capacious, safe, accessible at all seasons of the year, and easy of
approach for vessels of the largest size. Three miles from Halifax and
near the mouth of the harbour is MacNab'’ Island, which forms two
entrances, called the eastern and western passage; but the former is
only used by small vessels. The North-west Arm is an inlet branching off
from the main entrance of the harbour, and penetrating about four miles
into the land; it winds in the rear of the town until it approaches to
within half a mile of Bedford Bason, forming the peninsula upon which
the town is built. The situation of Halifax is on the east side of the
peninsula, on the declivity of a commanding hill, whose summit is
between two and three hundred feet above the level of the sea. Near the
southern part of the peninsula stands a strong martello tower, which
commands on one side the harbour of Halifax, and that of the Arm on the
other. The author of “Sam Slick” gives the following humorous
description of the attractions to be found in its neighbourhood. “It is
situated,” he writes, “at the termination of a fashionable promenade,
which is skirted on one side by a thick shrubbery, and on the other by
the waters of the harbour; the former being the resort of those of both
sexes who delight in the impervious shade of the spruce, and the latter
of those who prefer swimming and other aquatic exercises. With these
attractions to the lovers of nature and a pure air, it is thronged at
all hours, but more especially at day-dawn, by the valetudinarian, the
aged, and infirm; and at the witching hour of moonlight, by those who
are young enough to defy the dew and damp air of night.” The streets of
Halifax are wide, and intersect each other at right angles; some of them
are paved, others macadamized, and from the ascent and nature of the
soil are usually dry. The houses, however, are irregularly built, no
uniformity in the height and size being observed in their construction;
handsome buildings of three and four stories high being intermingled
with old and mean looking edifices. The new houses built of wood, being
large, neatly finished, and painted white, are more imposing in their
appearance than those of brick and stone. Amongst the public buildings,
the government house,—the residence of the governor of the province for
the time,—is a large gloomy-looking structure, built of freestone, and
situated at the southern extremity of the town. The Province Building,
which is admitted to be the most splendid edifice in North America,
stands within a square in the centre of the town. It is built of
freestone quarried in the province, and its plan combines elegance with
strength and utility; its length is 140 feet, its breadth 70, and its
elevation 45 feet. It contains the chambers of the Council, and
Legislative Assembly,—the Supreme Court, with its appendant offices;
also all the provincial offices,—the Halifax public library, &c. There
are two Episcopal churches; one (St. Paul’s) is a handsome edifice with
a tall spire; the other, the Rotunda church, at the north end of the
town, is distinguished by a dome which gives it a remarkable appearance.
Halifax also contains two Presbyterian, one Methodist, two Baptist, and
one Roman Catholic chapel; besides a Sandemanian meeting-house. The
court-house is a plain brick building. Dalhousie College, established in
1820, is a spacious and handsome structure, situate at the end of the
old military parade.
[Illustration: _View of the City of Halifax, Nova Scotia._
FROM DARTMOUTH.]
Viewed from the village of DARTMOUTH, on the opposite shore of the
harbour, the town of HALIFAX appears to singular advantage. The front of
the town is lined with ships, warehouses, and wharfs, amongst which
Cunnard’s wharf, with one of his fine steam-packets lying alongside,
forms a conspicuous object. Above these the spires of the different
churches and the neat tower of the methodist chapel are seen
intermingled with the houses that cover the side of the hill, upon whose
summit stands the citadel which commands the town and harbour. To the
left, in the distance, is the entrance of the harbour; and nearer to the
spectator, the numerous boats and vessels in motion upon the water, with
the busy little steam ferry boat plying constantly between Dartmouth and
Halifax, give life and animation to the picture.
Halifax has been always the principal naval station of British North
America; and though it has lost much of its consequence since the
termination of the last war, it is still the most important town in the
possession of England in this part of the world, forming as it does the
great military and naval depôt for her North American and West Indian
colonies. The dock-yard here is the most extensive establishment of the
kind out of England; it is enclosed on the land side by a high stone
wall, and contains within it every requisite for repairing and refitting
the largest ships. On an eminence above the dock-yard, and commanding a
view of the harbour, is the residence of the admiral, who commands the
squadron on the American station. There is also a large wooden building,
at the south end of the town, for the use of the military commandant;
with two barracks, a military hospital, ordnance and commissariat
stores, &c. Halifax is the station for the North American packets, which
convey the mails regularly once a month to and from Falmouth. The old
worthless gun-brigs, which, to the disgrace of England, were employed
for a length of time in this service, have at length been removed; and
the mails are now carried by Cunnard’s splendid steamers, which
frequently make the passage from England out in ten days, touch at
Halifax, where they deliver the mails, and proceed without delay to
Boston, which they generally reach in two days. This increased facility
in the communication between England and Nova Scotia will do more
towards improving the colony than any thing that has been hitherto
attempted, and will be the means of making Halifax one of the most
flourishing towns in British North America.
END OF VOL. II.
-----
[2] The descendants of the French who settled in the colonies now
possessed by Great Britain are distinguished by the appellations of
_Canadians_ and _Acadians_. The former were settled in Canada, and the
latter principally in Nova Scotia, then called Acadia. The Acadians are
now to be found in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and
Cape Breton; always by themselves in distinct settlements, and scarcely
ever inter-marrying with strangers.
[3] The Acadian women in Prince Edward Island dress after nearly the
same fashion as the Bavarian broom-girls. On Sundays their costume is
peculiarly neat and picturesque; they wear over their shoulders a small
blue cloth cloak reaching only half way down the body, and generally
fastened at the breast with an ornamental brass brooch; on week-days
they usually wear wooden shoes. The men dress in round blue jackets with
standing collars, and rows of shining metal buttons placed closely down
the front, scarlet waistcoats, and loose blue trowsers. Mr. McGregor, in
describing the Acadian customs, says, “Among all the Acadians in Prince
Edward Island I never knew but one person who had the hardihood to dress
differently from what they call “notre façon.” On one occasion he
ventured to put on an English coat, and he has never since, even among
his relations, been called by his proper name, Joseph Gallant, which has
been supplanted by that of “Joe Peacock.”
[4] St. John and Miramichi are the two places from whence the
exportation of timber is principally carried on in New Brunswick. The
town of Miramichi is seated at the mouth of a beautiful and majestic
river of the same name, which divides into three great branches, upon
whose banks dwell a thinly-scattered population, who employ themselves
during the winter chiefly in hewing timber in the woods, and in rafting
it down the river in summer to the places where the ships load.
[5] Many Americans make a practice of clearing a few acres of wood farm,
and then setting or selling the land and improvements the first
opportunity that offers. When this is accomplished they travel farther
into the forest, and settle upon another farm, which they clear, build
on, and dispose of in the same way they did the first.
[6] Mr. McGregor gives the following account of this dreadful
conflagration: “It appears,” writes he, “that the woods had been, on
both sides of the north-west branch, partially on fire for some time,
but not to an alarming extent until the 7th of October, when it came on
to blow furiously from the north-west, and the inhabitants on the banks
of the river were suddenly alarmed by a tremendous roaring in the woods,
resembling the incessant rolling of thunder; while at the same time the
atmosphere became thickly darkened with smoke. They had scarcely time to
ascertain the cause of this phenomenon, before all the surrounding woods
appeared in one vast blaze, the flames ascending more than a hundred
feet above the tops of the loftiest trees, and the fire, like a gulph in
flames, rolling forward with inconceivable celerity. In less than an
hour Douglastown and Newcastle were enveloped in the destroying element,
and many of the wretched inhabitants perished in the midst of this
terrible fire.” It was calculated that upwards of 500 persons fell
victims to the conflagration throughout the province.
[7] Carleton, named from Sir Guy Carleton, one of the early governors of
this province, is a thriving little place, situated on the opposite side
of the harbour to St. John. The saw mills, within the _aboiteaux_, a
little above the village, are deserving the notice of strangers.
Opposite to the town is a low muddy islet called Navy Island. The
Indians say that it was carried down at one time by the stream in a
body. It is, however, evidently an alluvial deposit, and has been
gradually formed.
[8] _Pic-nic_ excursions are much in vogue all over America. To show how
far these differ from any thing to which they may be compared in
England, it may be sufficient to observe, that pic-nic parties generally
consist of families of respectability, with their friends, who are on a
perfectly intimate footing with each other. In summer, some romantic
spot is fixed upon, to which the party proceed; if by water, which is
most commonly the case, in an open boat; or if by land, in gigs or in
calashes, and on horseback. The ladies consider it as within their
particular province to furnish eatables: the gentlemen provide wines and
spirits. At these parties there is usually less restraint and more
enjoyment than at the assemblies. On some grassy glade, shaded by the
luxuriant branches of forest trees, and not far from some clear spring
or rivulet, the contents of the well-filled baskets are disclosed;
feasting on which forms certainly the most substantial part of the day’s
enjoyment; but perhaps the most agreeable is that which succeeds, when
the party divides for the pleasure of walking; and there are undoubtedly
“worse occupations in the world” than wandering with a pretty woman
through the skirts of a wood, or along the margin of the sea, enjoying
“sweet converse” and the delights of the open air and surrounding
scenery. As the evening approaches they re-assemble; and the party,
followed by their servant, bringing along the fragments of the
_pic-nic_, return to the boat, in which they embark.—_M^{c}Gregor’s
Sketches_.
[9] This word in usually applied to land so situated, with respect to
some adjacent stream or river, as to be occasionally overflowed by it,
and thus to enjoy the advantage of alluvial deposits.
[10] The province of Nova Scotia is an extensive peninsula, connected
with the continent of North America by a narrow isthmus of only eight
miles in width, between Bay Verte in the Straits of Northumberland, and
Cumberland Bason at the eastern extremity of the Bay of Fundy. It is
supposed to have been discovered in 1497, by John Cabot, then in the
service of Henry VII. of England. The first settlement was made there in
1604, by a number of French adventurers, who founded Port Royal, now
Annapolis; by these the country was named Acadia. The occupation by
France of this important province was opposed by England, and was the
cause of the hostilities between these countries in America, which did
not terminate until France was stripped of all her North American
possessions by the peace of 1763.
[11] This stone was discovered in 1827: it is about two feet and a half
long and two feet broad; on the upper part are engraved the square and
compass of the free-mason, and in the centre, in large and deeply cut
Arabic figures, the date 1606.
TRANSCRIBER NOTES
Spelling maintained as written except where obvious errors or omissions.
Multiple spellings of words and names were adopted consistent with
Volume I as follows: Montmorenci to Montmorency; St. Laurence (river) to
St. Lawrence (river); St. John for river and town in New Brunswick; and
St. John's for Newfoundland and Quebec early settlement on the Richelieu
River.
Punctuation maintained except where obvious omissions or printer errors
occurred.
List of Engravings created for this volume to complement Volume I.
Engravings have been enhanced and, where possible, relocated to coincide
with the text.
[The end of "Canadian Scenery Vol. II of II", by N. P. Willis (Nathaniel
Parker).]