* * * * *
Mr. Mortimer left England in part to avoid the storms and tempests which
overhung that country, little thinking that in attempting to avoid a
_possible_ danger, he ran into an _actual_ one; so very dim is our
foresight and so weak our power of resistance. A destructive rebellion
took place in Canada in 1837, which, from his residence being on one of
the main roads to Toronto, whither the rioters were proceeding, put even
the personal safety of his family in great jeopardy. He refers
especially to this event in the following letter:—