_Visits to Quebec and Portland, and Letters Home_,
1861.
Leaving Montreal by the night boat, I arrived at the wharf at Quebec;
and, after a visit to the hotel and a walk round the city, called on
Mr. Cartier, the Chief Minister of Canada, at the small house he then
inhabited.
My first relation with Quebec was in acting as Honorary Secretary to a
Committee in Manchester, which raised 7,500_l_. by subscription,
and sent it out in money and goods to relieve the people, houseless and
ruined by the great Quebec fires of May and July, 1845, when 3,015
houses were burnt down, and thousands of people were made homeless, and
were starving. I also visited the city in 1851. Later on, in the year
1866, I was Chairman of the City of London Committee, which raised
23,800_l_. to alleviate the suffering caused by the great Quebec
fire of that year.
In my walk round the city (in 1861) I was struck with the absence of
precautions against fire, and the persistence in building wooden
houses, when the cost of brick or stone could not be greatly more than
of wood.
I may say, however, in my right as an old helper in these fire
disasters, that on inspecting the city last September (1886), I was
much impressed by the new building regulations in rigid force, and
especially by the admirable system adopted for the effective repression
of fires. There are central and subordinary fire stations, all
connected together by telegraph and telephone. A constant watch is
kept, engines are always ready to start off, and a sufficient number of
men available for duty night and day.
But to come back to Mr. Cartier. After I had waited in his salon for a
few minutes, he entered: A man under middle height, hair turning a
little grey, eyes grey blue, sparkling and kindly; face almost Grecian;
figure spare but muscular; well proportioned; manner full of almost
southern fire, and restlessness. We discussed our Grand Trunk affairs.
I explained the objects of our draft Bill, which were few and simple--
(A) To raise 500,000_l_. as an "equipment" mortgage, to provide
the railway with, much needed, plant and material; (B) to set aside all
revenue derived from postal and military services; and upon the
security of this revenue to issue "Postal and Military" Bonds,
wherewith to pay the debts due by the Company in Canada and England.
These debts were pressing, and were large. (C) To alter the
administration of the Company in such wise that while the executive
work would be done in Canada, with Montreal as headquarters, the seat
of government would be in London, the stock and bonds being mainly held
in England. I think, at that time, there were not more than
20,000_l_. of the original issue of Ordinary Stock of the Grand
Trunk held in Canada.
Mr. Cartier knew, of course, all the ins and outs of the Grand Trunk.
His Government had in previous years placed the loan of
3,100,000_l_. from Canada, expended in construction, behind other
securities, to enable an issue of second bonds with which to complete
the Trunk lines. But, unfortunately, as a condition of this concession,
profitless branches were undertaken, branches, no doubt, locally
useful, perhaps politically needful, but profitless nevertheless.
Mr. Cartier's sole query was, "Have you arranged with the Government at
home as to the Military Revenue?"--to which I replied, that there was
no occasion: the Government made no objection, and regularly paid the
moderate charges made for the conveyance of men and material over the
Railway: and we could, of course, if the Canadian Parliament passed our
draft Bill into an Act, appropriate these receipts in any way the Act
directed. With the Canadian Government it was different. The Canadian
Government had, so far, delayed any settlement of our accounts for the
costly conveyance of mail matter, by special trains, over long
distances, so timed as to suit the Province but not to suit the Grand
Trunk passengers; and one of my objects in coming out was to endeavour
to induce Mr. Cartier and his colleagues to close up this pending
matter for the past and to accord a just and adequate amount for the
service of the future, such amount to be effective over a period of
years. We then went into general conversation. I told Mr. Cartier I had
been in Canada in 1851: and had at that time seen Papinean, Mackenzie,
and others, whose resistance had led to peace and union, and greater
liberty for all. This remark fired his eye; and he said, "Ah! it is
eight years that I am Prime Minister of Canada; when I was a rebel the
country was different, very different."
Mr. Cartier often preceded his observations, I believe, by the words
"When I was a rebel;" and old George Crawford, of the Upper Province, a
magnificent specimen of a Scotch Upper Canadian, once said, "Cartier,
my frind, ye'll be awa to England and see the Queen, and when ye come
bock aw that aboot ye're being a robbell, as no doobt ye were, will
never be hard again. Ye'll begin, mon, 'When I was at Windsor Castle
talking to the Queen.'" Years before, on Cartier being presented to the
Queen by Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, he told Her Majesty that a Lower
Canadian was "an Englishman who speaks French."
But Mr. Cartier had been a rebel; and a gallant and brave one. One of
the incidents was, that when Sir John Colborne's troops invested the
Chateau of St. Eustache, Cartier, a young man of nineteen, was lowered
from a window at night, crawled along to the Cache, then under range of
fire, and brought back a bag of cartridges strapped round his waist, to
replenish the exhausted ammunition of the defenders of the Chateau. And
I believe that he was hauled up again amidst a rain of bullets, having
been discovered,--which bullets, fortunately for Canada, missed the
"rebel."
I may here mention that in the autumn of 1865 I had a long interview
with President Andrew Johnson, at the White House at Washington, having
been introduced by Mr. Rice, of St. Paul's, Minnesota, a man to whom
the United States and Canada are each deeply indebted, for the
completion of railways from St. Paul's to the Hudson's Bay post of Fort
Garry, now the thriving town of Winnipeg. The President told me he had
that morning received a letter from the wife of the ex-President of the
just defeated Southern Confederacy, which he said was "the reverse of
complimentary." He read a sentence or two; and smiled quietly at a
reference to his, as assumed by the lady, early occupation of
journeyman tailor. President Davis was at the moment in prison in the
case-mates of Fort Hatteras. "It is, of course, difficult to know what
to do with him." Well, I said, "Mr. President, I remember when you were
a Senator you said to those who talked secession, that if they carried
out their threats, and you had your way, you would 'hang them as high
as Haman.'"
The President paused, and then lifted his head and replied, "So I did,
Sir. But we must look at things all round; consider faults on both
sides, and that we have to be fellow-citizens in future." I added, "Mr.
President, I have just left Canada, and taken leave of Mr. Cartier, the
Prime Minister of that country. The Queen has not a more loyal subject.
Yet, in 1839, he was a rebel in arms against the Crown. _He_ was a
secessionist. For a while he was a refugee in the woods at Rouse's
Point, on Lake Champlain. A reward of 500_l_. was offered for his
apprehension. But our country removed grievances, recognized the
equality of French and English Canadians, united the Provinces, and
forgave the rebels. All that sad contest is now forgotten."
The President seemed much struck, and, after a pause, he said, "Sir,
will you say that again?" I repeated the words, and he scribbled, as I
spoke, some notes on the blotter of the portfolio before him. He then
said, "A countryman of mine has been over to your side of the Atlantic
to teach you to tame horses. This gentleman, Mr. Rarey, uses what he
calls 'mild force.' Mild force will probably be useful with us." The
Fenian demonstrations in the United States against England were named
as a breach of comity. The President said, sharply, "Why don't your
people remonstrate? We hear no complaint."
To return to my narrative, Mr. Cartier arranged an interview for me
with the Governor-General, Sir Edmund Head, and I presented my letters
from Mr. Baring, and was assured of all the help he could give me.
"Your demands are very clear, and appear to me equally just. First you
ask the Government of Canada to aid you in passing a Bill through
Parliament, which clearly is for the benefit of Canada, because it
proposes to increase the efficiency of the railway service by a further
outlay of capital, and also to pay off debt, a considerable part of
which is incurred in Canada; and secondly, you ask for an immediate and
just settlement of the charge for the conveyance by you of the mails."
The Governor-General then sent for Mr. John A.
Macdonald, who came immediately, and the conversation which had taken
place was repeated.
This was the first time I had seen either Cartier, Sir Edmund Head, or
Macdonald.
Sir Edmund Head was a tall stately man, with thoughtful brow, and
complexion a little purpled by cardiac derangement. As the don of a
college he would have been great, and in his sphere: as the Governor of
a Province with a self-asserting people, I doubt if he had found the
true groove.
His despatches were scholastic essays. His simplest replies were grave
and learned, sometimes too complex for ordinary comprehension. When he,
subsequently, became Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, he tried to
manage a profit-and-loss undertaking as if he were governing a
province: just as when he governed a province he administered all
things as if he were dealing with Russia in Europe. He was, however, a
man of the kindest heart, and the strictest honor. But, after all, he
was one of the round men put into the square holes of Provincial
Government by the "authorities" at home. Still, on the whole, a noble
character, and in very truth a gentleman. His chronic ailment led to
some irritability of temper; and when, during the visit of the Prince
of Wales, one of the Governor's aides-de-camp was pushed over from the
steamer at Detroit by the press of the crowd, and fell into the water,
Colonel Irving said:--"Ah! there was no danger whatever to ----'s life.
The Governor-General has blown him up so much that he could never
sink." I was present at a farewell dinner to Sir Edmund Head at Mr.
Cartier's, at Quebec, in the winter of 1861-2. In response to the toast
of his health, he alluded to his infirmity of temper, admitted his
suffering--before concealed from outside people--and expressed his
apologies in a manner so feeling and so gentle that the tears came into
everybody's eyes. I heard more than one sob from men whose rough
exterior disguised the real tenderness of their hearts.
Mr. John A. Macdonald entered the Governor-General's presence with a
manly deference. I was at once struck by an odd resemblance in some of
his features and expressions to Disraeli--dark curly hair, piercing
eyes, aquiline nose, mouth sometimes firm, almost stern in expression,
sometimes so mild that he seemed especially fitted to play with little
children. I soon learned that, in tact, fixed purpose, and resources,
he was ahead of them all. And, after watching his career for a quarter
of a century, I have seen no reason to alter that opinion. He is the
statesman of Canada--one of the ablest men on the Continent. I wish he
administered the Colonial relations of the whole Empire. Had he done so
for the last ten years we should have escaped our mistakes in South
Africa, and the everlasting disgrace of Majuba Hill. Why is it that
such men are excluded from office at home? Sir John A. Macdonald (then
Mr. Macdonald) was once taken by me under the gallery, by special order
of Mr. Speaker, to hear a "great" speech of Mr. Gladstone, whom he had
not before heard. When we went away, I said: "Well, what do you think
of him?" He replied: "He is a great rhetorician, but--he is not an
orator." Would that men would not be carried away in a torrent of happy
words. One hour of the late Patrick Smyth was, to my mind, worth a week
of all the great rhetoricians.
A day or two after these interviews, the Hon. John Ross took me down to
Portland, to have an interview with the Hon. A. T. Galt, the Finance
Minister of Canada. I at once recognized in Mr. Galt a reduced likeness
of his father. Mr. Galt was about five feet eleven: his father, who I
had seen when a boy, about six feet four, and "buirdly" and stout in
proportion. The father wore spectacles--the son did not. The father was
the author of the "Annals of the Parish," "Laurie Todd," and many works
greatly read when I was young. He was, also, the founder of the town of
"Guelph," and of other towns in Upper Canada. If anyone wants to see an
admirable likeness of him, he had better consult "Fraser's Magazine,"
of one of the issues of 1830 to 1833, and he will there find a rough
engraving of the hoisting of the Union Jack at Guelph. Mr. Galt,
_pere_, was so very large a man that Mr. Archibald Prentice, of
the "Manchester Times," used to tell a story about his pointing Mr.
Galt out to a little humpbacked Scotchman in the High Street of
Edinburgh: "Eh! Jamie, mon, there's the great Galt, author of the
'Annals of the Parish.'" "'Annals o' the Payrish,' Archie, hech, sirs,
he's big eneuch to be the Payrish itself--let alone the annals o' it."
Mr. Galt, the Finance Minister, has done great services to Canada, and
is doing them still, in developing the mineral resources of the West,
and in other ways. Our conversation on Grand Trunk affairs was long and
anxious. I could see that Mr. Galt would do everything in his power;
but the public prejudice was strongly against the Grand Trunk. The
Grand Trunk Arrangements Bill was passed, as herein stated, in May,
1862; but, alas, the question of postal payments by Canada stood over
till the end of 1864.
In reference to my visit, of 1861, so far as my personal journeyings
were concerned, I will merely transcribe a few letters sent home.
"STEAMSHIP 'PERSIA'
"(in the Gulf of St. Lawrence),
"_Sunday noon._
"I have not had a pen in hand for a week--not since I wrote just as we
were coming to Cork.
"Just now the weather is as like that of last Sunday as one pea is to
another--rain and mist--mist and rain! Yet we have, on the whole, had
wonderful weather--little sea--little wind--little of anything very
unpleasant--nothing unbearable.
"Our church-service is just over: the Captain reads prayers and a
sermon, and does it very well: the sailors are dressed in their best,
and behave with great decorum, but show some sleepiness: the day is
wet, and that, and the general devoutness, draws a large congregation,
--indeed, the cabin is full.
"And now for a long letter:--
"When I left off, before, we were coming to Cork. It was blowing and
raining, and the atmosphere was thick with mist. We went on till six.
Captain looked anxious--the Cork pilot bothered, the passengers ill-
tempered, and everything had a dismal dampness about it. At last we
stopped, and the big boilers sent out their steam through the waste
pipe with a loud roar. Around us was nothing but _mist_--the, to
me, nastiest form of fog. We could not see more than three times the
length of the ship. We tried the lead twice, and the second time got
soundings. We then fired a gun--then another--then a third. Then we
moved on--then stopped--then moved on. The Captain sent for his chart,
and put on his eye-glasses. The pilot stared out into the fog, and
pointed first in one direction, then in another. All no use. We knew we
_ought_ to be outside the Queenstown harbour--but we could see
nothing. At last we heard a gun, and then in quick succession appeared
a row boat and a steam tug with the passengers and mails; and, the mist
breaking a little, we saw the land right a-head of us, about half-a-
mile off. It was disagreeable, but it got over; and now came the
transfer of bags, luggage, and passengers--only two or three of the
latter. The tug came alongside and made fast, but there was a good deal
of swell, and as she bobbed up and down it became highly amusing to see
the crew and passengers scramble up the ladder, which sometimes was
perpendicular, and at other times almost flat, as it followed the
altering level of the tug. The ladder got broken--two or three ropes
snapped--a deal of profane swearing took place--but it got over, too.
"The tug brought the news--the Confederates had defeated the Federal
forces at Manasses Junction--three thousand killed and wounded--
prisoners taken--artillery captured, &c., &c. I went up to one of the
Misses Preston and hoped the news was happy--for she seemed delighted
at what she had heard, and which then I had not. She said she 'did not
quite know--it was for the South.' I replied that such news hardly
could be happy for both sides, and, unless the news were _peace_,
was unhappy for all the world. She did not quite agree--and then told
me the tidings. But what a strange effect in such a little ship-
confined community!
"The Southern people collected together in delight--the Northern in
anger and disgust. The former predicted an early possession of
Washington for the Palmetto flag; the latter talked of raising half-a-
million of men, and 'crushing out' the South, right amain; while, as in
any disaster, there is always someone to be blamed, many of the
Northern men laid all the responsibility upon the 'lawyer-generals' and
'store-keeping-colonels,' who had assumed commands for which they were
never fit. It is a sad, unhappy quarrel!
"But I must describe our circle to you. First, I should tell you that I
have the honor to sit at the Captain's table, and on his left hand--a
Miss Ewart sitting on his right. Our set consists of the Captain,
Judkins--the right and left-hand passengers as aforesaid--Col. Preston,
Mrs. Preston and the three Misses Preston.
Mr. Stone, Col. Stewart, Miss Warde, Mr. Still, and Mr. Hutton, of
Sheffield, and his daughter. We have 134 passengers, _only_, on
board--a slack muster, caused by the evil times in America--and all
were at dinner on Saturday, the day we sailed, but the wind, rain,
mist, and misery of the next three days sent many of them below, and
for those days we had plenty of elbow-room. The weather, however,
improved, the sun got now and then out, though it has, so far, been
anything but warm, and out came the sick people again in renovated
appetite--some epicurean and dainty, many others with a ravenous, all-
devouring maw, reminding one of the 'worm that never dieth.'
"Now, Col. Preston is the late U.S. Ambassador to Madrid, where he has
resided officially, and with his family, for the four years of the
Buchanan Presidency. He is now replaced, I think, by a Mr. Falkner. He
is a tall, stout, gentlemanly man, but, while a perfect gentleman in
his conversation, and having less of the American accent than most
Americans, his manner is somewhat ungainly--perhaps owing to his make,
which is large and a little inclining to the unwieldy.
"Mrs. Preston has an Americo-Grecian face, and is a 'grand-dame.' She
talks of the blessings of slavery, and of the vain and self-recoiling
efforts of her mother, who liberated many slaves and educated more, to
reduce the evil; and is full of the troubles and robberies of foreign
house-keeping and of the gossip of the diplomatic circle.
"Her daughters are high-spirited, good-humoured, large-sized girls--
fresh, natural and charming. One of them has a fine face with eyes of
blue, just like those Bradley liked to paint--and the other two are
good looking enough. They have, however, no conversation--lots of talk
and gossip; much of it, too, amusing and quick witted, but it wants
thought. They all come from Kentucky, where they are now going. Colonel
Stewart is, I think, from Louisiana. He talks little, and does not
interest me. Mr. Stone is a voluble high-spirited Northern man, with
Southern tendencies. He says that the men who started this secession,
and have made it what it is, ought (on both sides) to be hung, and he
'would go home on purpose.' It seems that a house in which he had a
large sum has failed, and, to use a phrase I have heard both Mr.
Preston and himself make use of, the civil war has 'shocked' his
property above one half, _i.e._ has reduced its value above one
half. They all agree, in fact, that the value of all property has gone
down at least half, a loss, if the nation had to sell up--which it has
not, but has only to 'liquidate'--of a sum greater than required to buy
up all the slaves and set them free. Credit is gone--the faith of the
people in their Government is weakened, and thousands are ruined in
every city in the land. Sad civil war! Our passengers comprise all
sorts of people--from all sorts of places, clothed in all sorts of
dresses: anything will do at sea. We have, too, a good many old stagers
of the Atlantic, who think nothing of 'going across.' This will console
you--as you have to go 'across' next spring--to know that one man has
been across 57 times, another 31, another 18, and another 13; and one
lady has been 6--while the fat buxom stewardess has done a hundred, and
is alive and well, and quite as ready to receive a half crown from a
passenger, of any country, as ever!
"But I must give over writing for a little, till this breeze of wind is
over.
"We have now only 1,000 miles to go, and shall be in New York on
Wednesday.
"_Monday._
"We had a bad night, and I could not sleep for the row and the motion.
We have now got it over, and are going merrily along with a smart
breeze, bright sun, and sparkling sea. It will be late on Wednesday,
however, when we get in.
"A rough night at sea has its features. On board these ships there are
strict rules and strict discipline. We breakfast, lunch, dine, and tea
at hours which are kept to a moment. The bell rings, and down we sit.
Then the bar closes at 11, and all lights are put out at 12. The lights
in the cabins are placed inside a partition, glazed with ground glass,
so that there is no glare, and you cannot get at them. No loose lights
are allowed, and a passenger who struck a light would be severely
handled. These are proper precautions against fire, and should be
obeyed. But at 12 we are in total darkness--the ship rolls and pitches
--every now and then a sea strikes her, and burr--hush--swish--goes the
water over her sides or bows, and along her decks.
Then the men above run about, ropes are pulled, sails set or taken in,
and a general hullabaloo goes on--no doubt in the interest of the
passengers--but very disagreeable. Then the boatswain's whistle--Pee-
ee-ee ah! Pee-ee-ee ah-h-h!--every now and then wakes you up. Light is
a comfort, and darkness at sea seems to aggravate the strange feeling
which now and then affects you, as you think you are following a great
road without track or guide--save that which the stars, if visible, and
the previous day's observations afford.
"On Saturday morning (10 August) I was called up to see the Great
Eastern: and certainly an immense steamer was making its way eastward,
about 15 miles due north of us. You will see by the date of her arrival
if she was the object we saw or not. Saturday was very cold. We had
heard at Queenstown, from a note from Capt. Stone to Judkins, that
icebergs had been seen on the homeward passage, and at 3 o'clock we saw
ahead of us something which looked like the wreck of a steamer--but
which was pronounced to be ice. It was about 10 miles off. As we
approached it we found it was a little mountain of ice, covering
perhaps a couple of acres in area, and about 50 or 60 feet high. It
assumed all sorts of shapes as we caught sight of it at different
points--it looked, once, like a great lion crouching on the water--then
it took an appearance like part of the causeway at Staffa. As soon as
we got abreast of it we saw pack ice around it, and the light, then
shining upon the whole mass, gave a fairy-like whiteness--transparent,
snowy whiteness--which was very beautiful to see. While we were
observing it, a great mass broke away, toppled over into the sea,
sending up an immense snowy spray, and disappeared. The remainder
stayed in sight, with the evening sun-light upon it, for a couple of
hours.
"Yesterday, Sunday, morning, we sighted Cape Race, the eastern
extremity of Newfoundland, and ran close in shore along a most
desolate, dismal, coast, for a couple of hours. Abreast of the
lighthouse and telegraph station a boat came off, and we pitched over a
packet, with a little red flag attached, containing the latest news, to
be telegraphed from thence to New York and other places, so that our
passing would be known that afternoon everywhere--and if the steamer
had not left Halifax it might bring the news thence to England; thus
you may know of our safe arrival, so far, by about the 18th or 19th. I
hope you may, as it will relieve your mind from various fears about me.
It is very seldom indeed that the steamers actually sight Cape Race, as
we did. However, we saw that desolate coast and the poor hermits of the
place. Rounding the Cape, we enter the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which
broke in rain and storm upon us. We saw several fishing sloops 'lying
to,' to wait for better weather. These little craft are often run over
by larger vessels, as they swarm in what is the great east and west
track for steamers and other large ships; and when the wind is south,
or south west, there is always fog and mist in the Gulf, and on the
banks of Newfoundland outside.
"I find it a great comfort having a cabin to myself. I am now writing
in my 'drawing-room'--_i.e.,_ my upper berth, with my legs hanging
down over my bed-room, or lower berth. All my property is stowed away
and hung up, and the steward keeps all nice and clean--calls me in the
morning, and at half-past seven brings me a foot-pan of fresh sea-water
to bathe in. The _rum_ is not very much diminished, as I have been
very self-denying, being desirous of coming home in full vigour and
hard health, if possible. It is very good, however, and when I finish
this letter I shall reward good resolution by taking a little drop to
drink your health--and God bless you!
"Taylor was excessively sick and ill, but is now all alive, and says he
'feels so light' he could run a race.
"I am pretty well. I have not been sick at all: I wish I had--but I
ought to be thankful for a great deal of comfort in this long journey.
"I shall open this if anything worth recording takes place before we
reach New York. If not, the receipt of this will tell you that we are
'safely landed.' I shall, however, write again from New York before I
leave it for Boston--but I shall only remain a portion of a day and a
night at New York."
"ST. LAWRENCE HALL, MONTREAL.
"_Sunday, August 18._
"From New York I went on, _via_ Long Island Sound, to Boston,
where I arrived at 7 a.m. on Friday. I stayed there all day, in
conference with Mr. Baring's agent, Mr. Ward, and went on to Montreal,
in the evening, _via_ Lowel, Concord, and Rouse's Point. I engaged
a double berth in a sleeping car, and slept pretty well and pretty
comfortably from about 10 till 5--with sundry breaks, caused as
hereafter stated. I got to Montreal at 10--washed, breakfasted, and
then did a hard day's work, and dined at 7, with the internal
satisfaction that I had done a good day's duty, and had a good appetite
for both food and drink--the latter, however, moderate--only one pint
and one cup of coffee and one cigar after--the first cigar which I have
smoked since leaving England. The rum, thanks to similar moderation,
holds out, and will last some time yet.
"New York is be-flagged and be-bannered to a wonderful extent. Every
street is disfigured by huge streamers, some right across the street,
others out of windows and from the tops of houses--while each occupant
tries to vie with his neighbour in this sort of loyalty, till there
seems almost to be hypocrisy in it. 'Stars and Stripes' everywhere, and
on all occasions, opportune and inopportune. The main public place in
New York is half filled by ugly wooden sheds, used as military store
rooms and barracks, and, every now and then, with a frequency which is
startling, are the head-quarters of all sorts of Volunteer regiments--
American, Irish, German, Dutch, French, and Scotch. These rooms are
adorned with flags, and transparencies showing the costume of the
corps, or the portrait of the colonel, or general, shown generally on a
big prancing horse, and sporting a savage-looking beard. All along the
roads and routes--everywhere almost--are tents and wooden sheds, the
encampments of companies and regiments; and every now and then bands
and recruiting parties parade the street, and draw crowds of people
after them. The mothers of America have taken up the question, too, and
there are societies to make lint and bandages for the wounded, and to
stitch together clothing for the new companies. Little Zouaves are
plentiful--red vest, blue sash, and red fez and breeches.
"The day we arrived, the New York Firemen Zouaves (7th New York)
returned from the defeat at Bull's Run--380 out of 1,000, who left two
months ago under a young fellow named Ellsworth, as colonel. Ellsworth
was shot by a public-house keeper, whose secession flag he hauled down
--and the regiment was much cut up at Bull's Run. It has been very
uproarious, and some of its men 'retreated' on the way from Bull's Run
to New York, on the principle that, once ordered to retreat, they had
better 'retreat right away home.' There can be no doubt, however, that
the bulk of these men fought well--but were, like most of the
regiments, badly officered--zealous men, but lawyers, store-keepers,
and political partisans, who could do nothing in handling _bodies_
of men.
"But to go back: about 60 miles from Boston, and just as I got into the
bed-berth in the car, several companies of one of the Vermont regiments
joined the train, having been discharged, on the expiration of their
three months' term, the day before. These men had to be dropped in
companies at various stations all along the road; and every hour or so
I was wakened up by bell ringing, gun firing, and cheering, as each
section got back home to their friends. In the morning I got amongst
those who were left, and heard their adventures. They had been in
nothing but skirmishing, however, and only had had three men wounded.
They seemed a nice body of young fellows, many very young. All were
voluble and in high spirits (_coming home_), and were very large
about the hard biscuits they had eaten--some, as one 'boy' said--for
they are all 'boys,' not 'men,' as with us--with the stamp of 1810 upon
them,--of camping out--keeping sentry at night, &c., &c., &c. They had
three young fellows, girlish-looking lads, with them, '_sick;_'
two--one certainly--sick under death; just get home to die! I went into
the baggage car and saw them lying on the floor, covered up in
tarpaulins and blankets, poor fellows!
"I have been to the Catholic Cathedral at Montreal to-day, and heard
high mass. I visited it in 1851. Fine church, fine music, and a good
sermon, in French; but I thought I should have preferred Mr. Woolnough
and the little church at home.
"The matter of business I have in hand is surrounded with difficulty,
and there are here, I fear, two classes in connection with the concern.
Mr. Baring and Mr. Glyn have been, I can see already, deceived by over
sanguine estimates--and they do not know all yet, but they shall, if I
can find it out.
"Letters leave here to-morrow, and I shall open this before I post it
should there be any new feature. As at present advised, I shall go to
Quebec on Wednesday night, and spend four or five days in that
district. Then I shall come back here, and then go to Toronto and the
western portion of the line. After that, all will depend upon whether
the Government will call a special session, or not. We shall see. I
shall know, perhaps, in time for the following post."
"HAMILTON, _
"Sunday, I Septr. 1861._
"I left Toronto on Tuesday and went to Samia, stayed till Wednesday
morning, and then went on to Detroit. Spent the day in Detroit, and
then went on to Chicago; stayed Thursday in Chicago, and went on Friday
into Illinois, over the Prairies as far as Urbano. Came back to
Calumet--near to Chicago. Near Chicago I visited poor dear Ingram's
drowning place. Alas! More about it hereafter--and came on thence to
Detroit and this place, which I reached yesterday at 2-tired and
irritated with tooth-ache, which has never left me for some days and
sticks by me yet. I have travelled 1,300 miles since last Tuesday, and
3,070 in all since I landed at New York. This has necessitated
travelling during eight nights out of the eighteen I have spent in this
country. However, I have thereby cleared off some subsidiary work and
have seen the extremes of the territory over which I have to work and
plan, and by to-morrow I shall have looked at, and taken account of,
most of the people I shall have to deal with. This will enable me now
to go to work, and will, I hope, so much shorten my stay on 'this
Continent,' as they call it. I have a hard and difficult job before me,
but hope to scrape through it with credit, if not with much success. It
is a very different country: and they are not only very different, but
very difficult, people to manage. Socially, every one has been very
civil and kind, and I have had no lack of company or advisers--the
latter sometimes giving rather odd suggestions. Everyone is expecting
to hear daily of a great battle near Washington, and it may be that the
fate of one or other of the contending parties will be decided, for the
time, at least, before I leave. At present there is great hatred and
animosity, and every possible evil passion abroad. If it were not for
the actual loss of _dollars_ I believe they would cut each other's
throats to all eternity: but the hope is that their rapacity may check
their ferocity. As to any high purpose about the war--it is moonshine.
It is a war for supremacy and to find out which brother shall rule the
house and run away with the dying old man's goods. [Footnote: The
following Resolution passed the United States House of Representatives,
February 11, 1861, by a nearly unanimous vote:--
"_Resolved_--That neither the Federal Government, nor the people
or Government of the non-slaveholding States, have a purpose or a
constitutional right to legislate upon or interfere with slavery in any
of the States of the Union.
"_Resolved_--That those persons in the North who do not subscribe
to the foregoing proposition, are too insignificant in numbers and
influence to excite the serious attention and alarm of any portion of
the people of the Republic; and that the increase of their numbers and
influence does not keep pace with the increase of the aggregate
population of the Union." ] I am spending to-day with Reynolds, and
dine to-night with Brydges. Reynolds has a good house, but he complains
of his high rent, as his house was taken in the piping times of 1858.
Now rents are down one-half, and he could get as good a house for
100_l_ a year, whereas he pays 200_l_ In 1857 it was--to use
a vile Yankee phrase, the literal meaning of which no one can explain,
but the illustrative meaning of which is inflation--"High Felluting"--
or, as the Yankees write it, "Hi Falutin"--now everything is sobered,
and in many places depressed: only one house now being built in all
this town of 40,000 inhabitants."
"MONTREAL,
"6 _Sep_. 1861.
"I spent Monday in Toronto and came on here on Monday night, reaching
here on Tuesday afternoon. Since then I have been busy here. I have had
a more satisfactory interview with the Finance Minister, and we go to
Quebec together on Tuesday, after which I meet the Government,
officially, and shall know before the end of next week whether they
will help us, or not. I think they will do something. The management of
this railway is an organized mess--I will not say, a sink of iniquity.
I shall, however, know all about it before I have done with it.
"I feel tired, somehow--perhaps with travelling too hard--perhaps with
too much anxiety to get on quickly with this Grand Trunk business; but,
on the whole, I am very well, and have kept my spirits and nerve up to
the mark, generally. I have a great task in hand, and I should like to
come out of it creditably.
"There is a belief here that Jeff. Davis is dead, and, if so, it may
alter the complexion of affairs in the United States. The U.S.
Government have introduced passports--so one cannot leave their
agitated soil without that badge of tyranny. It will not affect me, as
I shall not stop long in their land--but get out of it as soon as I
can.
"There is a doctor and another man to be hanged here to-morrow, for
procuring abortion--the woman having died. The doctor is a Yankee, and
the Finance Minister tells me that this is a common practice in the
States, and carried on to an alarming extent, even amongst respectable
people, and, that this, and similar, frightful practices are the cause
of the degeneracy of much of the American race. He says the Canadian
Government have determined to stop it in Canada, in the outset, by
hanging this doctor and his employer, and so deterring the rest--and it
seemed to me to be _right_. I thought once of going to see the two
ruffians, expiate their crime--but I thought afterwards I would not.
What a wicked world a mere money-making world becomes! true, we all
require chastening by pain and misfortune and difficulty. The Americans
have been spoiled by too great and sudden prosperity and too much
license--not 'real liberty.' The very children, scorn obedience--in
fact, there is none of the general fine 'honor of parents' we, still,
find at home. As Mrs. Preston said, 'the Kentucky boys are fine
generous fellows; but as to obeying _anyone_--even father or
mother, after 15--_that_ is out of the question.'"
"HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, _
"Sep. 18, 1861._
"I left Quebec last Thursday, and went by railway to Riviere de Loup.
There I had a fall, and hurt my ribs. Next day I drove over the, new,
Temiscouata road to the Lake, and thence took a birch bark canoe and
two men and paddled down the Lake, and down the river Madawasca to
Little Falls, where I arrived in a drenching storm of rain at one
o'clock in the morning--having had 'perils by water.' Our canoe leaked,
and we damaged its bottom in going through a rapid, and had to haul up
for repairs and to bale out, for fear of sinking.
"Next day I drove to Grand Falls in a spring waggon, and then by
Tobique to Woodstock, where I arrived on Sunday morning--having driven
through the night.
"On Sunday drove to Canterbury, and then railed to St. Andrews, where I
stayed with the able manager of the Railway.
"Monday railed and drove to Frederickton, where I had an interview with
the Government of New Brunswick--then steamed down the St. John river to
St. John; yesterday went by railway, St. John to Shediac, and then
completed my journey, by hard travelling, driving through the night
from Shediac (over the Cobequid Mountains) to Truro, where I joined the
railway at 5 a.m., and came on to this place, reaching it at 12--three
hours late--owing to our engine getting off the track. Here I have seen
the Government, and also the Governor-General, and to-morrow I go by
St. John's and Portland to Montreal, where I shall arrive on Saturday
at 8 p.m., and go on to Toronto on Monday.
"I have only time to write a bare list of my doings, but will write
fully by next mail. I hope to find heaps of letters at Montreal, and
good news of your health and comfort."
"MONTREAL,
"_Sunday, Sept. 22, 1861._
"I have made the tour described in my note from Halifax, and I got back
here yesterday at 2 p.m., having travelled about 1,780 miles since
leaving Quebec, and nearly 2,000 since I left here last Thursday week.
I have spent the best part of one day and night in a canoe--two late
nights on the road in the spring waggon and stage--one night, and part
of another, in steamers--and the remaining five nights in bed. I am all
right to-day--except my ribs--having had a good sleep. I could not
consult any one with any good while travelling, but as soon as I got
here I sent for Dr. Campbell, and he prescribed for me, and I am now
wearing, a belladonna and irritant plaster, and a flannel bandage. He
says the pleura is badly bruised, and that there is some inflammation,
but that if I keep quiet, and do not catch cold, I shall soon be right.
I assure you it does not affect my appetite, which is a good one--very
different from home--needing substantial carrion, and no put off of
slop or shadows. I am, too, as hard as a horn, and believe I could
travel for a week without any great personal grief. I went to New
Brunswick and Nova Scotia to see the Governments of the two Provinces,
and I had favourable interviews at Frederickton and Halifax, at the
latter place seeing Lord Mulgrave, who was very polite, and invited me
to stay, and, if possible, also to come again. I go to Quebec on
special summons, to see the Government on Tuesday.
"I am growing anxious to know what Government will do: and I do hope I
shall be able to get them to propose something before I leave. Until
they declare themselves, I cannot arrange to leave for home; cannot
complete my plans, or do anything, in fact. It is annoying--but the
negociation is serious, and I must have patience. I know, from painful
experience, how, when the nerves and brain are excitable from over
tension and exertion, and anxiety and constant worry and wear, little
matters are magnified. But already I feel myself so much stronger in
nerve and courage that I look now complacently upon much which in the
last two years would have cut me to the quick.
"I have worked very hard here, and done much in a little time."
"QUEBEC, _
"Septr. 26, 1861._
"I am glad to tell, and you will be glad to learn, that I have to-day
got my business with the Government into a good shape, and I shall have
an official and, to a fair extent, favourable, answer to my
application, on Saturday next. This will enable me, I hope, to come
home sooner than otherwise--and I shall, at all events, be in the
position of having, to a fair extent, succeeded. The Government agree
to leave the amount they have to pay for postal service to arbitration,
and to consider the question of capitalizing the amount as soon as
Parliament meets, and on certain conditions, which I shall have to take
home and consult my principals about. This will necessitate coming out
next year. My side is better, but the plaster Dr. Campbell gave me has
blistered me, with little hard pustules, over a piece of my side as big
as a pancake; and I have suffered three days and nights of downright
misery. To-day, however, I am almost all right, and go to dine with the
Governor-General and Lady Head on Saturday. On that day the
deputations, got together owing to my visit to Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick, come here to meet the Canadian Government about the Halifax
and Quebec Railway. If this succeeds I shall have not been idle.
"I send some trees which I got on the Madawasca river, and which please
plant at once. Also a box containing samples of Canadian woods, which
keep till I come. They are very beautiful. I think we must give them to
Mr. Glyn."
[Illustration: END]
End of Project Gutenberg's Canada and the States, by Edward William Watkin