Forgive me, reader,--all this digression comes from my wishing Lynn had

kept its old Indian name of Saugus; from such little acorns will such

great oak-trees spring.--To resume. The said town of Lynn supplies

understandings to a very respectable number of human beings, and may be

called a gigantic shoemaker's shop, everything being on the gigantic

scale in America. It employs 11,000, out of its total population of

14,000, in that trade, and produces annually nearly 5,000,000 of women's

and children's boots, shoes, and gaiters, investing in the business a

capital amounting to 250,000l. Moses and Son, Hyam and Co., Nicoll

and Co., and the whole of the three-halfpence-a-shirt-paying

capitalists, can show nothing like my shoemakers' shop, "fix it how you

will,"--as they say in the Great Republic.

The three-forty trotter soon left boots, shoes, and all behind, and

deposited us at the door of the uncle's villa, where a friendly hand

welcomed us to its hospitalities. It was very prettily situated upon a

cliff overlooking Massachusetts Bay, in which said cliff a zigzag

stepway was cut down to the water, for the convenience of bathing. The

grounds were nicely laid out and planted, and promised in time to be

well wooded, if the ocean breeze driving upon them did not lay an

embargo upon their growth, in the same heartless manner as it does upon

the west coast of Scotland, where, the moment a tree gets higher than a

mop handle, its top becomes curved over by the gales, with the same

graceful sweep as that which a successful stable-boy gives a birch broom

after a day's soaking. I hope, for my hospitable friend's sake, it may

not prove true in his case; but I saw an ostrich-feathery curve upon the

tops of some of his trees, which looked ominous. Having spent a very

pleasant day, and enjoyed good cheer and good company, Three-forty was

again "hitched to;" joined hands announced the parting moment had

arrived; wreaths of smoke from fragrant Havanas ascended like incense

from the shrine of Adieu; "G'lang"--the note of advance--was sounded;

Three-forty sprang to the word of command; friends, shoes, and

shoemakers were soon tailed of; and ere long your humble servant was

nestling his nose in his pillow at Boston.

Hearing that the drama was investing its talent in Abolitionism, I went

one evening to the theatre, to see if I could extract as much fun from

the metropolis of a free state as I had previously obtained from the

capital of slave-holding Maryland; for I knew the Americans, both North

and South, were as ticklish as young ladies. I found very much the same

style of thing as at Baltimore, except that her abolitionist highness,

the Duchess of Southernblack, did not appear on the stage by deputy; but

as an atonement for the omission, you had a genuine Yankee abolitionist;

poor Uncle Tom and his fraternity were duly licked and bullied by a

couple of heartless Southern nigger-drivers; and while their victims

were writhing in agony, a genuine abolitionist comes on the stage and

whops the two nigger-drivers, amid shouts of applause. The suppliant

Southerners, midst sobs and tears, plead for mercy, and in vain, until

the happy thought occurs to one of them, to break forth into a wondrous

tale of the atrocities inflicted upon the starving and naked slaves of

English mines and factories, proving by contrast the superior happiness

of the nigger and the greater mercifulness of his treatment. The

indignant abolitionist drops the upraised cowhide, the sobs and tears of

the Southerners cease, the whole house thunders forth the ecstasy of its

delight, the curtain drops, and the enchanted audience adjourn to the

oyster saloons, vividly impressed with British brutality, the charms of

slavery, and the superiority of Abolitionism.

How strange, that in a country like this, boasting of its education, and

certainly with every facility for its prosecution--how strange, that in

the very Athens of the Republic, the deluded masses should exhibit as

complete ignorance as you could find in the gallery of any

twopenny-halfpenny metropolitan theatre of the old country!

Another of the lions of Boston which I determined to witness, if

possible, was "spirit-rapping." A friend undertook the arrangement for

me; but so fully were the hours of the exhibitor taken up, that it was

five days before we could obtain a spare hour. At length the time

arrived, and, fortified with a good dinner and a skinful of "Mumm

Cabinet," we proceeded to the witch's den. The witch was a clean and

decent-looking girl about twenty, rather thin, and apparently very

exhausted; gradually a party of ten assembled, and we gathered round the

witch's table. The majority were ladies--those adorers of the

marvellous! The names of friends were called for; the ladies took the

alphabet, and running over it with the point of a pencil, the spirit

rapped as the wished-for letter was reached. John Davis was soon spelt,

each letter probably having been indicated by the tremulous touch of

affectionate hope. Harriet Mercer was then rapped out by the obliging

spirit. The pencil and the alphabet were then handed to me, and the

spirit being asked if it would answer my inquiries, and a most

satisfactory "Yes" being rapped out, I proceeded to put its powers to

the test. I concentrated my thoughts upon a Mr. L---- and his shop in

Fleet-street, with both of which being thoroughly familiar I had no

difficulty in fixing my attention upon them. The pencil was put in

motion, powerful rappings were heard as it touched the D. I kept my

gravity, and went on again and again, till the name of the illustrious

duke, whose death the civilized world was then deploring with every

token of respect, was fully spelt out. The witch was in despair; she

tried again and again to summon the rebellious spirit, but it would not

come. At last, a gentleman present, and who evidently was an _habitué_

of the witch's den, proposed that the refractory spirit should be asked

if any of the company were objectionable to it. This being done, a

rattling "Yes" came forth, upon which each person asked in succession,

"Am I objectionable to you?" There was a dead silence until it came to

my friend and myself, to each of whom it gave a most rappingly emphatic

"Yes." Accordingly, we rose and left the field to those whose greater

gullibility rendered them more plastic objects for working upon. Never

in my life did I witness greater humbug; and yet so intense was the

anxiety of the Boston public to witness the miracle, that during all the

day and half the night the spirit was being invoked by the witch, into

whose pockets were pouring the dollars of thousands of greater gabies

than myself, for many went away believers, receiving the first germs of

impressions which led them to a Lunatic Asylum, or an early grave, as

various statistics in America prove most painfully.

To show the extent to which belief in these absurdities goes, I subjoin

an extract from a paper, by which it appears that even the solemnities

of a funeral cannot sober the minds of their deluded followers. Mr.

Calvin R. Brown--better known as the husband of Mrs. Anne L. Fish, a

famous "spirit medium" in New York--having died, we read the following

notice of the funeral:--"After prayer, the Rev. S. Brittan delivered an

address, in which he dwelt with much earnestness upon the superiority of

the life of the spirit, as compared with that of the body. At various

points in his address there were rappings, sometimes apparently on the

bottom of the coffin, and at others upon the floor, as if in response to

the sentiments uttered. After concluding his address, Professor Brittan

read a communication purporting to have come from the deceased after his

entrance into the spirit world. While it was being read, the reporter

states that the rappings were distinctly heard. Several friends then

sang, "Come, ye disconsolate," after which the Rev. Mr. Denning made a

few remarks, during which the rappings were more audible than before.

Other ceremonies closed the funeral. The whole party, preachers,

physicians, and all, were spiritualists," &c.

But I have before me a letter written by Judge Edmonds, which is a more

painful exemplification of the insanity superinduced by giving way to

these absurdities; in that document you will find him deliberately

stating, that he saw heavy tables flying about without touch, like the

leaves in autumn; bells walking off shelves and ringing themselves, &c.

Also, you will find him classing among his co-believers "Doctors,

lawyers, clergymen, a Protestant bishop, a learned and reverend

president of a college, judges of higher courts, members of congress,

foreign ambassadors (I hope not Mr. Crampton), and ex-members of the

United States Senate."

The ladies of the old country will, no doubt, be astonished to hear that

their sisters of the younger country have medical colleges in various

States; but, I believe, mostly in the northern ones. To what extent

their studies in the healing art are carried, I cannot precisely inform

them; it most probably will not stop at combinations of salts and senna,

or spreading plasters--for which previous nursery practice with bread

and butter might eminently qualify them. How deeply they will dive into

the mysteries of anatomy, unravelling the tangled web of veins and

arteries, and mastering the intricacies of the ganglionic centre; or how

far they will practise the subjugation of their feelings, whether only

enough to whip off some pet finger and darling little toe, or whether

sufficiently to perform more important operations, even such as Sydney

Smith declared a courageous little prime minister was ready to undertake

at a minute's notice; these are questions which I cannot answer: but one

thing is clear, the wedge is entered. How far it will be driven in, time

must show.[AK]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote AK: The Massachusetts Legislature, in a recent session,

appropriated funds to the New England Female Medical College, located in

Boston, to pay forty students for five years; and I have since observed

in a Boston paper that there are twenty lady physicians, who, confining

themselves to midwifery and diseases of their own sex, have a fair

practice, and enjoy the confidence of the families they visit.]

CHAPTER XVII.

_Teaching of Youth, and a Model Jail_.

I must now turn to a more important and interesting feature of Boston,

viz., education. We all remember how the religious persecution in the

reign of Elizabeth, fettering men's consciences, drove a devoted band of

deep-thinking Christians into caves of concealment, and how, after much

peril, they escaped in 1609, in the reign of James the First, to

Amsterdam, under the leadership of the noble-hearted J. Robinson, where,

after sighing long for a return beneath the flag of the country of their

birth, they obtained a charter from the Virginia Company. The first

division of them embarked on board "The Mayflower," a small vessel of

180 tons, and sailed from Plymouth, 6th September, 1620, landing in

their new and barren home upon the 11th of December. These were the

sturdy champions of liberty of conscience, from whom the New Englanders

may be said to have sprung, and who have leavened the whole community

with their energy and indomitable spirit: such men knew how to

appreciate education, as the leveller of oppression and the bulwark of

freedom; and it is, therefore, no wonder that the American Republic

recognises them as the worthy pioneers of that noble feature in their

institutions--free education, supplied to all by the State.

Let us, then, see how far their descendants are treading in their

footsteps upon this point. I speak of Boston and its 150,000

inhabitants, not of the State. And first, it is important to observe,

that the strict provisions of the State requirements would be met by

three schools, and three teachers with assistants, whose salaries would

amount to 900l. The actual provision made by this energetic community,

is,--Schools: 1 Latin, 1 English, 22 grammar, 194 primary,--total for

salaries, 37,000l. And that it may not be supposed the salaries are

great prizes, it is important to remark, that there are 65 male

teachers, and about 300 female teachers. The highest paid are

head-masters of Latin and English schools, 490l.; sub-masters of same,

and head-masters of grammar, 300l.; ushers, assistants, &c., from

50l. to 160l.; and female teachers, from 45l. to 60l., with

5l. additional for care of the rooms.

All the primary schools have female teachers; and the feeling is

strongly in favour of females for instructing the very young, their

patience and kindness being less likely to foster feelings of dread and

dislike.

The total amount of taxes raised in the city is, in round numbers,

250,000l.; of which 65,000l., or more than one-fourth, is devoted to

schools. The total value of all public school estates of Boston, up to

May, 1851, was 260,000l.; and the salary of the head-master is, within

a few pounds, equal to that of the governor of the State.

Say, then, reader, has some portion of the spirit of the Pilgrim Fathers

descended to the present generation, or not?--a population of 150,000

devoting 260,000l. to education.

Wherever parents are unable to provide books, &c., the children are

supplied with the use of them _gratis_. All corporal punishment is

strongly discouraged, but not prohibited; and all inflictions thereof

are recorded for the information of the Visiting Board. Having omitted

to make personal inquiries on the spot, I obtained, through the kindness

of Mr. Ticknor, answers to the following questions on the point of

religious instruction:--

1. "Are the pupils at your normal schools obliged to receive religious

instruction from some minister, and to attend some place of worship; or

may they, if they prefer, receive no such instruction, and attend no

church?"

"The State has put the normal schools under the charge of the Board of

Education, with no special law or instructions. The Board of Education

endeavours to act on exactly the same principles as those which the law

has laid down with respect to the common schools. The Board requires

that the pupils of the normal schools attend some place of worship, the

pupil making his own choice. These schools are opened every morning with

reading the Scriptures, singing, and prayer. The moral conduct of the

pupils is carefully watched over, and instruction is given in respect to

the best methods of training the young in religion and morals. The

religious teaching is ethical, not doctrinal."

2. "Are the children at your common schools obliged to receive some

religious instruction, or if their parents express a wish they should

not receive any at school, is the wish complied with?"

"The law requires all teachers to instruct their pupils 'in the

principles of piety,' and forbids any sectarian books to be introduced

into the public schools. The school committees of each town prescribe

the class-books to be used, and commonly make the Bible one of those

books. The teacher is expected to follow the law in respect to teaching

the principles of piety, without any instruction from the school

committee, and is almost always allowed to do this in his own way,

unless he is guilty of some impropriety, in which case the school

committee interferes. He usually has devotional exercises at the opening

of the school, and reads the Scriptures, or causes them to be read, as

an act of worship, whether they are prescribed by the committee or not.

Many teachers take that occasion to remark upon topics of morality, and

thereby aim to prevent misconduct. Indeed, the Bible is much relied on

as a means of discipline rather for preventing wrong-doing, than for

correcting it.

"No minister, as such, gives religious instruction in any of our public

schools. Ministers are commonly on the school committees, and when

visiting the schools, as committees, exhort the children to good

behaviour, and to a religious life.

"No cases are known of parents wishing their children to be excused from

such religious instruction, except with the Catholics, who desire that

their children be excused from the devotional exercises, especially from

reading the Protestant version of the Bible. Even this is very rare

where the teacher himself reads the Scriptures in connexion with other

devotional exercises. It occurs most frequently where the children are

required to use the Bible themselves, either in devotional exercises or

in a reading lesson. But those wishes are not often regarded, because

the committee has a legal right to prescribe the Bible as a school-book,

and to require all the pupils to comply with all the regulations of the

school. In some few instances, committees have thought it expedient to

allow the Douay version to be used by Catholic children; but it amounts

to nothing, as it is an abstract point started by the priests, for which

parents care but little; besides, it is objected that the Douay version

with its glosses is 'a sectarian book,' whereas the common English

version without note or comment is not."

Scholars desirous of entering the higher schools are generally required

to pass through the lower, and bring therefrom certificates of capacity

and conduct. In the statute of the State, with reference to education,

all professors, tutors, instructors, &c., are enjoined to impress upon

the minds of those committed to their charge "the principles of piety,

justice, a sacred regard to truth, and love of their country." Among the

various subjects in connexion with education, in which instruction is

given in these schools, it may be as well to mention one, which, I

believe, is all but totally neglected in England. By legislative

enactment, section 2, "All school-teachers shall hereafter be examined

in their knowledge of the elementary principles of physiology and

hygiène, and their ability to give instructions in the same."

The School Committee consists of two members from each of the twelve

wards of the city, chosen annually, and assisted by the Mayor and

President of the Common Council. The average expense of each scholar at

the primary schools is 25s. per annum, at the higher schools three

guineas. Under the foregoing system, 12,000 children are instructed

annually at the primary schools, and 10,000 at the higher schools, which

aggregate of 22,000 will give an attendance of nearly 70 per cent. upon

all children between the ages of five and fifteen, to whom the avenues

of knowledge, from the lisping letters of infancy to the highest

branches of philosophy, are freely opened.

Through the kindness of Mr. B. Seaver, the Mayor of Boston, I was

enabled to visit several of these schools, the cleanliness of which, as

well as their good ventilation, was most satisfactory. The plan adopted

here, of having the stools made of iron and screwed on to the floor,

with a wooden seat fixed on the top for each pupil, and a separate desk

for every two, struck me as admirably calculated to improve ventilation

and check sky-larking and noise. The number of public schools in the

whole State is 4056, which are open for seven months and a half in the

year, and the average attendance of scholars is 145,000; besides which,

there are 749 private schools, with 16,000 scholars. It is a curious

fact, and bears strong testimony to the efficiency of the public

schools, that while they have increased by 69 during the year, the

private schools have decreased by 36. The foregoing sketch is from the

official Reports, printed at Boston in 1853.

In addition to these schools, there are four colleges, three theological

seminaries, and two medical schools. Of these I shall only notice one of

the colleges, which I visited, and which enjoys a high reputation--viz.,

Harvard College, or Cambridge, as it is sometimes called, from the

village where it is situated. The history of this college is a wholesome

proof how a small institution, if duly fostered by a nation, may

eventually repay future generations with liberal interest. Established

in 1636, by a vote of 400l., it obtained the name of Harvard, from the

bequeathment by a reverend gentleman of that name, A.D. 1638, of the sum

of 780l. and 300 volumes. Its property now amounts to upwards of

100,000l., and it is divided into five departments--collegiate, law,

medical, theological, and scientific--affording education to 652

students, of whom one half are undergraduates. There are forty-five

instructors, all men of unquestionable attainments, and capable of

leading the students up to the highest steps of every branch of

knowledge; the necessary expenses of a student are about 45l. a year;

the fee for a master of arts, including the diploma, is 1l. sterling.

Meritorious students, whose circumstances require it, are allowed, at

the discretion of the Faculty, to be absent for thirteen weeks,

including the winter vacation, for the purpose of teaching schools.

Parents who think their sons unable to take care of their own money, may

send it to a patron duly appointed by the college, who will then pay all

bills and keep the accounts, receiving, as compensation two and a half

per cent. I think the expenses of this establishment will astonish those

who have had to "pay the piper" for a smart young man at Oxford, as much

as the said young man would have been astonished, had his allowance,

while there, been paid into the hands of some prudent and trusty

patron. Tandems and tin horns would have been rather at a discount--_cum

pluribus aliis_.

The college has a look of antiquity, which is particularly pleasant in a

land where almost everything is spick-and-span new; but the rooms I

thought low and stuffy, and the walls and passages had a neglected

plaster-broken appearance. There are some very fine old trees in the

green, which, throwing their shade over the time-worn building, help to

give it a venerable appearance. A new school of science has just been

built by the liberality of Mr. Lawrence,[AL] late Minister of the United

States in this country; and I may add that the wealth and prosperity of

the college are almost entirely due to private liberality.

As the phonetic system of education has been made a subject of so much

discussion in the United States, I make no apology for inserting the

following lengthy observations thereon. A joint committee on education,

appointed to inquire into its merits by the Senate, in 1851, reported

that there was evidence tending to show--"That it will enable the pupil

to learn to read phonetically in one-tenth of the time ordinarily

employed. That it will enable the learner to read the common type in

one-fourth of the time necessary according to the usual mode of

instruction. That its acquisition leads the pupil to the correct

pronunciation of every word. That it will present to the missionary a

superior alphabet for the representation of hitherto unwritten

languages," &c. A similar committee, to whom the question was referred

by the House of Representatives in 1852, state that during the past year

the system had been tried in twelve public schools, and that, according

to the testimony of the teachers, children evinced greater attachment to

their books, and learnt to read with comparative ease; and they conclude

their report in these words:--"Impressed with the importance of the

phonetic system, which, if primarily learnt, according to the testimony

presented, would save two years of time to each of the two hundred

thousand children in the State, the committee would recommend to school

committees and teachers, the introduction of the phonetic system of

instruction into all the primary schools of the State, for the purpose

of teaching the reading and spelling of the common orthography, with an

enunciation which can rarely be secured by the usual method, and with a

saving of time and labour to both teachers and pupils, which will enable

the latter to advance in physical and moral education alone until they

are six years of age, without any permanent loss in the information they

will ultimately obtain."

One gentleman of the minority of the committee sent in a very strong

report condemning the system. He declares "the system is nothing but an

absurd attempt to mystify and perplex a subject, which ought to be left

plain and clear to the common apprehensions of common men." Further on

he states, "No human ingenuity can show a reason for believing that the

way to learn the true alphabet, is first to study a false alphabet; that

the way to speak words rightly, is to begin by spelling them wrong; that

the way to teach the right use of a letter, is to begin by giving a

false account of a letter. Yet the phonetic system, so far as it is

anything, is precisely this." Then, again, with reference to the eight

specimen scholars, taken from a school of fifty, and who were exhibited,

he observes, "they were the same as those who were examined a year ago;

nothing is said of the other forty-two. It is not necessary to say

anything more of the character of such evidence as this;" and he winds

up by observing: "Such a mode of instruction would, in his opinion,

waste both the time and the labour employed upon it, and complicate and

embarrass a study, which in its true shape is perfectly simple and

clear." The following old anecdote would rather tend to prove that

spelling and reading were not either "simple or clear" to a Lancashire

judge, who, having asked the name of a witness, and not catching the

word exactly, desired him to spell it, which he proceeded to do

thus:--"O double T, I double U, E double L, double U, double O, D." The

learned judge laid down his pen in astonishment, and after two or three

unsuccessful efforts, at last declared he was unable to record it--so

puzzled was he with the "simple" spelling of that clear name--Ottiwell

Wood.

In the _Massachusetts Teacher_ of January, 1853, there is the report of

a committee, in which they state "that children taught solely by the

phonetic system, and only twenty minutes each day, outstripped all their

compeers." They further add, that "the phonetic system, thus beneficial

in its effects, has been introduced into one hundred and nineteen public

and five private schools, and that they have reason to believe, that no

committee ever appointed to examine its merits have ever reported

adverse to it;" and they conclude by strongly "recommending teachers to

test the merits of the System by actual trial in their schools." Then

again, in the following number of their journal, they strongly condemn

the system as both useless and impracticable.

Having carefully weighed the arguments on both sides, I am led to the

conclusion, that the objections of those who condemn the system are

partly owing to the fact, that while reaching their present advanced

state of knowledge, they have entirely forgotten their own struggles,

and are thus insensibly led to overlook the confusion and difficulty

which must ever arise in the infant mind, where similar combinations

produce similar sounds. An infant mind is incapable of grasping

differences, but understands readily simple facts; if what meets the eye

represent a certain fixed sound, the infant readily acquires that sound;

but if the eye rest on _o, u, g, h,_ as a combination, and the endeavour

is made to teach him the endless varieties of sound produced thereby,

his little mind becomes puzzled, his ideas of truth become confused, his

memory becomes distrusted, and his powers of reading become retarded by

the time occupied in the--to him--most uninteresting task of learning a

host of unmeaning sounds. The inevitable consequence is that the poor

little victim becomes disheartened, rendering a considerable amount of

additional trouble and--which is far more difficult to find--patience

necessary upon the part of the teacher.

Common sense points out, that the reading of phonetic words must be more

easily learnt than the reading of the aphonetic words, of which our

language is essentially composed. The real question is simply

this,--Does the infant mind advance with such rapidity under phonetic

teaching, as to enable it at a certain age to transfer its powers to

orthodox orthography, and reach a given point of knowledge therein,

with less trouble, and in a shorter space of time, than those infants

do who are educated upon the old system? If phonetic teaching has this

effect, it is an inestimable boon, and if not, it is a complete

humbug.[AM] It should also be borne in mind, that the same arguments

which hold good in the case of infants will apply also, in a great

degree, to adults who wish to learn to read, and to foreigners

commencing the study of our language. Whether any further use of

phonetics is either desirable or practicable, would be a discussion out

of place in these pages.

When any startling novelty is proposed, enthusiasts carry their advocacy

of it so far as often to injure the cause they wish to serve: on the

other hand, too many of the educated portion of the community are so

strenuously opposed to innovation, as to raise difficulties rather than

remove them. Has not the common sense of the age been long calling for

changes in the law of partnership, divorce, &c., and is not some

difficulty always arising? Has not the commercial world been crying

aloud for decimal coinage and decimal weights and measures, and are not

educated men constantly finding some objections, and will they not

continue to do so, until some giant mind springs up able to grasp the

herculean task, and force the boon upon the community? Were not

steamboats and railways long opposed as being little better than insane

visions? Did not Doctor Lardner prove to demonstration that railway

carriages could never go more than twenty miles an hour, owing to the

laws of resistance, friction, &c., and did not Brunel take the breath

out of him, and the pith out of his arguments, by carrying the learned

demonstrator with him on a locomotive, and whisking him ten miles out of

London in as many minutes? When I see that among so intelligent and

practical a people as the New Englanders--a people whose thoughts and

energies are so largely devoted to education--one hundred and nineteen

schools have adopted the phonetic system, I cannot but look back to the

infancy of steam, and conclude, that there must be more advantages in

that system than its opponents seem disposed to allow it to possess.

The Committee of Council on Education in England, to whom the funds

set apart for educational purposes are, intrusted, authorized the

printing of phonetic books for schools some years since; but authorizing

books without training masters to teach them, is about as useful as

putting engines into a ship, without supplying engineers to work them.

Besides which, their phonetic system was in itself confusing and

objectionable; they have also informed the public, that the system, in

various forms, is almost universally adopted in the elementary schools

of Holland, Prussia, and Germany.[AN]

I should also mention that other systems have been tried both in England

and Scotland, and that those teachers who employ them speak highly of

their advantages, especially in the latter country. I have now a paper

before me, called _The Reading Reformer_, in which I find the following

sentence, which tends to show that the system is approved of in France

in the highest quarters:--"The phonetic method of primary instruction is

used in the 5th regiment of the line, the 12th Light, the Penitentiary

of St. Germain, and the House of Correction for young prisoners. The

Minister of War has ordered that French should be taught by this method

to the young Arabs, in the three schools of Algiers, Oran, and

Philipville."

One great mistake has been made by the champions of this mode of

teaching, which is more fatal to its success, in my opinion, than any

difficulty raised by its opponents, and that is the adoption by each

champion of his own phonetic alphabet; and for which he claims a

superiority over the alphabets of others. The absurdity of this

perpetual strife must be palpable. If a Fireworshipper were to be

converted, what hopes of success would there be if a Mormonite and a

Mussulman were placed on one side of him, and a Free Kirk man and a

Jesuit on the other? The public, as regards phonetic teaching, are

precisely in that Fireworshipper's position. Reader, you must form your

own opinion: I offer none. And now, with your permission, we will quit

the region of speculation and return to sober fact.

One of the most striking buildings I visited during my stay at Boston

was the jail; the airiness and cleanliness were both perfect, and the

arrangement was to me totally novel. Independent of the ground outside,

which is walled all round, the jail itself is built under a large outer

case, affording abundance of light and ventilation. This outer building

forms a corridor all round the jail, affording protection to the keepers

from all weathers, and thus enables them to keep an efficient watch over

the inmates. Supposing any prisoner to escape from his cell, he is still

hemmed in by this outer case, which has only one door, so situated that

no one can approach it without being seen from a considerable distance;

and, even if these difficulties be overcome, the outer wall common to

all prisons still remains. As far as I could learn, no prisoner has ever

been able to force his way out. At night a blaze of gas in the outer

hall lights all the dormitories and the corridor which runs round

outside the jail, thus rendering escape as difficult at night as in

broad daylight. Water is freely supplied to every room on every storey,

and means of bathing are arranged in various parts of the building.

School-rooms, private rooms, and a chapel are all contained within this

leviathan outer case. In short, to those who take an interest in

improving the airiness of jails and the security of prisoners, this

building is well worth the most careful examination; and I trust we may

some day profit by the improvements which the ingenuity of the New

Englanders has here exhibited, for the frequent escapes from our jails

prove that some change is requisite.

The Bostonians have applied the telegraph to a most important use,

which, I believe, we have totally overlooked in England. The town is

divided into sections, in each of which are a certain number of

stations; all of these latter have a telegraph-office, communicating

with one grand central office, by which means they explain where the

fire is. The central office immediately indicates to every section the

information thus obtained by the ringing of alarm-bells; and, by this

method, every fire-station in the city is informed of the locality of

the danger within a few minutes after its occurrence.

The naval arsenal at Boston is moderate in size, kept very clean; but

when I visited it there were little signs of activity or life. They have

only three building sheds, in one of which a vessel has been in progress

for twenty years; the other two are vacant. The principal feature is the

rope-walk, which is 1640 feet long, and worked by steam-power.

The United States, being on friendly terms with England, and so far

removed from Europe and its politics and its disturbances, pays

comparatively little attention to the navy, which is small, when

considered in reference to the size and wealth of the country and the

extent of its seaboard.

The convention for the amendment of the constitution being in session, I

was enabled, through the kindness of Mr. Sumner, the senator for the

State, to witness their proceedings, which were conducted with becoming

dignity. The speakers, if not eloquent, at least adhered to the subject

under discussion, in a manner some of the wordy and wandering gentlemen

in our House of Commons might imitate with advantage.

The supply of water for the town is brought from Lake Cochitnate, a

distance of twenty miles; and the length of piping in connexion with it

is upwards of 100 miles. The State authorized a city debt of 900,000l.

for the necessary expenses of the undertaking and purchase of the

ground, &c. The annual receipts amount to 36,000l., which will, of

course, increase with the population. Dwelling-houses pay from 1l. as

high as 15l. tax, according to their consumption. The average daily

expenditure in 1853 was about 7,000,000 gallons, or nearly 50 gallons

per head.

Before leaving Boston, I may as well give some evidence of the

prosperity of the State. In the year 1830, the population was 600,000;

at the present date it is 1,000,000. The exports of domestic produce,

which in 1844 amounted to 1,275,000l., now amount to upwards of

2,830,000l.; and the imports, which at the former period amounted to

4,000,000l., now amount to nearly 7,000,000l. The population of

Boston has increased 600 per cent. during the present century. Lowell,

which is the great Manchester of Massachusetts, has increased its

population from 6500 in 1830 to nearly 40,000 at the present date; and

the capital invested, which in 1823 was only 500,000l., is now nearly

2,700,000l. I do not wish to weary my readers with statistics, and

therefore trust I have said enough to convey a tolerable impression of

the go-aheadism of these hardy and energetic descendants of the Pilgrim

Fathers; and, for the same reasons, I have not made any observations

upon their valuable libraries, hospitals, houses of industry,

reformation, &c., the former of which are so largely indebted to private

munificence. But before taking my leave of Boston, I must notice the

great pleasure I derived from hearing in all quarters the favourable

impression which Lord Elgin's visit, on the occasion of opening the

railway in 1851, had produced. His eloquence and urbanity was a constant

theme of conversation with many of my friends, who generally wound up by

saying, "A few such visits as that of the Railway Jubilee would do more

to cement the good feeling between the two countries than the diplomacy

of centuries could effect." I must here add, that upon my visiting

Quebec, I found that the same cordial feeling of fellowship had been

produced on the Canadian mind, by the brotherly reception they had met

with upon that memorable occasion. Farewell to Boston! but not farewell

to the pleasing recollection of the many happy hours I spent, nor of the

many kind friends whose acquaintance I enjoyed there, and which I hope

on same future occasion to renew and improve.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote AL: Such gifts during the lifetime of the donor, are in my

estimation, better evidences of liberality and zeal in a cause, than the

most munificent bequests even of a Stephen Gerard, who only gave what he

could no longer enjoy.]

[Footnote AM: A _Vide_ observation by Mr. H. Mann, chap. 20.]

[Footnote AN: The expense of printing proper books is sometimes

mentioned as an objection, on account of requiring new types for the new

sounds taught. No expense can outweigh the value of a change by which

education can be facilitated; but even this difficulty has been obviated

by Major Beniowski's plan. He obtains the new symbols requisite by

simply inverting a certain number of letters for that purpose.]

CHAPTER XVIII.

_Canada_.

Early morning found me seated in the cars on my way to Quebec. Not being

a good hand at description of scenery, this railway travelling is a

great boon to my unfortunate reader--if he have got thus far. A Nubian

clothed in castor-oil, and descending from the heavens by a slippery

seat upon a rainbow, might as well attempt to describe the beauties of

our sphere as the caged traveller at the tail of the boiling kettle

attempt to convey much idea of the scenery he passes through. Not merely

do the scrunching squeaks of the break, the blasty trumpet whistle, the

slamming of doors, and the squalling of children bewilder his brain and

bedeafen his ears, but the iron tyrant enchains and confuses his eyes. A

beautiful village rivets his attention,--bang he goes into the tunneled

bowels of the earth; a magnificent panorama enchants his sight as he

emerges from the realms of darkness; he calls to a neighbour to share

the enjoyment of the lovely scene with him; the last sounds of the call

have not died away, ere he finds himself wedged in between two

embankments, with nought else but the sky for the eye to rest on. Is it

any wonder, then--nay, rather, is it not an evidence of

truthfulness--that I find the record of my journey thus described in my

note-book:--"7-1/2 A.M., Fizz, fizz; hiss, hiss--waving

fields--undulating ground--sky--varied tints of green--cottages, cattle,

humanities--bridges, bays, rivers, dust, and heat--Rouse's Point, 7-1/2

P.M." At this point we got out of the cage and embarked in a steamer.

The shroud of night hung heavily around us, and the lights of Montreal

and its suburbs, reflected in the unruffled stream, shone all the

brighter from the density of the surrounding darkness, and formed a

brilliant illumination. In half an hour I was comfortably housed in the

hotel, where, to my agreeable surprise, I met one of my countrywomen,

whose many charms had made her a theme of much admiration at Washington,

where I first had the pleasure of making her acquaintance.

Any one who, wandering far from home, finds himself surrounded with

utter strangers, will partially understand the pleasure I enjoyed at

finding one face I had looked upon before; but to understand it fully,

they must know the face I was then gazing upon. Don't be curious,

reader, as to whom it belonged, for I have no intention of enlightening

you, further than to say it belonged to her and her husband. Twelve

hours of railway makes me sleepy; it's my nature, and I can't help it,

so I trust I may be excused, when I confess that I very soon exchanged

the smile of beauty for the snore of Morpheus. What my dreams were, it

concerns nobody to know.

The magnificent brow of hill which overhangs Montreal was named in 1535

Mont Royal, by the famous Jacques Cartier, in honour of his royal

master; the French settlement which arose a century after, in the

neighbourhood of the Indian village of Hochelaga, assumed the name of

the hill, and has at last shaken down into its present combination. What

Goths, not to preserve the Indian name which savours of the land and of

antiquity, instead of substituting a French concoction! With regard to

the site of the town, there is no doubt it is on the island now called

Montreal; but where that island is situated may be considered an open

question; the river Ottawa runs into the St. Lawrence at the western

extremity of the island, and the question is, whether the water on the

northern shore is the Ottawa or the St. Lawrence; upon which depends

whether the island is in the St. Lawrence, or between the St. Lawrence

and the Ottawa. Not wishing to deprive either of their finger in the

pie, I should give my verdict in favour of the latter opinion; but I

leave it an open question to the reader. The population of the town is

increasing rapidly, no doubt owing in great measure to emigration. In

1849 it was 48,000, in 1851, 58,000. The great majority are of the

Church of Rome, 41,000; of the Church of England there are 4000; the

other denominations are in small numbers.

At the time I arrived, the town was full of gloom and excitement, for

it was but a few days previous that the Roman Catholics endeavoured to

murder Gavazzi, while delivering one of his anti-Romanistic lectures,

which, whatever their merits or demerits, were most certainly very

injudicious, considering the elements of which the population of

Montreal is composed; and it cannot be denied, that Signor Gavazzi's

lectures upon sacred subjects are delivered in a style partaking so much

of the theatrical, that a person ignorant of the language of his

address, might readily suppose that he was taking off John Kemble and

Liston alternately, and therefore the uneducated Irish emigrants might

very well conclude his sole object was to turn their creed into

ridicule. I certainly never heard or saw a person, lecturing on sacred

subjects, whose tone and manner were so ridiculously yet painfully at

variance with the solemnity due to such a theme. The excitement

produced, the constant calling out of the military, and the melancholy

sequel, are too recent and well known to require recapitulation here. It

is but just to the French Romanists to state, that as a body they

repudiated and took no part in the villanous attempt upon Gavazzi's

life; the assailants were almost exclusively Irish Romanists, who form

nearly one-fifth of the population. Would that they could leaven their

faith with those Christian virtues of peacefulness and moderation which

shine so creditably in their co-religionists of French origin.

While touching upon the subject of the military being called out in aid

of the civil power, I am reminded of a passage extracted from some

journal which a friend showed me, and which I consider so well

expressed, that I make no apology for giving it at length.

"THE MOB.--The mob is a demon fierce and ungovernable. It will not

listen to reason: it will not be influenced by fear, or pity, or

self-preservation. It has no sense of justice. Its energy is exerted

in frenzied fits; its forbearance is apathy or ignorance. It is a

grievous error to suppose that this cruel, this worthless hydra has

any political feeling. In its triumph, it breaks windows; in its

anger, it breaks heads. Gratify it, and it creates a disturbance;

disappoint it, and it grows furious; attempt to appease it, and it

becomes outrageous; meet it boldly, and it turns away. It is

accessible to no feeling but one of personal suffering; it submits to

no argument but that of the strong hand. The point of the bayonet

convinces; the edge of the sabre speaks keenly; the noise of musketry

is listened to with respect; the roar of artillery is unanswerable.

How deep, how grievous, how burdensome is the responsibility that lies

on him who would rouse this fury from its den! It is astonishing, it

is too little known, how much individual character is lost in the

aggregate character of a multitude. Men may be rational, moderate,

peaceful, loyal, and sober, as individuals; yet heap them by the

thousand, and in the very progress of congregation, loyalty,

quietness, moderation, and reason evaporate, and a multitude of

rational beings is an unreasonable and intemperate being--a wild,

infuriated monster, which may be driven, but not led, except to

mischief--which has an appetite for blood, and a savage joy in

destruction, for the mere gratification of destroying."

The various fires with which the city has been visited, however

distressing to the sufferers, have not been without their good effect,

of which the eye has most satisfactory evidence in the numerous public

and other buildings now built of stone. The only monument in the city is

one which was raised to Nelson. Whether the memory of the hero has

passed away, or the ravages of the weather call too heavily on the

public purse, I cannot say; but it would be more creditable to the town

to remove it entirely, than to allow it to remain in its present

disgraceful state. It is reported that its restoration is to be effected

by private subscription; if so, more shame to the authorities.

As nay first object was to reach Quebec, I only stayed one day at

Montreal, which I employed in driving about to see what changes had

taken place in the town and neighbourhood since my former visit in 1826.

I started by steamer in the evening, and arrived early the next morning.

Is there any scene more glorious to look upon than that which greets the

eye from the citadel at Quebec? The only scene I know more glorious is

Rio Janeiro, which I believe to be by far the grandest in the world; but

the Rio lacks the associations of Quebec. Who can ever forget that

beneath its walls two chieftains, the bravest of the brave, fell on the

same battle-field--the one in the arms of victory, the other in defence

of his country and her honour? The spot where our hero fell is marked by

a pillar thus simply inscribed:--

HERE DIED

WOLFE,

VICTORIOUS.

Nor has the noble foe been forgotten, though for a long time unnoticed.

In the year 1827, the Earl of Dalhousie being Governor-General, a

monument was raised in Quebec to Wolfe and Montcalm; and the death they

both met at the post of honour is commemorated on the same column,--a

column on which an Englishman may gaze with pride and a Frenchman

without a blush. The following words, forming part of the inscription, I

think well worthy of insertion: "Military prowess gave them a common

death, History a common fame, Posterity a common monument."

It is a curious fact, that when the foundation-stone was laid, an old

soldier from Ross-shire, the last living veteran of the gallant band who

fought under Wolfe, was present at the ceremony, being then in his

ninety-fifth year. Everybody who has seen or read of Quebec must

remember the magnificent towering rock overhanging the river, on the

summit of which the citadel is placed, forming at once the chief

stronghold of its defence, and the grandest feature of its scenery. But

perhaps everybody does not know that to this same glorious feature the

city owes its name. The puny exclamation of Jacques Cartier's Norman

pilot upon beholding it was, "_Que bec_!" and this expression of

admiration has buried, in all but total oblivion, the old Algonquin name

of Stadacona. What a pity that old pilot was not born dumb.

The increase of population here does not seem, to be very rapid. In

1844, it was about 36,000; now, it is little more than 42,000. There can

be no doubt that the severity of the climate is one great cause of so

small an increase. When it is remembered that the average arrival of the

first vessel after the breaking up of the ice is between the last week

of April and the first week in May, this need not he much wondered at.

The Governor-General's residence, is removed from the town, and a

beautiful little country villa, called Spencer Wood, has been assigned

him in lieu. It is situated on the banks of the river, about half a mile

inland; the only objection to it is, that the size thereof is not

sufficient for vice-regal entertainments; but a very slight addition

would remedy that defect. In all other respects it is a charming place,

as I can gratefully testify. The drives and sights around the city are

too well known to need much notice from me.

Montmorenci, with its frozen cone in winter, is one of the chief

resorts for pic-nickers in their sleighs. The trackless path over the

frozen snow during the season is as full of life as Windsor park was in

the old Ascot days. Bright eyes beaming from rosy cheeks, and half

buried in furs, anxiously watch for the excitement of a capsize, and

laugh merrily as the mixed tenants of some sleigh are seen rolling over

one another in most ludicrous confusion; the sun shines brightly, the

bells ring cheerily, all is jollity and fun, and a misanthrope would be

as much out of his element in one of these pic-nics as a bear in a

ballet.

The falls of Lorette afford another pleasant excursion, not forgetting

old Paul and his wife--a venerable Indian chief and his squaw--whom I

visited, and the cleanliness of whose cottage I had great pleasure in

complimenting him upon, as also upon his various medals, which extended

from Château Gai down to the Exhibition of 1851. He appeared as much

struck with my venerable appearance as I was with his; for, upon being

asked my age, he bestowed a searching glance from head to foot, and then

gravely replied, "Seventy-five." I rebelled against his decision, and

appealed to his wife, who kindly took my part, and after a steady gaze,

said, "Oh, Paul! that gentleman is not more than seventy-two." It was in

vain I tried to satisfy them, that thirty summers would have to pass

over my head before I reached that honourable time of life. However, it

is not only Indians who miscalculate age, for a young lady, fresh from

Ireland, having the same question put to her, said "Sixty;" and upon

being told she was seventeen years out in her calculation, she replied,

with painful coolness, "Which way?" I never felt a confirmed old

bachelor till I heard that awful "Which way?"

The roads round about in all directions are admirable; not so if you

cross the river to the Falls of the Chaudière; but the abomination of

abominations is the ferry-boat, and the facilities, or rather obstacles,

for entering and exiting. To any one who has seen the New York

ferry-boats, and all the conveniences connected with them, the contrast

is painfully humiliating. In the one case you drive on board as readily

as into a court-yard, and find plenty of room when you get there; in the

other, you have half a dozen men holding horses and carriages, screaming

in all directions, and more time is wasted in embarking than a Yankee

boat would employ to deposit you safely on the other side; and it would

puzzle a Philadelphia lawyer to decide which is the more abominable, the

exit or the entry. Nevertheless, the traveller will find himself

compensated for all his troubles--especially if the horse and carriage

be a friend's--by the lovely drive which takes him to the Chaudière

Falls, a trip I had the pleasure of making in company with a jolly party

of good fellows belonging to the 72nd Highlanders, then in garrison at

Quebec, and whose hospitalities during my stay I gratefully remember.

If, however, an Englishman feels humiliated in crossing the Quebec

ferry, he feels a compensating satisfaction upon entering the Quebec

Legislative Council Chamber, which in its aspect of cleanliness,

furniture, &c., has an appearance of refinement far superior to that at

Washington. As they were not sitting during my stay in Canada, I had no

opportunity of drawing any comparison on their different modes of

carrying on public business. I had heard so much during my absence from

England of the famous Rebellion Losses Bill, and all the obloquy which

had been heaped upon the Governor-General in consequence, that I was

very anxious to get some insight into the true state of the case,

although perhaps the justification of the Earl of Elgin's conduct by Sir

Robert Peel ought to have satisfied me.

I soon became convinced that in this, as in most similar cases, the

violence of party spirit had clouded truth; and the bitterness of

defeat, in minds thus prejudiced, had sought relief in the too-common

channels of violence and abuse. However much to be deplored, I fear that

the foregoing opinions will be found, on most occasions of political

excitement, to be true. The old party, who may be said to have enjoyed

the undisguised support of the Queen's representatives from time

immemorial, were not likely to feel very well disposed to Lord Elgin,

when they found that he was determined to identify himself with no

particular party, but that, being sent to govern Canada

constitutionally, he was resolved to follow the example of his

sovereign, and give his confidence and assistance to whichever party

proved, by its majority, to be the legitimate representative of the

opinions of the governed, at the same time ever upholding the right and

dignity of the Crown. This was, of course, a first step in unpopularity

with the party who, long triumphant, now found themselves in a minority;

then, again, it must be remembered that a majority which had for so many

years been out of power was not likely, in the excitement of victory, to

exercise such moderation as would be calculated to soothe the irritated

feelings of their opponents, who, they considered, had enjoyed too long

the colonial loaves and fishes.

With all these elements at work, it is not to be wondered at that a

question which admitted of misinterpretation should be greedily laid

hold of, and that, thus misinterpreted, the passions of the mob should

be successfully roused. I believe there is little question that the

Government brought forward the Rebellion Losses Bill in the Senate in a

manner, if not arrogant, at all events most offensive, and thus added

fuel to the flames; but, viewed dispassionately, what is the truth of

this far-famed bill? It was framed upon the precedent of that for the

payment of similar losses in Upper Canada on a previous occasion, and I

believe the very same commissioners were appointed to carry out its

provisions. It received the sanction of the Governor-General in the same

way as all other bills, and was never smuggled through, as the irritated

opposition and infuriated mobs would have us believe. The

Governor-General clearly states that it never was intended in any way

"to compensate the losses of persons guilty of the heinous crime of

treason," and the names of the commissioners appointed to decide upon

the claims of the sufferers might alone have been a sufficient guarantee

that such an abominable idea was never entertained. Without mentioning

others, take Colonel W.C. Hanson: schooled in the field of honour and

patriotism, whose courage has been tried in many a bloody struggle

during the Peninsular war, and is attested by the honourable badges that

adorn his breast. Is a recreant rebel likely to find sympathy in that

breast which for half a century stood unchallenged for loyalty and

truth? What do his letters, as one of the commissioners, prove beyond

the shadow of a doubt? I have them now before me; and, so far from

claims being hastily admitted, I find the gallant old soldier constantly

advocating the cause of some claimant whom the commissioners declined to

indemnify, but never yet have I seen his name as opposed to any

compensation granted; possessing that still more noble quality which is

ever the lovely handmaid of true courage, his voice is raised again and

again for mercy.

I could quote from numerous letters of this veteran, extracts similar to

the following:--The claimants were inhabitants of St. Benoit, some

portion of which population had been in arms as rebels, but upon the

approach of the Queen's troops they had all laid down their arms. As to

the facts of the case, Colonel Hanson writes to Lord Seaton, who

replies:--"The soldiers were regularly put up in the village by the

Quartermaster-General's department, and strict orders were issued to

each officer to protect the inhabitants and their property; Lieut.-Col.

Townsend to remain in the village of St. Benoit for its protection, the

remainder of the troops to return to Montreal. The utmost compassion and

consideration should be felt for the families of the sufferers plunged

into affliction by the reckless conduct of their relatives; every house

injured or destroyed at St. Benoit was a wanton destruction, perpetrated

in defiance of guards placed to protect property." Thus writes Lord

Seaton. Colonel Hanson, after quoting the above, proceeds to state that

the evidence before the commissioners proves that "immediately after

Lieut.-Col. Townsend assembled his regiment for the purpose of marching

back to Montreal, the volunteers from the northern townships commenced

plundering the village, carrying off the whole of the effects belonging

to the inhabitants, burning the church, and nearly every house in the

village ... wilfully and wantonly destroying houses, and in many

instances burning valuable barns and granaries.... Therefore I humbly

pretend that every such individual who thus suffered should be

indemnified, as his loss was a wanton destruction of the dwellings,

buildings, property, and effects of the said inhabitants." Yet such was

the jealous way in which the commissioners excluded all doubtful

claimants, that Colonel Hanson found himself in a minority upon the

consideration of the foregoing claims, and, as a man of honour and

anxious for justice, felt it his duty to address a letter to the

Governor-General upon the subject, from which letter, bearing date

January, 1852, the foregoing extracts have been taken.

I have very many of such complaints of justice being withheld from

claimants, in the opinion of the gallant colonel, now lying before me,

but "_ex uno disce omnes_." I have read a great portion of the Report,

and the conclusion is irresistibly forced upon my mind, that everything

which could possibly be brought to assume the slightest shade of

rebellion was made fatal to an applicant's claim; but if anything were

wanting to satisfy my mind that the vilifiers of the "Losses Bill" had

not any ground of complaint against the measure, it would be found in

the fact, that among its various opponents to whom I spoke, they one and

all exclaimed, "Look at the case of Nelson, absolutely a rebel in arms,

and his claims listened to!" This was their invariable reply; and, until

I made inquiry, it looked very bad. But what was the real state of the

case? Simply that Nelson, having been ruined by his rebellion, many

loyal and faithful subjects to whom he owed debts suffered for his

faults; and the money awarded for the losses sustained by the rebel went

to pay the loyal debtors, except a small portion which was granted to

his wife, who was well known to be strongly opposed to the course he had

pursued, and who had lost considerable property which she held in her

own right. I say that the fact of Nelson's case being always brought up

as the great enormity carried more conviction to my mind of the utter

weakness of the opponents' cause than anything else; and it also proved

to me how ignorant many of them were of the truth, for several of them

who vilified the Bill, the Government, and the Governor-General, had not

the slightest idea, till I informed them, how the Nelson award was

applied.

There is no doubt that the atrocities of which Montreal was the scene

constitute the most discreditable features in modern Canadian history,

and which, it is to be hoped, the instigators to and actors in are long

since fully ashamed of; nor can the temper and judgment of the

Governor-General on this trying occasion be too highly extolled. When it

was imperative to dissolve the Parliament, he foresaw that his not doing

so in person would be misconstrued by his enemies, and that he would be

branded by them with that most galling of all accusations to a noble

heart--cowardice. With a high-minded sense of duty, he put all such

personal considerations aside. There were two courses open to him: one,

to call out the military, and in their safe keeping dissolve the

Assembly; the other, to depute the Commander of the Forces to perform

that duty. The former must have produced a collision with the populace,

and the blood of many whom he believed to be as loyal as he knew they

were misguided and excited would have flowed freely; the latter, he

foresaw, would be misconstrued into an act of personal cowardice, but he

knew it would prevent a flow of blood, the remembrance of which would

keep alive the bitterest elements of political animosity for years to

come. With true patriotism, he sacrificed himself at the shrine of the

country he was sent to govern, preferring to be the subject of the most

galling accusations rather than shed unnecessarily one drop of the blood

of those committed to his rule.

During the whole of Lord Elgin's able and prosperous administration, I

can scarcely conceive any one act of his to which he can look back with

more satisfaction, than this triumph of his judgment over his feelings,

when he offered up just pride and dignity on the altar of mercy, and

retired to Quebec. A shallow-pated fellow, who had probably figured

personally in the outrages of that period, in talking to me on the

subject, thus described it,--"he bolted off in a funk to Quebec;" and

doubtless hundreds of others, as shallow-pated as himself, had been made

to believe such was the case, and vituperation being the easiest of all

ignoble occupations, they had probably done their best to circulate the

paltry slander. Lord Elgin, however, needs no goose-quill defender; the

unprecedented increasing prosperity of the colony under his

administration is the most valuable testimony he could desire. It is not

every governor who, on his arrival, finding a colony in confusion and

rebellion, has the satisfaction, on his resignation of office, of

leaving harmony and loyalty in their place, and the revenue during the

same period increased from 400,000l. to 1,500,000l.: and if any

doubt ever rested upon his mind as to whether his services were approved

of and appreciated at home, it must have been removed in the most

gratifying manner, when, upon a public dinner being given him at the

London Tavern, 1854, all shades of politicals gathered readily to do him

honour; and while the chairman, Lord John Russell, was eulogizing his

talents and his administration, five other colonial and ex-colonial

ministers were present at the same board to endorse the compliment; the

American Minister also bearing his testimony to the happy growth of

good feeling between the two countries, which Lord Elgin had so

successfully fostered and developed. I cannot recal to my memory any

other instance of so great an honour having been paid to a colonial

governor.

I was astonished to find so little had been done in Canada for the

organization of a militia force, especially when their republican

neighbours afford them an example of so much activity and efficiency in

that department. It may not be desirable as yet for the colony to

establish any military school, such as West Point; but it might be

agreeable and advantageous to the colonists, if we allowed a given

number of young men to be educated at each of our military colleges in

England; those only being eligible, who, by a severe examination, had

proved their capabilities, and whose conduct at the places of their

education had been noted as exemplary. By such simple means, a certain

amount of military knowledge would gradually be diffused amongst the

colonists, which would render them more efficient to repress internal

troubles or repel foreign aggression.

As it may be interesting to some of my readers, I shall here give a

slight sketch of the Canadian parliaments. The Legislative Assembly, or

House of Commons, is composed of eighty-four members, being forty-two

for each province. The qualification for membership is 500l., and the

franchise 40s. freehold, or 7l. 10s. the householder; it is also

granted to wealthy leaseholders and to farmers renting largely; the term

is for four years, and members are paid 1l. per day while sitting, and

6d. per mile travelling expenses. The Legislative Council consists of

forty members, and is named by the Crown for life. The Cabinet, or

Executive Council, are ten in number, and selected from both Houses by

the Governor-General. Their Chancellor of the Exchequer is the Prime

Minister. The Canadians wish to do away with the qualification for

members of the Assembly, retaining the qualification for the franchise,

and to increase the number of members to sixty-five for each province.

They also desire to supersede the nomination of the Crown, and to make

the Legislative Council elective,[AO] with a property qualification of

1000l., thirty members for each province; these latter to be elected

for six years.

With regard to the proposed change in the Legislative Council, I confess

I look upon its supposed advantages--if carried out--with considerable

doubt, inasmuch as the electors being the same as those for the other

Chamber, it will become merely a lower house, elected for a longer

period, and will lose that prestige which might have been obtained by

exacting a higher qualification from the electors. Then, again, I think

the period for which they are elected decidedly too short, being fully

convinced that an increase in duration will usually produce an increase

in the respectability of the candidates offering themselves for

election; an opinion in which I am fully borne out by many of the wisest

heads who assisted in framing the government of the United States, and

who deplored excessively the shortness of the period for which the

senators were elected.[AP] I cannot believe, either, that the removing

the power of nomination entirely from the Crown will prove beneficial to

the colony. Had the experiment been commenced with the Crown resigning

the nomination of one-half of the members, I think it would have been

more prudent, and would have helped to keep alive those feelings of

association with, and loyalty to, the Crown which I am fully certain the

majority of the Canadians deeply feel; a phalanx of senators, removed

from all the sinister influences of the periodical simoons common to all

countries would thus have been retained, and the Governor-General would

have had the power of calling the highest talent and patriotism to his

councils, in those times of political excitement when the passions of

electors are too likely to be enlisted in favour of voluble agitators,

who have neither cash nor character to lose. However, as these questions

are to be decided, as far as this country is concerned, by those who

probably care but little for my opinions, and as the question is not one

likely to interest the general reader, I shall not dilate further upon

it.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote AO: Since my return to England the proposed increase in the

Legislative Assembly has taken place. The Imperial Government has also

empowered the colony to alter the constitution of the Legislative

Council, and to render it elective if they thought proper so to do.]

[Footnote AP: _Vide_ Chapter on the "Constitution of the United

States."]

CHAPTER XIX.

_A Trip to the Uttawa_.

Having spent a fortnight in the enjoyment of lovely scenery and warm

hospitality, and taken a last and lingering gaze at the glorious

panoramic view from the citadel, I embarked once more on the St.

Lawrence. It was evening; and, as the moon rose bright and clear, the

wooded banks and silvered stream formed as charming a picture as the eye

of man could wish to rest upon. Morning found us at Montreal. Among my

fellow-passengers were two members of the Cabinet, or Executive Council,

Mr. Hincks and Mr. Drummond, both on their way to the Ottawa, the

commercial importance of that river to the prosperity of the colony

having induced them to take the trip with a view of ascertaining, by

actual observation and examination, what steps were most advisable to

improve its navigation.

My intention was to start at once for Kingston; but when they kindly

asked me to accompany them, I joyfully accepted, and an hour after I

landed at Montreal I was on the rail with my friends, hissing away to

Lachine, where the chief office of the Hudson's Bay Company is fixed.

There we embarked in a steamer on Lake St. Louis, which is a struggling

compound of the dark brown Ottawa and the light blue St. Lawrence. The

lake was studded with islands, and the scenery rendered peculiarly

lovely by the ever-changing lights and shades from the rising sun. We

soon left the St. Lawrence compound and reached that part of the

Ottawa[AQ] which the poet has immortalized by his beautiful "Canadian

Boat Song."

St. Anne's is a small village, and the rapids being impassable in low

water they have built a lock to enable steamers to ascend; but

fortunately, when we passed, there was sufficient water, and we steamed

up the song-famed rapids, above which the river spreads out into the

Lake of the Two Mountains. It is proposed to build a railway bridge for

the main trunk line, just above the rapids. How utterly the whizzing,

whistling kettle spoils the poetry of scenery, undeniable though its

utility be! There is no doubt that the Lake of the Two Mountains has

many great beauties; but, whatever they may be, a merciless storm of

rain effectually curtained them from us, and we traversed the whole lake

to Point Fortune in a mist worthy of the Western Highlands. There we

took coach, as the locks at Carillon are not yet large enough for

full-sized steamers to pass. The road was alike good and uninteresting,

running by the side of the canal, whose banks were here and there

enlivened by groups of wild flowers.

A stage of twelve miles brought us to Grenville, where we again took

steamer on the Ottawa, and, the weather being finer, we had an

opportunity of enjoying the scenery, which is very peculiar. It has none

of the wild features of grandeur which one associates with comparatively

unknown streams, in a country where all is gigantesque. There is nothing

mountainous or craggy, but the banks and hills at the back being

luxuriously wooded, and conveying the idea of being well tenanted, the

absence of human habitations seems unnatural, and gives the solitude an

air of mystery, only broken at long intervals by a bowered cottage or a

wreath of smoke. The most remarkable building is the French château of

M. Papineau, very prettily situated on the northern bank, commanding an

extensive view of the river, and looking in its isolation as though its

occupant was a second Robinson Crusoe, and monarch of all he surveyed.

Night soon buried all scenery in its sable mantle, and, after sixty

miles steaming, we reached Bytown, where we found friends and

conveyances ready to take us over to Aylmer, there to sleep preparatory

to a further excursion up the river early in the morning. As the

distance was only eight miles, we were soon at Mr. Egan's hospitable

board, from which we speedily retired to rest, so as to be ready for the

morrow's trip.

Early dawn found us on hoard and steaming merrily up the glorious

stream, which, spreading out very widely, has been lakefied, and is

called Lake Chaudière and Du Chêne, thus named, I suppose, because the

water is cold and there are few oaks to be seen. Be that as it may, the

scenery, though possessing neither striking features nor variety, is

very pretty and cheerful. A quantity of lovely little villas stud the

banks, some ensconced snugly in cosy nooks, others standing out boldly

upon the rich greensward; and, for a background, you have full-bosomed

hills, rich in forest monarchs, clad in their dense and dark mantles.

Suddenly the scene changes, the Chats Falls burst upon the sight; and

well does the magnificent view repay the traveller for any difficulty he

may have had in his endeavours to reach this spot. About three miles

above the rocky and well-wooded island that creates the falls, the river

contracts very considerably, and in its rushing impetuosity seems as

though it were determined to sweep the whole island into the lake below;

then there appears to have been a compromise between the indignant

stream and the obstinate island, and the latter seems to have offered up

a great portion of its timber at the shrine of Peace, and to have

further granted various rights of way to its excited neighbour. The

river seems to have taken advantage of both these concessions very

largely, but it appears that in nature, as it often occurs in politics,

concessions only breed increased demands, and the ungrateful Ottawa,

while sweeping away forest timber and baring the granite rock in a dozen

different channels, thunders its foaming waters along with an angry

voice, ever crying "More, more."

I never saw anything more beautiful than these falls. They are generally

from twenty to forty feet broad, and about the same in height; but from

the shape of the island you cannot see them all at once; and as you

steam along there is a continual succession of them, each revealing some

new beauty. It was at this place that I, for the first time, saw a slide

for the descent of lumber, to which I shall have to refer hereafter. For

many years the porterage of goods across this island to the Ottawa

above--which is called Lake Chats--was a work of much difficulty and

expense. Mr. E., with that enterprise and energy which mark his

character, got two friends of kindred spirit to join him, and made a

railway across, about three miles and a half long. It is a single line,

constructed upon piles, and the car is rattled over at a jolly pace by

two spicy ponies. As the piles are in some places from twenty to thirty

feet in the air, it looks nervous work; and if one of the ponies bolted,

it might produce a serious accident; but they seem aware of the danger,

and trot away as steadily as an engine, if not quite so rapidly.

On reaching the north-western end of the island, another steamer was

waiting for us, and we again breasted the stream of the Ottawa. After

passing the first three miles, which, as before mentioned, are very

narrow, and thus produce that additional impetus which ends in the

lovely Chats Falls, the river opens out into the Lake. The shores are

low and with a gentle rise, and there is comparatively little appearance

of agricultural activity, the settler having found the ground at the

back of the rise better suited for farming purposes.

Some distance up the lake, and close to its margin, is the farm of Mr.

McDonnell, thus forming an exception to the general rule. His residence

is an excessively pretty cottage, commanding a grand panoramic view.

Here we stopped to pay a visit to the energetic old Highlander and his

family, and to enjoy his hospitalities. If he is to be taken as a

specimen of the salubrity of the climate, I never saw so healthy a

place. He came here as a lad to push his fortunes, with nothing but a

good axe and a stout heart. He has left fifty summers far behind him; he

looks the embodiment of health, and he carries his six feet two inches

in a way that might well excite the envy of a model drill-sergeant; and

when he took my hand to welcome me, I felt all my little bones

scrunching under his iron grasp, as if they were so many bits of pith.

I could not help contrasting the heartiness of his welcome with the two

stiff fingers which in highly-civilized life are so often proffered

either from pride or indifference; and though he did very nearly make me

cry "Enough!" I would a thousand times rather suffer and enjoy his

hearty grasp than the cold formality of conventional humbug. The hardy

old pioneer has realized a very comfortable independence, and he told me

his only neighbours were a band of his countrymen at the back of the

hill, who speak Gaelic exclusively and scarce know a word of English.

They mostly came out with "The Macnab," but from time to time they are

refreshed by arrivals from the Old Country.

Having a long day's work before us, we were enabled to make but a short

stay, so, bidding him and his family a sincere good-bye and good speed,

we renewed our journey. We soon came in sight of the black stumpy

monuments of one of the most disastrous conflagrations which ever

victimized a forest. Some idea may be formed of the ravages of the

"devouring element," from the simple fact that it all but totally

consumed every stick of timber covering a space of forty-five miles by

twenty-five; and the value of what was thus destroyed may be partially

estimated, when it is considered that one good raft of timber is worth

from three to five thousand pounds. These rafts, which are seen dotted

about the lake in every direction, have a very pretty effect, with their

little distinguishing flags floating in the breeze, some from the top of

a pole, some from the top of the little shanty in which their hardy

navigators live; and a dreary, fatiguing, and dangerous career it must

be; but Providence, in his mercy, has so constituted man, that habit

grows into a new nature; and these hardy sons of creation sing as

merrily, smile as cheerfully, smoke as calmly, and unquestionably sleep

as soundly, as any veteran in idleness, though pampered with luxuries,

and with a balance at his banker's which he is at a loss how to

squander.

These sons of toil bear practical testimony to the truth of what the

late lamented Sir J. Franklin always declared to be his conviction, from

long experience, viz., that the use of spirits is enfeebling rather than

invigorating to those who have to work in the most severe climates. The

Lumberers are nearly all teetotallers, and I am told they declare that

they find their health bettered, their endurance strengthened, their

muscles hardened, and their spirits enlivened by the change. If this be

so, and if we find that the natives of warm climates are, as a mass,

also teetotallers, and that when they forsake their temperance colours

they deteriorate and eventually disappear, I fear we must come to the

conclusion, that however delicious iced champagne or sherry-cobbler may

be, or however enjoyable "a long pull at the pewter-pot," they are not

in any way necessary to health or cheerfulness, and that, like all

actions, they have their reactions, and thus create a desire for their

repetition, until by habit they become a second nature, to the great

comfort and consolation of worthy wine-merchants and fashionable medical

men, whose balance-sheets would suffer about equally by the

discontinuance of their use; not to mention the sad effects of their

misuse, as daily exhibited in police reports and other features, if

possible worse, which the records of "hells" would reveal.

So strong does the passion become, that I know of a lady who weighs

nearly a ton, and is proud of displaying more of her precious substance

than society generally approves of, in whom the taste "for a wee drop"

is so strong, that, to enable her to gratify it more freely, she has the

pleasure of paying two medical men a guinea each daily, to stave off as

long as they can its insidious attacks upon her gigantic frame. You must

not, however, suppose that I am a teetotaller. I have tried it, and

never found myself better than while practising it; still I never lose a

chance if a bottle of iced champagne is circulating, for I confess--I

love it dearly.

Pardon this digression.--We are again on the Ottawa; as we advance, the

river narrows and becomes studded with little islands covered with wild

shrubs and forest trees, from whose stiff unyielding boughs the more

pliant shoots droop playfully into the foaming stream below, like the

children of Gravity coquetting with the family of Passion. Of course

these islands form rapids in every direction: we soon, approach the one

selected as the channel in which to try our strength. On we dash

boldly--down rushes the stream with a roar of defiance; arrived midway,

a deadly struggle ensues between boiling water and running water; we

tremble in the balance of victory--the rushing waters triumph; we sound

a retreat, which is put in practice with the caution of a Xenophon, and

down we glide into the stiller waters below.

Poke the fires,--pile the coals! Again we dash onwards--again we reach

midway--again the moment of struggle--again the ignominy of

defeat--again the council of war in the stiller waters below. We now

summon all our energies, determined that defeat shall but nerve us to

greater exertion. We go lower down, so as to obtain greater initial

velocity; the fires are made to glow one spotless mass of living heat.

Again the charge is sounded: on we rush, our little boat throbbing from

stem to stern; again the angry waters roar defiance--again the deadly

struggle--again for a moment we tremble in the balance of victory.

Suddenly a universal shout of triumph is heard, and as the joyous cheers

die in echoes through the forest, we are breasting the smoother waters

of the Ottawa above the rapids.

This is all very well on paper, but I assure you it was a time of

intense excitement to us; if in the moment of deadly struggle the tiller

ropes had broken, or the helmsman had made one false turn of the wheel,

we might have got across the boiling rapids, and then good-bye to

sublunary friends; our bones might have been floating past Quebec before

the news of our destruction had reached it.

The Ottawa is by no means the only channel in these parts for conveying

the produce of the lumberer's toil: there are tributaries innumerable,

affording hundreds of miles of raft navigation; so that an almost

indefinite field for their labour is open, and years, if not centuries,

must elapse before the population can increase sufficiently to effect

any very material inroad on these all but inexhaustible forests.

After proceeding a few miles beyond the scene of our late severe

struggle, we reached the little village of Portage du Fort, above which

the rapids are perfectly impassable. The inhabitants of this little wild

forest community are not very numerous, as may be supposed, and the only

object of interest is a flour-mill, which supplies the lumberers for

many miles, both above and below. Our little steamer being unable to

ascend higher, we were compelled to make a Scotchman's cruise of

it--"There and bock agin." So, turning our head eastward, we bowled

along merrily with the stream, dashing down our late antagonist like a

flash of lightning, then across the lake, and through a fleet of

bannered rafts, till we landed on the Chats Falls Island, where we found

our ponies ready to whisk us along the mid-air railway. Re-embarking on

the steamer of the morning, we found a capital dinner ready for us, and

ere the shades of evening had closed in, we were once more enjoying the

hospitalities of Aylmer.

Aylmer has only a population of 1100 inhabitants, but they are not idle.

The house of Mr. E. does business with the lumberers to the tune of

200,000l. annually, and supplies them with 15,000 lb. of tea every

year. Grog-shops are at a discount in these parts. The increasing

prosperity of this neighbourhood is mainly owing to the energy and

enterprise of Mr. Egan and his friend M. Aumond. It was by these two

gentlemen that the steam-boats were put on the lakes, and the rail made

across the island. Everybody feels how much the facility of conveyance

has increased the prosperity of this locality; and the value of Mr. E.'s

services is honourably recognised, by his unopposed election as the

representative of the district. Having had a good night's rest, and

taken in a substantial breakfast, we started off on our return to

Bytown, which city may he considered as the headquarters of the

lumberers.

The ground upon which the greater part of Bytown stands was offered some

years since to a servant, as payment for a debt of 70l.; he found the

bargain so bad, that he tried to get out of it. The value of the same

land is now estimated at 200,000l.!!! As late as 1826, there was not

one stone put upon another; now the population is 10,000, and steadily

increasing. Nothing can exceed the beauty of the panoramic view from the

verge of the Barrack Hill, which is a dark, frowning, perpendicular rock

several hundred feet high. To the west are the Chaudière Falls, 200 feet

broad and 60 feet high, irregular in shape, and broken here and there by

rocks, around which the rapids leap in unceasing frenzy, ere they take

their last plunge into the maddened gulf below, thence rolling their

dark waters beneath your feet. Below the falls the river is spanned by a

very light and beautiful suspension-bridge. This part of the scene is

enlivened by the continual descent of timber-rafts rushing down the

slides, skilfully guided by their hardy and experienced navigators.

Around you is a splendid expanse of waving field and sombre forest, far

as the eye can stretch, and bounded towards the north by mountains

looming and half lost in distance, whence comes the mighty Gatineau--a

watery highway for forest treasure, threading its course like a stream

of liquid silver as the sun's rays dance upon its bosom,--the whole

forming one of the most beautiful panoramas imaginable.

No place was ever better calculated for the capital of a great country.

Bordering upon Upper and Lower Canada, only twelve hours from Montreal,

easily capable of defence, with a trade increasing in value as rapidly

as the source thereof is inexhaustible, at the confluence of two rivers

whose banks are alike rich in timber and arable land--requiring but

nineteen miles of lockage to unite the St. Lawrence, the Ottawa, and the

Gatineau with the boundless inland lakes of America--possessing the

magnificent Rideau Canal, which affords a ready transport down to

Kingston on Lake Ontario--rich with scenery, unsurpassed in beauty and

grandeur, and enjoying a climate as healthy as any the world can

produce,--Nature seems to have marked out Bytown as the site for a

Canadian metropolis. In short, were I a prophet instead of a traveller,

I should boldly predict that such it must be some day, if Canada remain

united and independent.

I must here explain the slides for lumber, before alluded to. In days

gone by, all lumber was shot down the rapids, to find its way as best it

could, the natural consequence being that large quantities were

irrecoverably lost. It occurred to Mr. Wright that this waste of toil

and timber might be obviated, and he accordingly, after great labour and

expense, succeeded in inventing what is termed a slide--in other words,

an inclined wooden frame--upon which a certain number of the huge logs

that compose a portion of a raft can be floated down together in perfect

security, under the guidance of one or two expert men. The invention

answered admirably, as is proved by the fact that, through its

instrumentality, timber which formerly took two seasons to reach Quebec,

now does so in five months. Like many other inventors, I fear Mr. Wright

has not received justice at the hands of the Government, who, by

building slides of their own, and granting advantages to those who use

them, have thus removed the traffic from Mr. Wright's--an injustice

which it is to be hoped it is not too late to repair; at all events, the

Imperial Legislature, which felt bound to vote 4000l. to a man that

invented a machine for making little holes between penny stamps, on the

ground of commercial utility, must agree with me that it is unworthy of

a lumbering colony to neglect the claims of a man whose invention has

proved to be a benefit to the lumber trade, absolutely beyond

calculation.

The chief proprietor at Bytown is the Hon. Mr. Mackay, and of his career

in Canada he may indeed be justly proud. Arriving in the country as a

labourer without a friend, he has, by his integrity and intellectual

capability, fought his way up nobly to the highest position in the

colony, and is one of the most respected members of the Legislative

Council. Nor has he, while battling for senatorial honours, neglected

his more material interests, and the energy he has brought to bear upon

them has been rewarded to his heart's desire. He has a charming little

country place, called Rideau Hall, about three miles out of town, and is

the owner of several carding, saw, and flour mills, besides an

extensive cloth factory, from the produce of which I am at this moment

most comfortably clad. Mr. Mackay's career may fairly be termed a useful

colonial monument, to encourage the aspirations of noble ambition, and

to scourge the consciences of those drones who always see "a lion in the

way." We had the pleasure of enjoying his hospitalities at a grand

breakfast which he gave in honour of my two travelling friends, who

were, I believe, the first members of the Executive Council that had

been here for very many years.

One object of their present visit was to ascertain, from personal

observation and inquiry, how far it was desirable the Government should

grant money for the purpose of making any of the locks requisite to

connect the Ottawa, &c., with Montreal and Quebec. I cannot for an

instant doubt their being most thoroughly convinced both of its perfect

practicability and of its immense importance. It only requires the

construction of nineteen miles of canal, to complete an unbroken water

communication from Quebec to the Ottawa and all its gigantic

tributaries, extending even to Lake Temiscaming; and if a canal were cut

from this latter to Lake Nipissing, the communication would then be

complete through the heart of Canada across all the inland ocean waters

of the American continent, and thence to New York _viâ_ Erie Canal and

Hudson, or to New Orleans _viâ_ Illinois Canal, River, and Mississippi.

Already 50,000l. have been, voted for this purpose, and this first

instalment is mainly due to the energy of Mr. Egan. As a mark of respect

for their representative, he was to be honoured with a public dinner, at

which my two companions of the Executive Council were to attend.

Unfortunately, my time was limited, and I was obliged to decline

participating in the compliment which Mr. Egan had so well earned; so,

bidding adieu to my friends, and casting one last and lingering glance

at that glorious panorama--the remembrance of which time can never

efface, I got into an open shay, and began prosecuting my solitary way

towards Prescott.

I left the hotel as the guests were all arriving, and the fumes of the

coming feast proclaiming in the most appetizing way the object of their

meeting. I had two hours' daylight still left, and thus was enabled to

see a little of that part of the neighbourhood, which alone was

concealed when standing on the Barrack-hill. The more I saw of it, the

more convinced was I of the peculiar adaptation of Bytown for a great

city; the ground is admirably suited for building, and possesses a

water-power which is inexhaustible. My road, as may naturally be

supposed in a new country, lay through alternations of forest and

cultivation; if it was not well macadamized, at least it was far better

than I had expected, and there is some pleasure in being agreeably

disappointed, and able to jog along without eternally bumping in some

deep rut, which shakes the ash off your cigar inside your waistcoat.

Here and there, of course, I came across a break-neck tract, but that

only made the contrast more enjoyable.

At half-past twelve at night the little horses began to feel the effects

of six hours' work, so I stopped at a tolerably miserable wayside inn

for four hours, which was distributed between washing, feeding, and

sleeping. Sharp work, but I was anxious to catch the steamer; so,

snatching what rest I could out of that brief period, and hoping the

horses had done the same, I was again _en route_ at 5 A.M., and by great

exertions reached Prescott in good time to learn that the steamer had

started half an hour before my arrival. I consoled myself, as well as I

could, with a washing basin, a teapot, and auxiliaries. I then went to

look at the town, which consists of about three streets, and 3000

inhabitants; so that operation was accomplished without trouble,

interest, or much loss of time. Ascertaining that if I went over to

Ogdensburg, I could catch a steamer at 2 P.M., I ferried across

instanter, wishing to get a look at Brother Jonathan's town before

starting. A comparison between the two was not flattering to my national

vanity. Instead of finding a population of 3000, with no indication of

progress, I found a population of 8000, with go-aheadism in all

quarters; large houses, large streets, and active prosperity stamped on

everything. Doubtless this disparity is greatly owing to the railway, by

which the latter is connected with the whole State of New York, and also

from the want of reciprocity. Nevertheless, there is a stamp of energy

at Ogdensburg, which the most careless observer cannot but see is

wanting at Prescott.

Mr. Parish is the great proprietor at the former of these towns, and is

said to be a man of considerable wealth, which he appears to be

employing alike usefully and profitably--viz., in reclaiming from the

lake a piece of land, about four hundred square yards, adjoining the

railway terminus, by which means vessels will be able to unload readily

on his new wharf; the reclaimed ground will thereby acquire an enormous

value for storehouses.

Having finished my observations, and been well baked by a vertical

sun, I embarked at 2 P.M. Lovely weather and lovely scenery.

The village of Brockville is very prettily situated on the banks of the

lake, and is considered one of the prettiest towns in Canada. Continuing

our course, numberless neat little villages and lovely villas appear

from time to time; but when fairly on the Lake of The Thousand Isles,

the scenery is altogether charming, and some new beauty is constantly

bursting into view. Upon the present occasion the scene was rendered

more striking by the perfect reflection of all the islands upon the

burnished bosom of the glassy lake. We reached Cape Vincent towards

evening, and, changing into another steamer, landed safely at Kingston

about ten at night, where, finding a young artillery friend, I was soon

immersed in that most absorbing of all pleasures to one long from

home--viz., talking over old friends and old scenes, until you feel as

though you were among both of them. Night, however, has its claims upon

man, and, being honest, I discharged my obligation by going to bed as

the tell-tale clock struck three.

Kingston is but a small place, though once of considerable importance.

The population is about 12,000. In the year 1841, Lord Sydenham having

removed the seat of Government from Toronto to Kingston, the inhabitants

expended large sums of money in the expectation that it would so

continue; but, in 1844, it was removed back again, and consequently a

very heavy loss was incurred by those who had laid out their money. It

is this eternal shifting about of the seat of Government--the

disadvantage of which must be manifest to every one--that makes me hope

Bytown, the position of which is so central, may some day be decided

upon as the city to enjoy that honour permanently. However much Kingston

may be recovering itself, and I was told it is, I must confess that,

despite its cathedral, colleges, university, and other fine buildings,

which it undoubtedly possesses, the grass in the streets and lanes, the

pigs and the cows feeding about in all directions, made me feel ashamed,

especially when I thought of young Ogdensburg, which I had so lately

left. Taking into consideration the extent of lake communication which

it enjoys, and that by the magnificent Rideau Canal the whole country of

the Ottawa is open to it, I must say that I consider the state of

Kingston the strongest reflection upon the energy and enterprise of the

population. The finest view is from the citadel, which commands a

splendid panoramic expanse; the fortifications are in good repair, and

garrisoned by Canadian Rifles and a few Royal Artillerymen. One of the

objects I should have had most interest in visiting was the Provincial

Penitentiary, the arrangements of which, I had heard, were admirable;

but, as I had no time to see them, the reader is saved the details.

At 3 P.M., I was again steaming away on Lake Ontario, which soon spreads

out into an open sea. The boat was tolerably good and clean, and the

food to match, but it was served down below; the cabin was therefore

very stuffy. I selected a bed with great care, and in due time got into

it, quite delighted with my carefully-chosen position, and soon buried

my nose in the pillow, full of peaceful hopes. Luckless mortal! scarce

had my nose extracted the cold from its contact with the pillow-case,

when a sound came rushing forth with a violence which shook not only me

and my bed, but the whole cabin. The tale is soon told. I had built my

nest at the muzzle of the whistle of the engine, and, as they made a

point of screeching forth the moment anything appeared in sight, you may

guess that I had a pleasant night of it, and have scrupulously avoided

repeating the experiment in any subsequent steam excursions. Having

nobody to blame but myself, I lost the little satisfaction I might have

had in abusing somebody else, and calling him a stupid ass for making

such a choice. However, as a matter of justice, I abused myself, and the

point being beyond dispute, no rejoinder was put in. Pleased with the

candour of my confession, I caught such snatches of rest as the engineer

and his whistle in mercy vouchsafed me--the next morning we were in

Toronto.

* * * * *

NOTE.--The Bytown mentioned in the foregoing chapter is now called

Ottawa, and is a candidate, in conjunction with Montreal and Toronto,

for the honour of permanent metropolitanism.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote AQ: Originally Uttàwa, wherein Moore has shown alike his good

taste and respect for antiquity by adhering to the original and more

beautiful name.]

CHAPTER XX.

_Colonial Education and Prosperity_.

Toronto is prettily situated, and looks flourishing and prosperous; the

way in which property is increasing in value here is wonderful, and the

hits some people have made are quite fabulous. A property which had been

bought for 30,000l., was, within a month--before even the price was

paid in full--resold in lots for 100,000l. The position of the town is

admirably adapted for a great commercial city: it possesses a secure

harbour; it is situated on a lake about 190 miles long by 50 broad;

thence the St. Lawrence carries its produce to the ocean, and the Rideau

Canal connects it with the lumberers' home on the Ottawa; the main trunk

line of railway, which will extend from the western point of the colony

to Halifax, passes through it; a local line, traversing some of the

richest land in Canada, is now in progress to Lake Simcoe and Lake

Huron; one iron horse already affords it communication with

Waterloo--nearly opposite Buffalo--whence produce descends by the Erie

Canal and the Hudson to New York: besides all which advantages, it

enjoys at present the privilege of being one of the seats of government

and the radiating point of education. Surely, then, if any town in Upper

Canada ought to flourish, it is Toronto; nor is there, I trust, any

reason to doubt that it will become a most wealthy and important place.

The influence of the young railways is already beginning to be felt: the

population, which in 1851 was only 25,000, amounted in 1853 to upwards

of 30,000, and is still rapidly increasing. Having been fortunate enough

to make the acquaintance of Mr. Cumberland, the chief engineer of the

line of railway to Lake Simcoe, he was kind enough to ask me to

accompany him to that lake on a trip of inspection, an offer of which I

gladly availed myself. I was delighted to find that the Canadians had

sufficient good sense to patronize first and second class carriages;

and, also, that they have begun to make their own carriages and

locomotives. The rails appeared very solidly laid down, and the road

fenced off; but, despite the fences, an inquisitive cow managed to get

on the line, and was very near being made beef of in consequence. The

progress of cultivation gave the most satisfactory evidence of

increasing prosperity, while the virgin forest-land told what a rich

harvest was still in store for the industrious emigrant.

Ever and anon you saw on the cleared ground that feature so peculiar to

American scenery, a patriarchal remnant of the once dense forest, as

destitute of branches as the early Adam was of small-clothes, his bark

sabled by the flames, the few summit leaves--which alone indicated

vitality--scarce more in number than the centuries he could boast, and

trembling, as it were, at their perilous weight and doubtful tenure,

while around him stood stumps more sabled, on whom the flames had done

more deadly work, the whole--when the poetry had passed away--reminding

one of a black Paterfamilias standing proudly in the centre of his

nigger brood.

There is a good iron-foundry established here, which turns out some

excellent engines. Some of the public buildings are also fine; but,

there being unfortunately no quarries in the neighbourhood, they are

built of brick. The Lunatic Asylum is one of the best; but it is

surrounded with a high prison-looking wall, which I believe modern

experience condemns strongly as exercising a baneful influence upon the

unfortunate patients. If it be so, let us hope it may be enclosed by

something more light, airy, and open.

Several of the churches are very fine. I visited the Episcopal Church,

which has been burnt down three times; and on my remarking to the

architect the apparent clumsiness of the pews, which destroyed the

effect inside, he smiled, and told me that by the contract he was

obliged to replace them exactly as before. I told him I thought it was a

specimen of conservatism run mad, to which he fully assented. Trinity

Episcopal College is one of the finest edifices in the neighbourhood; at

present it contains only thirty-five students, but it is to be hoped its

sphere of usefulness may be extended as its funds increase. It has the

foundation of a very good library, which is rapidly extending; the

University of Cambridge sent them out a magnificent addition of 3000

volumes. The last building I shall mention is the Normal School, to

visit which was one of my chief objects in stopping at Toronto.

[Illustration: THE NORMAL SCHOOL, TORONTO]

The ceremony of laying the foundation-stone of this building was

inaugurated with all due solemnity, and under the auspices of the able

representative of our gracious Queen, on the 2nd of July, 1851. In his

eloquent speech on that memorable occasion, when referring to the

difficulties on the question of religious instruction, the following

beautiful passage occurs:--

"I understand, sir, that while the varying views and opinions of a

mixed religious society are scrupulously respected, while every

semblance of dictation is carefully avoided, it is desired, it is

earnestly recommended, it is confidently expected and hoped, that

every child who attends our common schools shall learn there that he

is a being who has an interest in eternity as well as in time; that he

has a Father towards whom he stands in a closer and more affecting and

more endearing relationship than to any earthly father, and that

Father is in heaven; that he has a hope far transcending every earthly

hope--a hope full of immortality--the hope, namely, that that Father's

kingdom may come; that he has a duty which, like the sun in our

celestial system, stands in the centre of his moral obligations,

shedding upon them a hallowing light which they in their turn reflect

and absorb,--the duty of striving to prove by his life and

conversation the sincerity of his prayer that that Father's will may

be done upon earth as it is in heaven. I understand, sir, that upon

the broad and solemn platform which is raised upon that good

foundation, we invite the ministers of religion of all

denominations--the _de facto_ spiritual guides of the people of the

country--to take their stand along with us; that, so far from

hampering or impeding them in the exercise of their sacred functions,

we ask, and we beg them to take the children--the lambs of the flock

which are committed to their care--aside, and lead them to those

pastures and streams where they will find, as they believe it, the

food of life and the waters of consolation.

* * * * *

"Permit me in conclusion, to say, both as an humble Christian man and

as the head of the civil government of the province, that it gives me

unfeigned pleasure to perceive that the youth of this country, of all

denominations, who are destined in their maturer years to meet in the

discharge of the duties of civil life upon terms of perfect civil and

religious equality--I say it gives me pleasure to hear and to know

that they are receiving an education which is fitted so well to

qualify them for the discharge of these important duties, and that

while their hearts are yet tender and their affections yet green and

young, they are associated under conditions which are likely to

promote among them the growth of those truly Christian graces--mutual

respect, forbearance, and charity."

The position of the building is well chosen, being surrounded with

cultivated ground sufficiently extensive to be usefully employed in

illustrating the lectures given on vegetable physiology and agricultural

chemistry. The rooms are all very lofty, airy, and scrupulously clean. A

notice at the entrance warns you--"The dirty practice of spitting not

allowed in this building;" and as far as eye could discern, the notice

is rigidly obeyed. I was told that a specific had been found to cure the

filthy habit. I mention it for the benefit of hotel-keepers and

railway-conductors, in all places where such a relic of barbarism may

still find a welcome. On a certain occasion, the lecturer having

received undeniable proof that one of the students had violated the

above-mentioned regulation, stopped in the middle of one of his

sublimest flights, repeated sonorously the notice, called the culprit by

name, informed him that his endeavour to dissipate his filth into

infinity by the sole of his shoe was useless, and ordered him forthwith

to take his handkerchief out and wipe it up clean. Disobedience was

expulsion: with crimson cheek he expiated his offence by obedience to

the order, and doubtless during the hushed silence in which he completed

his labour, he became a confirmed anti-expectorationist.

Great attention is very properly paid to cleanliness, inasmuch as if

these young men, who are destined to teach others, acquire filthy

habits, they naturally encourage the same vice in their pupils, and thus

may be almost said to nationalize it. All the tables and stools are

fitted like those in the schools of the United States, which is an

immense improvement on the one long-desk and long form to match, which

predominate all but universally at home. The instruction given is

essentially by lecture and questioning; and I was particularly struck

with the quiet modulated tones in which the answers were given, and

which clearly proved how much pains were taken upon this apparently

trifling, but really very important, point.[AR] You heard no harsh

declamation grating on your ear; and, on the other hand, you were not

lulled to sleep by dreary, dull monotony.

There are two small schools attached to the establishment, for these

Normal aspirants, male and female, to practise upon, when considered

sufficiently qualified. Those thus employed during my visit seemed to

succeed admirably, for I never saw more merry, cheerful faces, which I

consider one of the best tests of a master's efficiency. The little

girls, taking a fancy for music, purchased among themselves a cottage

piano, which, being their own instrument, I have no doubt increased

their interest in the study amazingly. The boys have a kind of gymnasium

under a shed, which, when released from school, they rush to with an

avidity only equalled by that which the reader may have experienced in

his early days when catching sight of a pastry-cook's shop immediately

after receiving his first tip.[AS]

I believe that to this establishment, which was founded in 1846, belongs

the honour of being the Pioneer Normal School in the Western Hemisphere.

But while giving due credit to the Governor-General and the Government

for their leading parts in its foundation, it should never be forgotten,

how much indebted the establishment is to the unwearying zeal and

patient investigations of Dr. Ryerson, the chief superintendent of

schools in Canada. This gentleman carefully examined the various systems

and internal arrangement of scholastic establishments, not only all over

the States, but in every country of the Old World, selecting from each

those features which seemed to produce the most comfort, the best

instruction, and the greatest harmony. The result of his inquiries I

subjoin from his own pen:--