prolific. Our 
 meats beef, veal, mutton, lamb and pork are fit for any 
 market. Our poultry of all kinds cannot be excelled. Apples- 
 and plums grow well. The smaller fruits are abundant. Shell- 
 fish are plentiful on our coasts, and some of the finest fish in 
 the world are to be found in our lakes, and rivers, and seas. 
 We may be surpassed in some particulars by other countries, 
 yet, looking at all the conditions of existence, there is no 
 place which can show a better average, nor hold out greater 
 inducements to an industrious man. 
 
 In conclusion, instead of swelling the cry of discontent, and 
 fostering a feeling of dissatisfaction with our country, every 
 person, whilst admitting the just claims of California, should 
 maintain the true position of our own Province : 
 
 " Lives there a man with soul so dead, 
 Who never to himself hath said, 
 
 This is my own, my native land." 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE LAST YEAR HIS DEATH. 
 
 Sunrise and morning star, 
 
 And one clear call for me, 
 And may there be no moaning of the bar 
 
 When I put out to sea. 
 
 Twilight and evening bell, 
 
 And after that the dark, 
 And may there be no sadness of farewell 
 
 When I embark. 
 
 For though from out the bourne of time and space 
 
 The flood may bear me far, 
 I hope to see my Pilot face to face 
 
 When I have crossed the bar. 
 
 Tennyson. 
 
 The secrets of the future are shrouded from our 
 view, and when Dr. Botsford and his niece welcomed 
 the year 1887 to their home, none could foresee that it 
 was to he the last year of his busy, energetic life. 
 
 In the previous autumn a pleasant visit had been 
 made to us by Mrs. Greaves, an English lady who 
 came from the Church of England Zenana Society to 
 interest Canadian women in their untaught sisters in 
 India. When in Halifax she received an invitation 
 from Dr. Botsford to stay at his house while she re- 
 mained in St. John. We went to Rothesay to meet 
 her, and she could scarcely believe that the brisk, 
 ruddy faced man who asked for her in the cars was 
 the Dr. Botsford who in Halifax had been described to 
 her as " an old gentleman past seventy." 
 
 (227) 
 
228 THE LAST YEAR. 
 
 The winter was spent in his usual employments. 
 The three following letters, written at this time, show 
 the drift of his thoughts, and contain allusions to 
 several incidents that occurred : 
 
 DECEMBER 12th, 1886. 
 Dear J : 
 
 It is Sunday, and C is sitting opposite me looking at 
 
 the Graphic. ... I was at Fredericton not long since. 
 I went to see Helen, my brother George's daughter, who died 
 after an illness of three weeks. She spent some time with 
 
 me last summer when Miss M was with her sister. She 
 
 was a very general favourite with both old and young, so 
 bright and cheerful. Her death cast a gloom over society, 
 and is a terrible loss to her family. My brother George is 79 
 this month, a pretty good age ; my brother Edwin 82 ; 
 Charles 80. I am 75 next month, Bliss 73, and Blair, the 
 youngest, 65, all healthy and apparently with a promise of 
 some further time. I think, however, the next break will be 
 here in St. John. If I attain 75, I do not anticipate any 
 further addition. But man cannot tell. It is all in wise 
 hands, and He will do as will be best. ... On the 10th 
 of January I visit California before an Institute audience. 
 Writing out my lecture*vas like going over the country again. 
 
 JANUARY 22, 1887. 
 Dear J : 
 
 I got your letter in due time ; that is to say, after waiting a 
 due time. . . . You seem to have had a sharp winter for 
 New York. We have been highly favoured the whole of the 
 summer, autumn, and winter thus far. During the present 
 month there is snow sufficient for good sleighing. I occa- 
 sionally take a cab to pay my visit to the hospital, but not 
 often, as I regard it better to walk there for exercise. I 
 know that if I did not have some inducement, I would not 
 
THE LAST YEAR. 229 
 
 take sufficient exercise for health, would grow lazy and 
 musty, and bluemoulded. I think people often suffer in old 
 age and shorten existence by yielding to a fireside life. You 
 will recollect that in four days I will have completed my 
 75th year. " Three-quarters of a century, Miss Jessie/' 
 Well, I cannot say much for the opportunities being im- 
 proved. In fact, looking back, as I was doing this evening, 
 does not give any comfort to the soul, and it is only by look- 
 ing to " the refuge " that the past can be blotted out. I have 
 a little book given me by Catherine Bogle, in Glasgow, more 
 than fifty years ago, with a prayer and a promise for every 
 day in the year. The text for to-day is, " Have mercy upon 
 me according to thy loving kindness, O Lord, according to 
 Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions." The promise 
 is, " I, even I, am He who blotteth out thy transgressions 
 and remembereth not thy sins." Much do I require such a 
 promise when I look upon the past. Poor Catherine had a 
 short experience of life, and I believe had a firm hope when 
 called to surrender her spirit to God. How much has taken 
 place since then. . . . Whilst writing I have just had a 
 beautiful bouquet sent in roses of different varieties, 
 Roman hyacinths, English violets, and smilax. New York 
 
 can match but not beat them. Miss M is enjoying the 
 
 flowers and arranging them. She is very busy these times ; 
 just now especially engaged in a meeting of the Bands of 
 Mercy. ... I have escaped colds and influenza so far 
 this winter. 
 
 JANUARY 31sT. 
 My Dear J : 
 
 We have had a long thaw and a great deal of rain, which 
 has almost bared our streets. All in all, our winter has been 
 a fine one, though not Californian in character. I am won- 
 derfully well for a seventy-five year old animal ; no complaint 
 to make save that I cannot run as fast nor jump as high as I 
 did forty years ago. We are in the midst of an election for 
 
230 THE LAST YEAR. 
 
 the Dominion Parliament. I hope, and I believe, that the 
 Government will be sustained. ... I am expecting my 
 brother Blair this evening. He has started for Florida, 
 where his son, the doctor, now resides and practices. 
 
 A few weeks after writing this last letter, Dr. Bots- 
 ford found himself unexpectedly in New York. His 
 brother Blair, after staying some time in Florida, had 
 left in apparently good health. He wrote from Jack- 
 sonville that he had never felt better in his life, but on 
 the return voyage he was attacked with malarial fever, 
 and when he landed in New York he was so ill that 
 
 his own medical man, Dr. M , of Dorchester, and 
 
 Dr. Botsford were summoned by telegraph. For three 
 weeks there were many fluctuations of hope and fear. 
 Dr. Botsford watched over his brother with untiring 
 devotion. He called in the assistance of the ablest 
 advice, but nothing could arrest the progress of the 
 fatal fever, and on April 7th the youngest of the Bots- 
 ford brothers entered into his rest. Dr. Botsford re- 
 turned with the remains to Dorchester, where, on 
 Easter Day, all that was mortal of the popular 
 u Warden " was committed to the grave in the " sure 
 and certain hope of a joyful resurrection." Dr. Bots- 
 ford speaks of this sad event in a letter to Mrs. Hartt, 
 dated May 2nd, 1887 : 
 
 My Dear J : 
 
 It is time that I answered your last kind letter. I was 
 sorry that I could not again visit you before I left New York. 
 I was very much occupied ; in fact, I did not leave my brother 
 the last four days of his illness neither night nor day. I felt 
 that he was in the most critical state, and I did not want to 
 
THE LAST YEAR. 231 
 
 lose the smallest chance for a recovery. The case was rather 
 singular the result contrary to what the medical men antici- 
 pated. With a naturally strong constitution, I hoped that he 
 would be able to throw off the disease, but the malarial poison 
 kept too tenacious a grip of his system. His sufferings were 
 not severe. Mrs. Botsford, at the time of his death, was too 
 ill to travel, and did not reach home for some days after the 
 funeral. He has left four married and one unmarried daugh- 
 ters, and two sons, one in Florida, the other, until now, in the 
 Maritime Bank. The failure of this institution will throw 
 him out of employment for the present. . . . The failure 
 of the Maritime Bank has been a miserable failure. There 
 will be more than a million of debts unpaid when it is wound 
 up. I shall lose my stock, and have to pay as much more 
 on account of being a shareholder what they call double 
 liability. Happiness does not depend on the amount a man 
 possesses, and it is well that it is so. Fredericton people will 
 suffer a good deal by the failure. There was a branch there, 
 hence their trouble. With love to J . 
 
 Yours affectionately, L. B. B. 
 
 Apart from the fact of being a shareholder, and of 
 having a nephew employed in the institution. Dr. 
 Botsford was especially interested in this ill-fated 
 bank. When it was reorganized in 1881 he was 
 asked to become one of its directors, although he 
 could bring to the position neither wealth nor business 
 experience, but only his credit for integrity and up- 
 rightness. He rather reluctantly accepted the office, 
 and endeavoured to fulfil its duties to the best of his 
 ability. Any salary he received was handed over to 
 an especial object of destitution in whom he was 
 interested. He alludes on September 30th, 1881, u to 
 the new position in life," which he has assumed, that 
 
232 THE LAST YEAR. 
 
 of " Director of a Bank and Vice-President," and in 
 April 17th, 1882, he writes : 
 
 " Thus far our Maritime Bank is doing well, as you will 
 see by our monthly return when published. I was engaged 
 to-day in counting up the cash. We commenced with a few 
 dollars to spare. To-day we have about $13,000 in gold, and 
 $70,000 Dominion legal tenders. The books and cash on 
 hand tallied to a cent. Our president is making up a regular 
 inspector's report for the board and for the stockholders' 
 annual meeting the first week in June." 
 
 Writing again in April, he says : 
 
 " Our Maritime Bank seems to be doing a very good busi- 
 ness, and the directory expect to show a very good state of 
 affairs at the annual meeting. . . . Between ourselves, I 
 shall retire from the directory when a new board is called, for 
 I do not feel myself sufficiently versed in mercantile matters, 
 and in the knowledge of the mercantile community, to feel 
 that I am in the right place." 
 
 The annual meeting was held in June. Dr. Bots- 
 ford did not resign for he was not re-elected. But 
 until the crash came on March 8th, 1887, he never lost 
 confidence in the bank nor in its president. Guileless 
 himself, he was unsuspicious of others. On April 
 27th, 1887, a meeting of the creditors of the bank was 
 called, and Dr. Botsford was asked to act as chairman. 
 It might have been a wild and stormy scene, for the 
 disappointed creditors were angry and excited. Mut- 
 tered words could be heard in the crowd, accusations 
 of "imbecility," "political partiality," "superficial 
 piety." The weak tears of the president tended to 
 increase rather than to diminish the' general indigna- 
 
THE LAST YEAR. 233 
 
 tion. But the respect in which the chairman was 
 universally held, the calm dignity of his manner, and 
 the business-like way in which he conducted proceed- 
 ings, enabled him to preserve order through a pro- 
 tracted meeting, which lasted, with but a short inter- 
 mission, from 11 a. m. to 8 p. m. Business was 
 resumed and finished the next day. The following 
 day Dr. Botsford went to Fredericton. He laid his 
 papers before the Chief Justice, Sir John Allen, 
 remained one hour, and returned at once to St. John. 
 
 His own brief account of this meeting is given in a 
 letter to his brother, April 30th. " There was material 
 on hand for any amount of confusion and fight. But 
 from the start I took charge. I showed no disposition 
 to dictate, but let them know that I was firm and I 
 kept them to work on system. I had the moral sup- 
 port of the sensible and order-loving members of the 
 community. I have several times been congratulated 
 on the meeting. . . . But what an exposS! I 
 cannot understand it." 
 
 A few weeks after this unfortunate affair had 
 monopolized public attention, St. John became ab- 
 sorbed and interested in another and more pleasing 
 object, the Queen's Jubilee. Like almost all the 
 houses in St. John during this memorable week, Dr. 
 Botsford's house was filled with guests some of his 
 New Brunswick relatives and some of his Milton 
 friends. He went about with them, and entered with 
 great interest into the various ways by which St. John 
 citizens endeavoured to demonstrate their loyalty. The 
 Sunday services, the procession, the regatta, the fire- 
 works, the trooping of the colours, the illumination. 
 And at the close, on Saturday, he was on the platform 
 
234 THE LAST YEAR. 
 
 of the Mechanics' Institute, and his voice joined the 
 Bands of Mercy when for the last time in that happy 
 week the children sang " God Save the Queen." He 
 delighted to honour the Imperial Lady, not only as the 
 embodied representative of the greatness of the British 
 Empire, but as the highest type of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury woman; a home-loving woman, fulfilling her 
 duties as wife and mother, and making her court a 
 model of morality and purity ; an accomplished woman 
 with literary tastes and art culture; a wise woman, 
 taking intelligent interest and exercising judicious 
 influence in the political questions of the day, which 
 so deeply affect the well-being of the nation. Above 
 all, a good woman, setting an example of attention to 
 private and public religious duty. 
 
 Shortly after the Jubilee week, Dr. Botsford met, for 
 the first and last time, our great Canadian statesman, 
 the late Sir John Macdonald. There were various 
 entertainments given during Sir John's short stay in 
 our city, but the weather was not very favourable, and 
 Dr. Botsford only attended a splendid afternoon recep- 
 tion given at Duncraggan, by Mr. and Mrs. Murray 
 Kay. There, however, he had an opportunity of con- 
 versing with the able man, whose sagacity he held in 
 great estimation, and whose policy he so thoroughly 
 endorsed. 
 
 During the remainder of the summer there were 
 several pleasant outings in which Dr. Botsford took an 
 active part. As president he attended a field-day of 
 the Natural History Society, and had a long, scrambling 
 walk to the top of a hill near Lawlor's Lake, where 
 Professor Bailey gave an interesting address on the 
 rocks that rose round us. 
 
THE LAST YEAR. 235 
 
 As president, also, Dr. Botsford went up to Clifton 
 with, a large, " social " picnic of the Eclectic Reading 
 Club. The officers of II. M. S. Bellerophon were 
 invited,, and the doctor, as active as many a younger 
 man, was much amused by the merry games played by 
 the " Middies " and young people of St. John, and on 
 returning in the boat three cheers were given for the 
 "President of the Club." Thus " swift as a tale that 
 is told," the bright hours of the summer passed away. 
 
 In September he made his autumn visit to Milton. 
 This year he staid longer, and seemed to enjoy it, if 
 possible, more than usual. He was much thinner, but 
 still he was apparently in perfect health. He would 
 be up in the morning roaming through the fields an 
 hour before breakfast. He was interested in watching 
 the building of a stone bridge across a stream which 
 ran through the farm. Sometimes he would walk be- 
 side the tall southern corn and calculate its height, or 
 look at the busy machine at work chopping the corn 
 and filling the Silo with the ensilage fodder, for he 
 always entered with interest in the life that was going 
 on around him. One day he went to Nahant to visit 
 his niece, a daughter of his brother Blair, and he 
 much enjoyed the breezy trip down the harbour. On 
 Sunday, as Phillips Brooks had not yet returned, we 
 did not go to Boston, but walked a mile through the 
 woods to the Memorial Church at Mattapan. It was a 
 beautiful autumn morning, bright and balmy, and as 
 we walked under the shade of the trees, amid the 
 ferns and wild flowers, listening to the song of the 
 birds, Dr. Botsford enjoyed every step of the way. 
 The service was simple and unpretentious, the rector 
 not unlike Dr. Botsford's old friend, the Rev. Gr. M. 
 
236 THE LAST YEAR. 
 
 Armstrong, and this last Sunday at Milton was prob- 
 ably for the doctor an ideal Sunday. 
 
 When his niece returned to St. John, he met her at 
 the station. It was only a fortnight since they had 
 parted at Milton, but she observed that even in that 
 time he had grow thinner and paler, and when in 
 repose there were deeper lines on his open counten- 
 ance. On inquiry, she found that within a few days 
 he had had a return of the suffocating feeling in walk- 
 ing which had attacked him two years before. He 
 said very little on the subject, appeared bright and 
 cheerful as usual, but made arrangements for driving 
 daily to the Marine Hospital instead of walking there. 
 As the autumn advanced the difficulty of breathing 
 increased. It, however, only interfered with his walk- 
 ing ; he .read, wrote, and talked as usual, and friends, 
 though anxious, were not much alarmed. When his 
 
 medical adviser, Dr. H , was questioned, he was, 
 
 of course, as reticent as Dr. Botsford himself. 
 
 Winter brought its busy occupations; there were 
 one or two pleasant gatherings at the doctor's house, 
 and he seldom refused the invitations of friends. He 
 did not, however, feel quite able to be present at the 
 annual supper given on Christmas Eve to the sailors of 
 the Marine Hospital by the ladies of the Church of 
 England Institute. On Christmas Day we attended 
 the 11 o'clock service in Trinity Church, remaining to 
 the Holy Communion. The next day, Monday, we 
 went to the pleasant Christmas gathering at Mrs. 
 
 E. P. St 's. On Tuesday Dr. Botsford left for 
 
 Sackville to spend a few quiet days with the Senator, 
 returning at the close of the week. 
 
 The year 1887 was ended. When his niece looks 
 
THE LAST YEAR. 237 
 
 back on this time she can remember that a change 
 was gradually taking place. There was a peace, a 
 calm, pervading the atmosphere round him which 
 made itself felt but cannot be described. It is, perhaps, 
 partially expressed in the following lines from a volume 
 of poems by Bertha, the daughter of the Scotch geolo- 
 gist, Hugh Miller. The book was owned and valued 
 by Dr. Botsford : 
 
 In secret love the Master 
 To each one whispers low, 
 " I am at hand ; work faster, 
 Behold the sunset glow," 
 And each one smileth sweet, 
 Who hears the Master's feet. 
 
 Have we not caught that smiling 
 
 On some beloved face, 
 
 As if a heavenly sound were whiling 
 
 The soul from our earthly place, 
 
 The distant sound, and sweet, 
 
 Of the Master's coming feet. 
 
 On New Year's day, 1888 (Sunday), Dr. Botsford 
 and his niece were as usual in Trinity at the 11 o'clock 
 service, and they again remained to the Holy Com- 
 munion. The month that followed was to be the last, 
 and perhaps the busiest of Dr. Botsford's life. On 
 Thursday, January 5th, he presided at the annual 
 meeting of the Bible Society. His earnest address on 
 that occasion has already been given. He also that 
 week presided over one of the noonday meetings for 
 prayer, held in connection with the Evangelical 
 Alliance on the first week in January. 
 
 In the second week in January he presided over the 
 annual meeting of the Eclectic Reading Club. Not- 
 withstanding the bitterly cold weather there was a 
 p 
 
238 THE LAST YEAR. 
 
 large attendance. Dr. Botsford was one of the readers, 
 and his selection was a bright, humorous piece, des- 
 cribing an Irishman's first experience in America. He 
 read it with keen appreciation of the wit, and sat 
 down amid laughter and hearty applause. 
 
 At the beginning of the third week in January, 
 
 Miss M 's Sunday school class were invited to the 
 
 house to take tea. The doctor looked in upon them 
 and spoke a few pleasant words. One poor girl had 
 been suffering for some time. Her friends had urged 
 her in vain to submit to a medical examination. 
 Something in Dr. Botsford's manner, however, inspired 
 her with confidence. She consented to make an ap- 
 pointment for the next day. Her case was thoroughly 
 looked into, and she was assured that her illness would 
 give way to proper remedies. She followed the advice, 
 and after a few months regained her health.* This 
 
 kindness to poor S T was probably Dr. 
 
 Botsford's last medical act, apart from his hospital 
 work. 
 
 The next day, Tuesday, January 17th, the Natural 
 History Society of New Brunswick celebrated its 
 twenty-fifth anniversary. Dr. Botsford presided. He 
 opened his annual address with these pregnant words : 
 
 "'The thing which hath been it is that which shall be/ 
 There is no new thing under the sun. In the infinity of 
 differences, there is, after all, an infinity of similarities." 
 
 * Since writing the above, one of Dr. Botsford's patients, the mother 
 of a large family, tells me that the doctor had wonderful tact, in mak- 
 ing his medical examinations, especially with children. She says that 
 instead of frightening them, he could examine a child's eyes, ears, 
 lungs, heart or limbs, and the child would not be aware that anything 
 was being done except that the doctor was playing with it. 
 
THE LAST YEAR. 239 
 
 The greater part of this address was given in Chapter 
 VII., in connection with the history of the Natural 
 History Society and Dr. Botsford's work in it. The 
 closing paragraphs were as follows : 
 
 "During the past century science has wonderfully advanced, 
 and as the years roll on it will lay an ever-widening basis upon 
 which to build substantial palaces of knowledge and truth, at 
 the same time (let us hope) with such good results materially, 
 as well as intellectually, as will enable the race to enter upon 
 the greatest possible amount of enjoyment. . . . But 
 science, however definite and universal it may become ; litera- 
 ture, however brilliant; and wealth, however enormous it 
 may be, cannot, singly or combined, secure a permanent 
 civilization. This can only be enduring when based upon the 
 high principles which flow from the throne of God, for it is 
 righteousness which truly exalteth a nation ! 
 
 " In conclusion, I beg to thank you for the honour conferred 
 upon me for many years. The society has existed for quarter 
 of a century. During the most of that period I have occupied 
 the chair. I am perfectly aware of my short-comings in that 
 position. Your work has made the society what it is. The 
 time has come when I must yield up my position into more 
 efficient hands. ' The thing which hath been it is that which 
 shall be.' The old must disappear from the scene, and the 
 young must take their place. It is so ordered. It is not 
 necessity, but duty, which demands the change. Not only do 
 I wish that great success may attend th^. future of the society, 
 but I feel assured that such will be the case. You have 
 material that would secure a prominent position to any society, 
 and I have no doubt that a first rank will be maintained by 
 the Natural History Society of New Brunswick among those 
 of the Dominion." 
 
 Dr. Botsford's idea, that " duty required a change" 
 in the presidency, was not endorsed by other members 
 
240 THE LAST YEAR. 
 
 of the society. He tried for a time to resist his renomi- 
 nation, but finally yielded to the earnest solicitations 
 of all present, and was re-elected president. 
 
 Following his footsteps closely in this last fortnight 
 of his life, we find him on Thursday, January 19th, at 
 
 a large "reception" at Mrs. G. F. S 's. There he 
 
 was uncommonly bright and cheerful. He found him- 
 self surrounded by many old friends ; he chatted with 
 the ladies, and escorted several to the luncheon room ; 
 he exchanged jokes and talked politics with the men. 
 He looked thin, but the excitement of the occasion 
 ligted up his face, and none could foresee that it would 
 be the last time that his bright smile would be seen 
 and his cheerful voice heard in a St. John social gath- 
 ering. He speaks of this reception in a letter written 
 the next day to Mrs. Hartt, the last letter she received 
 from him. It is dated January 20th, 1888 : 
 
 My Dear J : 
 
 Your letter of the 9th duly received. C came to dinner 
 
 on Sunday, and was glad to get the reading of it. ... 
 To-day we have a high wind, which is drifting the snow that 
 fell yesterday. The temperature for the month has been well 
 down to zero, for a few days from two to nine below, some- 
 times above. Pleasant weather compared with the blizzards 
 of the western country. The accounts are dreadful the loss 
 of life enough to make a man shiver at the bare idea of win- 
 ter. I have not heard of a death from frost in either of our 
 Maritime Provinces. ... I saw Mr. Armstrong at a 
 reception of one of the members of his congregation, Mrs. 
 G. F. Smith an "At Home" from 4 to 7. Miss Murray 
 and I were there a goodly turn out of the city (over two 
 hundred) , and not less than eight doctors among the crowd. 
 Mr. Armstrong is very much broken, but is as cheerful as if 
 
THE LAST YEAR. 241 
 
 he had power of speech and muscle. Our city, you see, is not 
 dead yet. It is now conceded, even by pessimists, that busi- 
 ness is better, and affairs moving more satisfactorily. You 
 would be surprised to see the railway station, and the bustle, 
 and moving to and fro of the cars, and goods, and passengers. 
 
 Our street railway is well patronized, and has not been 
 interrupted by snow as yet. It is very convenient now, and 
 when extended round the back of the town will be more so. 
 
 The people of Fredericton have celebrated the Queen's 
 Jubilee. Lady Tilley had a grand bazaar during the summer 
 to build a hospital, and last month a series of tableaux, also 
 to raise funds. They were said to be remarkably effective. 
 
 Mrs. F and Miss N are living in Fredericton 
 
 Miss N deaf, Mrs. F deafer. It only wants one 
 
 more to make the superlative. I certainly have started on 
 that road, and already find it troublesome to hear conversa- 
 tion unless near and directed to me personally. Can't expect 
 much else. Next Thursday, if living, I shall be threescore 
 and sixteen years old six years more than the allotted aver- 
 age. I can't expect the dial to go back, and as certainly 
 cannot look for its continuance much longer. I saw Prudie 
 
 the other day ; quite proud of her baby. N I saw on 
 
 Tuesday at the meeting of the Natural History Society. She 
 is looking well. Her husband, Mr. G. U. Hay, promises to 
 rank high as a member of the society in many respects, but 
 especially in botany. I made an effort to resign the office of 
 president, but they insisted that I should continue in it. I 
 " guess " another year they will be glad to have another pre- 
 sident, perhaps be compelled to do so. I have been president 
 from its beginning a quarter of a " century, Miss Jessie." 
 
 With love to Addie, in which Miss M joins, I must 
 
 bring this scrawl to an end. 
 
 Yours affectionately, 
 
 L. B. BOTSFORD. 
 
242 THE LAST YEAR. 
 
 On Thursday of the following week, the last week 
 in January, a few friends had been invited to spend 
 Dr. Botsford's 76th birthday with him, but on Wed- 
 nesday night he had a severe attack of pain during 
 the night ; he did not explain to his niece the nature 
 of the attack, but he said if it had lasted much longer 
 he could not have lived through it. He seemed weak 
 and weary through the day, which was damp and 
 rainy. The little gathering w r as postponed. The next 
 morning, Friday, the doctor rose early and appeared 
 as bright as ever; he wrapped himself in his cloak 
 and muffler, and to his niece's astonishment told her 
 he had some business to transact with Dr. Steeves, 
 which would probably detain him all day. He re- 
 turned from Carleton in the evening, none the worse 
 for his exertion. On Saturday he went to the Marine 
 Hospital and spent the rest of the day as usual. On 
 Sunday, January 29th, we were in Trinity, and in the 
 evening, after some hymns had been played and sung, 
 the doctor called for recitations, he himself repeating 
 that picturesque poem on the death of Moses begin- 
 ning " By Nebo's lonely mountain." He said it was 
 the only poem he did or could remember. On Mon- 
 day he went to the hospital, and in the evening while 
 
 Miss A * played some lively marches, the doctor 
 
 walked tip and down the drawing-room marking the 
 time vigorously with his footsteps. He retired early, 
 and when his niece went to his room to inquire if he 
 wanted anything, he asked her to read his daily bible 
 verses to him from the little book to which allusion has 
 
 *A young friend from the country who was staying with us for a few 
 days. 
 
DEATH OF DR. BOTSFORD. 243 
 
 been made in one of his letters. She did so, and the 
 last good-night was said without any anticipation of 
 sorrow. 
 
 The next morning, Tuesday, January 31st, his 
 bright, cheery voice was heard on the stairs : " Fanny, 
 it wants but ten minutes of eight." " Please ring for 
 prayers. I am all ready," was the answer. The bell 
 
 was rung. Miss M came down stairs and entered 
 
 the breakfast-room. The light of a bright winter's 
 morning was streaming in, a large fire blazed in the 
 grate, the bible was lying open on the breakfast table, 
 but the beloved uncle, who had been always ready to 
 meet his niece with a cheerful morning greeting, was 
 not standing in his accustomed place on the hearth 
 rug. He was lying unconscious on the sofa, breathing 
 heavily. To ring the bell and send for a medical man 
 was the work of an instant. Before any one came a 
 few simple restoratives were tried in vain. The 
 laboured breathing ceased, the kind blue eyes opened 
 once more, but the mystery of death had already 
 veiled them, and with that last effort the spirit departed. 
 When the medical man came a hasty examination was 
 made. The heart had ceased to beat, and those sad- 
 dest of all sad words were heard, " He is gone." 
 
 During the next two clays the house was filled with 
 many coming and going. All wished to take a last 
 look at the noble features so calm in the repose of 
 death. Thursday was a bright winter's day. Trinity 
 Church was crowded. The sunshine poured in through 
 the West window, and rested on the " Resurrection 
 flowers " with which loving friends had almost hidden 
 the dark coffin. There was no gloom. You seemed 
 to realize the scene in Bunyan's great allegory where 
 
244 DEATH OF DR. BOTSFORD. 
 
 friends accompany the " Pilgrims " with music and 
 singing, as they move towards the Dark River upon 
 which the glory of the Celestial City shines. The 
 first words of the first hymn gave the key-note to the 
 service, " Forever with the Lord," and the whole con- 
 gregation appeared to take up the triumphant refrain : 
 
 " Forever with the Lord ! " 
 Amen, so let it be ; 
 Life from the dead is in that word, 
 'Tis Immortality. 
 
 " The funeral was attended by a very large number of 
 citizens representing every walk of life. The pall-bearers 
 were Messrs. John Sears, S. S. Hall, T. \V. Daniel, Boies 
 DeVeber, W. Girvan and R. W. Crookshank. The chief 
 mourners were Hon. Senator Botsford, George Botsford, 
 Clerk of the Legislative Council, and Judge Botsford of the 
 Westmorland County Court, brothers of the deceased, and 
 following them in the long funeral procession were judges, 
 including the Chief Justice, clergymen, senators, barristers 
 and indeed eminent representatives of every profession and 
 calling. The New Brunswick Medical Society came directly 
 after the mourners, almost all of the local members attending, 
 and then came delegates from the Natural History Society, 
 the Historical Society, the Bible Society, the Evangelical 
 Alliance, the S. P. C. A. and other bodies, with all of whom 
 the deceased had been connected. The impressive burial 
 service of the Church of England was conducted by the 
 Rev. Canon DeVeber, and the Rev. A. J. Gollmer (Canon 
 Brigstocke being absent from the city). As the funeral 
 procession left the church, the Dead March in Saul was 
 played on the organ." St. John Daily Sun, Feb. 3rd, 1888. 
 
 The place where Dr. Botsford's remains rest in the 
 Rural Cemetery is marked by a simple marble monu- 
 
DEATH OF DR. BOTSFORD. 245 
 
 ment, on the top of which rests a beautifully sculptured 
 open Bible. Across the leaves are the words, 
 
 "$e to0 not, for >o& took tjitn." 
 
 Below the name and date is the sentence, 
 
 " 21 Christian |JI)iianU)ropist and man of Science/ 1 
 
 and one side of the monument bears the inscription, 
 
 "JFor ttoentj} gears president of tlje Nero Brunswick 
 
 ^tujdliarj] of tlje JJritisf) anb ^Foreign 
 
 Bible Society." 
 
 On the Sunday following Dr. Botsford's death, an 
 earnest sermon was preached in Trinity Church, which 
 was thus reported : 
 
 " The Rev. Canon Brigstocke preached yesterday morning, 
 in Trinity Church, on the character of a godly man, from 
 Psalm i, 1, 2 : ' Blessed is the man that walketh not in the 
 counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, 
 nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in 
 the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day 
 and night.' And after dwelling on the different features of 
 that character as set forth in that passage, and holding it up 
 as an object of high ambition, that God may bless us and 
 make us a blessing, he referred to the late Dr. Botsford as 
 follows : Such, we believe, was the ambition, and such the 
 scriptural attainment of him who, in God's mysterious provi- 
 dence, was called so suddenly and so peacefully to his rest 
 during the past week. Possessed of strong individuality of 
 character, which was guided and moulded by a simple and 
 firm faith in his God and Saviour, he was ever ready to de- 
 vote his talents and opportunities for the promotion of the 
 intellectual, the moral, and the religious interests of this com- 
 munity. The number, and the nature of the positions he 
 occupied, testify to the respect in which he was held, and his 
 
246 DEATH OF DR. BOTSFORD. 
 
 readiness for every good work. Of these- there was none in 
 which he took greater delight or interest than in the New 
 Brunswick Auxiliary of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society, over which he presided for so many years. Lover of 
 the Bible himself, and knowing it to be a revelation of God 
 to man, he took delight in promoting its circulation through- 
 out the world. And was it not significant of this feature of 
 his character, that his last act was to open the sacred volume 
 for his accustomed family reading when his summons came to 
 call him away from his earthly labours, and to enter into. rest. 
 It was a peaceful and merciful end of a godly life. As an up- 
 right citizen, a Christian friend, a godly layman ; as a moral 
 and spiritual power he will be greatly and widely missed ; but 
 he has left behind him the record of an unblemished life, and 
 the name of LeBaron Botsford will ever be held in blessed 
 remembrance. And why may we thus speak and think of 
 him ? Because, like all believers, he walked with God, and so 
 was blessed himself and a blessing to others. His sudden 
 and unexpected call did not find him unprepared, because a 
 steady and unconscious preparation was going on in days of 
 quiet routine and in times of tranquility and health. How 
 would it have been had the summons come to ourselves? 
 Are we prepared to give up our account and to stand in some 
 immediate manner in the awful presence of God? Now is 
 the time given for gaining a true and firm trust in God. It 
 is now when nothing disturbs ; now when no pain afflicts, 
 when faculties are not clouded, that we can learn to believe 
 and love and obey God. Let the suddenness with which God 
 was pleased to visit his servant lead us to consider our latter 
 end, so that we may be ready whenever our summons shall 
 come, and be able to respond to the voice that calls, ' Even so, 
 come Lord Jesus.'" St. John Daily Telegraph, February 
 6th, 1888. 
 
 On the anniversary of Dr. Botsford's death the fol- 
 lowing poem, written by his niece, Ellen Murray, was 
 
DEATH OF DR. BOTSFORD. 247 
 
 sent as a memorial to relatives and friends, and with 
 these verses this memoir closes : 
 
 I. 
 
 Oh ! not with tears 
 
 They greet the hero when his work is done, 
 And with the glories of the setting sun 
 
 His home he nears. 
 
 The bells ring out, 
 
 The road is deep with shining leaves of bay, 
 His friends and kindred crowd the homeward way 
 
 With song and shout. 
 
 Arch after arch 
 
 Spans with its banners sunlit path and gate ; 
 The highest in the city, robed in state, 
 
 Attend his march. 
 
 The joyful ranks, 
 
 With sound of viol, enter through the gates 
 To where enthroned his smiling Sovereign waits 
 
 With gracious thanks. 
 
 II. 
 
 Oh ! not with tears 
 
 They greet in heaven Christ's soldier brave and true, 
 The faithful proved all life's long journey through, 
 
 From youth's bright years. 
 
 The silver bells 
 
 Ring in the Holy City, open wide 
 Stand the great portals, all the river tide 
 
 To music swells. , 
 
 Kindred and friend, 
 
 Souls he had helped, sad ones he comforted 
 Throng out, in glad procession. " His," they said, 
 
 "Joy without end." 
 
248 DEATH OF DR. BOTSFORD. 
 
 And up the golden street 
 They lead him smiling. High uplifted there 
 The Central Glory shines. He kneels to hear 
 
 The welcome sweet. 
 
 III. 
 
 So not with tears 
 
 We to the nearer shore accompanied him ; 
 Our earth was darker and our homes more dim, 
 
 Yet without fears. 
 
 We said "Farewell," 
 
 While hymn and organ chanted " With the Lord ; " 
 And from the window with the Form adored 
 
 The glories fell. 
 
 Among the flowers 
 
 We took the last long look and let him go, 
 Content that never loss nor grief nor snow 
 
 Should blight his hours. 
 
 Content towards 
 
 Fair Paradise to look, and, trusting, say, 
 " He is not dead, but, happily, to-day 
 Is with the Lord." 
 
 Ellen Murray. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
APPENDIX I. 
 
 MEMORIAL LETTERS. 
 
 Many kind letters of sympathy were received after 
 Dr. Botsford's death. Extracts from a few are given, 
 as they seem to throw a side-light on the memoir : 
 
 [From Sir Leonard Tilley.] 
 
 GOVERNMENT HOUSE, February 28, 1889. 
 
 I thank you very much for the "In Memoriam" (the poem) 
 kindly sent through Lady Tilley. To be reminded of the 
 life and lovely Christian character of so good a man as was 
 your uncle must be of service to all who had the pleasure of 
 his acquaintance, and the reminder thus given by the " In 
 Memoriam " is therefore of great value. 
 
 Those who knew him best esteemed him most. It may 
 truly be said of him, " Being dead he yet speaketh." 
 
 Again thanking you, I remain, 
 
 Yours very sincerely, 
 
 S. L. TILLEY. 
 
 [From Rev. Edmund F. Stafter, D. D., Registrar of the Diocese of Massachusetts.] 
 
 BOSTON, 249 Berkeley Street, 
 
 February 4th, 1888. 
 
 I need not tell you how much surprised and grieved I am 
 to hear of the death of the good and noble Dr. Botsford. I 
 most sincerely sympathize with you in this inexpressible loss. 
 Your whole community will feel the blow. A pillar has been 
 removed from your social edifice, and a strength and vitality 
 has gone out of it that can never be restored. It is difficult 
 fully to estimate the power in a community of a strong, good 
 
 (251) 
 
252 APPENDIX. 
 
 man, who is always on the side of right, never swayed by any 
 selfish motives, and never driven from the path pointed out 
 by a clear, healthy and sensitive conscience. Of such men 
 the world has not too many. Their presence is more than a 
 benediction : it is a gift of unseen spiritual power that elevates, 
 enriches and sanctifies all about them. Such was Dr. Bots- 
 ford's whole life, and its withdrawal from the society of St. 
 John will be seen and felt by all who knew him well. . . . 
 
 EDMUND F. STAFTER. 
 
 [From the Rev. Frederick S. Sill. Rector of St. John's Church, Cohoes, N. Y., 
 former Curate of St. Paul's Church, St. John.] 
 
 THE RECTORY, February 17th, 1888. 
 
 I want to add my token of sympathy for you, and to ex- 
 press my own sense of a friend lost for a while. Every day 
 you must miss your uncle more and more. ... I have 
 read with much interest the notices of Dr. Botsford's death 
 in the St. John press, and was glad to see how a man of his 
 many-sided traits was so well appreciated by his contem- 
 poraries. One could not be brought into contact with him 
 without being impressed with the great reserve force of 
 gentleness and manliness he had. Whether as physician, 
 philanthropist, scientist, or public-spirited citizen, one might 
 meet him ; one would like him best for being the true, sin- 
 cere, upright, Christian man he was. 
 
 Certainly the circumstances attending his death, the pre- 
 paration for the morning prayer, the last thoughts evidently 
 on things of God and eternity, made it seem more like a 
 translation than a dying. 
 
 It must have been a great comfort to you, in Canon Brig- 
 stocke's absence (which no doubt he regretted very much), 
 to have Canon DeVeber perform the rites of burial. We 
 were all so much associated together at Trinity and St. 
 Paul's, and especially close were Dr. Botsford's relations 
 with the rector's family for so many years, that it must have 
 seemed a most fitting thing for him to give burial to his old 
 friend's body. . . . FREDERICK S. SILL. 
 
MEMORIAL LETTERS. 253 
 
 [From H. W. Frith, Esq.] 
 
 JANUARY 31st. 
 
 I have just heard of the very sudden death of Dr. Botsford. 
 I suppose that the gathering of a ripe and godly Christian 
 into the garner of the Lord should not be a matter for mourn- 
 ing ; but to you, who have been so long his companion and 
 sympathizing friend, the loss, however much in the course of 
 nature, must be very great, and all the more so from the very 
 fitness of your uncle for the change. Few men could be more 
 missed either in private or public life. His activity, his genial 
 hilarity, his participation in so many good works, and the 
 grand example of his sterling character, combined to make 
 him a citizen, rare in these days, and whose place will not 
 soon be filled. . . . H. W. FRITH. 
 
 [From James K. Ruel, Esq.] 
 
 FEBRUARY 7th. 
 
 I received this morning the enclosed pamphlet for your 
 deeply regretted relative, Dr. Botsford, from an old friend, 
 Mr. Swabey. He will learn the sad news from me in a few 
 days, and like all of us in this city, will mourn over our loss. 
 It is right to weep on such an occasion we have sacred 
 authority for it ; yet as true Christians we should rejoice 
 rejoice at the happy reunion with those we have in another 
 and a brighter world. Surely it may be said my friend was 
 translated a moment here, the next in glory, seeing the 
 King in all His beauty. God grant that my last end may 
 be like his the sudden summons, the glad awakening. . . 
 
 JAMES R. RUEL. 
 
 The following quaint, kind letter was written by the 
 late Mr. T. M. Deblois when he was upwards of ninety 
 years of age : 
 
 134 FEDERAL STREET, Salem, Mass., Feb. 2, 1888. 
 Dear Miss Murray, On reading a late St. John Globe last 
 evening, I was sadly grieved to notice that it had pleased the 
 Q 
 
254 APPENDIX. 
 
 Almighty Disposer of events suddenly to remove from the 
 midst of his many friends your kind-hearted and, in every 
 sense of the word, good uncle, Dr. Botsford. I deeply sym- 
 pathize with you, his relatives, and the community, on this 
 melancholy occasion. I shall feel his loss greatly. Our 
 acquaintance extended over half a century, during which he 
 had been a warm-hearted, kind friend. When absent from 
 St. John we were frequent correspondents ; to me his letters 
 were always very acceptable and interesting. It was only the 
 other day I received a kind letter from him. Little did I 
 expect our correspondence was so suddenly to terminate. I 
 intended to have written him this morning relating to the 
 Rev. Dr. Courtney, of Boston, a gentleman highly esteemed 
 in his profession. Thus it is, " L'homme propose, et Dieu dis- 
 pose" I shall write our mutual friend, Mr. Swabey, advising 
 him of the sad loss so many have sustained. He will feel it 
 sadly, as we all do. 
 
 I remain, my dear Miss Murray, yours truly, 
 
 T. M. DEBLOIS. 
 
APPENDIX II. 
 
 " MEMORIAL RESOLUTIONS" 
 
 PASSED BY SEVERAL SOCIETIES AFTER DR. BOTSFORD's DEATH. 
 
 I. COLONIAL AND CONTINENTAL CHURCH SOCIETY. 
 
 Memorial Minute to the Memory of the late LeBaron Botsford, M. D. 
 
 The Corresponding Committee of the " Colonial and Con- 
 tinental Church Society," at their first meeting of committee 
 after the removal by death of the late Dr. Botsford, place 
 upon record of their minutes that they lament very much the 
 decease of their highly valued friend and fellow-labourer, 
 Dr. LeBaron Botsford, who was so suddenly, but so peace- 
 fully, removed from them on the 31st January, just after he 
 had entered on his seventy-seventh year, they would record 
 the sense they retain of the many important services rendered 
 by him in various ways to the society they represent. 
 
 It was in the year 1851, when the association was first 
 formed, that Dr. Botsford joined its ranks, and has ever since 
 continued a steadfast supporter of the organization, and they 
 can fully testify that they have ever found in him an earnest 
 and intelligent colleague, comprehensive in his views, sound 
 in judgment, and intensely desirous of upholding the principles 
 of the society and those great evangelical doctrines which 
 have been the strength of the church at home and abroad, 
 contributing to its efficiency and usefulness. 
 
 The number of societies with which he was connected were 
 represented at his funeral by sympathizing mourners. This 
 of itself testified the deep and wide-spread esteem which his 
 high character and honourable career had gained for him. 
 
 " The memory of the just is blessed." 
 
 (255) 
 
256 APPENDIX. 
 
 II. BIBLE SOCIETY. 
 
 At a meeting of the Committee of the New Brunswick 
 Auxiliary Bible Society, held 7th February, 1888, the fol- 
 lowing resolution was moved by the Hon. John Boyd, sec- 
 onded by Rev. A. J. McFarland, and unanimously adopted: 
 
 " Since our annual meeting it has pleased Almighty God to 
 call home our dear brother, Dr. LeBaron Botsford, whose 
 bright, cheerful, joyous spirit calmly and peacefully left its 
 earthly tenement, when he gently fell asleep on Tuesday last. 
 
 "At this, our first meeting after, we desire to express our 
 thankfulness to God for the long, useful and eminently 
 benevolent life He permitted to our friend, for the quiet in- 
 fluence of that life in many a sick chamber, and the wider 
 sympathy of its 'spirit in public, largely permeated by that 
 Word which he took as his daily counsellor, and which led 
 him to co-operate with all who were joined together in the 
 circulation of that Word, through the organization of this 
 society. For nearly half a century was he a member of this 
 committee, for very many years vice-president, and twenty 
 years president of this Auxiliary of the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society, for which office he was specially fitted by his 
 catholicity of spirit, and we desire to place on record our esti- 
 mate of the unwearied diligence, unswerving fidelity, and 
 continued devotion to its interests which so eminently dis- 
 tinguished his course, more especially during the latter period 
 of his life, after his marvellous restoration to health some 
 fourteen years ago. His tireless activity in every good work 
 of a national, social, educational, scientific and religious char- 
 acter, gave hope of even a longer life than the seventy and 
 six years permitted to him, now so peacefully ended by his 
 entrance into that * Rest which remaineth for the people of 
 God.' 
 
 "This Committee desire also to express their sympathy with 
 his niece, the home friend and companion of his later years, 
 and other relatives in whom his departure awakens sad and 
 tender recollections," 
 
MEMORIAL RESOLUTIONS. 257 
 
 III. YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. 
 
 At a meeting of the committee of the Y. M. C. A., the 
 following preamble and resolution was passed : 
 
 Whereas, It has been the pleasure of Almighty God to re- 
 move from our midst and fake to Himself Dr. LeBaron 
 Botsford, who, at the age of seventy-six years, peacefully fell 
 asleep in Jesus on the thirty-first day of January last, while 
 in the act of religious duty ; and 
 
 Whereas, For many years our beloved brother was actively 
 identified with our Association, holding official relations as 
 President, Trustee and member of our Managing Committee, 
 and manifesting his interest, not only by personal endeavour 
 but by a most generous financial support in advancing its 
 welfare, we remember him as being amiable in disposition, 
 generous in sympathy, sincere in friendship, faithful in good 
 work, and faithful in the discharge of duty, doing justly, lov- 
 ing mercy and walking humbly and in integrity before his 
 God, we feel that it may be said of him that the law of his 
 God was in his heart, and that, having fought a good fight, 
 having finished his course, having kept his faith, henceforth 
 there is laid up for him a crown of righteousness which the 
 Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give him at that day; 
 
 Resolved, That we cannot allow the occasion to pass with- 
 out recording our profound respect to his memory, for his 
 public and private worth, and to extend to the relatives and 
 friends of the departed brother our sincere sympathy, and to 
 commend them to the care of Almighty God, and the comfort 
 and consolation of his Holy Word. 
 
 IV. EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE. 
 
 Resolution adopted at the Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Alliance of 
 
 St. John, N. B., held March IQth, 1888, with reference to the 
 
 late LeB. Botsford, Esq., M. D., &c. 
 
 Resolved, That, by the decease of Dr. LeB. Botsford, the 
 Evangelical Alliance have been deprived of the society of a 
 
258 APPENDIX. 
 
 member whose services, alike on the score of his ability and 
 of the spirit displayed by him on all occasions, were simply of 
 inestimable value. 
 
 Sound in judgment, and single-minded in his every aim, 
 governed by the loftiest sense of duty so far as his own con- 
 duct was concerned, and yet singularly conciliatory and 
 generous in his bearing to others ; at once firm in his attach- 
 ment to his own views of truth, and catholic-minded in the 
 construction placed by him upon the views of those differing 
 from him, Dr. Botsford presented in his demeanour the happy 
 blending of well nigh every quality of disposition requisite to 
 the character of an ideal Christian gentleman. 
 
 Profoundly philanthropic and overflowing with interest in 
 every matter bearing upon the public welfare, his estimates 
 of all questions arising in these connections were invariably 
 based upon the dictates of that Book which was to him in 
 very deed "A light unto his feet and a lamp unto his path ; " 
 that Book, the study of which, under the guidance of a 
 scholarship various and accurate, was his daily pleasure, and 
 labouring for the wide-spread diffusion of which was the 
 source of his deepest joy. 
 
 In his decease the Evangelical Alliance lament the with- 
 drawal from their ranks of one of their oldest and most loyal 
 members, of an attached and sympathetic friend, of a coun- 
 sellor than whom no one was listened to with more profound 
 respect, of a man to whose example they could ever refer 
 as that of the kindliest and most uniformly consistent of 
 Christians. 
 
 In common with the whole community, the members of the 
 Alliance mourn the departure of one to whom all looked as 
 to a father, because of his dignified wisdom, and to a trusted 
 friend because of his genial courtesy. They rejoice, at the 
 same time, in their remembrance of the many proofs evincing 
 that " his path was as the shining light," and in the convic- 
 tion which they can confidently cherish that their loss is his 
 
MEMORIAL RESOLUTIONS. 259 
 
 gain, being persuaded that their brother, having " fallen on 
 sleep," has " entered into the joy of his Lord." 
 
 In name, and by appointment of the Evangelical Alliance 
 of St. John, N. B. 
 
 D. MACRAE, 
 Corresponding Secretary. 
 
 V. PROTESTANT ORPHAN ASYLUM. 
 
 Resolutions adopted relative to the death of the late Dr. LeBaron Botsford. 
 
 The Directors of the St. John Protestant Orphan Asylum, 
 at the first meeting after the death of the late Dr. Botsford, 
 adopted the following resolution : 
 
 Whereas, It has pleased Almighty God to remove from 
 among us, our late lamented colleague and fellow-labourer, 
 Dr. LeBaron Botsford, who has been a Director ever since 
 the organization of the Institution ; 
 
 Therefore Resolved, That the said Directors desire to give 
 expression to the sense of personal loss they have sustained 
 by his death. They would record their high estimation of his 
 character, and of the valuable services ever rendered by him 
 since the formation of the Orphan Asylum. Immediately 
 after the sad visitation of Asiatic cholera in our city in 1854, 
 our late brother was appointed one of a provisional committee 
 of seven laymen, of whom only two now survive, to solicit 
 funds for the erection and endowment of an Orphan Asylum, 
 and at a subsequent public meeting held in the Mechanics' 
 Institute, he was the first ably to advocate the necessity for 
 such an institution, and towards which he gave two lots of 
 land on Summer street, Portland, N. B., which are still the 
 property of the Board. He had ever contributed largely 
 towards the maintenance of the Orphanage, and in various 
 ways manifested a deep interest in the work, which he re- 
 garded as a special charge committed by God to himself, and 
 his fellow-workers, thus to care for the spiritual and temporal 
 welfare of destitute orphans in the community. 
 
260 APPENDIX. 
 
 VI. HOME FOR AGED FEMALES. 
 
 At a meeting of the President and Directors of the Home 
 for Aged Females in the City of St. John, held on Thursday, 
 the 23rd day of February instant, the following resolution 
 was moved by the Rev. G. M. Armstrong, seconded by Mr. 
 Orookshank, and unanimously adopted : 
 
 The Directors, in recording with deep regret the loss which 
 this institution, in common with many others of St. John, and 
 even with the city itself, has so recently suffered by the sud- 
 den, though happy, removal of Dr. LeBaron Botsford, would 
 humbly praise God for the many graces given to -his servant, 
 their friend and brother, who so peacefully entered his rest on 
 the 31st day of January last. As a physician, his ability and 
 benevolence were highly prized by many inmates of the insti- 
 tution, while his happy and lively disposition endeared him to 
 all. By his Christian self-devotion and nobleness of charac- 
 ter he was a living witness unto the truth, and, while he had* 
 the courage of his own convictions, he respected those of 
 others, causing his presence at the Board, which he constantly 
 attended, to be sorely missed, and the Directors tender their 
 heartfelt sympathy to the niece and other bereaved relations 
 of their loved and valued colleague. 
 
 [Extract from Minutes]. 
 
 H. LAWRANCE STURDEE, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 VII. NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Copy of a Resolution passed by the Natural History Society 
 of New Brunswick, February 6th, 1888. 
 
 Resolved, That the New Brunswick Natural History Society 
 place on record an expression of the loss it has sustained in 
 the death of its late President, Dr. LeB. Botsford, who, since 
 its organization, has been so closely identified with its inter- 
 ests; who had entered so heartily into all its aims and ob- 
 
MEMORIAL RESOLUTIONS. 261 
 
 jects, and had given it that support and encouragement which 
 his generous and self-sacrificing spirit prompted. 
 
 W. J. WILSON, G. F. MATTHEW, 
 
 Recording Secretary. President. 
 
 VIII. ST. JOHN ANTI-TOBACCO ASSOCIATION. 
 
 At the regular meeting of the St. John Anti-Tobacco As- 
 sociation, held last evening, Capt. Pritchard presiding, the 
 following resolutions were adopted : 
 
 Whereas, It has pleased Almighty God to remove from the 
 scenes of his earthly labours, Dr. LeB. Botsford, Vice-Presi- 
 dent of this Association ; and 
 
 Whereas, This Association, by the death of Dr. Botsford, 
 loses one of its most faithful co-workers in the cause for the 
 suppression of the use of tobacco, and all the evils pertaining 
 thereto ; 
 
 Therefore Resolved, That this Association, while humbly 
 bowing to the will of our Divine Creator, deeply regret the 
 demise of our late Vice-President, whose genial disposition 
 and untiring zeal in all good works for the religious and 
 moral advance of his fellow-beings, made him an honoured 
 member of the community and a true friend to the needy ; 
 and 
 
 Further Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent 
 to the different city papers for publication. 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 NOTICES OF THE PRESS. 
 
 DEATH OF DR. LsB. BOTSFORD. 
 
 Dr. Botsford, whose sudden death yesterday morning caused 
 such a profound sensation throughout the city, was a son of 
 the late Hon. Wra. Botsford, one of the Judges of the 
 Supreme Court, and formerly Speaker of the House of 
 Assembly, and grandson of Amos Botsford, Esq., a Loyalist, 
 formerly of Newton, Conn., who was Speaker of the first 
 assembly elected after New Brunswick was constituted a sepa- 
 rate province. Dr. Botsford pursued his medical studies at 
 the University of Glasgow, where he graduated in 1835. 
 On his return to this province he entered into the practice of 
 his profession in Woodstock, and some time later, in 1840, he 
 established himself in St. John, where he had enjoyed a suc- 
 cessful practice for near half a century. For about twenty- 
 five years he had been attending physician at the Marine 
 Hospital, and was the incumbent at the time of his death. He 
 was appointed one of the physicians and surgeons of the Pro- 
 vincial Hospital when it was opened June 13th, 1865, and in 
 March, 1868, he resigned his connection with that institution. 
 Dr. Botsford was married to Miss Main, of Glasgow, who died 
 in October, three years since, leaving no issue. He was an 
 active member of Trinity Church, for several years President 
 of the Bible Society, was for about twenty -five years President 
 of the Natural History Society, and was deeply interested 
 in the Historical Society, the Evangelical Alliance and the 
 Y. M. C. A., and everything tending to the welfare of the 
 community. His cheery bearing and pleasant manner made 
 him a universal favourite. 
 
 For some time Dr. Botsford had felt apprehensive of sudden 
 death from an organic disease of the heart. The attack 
 (262) 
 
NOTICES OF THE PRESS. 263 
 
 yesterday morning was unlocked for by his family, and ter- 
 minated fatally before Drs. Harding and Johnston, who were 
 instantly summoned, could reach his residence. 
 
 Dr. Botsford was a gentleman of good natural ability, en- 
 riched by a life of extensive reading and study. Readers of 
 the Sun will recall with pleasure his interesting and instruc- 
 tive letters in this paper, while on a visit to the Pacific coast, 
 and which afterwards furnished the material for one of the 
 most interesting lectures in the Mechanics' Institute course 
 of last season. St. John Daily Sun, February 1st, 1888. 
 
 THE LATE DK. BOTSFORD. 
 
 Seldom has the sudden death of a citizen given a stronger 
 shock to the community than was made by the announcement 
 of the death of Dr. LeBaron Botsford yesterday morning. 
 He had been long a prominent and active figure in our midst, 
 and though he had considerably passed the allotted three 
 score years and ten, he was yet full of energy and usefulness. 
 As a physician of good skill and judgment he had long since 
 won success in his profession, but it was in other lines of in- 
 tellectual, moral, and religious activity that he has been chiefly 
 known to the public of late years. With the work of the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society, the Evangelical Alliance, 
 the Young Men's Christian Association, the New Brunswick 
 Historical Society, and the Natural History Society he was 
 actively and prominently identified for many years down to 
 the day of his death, and in several of these he had filled the 
 highest positions. 
 
 He was a man of strong individuality, extensive know- 
 ledge, and humane and generous impulses. In Dr. Botsford 
 the poor had a sympathetic friend, while among all classes he 
 was ever ready to every good word and work. Those who 
 knew him best know how well he deserved the titles of a true 
 friend, a good citizen, and a devout Christian. 
 
 The manner of his death was, we think, eminently happy 
 and desirable. He had lived a good and useful life, and one 
 
264 APPENDIX. 
 
 of untiring activity in the service of his fellow-man. He 
 had filled up the measure of man's allotted days, retaining till 
 the last the full possession of his physical and intellectual 
 powers. Then he was permitted in the quiet of the home he 
 loved to close his eyes peacefully and painlessly for the last 
 sleep. To him death came suddenly, but with no harsh sum- 
 mons rather as an expected and not unwelcome messenger, 
 inviting him to rest and reward. In the calm of the bright 
 morning hour he passed out into the fuller light, liberty and 
 repose which lie beyond the confines of earthly life. 
 
 Dr. Botsford's demise creates 'a sad blank not only in the 
 home circle, but in almost every line of moral and religious 
 activity in our midst, and in the larger circle of citizenship as 
 well. St. John Daily Telegraph, February 1st, 1888. 
 
 A GOOD CITIZEN. 
 
 Probably no citizen of St. John was better known at home 
 or abroad than Dr. Botsford. His genial, cheery, hearty 
 manner, his friendliness, his activities in many directions, 
 brought him in contact with people of all classes and creeds. 
 Notwithstanding his natural kindness he was a man of strong 
 views and decided convictions, and sometimes he did not hesi- 
 tate to sharply express himself. Thirty-five to forty years ago 
 he was an active figure in our political affairs, although, we 
 believe, he never sought representative honours. In the work 
 of the New Brunswick Association in 1849-50 there was no 
 more active man, and he declined to accept the presidency 
 because it was not as decided as he thought it should be. He 
 strongly resented the interference of Earl Gray and the Colo- 
 nial Office in our affairs. As we write we have before us a 
 letter of his, in which he ably sets forth his views on the 
 Colonial future. In church matters he was an active Low 
 Churchman, and did not hesitate so to declare himself. . . 
 On almost every subject inviting the attention of an intellec- 
 tual mind Dr. Botsford had opinions. His appointment to a 
 public position a matter which at the time excited a very 
 
NOTICES OF THE PRESS. 265 
 
 hot discussion in St. John, and caused a sharp feud in the 
 Liberal ranks withdrew him to some extent from active 
 participation in public questions, but he was a man whose 
 intellect never dulled, and whose interest in the works of 
 humanity never slackened. His works of benevolence and 
 charity were unending, and in all conditions of life there are 
 many persons who, by his death, will lose a sincere friend. 
 St. John Evening Globe, January 31st, 1888. 
 
 INGENIOUS CONTRIVANCE. 
 
 Dr. Botsford, of St. John, New Brunswick, forwards to us 
 an ingenious contrivance adapted to the lifting of patients. 
 It consists of a framework the size of the bed or mattress, the 
 sides of which are made of wooden bars, and end pieces of 
 plate-iron an inch and a half wide and three-sixteenths of an 
 inch in thickness, pivoting in the centre. These are so con- 
 trived that when the lift is placed on the bed, the framework 
 falls on each side, the canvas is slackened, and the patient 
 rests on the mattress or bed provided for him, but when the 
 framework is lifted, a catch prevents the pivot acting beyond 
 a straight line. Transversely across this framework canvas 
 is securely stretched, excepting for about the middle fourth ; 
 here one or more wide strips are fastened by hooks, and are 
 readily removable. Strong cords are fastened to the frame- 
 work of the lift by means of hooks and rings, four in num- 
 ber, and are attached to a ring through which the hook at 
 the end of a lever, six or seven feet long, is passed. This lever 
 has a second hook, which is attached to the end of a chain 
 suspended from the ceiling, and at its extreme end is a chain 
 which can be fixed to a staple or some secure hold while the 
 patient is being attended to after having been lifted from the 
 bed. This lift, which can be easily and cheaply made, has 
 been tried by Dr. Botsford in the Marine Hospital of St. 
 John, and would be very useful in cases where the medical 
 man was shorthanded, and the patient required much 
 nursing. Extract from the Lancet, January 2, 1886. 
 
APPENDIX IV. 
 
 ADDRESS BEFORE THE NATURAL HISTORY 
 SOCIETY ON "THE THUMB." 
 
 AN EXPLANATION OF ITS WONDERFUL CONSTRUCTION, 
 
 IMPLYING DESIGN AND A DESIGNER, AND 
 
 AIDING THE INTELLECTUAL AND 
 
 MATERIAL PROGRESS OF MEN. 
 
 The subject which I submit to-night for your consideration 
 can hardly be termed scientific, and yet it certainly is one 
 which bears, though indirectly, upon our position as a Natural 
 History Society, for it treats of a condition which appears to 
 be necessary to progress among men. It will suggest thoughts 
 to a reflecting mind, and perhaps lead to metaphysical ques- 
 tions, as to the why and wherefore of our existence, and more 
 especially whether design reigns in the world of which we 
 form a part. Man is an intellectual being. He soars upward 
 in his contemplation of the material universe, penetrates the 
 vast profound filled with dazzling suns, measures their dis- 
 tances, and analyzes the very elements of which they are 
 composed. On the other hand, by the aid of instruments, he 
 investigates the secrets of nature hidden from the unaided 
 vision of mortals, and seems to measure not only the minutest 
 organisms of living existences, but to scrutinize the infinitesi- 
 mal molecules in their action and relationship. 
 
 It is evident that without the aid of instruments it would 
 be impossible to arrive at the knowledge we now possess. How 
 could man, with even his great mental faculties and we 
 must acknowledge them to be very great how could he tell 
 us what the materials are which enter into the composition of 
 the heavenly bodies ? Yet we know of what those materials 
 consist, as definitely as we do of those of the matter which we 
 touch and handle and measure. Without the spectroscope 
 (266) 
 
ADDRESS ON THE THUMB. 267 
 
 this would be impossible. We might make a good guess, but 
 it would be nothing but a guess. 
 
 Thus, however powerful the mind of man may become by 
 training and culture, it is an indisputable fact (and I want to 
 impress this fact upon your attention) that even to develop 
 the power of the mind there must be large aid from the 
 accidents or circumstances attending its working. And it is 
 not possible to conceive how mind, unaided by external and 
 complex instruments, ever would, nay, ever could, rise above 
 its lowest and dormant condition. To show how much it is 
 dependent upon instruments will be my object to-night, and 
 for this purpose I will direct your attention to the Human 
 Thumb. It may be thought a singular subject for the annual 
 address of the president of your society. I trust, however, it 
 will prove interesting and instructive. We will point out the 
 bones of which the thumb is composed, the position it occu- 
 pies, the muscles which are engaged in its movements, its 
 functions or office. Looking at the hand, we find eight small 
 bones which form the carpus, or wrist ; these are attached by 
 articulations to the bones of the forearm on one side and to 
 five long bones on the other side, called metacarpal bones. 
 To these latter are articulated the phalanges of the fingers 
 and those of the thumb. The metacarpal bones of the fingers 
 run a parallel course, are bound together, and form the basis 
 for the palm of the hand. The metacarpal of the thumb 
 differs from those of the fingers, being more movable, with a 
 bevelled articulation, and when bent takes a diagonal position 
 across the hand, thus bringing the end of its second phalanx 
 into contact and opposition to the ends of the phalanges of 
 the fingers, which latter, when bent, form a point of resistance 
 to the thumb. Each finger is composed of three pieces of 
 bone, which makes them longer than the thumb. When the 
 hand is closed the points of the fingers form a straight even 
 line, and the last bone of the thumb lies bent at right angles 
 and supports the fist when doubled. Such is the bony structure 
 of the thumb and its relation to other members of the hand. 
 
268 APPENDIX. 
 
 We will now consider the muscles connected with these 
 parts. A muscle is a band of flesh which can contract, and 
 being fastened by its two ends to different bones, will bend 
 one or both of them in the line of shortening. Thus we 
 have muscles which arise from the back of the arm, pass on 
 and are attached by cords and sinews to the wrist and to the 
 back part of the fingers, and are called extensors. Others 
 again which are called flexors start from the forearm, pass to 
 the wrist and under the ligament to the fingers, and by con- 
 traction draw the fingers together, or in other words close the 
 hand. The flexors are more powerful than the extensors, as 
 the work they have to do requires more force. The thumb is 
 also supplied with flexors and extensors. But besides these, 
 which correspond to those of the fingers, the thumb has other 
 muscles which are powerful in their action and exert a strong 
 antagonism to one or to all the fingers combined. You can 
 form an idea of them by examining the mass of muscles 
 which form the ball of the thumb and which connects the 
 first bone of the hand (flexors and adderators); Again, if 
 we examine the position of the thumb and fingers when act- 
 ing in antagonism, we see that the pressure in the case of the 
 thumb is in a line with the axis of the bones, and it is thus 
 enabled to aiford greater resistance. Externally the thumb 
 has the usual covering of skin and cellular tissue, whilst, at 
 its extremity, as at the end of the fingers, there is a broad 
 cushion of material, supported by a nail, which enables the 
 thumb to oppose with force a sensitive surface to any resisting 
 medium with wonderful accuracy. The nerves, which are 
 bountifully supplied to this part of the thumb, afford the 
 sensation so necessary for its efficiency. In a member so con- 
 structed, there is an innate power to perform the most varied 
 movements. On account of the antagonism which the thumb 
 presents to the fingers, implements can be securely held and 
 efficiently directed for the production of other instruments 
 which the mind may devise, by which the power of working 
 may be indefinitely increased. 
 
ADDRESS ON THE THUMB. 269 
 
 We can now somewhat appreciate the great importance of 
 this factor in helping man in his advance towards civilization 
 and the attainment of knowledge. Without such an agent 
 (evidently designed for the purpose), even the progress of the 
 race must have been arrested, and the higher faculties of the 
 mind paralyzed for want of use. We have already alluded 
 to the discoveries made by the use of the spectroscope. The 
 manufacture of this instrument requires minute manipula- 
 tions ; its construction requires much skill, its adjustments 
 call for great exactness in its details. It has to be manufac- 
 tured (and the word defines itself, " made by hand,") and 
 without its aid it would be impossible to arrive at the know- 
 ledge now attained by its use. If the hand had not been so 
 wondrously adapted for strength and precision, the instru- 
 ments which now surround man could never have been made ; 
 his daily wants would not have been supplied by machinery, 
 complicated i its character; there would be no loom to 
 weave his clothing; no foundries to cast and mould his 
 engines ; no factories to shape his tools ; nay it is doubtful 
 whether the stone axe or the flint arrow head would 
 have been made. In such a case man would have 
 to be content with the simplest and rudest forms of 
 aid, and the mind remain dwarfed though endowed with 
 almost divine potency. Let us suppose that instead of a 
 thumb the hand had been formed with five fingers all simi- 
 lar in character ; their movements when they closed would be 
 the same, their grasp might be firm, but in minute things 
 there would be a want of precision, and man would have to 
 content himself with the rudest implements. He might live 
 in those parts of the earth where he required no clothing to 
 protect him from the changing seasons, or if he extended his 
 home to the north or the south he might cover himself with 
 the skins of animals ; but this resource might fail him, as he 
 would not be able to compete with the wild beasts who would 
 physically be his superior, and render his very existence a 
 
 doubtful problem. 
 K 
 
270 APPENDIX. 
 
 I repeat the fact again. The mind of man would to-day be 
 ignorant of the composition of distant worlds unless it had 
 been aided by instruments, and it is no disparagement to its 
 wondrous powers that such is a fact. Our whole advance 
 has depended upon the rise of agents or instruments by and 
 through which it acts, and it cannot detract from the power 
 of mind to say that its development has been intimately asso- 
 ciated with the hand, but more especially with one member 
 of it, and that is the thumb ; for without its peculiar construc- 
 tion we may fairly conclude there could be none of those 
 many complex instruments which now minister to our susten- 
 ance, to our comforts, to our knowledge, to our civilization 
 (I had almost said to our existence). I do not wish to be 
 understood as suggesting that the hand is the origin of the 
 mind, for then we would naturally expect that the quadru- 
 mana, our Darwinian ancestors, would precede us in the scale 
 of being. 
 
 It is true there are many factors, all of which are necessary 
 for the manifestation and development of mental activity. 
 But of all these factors the thumb I regard as the most potent 
 in the great problem of life. The ethereal mind is dependent 
 upon the material body. The body and its various members 
 minister in various ways to the mind. Adaptation of many 
 members to a common end, each member perfect in itself, yet 
 dependent on the others, and all conspiring to a glorious end, 
 force the conclusion upon us that the principle of design must 
 be acknowledged. And if design then of necessity, the exist- 
 ence of One who planned all things. The unseen of whose 
 existence, power and wisdom we ought to know something 
 from His manifold works which surround us. "He that 
 planted the ear shall he not hear ? He that formed the eye 
 shall he not see ? He that teacheth men knowledge shall not 
 he know?" 
 
APPENDIX V. 
 
 LECTUEE ON HYGIENE. 
 
 The importance of the study of Hygiene can scarcely be 
 overrated, if we accept as its definition " The knowledge of 
 all the elements which conduce to the health and amelioration 
 of society." This will include every department of physical 
 nature, also the evolution of the intellectual and moral powers 
 of man. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we 
 eat, the social habits we form, the government which presides 
 over us, all exercise their influence and shape our physical 
 state, now degrading us to a lower level, now lifting us by 
 the silent operation of centuries to a higher state of being. 
 The effect of external circumstances upon the character are 
 apparent wherever man is found. Whence, we would ask, 
 come the steadfastness of purpose and mental vigour of the 
 North, so different from the impulsive character of the South ? 
 Whence the intellectual and social characteristics which mark 
 the governments in different climates? Characteristics so 
 strongly impressed upon the northern and southern people 
 that, as has been truly said, " We might as reasonably expect 
 to educate the Italian greyhound into a Newfoundland dog, 
 as to teach the Hindoo how to enjoy and maintain a free 
 government." Ten centuries would be uselessly spent in the 
 attempt to annul the climatic effects of fifty or sixty centuries. 
 
 General views of this nature should impress upon legisla- 
 tors the assistance they might derive from a knowledge of 
 hygienic influences if they wish to act upon broad and far- 
 seeing principles. But perhaps it is too much to expect that 
 men will so act until the demand for legislation is too urgent 
 to be overlooked. To the medical man hygienic principles 
 are important, as they will lead him to a more correct estimate 
 
 (271) 
 
272 APPENDIX. 
 
 of circumstances which may be of service to the well-being of 
 those who commit their health to his charge. A knowledge 
 of the effects of climates in forming certain temperaments and 
 conditions will enable him to meet the requirements of special 
 cases even by artificial means. But whilst general causes act 
 over large areas, there are a multitude of minor agents which 
 are probably more important in their influence upon com- 
 munities and more or less affect vitality in every locality. 
 Among these, diseases, general or local, take a prominent 
 stand, and more prominent than disease itself are those con- 
 ditions which, acting upon the animal economy, weaken its 
 powers of resistance and render fatal what would otherwise be 
 a passing disturbance. Our profession stands first, and pre- 
 eminently first, in its qualification for investigating this broad 
 field of causes. The legislator may apply his regulating 
 powers when he has sufficient knowledge to act. The divine 
 and philanthropist may urge the consciences of individuals or 
 communities to obey the requirements which reason and law 
 would enforce ; yet, though the law-making power and the 
 moral teacher may both help in demonstrating the many 
 evils to be avoided, the medical man, by his acquaintance 
 with disease, by his study of the circumstances which enter 
 into its production or prevalence, must occupy the vantage 
 ground in hygienic investigations. He knows best what value 
 to place upon collected data, and is ever seeking for causes to 
 account for them. Many, if not all, reports upon sanitary 
 matters have been furnished by him, or he has supplied the 
 data upon which they are based ; and in the future this must 
 continue to be the case. Medicine is a noble profession, and 
 we cannot too highly esteem the men who adorn it in their 
 endeavours to remedy the ills and assuage the pains of their 
 fellow-men. And surgery, which grapples with the destroyer 
 and snatches so many victims from his grasp, stands in the 
 foreground of praise. Yet both must be regarded as zpecntlties 
 in themselves. Advanced as they are, and wonderful as they 
 
LECTURE ON HYGIENE. 273 
 
 are, they but contend with the visible results of noxious prin- 
 ciples. A much higher and a more advanced position will be 
 occupied by hygiene, which combats with the numerous and 
 ever- working sources of disease and suffering an ignorance 
 of which may render futile the most masterly performances 
 of the surgeon's hand. Medicine may do battle, even success- 
 ful battle, with the armed men who sprung up from the sown 
 dragon's teeth. Hygiene destroys the seed ere they touch the 
 mother earth. Surgery, like Hercules, may strike off the 
 heads of the hydrea ; hygiene sears the roots from which 
 they continue to reissue. 
 
 It must be evident to all, that in order to establish a true 
 hygienic system, the foundation must be laid by a thorough 
 registration of the deaths which occur. These must be 
 registered not by practitioners as such, nor in limited areas, 
 but must be exacted by a government system general in its 
 operation, and embracing a whole people. A mere record 
 of deaths can be accurately accomplished by any civil 
 machinery, but will be of little use unless the cause of death 
 is also ascertained. At this point comes in the importance of 
 the medical profession, an importance increasingly acknow- 
 ledged when the effort is made to ascertain the remote and 
 subtle influences which intensify the death rate. 
 
 As the death rate is not uniform, but varies in different 
 localities, and at different periods, the next step will be to 
 ascertain the conditions which precede or attend the mor- 
 tality, and this opens up all the causes which diminish the 
 vital powers of man. Among these may be ranged mental 
 depression, social habits, local influences, meteorological in- 
 fluences, food, drink, overcrowding, bad sewerage, and what- 
 ever in fact tends to undermine the functions of life, and 
 subjects the animal to premature death. 
 
 Diseases which are communicable have long occupied the 
 attention of governments as well as of the profession. They 
 are palpable, and force their consideration upon all. Terri- 
 fied by the destructive power of some, governments have been 
 
274 APPENDIX. 
 
 compelled to take measures to avert evils which sweep over 
 kingdoms, and are not stopped in their course by the widest 
 oceans. A wild terror has too often suggested ill-judged 
 means of prevention, and quarantine, right in itself, has 
 frequently violated all common sense. To be properly carried 
 out, quarantine requires a great deal of accurate observation 
 and a great deal of philosophical thought ; for, however much 
 has been done, there exists still a great ignorance of the con- 
 ditions of several of these diseases, and, until a more exact 
 knowledge is attained, errors in quarantine must arise. Medi- 
 cal men even differ upon the essential characters of diseases 
 some maintaining those to be epidemic which others as 
 firmly maintain to be contagious, and both may be ignorant 
 of the region to which their propagation may be limited. 
 The disease germs of many are not known. The character- 
 istics of one, however, are too palpable, and small-pox, one 
 of the most virulent, has to be met by the most stringent 
 isolation. 
 
 The office of hygiene will be to ascertain the exact nature 
 of these scourges the virus which propagates itself in the 
 animal economy; their epidemic character; whether it de- 
 pends upon the increased subjective poison, or upon the 
 objective conditions, or upon both; their habitat, whether 
 general or local. When these facts are known, then may we 
 look for wise legislation in the direction of a thoroughly 
 sound quarantine. 
 
 Diseases personally induced form a large class, and arise 
 from causes which, being generally known, can be avoided. 
 
 Inherited diseases embrace a numerous and deeply inter- 
 esting class. They are the result of a train of external 
 circumstances which, during a shorter or longer period, im- 
 press a character upon the animal economy. All these 
 diseases may, under ordinary circumstances, have a tolerably 
 uniform death rate, each of its own ; but they are subject to 
 influences which may greatly increase or modify their inten- 
 
LECTURE ON HYGIENE. 275 
 
 sity. Arid it is to these influencing data that our further 
 attention must be directed. Taking inherited diseases as an 
 illustration. They are the result of tendencies already brought 
 into existence by exposure to external causes, aided by the 
 habits of life of former generations. A concentration of these 
 causes will develop a further increase of diseased action until 
 the death rate from its prevalence shall be greatly in excess 
 of the average, and when depressing agencies lower the vital 
 resistance the disease will assume the character of an epidemic. 
 Scrofula is undoubtedly an inheritance, and yet may not 
 scientific hygiene determine the conditions which are favour- 
 able to its production, and may not the tendencies to such 
 diseased action be steadily beaten back by a removal of the 
 disturbing elements which call it into being and activity? 
 
 Death, which, as a rule, is the result of diseased action, may, 
 and often does, become more frequent owing to disturbing 
 causes which act injuriously upon the vitality of communities. 
 And hygiene can only become acquainted with these noxious 
 elements by an extended observation of the physical condi- 
 tions which operate upon the animal economy. Among these 
 meteorology holds a prominent place. Climate, which em- 
 braces changes in the relative degree of moisture and tem- 
 perature, and also differences in the barometrical state of the 
 atmosphere, exercises a modifying power over the human 
 system. The physique of man in different countries demon- 
 strates this, and in many cases we may expect a deterioration 
 of a race by a change of climate until an adaptation to the 
 new conditions is developed. 
 
 It is questionable whether the constitutional characteristics 
 of the people of this continent will not require a long time 
 before they settle down upon a permanent basis. Some causes 
 are so palpable that their results are recognized at once, and 
 yet, simple as they appear, are so mixed up with other dis- 
 turbing elements springing from a common source that they 
 will require careful elimination before their true value can 
 be realized. 
 
276 APPENDIX. 
 
 Cold affects the mortality of the aged, and we might 
 naturally expect this, when we consider that as age advances 
 the power of generating animal heat grows less. On the 
 other hand, heat produces the greatest death rate among the 
 very young, the class in which the generation of heat is 
 greatest, 
 
 The effect of water is well illustrated by the experience of 
 the Millbank Prison in 1854. The water from artesian wells 
 was introduced, and the result has been the virtual extinction 
 of typhoid and other diseases of the same class which fre- 
 quently prevailed in the institution. 
 
 The effects of continual moisture, or of an electrical state 
 of the atmosphere, can only be determined by observations 
 over large areas, liable, however, to errors, as various con- 
 ditions may give rise to many and subtle influences. 
 
 The food we eat, and the liquids we use, constitute import- 
 ant items among the causes which tend, and largely tend, to 
 affect the stamina and vital powers of man, especially the 
 quantity and quality of the former at various periods and 
 under varying circumstances. 
 
 The conditions under w r hich water, coffee, tea, and other 
 liquids are most beneficial, require experimental observation. 
 Theory cannot solve these questions unless theory is based on 
 facts. 
 
 Locality must be well considered, and this will require 
 extensive observations to elicit results which arise from simi- 
 larity either in geological, meteorological or topographical 
 conditions. 
 
 The phenomena which are grouped, rightly or otherwise, 
 under the head of social influence, largely affect the organism 
 of man, and it is questionable whether, under this head, we 
 do not have to deal with elements as destructive to human 
 life as from all the causes we have previously noticed, inas- 
 much as all these are intensified by the social condition of 
 the race. Governments which vary in their tendency to 
 
LECTURE ON HYGIENE. 277 
 
 elicit human thought and to develop self-government, will 
 vary in their power of grappling with social evils. Despotism 
 which dwarfs and represses thought can only be surpassed in 
 evil results by the licentiousness which characterises the 
 other extreme when every man does that which is right in 
 his own eyes. Customs which prevail in communities pro- 
 duce in individuals those habits which are injurious or bene- 
 ficial, and both are apt to escape strict investigation as they 
 commence with our existence and are strengthened with our 
 growth. We look upon the fashion or custom of the Chinese 
 woman in repressing the growth of her feet, and the still 
 more injurious fashion of the European or American woman 
 in contracting her breathing space, as a violation of natural 
 laws, and yet there are evils connected with our every day 
 life more injurious from their frequency, and if the attempt 
 be made to obviate them, the general body of society will 
 resent the effort as an unnecessary interference. 
 
 Custom prevails in our buildings, in our ventilating sys- 
 tems, in our eating, clothing and drinking ; and social habits, 
 familiar from childhood, too often pass unquestioned, and yet 
 there is no one part of our every day life but might be based 
 upon a truly scientific foundation. It is only of late that 
 attention has been directed towards these objects. 
 
 There is one custom of society which as yet has had but a 
 partial investigation a custom too strongly rooted to permit 
 an honest consideration. The mortality directly arising 
 from the effects of alcoholic drinks form quite a percentage 
 in the annual death rate, but who can tell the number it 
 adds to the general percentage by diminishing in the system 
 the powers of resistance to diseases which might not other- 
 wise terminate in death. 
 
 Overcrowding, whether of dwellings or localities, tends to 
 increase the number of deaths, and it is only by the most 
 perfect hygienic arrangements that injurious results can be 
 obviated when the population in a given area becomes 
 numerous. 
 
278 APPENDIX. 
 
 It is through the agency of the intellect that we must look 
 for a regulation of the conditions which will result in the 
 greatest possible physical good, and these regulations can only 
 be wisely made when observation has laid the foundation by 
 recording all the possible facts connected with disease and 
 death ; and just in proportion as this is done will legislators 
 be enabled to enact their laws upon a scientific basis. 
 
 Laws necessarily override individual and commercial rights 
 when the exercise of these rights might be injurious to the 
 people generally. Compulsory sewerage, restrictions as to 
 buildings and the number of occupants, width of streets, and 
 numerous other things require the exercise of restrictive 
 legislation. In Great Britain sanitary regulations, though 
 numerous before 1837, were in that year included in a general 
 Act, and a system inaugurated by which every part of Eng- 
 land could avail itself of law to carry out the necessary 
 reforms. 
 
 A few remarks upon the sentiments will close my paper. 
 They must necessarily occupy a place among the influences 
 which operate upon the human economy ; they form the sub- 
 stratum of our duties, and, exercised in their due relationship, 
 are conducive to a healthy state, whilst, on the contrary, they 
 may injuriously affect not only the individual but the masses 
 at large. Hopeful expectation has been the cause of the 
 success of many a quack, and is a good working ingredient 
 in producing a reputation for the regular practitioner. On 
 the other hand, the absence of hope demoralizes the man, 
 prostrates his energies, renders him the easy victim of disease, 
 and, to escape its misery, drives him to stimulants. History 
 is full of examples of defeated armies wasting more from 
 disease than the sword, and as rapidly recovering their morale 
 and physique when the tide of warfare has been rolled back. 
 And when pestilence has commenced its ravages, how many, 
 rushing into vicious indulgence, have become the food of the 
 plague. 
 
 The magnitude of this question has compelled me to curtail 
 
LECTURE ON HYGIENE. 279 
 
 my observations to the smallest compass upon the various 
 subjects, any one of which would require more than one 
 paper to eliminate it. My object has been to give a bird's- 
 eye view of what the study of hygiene really involves. When 
 we look back we find that general education has hitherto 
 embraced almost everything except those relationships which 
 man holds to the physical world. He was taught to lift his 
 eyes to the stars to scan their movements and to measure their 
 distances, and yet was left in ignorance of the effects of his 
 cramped up rooms and of the mephitic air which entered 
 every moment one of the citadels of life. Knowledge of 
 every department of nature has been accumulating until 
 creation has been spoiled of its teeming infinite facts, and it 
 is only now that the necessity is felt that man, who is the 
 creature of the influences around him, should devote his study 
 to the circumstances which mould his destiny. 
 
 To secure a hygienic education we must look to three 
 sources : Governments, universities, and individual exertion. 
 Governments only can obtain returns of vital statistics from 
 a whole country by compelling a registration of deaths and 
 the causes of death. They also can secure meteorological 
 observations from every quarter, and, by a central department, 
 have all the data collected and tabulated. From individuals 
 as such, or associates, and chiefly from those of our profession 
 will come the condition of localities, the elements of disturb- 
 ance, and all the facts which, requiring a quickened intelli- 
 gence to eliminate, bear upon this question. But chiefly upon 
 the centres of education will devolve the duty of imparting 
 to their alumni the knowledge obtained from all sources. 
 And if in every medical school there was a Professor of 
 Hygiene, who does not see that with leisure and ability to 
 investigate the numerous facts now being collected, such pro- 
 fessors would be able to generalize and elicit the relationships 
 which exist among all hygienic phenomena, and to place intel- 
 ligibly in a few months before the students, that which could 
 not be attained in a lifetime of individual exertion amid the 
 
280 APPENDIX. 
 
 cares of a professional career. And not only so, but in every 
 university there should be established similar chairs, so that 
 the relationship between man and his physical surroundings 
 should form a part of the education of those who, in the 
 nature of things, must be the future legislators of the land, 
 who, if instructed in these relationships, would be ready to 
 legislate wisely and intelligently instead of leaping in the 
 dark. And who can tell the grand results, when the material 
 condition of the race shall be advanced by enlightened sani- 
 tary knowledge and regulations ; when the causes of disease 
 are attacked in their stronghold ; when national enjoyment 
 shall supersede the discordant sounds of the revel ; when the 
 wants of the system shall be supplied with proper foods ; 
 when the physical state of man shall be elevated, and react- 
 ing upon his intellectual and moral powers, shall raise the 
 race to the highest attainments possible. 
 
APPENDIX VI. 
 
 THE SUPERNATURAL, 
 
 BASED UPON SCIENTIFIC INDUCTION; OR, INTERRUP- 
 TION THE MOST UNIVERSAL LAW. 
 
 Law evidently reigns everywhere ; but to understand what 
 any law is requires persevering efforts, first to ascertain and 
 determine the facts, and then to decide what is the law en- 
 gaged in their production. To assert that law reigns in all 
 places and among all things, and that we can only satisfy the 
 demands of science by strictly adhering to the principle of 
 induction, may lead some to think that we bind ourselves 
 down to a hard and fast positivism, and that in doing this we 
 shut out the possibility of any higher relationship of life, 
 especially the intercourse of man with a personal God. This 
 is, in a measure, both true and false. True, as regards the 
 unchanging potency of each law ; not true, inasmuch as 
 there is no law but which, at times, ceases to produce its re- 
 sults because it may be and often is interfered with by some 
 other. And this interference or interruption of law by law 
 is a principle forced upon our convictions by the strictest 
 induction from facts. Let us illustrate this more fully. The 
 principle of inertia, or that matter without applied force, will 
 remain in the same place, is a pure induction of the reason, 
 based upon a number of facts ; and that, without a disturbing 
 cause, it must remain in the condition it is found. Again : 
 that gravity, or attraction, or cohesion will keep it in posi- 
 tion ; and moreover, we cannot conceive it possible but that 
 these qualities or powers shall exist and exercise their in- 
 fluence. 
 
 But another set of facts compels us to infer the existence 
 of another law which overrides the inertia of matter and the 
 
 (281) 
 
282 APPENDIX. 
 
 force of gravity. Observation shows that matter is interfered 
 with, and changed both in form and position by the principle 
 engaged in the formation of crystals, in all their varying 
 forms. Again : animate and inanimate organisms interrupt 
 the above determining causes, for not only is matter moved 
 from its position in spite of the law of gravity or cohesion, 
 but the crystal becomes decomposed to yield obedience to a 
 stronger force. 
 
 We cannot stop here, but are compelled by the same in- 
 ductive system to look for the solution of new changes pro- 
 ceeding from higher forces, and consequently a further inter- 
 ruption of laws which, left undisturbed, would hold their 
 sway for ever. Yes; above the lower forms of inanimate 
 and animate existences there are organisms which interrupt 
 and override all that is below. 
 
 Matter is carried by birds in their flight from one part of 
 the earth to another, and its inertia and gravity are in com- 
 plete abeyance to animal functions. Animate and inanimate 
 forms are reshaped and forced into other and different chan- 
 nels, and all that would otherwise be permanent is interrupted. 
 
 Again : by the logic of facts, we are compelled to admit 
 other disturbing elements. The mental phenomena of life 
 appear upon the scene, and the silent strength of the eternal 
 law is broken, and matter becomes the servant of mind. In 
 spite of its inertia or its manifold combinations, the human 
 mind acts upon and changes every aspect of nature. It 
 makes seas give place to land ; it turns the lonely desert into 
 the happy homes of thousands ; it raises mounds and pyramids 
 until they touch the clouds. 
 
 We have briefly touched upon the interruptions which are 
 everywhere manifest in physical, organic, and in the mental 
 regions ; but all these are again subject to an expressed wish 
 or command of one human being, as when in modern times 
 hundreds of thousands swept over desolated countries, they 
 themselves to perish beneath the northern snows, or to fall 
 before the retributive anger of outraged peoples. Or, as in 
 
THE SUPERNATURAL. 283 
 
 olden times, millions followed their Eastern leaders over the 
 plains of Asia. 
 
 But to come down to the acts of every day life. What are 
 they but asking questions and receiving answers ? Answers 
 which, in their completion, continually override the laws of 
 nature. Yet these laws are not done away with ; their potency 
 exists ; they exert their force on matter, but have to yield to 
 the demands of the higher forces which control their powers 
 and hold them in abeyance. Philosophy demands of us, and 
 we admit the demand, that right inferences, based upon facts, 
 form the chief, if not the only method, of gaining scientific 
 ends ; and this same method compels us, by its inexorable 
 logic, to acknowledge that interruption of law by law is the 
 most general of all facts. That whilst we admit that each 
 and every law, under similar circumstances, will be recognized 
 by its effects, and be permanently endued with power to pro- 
 duce such effects, yet it is universally true that each and every 
 law is being continually interfered with, and overridden by 
 others. When by observation a law is once determined, the 
 idea of permanency is associated with it. To such a degree 
 is this the case, that it is constantly affirmed that a natural 
 law cannot be broken. Now, if we understand law to be a 
 force ever tending to operate, it will be true. But it is equally 
 true that the power of a natural law may be superseded, and 
 its results interfered with by other causes. Mind itself is 
 subject to laws which rule its operations ; yet, interference and 
 interruption are recognized facts in its working. An import- 
 ant question here arises. Wherein does this principle of 
 interference or interruption differ in matters of philosophy, 
 and in the region of religion ? Or, indeed, can it be said to 
 differ ? Both have to admit an int^rruptiou of natural laws. 
 Both demand it as the result of observed facts. Throughout 
 nature the lower series of laws are, perhaps, more universal 
 in their operation, and as we ascend the disturbing forces are 
 not so extensive and the most powerful ; those arising from 
 mental sources may not be so palpable nor so frequent. It is 
 
284 APPENDIX. 
 
 therefore philosophical to assert that the law of interference 
 is limited to what we see or feel, and that whilst human beings 
 act and react upon each other, and respond to the demands 
 or requests of their fellow-men, even to an interruption of 
 physical laws, there is no force beyond man to change and 
 mould the facts of nature in compliance with man's petitions. 
 As well might the diatom on the floor of the ocean limit the 
 power of change to its locality and deny the possibility of 
 higher forces in operation, when at the same time the mighty 
 steamer plows her way over the surface of the same ocean, 
 the results of the mind of man going as he directs, coming 
 as he commands. 
 
 Let us conclude with a practical illustration. A man is 
 seated by his evening fire resting his weary limbs after the 
 labours of the day. All is bright and quiet within, but with- 
 out the rain is falling, and darkness adds to the chill of the 
 night. Hark ? There is a quick, short bark, and then the 
 gentle whine of his dog seeking his well-known shelter. The 
 cry is heard, and affection for a faithful and dumb animal 
 stirs up the half slumbering brain. The will assumes com- 
 mand of the body, and rising from his seat of comfort, he 
 turns the key and swings open the heavy street door to receive 
 his dependent. Now, what is the sequence of facts called into 
 existence by the appeal of a loved favourite ? The waves of 
 material sound were put into motion ; through the ear they 
 pass to the brain, and reach the sentiment of love. This 
 again disturbs and wakes the will ; this rouses into action the 
 functions of the muscles ; a heavy weight is lifted ; inert 
 matter is put into motion, and its condition is changed. In 
 other words, the mute appeal occasions physical and chemical 
 changes, inertia is overcome, and iron itself yields its co- 
 hesion to the force of friction. Shall the principle stop short 
 here ? Shall it be un philosophical for man to lift his voice 
 to a source higher than himself? Must we stand in the dark, 
 and not look for light? Shall doubts and fear chill our 
 souls, and there be no hope either here or beyond ? Are we 
 
THE SUPERNATURAL. 285 
 
 bound down by chains of adamant, with no chance of ever 
 being delivered ? Shall the cry of the dumb brute cause the 
 fixed laws of nature to yield to the stronger forces in nature ? 
 And shall the cry from human hearts find no response from 
 the strength of the Infinite ? 
 
 Manifold interruptions in the physical, the intellectual, and 
 moral worlds surround us. This is the undeniable result of 
 the phenomena of existence. This is truth, based upon in- 
 duction, and more than this is not demanded by natural or 
 revealed religion. This is a general, an essential truth, or 
 the inductive principle ceases to be a source of the true and 
 the philosophic. 
 
 But, no ! Science is based upon the rocks of time. Re- 
 ligion is founded upon the Rock of ages. Twin sisters, they 
 walk hand in hand. Daughters of one common Father, 
 they bow their heads in adoration. One pours forth the song 
 of praise, " Bless the Lord all his works in all places of his 
 dominion." The other responds, " Bless the Lord, O my 
 soul."