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FAMILl RECOLLECTIONS

LIEUT. GENERAL ELIAS WALKER DURNFORD,

A OOLONXI. OOMMARDAWr OF THB OORFB 0» ROTAL XNOIimBS.

CompiUb anb ttiiUli bg ^it Uanglrhr,

MARY DURNFOKD.

Iprinttb for lt« ^familn onlu.

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PRINTED BY JOHN LOVELL, ST. NICHOLAS STREET.

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CO]^TENTS.

Paob.

Dedication vii

Section I. — Mr. Elia3 Durnford of Norwood. — Lieutenant Thomas Durnford
in tlio East Indies. — Letter of Mr, Molrillo. — Wounded at
Trichinopoly. — Mangalore. — Killed at the attack on the
Fort of Onorc 1

Suction II. — Mr. Ellas Durnford at Belleislc, Ilarannah, Mobile, — Joins Sir

C. Grey's Expedition. — Dies at Tobago 4

Srotion III. — Scenes in Early Life in Martinique, Guadaloupe, during the
years 1794 and 1795, &c.

Section IV. — Bristol. — Release from parole. — Meeting at the Nore. — Major

Wadman's Battery, and Corps of Volunteers 42

Skction V. — Portsmouth, Ireland, Barracks built there. — Death of Mr. and
Mrs.Wadman. — Various anecdotes. — Family meeting. — Capt.
Philip's Durnford's Diary kept at sea. — Col. Sheldrake 48

Shctiom VI.— Corunna. — Newfoundland. — Miss Mary Mann. — Chiflinch. —
Batteries built and repaired. — Family siorica. — Death of Mrs.
Sheldrake C2

Section VII. — Second American war. — Ceasion of Florida to Spain. — Frag-
mentary notes. — Children's letters. — Citadel designed. — Col.
"Walker's letter 72

Section VIII. — Sir Charles Bagot's letter. — Journey to New Orleans.—
Grants, &c., found at Washington. — Return to Quebec-
Correspondence. — Mrs, Foutenelle and her letters, — Mr.
Roberts 84

Section IX. — Excursions. — Citadel progressing.— Letters from Mr. Loder

and Mr. Graham. — Promotions.— Fossil recreations 150

Section X. — Arrival of Commissioners. — Col. By. — Letters of Charles
Durnford. — Berbico. — Returns to Quebec, and then to Eng-
land with his family. — Portsmouth 116

Section XI. — Colonel By's letters. — Vindication of him 129

Section XII. — Family correspondence. — Don Carlos. — Viney's letters and

illness. — Sarah's death 139

Section XIII.— Ellas Durnford 161

Section XIV. — William the 4th. — Tunbridge Wells Anecdotes.— Mr. John

Day's letter. — Devenport.— Belvedere lets «. . . . 167

Sbotiok XV. — Canterbury.— Ramsgate.— Jews' Synagogue. — Broadstairs.

Pegwell 175

Section XVI. — Dover.-~Shakespeare's Cliff. — Castle.—Return to Belvedere. 183

Section XVII. — Hastings. — Arrival at Falkstooe. — Boulogne 192

Section XVIII. — Paris. — St. Omer.— Passage to Dover.— Weston-Hanger. 211

Section XIX. — Grove House. — Clarence Villa.— Melancholy Events. —

Conclusion. — ^Letters 233

Section XX.— Durnford Pedigree 252

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To you, my Brothers and Sisters, I dedicate this
little book. Its intention is to preserve in remem-
brance the services and virtues of those who are no
more, and who loved you. I do iiot think you will
condemn the intention: the execution is a different
consideration ; if you feel there is room for correction,
addition, or improvement, be sure your feelings will be
in unison with mine. Accept it with the true regards
of

Your p-ffectionate sister,

Mahv DiittNi-oaD.

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OF TUE T.A.TS

FAMILY RECOLLECTIONS

LIEUT.-GEN. ELIAS WALKER DURNFORD, R.E.

SECTION I.

Mr. Elins Diirnford of Norwood. — LieMtennnt Thomftg Dnrnford in the East
Indies. — Letter of Mr. Moivilio. — Wounded at Trichinupoly. — Muiigiilore.
— Killed at the attack on the Fcit of Onore.

Very littlo is remembered of Mr. Elias Durnford, grand-
father to Lieuteriant-Genoral Elias Walker Dmuford, K. E.,
except that he lived at Norwood, Surrey, and frequently tra-
velled thence in his carriage, attended by his coachman and
footman, to London. The latter, while in town, frequented a
public house, where, drinking freelj , he boasted of and des-
cribed his master's riches rather incautiously, since some of
his hearers took advantage of the unguarded state the mansion
was left in, to plmuler it during the proprietor's absence of
plate valued at ^'300, and some ladies' handsome dresses,
which probably proved attractive to a womnn, an accomplice
in the burglary. He left four sons, — Elias, Thomas, Andrew,
and Clark.

Thomas, ]\[r. Elias Durnford's second son, went as volun-
teer to the East Indies, where he was made a lieutenant in
the East India Company's Artillery, and also acted as ii dis-
tant-engineer. The mis-statements and didiculties that are
affixed to this period of Indian history, cling to the slight re-
cord remaining of this young nuin's early end. He appears to
have entered with ardor into the first dubious enterprises
undertaken against Ilyder All; and the following answer to
an enquiry made many years subsequently, by his nephew,
Major Gen. E. W. Durnford, R. E., fixes with precision the year
of his death, and proves a family document incorrect, wherein
it is asserted to have taken place in 176G.

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" Mr. Melville presents his compliments to General Dnrn-
ford, beiis to accpiaiiit him, in reference to his en((uiry res-
pectiui!' tlie late Lieut. Diirnf'oi'd, that I'is name is borne
on a JJombay army list, dated the 15th January, 1767, but
omitted in the oue followinuj, datcul lOtli November, 1/G9.
His will, which is dated, l-5th February, 17G8, was proved at
Jjombay on the 17th ]\ray following The coj>y of the will
niay be seen on aj^dication at this house."
East India House, 4th August, 1840.

In 17G5, the transactions on the Jiengal and Coromandel
coast are said to be involved in obscure conciseness. On the
Malabar side, in 17GG, there is equal difriculty in tracing out
occurrences; and, but for the information alforded by the fore-
going letter, it would have been impossible to understand the
sole record the friends of Lieut. Thomas Durnford have
retained of him. It certainly appears not to have been prior
to 17G7 that the war commenced between the English Com-
pany and ilj^der Ali, who, at lirst but a private soldier, be-
came, by his courage and talents, a powerful prince, able to
involve the company in difiicult wars and vast expenses. lie
had then possessed himself of great part of the Malabar coast,
and induced tin.' Nizam of the l>eccan to renounce his alliance
with the company and unite in a war with himself against it.
On- receiving intelligence of this league, the Council of Ma-
d" ■•; ^ent an army into the field, under the connnand of Colo-
nel Smith : wlio, on Septen)ber 2Gth, 17G7, brought the united
forces to an engagement, near Trichinopoh', and there <le-
feated them. This victory caused the Nizam to desert the
alliance of Hyder, and conclude a treaty again with the com-
pany, in which he gave up to them the Dewannee of tiie Ba-
laghaut Carnafic. This obliged Hyder to retire to tin; moun-
tainous country, and there support himself by the assistance
his admirable cavalry lent, in cutting oil' supplies intended for
the PiUglish army. The historian, who supplied this account,
does not mention any siege ; yet, as Mr. Durnford was present
at the siege of Trichinopoly, it must have taken place at this
period, when he w^as wounded, probably having performed
duty in his double capacity of assistant-engineer and artillery-
officer. General Smith is said to have ^.onetrated far into
Hyder All's country, to have taken several of his fortresses,
and to have advanced towards his capital, but was prevented
by dissensions fi"oin approaching nearei to it. Hyder, in con-
sequence of these mistimed division?, quietly regained the
forts and strong posts he had taken.

From this statement it appears, that towards the dose of
17(>7, although the victory of Trichino[)oly ha<l forced the
Nizam to renounce the tract of country denominated tiie Da-
wannee of the Iklaghaut Carnatic, still Hydcr's j»ower and
resoiM'ces renuiined as tormidable as ever, while he continued
to distress the English, and maintain himself in mountain fast-
nesses. It was at the commencen.ent of 17GS that an expe-
dition was made ready at Bombay against Mangaiore, one of
Hyder's principal sea-ports, and shij^s v/ere fitted out to con-
vey 400 European soldiers and about SOO Se[»oys. Historians
agree that the fort was taken with very little loss on the com-
jiany's side, 25th February, 17GS ; and that of his 8hip[>ing,
uine were brought off, of considerable size, besides several
smaller vessels. Through some strange error, as it is des-
cribed, a small garrison was left in the forts, who were made
prisoners by Ilyder Ali.

The accounts of these years are difRcult to understand clear-
ly ; still we learn from them that as Lieut. Durnford was
present at the siege of Trichinopoly about 20th September,
17G7, the enterprise against Mangaiore succeeded on 25th
February the following year, only ten days after he had signed
his will. He was about five and twenty at the time of his
death ; and the account preserved of him is, that, after being
wounded at the siege of Trichinopoly, he \ras unfortunately
killed at an attack on the fort of Onore on the Ilondjay coast.
A deep impression of the uncertain tenure of life, increased
by witnessing the havoc of war, must have actuated him to
the arrangement of his sublunary afTh:"rs. Thoughts fly di-
rected upwardly to God, while the earthly jiresence of those
dear and asunder is recalled. The missionary bii'd not then
gooa foi'th to cheer and to sustain, — but where does not the
invisible ever supporting spirit of Omnipresence shine !

Goa, — the magnificent, the city of churches, whose piles of
noble architecture were rich with the wealth of provinces, — he
had just turned his back upon : it is pleasant, even in fancy, to
prefer the picture of the hundred Christian churches, (his clos-
ing eye ^ were directed towards), whose existence was then un-
known to us.

Among the hills, aromatic with cinnamon and frankincense,
which divide the Carnatic from Malayala, and verdant vallies,
fed by mountain streams, the sound of bells had been sum-
moning the disciples of Him, ever since His name was first
affixed to them at Antioch, within the sacred building of Sara-

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cenic form. Here were standing cathedral churches, deco-
rated choirs and altars ; the women flocked to worship within
them, and the solidity of their walls attested durability and
security.

Lieut. Durnford, in conducting the attack on the Fort
of Onore, after being severely wounded, was carried off the
field by Lascars, on a board or cradle. While thus conveying,
a cannon ball shot him to pieces, killing at the same time
some of the Lascars who carried him. His death was painful
but honourable; victory crowned his concluding effort, while
the breath of fame repeats of it no more than that the forts
were taken with very little loss on the Company's side. Pre-
maturely though he fell, yet was his end far happier than
had he survived to share in the plu7ider of the better remem-
bered sack of Onore, fifteen years afterwards.

SECTION IL

Mr. Ellas Durnford atBelleisle, Havannah, Mobile, — Joins Sir C. Grey's Expedi-
tion. — Dies at Tobago.

In 1762, the accounts remaining of Elias, ihe eldest son of
Mr. Durnford of Norwood, the brother of Lieut. Thomas
Durnford, and father of Lieut.-General Elias Walker
Durnford, commence. His history being intimately woven
with the military affairs of the day, recalling them to rec(.illec-
tion will assist m tracing the particular events of his life, es-
pecially as their past importance is now seldom dwelt upon.
Belleisle, a name glorious in the naval annals of England, was
then recollected by France as having, in the consequences of
its terrible contiict, weighed against the valour of le Marechal
de Saxe at Fontenay, Ilocours, Lanfeldt, and the much-vaunted
successes against ]3ergen-op-zoom, Lanfeldt and ]\Iaestricht.
The sea combats of 13eileisle a)id Finisterre had completely
destroyed the French navy, increased enormouslj^ the public
debt, and led in 174S to the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. The
events of the seven years' war had again humbled the power
of Louis XV ; for his colonies in America, Asia and Africa were
lost, his navy was no more, while Kosbach, Crevelt and Min-
den were fresh in view. Louis begged for peace ai the be-
giiming of .1662, without obtaining it, though he strove to
bribe England by his oilers. The pretences which led to most
of the wars undertaken at this period, are represented as fri-
volous and unsatisfactory — unprofitableness is stamped upon

them ; and their glory, like the field's fair flower, is withering
fast. The historian dwells most upon the court intrigues,
which embroiled all Europe, and the utter insignificance of
the little matters that will kindle a great fire. An expedition
against Belleisle, in the early part of this year was resolved
on, despite the pending negotiation for peace with its advan-
tages. This small island, having been kept in awe by the
f>roximity of hostile squadrons, was now consequently strong-
y fortified and garnsoned. Mr. Elias Durnford embarked in
the fleet destined there ; and a journal of the siege of the cita-
del of Belleisle, — of which some doubt exists of his being the
author, though found among his family papers, — is a va-
luable record of human toil, and military science. In its pro-
gress, his merits and talents as an engineer were so conspicu-
ous as to obtain commendation and notice, and lead to his
after advancement. The name of Durnford is omitted in the
Journal.

This rocky and sterile island, strongly defended by nature
as well as art, baffled the skill of its invaders for more than
two months, leaving it finally undecided to which enemy the

Salm of science, bravery, and discipline was most deservedly
ue. The rocks of Belleisle refused footing to the first attempts
of the invaders to land. Port de Andro was silenced af'^^er an '
hour's bombardment, but difficulties awaited those who
reached its rocky heights. Repeated were the efforts to dis-
embark their implements for offensive operations, strong gales
drove their shins and boats to sea, surfs and rocks around the
coast denied safety to the vessels, and provisions were damaged
by continued rains. On one occasion, the troops, after secur-
ing a landing, remained without food for more than four and
twenty hours. These heavy rains sometimes combined with
the tides to float their magazines and damage their powder.
It is curious to Hote the gradual progress of this siege, where,
resembling a mortal game of chess, in place of pawns and
mimic knights, the lives and bodies of men were exposed
and ventured to obtain possession of an admirably strong
and ably-defended fortress. From the first landing at Port
de Andro, to obtaining occupancy of the town of Palais,
and finally that of the citadel, the gradual and regular method
of operations carried on is minutely described with detail of
much interest. The Chevalier of St. Croix defended himself
for two months, while the' batteries were slowly gaming ap-
proach. The first guns, the journal notes as regularly planted,

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wore at the distance of 2,200 yards from the eitadel, the next
1,670, then, successively, 2,200, 1,070,900, 1,500, 1,350, 1,930,
1,420, 900, — at which era of the siege General Crawford was
unfortunately nia'le prisoner, — then 1,100; and, on the Otli of
May, at the dishiiice of 1,100 yards, the guns reached within
the cifadel, at iirst without doing much execution, but soon
with success. This day it was reported that 7,000 of the
enemy were expected to nrrive, and that they could hold out
for another montii. At 1,050 yards the enemy abandoned their
outftosts, and retired within the citadel 400 yards. On the
14th, at 500 yards, the garrison expected to hold out long enough
to obtain honourable capitulation. GGO yards : at this time
the besiegeis recovered the prisoners they had lost, with a
seasonable provision of corn, wine, oats, barley, and wheat.
500 yards : the chief magistrate came blindfolded into the
camp, to settle exchange of money. On the 27th they deter-
mined on making a breach in the Redans du Havre. The
enemy tired balls of wood, and the same night the miners be-
gat! to sink a shaft. The 2Sth, a reinforcement of 324 men
arrived from England ; they had now advanced to 380 yards
distance, when, on the 30th, another reinforcement arrived to
them. New shafts were sunk, but the tides obstructed the
progress of the workmen.

By the 1st June, the breach appeared considerable, and an-
other reinforcement, with stores, &c., arrived from England.
Now, at 230 yards, the enemy hoisted colours, and, on the 3rd,
beat a parley under pretence to take up a wounded man, who
had fallen into the ditch, while it afforded (hem the advantage
of looking at the breach in the lledans du Havre. The same
day more stores arrived from England, the breach was advan-
cing, and rockets were fired off by the enemy as signals to the
continent. The 4th, the enemy threw up an intrenchment
behind the breach, and our miners and volunteers advanced
over the ditch but retreated. 5th. Miners advanced again,
protected by musketry, &g. They attempted to pass the
ditch at midnight, were driven back, but finally succeeded.
Our intention was to carry the mine under the enemy's grand
powder magazine. We captured a spy, and have now ten
batteries open. On the 7th the breach widened, and a second
was attempted. The enemy were seen repairing their embra-
zures at break of day, but at 8 o'clock hung out a white flag
and beat the charade ; this caused great surprise. The capi-
tulating enemy were treated with respect and admiration,

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while terms the most honoTirable were conceded to them.
Throughout the siege, General Ilotlson denounced all irregu-
larities on the part of his soldiers; any found trespassing were
sentenced to death, as also any discovered to be intoxicated
on duty. In no cases was drunkenness Ldinitted as an excuse.
The awful sentence of hanging was deferred until the criminal
became sober.

The best and the bravest can give no more than their en-
tire energies to the work of their desired emprize ; and, for-
gotten though the stedfast toil and vah)ur displayed at Belle-
isle may be by many, the children of the preserver, if not
author, of this journal should at least cherish the recollection
of the active and upright services he performed there. To
them, it is a minor point, whether the enterprise in itself was
wisely undertaken or beneficial in its result. Nay, whether,
as was sarcastically said of it, Belleisle could furnish nothing
better than sprats, and little cows : if it only did this, in a
literal consideration of the business, it would be difficult to
name staple products much more valuable. Eighteen hun-
dred men were killed or disabled in the undertaking, out of
the nine thousand who were sent against it. The following
October, disease ravaged I3elleisle, and the fourteen hospi-
tals of Palais were insufficient to receive the sick. The re-
joicings in London, consequent on the capture of the island,
were great and sincere. The Belleisle march was long played
in the streets of London ; while, before the conclusion of the
same year, it was wantonly made a subject of dispute, whether
or not to blow up the fortifications on which these gallant
efforts had been spent, and the reduction of which is said to
have cost half a million.

Soon after, a draft was made from the garrison to add to
the army preparing for the invasion of Martinique, under Ge-
neral Moncton ; and Mr. Durnford embarked with Lord Albe-
marle's expedition, as a Lieutenant of Engineers, to be em-
ployed with him in the siege of the magnificent and important
Havannah. Nothing can be added to what he relates, as oc-
curring to himself in the course of, and at the close of that
memorable siege, since .10 journal or other notes relating to
it exist, except the letter which is subjoined. This letter
bears no date or address, but was evidently written in J 792.

" I beg leave to state, that when a young man, during the
whole siege of Belleisle, I fortunately distinguishe<l myself as
an engineer of abilities, and performed many dangerous ser-
vices, contributing greatly in my profession to the reduction

I* -H

of that fortress. I afterwards embarked for the siege of the
Havannah, without u single recommondation to any General
Officer in the army, trusting to my inclination and zeal for my
king and country s service us the surest and best path to their
notice.

" On this expedition I was Lieutenan . of Engineers, and
during that siege my conduct and activity so much attracted
the notice of the Earl of Albemarle, Lord lleathfield, and
other officers of the army, that the Commander-in-Chief sent
to me, as soon as the place was taken, and in the most flatter-
ing manner oflRjred me the appointment of Aid-de-Camp, as-
suring me of further proofs of his esteem whenever it lay in
his power, saying that ' he was happy to shew to his army
the good opinion he entertained of my conduct during the
siege ; and I was continued in that station until the staff was
landed in England. After his return, I remained at the Ha-
vannah until the troops evacuated the Island, being employed
constantly in taking a plan of the country surrounding the
Havannah to a considerable extent. The late Lord Harcourt
was so obliging as to select me to attend and explain to his
^Majesty the progress of the siege and attack of the Moro,
when the model was shown to the King; but, by an unforeseen
mistake of the post, his lordship's letter did not reach me
until a few days after I was desired to attend : from this cause
I lost the opportunity of being known to my Sovereign at
that time."

A portion of his artistic labours while there are still pre-*
seiTed by one of his grandsons : they consist of six views of
the Moro and Havannah, with shipping, town, market-place,
aloe trees, and groups delineated with life and character.
They are masterly in execution.

The annoyance and consternation of Spain was great on
receiving intelligence of her loss. The officers, to whom had
been intrusted the defence of the Havannah, were punished by
deprivation of their military employments, confiscation of
their possessions, and banishment irom the presence of their
king, — some for ten and others for two years. The private
effects of these gentlemen were seized on to make satisfaction
for the loss imputed to their supposed negligence. The prize-
money awarded to the conquerors of the Havannah must have
been considerable. J^ was given at four different times, and
the first division was made in April, 1764, when the sum of
jE18 15s. 7d. fell to the lieutenant-officer's share ; a later

di
re

on
had

division awarded him £9 78. 9d. The striking and melancholy
reflection again meets us respecting the futility and worthless-
ness of man's imagined best exertions, since losU both lielle-
IsIq and the Havannah immediately became to all after-use
and advantage of the country, whoso brave soldiers had subju-
gated them, only to be thrown as- balance for the adjustment
of a scale, in the pending treaty of nations. Taken and given
up was the superb Havannah, like a castle on the che(|uered
chessboard. On the 10th of February, 1763, the Treaty of
Paris was signed, and Louis XV. gave up to England, Canada
and Senegal. In doing this, he deplored the destruction of
his navy, and confessed his new ally's supremacy over the
seas. At the same time, Spain recovered her trans-atlantic
stronghold ; giving to England, in return for the Havannah,
the two Floridas, and her possessions on the Mississippi.
Honduras was partially ceded, as far as extended to England's
right of cutting her staple logwood, but she was crippled in
the defence of the last mentioned country by the prohibition
of throwing up forts in it. There were those who doubted if
the cession made by Spain was advantageous ; and the fashion-
able language of the day was that Europe could scarce amass
the symptom of a fleet. Be this as it may, from this time the
Spaniards bestowed their most careful attention on the Havan-
nah, improving and strengthening its fortifications, so as to
render it what is termed impregnable, and provide for the fol-
lowing years a well-furnished granary for ships, men, and
warlike munition. They also established and maintained with
equal care their formiaable settlement at the mouth of the
Mississippi.

A succeeding extract from the before mentioned lettt :" mys :
" Soon after the establishment of the province of AVost Flo-
rida, Lord Harcourt did me the honour to accompany me to the
Treasury to Mr. Grenville, Secretary of State, and, through
Lord Hawksbury, his then secretary, recommend me for the
appointment of Commanding Engineer and Surveyor-General
of that province. I remained there several years, but, soon
after the death of Governor Elliott, returned to England, with
His Majesty's leave ; and, waiting on Lord Hillsborough, Sec-
retary of State for the American Department, his lordship was
pleased voluntarily to offer mc the command of the province,
if I would immediately return, with the rank of lieutenant-
governor, observing that no appointment of governor would
take place for some time, and saying to me he knew no person

•'I'

■'Til ■< I

I 9

more proper to fill the station tlmn myself (this Mr. Parnell
can testify) ; being fully convinced that my conduct wouhl be
just, and give satisfaction to the inhabitants of that province.
The inhabitants were then opposing their Lieut.-Oovornor
Brown, and had memorialized against him in conse(pienc(^ of
some improper conduct on his part. I returned to Florida :
before a governor came out (this was in 1769), I restored tran-
quility and harmony to the province, and remained there a
great number of years."

In 1705, a grant was made to Elias Durnford, Esq., of Pcn-
sacola, as styled, of a town lot, and garden attached to it,
dated Pensacola, Oct. 4th, and signed George Johnston.

In 1768, St. Domingo was disturbed by commotions, «nd
the discontents at New Orleans were such as to lead to the
people's rising against Don Antonio D'Alloa, and expelling
him, at the same time that they put Aubrey, the French com-
mandant, into confinement. The succeeding year, the Spanish
general O'lliely, with a strong body of men, made hin^self
master of the place, and without any show of trial promjitly
executed some of the principal inhabitants ; others of these
luckless men he sent in chams to France, where they were
distributed among the state prisoners.

In 1772, the Hon'ble John Stewart, Esq., superintendent
of Indian affairs, extended the province of West Florida thirty
miles up th« river Coosaw, by a treaty made by him with the
Creek. Indians. These are the chief occurrences at that time
mentioned of Mississippi and West Florida. The grant of a
tract of land, containmg fifty acres, on the river Amite, three
miles west of Lake Maurepas, at the deserted village of Pas-
cagoulas, was made in favour of Elias Durnford, Esq., of
Pensacola, dated Ist August, 1772, and signed Peter Chester.
The " Historical Chronicle," for the December following, fur-
nishes the following paragraph :

"Plymouth, November 26th, 1T73.

** The 24th instant, landed here from Jersey, Captain Not-
tingham, late commander of the Earl of Sandwich packet,
which on the 11th instant lost all her masts, and had every-
thing washed off the deck ; the mate and two men were
drowned. The captain and crew, with Governor Durnford
and family, who were passengers, were taken out of the
wreck by a vessel bound from Newfoundland to Jersey, where
they were ail landed in the greatest distress. The mail was
preserved, and is gone on express to London."

») 1

Mrs. Durnfonl, who acnompanicd the li(nitenant-pov(M-nor
on this n^turn to thtiir native country, reciMved tlio first iiiti-
mntion of tln^ impending djingiir alxmt to be encountered, by
being thrown out of tiie berth, with the bed-cUjthes twisted
roun<l her; on alargebhick trunk, wliich identical truid^ still
exists in possession of one of her daughters. A lighted can-
dle was given her to hold in her hand, while her husband kept
guard with a pair of pistols, as the sailors (as was then fre-
quently the case on such occasions) had broken open the
stores and taken to drinking. They threw the captain into
the cabin, where he became entang'ed in the furniture, conti-
nually crying out '* Lord, have me cv upon us! " The poor
cabin boy moaned his fiate that ♦' he should never see his father
or mother more ;" and one sailor was washed o\wboaid, but
saved by the next wave, which sent him back again. At this
time the only dry thing on board was tlu mate's neck-hand-
kerchief, which he took off, and tied round Mrs. Durnford's
throat: shortly after performing this little act of attention he
was washed overboard, no more to return. The signals of
distress made by the packet were answered by a Jersey vessel,
which last would not allow a single person to go on board
their vessel until the females were safe. One of the women-
servants suffered much, in addition to the rolling of the vessel,
from the great number of things that were thrown upon her.
On entering the Jersey vessel, they were treated in the kindest
manner, and the utmost silence preserved on b(»ard, in order
that Mrs. Durnford's nerves might become composed ; after-
wards landing them at Jersey in a truly miserable plight, such
ns attracted a great crowd round them on leaving the ship, —
Mrs. Durnford suffering the whole time from violent toothache.
The governor at Jersey hospitably received them ; and, after
remaining at Jersey a fortnight, they returned to England,
landing, according to the statement given by the "Historical
Chronicle," at Plymouth. The Eorl of Sandwich was quite a
new vessel, owing to which circumstance, as was believed, its
wreck was discovered, a few weeks after, abandoned by the
crew, floating about in the '* Chops of the Channel," when all
concerned imagined it must have gone to the bottom. A live
parrot was found in it, which was presented to the Governor
at Jersey. , ...,':...-,,, ,....,:..., <■,.'

In the above paragraph he is erroneously styled governor,
instead of lieutenant-governor, since in 1773 his excellency,
Peter Chester, Esq., was capt.-general. commander-in-chief,

I- \'

etc., and the lieutenant-governor, etc., his honour Elias Durn-
ford, Eh(i. The province was divided into two counties, which,
with the town of Pensacohi, the cajntal, and the town of
Mobile — b(»th ports of entry, — returned sixteen members, the
number com^iosing the Lower House of Assembly. At the
conmiencomcnt of this year the general assembly had been
dissolved, and no new writs issued when the register for the
year was compiled, in which the honourable Elias Durnford,
Esq., is put down as Siirveyor-General of Land in the civil
department, and in the garrison department as Captain of En-
gineers. From 17G9, wlien tlie auairs of the province were
committed to his sole direction, and are described as prosper-
ous, the charges of the civil establishment of West Florida,
and incidental expenses attending the same, from S-ith June,
17GS, to June 24th, 1769, were ^4,000. In 1770, they were
^£4,800; in 1771, they amounted to ^£6,100; in 1772, they
were ^5,050 ; while in 1773, they had increased to ^£7,274
138. 6d. At the period of his appointment the yearly exports
from the province are stated to have been ^97,000, and the
imports .£63,000.

On the 2Sth July of the year following that in which hap-
pened the wreck of the Earl of Sandwich, at Lowestoff m
Suffolk, his eldest son, Elias Walker, was born ; the son who
recalled, with respect and affection, his beloved father's me-
mory and untimely end to the close of his own existence.
This child was carried to Pensacola when but a few months
old, to be parted from his parents three or four years after-
wards, when he was brought to England under the care of an
aunt, the wife of Samuel Fontenelle, Esq., surgeon in the
Royal Artillery. To this gentleman, in the town of Pensacola,
had been assigned a town and garden lot attached, dated 4th
October, 1706, and signed by George Johnston, Esq. Mr.
Fontenelle was an accomplished man ; he spoke and wrote
the modern languages with elegance and facility, and was
much esteemed for his attainments in classical literature. In
the latter years of his life, he became a martyr from gout.

In 1776, John Ellis, Esq., F.R.S., died. He was king's
agent in London for the province of West Florida, and the
island of Dominica. Mr. Ellis was a valuable investigator of
nature's curious productions, and was well known for his pub-
lic spirited endeavours to promote and extend the benefits of
natural history, being the first to discover the properties of
the corals and corallines, with which the seas in that portion

of the globo aro so richly endowed. Tie ended his daya at
Hamp8tea<l. The resident agent for the province was Samuel
Hannay, Esq.

To dwell upon the conquest of West Florida by Spain
would be an unwelcome ami unpopular tawk ; nevertheless, as
the interests and lot of Lieut.-Gov. Durnford are closely
wound lip and connecte<i with it, the state in which his
family affairs became involved will be rendered more com-
prehensible by first recalling how it was lost, as represented
by the same eloquent pen that has so unfortunately wronged
his memory.

While war was ravaging the northern states, those to the
south were trafficking in tranquillity ; nor since the disturbances
which took place during 1768 in St. Domingo, at New Orleans,
and the discontents at Pensacola, occasioned by Governor
Brown's misconduct, have any been recorded. Georgia, the
tnost distant from the field of warfare, the Floridas and Missis-
sippi excepted, experienced, ten years afterwards, in 177S, its
first reversion. The success of the expeditio.i, comn)anded by
Commodore Hyde Parker and Colotjel Campbell, in taking
Savannah, and expelling the Americans from that province, as
well as the good fortune of General Prevost in taking San-
bury, the last town that refused to cede to the English arms,
led to further hostilities and petty annoyances between the
neighbouring weak colonies of Georgia and East Florida, be-
sides communicating more to the south the rumour of war.
So much did these feelings extend, that in the spring of 3 779
an expedition was undertaken by a party of Americans, that
conveyed its effects to the Mississippi, and threatened the
whole of the new and extended colony of West Florida, which
had hitherto been undisturbed by war, or any apprehension of
sharing in the general conjniotion and cruelties.

That (loomed tract of land called Natchez, whose aboriginal
Indians had been some years before treacherously and cruelly
rooted out by the French, and whose manes the celebrated
Chateaubriand has attempted to appease, by founding an his-
torical romance on the subject of their extermination, was the
aim of this enterprise. The British had made settlements
there, which were nominally co)nprehended under the govern-
ment and included in the province of West Florida; yet were
they too remote for aid, if indeed aid could have been afforded
them. Captain Willing, the leader of the American party,
fell down the river Mississippi upon them, capturing and

' 1 '

1 ■. '

!•

1
[ -

) ii

1 1

i)liiii(l('rl(ii^ siirli v<'M,«ji'ls a>4 fMl in thoir wny. Tlui pcnplo of
sntclic/, HurpristMl uiul iMitin'lyiii liis j)o\vt'r, miji<1«i p.o attiMiipt
jit (Idi'iicc, but, (|iii«!tly HiirrciKlcroil. In vraiitini,' t,lws»> Mctf.liirs
full security for tlicur |M(i|i('rty, niutiiiil iidvantnuft? was confer-
red, vvliile tlio events of ii fcsw HiibsiMjuent inoiitlis eonlirni the
Husjiicion tlitit tlie ol)j(>et of the (txpedition wiis not litnit«!(l to
their suhjuu;iition, hut extended to Hecurin<( ii b(^tter nKiiiiiH of
connnuni(!iition and eorrespondeiuu! with thi^ Spaniards atN<;w
Orleans, and uniting with tiieni in their designs upon West
Fh)ri(la.

Sin(!c the Treaty of Paris tlu^ tide of fortune had Muctuatod
among the nations. Fratd^lin had tirged, and at huigth suc-
ceeded, in rousing the grandson of Louis XV. to side witli the
revolted colonies against England ; and Louis had, by tneans
of his generals llochanibeau and Lafayette, greatly assisted
towards the success of AVashington. From 177(», the year in
wJiicli America fu'st proclaime(l her independence, to the lOth
June, 1770, when tln^ (h^claration of war was announced liy
Charhis to the court of London, there seems little doul)t but
that ►Si)ain was instructing her governors and commandcirs,
both in America and the West Indies, to be in readiness against
its oiirbreak. Th(!y had been arming and preparing their
stroui^est places for S(;veral y(!ars back ; and as [)r()ofs they
could not have been ignorant, war was dechired in the island
of I'orto Rico a few days after the announcement in London;
and Spaniards had carried Euglisii vesseh) they had taken at
sea into the llavaniiah as prizes, before its intelligence could
have possibly reaelufd either America or the West Indies, —
indeed but a f(?w days after its receipt in London. IMuns had
been laid, and pn^parations made to the time ; all which af-
forded them proportionable advantage.

West Florida appears at tliis precise period to have been
peculiarly unattended to. From the year 1773, when the
civil charges of her establishment amounted to ^7274 ISs. 6d.,
and her affairs are represented as prosperous, her expenses
gradinilly lessened for the seven succeeding years, viz., in 1774
they vv^ere .i'4,850 ; in 1775, ^5,450; in 1776, ^4,003; in
1777, ^5,900 ; in 1778, ^^4,900 ; in 1779, .£4,900 ; in 1780,
^3,090 ; and in 1781, ^3,900. At this time the imports of
both the Floridas did not exceed .£70,000, and the exports
amounted to about .£120,000. His Majesty's IGth regiment
of foot had been for some years stationed at Pensacola.

West Florida and Mississippi, so long in the enjoyment of

ppao(» iiiid sociu! iiitorrourH*! with t\u' 8|m.iiur<lH of L(»iriMiarni,
on war IxMiig itroclaiiiicd lietweoii KiiKlatt*! mid S)>aiii, t'oiiiid
tliciiisclvi'N the most o|ifii to invuMioii. Tlu' posscHsioiis aloii^
tin! ('(last and Moiitli-cast hIhui'h ot tlir rniulity I'ivi^r, \vld«di
Kpaiii had reliiKiuislicd to Knirlaiid l)y the tn^ity o\' I'aiiH,
wt'i'i' MOW in a weak and uiidcti'inUtd Ntato, uiid their proxiiiiity
to tlio |)ovv(M't'ul Nftth'iiK'iit and Htroni^liold hIic priditd hcrsolt
on, at the mouth of tht; Nani«) rivt^r, rciidcrrd thi'ir Hci/.iirc
ttpnarmt. Thesu vvi^uk. settlcnuMitH, iornu'rly considcrrd as
inchided in Louisiana, had iatidy itccn, as ah'«'jidy inentioncd,
ainu!Xod to the province of Wi'st ]<Morida ; since that aiUHJxa-
tion, they had becMi forced oy (Japt. Willing, with ids hand of
Americans, into s(d)inission. Capt. Wiiiing's temporary sid)-
jugation again reNtore<l them to (h'[»endeiice on Fiori(hi, and
acc(trdingly a few sohliers wen; s<'nt to them. J^on IJt.TMando
de (lalvez, the Spanish governor of Louisiana, luiving col-
lected his whole force at his ca[Htal of New Orleans, August
19th, 1779, announced by l)oat of <hiim the independciuce oi
America, and tln^n proceeded against them, lie had secured
the communications, so that his design (ip(»n tlie se'ttlernents
was almost ellected before General Campbell, who commanded
P(!nsac<da, either knew that hostility was nuMlitatiMl, or any
part ^^^' the province in dangcM*. Taking advantage of the
imaginiMl security, Don Oalvez seized on a royal sloop of war
stationed on Lake Pontchartrain, and succeeded in ca[)turing
several vessels on tlie lakes and rivers laden with provisions
and necessaries for the British soldiers, and one that had on
board part oi' the regiment of Waldeck. The whole nnlitary
force, British and German, stationed for the {)rot,'ction of the
country, did not amount to 500, and these had no other cover
against a superior enemy than a newly constructed fort or lield
redoubt, they threw hastily up at a place called Baton llouge.
Here Lieut.-Col. Dickenson, of the IGth regiment, stood a
siege of nine days, until the opening of a battery of heavy
artillery against him made further defence impracticable.
The conditions he obtained were honourable to the garrison,
and favourable to the inhabitants. The troops surrendered
themselves prisoners of war, experiencing from Don Bernando
deGalvez the same good faith which distinguished every trans-
action he was concerned in.

Natchez and Baton Rouge being now in the power of the
Spaniards, and the defences of the province necessarily weak-
ened by the number of prisoners, and vessels laden with pro-

i:^-

( i

visions, taken, Don Galvez lost no time in applying to the
governor of Havaiuiah for a reinforcement, to enable him to
attempt the conquest of Mobile and Pensacola. The state of
apprehension the Province was now in is best understood by
the following letter at this precise era, written by Lieut.-
Gov. Durnford to his commanding officer, earnestly en-
treating additi' nal aid for the defence of Mobile, and repre-
senting the inadequacy of its present garrison. It is copied
literally from notes found, in his handwriting, in an old

pocket-book. i, pensacola, 15th December, 1779.

•' Sir, — Youi having been pleased to direct me, verbally, to

froceed to Mobile and put that place into a state of defence,
think it my duty to request your written order and direction
for that purpose ; particularly as I hear the place is threatened
to be speeclily attacked by our enemy. As it may possibly
happen that I may be there when such an event happens, it
behoves me to lay before you, sir, the true situation of that
fort, in order that the most speedy and effectual measures may
be taken to put it into such a state of defence as that resis-
tance may be made ; for which purpose an immediate supply
of artillery and ordnance stores of all kinds are requisite, also
an additional number of troops, as well as a supply of provi-
sions ; for without these no defence for any time can be made.
The armed vessels now here ought to be sen*^ to guard the
pass of Oleron, as it is the inlet by which the enemy may
appear from the westward. . _ .

" As the fort requires 300 troops forits necessary defence, it
is reasonable to believe that eighty sick, or at best convalescent
men, are not sufficient for its defence. If troops cannot be
detached from hence for tliat purpose, by application to the
governor with the advice of his council, by an order from them
a draft from the associated company of militia may be ordered,
alternately to do duty with the troops in the fort ; and an
armed company of negroes should be collected for the same
purpose : these aids may enable a commanding officer to make
resistance, or, at best, would prevent the place being taken
by assault ; and they would be able to hold out until succour
might be sent from home. As his Majesty's Lieut -Governor,
I flatter myself the Governor and his council would, on your
application, vest me with every power to enable me to defeat
tlie views of our enemy against that part of the province. As
I consider myself senior otHcer to Captain Christie, the com-
mander of the fort, I expect the command will belong to me
when present. For this reason I fully mention to you, sir, before

may

ce, it

iscent

ot be

the

them

ered,

id an

same

nake

aken

cour

inor,

your

efeat

com-

efore

I proceed there, the assistance I think absolutely necessary,
to enable me to do justice to my king and country, honour to
your choice, and satisfaction to myself. As soon as I am
honoured with your Excellency's written directions, I shall
proceed without loss of time. Elias Durnford." .

Every motive, private as well as public, urged conscientious
and spirited endeavours to exertion. The ample grants of
land bestowed on him, had not prevented his purchasmg much
in addition, and laying out the grejitest part of his paternal
fortune in stocking some of them with negroes and cattle.
Besides some town lots, as they are styled, at Pensacola and
Campbell's town, he was at that time in possession of 5,000
acres on the east shore of Mobile Bay, bearing his own name,
many thousand wild forest tracks on the river Mississippi, and
other parts of the province. These large estates were not
neglected by him ; he had sent a party of men with articles, —
— most likely tools and working implements, to mark out roads
(A communication on the western part of the river Mississippi.
These men, with ^112 12s. 9d., in sterling money, were
shipped on board the Florida, at Pensacola, 16th February,
1778: and this vessel was plundered on the river Amite, by a
gang belonging to James Willing's people. This foiled under-
taking was exclusively at his private cost; and the ^112 12s.
9d., embarked with the workmen, must have borne but a small
share of the loss. In addition to this losa, a note in his nocket-
book mentions that, by the schooner Chfirlotte, taken by the
Spaniards, .£181 6s. 8a. was lost. This sum was, without
doubt, consigned to the same purpose as the former ; and the
Charlotte had been captured on the first breaking out of
hostilities, which, as already related, Don Galvez commenced
by seizing many valuable vessels on the lakes and rivers.
Lieut.-Governor Durnford's letter was penned precisely one
month before Don Galvez sailed from New Orleans, with all
the available force he could raise in his government, Jan. 14,
1780, conveyed by some small frigates and armed vessels, on
the expedition, expecting to be followed or met by the force
from the Havannah.

The posture of defence presented by Mobile, on the appear-
ance of ihis fleet, does not appear to have been satisfactory.
In addition to the inadequacy of the garrison to defend a
miserable fort, the armed vessels had not been sent from Pen-
sacola to guard the pass of Oleron. The following account

t i

I '.'

■•;i

!i -i

" I

of the siege of Mobile, as drawn up by one who, certainly,
was no friend to its defender, will be followed by that defen-
der's own statement :

'• The dela) 8, difficulties, and dangers the Spaniards encoun-
tered on the passage to Mobile, would appear almost incredi-
ble to those who considered only the distance, without taking
into account the etormy disposition of the ciimate at that sea-
8on, the dangerous nature of that inhospitable coast, and the
numberless shoals which embarrass and nearly choke up the
mouths of its vast rivers. After a continued struggle with ad-
verse weather, and the various other impediments which we
have mentioned, for nearly a month, the better part of the
fleet were driven on the shore, and several of the vessels at
length totally wrecked in the bay of Mobile. By this mis-
fortune the commander had the mortification of seeing all
reasonable hope of success frustrated ; 800 of his men being
cast away on a naked beach, with the loss of the greater part
of their clothes, arms, and necessaries of that sort.

" The Spaniards bore their misfortunes with that patience
which has at all times been tho characteristic of their nation.
Instead of shrinking under the difficulties and discouragements
they had experienced, (they endeavoured, so far as it could
be done,) to convert their loss into a benefit. They broke
up their wrecked vessels and framed their timber and planks
into ladders and other machines necessary for an escalade ; as
they had sustained too great a loss of artillery and other ma-
terials to attempt a formal siege. Those who had preserved
their arms, were obliged to divide them in such a manner as
would render them most useful, with those who had none;
and those who still remained unarmed, undertook the labo-
rious service of the army.

" It happened, very unfortunately, on the side of the English,
who ware, besides, far from strong, that an account of the
Spanish shipwreck was received at Pensacola, with the addi-
tional falsehoods that 700 of their people had perished, and
that the expedition was entirely laid aside.

•' The Spanish commander had no reason to repent his perse-
verance : he was strengthened by the arrival of four armed
vessels from the Havannah, with a party of the regiment of
Navarre on board. Although these brought an account that
the principal embarkation was still delayed, yet the arrival of
so many ships and fresh men, with the artillery, stores, and
various necessaries which they were capable of supplying,

glish,
lot" the
addi-
, and

suddenly caused a new face of affairs, and afforded a renovation
of vigour and life to everything. The former troops were
speedily re-embarked ; and, after a further encounter of other
storms, difficulties and dangers, the whole were landed, Feb.
26, within three leagues of Mobile.

" Mr. Durnford, a captain of engineers, and Lieut.-Governor
of West-Florida, commanded the poor garrison, which was to
defend the fort or castle, (as the Spaniards called it,) of Mobile.
This consisted of ninety-seven regulars of the 60th regiment,
of sixteen royal Marylanders, three artillerymen, sixty sea-
men, fifty-four inhabitants, and fifty-one armed negroes, with
two surgeons, and a labourer, — amounting to 284 of all sorts.
The enemy attacked the fort by sea and land, and began to
open ground on the 9th March. On the 12th March the Span-
iards opened their battery, consisting of eight eighteen, and
One twenty-four pounder. Their fire seems to have had some
considerable effect on the embrasures and parapets of the two
faces which they attacked ; and two of the garrison guns beiiig
dismounted, they, at sunset, hung out a white flag. The ca-
pitulation was not, however, signed until the J 4th, in the
morning, when the fort was given up, and the garrison sur-
rendered prisoners of war.

" This surrender, which appeared inevitable, was, however,
attended with circumstances which rendered it exceedingly
vexatious. The Major-General, Campbell, had marched from
Pensacola with, as the Spaniards say, 1,100 regular forces, and
some artillery, for its relief; and was besides accompanied by
some Talapuche Indians ; a people, who, being excessively
ferocious and cruel, the inveterate and mortal enemies of the
Spaniards, are by them regarded with a very peculiar dread and
horror. The van of Campbell's force was arrived in sight of
the Spanish camp at the very instant that the fort was sur-
rendered ; and they accordingly used the utmost expedition
in taking possession of, and covering themselves with the
works, under the strong apprehension of an immediate attack.
Don Galvez boasted that the British forces in the field and
garrison were superior in number to his own ; and did not
scruple openly to declare that, with the smallest activity and
vivacity in their works, the latter might have made good the
defence until the arrival of succours.

"It seems upon the whole face of the affair, as it appears at
present, that the Lieui-Governor had not, from the beginning,
the smallest idea of any attempt being made for the redef of

t \

I' !■

the place ; and that he accordingly, from the first appearance of
the enemy,considered its loss as a matter of course and inevitable
necessity. The regular force was certainly such as to give
little encouragement to a very vigorous defence. Thus the
province of West Florida, with a weak, a divided force, was
reduced piecemeal, without its being able, any where, to make
that effectual resistance which might have been expected if it
had been concentrated in some one good point of defence." —
Burke^s Annual Register for il 80.

The following is taken from a letter accidentally found
among his son's (Lieut.-General Elias Walker Durnford, R.E.'s)
papers some months after the decease of the latter :

" I returned to Florida before a governor came out. I restored
harmony and tranquillity to the province, and remained there
under the rank of Lieut.-Governor a great many years, until
I returned to England as a prisoner to Spain, under the espe-
cial condition of not again serving in that province or Louisi-
ana during that war. The condition was imposed on me in
the presence of Lieut. Col. Dixon, of the Iovq regiment of
foot, a prisoner also with me at New Orleans ; and the words
General Galvez made use of were, on remonstrating strongly
against such conditions : ♦ I know you too well, and if my
sovereign sends me an order to exchange you, whilst I com-
mand here, I will disobey it.*

" I was taken prisoner by him on his siea^e of Mobile. I call
it a siege, because he was obliged, in consequence of the mea-
sures and precautions I used in the defence of this paltry fort,
to open trenches, and enter into all the formalities of a siege.
It took him upwards of a month to reduce ; nor was it reduced
until two practicable breaches were ma«^ in the front attacked
and all my shot expended. The garrison, including regulars,
inhabitants, a few servants and slaves employed as workmen,
were about three hundred persons ; and his force consisted of
twenty times my number of regular troops, and more than
ten times my number of people. I marched out with the
honours of war through that breach, and Don Galvez treated
me and my garrison in an honourable manner. I had no hope
of succour from Pensacola ; but, by the defence made by me
at this post, the attack against Pensacola was postponed for
one year."

These two accounts have little agreement. Few unbiassed
persons would rely entirely on an enemy's statement, and
Spanish exaggeration is proverbial. Lieut.-Governor Dura-

I»

mea-
fort,

lassed
and
mrn-

ford was not the man to lag when exertion, either mental or
corporeal, was demanded ; nor is the asseveration more plausible,
of the British forces in garrison and field, being superior in
number ; since, whether we follow the Lieut.-Governor's esti-
mate of the garrison's amounting to three hundred, or that of
Mr. Burke, which makes them two hundred and eighty-
foui, with the addition of the 1,100, said to have fled as soon
as within sight of the Spanish camp ; — even these numbers,
viz. 1,384, nor yet 1,400, amounted to half the force brought
against Mobile. This is stated by an honest and straightfor-
ward account, to have been more than ten times the number
that garrisoned the fort. No mention is made in the letter of
any relief being sent ; on the contrary, he asserts himself to
have been without the hope of succour from Pensacola, and
speaks confidently of having retarded the attack upon Pensa-
cola for another year. Another difficulty arises respecting
this succour, since it is by no means probable the relief afforded
to Mobile should have been such as to weaken or leave de-
fenceless Pensacola the capital : and when we read of the 1,100
regular forces with artillery, accompanied by the ferocious Ta-
lupuche Indians, that made the victorious Spaniards hasten to
cover themselves with the works, and tremble from an appre-
hended immediate attack, the inquiry naturally arises, why
was it not made ? A motley assemblage, it is acknowledged,
defended Pensacola when the same Don Galvez formed the
siege against it, bringing with him between 7 and 8,000 men
the following year ; — detachments from, or rather the re-
mains of, different British regiments ; Maryland and Pennsyl-
vania loyalists ; German-troops of Waldeck ; with sailors, ma-
rines, inhabitants, — for every man was of necessity a soldier, —
negroes and Indians. Impossibility seems stamped upon the
Spanish account, that 1,100 troops were spared to the relief
of Mobile in addition to the savages. After the surrender of
Mobile, the enemy's force was too much weakened to attempt
Pensacola, which they attacked the next year with augmented
strength furnished from the Havannah : yet neither the expe-
rience gained from the surrender of Mobile, nor the abilities
of General Campbell, seconded by his brave but patched
up garrison, could preserve Pensacola from a similar fate.
On the 9th May, 1781, Governor Chester and Major-General
Campbell delivered up the place on the day two months
that the enemy had first made their appearance. Don Galvez
was nearly six weeks before Mobile ; the fresh supplies from

)r '

I I

• !

iili I

Pi I

the Havannah, which enabled him to commence the strict
formalities of a siege, reached a fortnight after his shipwreck
in the bay of Mobile.

While the siege of Mobile was carrying on, Mrs. Durnford's
delicate state of health requiring additional security, she was
placed in a hut with two other ladies, one of whoyn (afterwards
the clever and accomplished wife of Governor Johnston) ren-
dered her humane attention. A sentry was placed over them
for protection, their sole article of furniture being a deal box»
which these ladies were but too glad to sit upon, and take
their meals off. It was in this hut Lieut.-Governor Durnford's
second son, Philip, was born. In regard to the treatment
experienced by the prisoners fromBernando De Galvea, all ac-
counts agrej. Nothing could exceed the good faith with which
he observed the prescribed conditions, nor his humanity and
kindness to the prisoners. He fitted up the ship Lieut.
Governor Durnford came home on parole in, with every comfort
and convenience for Mrs. Durnford, who brought home some
mulatto maid-servants ; one of whom, named Charlotte, filled
the responsible place of nurse to the little stranger, and was
long remembered in the family.

More than ten years afterwards. Governor Durnford speaks
of himself as oppressed in spirit from the effects of censures
cast alone on htm, among all those who were concerned in the
affairs of West Florida j nor without reason did he pine under
imputed failure of energy, since the generally accredited his-
toric recollection respecting him, now, that many years have
elapsed, is, as copied from an approved historian : Early in
the spring, Don Galvez, the Spanish Governor of Louisiana,
fitted out an expedition at New Orleans against the fort of
Mobile, which surrendered on March 12th, just as a force from
Fensacola, under Major-General Campbell, was seen in sight
for its relief. Strange ! that the best proportion of, if not entire
garrison of Pensacola, should leave their capital insecure,
while fair breezes were blowing direct from the watchful
Havannah !

Thus fell the province of West Florida, which had been
held among the principal acquisitions obtained by Great Bri-
tain by the treaty of Paris. During the years it remained in
the possession of England, the rank luxuriance of its rich soil
rendered it subject to tropical fevers. Two regiments that
went there, each 1,000 strong, returned home, — the one with
100, the other no more than 40 men j and Lieut.-Goveiaouf

Durnford speaks of the eighty sick, or, at best, convalescent
men, that formed the chief garrison of the fort of Mobile.

It is remembered of Lieut.-Gov. Durnford that he was
familiarly called the Black Prince, from his complexion,
darkened from the sun of Florida, and his benevolent and open
countenance. It was his custom when in the West Indies
to carry his pistols always loaded ; but on one occasion, being on
a pic-nic, a lady of the party, intending to play him a trick, un-
loaded the pistols and replaced them where he was ac^-ustomed
to keep them. In the course of the day, as the company
were seated, taking refreshment, some species of tiger, pro-
bably the jaguar, suddenly sprang towards them. He in-
stantly seized his pistol, and, pulling the trigger, was surprised
to find it unloaded ; with great presence of mmd he stood quite
still, and steadfastly fixed his eye upon the animal, which, in-
timidated by his looks, presently retired.

The following is copied from a list of tracts of land and
other property. Tost by Lieut.-Gov. Elias Durnford, on the
capture of the Province of West Florida, by Spain and the
Americans, as registered at the City of Washington :

Quantity of Laud.
Acres.

No. 1. — 200. — Tract granted to Elias Durnford, on the Baton Rouge, front-
•^• ing the River Mississippi. (RegUtercd.)

' No. 2. — 600. — Tract granted to Anthony Foster, rear of William Duncan's,
t William Ganty's, and William Briant's, on the river Iber-

ville. (Patented to Mr. T. Durnford.)
No. 3. — 600. — Tract granted to Fisher Tench, adjoining Anthony Foster's.

(Grant copied, not registered.')
No. 4. — 300. — Tract granted to Elias Durnford, back of Mary and Ann
Organ's, on the River Iberville below the forks. (Regii-
y tered.)

No. 5. — 100. — Tract granted to Elias Durnford, on the high land below the
'- fork of the Gomite and Amite Rivers. (Registered.)

'^ No. 6. — 613. — Tract granted to Elias Durnford, opposite to the above 100
acres on the River Amite. (Registered.)
No. 1. — 1,000. — Tract granted to David Lord Rutherford, in the rear of the
above 613 acres, and adjoining Eleanor Rainsford's 600 acres
on the Gomite. (No traces.)
•' No. 8.— 600. — Tract granted to Elias Durnford, adjoining and below Yalens
Stephen Gomyn'S 2,250 acres on the Gomite. (Registered.)
No. 9. — 6,000. — Tract granted to John Ross, at the Poplar Greeks on the
River Gomite. (No researches yet made ; only known by this
information).
No. 10. — 1,000. — Tract granted to John Morrison, adjoinmg George Raimond's
1,000 acres on the east side of the river Amite, below the
'■■■■;■■ fork of the rivers Amite and Iberville. (Index points to a

book to be found in the office.)
I No. 11. — 160. — Tract granted to Elias Durnford, east side of the Amite River,
<'' . between John Morrison's and Gharles Clarke's land. (Re-

gistered )

'»:'

i lb

j!-1

»! I i

Ko. 12.— SO.— Tract granted to Elias Dnrnford, at the first high land a&st
Bide of the Amite entrance from lake Maurepaa. {RegU*
ttrtd.)
Xo. 13.^— 6,000.— Ti act of land known by the name of Durnford's Plantation,
on the east side of Mobile Baj, bought of Madulon Faircbild.
{No intelligence.)
No. 14.— 200. — Tract of land granted to Wm. Rogers, near the head of tb«
west lagoon from Pensacola. (No grant, Ifc,)
No. 15. — 38. — Tract granted to Richard Scegg, at the Cow-pen three miles

from Pensacola. (No ir\formation.)
No. 16. — 38. — Tract granted to Elias Durnford, at Belle Fontaine on
the old road to the rilage. (-Do.)
No. 17. — 8.— Tract granted to Elias Durnford, half a mile above the town
of Pensacola on the Aront of the baj. (do.)

LIST or TOWN LOTS XT PINBACOLA AND OAUPBXLl'S TOWN. '\

■ > Tow» Lots. ■ *'•• '

6.— Granted to Edward Maise, with garden lot. .i.|..

191. — Granted to Smith and Birney, do. do. < . . . .. ,
245. — Granted to— —Fanning, doable lot. •
Ho. 4.— Granted to Elias Durnford, with six garden lots adjoining.
240. — Three town lots granted to Daniel Hickie Campbell.
241. — Volkcs, and John Brest.
31. — In Campbell Town granted to Elias Durnford, with pasture

lot.
32.— In do. granted to Jacob Blackwell, with pasture lot.
Tracts of land belonging to Lieut.-Gor. Durnford, and pro-
perty lost by the American War, on the cession of
■aid states in West Florida. . .■>

^lumtitlea of Land.
Aeras.

BOO. — Tract granted to Ilias Durnford, quarter of a mile belov

junction of Rivers Amite and Comite, bounded N. W. by

A. Foley's land and S. E. by F. Hutchinson. No. of lots, 2wi.

C laim recorded at Belina land Office, May 1 7, 1 820, as No. 10.

600.— Tract granted to John Morrison and wife, on the River Amite.

Lease and Release to Elias Durnford and Da'^id Hodge, P.D.

No. 17.-1,000. — Tract granted to Francis Hutchinson, near the grand Onlph

^ , , below and adjoining Philip Barbour's tract of fifteen hundrci

acres fronting the river Mississippi. (Flat proceeds. Index

points to a grant having been made out.)

No. 18— 600.— Tract granted to Alice Blomant, behind George East's 200

acres and John Allen Martin's 1,000 acres near the river

Mississippi.

No. 19.— 600.— -Tract granted to Elias Durnford, in the rear of Alex. Leger-

. . , I ,.,,.„ wood's 600 acres and George Urquhart's land on the river

Mississippi, opposite Point Coup^. .(Registered.)
No. 20. — 1,000.— Tract granted to Rebecca Durnford, northwest sido of

Thompson's Creek. (Registered.)
No. 21. — 20,000. — Tract granted to Alexander Duncan, back of the lands on
. . the west side of Thompson's Creek, and those which front
the river Mississippi, above Thompson's creek. (Ataignad in
pottetsum.)
No. 22. — 316.— Tract granted to Elias Durnford, east side of Thompson's
Creek, adjoining Evan Jones' land. (Index point* to the
grant havvrig been mad*.)
No. 23.— 360.— Tract granted David Lord Rutherford, five miles cast from
. -.. '■■'.. I ^' o i-.. Thompson's Creek, and bounded by Patrick Strachan's land
. and Robert Falconer's land, (do.)

:«:■[

/.^

;'■ 200
riTer

pion'i
to the

from
■ land

Xr 14.— 10,000.-^Traet grantAd to Eliaa Durnford, below the White Ollff, behind
JobiiMartin'B,Patrick and Maurice Conway's, David Hod get',
"<^'' ■' ' James Hamilton's, Lewis Guthbert's, Lionel Becket West-

. I ' r ' ' rop'ii Thomas McMue's, and Montfort Brown's land, fronting

. . the river Mississippi. (Registered.)

Thesumof one hundred and twelre pounds twelve shil-
lings and nine pence sterling, was shipped on board the sloop
..0 : ' ;i Florida, John Ooetage, master, at Pensacola, the 16th

'y^ . , . I Februarr, 1*778, as appears by his receipt. The sereral

articles oeing sent by him to the river Amite, Lieutenant
Gov. Durnford's private property, being for a party of
I-. men, who were going to mark out roads of communication

..f, . - on the western part of the river Mississippi in West Florida,

the same being taken away on the River Amite, by a gang
belonging to James Witling's party.
Mo. 25— 1,000.— Tract granted to George Frederick Mnlcaster, on the river

Tombeckbee. {No tearch yet made.)
Ho. 26. — 1,000. — Tract granted to Patrick Morgan, on the river Alabama,
above the fork of the river Tombeckbee and Alabama. (To
be patented to M. T. Durnford.)
Ko. 27. — 200. — Tract granted to Eliaa Durnford, at the Indian village on tha

River Escambia.
Ko. 28.— 600. — Tract granted to Eliaa Durnford, adjoining the lower line of
the abova tract.
Tc*M Acres.

62,712— or land, and £112 I2s. 9d. sterling; besides £181 69. 8d.takem
ftom on board the Schooner Gbarlotte, when captured by the Spaniards.

N. B. There were also 6,000 acres, an undivided moiety of
General Harcourt's 10,000 acres, as appears from an original
lift of mine (Lt. Govr. Durnford's) situated below St. Gather-
inei and Buffalo Creeks, and adjoining Amos Ogden's lands.
Making a general total of 67,712 acres.

The colonies and possessions of the new world were useless
and unproductive to their European sovereigns, who claimed
the right of dominion over them, unless peopled and colonized
by their own subjects. Colonization to prosper, must be en*
tared voluntarily on ; and so as splendid inducements these
immense grants were bestowed, and the desire of obtaining
them gained ground, not only among the sanguine and enterpri-
sing, but many English noblemen and gentlemen, to more or
less extent.

Thus was Mississippi, East and West Florida passed over to
Spanish rule. It fell during the short era when reverse at*
tended the colonial wars of Great Britain, when the vigilance
and assistance necessary for its preservation were unfortunatelj
withheld. The resources of these provinces are computed at
ezhaustless.

The late Lieut.-Governor could not long have continued on
parole, the next family recollection of him being that he was
stationed at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. It is supposed that hit

ii,;

lii i

''■

exchange was effected through some of the Spanish oflRcers who
had been captured and brought to Pensacola ; since his non-
employment could not have extended beyond a twelvemonth.
This, with tiie impatience with which he bore the restraint, is
understood from liis own words :

•* On my return to England I solicited Lord Amherst to get
me exchanged, that I might be enabled to serve my country
again. I could have no pecuniary motives, none other besides
those of actual zeal for the king's service ; as the Board of
Ordnance, while I continued a prisoner, acted liberally towards
me. By Lord Amherst's direction I made many applications to
the sick and hurt office to the Spanish agent, but in vain ;
and one day, at his lordship's levee, on representing and solicit-
ing his further aid for my relief, he was pleased to say, that
' he wished all men would shew that zeal for the service I had
done.' Soon after, I met Lord Dorchester, who informed me
he was going to America.* I had served under him at the
Havunnah, and had enjoyed his good-will. He expressed a wish to
have me again with him, and urged my endeavouring by every
possible means to get exchanged : but the same difficulties lay in
my way, until I recollected I had in my possession several letters
from Spanish officers who had been captured and brought to
Pensacola." The conclusion to this letter is wanting. When writ-
ing this, the commencement being for its better understanding
placed last, he was evidently suffering in the public opinion,
and pining for another opportunity being permitted for hiri
to manifest his devotion in the king's service. The letter, from
which these extracts are made, was probably intended for the
Duke of Richmond, when Master-General of the Ordnance,,
although no address confirms the supposition. It is certain that
he was sent /or from Newcastle to London in 178- to Join an erpe-
dilion, afterwards countermanded; and that during the succeeding
years he was gratified by many marks of royal approbation.

" Hon. Sir, — I should not have presumed to trouble you with
this long letter, did I not think myself likely to be overlooked in
the promotion about to take place, on Sir Charles Grey's expe-
dition. From the generous manner you and Mr. Pitt treated
me, when Sir Charles Grey mentioned my name to you, for
the rank of Colonel in the army, I rested satisfied that if pro-
motion was given to other officers on account of the expedi-
tion, I should not have felt the want of this mark of regard

* This must refer to the offer of Lord Dorchester, when going to Canada ia
1786 7

lance, .

\n that
expe*

ieding

ion.
with
.edin

lexpe-

leated
, for
pro-
:pedi-
>gard

kada ia

towards mo in the manner I now do, and which I confess op-
presses my spirit very much, It is a disugreeuhle task on my
Sart to speak of myself ; but as the friends whose esteem I
atter myself I once enjoyed, and would still desire to bear
testimony for me, believe me deserving, I beg leave to state,
that when a young man," Ac. (See page 7.)

While stationed at Newcastle, his eldest daughter, Charlotte,
was born at Alnwick Castle, the residence of the Duchess
of Athol, who was much attached to Mrs. Durnford, and was
fond of going to the Public Assemblies accompanied by her.
Mrs. Durnford was remarkably beautiful.

On the 20th January, 1783, were signed at Versailles the
articles of Peace between his Britannic Majesty and the most
Catholic King.

Article 3rd. — His Britannic Majesty shall cede to his Ca-
tholic Majesty, East Florida; and his Catholic Majesty shall
keep West Forida, provided that the term of eighteen months,
to be computed from the time of the ratification of the defi-
nitive treaty, shall be granted to the subjects of his Britannic
Majesty, who are settled as well in the island of Minorca as
in the two Floridas, to sell their estates, recover their debts,
and to transport their efiects, as well as their persons, without
being restramed on account of their religion, or under any
other pretence whatsoever, except that of debt and criminal
prosecuiions ; and his Britannic Majesty shall have power to
cause all the effects that may belong to him in East Florida,
whether artillery or others, to be carried away.

Article 4 — Provides for the security of his Britannic Ma-
jesty's subjects, in cutting, loading, and carrymg away log-
wood, and also fixing the boundaries.

The appointment of Chief Engineer at Plymouth from this
period was given to Colonel Durnford, at which place he con-
tinued for upwards of six years.

During this period his vast estates in Florida were commit-
ted to the direction of agents, the most confidential and res-
ponsible of whom was his cousin, Mr. Thomas Durnford.
From the sequel we find, that the appeal forming the object
of his letter, was not unattended to : the command of the En-
gineers who accompanied Sir Charles Grey's expedition was
given to him. Flushed with satisfaction at this added proof
of his sovereign's confidence, and in the company of his eldest
son, Ellas Walker, he bid adieu to his country, witnessed and
partook in the triumph of the British arms at Martinique*

; h:

I»

J I

&c., to perish prematurely ftt Tobago, 2lBt June, 1794, among
the countless victims of yellow fever.

Here, ut the age of about fifty-five, hisspirit was summoned
to return to Him who gave it; and the spot, become unknown,
where his remains lie, has never been visited by a relative.
Though Tobago's scorching sun shines upon his grave, cold
icy forgetfulness shrouds it also in shadow. Foreign is the
land it occupies, foreign the form wandering by, and foreign
the eye, if such there be, that glances over it. His was a
brave and generous spirit,, devoted to his country's service,
and glowing with loyalty and affection to his beloved sover-
eign. ,...: , ,,, .,.•.,, ■■.,. ,.-^ W ..

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I'f

' SECTION IIL

Scenes in Earlj Lift in Martinique, Gimileloupe, during the jTcArs I79i and

1795, Ac*
Is tempi harmoiilM let Amoi.— Ilirr, Comti nie St. A n ruiff 1/

It is handed down in the faiuilj, that our ancestors oame to England
with tho Con(|ueror, I have traced them from 1&90, in regular «ucce«-
sion to the present time, 1849; and I luive my baptism from tiio re;j;iHter
of a handsume church, on th« cautorn part of the coast of Huffolk. My
grandmother t4)ld mo that I wont ucror's the Atlantic a bube in arms,
and returned with an aunt when between four and five ycarH oM. My
father, with wliom this aunt hud gone to Pensacola, held one of the high*
est and most responsible stations in tho colony. There he reuiuinecl
during a groat part ot the first American war, and alio that which ibl-
lowed with tho Spaniards, by whom he was made prisoner, after a most
obstinate defence as commandant of one of tho principal ibrts of West
Florida.

Soon after tho return of my father to England, at the end of the
American war, I was removed to a school preparatory to entering into
the Military Academy, at Woolwich, into wiiich I was received in Octo-
ber, 1789. I managed to pass a good erxumination, and to my lather's
delight was presented with a commission in the lloyal Kegiment of Ai*-
tillery ; from which, after being in camp upon my native coast five motiths,
I was transferred to the corps of Royal Engineers, October, 1793, and
immediately ordered to Portsmouth, to embark with the expedition, con-
sisting of 5000 troops and a fleet under Admiral Sir J jhn jurvis, assem-
bled at that port, and destined for the West Indies, in which expedition
my father was commanding engineer.

A company of Royal Military Artificers, as then termed, just returned
from Ostend, were embarked in the same transport with my father's
heavy baggage, and sea stock of all denominations. But we were disap-
pointed in these anticipated comforts ; for while we were on shore, hurry-
ing off some essential ordnance stores, to receive which a ship was waiting
at the gun wharf, a signal was made for a frigate to start immediately
?rith the said store ship, in which my father and myself accordingly
sailed. We rendezvoused at Madeira ; and I, with some others had
scarcely set foot on shore when Admiral Sir John Jarvis's ship made its
appearance in the offing, and we had to re-embark in haste, and put to
sea.

Que morning at break of day, as we were sailing in the trade wind,
by some negligence our transport was ahead of the convoy frigate. We

* Originallj publiBlied in tite United Service Journal, August, 18&0.

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saw her steering directly after us : in a short time our yards came nearly
in contact, and we were hailed in an angry tone, ^nd ordered never to
presume to get before her.

The following is an extract from a letter of Colonel Durnford's to hia
wife.

" Casse Navtre Bat,

" 16th Feb., 1794.

" I have had the happiness to receive your letter by the Fleet just ar-
rived withthe Asiaman-cf-war, and have only just now a few minutes of
time to assure you that F'lias and myself are in good health. I left him
this morning, and shall see him again to-morrow, I expect. We are
very successful hitherto, a ad there is every appearance we shall reduce

this island shortly; and we are at precent very healthy My

baggage left behind is safe arrived, and I have no doubt but we shall
possess Fort Bourbon in a fortnight.

" After a pleasant voyage, we arrived at Barbadoes, and three or four
weeks afterwards sailed for Martinique, where the head-quarter part of
the army to which I was attached, landed with little opposition on the
morning of February, 1794. The British commanders resolved to
effect their several landings at places remote from each other. General
Dumas landed on the 5th t-nd 6th Feb., at Gallien ; General Prescott at
Trois Rivieres ; and on the 8th, Colonel Sir Charles Gordon disembarked
with the rest of the troops at Cas de Na~'ire ; and I had the pleasure of
a tramp on foot until nine o'clock at night, which nearly knocked me up.
I however f.':nd out a dirty negro hut to get some sleep in ; and being
young in such things, was much astonished and concerned to find that
two soldiers were to be tried for marauding. They were hanged the
next ;noming in presence of the army. The same day a small divis-
ion of the army started to attack a fort upon Pigeon Island -,a small

bold island within range of field artillery. The first shot from the enemy
passed very near me, and wounded a poor negro who was to have aided
in the construction of a battery ; but a foi tunate shell from one of our
howitzers blew up the enemy's magazine, and the fort surrendered.

" I was next ordered to superintend the disembarkation of stores to be
employed in the siege of Fort Bourbon. To effect this operation, and
cover it from any attack of the enemy, two companies of the 70th Regi-
ment, two field pieces, and half the company of Royal Military Artifi-
cers were assembled, and we wei'e desired to keep on the alert through
the night. Nothing of moment occurred ; but before noon the next day
the army, which was posted on the heights about half cannon shot from
us, marched to the tttack of the main body of the French army defend-
ing Fort Bourbon. Onr little party were drawn up in line to secure the
stores, and cover ihe left of the main army. After a few scattered shots
the enemy were driven into their fortress. I then repaired to the
heights, and had some difficulty in finding my way through the cane
patches. On rejoining my corps, I heard an officer enquire for the
commanding officer, for the purpose of reporting him&tilf, stoting that he

had been haatily sent from Gibraltar to replace the deceased , the

very man he was ignorantly addressing I

" So diflScult was it to bring up heavy ordnance to our batteries con-
structing against Foit Bourbon, that it required 300 sailors to haul one
gun up to the heights ; but they persevered with the utmost enthusiasm .
I was present at the opening of the batteries, and requested a Serjeant
of artillery to let me lay the first eight-inch howitzer. The command-
ing officer of artillery came up as this was fired, and I had the pleusure
to hear him exclaim, ' That was the best shot fired ;' for it had entered
the enemy's embrasures.

" I then repaired to my own immediate quarters. Our batteries were so
well constructed that the most dangerous service was the approach to the
main battery, for the field was literally ploughed up with the enemy's
shot and shells that passed over our parapet. Under this I was eating
my dinner, in company with two other officers, (both of whom were, seve-
ral years afterwards, killed), when a thirteen-inch shell fell within five or
six yards of us. On the 7th March, the batteries of the first parallel
bei ig at length ready, General Rochambeau was summoned, but without
effect. By the 20th the works were advanced within little more than 400
yards of Fort Bourbon, and the batteries of the second parallel were com-
pleted. P'"vious to conducting the second parallel and erecting batteries
close to the fort, the same officers were ordered to inspect the ground in
advance, and I volunteered to accompany them. We went so close to the
advanced redoubt, that expecting every moment to be surrounded by the
enemy, I was not sorry when we silently returned to our first battery. I
was sent to a considerable distance from our main approaches, to con-
struct an enfilading battery against a troublesome line of the enemy's fort.
It was in a cane patch ; and so secretly was the work prosecuted, that a
parapet was erected, open to the view of our own troops, before it was dis-
covered by the enemy ; no sooner was it observed by them than they de-
tached a battalion of light infantry to make prisoners of me and my
party, consisting of a detachment of the 70tli regiment. I was returning
from my work to report its progress when I passed this detachment of
the enemy unobserved.

" During the following night the platforms were laid, and the guns
brought up by sailors, who also worked them very effectually. Batteries
were under construction for breaching the advanced redoubt, and near
face of the fort, and orders were given for a general assault, when the
enemy offered to capitulate."*

The following is an extract from Sir Charles Grey't despatch, dated
Fort Royal, Martinique, March 25, 1794 :—

" Sir, — I have the happiness to acquaint you of the complete conquest
of this valuable island,the last and most important fortress of Fort Bour-
bon having surrendered to his Majesty's arms at four o'clock in the after-
noon of the 23rd instant, at which time His Royal Highness Prince

* In March, His Royal Highness Prince Edward arrived from Gaaada and took
the command of the third division, which had been held for him by Sir Charlei
Gordon. — Brtnton's Naval History.

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Edward, Major General of his majesty's forces, took possession of both
gates with the 1st and 3rd battallion of grenadiers, and the 1st and 3rd
light infantry ; and I have the honour to transmit to you the articles of

capitulation, &c Iconsider myself under great obligation to

Lieut.-General Presoott for the zeal and ability with which he has assisted
me throughout this arduous service now brought to a conclusion, and o
all the generals and other officers : Colonel Durnford, with the corps of
TSngineers, and Lieut. Colonels Paterson and Sowerby, and Major Manley
with the Royal Artillery, have also a claim to my warmesio approbation
for their exertions in placing and constructing of the batteries, and the
well-directed fire of the artillery. The bravery, regularity, and good be-
haviour of the troops on every occasion has been most meritorious and
exemplary. The good conduct of the brigade of Grenadiers, under the
immediate conduct of His Royal Highness Prince Edward, and of the
brigade of Light Infantry under Major-General Dundas, and, indeed, of
all the troops, affords me the highest satisfaction."

Terms were soon agreed upon, and I sailed with the troops for St.
Lucia. That island speedily surrendered ; and we proceeded to Guade-
loupe, which was also soon in our possession with little resistance from
the enemy, at least against the force to which I was attached, which took
Fort Fleur d'Ep^ and Fort Government overlooking Pointe tt-Pitre.
This strong fort was taken by storm at five o'clock the 11th of May,
under a heavy fire of cannon and musketry by three divisions. The first,
under the command of His Royal Highness Prince Edward, consisting
of 1st and 2nd Battalions of Grenadiers, and two of the naval Battal-
ions ; the second under Major-General Dundas, with battalions jf Light
Infantry ; the 3rd under Colonel Symes, which co-operated with Major-
General Dundas. The name of this fort was changed to that of Fort
Prince of Wales.

I joined several officers on entering the latter town (there might have
been a dozen of us,) and we proceeded to a handsome building ^ve took for
an hotel and, sans c6r4inonie, order^id a good dinner, which was soon
provided, and served up very comfortably. The meats were excellent,
the wines capital ; but to my astonishment, upon requesting the bill, we
were informed it was a private house ; that the owner had officiated as
head waiter, and insisted we should not pay a sou.

At 12 o'clock on the night of the 19th April, the 1st and 2nd Bat-
talions of Grenadiers, and the 1st Light Infantry moved forward from
Trois Rivieres and Grande Ance, and took their famous post of Palmiste,
with all their batteries, at day-break of the 20th, commanding Fort St.
Charles and Basseterre, and communicating with Major General Dundas's
division on the morning of the 21st, who had made his approach by
Morne Howel. General Collet soon capitulated, surrendering Guadar
loupe and all its dependencies, comprehending the islands of Marigalante,
Deieada, the Saintes, &c., on the same terms that were allowed to Roch-
ambeau at Martinique, and Richard at St. Lucia ; to march out with
the honours of war and lay down their arms, to be sent to France, and
not to serve against the British forces or their allies during the war.

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From Pointe-iVPitro I was ordered to Basseterre, the head-quarters,
where General Dundas had been newly appointed governor. General
Dundas had been in command of the Light Infantry, which troops were
incessantly and most effectually employed. He was a favourite with the
whole army.*

I had been stationed at Basseterre but a few weeks before the yellow
fever broke out, which carried off many of our soldiers ; and, to the great
giief of the army and navy, our respected governor. While his body
was on the point of interment in Fort Matilda, and I was in the act of
seeing his coffij lowered, the rumour reached us that the French had
landed and taken Fort Fleur d'Ep^e by assault. A small armament from
Brest, landing 2000 men on the island, under the Commissioner Victor
Hugues, made themselves masters of the Fort of Grande-Terre.

I was ordered to join the counter attack upon this division of the
island, and on my returning to quarters I found my commanding officer
preparing to proceed with a body of troops to the &cene of action. I was
embarked ou board a liae of battle ship, and we sailed for Point-a-Pitre a
few days after, where the Commander-in-Chief, Sir Charles Grey, had
before arrived with a strong force, and in the month of June we were dis-
embarked to invest Fort Fleur d'Epde.

While upon the advance, I received the affecting intelligence of my
' \mented father's death at Tobago, of yellow fever, through a letter frc m
the officer who had succeeded to his command at that island, and w lo
fell himself a few days afterwards, a victim to the same terrible pesti-
lence.

I was, of course, much shocked ; and not proceeding immediately with
the party, who were carrying tools intended to break ground against the
fort, the officer in command reprimanded me so harshly that the ordnance
surgeon accused him of great inhumanity. This caused me to rouse my-
self and follow the party, which I soon overtook ; and the night was
passed in the damp open air, though fortunately sheltered from the grape-
shot of the enemy which saluted us frequently during the night ; 30 tliat
independently of an expected sally from the fort, in readiness for »vhic-r we
had two field pieces drawn up across the road, close to the spot I lay on,
I obtained little rest or sleep.

On ■ !io 27th, the enemy, attacked on all sides by Brigadier-General
Sym' .. ; ith the Grenadiers and Light Infantry, were completely routed,
dri— iik I') s'n to Morne Mascot, where they again made resistance, but
being ciu ^ j. with bayonets they fled into Fort Fleur d'Ep^e.

Batteries f .■ . field-pieces were commenced, and I had to superintend
the construction of two, mounted at point blank range, four hundred
yards distant from the enemy's main battery of four 24-pounders, from
which my party was repeatedly fired upon, and with such effect that the
sandbags were dislodged from the embrasures, almost as fast as I directed
them to be placed.

• The flouriahing state of the islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe, and St. Lucia
is , Niarent from a valuation made in May. 1794, of ordnance stores alone, cap-
tu" > in these several islands, being made at jC24,171 15s. 6ii. sterling money.

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About midday, one of the Civil Superintendents of the extreme bat-
tery to the left, came past very hastily to warn the advanced fiwce, a bat-
talion of Clrenadiers, that the enemy were marching out of the fort to
Attack them ; and so sudden was their approach that the commanding
Officer was obliged to form his men, half-shaven as he was.

The Grenadiers expended most of their sixty rounds per man ; and the
assailants, having suffered a severe loss, were driven into the fort. Our
loss was ti-ifling. While the action was going on, within two or three
hundred yards of my batteries, I could not help looking over the para-
pet to see the Upshot of this affair. Several musket balls passed so near
me that an artillery officer, for whom the battfiries were erecting, warned
tae of my danger.

Soon after the action, the Commander-in-Chief passed me, with General
Arnold riding by his side, and it was understood that he volunteered to
lead the troops to the attack of the town of Pointe-ll-Pitre. The attack
took place during the night ; but the English commander being wounded,
aind some other Casualties, Fort Government, an insignificant work, was
not taken, from which the enemy poured a destructive fire upon our
soldiers, who were scattered about the town ; and they were consequently
ordered to retire from the place, and embarked. In the course of the
day following the atta . ' the town, the batteries being finished, and
sixteen field pieces moun 'le four 24-pounders in the fort were com-
pletely silenced; and the p< .ion having been abandoned, the whole of
the English force was withdrawn. j

Extract of a letter from Sir Charles Grey, Guadeloiipe, July 8.

** I had every thing in readiness for an attack u^on Fort Fleur d'Epde
by storm, with the second battalion of Grenadiers, &c., but the failure
against the town of Point-i^-Pitre obliged me to relinquish the meditated
attack, by laying me under the necessity of detaching the Grenadiers to
cover the retreat of Major-General Symes" division."

I was ordered to join our force at Camp Berville, a position previously
taken up to prevent the incursions of the enemy into the main part of
Guadeloupe. The sea flowing into the harbour, and passing the town of
Pointe-i-Pitre, divides the island of Guadeloupe into two distinct parts.
The troops, quartered at Camp Berville, prevented the enemy from enter-
ing Basseterre for four months.

Previous to the attack on Pointe-^-Pitre and Fleur d'Epde, a battery
of one gun had been erected, against which a frigate was sent ; and it is
a remarkable fact, that, as time did not a^mit of a platform being laid,
this gun gradually sunk to the solid bottom of the embrasure, and could
net, by any means, be moved. Its situation, luckily, was the most ap-
propriate for reaching the frigate, which, in consequence, was obliged to
withdraw from the attack.

I was now a sort of forlorn being, my father dead, my mother so many
hundred miles distant, and with death staring me in the face in various
shapes : for the yellow fever was raging frightfully in the camp, or rather
negro huts, and I had to superintend the erection of two large redoubts
or field works facing the harbour, and withir gunshot of the town of

* 'i

P«uite-4-Pitre, at which I was obliged to work chiefly during the night.
Convict negroes were, unavoidably, employed, the troops being too sickly
and scarcely able to perform their garrison and detached duties. Several
oompanies could not produce a single man fit for duty ; and so many
o&c&ca had died, that field officers were, in the end, compelled to mount
aaptain's guard.

Every morning we were saluted by some heavy guns from the town,
wlaan my working parties scampered away, and I had to return to my negro
hut, where I lived with my commanding officer, Captain Dowse, who
soon fell sixjk. Fortunately the ordnance surgeon lived with us, like-
wise a French officer, an assistant engineer, and our servant, an artillery
Stan. In September I became ill ; and, while unable to speak, I heard
the surgeon say that it waa all over with me.

We remaiued unmolested by the enemy for a short time, having a ship
of war on each flank ; but, towards the end of the month, my command-
ing officer being too ill, as well as the surgeon, to perform any duty, our
French companion requested my leave to visit the head quarters the next
day. This request has impressed me with the belief that he anticipated
the attack that waa made upon us a few days afterwards, when the ene-
my, boldly evading our ships of war, and approaching within gunehot of
fi^-pieces, directly cut off any movement. The French, by arming
the negroes, formed an overwhelming army against the camp and troops,
Beduoed to a small, enfeebled force by the yellow fever.

On the morning of October 3, our gun boats were attacked by those
of the enemy, and three fresh columns, of one thousand men each, advanced
vpoa ufi. In short, we were completely surrounded by land and sea, with
three fourths of our soldiers scarcely able to walk. Nevertheless we repulsed
imo attacks made by this vastly superior force, increased, as already
stated, by the French having put musketry into the hands of the negroes.

Cxunp Berville was speedily surrounded, and all communication cut off
between the camp and the ships. Three violent assaults were made upon
it by the Eepublicans, in all of which they were repulsed, with a loss esti-
mated at not less than two thousand men. Resistance, however, though
honourable, was soon found to be fruitless. October 6, the British
ixosifB surrendered, on condition of being sent to England.*

The capitulation was concluded in about nine or ten days afterwards ;
it was considered very honourable and favourable, as we were to be for-
warded to England aseoon as shipping could be provided ; six weeks being
stipulated as the longest period for our detention at Pointe-^Pitre, to
which place the captured officers, sixty in number, were sent ; and the
Bjcm-Ksotumissioned officers and private soldiers, who were above one thou-
sand, were conveyed on board the hulks or prison ships then in the
harbour.

* The plan of Berville Gamp was found accideatallj among the author's pa-
pers. A note in the original attests to the obstinacy with which the ground
was contested ; and that on September 30, the first attack commenced at
half-past four, and lasted until half-past ei^ht in the morning. The enemy bst
nioe hundred men ou that occasiou.

. )

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The surj»eon and my servant died before we capitulated ; and my com-
manding officer was so ill, that he was separated from me, and went to
the hospital.*

On my march from camp to embark for Pointe-d-Pitre, I was taken
for, I suspect, our French assistant engineer; and if an immediate ex-
planation, to which my imperfect French gave potent certificate of my
really being English, had not been made, I should have been escorted
and made to join above one hundred royalists, who had fought in our
ranks ; and who, being made to kneel along the ditch of one of the re-
doubts before mentioned, were deliberately shot, and buried, dead or
alive.

While we sojourned at Point-drPitre, where for three months we were
detained under the closest confinement, the three French Commissioners,
the famous Victor Hugues being one, paid a visit to the officers, for the
especial purpose of trying to discover whether there were any French
aristocrats among us. My regimental coat, very similar to that worn by
French engineers, (blue, with black velvet facings, collar and cufia,)
caught the eye of the commissioners, and they almost insisted in causing
me to be carried to the guillotine that was erected in the market-place,
where several poor royalists were daily murdered by that fatal engine ;
and from our prison we continually heard the shouts of the populace after
each execution.

When Victor Ungues heard that Captain Hutton of the artillery, a
relation of the celebrated mathematician, was in his power, the respect he
entertained for science induced him to order his immediate release.
Captain Hutton was also distinguished for his talents, and he excelled as
a minute and accomplished draughtsman.

I was taken ill, and procured permission to join my esteemed friend
and commanding officer, then at the point of death at the French hospi-
tal : but I had not been there many days before it was thought expedient
to cause three or four other officers with myself to return to Pointe-^
Pitre. I made all the remonstrance in my power, perceiving that my
friend, Captain Dowse, wr ", evidently dying, nor did he long survive my
removal.

I was permitted to go into a lodging, where I hoped to derive benefit
from the care of the inmates of the house, a French lady and some smart
daughters. But I was not very sorry to be again removed, after witness-
ing their enthusaism whenever a cart with five or six decapitated victims
passed the door. There was in the house a handsome ^girl of eighteen ;
it was her custom to gaze on this cart as it daily passed from the place of
execution, filled with headless, streaming trunks, and she literally clapped
her hands and shouted as they went by.

• The ground whereon these conflicts, so unfortunate for our soldiers, were
fought, is laid down in the old maps as surrounded with morass. It is evident
that our brave troops held out to the last extremity, and were finally overcome,
more by the attacks of that malignant and direful West Indian plague, yellow
fever, particularly fostered on this fatal spot from the malaria that escaped
from the morasses, than even the numerical superiority opposed to them, com-
posed in great part of blacks and mulattoes, in full vigour and health.

About this time, Victor Hugues published at Guadeloupe the following
proclammation : " '

LIBERTY, LAW, EQUALITY.

" Victor Hugues, Delegated Commissioner of the National Convention
to the Windward Islands : —

" Whereas the crimes committed by the British officers, as well in the
capture as in the defence of the captured islands, exhibited a character
of so consummate and odious a villainy as not to be paralleled in history :

" And whereas the rights of humanity, of war, and of nations, have
been violated by Charles Grey, General ; John Jarvis, Admiral ; Tho-
mas Dundas, Major-General and Governor of Guadeloupe; Charles
Gordon, a general officer, and other subaltern officers who imitated them :

" And whereas, also, the robberries, murders, assassinations, and other
crimes committed by them, ought to be transmitted to posterity, it is re-
solved that the body of Thomas Dundas, interred in Guadeloupe, 3rd
June (slave style), shall be taken up and given a prey to the birds of the
air ; and that upon the same spot there shall be erected, at the expense of
the Republic, a monument, having on one side this decree, and on the
other the following inscription :

" ' This ground, restored to liberty by the bravery of Republicans, was
polluted by the body of Thomas Dundas, Major General and Governor

of Guadaloupe, for the George the Third. In recollecting his

crimes, the public indignation caused him to be taken up, and has ordered
this monument to be erected, to hand them down to posterity.'

" Givenat the Post of Liberty, 10th Frimaire, December 11, 1794, in
the third year of the French Republic, one and indivisible.

" Victor Hugues.
" ViEL, Secretary."

Our anxious expectation of embarking for England was, as we thought,
shortly to be realized, as transports were preparing ; but the sailors were
transferred to the French frigate La Pique ; at which we had frequently
fired shot and shells vrhen at Camp Berville. The stern and decks of
this frigate were well secured by cotton bags, and our artillery at a long
range, she lying at the harbour's mouth.

The English frigate Blanche, commanded by Captain Faulkner, daily
appeared, to prevent the sailing of the Pique ; but at length the two
vessels came to an engagement, which terminated in the capture
of the Frenchman. Thus all hope of our removal was cut oflF,
and we, the surviving officers, (half of our mess having died), were re-
moved to a hulk, where we found about 200 of our soldiers, most of
whom, since their imprisonment on board the hulks, had recovered. This
change proved likewise most beneficial to us, their officers ; since we there
received, through the mercy oi God, renovated health.

On board la Bonne Mhe we had to shift for ourselves, the only differ-
erence between the accommodation of officers and private soldiers being,
\hat cabins were allotted to us. The provisions served out were the

iliil

worst description of salt beef and pork, with ^nerally rotten biB<tait
and bad water, with which we were scantily supplied, without any TflgS*
tables ; nor had we fuel to cook this niisorablo food.

The plan of, and distribntion of these provisions to the different
messes was made after an equal division by the quarter-master of the ooiips.
Wo were classed in parties of from eight to ten men, standing witb
their backs turned to the others. The lots were termed the genwol's,
colonel's, captain's, or subaltern's, &o., and a panicnlar officer, non-com-
missioned officer, or private, named again to one of them, whose busineew
was to give to each particular man, in the several squads, his appointed
portion. There was a guard over us, consisting of a serjeant, oorporaly
and twelve privates. Frenchmen and Negroes, who turned us every morn-
ing on deck to bo mustered ; and wo were also counted before retiring
in the evening. One of the officers flattered himself he had prevailed
Upon a man to meet him with a canoe, and assist hiui in escaping ; sO)
on the night agreed on, he let himself down into the water from the
cabin windows and swam to the appointed buoy ; but no canoe came^
flttd ho swam back to the hulk ; on reaching which he drew himself up by
a chance rope, and descended into the cabin, unobserved by the guard.

About this time the three French Commissioners came on board, when
we made the strongest remonstrances to them against our unjust deten-
tion. It was useless, as the recent loss of their frigate La Pique, and
seamen, was a complete bar to our departure. A poor aristocrat, who
had hoped to evade observation by clothing himself in a British soldier's
dress, in an unguarded moment had caused suspicion to fall upon hiffi.
He was dragged from the prison ship to shore, and guillotined.

The late Sir Charles Shipley, of the Royal Engineers, who had beea
sent out to succeed in the command of the department, vacant on the
decease of my dear father, was taken prisoner at sea, and brought on board
la Bonne Mire, At this time an American schooner approaching near
our prison ship, I hastily wrote a few lines to my dear mother, and push-
ing the paper into a bottle, threw it overboard, and then hailed th0
schooner to take charge of it ; and this letter my mother duly received*
Shortly after this, Lady Shipley courageously oame to Point-irPiti-e, and
pleaded so pathetically to Y iotor Hugues that she procured the release of
her husband.

Victor Hugues sent a present of six small religious books on board,
directing one to me, entitled, ' La coeur de Jesus,' which, I much regret,
was stolen from me. He was the first in rank of the three commissioners
sent to Guadeloupe by Bobespierre. I am extremely sorry to reflect^^
that, although I had a small Bible which had been given me by my sei>-
vant, a worthy Scotchman, the same who died of yellow fever in the
negro hut at Camp Berville, it was, to my shame, scarcely opened by me;
My servant, to whom this Bible had belonged, was a gunner of Boyal
Artillery, ami when dying he presented me with it.

Between the sale of my own clothing, and some that came into my
possession, I managed occasionally to purchase a little cocoa, sugar, &o.,
uom the provision boats that oame alongside \ or by selling u shirt noit

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and then to one of the negroes on gaard, who looked very smart in theio^
These provision boats, i.bout once a week came alongsido freighted with
vegetables, tobacco, coffee, &o., when those who had money availed them-
selves of the indulgence to purchase something, though it might bo only
pumpkins or horsebeans, which the poorest among us converted into
0om).

Eight or nine months of imprisonment had elapsed, when three officers
entered into an agreement with about that number of masters of mer-,
chant vesHols, their fellow prisoners, to make their escape in one of the
provision boats. The scheme was known to the other officers, for it wa4
of importance that the boat should not be overcrowded. No more adven-.
tnrcrs into the enterprise were admitted than to man each oar ; intru-
ders might therefore expect to be thrown overboard. It was their aim to
reach the English fleet, which lay at the anchorage of the Saintes, twenty
miles off. Captain Walker conducted the daring exploit ; and, on pain of
death, none but those previously agreed on were to attempt to follow.
They had no arms but knives ; and, everything being now in readiness^
when the desired boat came alongside, Captain Walker and his party
instantly jumped in, threw the coxswain and the black crew, who manned
\\,f overboard, and in a n^oment put all to rights for standing to sea. The
blacks all swam to the shore, the bowman excepted, a stout mulatto, who
begged so hard to accompany them that he was accepted, and he after-
wards: proved of the moHt essential service.

There was a fine hubbub. It was known that the guard on board the
hulk was unprovided with ammunition, and, no sooner was the boat dis-
engaged from her, than, disregarding their menaces, the fugitives gave
way, shouting with vigour, ' La liberty ou la mort I ' The blacks had
sufficient presence of mind, at the moment their oars were wrested from
them, to throw the thowel pins into the water ; but Captain Walker,
anticipating the probability of such deficiency, had fortunately provided
others, without which precaution the boat could not have moved.

There was a frigate lying at anchor just behind the prison ship, from
which op'> or two rounds of grape were discharged at the fugitives, and
QUndry Ijats were despatched in pursuit. Two or three of these boats
fortunately rowing direct for the ftigitives, prevented other shots being
Qred at the escaping boat, which had to pass very close to an island (Isle
Ooohon). Here the original boatman of the provision boat, who had
solicited not to be thrown overboard, stood up and called out to the men
at the battery that the boats were in pursuit of one that had passed on
the other side of the island Knowing the mulatto, this statement dis-
tracted their attention, and the pursuing boats got between the British
and the battery before more than one or two shots could be discharged.

The boat with the fugitives was considered one of the fastest in the
harbour, so that only one or two could get within hail. After a chase of
three or four miles the pursuit was abandoned ; and our brave fellows
eventually got on board a British man-of-war, lying near the island of
Saintes, about twenty miles from the harbour of Pointe-jirPitre.

When the appointed provision boat came alongside of us, I was play-

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ing chess on dock with an officer, not nmonf; the number of those selected
to OHCiipo. Ho instantly run to the side of the ship where the bt)at lay ;
and, I presume, on perceiving that the expected nuuiber of merchant
captains was not made up, jumped in himself, and another officer, unso-
licited, followed his example. When I reached the sides the guard was
shouting and preventing any others from approaching the gangway, and
we were hurried from tho upper to the lower deck. The residue of prison-
erH on board wore almost as delighted us those who had escaped ; it being
understood to be their intention to raiiko every OKortion to effijct our
release, which proved to be tho case.

Two months after this, the remaining officers, about thirty in number,
wore suddenly and unexpectedly warned to go on board a schooner brought
near tho hulk ; immediately after which, in the night, we were conveved
to a largo French frigate, lying at Basseterre, and crammed into the cable-
tier. During the same night the frigate shipped her cable and started in
the direction of St. Domingo or France, thereby evading our cruisers,
which daily hovered in sight.

Tho following is an extract from a letter of Sir Charles Shipley to Mr.
Durnford's mother relating this circumstance : —

" Martinique, December 21, 1795.

" My dear Madam, — A combination of misfortunes, since I had the
pleasure of seeing you, are at length terminated by my exchange and res-
toration to my family. This happy event was brought about by the ex-
traordinary, I may say unprecedented, exertions of Mrs. Shipley, which
you have in all probability heard of more at length than I have at present
time to give.

" I am anxious to acquaint you with Mr. Durnford's perfect state of
health, and supporting himself with that propriety of conduct which I am
sure will preserve it. He is embarked on hoard L' Andromache, French
frigate, with General Graham and about thirty other officers captured at
Berville Camp. They sailed from Guadeloupe on the 19th November,
bound either to St. Domingo or France. But, at any rate, you may be
assured that his exchange uannot now be far distant, and rejoice at his re-
moval from Pointe4-Pitre. I am happy to hear that the officers of
L' Andromache were well disposed to treat the prisoners with all possible
humanity and attention. Mr. Durnford messed with me on board the
prison ship at Pointe-il-Pitre ; and I trust that our acquaintance so unfor-
tunately begun, will, at a future day, be only a subject of merriment at the
extraordinary scenes we have passed together."

Soon after we were placed in this frigate, an English officer arrived on
board with a flag of truce, when, with a Creole officer, I was called into
the cabin. The Englishman presented me with twenty half-joes that Sir
Charles Shipley had ventured to send me. This was a most season-
able and appropriate supply. The general (Graham), who had been an
old West Florida friend of my poor father's, gratified me by accepting
half of this sum, for he had not a sou at command.

We had a prosperous though stormy voyage, reaching Rochelle in less
than thirty days. The captain and officers of the frigate obligingly invited

two of us to dino with thorn ovory Sunday. Whon mv turn came all I cnn
remoinber of it is, that the vcssol rolled 80 confoundedly I went without
my dinner. Our usual faro while on board this frigate was horsebean
Boun, made of salt beef or pork, and bad biscuit.

Wo formed a motley looking crow on leaving the ship, many of us
clothed in dirty blankets, and afforded mueli diversion to tlie citizens of
Rochelle where we landed ; and we were marched through the town to an
old convent. Hero the glitter of our gold procured for us an excellent
dinner of roast beef and every substantial food we stood so much in need
of; and we wore otherwise comfortably accommodated. The prisoners
were allowed to draw money from their respective agents, although at
very high exohange. The general had selected a few to moss with him,
and I was one of the party.

War was all this time raging in La Vondde, and troops constantly pass-
ing and repassing to and from that scone of mortal strife. The leaders
of those troops often called upon our general, and frequently dined with
him, sometimes indulging iti great hilarity.

After having been between two and three months detained in close con-
finement, the period of our imprisonment reached its termination. It was
announced to us that a cartel would sail for England, and the general
might select an officer to take his despatches. I was the first selected —
three other officers were also permitted to avail themselves of the oppor-
tunity ; and, after a captivity of seventeen mouths, we landed, with
grateful hearts, in Mount's Bay, Cornwall.

An account of this expedition, drawn up by the Rev. Cooper Williams,
who was with it as Chaplain to His M. ship Boy no, mentions the 70th
Begiment having led the attack on Martinique. Pigeon Island annoying
them, the 70th Reg. brought two howitzers to place in a battery against
it ; and Col. Durnford joined with his company of artificers, causing the
garrison to strike its colours, and surrender at discretion in less than
two hours. The Commander-in-chief, in the orders after the taking of
Pigeon Island (described as a fort of great strength and importance), gives
his thanks to all the officers and soldiers employed on that service,
naming, among the rest. Col. Durnford of the Engineers. On quitting
Martinique, Ensign Gannaway, of the King's Caroline Rangers, is men-
tioned as being appointed assistant engineer. Years afterwards, my
father applied to Lord Palmerston, and procured a pension for the widow
of this officer, a distant connection of the family.

As a reward to the army for their gallantry at Martinique, the king's
pleasure was signified to them, that in future, while on duty, they should
be exempt from paying postage for their letters. When the army left
the Bay of Fort Royal, led by Prince William Henry, Col. Durnford's
name appears as following with his Engineers. The 70th was one of
the four regiments left in possession of the Island.

Sir Charles Grey was thanked by the king and both Houses, after the
capture of Martinique, and the colours taken were conveyed in great cere-
mony to the cathedral church of St. Paul's, and there put up in memorial.

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SECTION IV.

Bristol.— Release from parole. — Mutiny i\t the Noro.-— Mijor Wadman'a Battery

aud Oorps of Vutuntoors.

A singular ndventuro, literally involving double captivity, oconrrcd to
Lieut. Durnford, iniinediately after releaHo from Uoohollo, while viniting
at the houne uf liis niutertml uncle, Mr. Walker, who renided at BrifltoK
He went to see one of the famous manufaotorieH of that city. Th©
workmen employed in it intiiHtcd on his making them a handsome prech
OQt in money, before quittini; the house. Ho was surprised at the
demand, and rofusi'd compliance. They detained him prisoner fhr seve-
ral days, until Mr. Walker, fortunately obtaining the clue to his absence,
had him set free, threatening to punish tho men's insolence. The youn|f
gentleman, however, gave ,vay to the generosity of forgiveness, and, un-
known to Mr. Walker, who was justly incensed by the aflfiront offered to
his nephew, sent them a couple of guineas.

The chivalrous sense of honour confines by a silken thread tho soldier
on his parole, and strikes forcibly as an instance of the power of imagi*
nation and rectitude, in combining its endurance with tantalizing impa-
tience. This beautiful test of bravo truth and rectitude, — for what is more
courageous than truth, — after weighing with its wing of hissitude for
several months on Mr. Durnford's youthful ardor, wos pleasingly termi<
nated by receiving the following :

" London, July 14, 1796. Sir : Capt. Apsley, Secretary to the
Master-General of the Ordnance, having signified to Sir William Greenj
that he has received from the Transport Board a certificate of your belni
exchanged for a French officer, who was on parole in France, I have It
in command from Sir W. Green, to inform you, that you are in conse-
quence released from your parole to the French government os a prisoner
of war. You will therefore hold yourself in readiness for service ; and
as soon as Lord Cornwallis's pleasure is known, relative to the statioi\
you are to be appointed to, orders will be transmitted to you accordingly."

" I am. Sir, &o., J. ROWLEY, Lt. R. E. & Adjt,

" Lieut. Durnford, Corps of Royal Engineers."

The closing decades of the 18th century were rife with no visions pro-
mising peace. At the period when Mr. Durnford entered upon life, no
expectation either of or for it could reasonably be fVamed. The Divine
Disposer of all assigned to hira the soldier's inheritance and honourable
lot, — he entered upon it as a sanctified patrimony, bequeathed by a parent,
whose untimely and regretted end he has recorded; but neither this
bereavement, nor his uncle Thomas's early exit, with the recent experience
of his own stormy and unsuccessful entrance on the military lire, ccnld
daunt his energy and emulation for the profession his portion was cast
in since more than ten years afterwards, in 1809, he was with difficulty
dissuaded from volunteering his services, to join his brother officers who
were preparing to tbllow the Peninsular army.

'Mlli

Not to unticipnto. Ho wnii appointod, iramedintoly afler roloam from
parolu, to wlnit wiis ouUud a StutF Station, in the ThaineH Dixtriot, at
Gravosoiid, aiitl wliilu thoro waH much noticed by tho ^oDtlonien in the
noi^hboui-li)M)d. Tho ibllowinf; in a frHf^iuont of tho memoir ho auiused
himsolf in noting down very shortly before his dooeaHo :

" I piiHsod niy tinio vory ploaHantly at OravoHond, although haying a
ffood deal of roHponHibility from my uomuianding offioor, Col. HoUoway's
noad ijuartors boing at Woolwich. My duty rc<|uirod many hourw to be
spont m boating ; ho that betwoon rowing, shooting, and HometimoH hunt-
ing, ploamiro and duty atfordod mo plonty of omployment. Ah I was at
first tho oidy officer at GruvcHond, tho Hucoesfiivo arrival» of two yaung
artillery officnrs, whom I had known when at Woolwich, gratified me
much.^ I wont out one froHty morning to shoot among the marshes^
when incautiouHly sounding tho strongth of the ico I wiHhed to pass — my
gun wont off — it pawsod, of course, vory close to ray body. With Lord
Darnloy's two troops of yeomanry cavalry I became acquainted during the
mutiny at tho Noro. 5ly friend, the artillery officer, and myself were
both roused very early one niorning, to attend Sir Charles Hollowav at
his office, when he introduced uh to Lord Hertford, who was just arrived
to take tho oomnuind of tho military at Gravenend. This was the first
notification wo had rcoeived of this second alarming outbreak among the
seamon. Search was making throughout the office for plans of batteries,
either finished or progressing, for the defence of the Thames bdow
Gravesend. Fortunately, I had made rough sketches, and soon produced
them. Tho commandant took me home to breakfast, ;>nd detained m&
tho remainder of the day in copying his letters, &o. ; ni rwards ho placed
me at the bottom of his table. Troops were speedily sent to reinforce
the post, and it was my business to issue out the requisite orders."

This account is rendered more interesting by referring to the Gazette:
" After the suppression of the disturbances among the seamen at Ports-
mouth, without any recurrence to violent measures, but by granting their
petitions, which was supposed to have given full satisfaction, and removed
the causes of discontent, a fresh mutiny broke out in the fleet at th©
Noro, May 22, 1797.

" The crews on that day took possession of their respective ships, elec-
ted delegates to preside over them, and to draw up a statement of their
demands, to transmit them to the Lords of the Admiralty. These de-
mands went much farther than those of the seamen at Portsmouth and
Plymouth, and from their exorbitancy did not appear entitled to the
same indulgence. On the 6th June, in the morning, the fleet at the^
Noro was joined by four ships of war, and a sloop,— which ships had deserted
from the fleet under Admiral Duncan. When the Admiral found him-
self deserted by part of his fleet, he called his own ship's orew together,
and addressed them in a speech so unaffectedly manly and touching, as
drew tears from every man "'ho heard it. They all declared their reso-'
lution to abide by him in life or death, when the Admiral, notwithstand-
ing the defection of so considerable a part of his squadron, repaired to'

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* One of these was the late Lieut. General Eveleigh, of the Royal Artillery.

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his station, off the coast of Holland, to watch the motions of the Dutch
fleet, and resolved still not to decline should it offer him battle.

" The principal person at the head of this mutiny was one Kichard

Parksr. Admiral Buckner was commanding officer at the Nore

Great preparations were made at Shcerness, against an attack of the mu-
tinous ships, which had manifested some strong indications of an inten-
tion to bombard that place ; and furnaces and hot balls were kept ready.
All the buoys, by order of the government, were removed from the mouth
of the Thames, and the neighbouring coast; from which prci'ution, any
ships that should attempt to go away, would be in danger of running
aground.

" Emboldened by the strength of men and shipping in their hands,
and resolved to persevere in their demands till they had extorted com-
pliance, the mutineers proceeded to secure a sufficiency of provisions for
that purpose, by seizing two vessels laden with stores ; and sent notice
ashore that they intended to block up the Thames, and cut off all com-
munication between London and the sea, in order to force the govern-
ment to a speedy accession to their terms. They began the execution of
their menace by mooring four of their vessels across the mouth of
the river, and stopping several ships that were coming from the metrop-
olis.

" They now altered the system of their delegation ; and to prevent too
much power from being lodged in the hands of any man, the offic^ of
president was entrusted to no man longer than one day. This they did
to secure themselves from the attempts to betray them, which might re-
sult from the offers held out to those in whom they were obliged to place
confidence and authority, were those to possess trust for any time.
They also compelled those ships, the crews of which they suspected of
wavering in the cause, to take their station in the middle of the others.
But notwithstanding these precautions, two vessels eluded their vigilance,
and made their escape.

" These transactions, while they excited the greatest alarm in the nation,
were violently reprobated by the seamen at the two divisions of the fleet
lying at Portsmouth and Plymouth. Each of therii. addressed an admo-
nition to their fellow-seamen at the Nore, warmly condemning their pro-
ceedings, as a scandal to the name of British seamen, and exhorting them
to be content with the indulgence already granted by government, and
to return to their duty, without insisting on more concessions than had
been demanded by the rest of the navy.

" But these warnings proved ineffectual. The reinforcement of the
four ships lately arrived, and the expectation of being joined by others;,
induced them to persist in their demands. The committee of delegates,
on board the Sandwich, came to a determination to commission Lord
Northesk, whom they had kept in confinement in the Montague, to repair
to the king in the name of the fleet, and to acquaint him with the condi-
tions on which they were willing to deliver up the ships. The petition
which he was charged to lay before the king, was highly respectful and
loyal to him j but very severe en his ministers ; and they required an

exact compliance with every one of their demands, threatening, on the
refusal of any, to put immediately to sea. Lord Northesk readily under-
took to be the bearer of their petition ; but told them that, from the un-
reasonal)leness of their demands, he could not flatter them with the hopes
of success. Confiding in hiLi, they said, as the seamen's friend, they
had entrusted him with this mission, on pledging his honour to return with
a clear and positive answer in fifty-four hours." (Annual Register.)

Mr. Durnford says : " The mutinous seamen, as is well known by
every body, had completely blockaded the Thames, and several times
entertained thoughts of attacking Gravesend. It was reported in that
town, that the mutinous ships at the Nore meditated the release of a line
of battle ship lying with her guns pointed at the doors of the magazines
at Purfleet,* and whose captain and oflBcers, the crew had confined in the
cabin. One ship actually passed the lowest battery, of which the artil-
lery officer stationed there sent me an express report. We first saw her
under sail about three miles below the battery nearest to Gravesend.
Tilbury fort had been for some days manned by two companies of the
Gravesend Volun^^eer Artillery, and the shot furnaces which we had
worked hard in preparing were ready. At these furnaces we worked by
night as well as d.ay.

" No sooner did this ship come within range of his guns, than my
friend, the artillery officer, fired a shot across her bow, on which as she
did not shorten sail he sent another through her foresail. The anchor
was immediately dropped, and the sails furled. This proceeding, at that
moment of exceeding anxiety, occasioned us all great delight. Expresses
of dragoons had been passing constantly between London and Gravesend.
^ fter this vessel, which was a 74, came to anchor, we observed a boat
put from her and pull towards the town. The commandant immediate-
ly ordered me to take a non-commissioned officer and party of dragoons,
and walk to meet the boat, from which several men were soon seen to
land, and come up the river embankment. We met them about half a
mile below our fort ; when, as they represented that they had a memorial
to present, we accordingly escorted them to the garrison."

Brenton in his naval history sa.js : "On the 27th of May a party of
delegates had gone up the river Thames, and endeavoured to persuade
the cre'^vs of the ships lying at long reach to join them, and drop down
to the Nore ; but they were fired at by the fort at Tilbury, and having
landed at Gravesend, were taken into custody by the loyal inhabitants,
but by some means they regained their liberty.

" While on the way," Mr. Durnford continues, " the sailors having made
some remarks on the description of carbines the dragoons carried, one of
them replied, their weapons were excellent, and they also understood how
they should be used ; and they would use them, if there w. s necessity.
This indicated sufficiently the disposition of the soldiery. The sailors,
after the delivery of the written statement they were the bearers of, were
escorted back by the same party to their boat; and the next day, a cap-

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* Purfleet was the great gunpowder depot.

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tain of dragoons was sent to visit the ship lying at Purfleet, to let the
mutinous seamen, in whose possession she was, know that at the first shot
they should presume to fire, the man-of-war should be sunk. Their
object in placing this large skip at Purfleet was, to enable them, as they
threatened, to blow up the powder magazines, should their demands be
unattended to. To divert them from this alarming threat, a heavy
Brigade of Boyal Artillery and heavy howitzers \.ere planted on the
eminence overhanging the storehouses. Wet blankets were spread over
the roofs of the magazines and neighbouring buildings, on which engines
oonstantly played. It has been asserted, the soldiers refused to fire
on the seamen, or to man the batteries. This is untrue. The batteries
wwe manned by Gravesend Volunteers, of which I was an eye-witness."

So far is Mr. Durnford's account. Other statements also say, the
mosk intense excitement prevailed along the stations down the Thames.
All ranks prepared to act on the defensive. Furnaces for heating balls
were hastily constructed, and the balls were kept red hot, ready for
instant use day and night. The task of constructing and superintending
ihe efficiency of these furnaces devolved on Mr. Durnford.

The village of Northfleet quartered the lOth Dragoons, the Prince of
Wales' Regiment, commanded by Colonel Slade ; and the 11th Hussars,
commanded by Colonel Nesbitt. Lord Darnley had two troops of yeo-
manry, and the Northfleet Volunteers had Major Wadman at their head.
This gentloman, who had for many years enjoyed the place of Gentleman
Usher of the Princess Amelia, sister to the king, George the Third, had
married Miss Mary (or, according to the fashion of the day, commonly
called Miss Molly) Comyns, the heiress of Thomas Chiffinch, Esq.,
He threw up a battery on his own grounds, which overlooked the river
Thames ; though not before having undergone some remonstrances from
bis military friends, who succeeded at last in convincing him of the ille-
gality of planting guns without the authority and consent of Parliament.
This Colonel Holloway, R. E., arranged for him. The remains of the
little battery are still to be seen. My mother, the narrator of the follow-
ing pleasing trait of loyalty, was at this time an inmate of Mr. Wadman's
house, and a near relative to his lady :

" I came into the dining room at the Hive one morning, and found Mr,
Wadman in earnest conversation with a fine young man, an artilleryman,
Mr. Wadman said, ' Why, what a depression you will give to it ?' 'Yes sir,*
the soldier answered, * but consider the height the gun will have.' I soon
discovered that Mr. Wadman was intending to construct a battery at his
own expense in his private grounds, as there was a mutiny in the fleet.
This was the first mention I heard of it. The artilleryman did not
altogether enter into the projector's views ; and Mr. Wadman was confi-
dent in being right. The same day. Colonel Holloway, R. E., as was his
custom, called, * Now Holloway,' he said to him, *you must stay and dine
with us.' At dinner, the conversation turned on the same subject, ' Wad-
man,' the Colonel said, ' you have done wrong, I wonder you did not
employ a properly qualified person to survey your ground, and then have
had it officially reported ; — there is an act of parliament forbidding per-

sons to fortify their grounds, or erect batteries on their estates : — now
this which you ought to havv<» done in the first place, I have had pei>
jformcd for you. I have repcr ^d it for you, and had it surveyed. You
were acting directly contrary to the authority of Parliament.' Mr. Wad-
man listened to all this, though hard to be persuaded. In short, they
forced the loyal gentleman to (rive up his plan of the intended battery
near the rabbit warren, just above the India arms, and let the engineers
have it constructed all their own way. The battery was finished and a
very pretty little one it was."

When the battery was completed, General Fox came from Chatham
with his staff, and tJiere was a regular review on Mr. Wadman's grounds
of the Northfleet Volunteers. These, with their majorat their head, turned
out very w^Vi and went through a number of field manoeuvres. The corps
was composed principally ot' ohalk-wharfers, who, at this period of daring
exigency, mounted guard and performed military duty with the utmost
energy and promptitude. Nothing was wanting to convey the impres-
sion that all was in readiness for actual service ; and two baggage waggons,
placed in the reiu*, occasioned a smile on the countenances of some of his
military guests. Mr. Wadman pointed to them and said, it was in th^n,
m case of necessity, " he designed to place the ladies of his family." The
same morning, General Fox with his suite, dined at his mansion, " the
Hive."

A valet engaged a lodging for his master of a respectable female, the
proprietress of a toy and shoe shop at Gravesend. Owing to the recent
influx of stangers, the good woman demanded for it what she considered
an exorbitant sum, viz., seven shillings and sixpence per week ; but after-
wards hinted that had she been aware at the time the Marquis of Hert-
ford was to be occupant, she would have " made bold to have said half a
guinea."

To return to the mutineers, " Lord Northesk departed accordingly for
London, and was introduced by Lord Spencer to the king. But no answer
being returned to the message, and information being brought t< the fleet,
that the nation at large highly disapproved of their proceed! ig^, great
divisions took place among the delegates, and several of tli^ Hhips deserted
the others, not however, without much contest and bloc od. The mu-
tineers, despairing now of accomplishing their designs, strui the red flag,
which they had hoisted as the signal of mutiny, and restored u free' f)a8-
sage to the trade of the metropolis. Every ship was now left at i i - ovra
command, and they all gradually returned to obedience ; though, on boai d
of some, violent struggles happened between the mutineers and the loyal
pjffties."

After the compromise was effected, which obliged the mutineers to
deliver up their principal leader, Richard Parker, he was tried on board
the Neptune, and sentenced to death ; which sentence was executed on
board the Sandwich, at Blackstakes, June 30, 1797. During the trial,
which lasted three days, Lieut. Durnford saw him several times.

" Some persons strongly suspected that there were among the mutineers,
in^viduals who acted the part of emissaries from the enemy, and strove
to push them OB to extremities. Certain it is, that when the news of 4he

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mutiny at Portsmouth arrived at Paris, it excited great satisfaction, in
the republican party. Sanguine hopes were immediately conceived that
it might prove the prelude to more serious insurrections ; at all events,
the desertion of the British navy was an incident that prognosticated, in
the imagination of the French, all kinds of disasters to the country.
Deprived of this indispensable support, at a period when it was more
than ever needed, Great Britain would lose at once its influence in the
aff"uirs of Europe, and sink into a state of absolute insignificance. That
awe, in which it had kept surrounding nations would vanish; none
of them would any longer either dread its power or court its alle-
giance : its very political existence, as an independent country, would
become precarious ; and nothing, in short, of its former strength and im-
portance would remain." Such were the subjects of exultation through-
out France, on this critical occasion.

The following paragraph from the same source, may assist in forming
a judgment on the panic terror experienced throughout the nation. " In-
structions were issued relative to the baggage and marches of the army,
in case the enemy landed in England, which had bee:i sent to all generals,
and all officers commanding regiments. Plans of general associations
of the inhabitants of parishes, to serve without pay for the protection
thereof, in case of any emergency, at the requisition of the civil power,
to be submitted to the consideration of a vestry to be called for that pur-
pose. Female householders allowed to sign by delegates."

SECTION V.

Portsmouth. — Ireland. — Barracks built there. — Death of Mr, and Mrs.Wadman.— ^
Various anecdotes. — Family meeting. — Capt. Philip Durnford's Diary
kept at Sea. — Col. Sheldrake.

From the Staff Station at Gravesend, my father was removed to Ports-
mouth, and placed under the command of the father of his friend, the
young artillery officer, Col. Eveleigh. He made frequent trips while
on duty there to the Isle of Wight, and Hurst Castle, and was also sent
on some service to the Island of St. Marcou. The last named was famed
for its fish, turbot and lobsters, as well as noted for silks, cambrics, and
shawls. Specimens of all these he brought home with him as presents
to his friends.

In 1801, he was ordered to Ireland. There he was employed in plan-
ning and building large barrack establishment'^ for the Royal Artillery
and Driver Corps, at Limerick, Clonmell, and \'^aterford; besides carry-
ing on works of a less scale at Kilkenny, Duncniuon Fort, Hook Tower,
and the Pigeon House. Once, at the request of General Sir John Floyd,
he drew a plan for barracks to accommodate a large number of troops ;
which, though never built. Sir John expressed himself much pleased with.
Most of these works were, owing to the distracted state of the country,
and continued apprehensions entertained, under operation at the same
time. The fatigue and anxiety consequent on this multitude of labours

large

were great, since the plan and direction of the whole devolved on himself;
and frequently was he engaged in dictating correspondence to four clerks
till early in the morning; while at other times he would travel till long
past the midnight hour, generally for greater expedition on horseback,
from one post to another as his superintendence was most required.

Capt. Durnford, when stationed at the Pigeon House, Dublin, was en-
gagea in the sinking of a deep well on the pier. It was his custom fre-
quently to descend himself. On one occasion when a general oflBc«r
visited the pier, and went to view the well, he enquired for Capt. Durn-
ford, and could with difficulty be persuaded that tlie drenched figure who
had just emerged from the shaft was really that officer.

On one occasion a report reached him that a great run had been made
on the Waterford Bank, in which for greater security he had lodged a
large sum of public money ; he immediately rode with much expedition
and apprehension to Waterford, and fortunately found the affiiirs of the
bank retrievable. Though well known by the peasantry, at that period by
no means loyally inclined, throughout the counties in which his labours
were situated, he met with invariable good will from them, being always
greeted with a friendly, " God save your honour ! long life to your honour !"

While stationed at Duncannon Fort, it so happened that Lord Gough,
then a very young man, and several other officers, came from
Waterford, where their Regiment was quartered, to see some races run
on the Strand, or more literally " the Sands." The village had no inn ;
and, after the sport, the strangers partook the refreshment of lunch with
Captain and Mrs. Durnford, to whose table they were equally welcome as
unexpected. It was the birthday of one of their infants, and the plum-
cake prepared for the occasion gave zest to the wine drank to the boy's
health. The officers made the droll mistake of addressing the servant as
a gentleman, but took leave with thanks for their friendly reception.
Capt. and Mrs. Durnford were invited to a ball and supper, given by the
same Regiment shortly after, and Mrs. Durnford went to Waterford for
the purpose of purchasing a dress to wear at it. A beautiful India mus-
lin was selected, eleven shillings the yard. This incident and its conse-
quence was quite a little era in her domestic and retired life at this period.

To return from private life and excursive details to more serious aflFairs.
The exact nature of Captain Durnford's undertakings will be understood
by perusing the subjoined extract :

" From the report on the Ordnance Department in Ireland, by the Hon.
W. W. Poole, Clerk of the Ordnance, Oct. 25, 1805, Limerick : ' My
order, directing that the work ordered by the Board of Limerick should
be carried on by Captain Durnford on account of the Ordnance, in-
stead of the contract as directed by the Board, was given in consequence
of the offers from the contractors being completely unsatisfactory. The
temporary establishment ordered for the assistance of the engineer in car-
rying on the works at Limerick appeared absolutely necessary, and* in
my opinion is as moderate as the nature of the case will admit. I have
every reason to believe that the service will be most materially benefited
by this arrangement. At Limerick, I met Captain Durnford ; and ou

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July 28, he began to make his arrangements for carrying into execu-
tion the plan for the new establishment as approved by the Board, and
which I had directed should be carried on by the engineer instead of by
contract. It is impossible for me to speak in terms too high of my sense
of Captain Durnford's merit. He is not to be surpassed in zeal, assi-
duity, perseverance, integrity, and activity. No difficulty deters him, and
no fatigue overcomes or alarms him. I have added (marked I in the
appendix) a traced plan of the establishment at Limerick, with the pro-
gress made on the buildings on September 27, 1805 ; and I beg the
Board to observe that not a spade had been put in the ground on July
28 last, nor had any materials been collected.

'* There was also a combination of workmen against Captain Durnford,
which, however, his steadiness and prudence soon overcame. I think I
need do no more than desire the Board to examine the report of the
progress at Limerick, as it appears upon the traced plan, in order to
induce them to recommend Captain Durnford to the notice of the Master-
General. I shall have occasion to mention him again in a subsequent
part of my report, and the Board will find that his labours have been
equally beneficial to the service at other stations. — Clonmel. Before my
arrival at Clonmel, I was happy to find ev«ry thing which I had ordered,
had been performed under the direction of Capt. Durnford in a most
masterly manner."

The labourers employed in raising these works were principally Irish-
men ; and frequently in the vicinity of these towns, as evening approached,
the hills surrounding them would be lighted up with blazing signal fires.
The house in which he resided at Clonmel was so originally constructed,
that his three horses walked through the hall its full length, to and from
a stable situated at the back of the house, there being no other ingress or
communication with the street. Several pleasing traits fell under his
observation. A poor man once brought a basket filled with eggs as a
present to his honour for having given work to his son, nor could he be in-
duced to accept payment for it. Ano' • er man, suffering under low fever,
he requested Mrs. Durnford to supply with nourishment. A trusty
female servant entering the cabin on this errand, found the wife in ^e
same debilitated state, who expressed her thanks with much volubility to
the lady, as good nurse was styled by these simple people, one of whom
in the climax of her feelings, exclaimed, "and honey, only think too of
her being a Protectant !"

Once on a shooting excursion over the Tipperary mountains, his com-
panion unfortunately met with a serious accident of putting his knee-
pan out of its socket. The pain was intense, there was no surgical advice
to be procured ; the sufferer, Captain Godfrey, was a man of remarkable
height and athletic proportions ; when Capt. Durnford, who was small in
person, at once applied his great muscular strength, and pushed the bone
into its proper place.

Capt. Durnford's period of service in Ireland extended to some years,
during which time both Mr. and Mrs. Wadman died. The first has
already been mentioned as the patriotic gentleman who threw up a bat.

tery at his own cost and on his own grounds, when the mutiny at the
Nore created so much sensation and alarm : the last was the affectionate
friend and cousin of the three daughters of George Mann, Esq., a young
lawyer of Gravescnd. These little girls lost both parents while the last born
was still in infancy ; and circumstances, which the family are now igno-
rant of, led to their being finally consigned to Mrs. Wadman's care,
Jane Sophia, the youngest, became the wife of Captain Durnford. It is
believed that Mr. Chiffinch, the uncle of Mr. Wadraan, or Thomas Chif-
linch, Esq., on his niece's marriage with Mr. Wadman, made a codicil to
his will, leaving the whole of his fortune, in the event of her having no
issue, to the children of Mr. George Mann. This codicil was never
signed, and therefore her estate was placed wholly at her own disposal :
it must at one time have amounted to upwards of £110,000, and was
greatly, as would appear, squandered by her thoughtless husband, through
her own want of firmness in its management. Her first meeting with
Mr. Wadman was at Nash's Assembly Rooms, Tunbridge Wells.

Mrs, Durnford always described and believed herself to have been their
favourite, never speaking of them throughout her life but in terms of filial
reverence and affection. They must have been eccentric though excel-
lent people : a lavish expenditure of his wife's handsome fortune, forms,
however, a drawback on Mr. Wadman's character. Money is said to go
like water ; and in whatever way Mr. Wadman squandered it, certain it
is that she who had been proprietress of so many fair acres of land, and
so many thousands of pounds in money, found herself when dying not
only fortuneless, but actually destitute. Mrs. Durnford remembered that
lawyers often came from London to their house, " the Hive ;" and at such
times Mrs. Wadman would be agitated, and suffer her naturally placid
temper to become almost stem to her young wards, when, as is now sup-
posed, she was signing away property and money that otherwise would
have descended to them, — for Mr. and Mrs. Wadman had no children.
The heiress, the accomplished lady who bee the soubriquet of " The Lily,"
from her delicate complexion and spotless reputation, thus become a
wreck of fortune, was forced in old age to solicit actual relief from Cap-
tain and Mrs. Durnford ; and £20 was a welcome boon to her. Mr.
Wadman lived to a great age ; and to within a short time before his
death, was accustomed to walk to Lis house in London, in Wimpolo
street, a distance from the Hive of 23 miles, and return in the same man-
ner.

Believing that every reminiscence of the departed and the good from
whom we claim descent, and to whose memory we owe respect, must be
acceptable in after years, some characteristic anecdotes are subjoined,
taken down as they fell from the lips of my mother in relating them to
her daughters, and they are preserved as nearly a.s possible in her own
words.

I often say to mama, " how very amusing your stories are, I enjoy
so much hearing them 1" " Oh ! but you should have heard them told by
Mr. Wadman and Captain Smith ; my version is nothing." Now, for

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my memory is most treacherous, I note down that Mr. Wadman was
gentleman usher to the Princess Amelia, sist«f to George the Third j and
Captain Smith filled the same office to another Princess.

I do not venture to hint the thing before my mother, but certainly
the manners and language of the times we live in are less coarse than
in those days. The other night we all laughed when mama told us,
that Mr. Wadman always said ho never got drunk but twice in his
life (and his was an Irishman's life) ; and one of those times was, when
he dined alone with the six maids of honour. I don't know what the
other occasion was.

Previous to Mrs. Wadman's marriage, and when she was Miss Mary
Comyns, in making an excursion through Derbyshire, she stopped to dine
at Matlock. Such was the comparative barbarism of the best inn the
town afforded between the years 1780 and 1790, that towards the end
of dinner, happening to lean for support against the back of her chair,
shg was terrified by a loud crash, occasioned, as soon discovered, by the
fall of plates, knives, forks, and what not, the waiter had deposited there
by way of sideboard.

Often has dear mama told us, that Miss Mary Comyns opened house
for her nephew Comyns on his coming of age, when herself a very young
woman. This gentleman, happening soon after the event to dine out,
returned home in raptures with the beauty of a young lady he had met
on his visit. He described her as the most beautiful woman he had seen
in his life. Mrs. Wadman, or rather Miss Comyns, nothing doubted
but the conquest was a secure one. But lo I the changeableness of man !
the next day, dining out again, again the youth came home in raptures.
He had met another lady (he threw himself flat on the carpet, with his
face to the floor), whose beauty, he declared, as far exceeded that of the
first as the splendour of the moon exceeds that of the smallest star.
Well, this lady became his bride, but mama thought her more re-
sembling the full moon in size than in lustre, calling her " a great coarse
woman." No doubt this judgment was passed many years afterwards.

In those days the ladies wore a sort of handkerchief called a buffon :
it was a light puffy thing, but very pretty. Mrs. Comyns was sitting at
the head of her table carving green peas, and had on an enormous
buffon ; she helped and helped, and called more than once to the butler
to take it away. The man stood confounded. " My dear Mrs. Comyns,
you have no plate before you," somebody said. Mrs. Comyns, to be satis-
fied of the truth, was necessitated to place herself completely sideways on
her chair. She had indeed served on the table cloth.

This lady was extravagant, and got her husband into difficulties. To
restrain her over-profusion, he one day gave orders that she should have
no more hot suppers. The first cold supper placed before her happened
to be green peas. It was considered rather barbarous in the spouse, but,
alas ! how times are altered ! Many husbands now-a-days would not
even allow their wives as much. ' > ' >

Miss Jane Mann, or, in other words, my mother, was often invited when
a school girl to take a dose of divinity, as Miss Mary Bell called it, at

the dinner table of Dr. Bell, one of the Prebends of Westminster Abbey.
Mrs. Brett's Girls' Seminary fronted the door of the Abbey, leading into
Poets' Corner in those days, as it does now. Dr. Bell had been a suitor
of Mrs. Wadman, and was rejected like many others, the world perhaps
falsely judged would have been more suitable for her than the gentle-
man she chose. The family consisted of the Doctor and his two maid-
en sisters : they were all advanced in life, and pursued each their pecu-
liar habits and fashions, as well as distinct acquaintance. The ladies
had by turn the use of the carriage. Miss Mary had been a great belle
and beauty in her day, and still preserved in her toilette all the coquetry
of her youth, being remarkable for her high-bend-dresses and long col-
oured satin trains. Short sleeves were then ^^o universally worn, tliat
even the governess of my mother's school, jim old lady upwards of 70,
wore her long kid gloves. The Doctor liad been Chaplain to the Prin-
cess Amelia, sister to George the Third. Miss Howard one day dined
with him. It was during that awful time when each account from
France told that tlie blood of some new scion of royalty was shed, She
was the Princess's lady; and Mr. Wadman, from whom most likel? the
account comes, was doubtless of the party ; as Doctor Bell, Mr. Wad- .
man, and Miss Howard, were attached to the same royal lady's house-
hold. Miss Howard cried all dinner time, while the doctor kept saying,
" My dear Miss Howard, you must keep up your spirits, you must keep
up your spirits." The topic was the death of the Princess Lamballe.

Mr. Wadman possessed an infinite fund of humour, besides great
knowledge of the world. He was an elegant dancer, and a thorough
quizzer and mimic. He excelled in taking off old ladies at the faro
table, in the costume of his day, with their painted faces, false hair, and
(what I believe most rational persons of the present time are ready to
pronounce a more useful and comfortable deceit,) false teeth. He was
fond too of taking off another fashion of younger ladies, as they walked
about the streets of London with short sleeves, long gloves to the elbows,
muffs, and poor, cold, red, naked elbows in frosty weather.

But some of his tales of gambling tables are scarcely to be called
ridiculous. He went one night to Brookes', in St. James Street, and

General came in, and sat down to a rubber. Before the cards

went round, the General said, " Gentlemen, I want ten thousand pounds
to finish my house ; I must have it." He rose with £20,000 in his
pocket.

Sometimes, when a party of twenty or thirty persons were assembled
before dinner in the drawing-room of the Hive, the door would be
thrown open ; Mr. Wadman would enter ; and, without taking any no-
tice of the assembled visitors, dance through the whole of the Minuet de
la Cour, singing all the time with the utmost gravity. All present
would be convulsed with laughter : Mrs. Wadman, who could enjoy it as
much as the rest, now and then said, " Mr. Wadman, my dear, don't
you see your company ?" But, without paying any attention, he would
proceed to the gavotte ; and, when that was nearly finished, generally
pretended to tread on the train, or stumble over the foot of either the

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lady highcHt in runk, or the most admired belle proBont ; then, affecting
much amazement, exclaim, " Lord bless mo I how did you come here?"
His dancing was very graceful.

I cannot refrain from mentioning his breakfast : two rounds or hHcoh
of very thin toasted bread, on which ho spread a quantity of butter ;
this, as the toast was hot, would soon melt, and over it salt in profusion
was sprinkled. Honey on this : and again another layer of butter, an-
other layer of salt, the whole surmounted by honey. This he took every
morning for breakfast, and a basin of milk.

Mr. and Mrs. Wadman, with mama and her sister Elizabeth, after-
wards married to Mr. Clement Kirwan, both at the time young girls,
were dining in London with Mrs. Ormsby Gore. Soon after they were sat
down, Mrs. 0. said, ** I hope you are not very fond of cheese, for I fear
there is but a small piece to-day." They all assured her they did not
care about it, which was in fad the truth. During the second course, she
apologized, adding, " You will be surprised at the piece I have to pro-
duce." At length, the little bit made its appearance, and proved an
entire cheese of so immense a size, as nearly to cover the width of the
dining table — a liberal present that morning from the country.

When any particular company came to the Hive, a mixture in a cov-
ered silver cup was served round between courses at dinner, out of
which the visitors drank promiscuously. Its ingredients were, two bot-
tles cider, half of wine, a lemon sliced, sugar and, nutmeg to correspond.
It never went by any other name than Cup. I suppose it answered to
the wassail goblet of the old Knglish Baron. Mr. Wadman was a tem-
perate man, and considered by his friends to be no judge of wine. After
dinner often, while his visitors were drinking and toasting each other,
he would mix a little of diflForent kinds in his wine-glass, as he said, to
improve them, and called the mixture matrimony.

On Sir John Dyke's estate, in Kent, for some years there lived a
gentleman, whose poverty appeared great, and scanty visible support un-
known. By what accident he first came to settle on that particular spot,
mama did not recollect; but miserable though the old man seemed,
most persons on the estate fancied him to be a miser, and expected a
hoard would come to light on his demise, particularly as he was earnestly
punctual in making a will. After his death the will was opened ; but,
to the surprise of his acquaintance, no money, but bitter curses were be-
queathed therein ; terrible curses and imprecations against the Premier,
and every member and shoot of the Walpole family. Mama never
heard that any person belonging to the Dykes was in the secret of the
cause for this shocking enmity.

Mr. Francis Wadman had a nephew frequently with him at the Hive,
who professed himself a Jacobin, and advocated universal equality. He
would wish to set down titles, and dwelt much on the absurdity of
styling men Esquires. A young lady, present on one of these occasions,
asked how he would, for example, wish to be addressed. " Simple, John
Wadman," he laconically replied. One morning, at breakfast, the post
coming in, my aunt Elizabeth took up a letter, and called out " Hey

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<liw ! what (loos this moan ? why, this letter is directed 'Siinplo John
Wudinan T " The wholo pnrty wore in amaKinii'iit, until tlio <r(!ntlfinua
in qucHtion, nf'tor cyoiiij,' it, suid, '* Oh I 'ti« Chnrlotto Hmckonliury."

Some yours n<^o, a ludy hud the niisfortune or good fortune to lose a
very worthless iiusband, who had formed the misery of her existence.
Iler friends went, as was usual, to visit her afttT the loss, and found tho
room hung with black, and tho cheerful light of day supplanted by tho
glare of torches. Such was the then custom in mourning. Those friends
talked of it, and said it was d(twnrij;ht hyjwcrisy in one who had more
reason to rejoice than grieve. This came to tho widow's ears; and tak-
ing courage from tho opinion of her friends, her next visitors found the
artificial lights extinguished, and a partial day-light admitted. These
visitors had no sooner 'oft her. than thoy inveighed against such impro-
per proceedings, and said, " Though the man was a bad husband, still
some show of decency towards his memory was necessary." Again this
came to the widow's ears ; when, following the true bent of her inclination,
she said, " Since I cannot please my friends, I shall please myself," and
immediately threw her windows wide open.

That oddity, Capt. Smith, in one of his months in waiting, paid a visit
to a lady at Kew, and at night sung to her children the nursery rhyme of

" Sing a song of six-penco, a pocket full of rye.
Four and twenty blackbirds, baked in a pye ;
When the pye was opened, tho birds began to sing,
Wasn't it a pretty sight to "it before a King I"

When the lady came down to breakfast next morning, she told Capt,
Smith that his song had kept her awako all night, and she had added
during her wakeful moments these lines to it :

•' These blackbirds were the prettiest the King had ever seen,
So he carried them to Windsor to show to tho Queen."

Capt. Smith was an extraordinary man. He had been Aide-de-camp
to Lord George Sackville on the field of Minden, which honour had pro-
-cured him the place he enjoyed at Court ; and he was father to the brave
Sir Sidney Smith. He doated on his son. " Everybody loves my son,"
he would say ; " no one need be ashamed to love my Sidney. When he
embarked from Dover in the Diamond, the women ran in crowds to see
him : they waved their handkerchiefs and kissed their hands as he
passed; some of them shed tears: they all loved my Sidney." The Dia-
mond, which put to sea under such happy auspices, was on its return
seized and broken up at the Custom House, in consequence of the im-
mense quantities of smuggled brandy it had on board.

Capt. Smith's religious opinions were very remarkable, though I can-
not discover to what particular sect they assimilated, unless towards the
frightful libertinism of tho Antinoraian. He was an enemy to Episco-
pacy, for mama has often heard him argue with Mrs. Wadman for
hours together against it. She was a high church- woman, and ably sup-
ported the Apostolic creed. Though a man of the laxest morality, he
professed to act from principle, and defended the irregularity of his life

fill

anil Htranf^cncHH of his rcvnitinj? scntiincntH ; but iniiniii was too younp
and uniiitcroHted on huuIi .subjectH, at tlu; tiiuo tlicHt; convonwitionH took

f)Iuco, to romoinbor on what grounds. Ho oven preached ; ho wuh nl-
owed by the M«th. dists to mount tlicir pulpit.

How so amiable and unaffectedly pious a lady, as was Mrs. Wadman,
could hold trc<|Uont ar}j;unionts with a noted freethinkjr in nioruls, and
pretended Puritan in religion, is unacctiuntable. She sonietinies ap-
pealed to Archbishop Slacker's sermons, and demanded of him if he did
not confess them beautiful. Sneeringly the father of Sir Sidney would
reply : " Ho didn't write them — it was Miss Talbot who wntto them."
Ho thus expressed himself in describing the cathedral fcrvico of Can-
terbury, also to the same lady : " There was an archbih-hop, a bishop,
and an endless train of clergymen and officiating dignitaries. His Grace,
after partaking of the holy elements, administered them to the inferior
clergy. Then followed a pause, and through this vast pile the sound
of a single pair of heels was heard. I looked round ; one old lady and
myself formed tho only communicants attendant on so grand an appara-
tus." Further elucidation respecting this strange person I have been
unable to obtain ; it is far from unlikely that his religious vagaries were
assumed as a cloak to shade so repulsive a semblance, as open want of
morality would have been, in an attendant on an exemplary Princess.

It seems unnecessary to sum up this episode by adding, that neither
Capt. Smith nor Mr. John Wadman were favourite guests at " the Hive."
After this English chitchat, it is only right to subjoin a few Irish anec-
dotes of tho period, related by the same person.

Lord Maryborough, tho eldest brother of the Duke of Wellington,
when the Hon. Mr. I'oole, and in his younger days, was clerk to the
Ordnance in Dublin. On receiving an invitation to dinner from the
storekeeper, he consulted with the fire-master about the propriety of ac-
ceding to the aspiring gentleman's courteous request. The person con-
sulted, — a retired artillery officer, — did not presume to adventure a de-
cided opinion, but merely said, " Whoever dined at the storekeeper's table
was sure of a capital dinner." This assurance satisfied Mr. Poole, and
the invitation was accepted.

There was a large company, including some military of rank, and it
struck them as a novelty, that the first course consisted only of mock
turtle soup and turbot. Both were excellent ; and on Mr. Poole prais-
ing the latter, the lady of the house, on whose right hand he sat, replied,
" I took care it should be, for I went to market myself; I gave six gui-
neas for it." Between courses, the company were rather surprised by
the good lady's rising from her place, and walking round the table to
open a cupboard, from which she took a bottle of sauce she had forgotten
to give out, and that constituted one of the condiments to a succeeding
dish.

Another Irish gentleman with his lady, on their route from Dublin,
stopt at a country town, where they were most hospitably entertained by
an old friend. A large number of guests were assembled at dinner, and
the soup was served round. As frequently happens on similar occasions^

«i^

a general Hilcnoo prevailed ; thin Hilcnoo wns nhruptly broken hy the fair
fltrungcr'fl excluiiuiiig, " Why I there in port wine in thin Houp I 1 never
before knew that port wine wns put into 8<»up !"

Inipartiiility in an honoHt niuxim — we Hhould not notiee our friendM'
foibleH while concealinf^ our own. Mr. I'ooie br<:iikfi«8t«'d with ('apt.
and Mrs. JDurnford in pansing through Cloniiiel on his Dintrict Tour ol'
Inspcotion, on which occasion the best was providod. No turbot
was there, it would Heoin, to praise; so ]Mr. l*oole politely said the
ooft'ee was most excellent. Now the case was, Clonuiel affordtnl very
bad coffee ; and, a few minutes before breakfast, a good natured gontlenian
in hia suite asked Mrs. Durnford what .she had for breakfast. Mrs.
Durnford answered by enumerating, " But cotlne ! I have cverv thing
but cofleo." " Mr. Poole takes nothing else for breakfast." " Clonmel
coffee is not drinkable." " Mr. Poole's serv.'int always has some ; I will
send to him." It camo very soon ; C«)lonel K insisted on mak-
ing it himself, which ho did, first breaking in two eggs. This method
of preparing coffee waa then new.

(toneral Taranto undertook to ardor dinner for a party of noblemen
at the Bray's Head near Dublin. The Duke of Leinster's family, and,
I believe. Lord Powor.scourt's, were of the number. Describing the
manner in which ho fulfilled his commission to Mrs. Durnford, he said :
" I knew that no delicacies would bo a treat to them ; and as to fine made
diwhes, the cooking at the Uray's Iloud was sure to be a caricature of
what they daily saw at their own tables : — I therefore bespoke dishes
they never before had seen or hoard of." There was " lUiblem's S(|ueak,"
(a ohopt compound of corned beef and vegetables) ; " Twice Laid," (salt
fish mashed with potatoes, butter, salt, &c.,) ; " Colcannon," (potatoes and
cabbage) ; " Beggar's dish," these two last, celebrated Irish dishes ; beef
steaks, mutton chops, the classic eggs and bacon, and others of similar
calibre. The whole party were in high spirits, and they all protested
the^ had never in their lives more enjoyed a dinner.

In the Christmas of 1808, while paying a visit to his mother, now bo-
come the wife of Lieut.-Col. John Sheldrake, of the lloyal Artillery, at
Island Bridge, near Dublin, he met his brothers, Capt. Philip and Lieut.
George Durnford, both holding commissions in the same corps with
their stepfather ; and for a few weeks they enjoyed the society of each
other.

Infancy, childhood, and youth, unite in what is at these several pe-
riods, the closest relations of affectionate intercourse, and these bonds
appear too intimately bound together ever to break ; — soon the members
of families separate, and fall into different lots assigned to and awaiting
them ; though still looking backward with warm affection on the dear homo
of first recollections. But rarely — never — do these members meet again
with such keen feelings uninjured. The world throws a blight over its
enjoyment, natural experience fails to realize it, and individual taste and
preference refuse to consort together as they once did. Brothers love^

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they part ; they cannot meet thus again. Captains Elias and Philip
now mot at their maternal hearth, and it was their last meeting together
in this world.

Philip had recently landed along with the disappointed and mortified
army, returned from their relinquishment of England's superficial con-
quest on the river De La Plata, He sailed from Falmouth, Novem-
ber 12, 1806, in the Spencer, with General Crawford; the general com-
manding the troops this large fleet conveyed. The fleet consisted of
H. M. ships Sper.cer, Ganges, "^hoseus. Captain, Nereiie, "^aulina, and
Haughty, the Jackdaw and Crane schooners, and 72 transports. En-
tering the Bay ot Biscay ur. the IGth, they encountered strong gales ;
three of their transports sprang leaks, and thQ rigging of another was
much damaged. The rough sta, however, did not prevent them from
sending a surgeon on board tie Jackdaw to visit a sick man, and at the
.same time supply that vessel with provisions. AlthcugL continually

tirinsr

guns,

sending

off rockets, and burning 'blue lights, the fleet, by
the 28th, when the coast of Portugal appeared in sight, were much dis-
persed, and several frigates were necessitated to take the slow sailors
in tow. On December 15, the fleet anchored in Port Praya Bay,
St. Jago, where they found a Portuguese schooner at anchor; and a
French schooner came in from Senegal with slaves. The fort was sa-
luted with 13 guns, and the compliment returned with an equal number.
Sharks were numei-ous in the bay, and fish were caught in great abun-
dance and variety. A strange armed vessel hove in sight ; boats were
immediately manned and armed to attack her, but the boats soon came
back reporting her to be a corve+t". prize to the Nereide frigate. The
resident governor of the Cape de Verd Islands paid them a visit on
board, and received a salute of 17 guns. The wine served out to the
men was considered very injurious to them, and there was neither lime
juice nor ventilating machines in the ships.

March 23, they came to anchor in Table Bay, in fine sand of Noah's
Ark. In the bay were vessels lying under American and Panish co-
lours, and a Spanish brig, prize to the Adaniant. Here General Craw-
ford firs'o learned the news of the capture of Buenos Ayres, the fate of
the 71st Regiraeatj and the storming of Monte Video by Sir Samuel
Aiif.hmuty. The original destination of the army conveyed by this
fleet was at once changed ; the plausible plans suggested by Miranda
were immediately relinquished ; and General Crawford determined to
proceed without loss o^ time to the river De La Plata. During this
tedious voyage of eight months, the fleet touched at Port Praya, in the
Island of St. Jago, the seat of government at the Cape de Verd Islands ;
Simons Bay, and Table Bay, at the Cap'3 of Good Hope, and the Island
of St. Helena. In turn, they descried Portugal, Madeira, Porto Santo,
Palma, Bonavista, Mayo, St. Jago, ?' Simon's Bay, Table Bay, St.
Helena, Trinidad, and the Marten Vas Rocks. On April 21, the fleet
reached St. Helena ; cr- the 23rd, Capt. Durnford, in company with an-
other officer, walked through the whole island ; and on reaching the tops
of the hills, they found it cold enough to put on their great coats, while

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they had gone through tho valley of James Town and walked up the
hill with waistcoats oif. Thence h'^ wrote to his mother. St. Helena was
left oa the 2Gth. After ^his they looked out for privateers. Towards
the termination of this voyage, the mate insisted on throwing their play-
ing cards overboard, alleging them to have caused the continued con-
trary winds. June 12, the river De La Plata was reached. 13th they
sailed for Monte Video. A mutiny on board one vessel for insufficient
provisions is recorded in the commencement of the voyage. The inter-
vening six months of the year were spent by Capt. Durnford between
Monte Video and his voyage of return to Great Britain, and they were
rife to him with eventful vexation.

This voyage was long and tedious, but no one can read this diary with-
out regretting its abrupt termination; and the more so from a conviction
that what Capt. Philip left untold, none can supply for him. The style is
brief and unadorned, but his details occasionally introduce anecdotes both
touching and important. As he was through life remarkable for a feel-
ing heart and benevolent temper, when the angel of death touched with
dark wing over his company, to claim the spirits of several of his poor
artillery men, no doubt the first responded in true concern ; although he
merely notes that " on February 2, the wife of gunner Smith of my com-
pany died ; that Henry Wilson was sent on board the Hospital ship
April 20, and died on the 26th ; that John Brown also was sent on
board the Bellont^ or Hospital ship April 22, and William Smith-
son on the 25th. Their deaths were reported May 23 ; and besides
these the infant son of another man, Brig. Wriglcy, died May 6."

Then, alas ! punishments are recorded ; and he gives the sad tale of a
wretched sailor's being detected in thieving, who tried to evade the
disgrace of punishment by jumping overboard, and so committing the
more awful crime of suicide. Why the additional penalty of 5 dozen
lashes was afterwards awarded to him, seems unexplainable, save from
the principle of warning to others— for had he not already overjudged
himself ? ,

Observing in the day time orders given to the fleet of signal flags and
pendants, firing of guns and muskets, and by night the burning of blue
lights, was no negative recreation to lassitudinarians ; no doubt they en-
joyed firing a gun when any of the ships got ahead, as well as helping those
on who lagged behind. How pleasant to fall in with fleets of Indiamen,
and now and then encounter a friendly sail ; also to find that Capt. Phi-
lip had the satisfaction of writing to his mother from St. Helena !

In the continuance of the diary, the names of 25 out of the 72 trans-
ports composing the main convoy are mentioned, and that of the Camel
is given to the storeship.

The retrospect of these vo3'ages to and from Monte Video, left little
that Was satisfactory for Capt. Philip to relate to his friends. Still he
could dwell upon the strange ways of Paraguay's foreign soil, the uner-

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ring skill the horseman of the Pampiis aims the lasso with, his wildly in-
dolent method of galloping with the milk he would convert into butter,
his obstinate firmness of temper joined with unconquerable laziness.
He had collected a few specimens of beautifully pluiuaged birds, and
pretty cornelians.

Col. John Sheldrake was a meritorious officer : he was 50 years old
before attaining the rank of Captain ; from which point, however, his pro-
motion ^as quick. He owned a valuable sugar plantation at Demerara,
the management of which and anxiety about, seems to have been his care
and perplexity through life, from the want of ready money to work it
advantageously. Mrs. Sheldrake fulfilled her duty as a mother to the
seven children of her former husband, by refusing to lend any of the
small fortune remaining to them, to aid in cultivating this estate. The
property finally sold for £30,000, and the Colonel left it to his niece,
Mrs. Belcher, £3,000 excepted, that he willed should be equally divided
to his three stepsons, and £50 to his godson, John, one of the children
of Elias Walker : truth adds a sorry sequel to the latter sum, for it was
confiscated entirely by the lawyer ; under what pretext was never under-
stood.

Col. Sheldrake was a voluminous letter writer ; he was peculiar in his
habits, and resembled Mr. Wadman in the oddness of his breakfast,
which he also prepared himself. It consisted of a great bowl of boiling
milk that he broke bread into, then two large tablespoonsful of the
coarsest grained sugar ; and a grater a foot long was then used to grate
an immense proportion of ginger into the compound. He was a temperate
man ; and to enjoy his dinner, only particularly required two things.
When his friends returned from dining out, he always asked them " it
they had had a good dinner ?" " Excellent." " Were the plates hot ?"
" Yes." " Was the coffee good ?" " Capital." " Then the dinner was
good."

He was devoted to strict military etiquette on all points regarding his
regimental discipline. The corps under his immediate supervision dreaded
his observation of the slightest infringement of parade rule ; and one day
it falling to his province to command the morning parade, great was the
astonishment, mingled with amusement, of the officers on duty, to see
their colonel receiving their salute in an old round hat ; and mUteh greater
was his own annoyance on putting his hand to his head, in making the
discovery of so terrible an oversight.

Ireland's unfortunate rebellion of 1799, the ill-concocted seeds of
which, long in ripening, had been speedily cut down by the strong and
only available expedient of military operation, followed by the Union, had
given an appearance of quiet and order to the green isle ; but God's
Providence had not ordained that even then comfort and intelligence
should displace the dire powfc.i of ignorance, neglect and sloth, which
claimed and remained in possession of that beautiful land for long years
afterwards.

Lord Kilwanlen's tragic end was still a current topic when Capt.
Durnfbrd first arrived in Dublin; and Mrs. Durnford c loi tf)ld the sad
story as she had heard it from the lips of many. The v, ...^.i Justice was
on his way to dine at the castle, accompanied by his niece, and he direc-
ted his coachman to drive by a particular street. Against this road the
man, who appears to have entert-^ined a desire to save the life of liis mas-
ter, objected. He was in the jecret of the misguided men who were
waiting there, yet would not betray his country n^-^n for the master he
loved. Lord Kilwarden unfortunately persisted, the carriage entered
the fatal street ; the excited mob stopped it, dragged the venerable old
gentleman out, murdering him on the spot, while the young lady was
suffered to escape. This she did, and ran on to the castle; where, from
her wild appearance, she was by the sentinels at the castle taken for a
mad woman, and the terrible tale she told was at first not believed.

While my father was stationed at Duncannon Fort, in Leinster, a
story was told of a French frigate passing within range of the batteries
of the fort, at a period when the report and dread of a French descent
on the Irish coast amounted almost to panic. Great alarm was felt by
those who saw this ship advance, and duty more than valour fired a gun
at the bold intruder. The sky was blue, and the sea calm : to the as-
tonishment of the spectators, immediately the gun was discharged, the
vessel lowered her colours in token of surrender, and dropped anchor.
It proved to be a French sail from beyond seas, that had run short of
provisions, with a famishing crew on board.

My father once suffered in a laughable way, from want of recollection,
while travelling on service through some part of the province of Munster.
He lost his road, having deviated from *he common thoroughfare, into
some narrow bye-lanes. A crowd of boys were assembled in a field within
his hail, and he called to them for information. But all in vain — he ex-
hausted every proper name in the vocabulary — none heard — John, Tom,
Dick, Bill, Sam, Harry. Jim, — none gave ear. Surprising they did not,
and more so, that it was so long before he thought of calling them by the
national cognomen, Pat; — no sooner was the key note sounded, than more
than a dozen barelegged gamins bounded towards him.

While at Dublin, mama attended the Church Dean Kirwan had preached
in. One morning during the Litany, she was kneeling, wearing a beau-
tiful scarf of French manufacture, that papa had brought over for her
from the Island of St. Marcou ; when a strange lady, next to her, utterly
inattentive to the service going on, tock up a corner of this scarf, deliber-
ately measured its width on her fingers, and whispered. Pray, how much
was it by the yard ? My dear mother was too timid and astonished to
rebuke her as the profane interruption deserved.

Still discontent and hatred against the Englishman and the Protestant
continued to tankle in the Irish breast, and security demanded the quar-
tering large bodies of troops throughout the island. This was necessary
for the prevention of further outbreaks, and called imperatively for raising
the numerous handsome barrack establishments, which Capt, Durnford was
selected to plan and carry on, and all of which h9 executed in the admi-

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rable manner the Hon. Mr, Poole reported of him. Partial disturbances,
however, now and then took place ; and a sentry was killed one night
not far from his residenoe in Dublin. The outlay of money, consequent
on the erection of barracks, &c., redounded in benefits to the poor Irish
peasant, who gratefully worked on them ; in many cases becoming faith-
fully attached to him, who was the happy means of affording to the mis-
erable idler, labour and its just remuneration. To this source must be
traced the great popularity my father enjoyed in all the towns and their
neighbourhood, where such works were carried on. He was universally
beloved.

It was not till 1808, that he was ordered from Ireland, and appointed
to the command of the Royal Engineers in the Island of Newfoundland.
From Clonmel, where he was then stationed, he proceeded to Waterford,
Bristol, London, and Portsmouth ; at which last place he spent the inter-
val of more than twelve months, previous to embarking for another hem-
isphere.

SECTION VI.

Corunna. — Newfoundland. — Miss Mary Mann. — Chiffinch. — Batteries built and
repaired. — Family stories. — Death of Mrs. Sheldrake.

During the period of detention nt Portsmouth, Col. Sheldrake came to
that post, " en route " to join the British army at Corunna. Mrs. Shel-
drake and her daughter, Maria Durnford, spent the winter there ; thus
affording the mother another meeting with her son, who was still at
Portsmouth, when Col. Sheldrake returned. The colonel had commanded
a division of artillery at the battle of Corunna, and came back with the
wreck of Sir John Moore's army which was landed at " the Hard ;" and
for days succeeding its disembarkation, the landing places and streets were
strewed with languid spectres, lying pallid and attenuated, "hard at
death's door."

And here in the society of his step-son, and several of the disappointed
officers who had been attached to his division. Col. Sheldrake deplored
over the results of Sir John Moore's extraordinary retreat, with its melan-
choly closing victory. Brave heartbroken soldiers, despairing officers, re-
treating before an enemy they despised — the soldiers longing to meet their
chance of a warrior's death, and not that of famine and depression which
daily gained upon them. The utter lack of energy and military talent in the
general exasperated the troops, who had on that day — the only one they
were permitted — fought as brave men do. " Weak and irresolute is man !"
was truly and beautifully said by the poet, but the aphorism applied to
him when leading on armies, loses all its beauty and appropriateness.
Then was the saying in everybody's mouth, of how " the English sol-
dier would follow, if the officer would lead." One of Col. Sheldrake's compa-
nions related, that in galloping with orders over the field, his horse had
trampled more than once upon the slain. This young man perhaps did
not recall at the time having read of the unclean taint which in old time
the living contracted by touching a corpse; but the memory had left a

pang behind, and many waters could not wash it away from Tecollection,
He thought of it, and shuddered.

With a severe struggle, my father relinquished the strong desire he
felt to take a place in Portugal's enduring conflict. When the chief en-
gineer. Sir Richard Fletcher, fell, he joined his name and subscribed with
his brother officers, for the purpose of raising a handsome monument to
his memory in Westminster Abbey ; while not alone this valued officer^
but many others, were leaving upon the world their unprotected widows or
orphans. My father gave way to the advice and remonstrance of his friends,
to consider his helpless infants ; he smothered, with extreme reluctance, his
aspirations after continental distinction, and desire to volunteer his services,
when in place of more active duty, a command beyond seas was givoi
to him. Whether this decision was erroneous or otherwise, his children
must now decide. Capt. Philip remained stationed in Ireland, at Char-
lemont.

In the summer of 1809, Capt. Durnford embarked in the Britannia
Transport, in company with a large fleet of merchant vessels and trans-
ports for America. A line of battle ship conveyed the Commodore with
Sir George Prevost, the newly appointed Governor of Canada, and se-
veral frigates accompanied the fleet. The flag ship c:irried 64 guns.
Each phase of momentous time's revolvement offers its peculiarities of
development : nor can the floating assemblage of life, collected on the
occasion of a favourable convoy, be considered without interest, when
launched together on the uncertain ocean, and offering to each other, in
nautical companionship, a partial diversion from the usual monotony of
sea voyages. Some degree of discipline and attention was necessarily main-
tained ; all must obey the signalized orders of the protecting ship, when-
ever the speaking pennant fluttered from the mast head. Sometimes a pre-
sumptuous sail was warned from aspiring to be foremost, by a heavy gun's
being fii;ed ; now some light bark was ordered to take in tow a slow sail-
ing vessel, or at the different longitudes the variously bound ships were
told when to part company. The Britannia, allotted for my father's ac-
commodation, being a heavily laden brig, and sometimes in the rear of the
fleet, was consequently several times helped on by the swift sailing frigate,
Le bon Citoyen's towing cable. Once, while thus agreeably propelled,
a sudden squall snapt the rope, not without danger to the cast off brig.
Le bon Citoyen afterwards departed convoy to go in chase of a suspicious
looking sail.

Every occurrence at sea however trivial is stamped with importance.
The appearance of a whale, the gamboling of porpoises, a sight of the
ominous sea bird called by sailors " Mother Carey's chicken," looked
on as sure forerunners of the storm, a barrel or cork floating on the
wave, above all a strange sail on the horizon, rivet eager observation and
curiosity. Delightful was the chance, when one fine morning's tantali-
zing calm enabled the transfer of a bottle of milk from the Britannia
to the friendly master of another vessel : the neck of the bottle was in-

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sertcd in a rope, and floated from one ship to the other, milk being sup-
plied by my father's cow. Mr. Cummins, the master of the Britannia,
was fond of talking of the complaints made against his brothers in the
trade, by officers consigned to their treatment. These he confessed were
often just ; but he laughed much at one grievance, a party of gentlemen
alleged as among the annoying vexations of their uncomfortable voyage,
being served with none but broken biscuits, Ho maintained that only
the best biscuits broke. When the great bank was reached, the Britan-
nia hove to for several hours to allow the ship's crew the pleasure of fish-
ing, and truly wonderful was the draft of fish. The lines were thrown
in, and drawn up, without a moment's intermediate delay, sometimes
two large cod coming up on the same hook. Again setting sail, they
were soon greeted by a fragrant land smell, announcing proximity to
Newfoundland, and the abrupt features of its wild fir-clad shores came
to view.

Newfoundland was at that time only known to the world by virtue of
the fame of its celebrated fishing banks. One of the first discoveries
made in the New World, by Sebastian Cabot, neglect reposed over the
cultivation of the soil, while the rocks of Newfoundland had become pro-
verbial ; and the very infant playing under its flakes, threatened to heave
a rock at his fellow ragamuffin. It may not be out of place to relate
how it li.v.. obtained this character in Europe, among the refined of
courts, and the cultivated in senates. The rough British adventurers
engaged in the fisheries were, in 1762, surprised by the French, who, in
that year, invaded and easily took possession of the island. Imme-
diately the news reached General Amherst. On his own responsibility,
and without waiting for orders from home, he detached his brother with a
body of forces there. These speedily recovered the island, regained all
that had been taken, and made the French commander prisoner. The
right of the French for their loss was brought forward by Mr. Fox in
one of his eloquent speeches : the Due de Choiseul, he said, " asked for
but one rock at Newfoundland." His humble request was, " Donnez-nous
un rocher seulement ?" This humble request was granted. But, alas I
what they asked for their batiments-pScheurs extended to much more
than a rock. There was succeeding encroachment, and attendant vexar
tion.

A few days after arriving at St. Johns, Capt. Ross, R. E., the officer
whom my father relieved, sailed from it in full elation of spirit at the
prospect of soon seeing Portugal, and sharing in glory's sublunary re-
ward. Not many weeks afterwards, this generous young man sent pres-
ents to the friends he had quitted of the fine fruits the golden country
he had reached yielded. A few days following, these friends received
intelligence his head had been shot off at the siege of Sebastian,

In the rock-girt island of Newfoundland, fertile wherever its soil has
been subjected to cultivation, and whose atmosphere's dense fogs seem to
drop down revivification and nourishment among the swarming myriads itg
vast banks teem with, Col Durnford remained untill816. England, sensible
of the value of this evergreen land, has always guarded it by a strong

p^mi

naval force, nnrl at that time entrusted the direction of its affairs to an
admiral, the period of whoso government was limited to three consecu-
tive summer visits. The fir-covered heights overlooking the entrance to
the harbour of the chief town, St. Johns, is planted with batteries, roman-
tically situated. The raging surf of the Atlantic's billows dashes against
the embrasures of Amherst and Chain Rock batteries : lobsters of the
finest flavour, and other shell fish, are found in abundance amid the
crevices of their shelving aid slippery rocks, with hosts of moUusca ;
and the line of battle ship, as well as the red sailed fishing skiff, come
almost within arm's reach of the cannon. Midway, and crowning the
eminence, guns commandingly point from the Queen's battery, Frede-
rick's battcrv, iiimI the lines on Signal Hill; and other defensive posi-
tions are placed among wooded projections of capes and bays, fragrant
with sprue , juniper, &c. Generally wherever the ground was laid open
by clearance, the kalmia sprang up, an indigenous shrub or weed, bright-
ening the wilderness with its pink clusters. Fantastic and delicate creep-
ers present a trellised carpet to the foot that treads within the sombre
shade of the woods; and varieties of graceful shrubs produce spontaneously
the cranberry or oxycoccus, whose Indian name is Maskigo Meino ; the
whortleberry or vaccinium ; the partridge or mitchella, whose tiny wreath
almost vies in beauty with that of the ftimed capillaire or linnoo, yet
without the fragrance of the last ; and the hardy little dogwood or cornus.
There is much to admire in the decorations of its hills and valleys, its
ferns and intricacic. of wreathing foliage, clinging to and twining round
tapering firs and valuable spruce trees. The beautiful white moss crushes
beneath the feet, and another species hangs in tufts among the branches
of the fir forests.

Newfoundland's steep and abrupt shores, covered from the wafer's
edge in most parts with evergreen wood, and almost continually envel
oped in fog, have ever been a terror to mariners, when by chance mis
reckoning, or adverse gales driven upon the treacherous rocks and perils,
many of its head-lands present, when concealed by thick mist. Fearful
and frequent at that time were shipwrecks on the coast.

A clergyman, attached as chaplain to one of thea dmiral's ships, came
several times to call on Mrs. Dumford. His name was Wynn, and some
years before, he was engaged to marry Miss Mary Mann, my mother's
second sister. She was a young lady both amiable and talented ; and a
transaction took place shortly before her death, which her sisters after-
wards regretted having consented to. This was the sale of a remarkable
sacred bijou, or rather precious gift, that after having been blessed by the
Pope, was bestowed by his Holiness on lady Rivers, a very devout per-
son, who had made a pilgrimage to Rome. Mrs. Wadman's family claimed
descent from her, and it was handed down in connection with some extra-
ordinary facts, told and believed of it. How it descended to the Mann
family is not now clearly understood, but at length it became the pro-
perty of the three daughters of Mr. George Mann. The young ladies
attached little value to this relic, for such it must have been ; its form
they described as something of a small horseshoe, an apparent little door

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or spring boing visible in tbe centre; a drop of martyr's blood they sup.
pose iiii^Iit have been within. It was of solid gold, and when bestowed
was ricldy studded with precious stones. Not much to the credit of
those to whose keeping it successively fell, at the time it became the Miss
Manns, few of these were remaining. Tradition related in regard to
this remarkable gift or legacy, that one lady had rifled it of a beautiful
stone, and lier child died shortly after ; another had coveted and again
taken a jewel, and the deatli of her husband followed; every one whose
possession it became in like nianner abstracted itH diamonds, pearls and
rubii'S, but punishment as surely followed the spoliation. My father
accompanied Miss Mary Mann, when she at the reijuest of her sisters
finally disposed of it to llundell, the London jeweller, for tlie sum of
twenty guineas, and certainly not long after. Miss Mary, the betrothed
of Mr. Wynn, died. The premature death was attributed to a cold caught
the next day by getting wet feet. She was consum})tively inclined, and
of a delicate constitution. Mr. Wynn had married another lady, and
was the father of a family when he was at Newfoundland. It was either
shortly before, or directly after, my parents' marriage this took place,
and at the time its disposal caused neither regret nor thought in the parties
concerned.

Mrs. Wadman was conscientiously pious and a Protestant, yet she de-
rived most of her fortune from one of the ChifRnchcs, three brothers, who
were noted friends and boon companions of Charles the Second. She fre-
quently boasted that this Chiflinch was with Charles in his exile, and
the only one of his followers whom he rewarded for liilelity to the royal cause.
Many piMsons are of opinion that this relative of Mrs. Wadman is not
to bo confounded with a brother of the same name, who was known to
be induli^cnt to the faults of his sovereign; and as Evelyn mentions a
Chiifmch in terms of regard, no doubt this view is the right one. His
remains lie in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey, just under Garrick's.*
Mama never visited the Abbey without pointing it out to her children.
It cannot be controverted that he was the same person who introduced
by a back stairs a Popish priest to the dying king. Many fine portraits
hung on the Hive walls, of the leading characters of the last Stuart branch ;
they were supposed to be heirlooms. Among them was a beautiful
female, or a lovcly portrait of one, wearing a red rose ; and it was whis-
pered in the admiring gazer's ear, that this flower adorned the Pretender's
wife. Mrs. Wadman's maiden name of Comyns, however, was derived
from a rnoc of lawyers, among whom the Lord Chief Justice Comyns was
distinguished as a voluminous writer, and his niece, (Mrs. W.) was ac-
customed to say of him, that every word he wrote was law. Mr. George
Mann, again, the father of her three cousins, the Miss Manns, was de-
voted as already stated to the legal profession. He was taken off by con-

• Evelyn, in his Diary, says of him, 'I dined at Chiffinch's House Wftrming,
in St. James's Park : he was his Majesty's Closet keeper, and had his new
house full of new pictures, &c. There dined with us Russel, Popish Bishop oi
Cape Vcrd, who was sent out to uegociate his Majesty's match with the Infanta
of Portugal after the Ambassador was returned.

sumption when little past thirty, and his wife at twenty scvon. He lost
several infant sons hy death, previous to tlie birth of liin three daughtora.

To return from this digression. The town of 8t. Johns stands lining
the harbour, and between the two little posts of Fort Williaui and Fort
Townshoad, each with a small garrison of troops ; and but from the closo
proximity of tiers or stages of scaffoldiiiu; for drying the fur-famed cod-
fish, would bo a desirable residence. Cd\)t. Durnford, when stationed at
St. Johns, threw up fresh batteries, and riipaired and improved, in some
oases, entirely rebuilding such as were falling to decay. The Queen's
battery and a large block house on Signal Hill were among the newly
constructed ; Frederick, Amherst, and Chain Hock among those repaired
and newbuilt. To carry on these works, continual excavations in the
rocky soil by means of trains of gunpowder were necessary, and he had
frequent cause to lament the foolhanliness of the workmen, who would
linger after the ivarning horn had told that a slow match was lit. A sap-
per was blown up by its exploding force, entirely in consequence of the
man's own dearly paid for neglect : and at tlie moment Captain Durn-
ford, walking up to his quarters on Signal Hill, with his little son, wit-
nessed the explosion from no great distance, suddenly exclaming, ' a luan
in the .air I' Captain Durnford's amiable and gentlemanly manners and
character gained him the favour of the General commanding, Francis IMoore,
to whom he continued Aid-de-Camp, until the rapid promotion of (hose
awful and eveniful years raised him successively to the ranks of Brevet-
Major and Lieutenant-Colonel.

While war flapped its lurid wings over Europe and America, — and neve .
was purpose more righteous than that which opposed its progress, — every
honest man's heart responded to the virtuous obligation and awakening
call. Indignation swelled but the more at each rumour of its reverses
and the joy with which the news of a victory was received, gained ac-
knowledgment at St. Johns, and was rendered in the individual pride
and ecstacy accompanying the salute and volley, pealing from its rock-
planted battewes, and strongest mustered parade-j ; cheerfully commenced
by the ships of war lying in the harbour, followed up by enthusiastic
cheers from the seamen and troops, each crag and rock echoing loudly
every discharge. Colonel Durnford took pleasure in studying himself
and exercising the company of sappers under his command in tactics,
whenever leisure permitted ; sparing himself no fatigue in bearing a share
in the garrison duty, often in this severe climate amounting to dangerous,
though such duty was not strictly requirable from his corps. He often
spoke with satisfaction of a parade on the commemoration of a signaJ
overthrow Napoleon had sustained, where his newly -practised sappers dis-
played great steadiness when formed in line with the Newfoundland
regiment. Three volleys were to be fired ; and when the commandant's
first word of command was misunderstood by the rest of the line, and a
scattered irregular fire in consequence given, the company of sappers re-
served their fire to a man, until ordered to arm to the post and shoulder,
when the volley was properly executed, eliciting on the field the verba'
approbaiion of the general.

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In the American wnr, Newfoundland suffered cruelly. The commer-
cial intercourse with the harbour of Ht. Julms waH obHtructcd in IHII,
while destitute of the protection of any Khip of war, by tho appear-
ance of an American armed vessel very near to tho entrance. TImh
ulannod tlio niereliants, who innnediattjly applied to Oeneral MfM)re for
the aid of fifty volunteers from the troops in garrison, who decided that
each corps should furnish a proportionate f(uota. Two corporals and six
privates of sapjHjrs, cheerfully joined tho other dotacluueiits, and embarked
in a bri^ litttid out by the merchants. As soon as the American saw
the movement of the British vessel, it took its departure, an(l was not
again seen.

Deep snow and hijjjh drifts debarred, during tho long winter months,
all field exercise to the troiis; though fearful at this season were the
risks to which the soldiers on duty, visiting officers, and relieving parties,
were exposed. The sentinel was not unfreciuently found fro/en to death,
and while the tempest of a poadriv, was battling, life was often hazarded
in visiting by night the various detached posts. Wliile tho intense frost
hung into icicles the breath from tho nostrils and lips, and nipt with
the pang of extreme cold the extremities of the human body, the strict
discipline of war was maintained at St. Johns, and no relaxation of its
severity permitted. Coloiicl Durnford took his regular turn in the gar-
rison duty, first as captain, latterly as field officer. lie took pleasure in
the regularity and exact observance of morning parades ; and whilst per-
forming the services of an aid-de-camp, prided himself in mounting on
these occasions an old charger of the Duke of Kent's, a faithful bay,
that in memory of gone bye distinction, alwav irsisted in stepping
foremost of the general's staff.

There was but one Episcopal Church in the town, in which the Kev.
David Rowland, a Welsh clergyman, of some learning, officiated. Mrs.
Durnford heard this amiable man relate, while dining in company with
him at general Moore's table, that in his youth a company of strolling
players travelling through Wales, got up a play in a barn fit the village
he resided in. The country people, to most of whom such a spectacle
was a novelty, flocked to the sight; as for himself, neither thinking of,
nor suspecting harm, he went likewise. The play was Pizarro. It went
on very well — he was entertained — and liked it much, until that part of
the piece was represented, where the Virgins of the sun use prayer to,
and worship their Deity. " Then," he said, " it rushed to my mind that
such a scene was in reality a mockery of the true (Jod, and, shocked
with the idea, I have never entered the theatre since."

Extravagant as some of the Quakers' opinions are, there is certainly
a charming simplicity and amiable courage about them, particularly
in their women. Mama happened to be spending a religious evening
at the house of this same clergyman, and in company with a very old,
bat most beautiful lady, of the persuasion of Friends. The clergyman,
though a truly pious and well informed person, was far from being ready
a extempore speaking, and possessed at times an almost painful portion
of timidity. It was his task to open the Bible, select a portion, and

addrosg his company. TTo felt ni a loss, and rested Tor some niinuto?
with hiH hand on the holy unclosed volume. The dear old womnt
read what passed within him ; every one was silent ; wlien at once wit!
a plain hut touehinj^ eloquoiico of onooura^ement, she said, " Fear no
my friend." The j^ood man felt instantly at ease, and proceeded wit»
earnestness and feeling.

To assist in keeping alive the spirits of the troops, during the tcdiun
of the dreary winter montlis, a mock fight was sometimes carried on,
upon one of the frozen lakes, and the Irish game of curling was en-
couraged whenever tlic sea in the harhour took, or became iee-bouiid.
But a more awful and alarming duty too frecjuciiitly called forth the
utmost energy of cxerti'ni, in the frequent fires, which, often originating
from a falling 8])ark, wovdd rapidly kindle the wooden streets into con-
flagration, and turn adrift and nouselcsa the helpless families. The
dreaded alarum drum was generally heard on the stillest and coldest
nights, imperatively rousing from sleep; and intense would be the agita-
tion if the slightest movement was in the air, as to what point of the
compass the destroying or preserving breeze veered. On these dis-
tressing occasions, always the most ready and foremost in setting an
example of hazard and daring to the soldiers, Colonel Durnford exposed
himself to the scorching peril with generous intrepidity, and imminent
were the risks he ran in rescuing miseriiblo beings, wlio, it was uni-
versally remarked, stood in crowds round the toiling soldiers, and gazed
on their own crackling and flame-enveloped dwellings, as on a scene
that more surprised than otherwise interested them. One spring, a
conflagration in the woods, aided by a wind that blew direct for the
town of St. Johns, threatened its entire destruction — here no human
endeavour could have prevailed, had not the wind abated. Towards
the summer, St. Johns would also sometimes continue in a destitute
state, from tlie vast fields of floating ice, that, obeying every impulse
of the winds, one day blocked up unapproachably the harbour's mouth,
and on the next might not be seen, having been known to debar the
inhabitants from foreign communication for upwards of six weeks
together.

Two rare visitants were seen at Newfoundland in the early time of
my father's residence there, — the comet of 1811, and an English duke.
His grace the Duke of Manchester en route to his government at Jamaica,
spent a few days at St. Johns.

Among the Ordnance storekeepers at his different stations, with whom
professional duty brought ray father in constant proximity, were several
who had been selected for their places by peculiar merit. General Vi 1-
lancy, the Hon. Mr. Poole, and other officers of rank, assembled at some
place in Ireland to make trial of a newly invented gun, when a young
gunner in the Royal Artillery insisted in maintaining his own opinion
of its affective aim, in direct opposition to the opinion of every distin-
guished officer present. Amazed at the man's presumption, they at his
willing risk, consented to let him fire it as he wished, which he did with
perfect accuracy of aim, so much delighting the gentlemen, that they

^l.'

rocMimiiondod liim for n ('onunission on tho spot, niul presented him with
the i)lac(! of Htorekccipor at Olonmel.

At 8t. Johns, Mr. John Houston owed his officr aH fitnrckoopor to no-
oi(U>nt. Wliilo eninloycd iit Janiiiio.i in Honie inft'ri(»r witniilion, a violent
■torni one nij^ht ohllf^od Win tukin^i; nheltor in a shod, when ho overheard
the nei^roes layini; a j)lot for risinjj; the! next day on th<'ir niasterH, Tfc
gav(> immediate infonnation. and government rewarded liim with a hand
Bonie public place at St, JolinN. Mr. llcuiston, however, en;.faji;ed in Homo
Spi'cnlation, considtTed incompatible with the office he lield, and Colonel
Dnrnford di.sap])roV(!d ho entirely of his conduct, as to withdraw his
former friendly intereounse with him. A correHpondenco between them
took plae(\ of which no copy can b(( traced.

My father was fond of Newfoundland, ofti'ii looking back to tho ycftrs
he was stationed there with watisfaction, when ho had employment without
hanssment, in ii climate the ri<,'our of which .strengthens the oon.stitution.
Flort'culturc was otic ol his favourite recreations; and .several wild |)atchos,
to which he devoted attention, yielded abundantly fruits and ve};etablo8,
ecpial in flavour and size to the most carefully cultivated j)roduce of En-
glish gardeninj^. Fruits of the ribes and rubus species grew unrivalled in
the flavour of their large juicy ciustcr.s. No market or fair was to be
deiKtnded on from soil calling vainly for cultivation ; each nnin waH of
necessity his own farmer, did he diisire to eat fresh mutton, pork, fowls,
or eggs; jind the luxury of milk must bo 8uj)plied by his own cows.
Among these, a i'avourite Alderney cow, my father brought from England,
met with many adventures in grazing among the wild hills and ravines,
at last meeting her death by falling down a precipice. With equal soli-
citude and pride, he encouraged the cultivation of ground in small garden
patches by his sappers, and strove, alas ! too often inefleetually, to check
the fearful ravage the vice of intoxication made, which, resembling plague
or direful cholera, extended its contagion, wasteful of vitality.

Two years previous to leaving Newfoundland, he ol>taincd a grant of
about four acres of ground, conveniently situated, and bordered on one
side by a rivulet. He laid out £50 in fencing and clearing it, planting
it with a first crop of potatoes on quitting the island; letting it, as he
hoped, to an industrious Irishman, liut the period had not arrived for
the Newfoundland settler to compete with the fisherman in perseverance
or success: the tenant proved negligent; and years flowing on, public
duties and other thoughts prevented the requisite attention being given
to this pretty little estate, which thus became forfeit from the original
owner and occupier.

The Admiral, or Governor of Newfoundland, always honoured my
father by dining at his table once every year, in the sunnner of his three
years' visitation. My mother was fortunate in having her pianoforte, an in-
strument rarely seen at the island, twice tuned by naval officers. One was
Sir William Parker, a young married Lieut, attached to the Admiral's
flag ship; the other, brother to the English composer Bishop, and purser
to one of the Frigates.

Mrs. Sheldrake died in 1810 at Armagh in Ireland. Her second mar-

riftgo Wfifl nnpnptiliir, nnd lost hortho fVicndship of sovornl ladioH of rnnk,
4hrou^^h whosi! intt rest hIio had ohtaititMl a t!()iiimi«Ni<m, lu-^iiinliii;; to
tho fiirtliioii of that ilay, for hor third and yi)uiit;t'Ht hoii, nt fhi' prcnia-
turo (if^«) of Huvou yoiirs. Sho was uiumblo in dispoMitioii, and very
beautiful ^md graceful.

Somo more of tho Httlo domestic nnoodotos my mother so often
entortain(;d hor children hy rolatin-^. Most iikoly scieiico was not
much tlu! liiHhion in Mrs. VVadinan'H circlo of friends, anion;^ whom
she moved in her youthful duyH, for hIio rt!nieud)ered a>king a
clorfiyinan if it was wron^ to look at tho phinetH lhrou;;]i a telo-
Boope. Aslronoinical diseovorieHWcrocoiiHidered as pro.sunii)tu()U.^ inr{ui>
ricH into the liidden things of God, and lu!r young idea wah learful
of sin being attached to it. A young fri<!nd of her« asked another cler-
gyraan if it was wrong to <lraw on tho Sabbath; but on thi-^ jxiint, all
Mrs. Wadinan's intimates were of opinion, tlio parson was wrung to toll
hor it was not.

Anotiier story, which Hpoaks more in favour of hor candour, tlian it tclla
to her credit, was of u heavy misdemeanour she committed when about ten
years old, in al)stracting from hor sister ElizaUjth's needlecase throo
needles, and, on being accused of taking them, denying and persisting in
her falsehood. Proof positive, however, apj)earing against her, her con-
scientious cr)usin, Mrs Wadman, desired her to keep her room, and
have no imlrinuuit besides broad and water, until sho confessed her fault,
asked her sister's forgiveness, and learned to repeat correctly the til'teenth
Psalm, which describes the valuo and beauty of truth: she remained a vo-
luntary ])risoner for three days.

Several years afterwards, a party of guests, also nt the Ilivo, were
amusing themselves one evening with charade questions; one, to bo an-
swered by the company, as softly whispered from car to ear, was, sup-
posing the amiable hostess, Mrs. Wadman, was metamorphosed to a cow,
how each person would treat her. *' I would put a bridle and Siiddlo on
her, and make her my pony," said one. " I would feed her with the nicest
hay," said another, and so on. When Miss Jane Mann's turn to answer
oamo, she said, " I would feed her in a green pasture, and lead her forth
beside the waters of comfort;" which beautiful response elicited much
approbation.

Mama also related an account of a widowed lady, whose extravagant
husband died much in debt. Her regard and attachment to his memory
was so great, that she resolved on paying all his debts, and this sho could
only effect by practising the most rigid and remarkable economy. For
some years sho refrained from purchasing evon necc'^sary additions to
hor wardrobe, and mended, patched, and darned her clothes over and over
again, so as almost to displace their original nmterial, in a manner both
ingenious and beautiful. Her talents as a needlewoman aiding, in ad-
dition to other, as nmst be believed, praiseworthy savings, at the expira-
tion of ten years, the desired encumbrances were cleared off.

A story is also told of Colonel Philip Durnford, who in those days
when a rigorous diet was prescribed by many mothers for their children,

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denylnfT then often, — following the current opinion of the tirao, — j?ravy,
buttered toasL, cream, tea, cheese, &c., was given for his dinner one day a
plate of Windsor uer.ns; and on hv pushing it from him, professing dis-
like to, and declavin); bo would not touch them, they were put before him
each successwe meal, vitil the poor boy was obliged by hunger to eat
them up : the moat surprising fact being, his retaining a partiality for
broad benns ever after, and confessing temper as his actuii.tJug motive for
refusing them.

I, [

SECTION :iL

Second American war, — Cession of Florida to Spain. — Frngmentury Notes.
— Cliildren'p Letters. — Citadel designed. — Col. Walker's letter.

The next foi-rteen years of my father's life were spent in Canada,
wborc war hud iupt terminated. The cause for hostile exasperation is
variously : ^.riigucu : no ju^t reason is discoverable. Mu'-h of the pretext
was laid to t)ie violence of th« President, Madison, and much to the
thirst for getting riches by vv>bbing on the seas ; above all, achieving the
conquest of Canada. Long ye -.rs of peace closed over the sufferings of
those fev sad seasons, and since, so interminable have been the course
of otliur events, successes, and losses, as to render them almost forgotten.

A brief recapitulation will refresh the memory, without being entirely
out of place in this memoir.

The beginning of May, 1812, the Irpperial Parliament wa.o obliged
to notico the complaints made by the President of the United States.
The most prominent among these was a secret mission of Capfc. Henry
to Massachusetts, in 1809, and the correspondence a person of the name
of Lavater, had foi private purposes entered into with the governor
of Canada, six years previous, at a time when the American govern-
ment exhibited no friendly feelings for British America. Much scru-
tiny of the visit of Kunry wa.s never made, and this indulgence was
imputed to delicacy towards the governor of Canada, Sir James Craig,
who returned to England from his government, dangerously ill, ano
was at this period dead. It is said of this governor, that an A.inerican
gentleman and his very handsome wife, making a tour througl. Canada,
were invited to un entertainment given at the chateau of St. Loui3,
the govcr:iment house at Quebec, and on being presented to Sir James
Craig, the visitor offered, in the Kepublican fashion, tc shake hands :
Sir James, coacidering this an unwarrantable liuniliavity, instead of
permitting it, placed ^ oth his own hands behind him. The gentleman
had been introduced at the several European courts.

The secret mission of Henry was never either explained or justified
by England, so that the Americans used it as a cover for a (juarrol,
and the conquest of Canada teujpted iheir hopes of reaping glo'.y. The
invasion was oommenced by General Hull, who, at the head of 2,300
men, entered Upper Canada, July 11, 1812, publishing addresses in the
bombastic French 3tyle to the peopla of the Provii ce. This attempt

'vr^

was frustrated by the ability of Brock, despite the reliance tlio Pres-
ident had formed of its success. Madison made severe complaints to
England, for employing savages in their armies after the repulse at
Queenston. A third attempt was made, Nov. 16, same year, by Dear-
born, v/ho marched to Champlain: but the season was too advanced
to proceed against Montreal as he had meditated.

The commencement of 1813 witnessed attacks and hnrassments,
though winter set in with its usual rigour, and the ice formed on the
St, Lawrence even facilitated them. Cruel was the trcatuunit the
inhabitants of the small town of Prescott met with, when surprised in
the middle of one severe night, they were forced to leave their burning
dwellings, to which the Americans had set fire, and about 400 in number,
wandering in the snow, vainly attempting to reach Montreal, — they all
perished.

Two young unmarried ladies, with their maid servant, living near
the Falls of Niagara, had actually a dozen American soldiers billeted in
a part of their large house, for several weeks. The brother, being a
British subject, could not remain with them. The good conduct of
these Republicans, and their respect for the propc'. ,• of the household,
was most remarkable. These ladies were afterwartu asked, " if they did
not feel much alarm at the time ? " " No, " they answered, " wc knew
American soldier:^ couid be relied on for propriety of manners and
honesty."

The shores of the great lakes supplied inexhaustible material for
the navies. Wonderful was the expedition employed in building war
vessels; and eyewitnesses declare thut lofty trees, from three to six weeks
after being hewn down, were floating, e(iuipped in warlike pomp, to
dare and to battle.

The principal causes and complaints alleged by the Americans against
England in this war, were, 1st, the long-remembered mission of Henry j
2nd, the employraentof savages as allies; ai d, 3rdly, the right of impresa-
ment claimed by Great Britain on the high seas. They desired peace,
though still exasperated against England,

Towards the end of Sept., Sir George Prevost received information
that 37,000 me;i were ready to attack Canada from three different
points. He pos':ed himself at Montreal, as the most import;.iit station
threatened, and in this neighbourhood on the banks o^ the Cliateaunuay,
u signal victory was gained by Lieut.-Col. Do Salaberry, at the head
of his Canadians. Hampden's d»;;feat was complete. Wilkinson, on
Oct 2., came down from Grenadier Island on the lake of the
Thousand Islands, with 10,000 men, and descended the river in canoes
RUu batteaux, in hopes of surprising Montreal. The difficulties of this
frequently interrupted navigation were achieved, until his flotilla hud
arrived within six miles of Prescott, which town he attempted to pass
the night ol Nov. 7. Tliere he was discovered and stopped.

Grenadier Island was accidcMtally touched at by the steamer my
father was on board, some years afterwards, when lie and his party met with
a singular reception from tlie inmates of a very comfortably furnished

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log h'lt, enlivened by a blazing wood fire on the henrth, and a large
family of stront^ looking children. A girl, about ten years old, was asked
" How many children her mother hud ?" she replied, " My mother is
there, you can ask her." " But cannot you tell us ? " " Yes I can ; but
my mother can tell you better." The visitors were nmoh struck by
the odincuss of the child's replies, and still more, when, on asking the
mother if she was English, she fiercely placed her arms akimbo, and
said, " No, I'm a thorough bred Yunkee, I'll never deny my country."
This amazon like female, had a dress on resembling a cliild's pinafore,
of coarse brown linen, and her brown hair was cropt quite shore, without
cap, bonnet, or hat.

A terriljlo in.stanco of cruelty was the burning of Newark, whose
inhabitants had their 150 houses set on fire, and found themselves driven
into the open country ; fated to feel the extremities of cold and need on
a bitter Canadi;in night. Havoc, conflagration, and continued losa
of brave men on both sides, ushered in the January of 1814; then
wanton destruction of stores, and unsatisfactory reprisal. Notwith-
standing the complaints made by President Madison, on the aid the
Britisli permiftod theniSi' /es, in employing Indifin allies, the Americans
stooped to a similar use of savage warriors, and retaliations were on bo+h
sides not only threatened, but put into execution before the close of the
year. The Americans attempted to turn the Indian allies from their
fidelity to their Great Father, as, with their well-known eloquence of
speech, they svyled the English monarch. But in vain — alFuution and
firmness to the cause of the friends they sided with remained unshaken.

Among other severe conflicts, came the engagement of Lundy's Lane,
when in sight <<f the spray of the great Palls, the bodies of more than
2,000 men remained ex{Aiatory offerings to the thirsty demon of war,
and no more exasperated or bloody encounter took place in the course of
this unprofitable v/ar. Destruction marked the enemy's retreat, and
retaliation was threatened — but a merciful voice of accommodation
pronounced at Montreal, that following the rules of European nations,
exchaiigc of prisoners should be allowed. It is wearying to follow the
waste of human life, here in the blowing up of 300 men, as at Fort
Erie, by the explosion of a mine, and again of another .300 by a
vexatious retreat. An engineer officer, o'/*;rcorae by fatigue and want of
rest, is said to have slept through the whole of the attack and terrible
cata.?trophe at Fort Erie, waking up with amazed doubt, to gaze on
the black and smouldering ruins. The most decisive consequences that
followed, were the natural ones of increasing hatred and more frequent
retaliations Both sides became weary of the apparently interminable
warfare ; the dove with her olive branch claimed the prefeience over
the gaaut vulture; and at Ghent, a treaty was prepared, and finally
agreed upon.

This tre-ity left the great lakes in British po9»essi(Mi, restoring tran-
quillity to their shores. Peace was signed Feb. 17, 1815, leaving by
its conditions to each party the same territory it owned at the oom-
meucement of hostilities. Fort Erie was given back to the English,

after it.=i remaining works were blown up, an<l ruin had been stamped
upon its vestiges. The cicerone, who pointed out the blackened reiiiains,
long lamented over, and recounted to the traveller, the luelancholy
fate of the 300 men who lost their lives when the magazine exploded.
The (hil^ioed remains of once solid walls long deiied rehabitation,
thougli their site near the waters of lake Erie, surrounded by vtudure
and natural bounty of soil, seem by nature destined for repose and
prosperous advancement. The final demolition was made Nov, 5, 1314.

Looking back on the first pretexts for this unnatural war, viz., the
puerile correspondence of Lavater, and unexplained or pretended
mission of Henry, the gliosts of these two men seem to smile with
contempt and wonder on the revenge exacted to their manes, in the; long
train of retribution, violence, and concpiest unachieved with partial
unprofitable success.

When parliament opened in 1816, the Prince Eot.ent in his speech
mentioned with satisfaction the commercial treaty just concluded with
America. The advantage of Kngland had been guarded and maintained
both in the regulations of commerce, and other important points. The
Presidcjit, Madison, on Feb. 3, recalled to the senate and House of
Representatives " what Inid lately taken place, and deplored that the
United States had sufiered injury from some of the contending parties,"
as he styled them, whose conflicts were devastating the world. " AVar,"
he declared, " had become inevitable." The fertile soil he dwelt upon,
penetrated by great lakes, and great rivers, with its vast agricultural
interest and advantages, agrees in character with both shores of the
St. Lawrence, Niagara, and Chateauguay rivers. He would guard
himself from danger, would fortify the coasts and inland frontiois, and
regulate the army and navy ; keeping them in perfect order, and
practicable footing. The expense of securing cities from invasion, would
be repaid by the cost of one campaign. To be prepared for war, blunts
its means of annoyance. Fortifications were requisite for the defence
of the coast, the towns, and commerce, from the bay of Fuudy, to
the Mississippi.

Thrice in the course of the war had Montreal been threatened ; by
descending the St. Lawrence, and by Champlain. Tlie first year the
advanced season assisted the town against the enemy's approach : the
second year, witnessed De Salaberry's defeat of Hampden at Chateau-
guay; and the interruption of Wilkinson's flotilla at Prescott.

Term.-; were signed between his Jiritannic majesty and the United
States of America, Oct. 20, 1818, in London. In this treaty were
settled the American rights of taking, curing, and drying fish, pur-
chasing wood, obtaining water, &c., on the coasts of Newfoundland
and Labrador, on the land ofl" Cape Hay, and. past the straits of Belle-
isle : with their boundaries from " the Lake of the Woods " to " the
Stony ^Mountains," following the demarcation of a marked line of lat-
itude : the free navigation of its harbours and waters, and the restitution
of all captured slaves: these were the subjects chiefly adjusted.

In 1817, the border warfare commenced with the Seminole Indians,

|!i

< i>^ }>

and tho people of Georgia. The aggressions, violences, or conquests,
c iterod into and made by Generals Gaines and Jackson, first against
the Indians, and then against the Spaniards in the Floridas, eventually
led to the possession of" these provinces by the Americans, and the
confirmation of their dominion over them, however the President and
senate might join in deprecating the self-constituted authority, that
advanced upon and took possession of Pensacola, Fort Barancas, and
St. Augustine. The absolute decision of an American general had
hung two Englishmen suspected of inciting the Indians to disaffection,
and put to death two Indian chiefs without the shadow of trial. An
interval of universal peace had been interrupted by unprincipled aggress-
ions, confessed to bo such by the people whose army had transgresaed :
Spain tamely gave up her provinces, while America condescendingly
accepted the boon, indigiu\nt at the annexation. Brilliant success,
attained with comparative facility, was compared with the failures their
arms had met witii in the Canadas. It was proclaimed these pro-
ceedings should not be tolerated or justified, lest they should be deemed
precedent and example for future occasions. " If " they said, " these things
bo admitted in tho south, will they not be considered as authorized
in the north ? Are there not fortresses there to be won, and provinces
to be conquered ? are there not Indians in that quarter likewise, and
may not the officers in command, find means to prove that those Indians
have been, or hereafter may be furnished by the British, with arms
and munitions of war, &c.? so may he not (the successful general) follow
the example set in the south, and add something to his stock of military
fame, by reducing the British fortresses of Canada, and unfurling the
star-spangled banner of this nation on the walls of Quebec?" America
declared herself averse to again involving the nation in hostilities with
all Europe, as the consequence of this violation of treaties by her was
fully equal to cause.

While defending the murders of Arbuthnot and Ambrister, the
treaty with Spain, signed December 21, 1818, undertook to grant com-
pensation and satisfaction, to the full amount and validity, of the claims
made by citizens, and also the possession of grants of land made before
the January 24, 1818, the era of conquest, by his catholic majesty
to his subjects, all which were by stipulation rendered as valid, as if the
territories had remained under the dominion of Spain, grants made since
that date being declared null and void.

To be prepared for assault, is the best security man's foresight can
suggest against its occurrence. Canada's importance could not be
overlooked. Quebec especially, it appeared most necessary to strengthen
by completing its already admirably constructed fortiiications. The
conniianding approach to this city, has deservedly entitled it to be desig-
nated and esteemed " the Gibraltar of the West." A citadel on Cape
Diamond, the highest ground about Quebec, and overlooking tlie St.
Lawrence, was designed for erection, besides other important military
works both in Lower and Upper Canada, and for the planning and

Tvm

carrying on of these, Lieut.-Coloncl Durnford was the engineer selected.
This appointment as commanding Koyal Engineer in the Cunadaa was
in the year 1816.

Quitting Newfoundland immediately navigation permitted, and leaving
his family at St. Johns, to visit England, he arrived at Quebec, in the
month of June.

The skies and climate of Canada are noted for brightness and
salubrity ; but the year my father first sailed up the river St. Lawrence
and for three weeks after arriving at Quebec, a succession of fdgs con-
tinued so dense as to conceal almost entirely from observation, the
magnilicent and beautiful features of the country. To the grnndeur
of nature's displays in this line country, he was afterwards sensibly
awakened; a few lines from a letter to one of his children, written
immediately upon his arrival, and under his first impressions of Quebec
appear scarcely to proceed from the pen of the same person, who latterly
spoke in terms of delight and admiration, of the scenery that had
remained for nearly a month invisible to his eyes.

"June, 1816.

" My dear,

" Your conjectures respecting the unfavourable wind proved very correct
though upon the whole, we have great reason to be thankful for our good
and safe passage. The weather appears equally changeable with that of
Newfoundland, but seems to bt in greater extremes. The current of the
river St. Lawrence is believed to influence it much; and the wind
I understand, blows generally from east or west, being nearly the
direction of the stream, which is very rapid, making it difficult to cross
to the opposite shore, except at about high or low water. It was rainy
weather when we came up the river, but from the short glimpses of fine
permitting observation, 1 judged the scenery to be remarkably striking
and pretty. The first land we approached tolerably near to, Wi-s high,
and the mountains almost entirely covered with snow (in June,) while
the advancing progress made by our ship, presented various views that
pleased me, I must confess, more than any prospect I have yet obt -ined
round the city. The country from hence is spotted with houses, and
as each has a small lot of ground belonging to it, the soil is highly
cultivated, and every seven or eight miles, churches, or rather catholic
chapels are seen, with a good priest's house, garden and orchard very
contiguous. The banks of the river on approaching Quebec are
generally low, with small water falls, or mill races interspersed, which
with the bright green of the verdure, very much add to the beauty
of the river in every direction."

Little more than a month after arriving at Quebec, he started on
a tour of inspection through the extent of his vast district. Traces
of this journey remain in some rough notes taken while travelling.
These are sometimes not clearly to bo understood, the handwriting being
here and there illegible, and the names of a few of the places mentioned,
seem either to have been changed, or are no more recognizable. Still
they ai-e interesting to his family, as pointing out how ut that period

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thoir fithcr's thoupjhts were employed, when gftzing for the fu'st time on
Bitii;itions newly recovered from invasion, havoc, and confla}.Tation :
wliiin men's minds wore scarcely settled to the belief of their non recur-'
renco. One of his sons thus oxpreKses himself in speaking of those
notes : " My father's travelling notes are rough and very incomplete ; they
arc scarcely legible, and not much can be gathered from them." Evi-
dently intended for no second eye to scan, in preserving thera, nothing is
cx]>('sed to view more than the writer's buoyant and amiable dis])osition,
rapidly taking down, in a professional view, nil then considered of
primary importance in relation to the defence of the Canadas.

No magnificent canals, steamboats, or railroads, then facilitated
travelling; in place there was the jolting waggon, the swinging but
safe caliche, the flat bottomed boat or batteau, and the bark canoe of the
Indian.

"July 27. Saturday, about 2 o'clock, started in the steamboat, and
arrived at 3Iontreal, Sunday evening at 6 o'clock. Found out Capt.
Manu. Stayed with him the night. Early in the morning I took a
view of Citadel Hill, which appears to have been made by art; is some-
thing of a long oval shape, too incapacious for a work, although it
coniiiiands an island which seems the natural situation for magazines,
storeliousea, &c., &c., to be erected on Hen Island. Received letters from
military secretary, and answered them. The cofifluence of the rivers
Richelieu and St. Lawrence, is a situation of vast importance.

" Monday 29th. Afternoon, left Montreal for Lachinc, where I met
Lieutenant Barou, R. E., who exhibited to me his survey to the mouth
of the Rideau, appearing very satisfactory : Captain Fowler joined
us late at night, and I was sorry to lind that the map of Upper Canada,
which Capt. Mann lent me, was by carelessness left in the caleche,

".30th. About 6 o'clock in the morning we left Lachine in a batteau,

got to breakfast at, a place near to which the Americans

had advanced, when they received a check from Col. Do Salaberry : pass*
ing hence we go between two islands, one of which presents a mill,
the convent of three sisters, and a remarkable hill, appearing a strong
post. About noon we reached the Cascades. I examined the locks,
and met Major Long of the staff corps ; also viewed the rapids, which
are here long and strong. Walk to the Split Rock, and witness the
operation of batteaux shooting the rapids, from whence I fancy that
my idea of using the rollers will answer. Walk until we hire a caleche
to Les Cedars, where we stay all night : embark for Coteau du Lac ; but
thi;i way of travelliiii; being tedious, hire a caliche again, and get to
Coteau du Lac soon after breakfast on the Lst August. Capt. Romilly
to be instructed to r«»jx»rt a present state of the work and building.

" Same day examined the fortifications an J locks : the work may be
imiu'oved, but if neglected will soon fall into decay. Here seeiu islands
capable of tending to obstruct a flotilla coming down the St. Lawrence
from lake St. Peters, though the stream is very rapi'l. I would rather
attempt such an object further in advance, where the water is still ; this
requires much inspection, and is of great consequence to ascertain

correctly. Cross the lake, and nrrivc at a small inn situntod in a very
narrow branch of the river, and on very disagreeable swiiiii))y ground,
where stny all night. Set oflF at 5 o'clook in the morning for Cornwall,
and reach it to bn-akfast ; hero determine to proceed by land to Fort
Wellington : servants and baggage to go in the battoaii. Cornwall is

a largo and pleasant looking village, with a good road on

"August 10 general appearance more like a lortilication

than wliat has yet been inspected: may prohably be improved to cor-
respond more with regular front of fortification : the advanced block-
houses to be attended to, and the environs of thotown examined with oare.

"11th. Go to church — introduced to Colonel Talbot. Lieut. Wilson,
R. E., arrives from Fort George. He proceeds in the afternoon with
Lieut. Phillpotts and myself to Dyers haven : road very bad — princi-
pally through wood, ana strong passes in the road. Jlost all night
at 1st stage.

" 12lli. Start at half past four in tho morning; get to Flake's tavern
to 'breiikt'ast, by a dreary country, little settled. From the last stage
to HolLind's lauding, the country assumes a more cheerful and cultivated
appearance, with much upland ground well worth seeing. Arrive at
Holland's landing at 1 o'clock, and take measures to proceed in tho
afternoon. Difficulties occur: these surmounted by getting from the
commissary and Lieut, of lloyal navy two si.iall punts ; and pressing

. :}7th llegiment, and 2 lloyal marines, about

1 o'clock, start again with a fair light wind, ruach Keiicpenlicld at 5
o'clock, where we meet Lieut. Col. McCoy of the Indian department,
who states that two schooners will sail next morning by 6 o'clock :
determine at all events to push on, and send a messenger to Mr. Platon
the comniissnry. Walk then principally in the dark through tho wood,

arrive at 9 o'clock at get tea, persuade the men to go on at

10 o'clock at night.

" 14th. All of us work during the night ; a most disagreeable passage ;
atrive very much fatigued at 1 o'clock in the morning. Find a schooner,
and there introduced to Capt. Ilambly, R. N. ; go with him down the
river and dine.

" 15th. Go up the rapids and examine high sand hills on opposite

side; embark in the afternoon on board the Confiancc rough night

and land at Churton Island.

" lUth. Take soundings ; embark in the afteraoon and arrive fat
Penetanguishene harbour examine Islan 1.

"lOtli. Go on shore; lost in the wood for about four hours. See
nothing but a few pigeons and tracks of bears.

" 20th. Sail again : go in the boat to see the Flower Pots — two rocks
80 washed by the water that they really assume the appearance which
names them : with difiSoulty reach the Emprise : very dark before we
got on board, l>ut keep her in view by flash of small arms.

" 21st. Arrive atDrummond's Island about 3 o'clock in the afternoon :
go on shore; introduced to Lieut. Col. Maule, Lieut. Sheppard, R. A.,
and Lieut. Portlock, R. E. ; dine with these latter.

fi.

*} •

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III

" 22iid. Captain King, R. A., arrives ; look about the ground, &o.

*' 23rd. Go to St. Joseph's island; see magazine — in bad repair; old
trace of the square picketted old fort : return in the afternoon to Drum-
moud'H island.

" Monday, 25th. Leave Drummond's island for Michiliinackinuo ; land
on a small point of land to breakfast : while strolling about solo from
my party near three hundred yards, I espy a bear, and return for a gun
to the boat. The animal disappeared by the time we all wont in search
of him — his footsteps very plainly traced. When we land again, Lieut.
Shcppard .sees u large bear ; I was advanced four or five when I like-
wise saw him, Lieut, Phillpotts as many behind Shcppard. Bruin made
a few steps forward looking at us very sternly, then ran into the woods
- -call the Indians and hunt him for some time: the Indians at last
got into canoe and tire at him but without effect — afterwards saw another.
Sleep in the woods. Captain King faints away and remains very ill.

"26th. Ileach Michiliniackinae at 12 o'clock; land out of vic^V of
the works, and walk to the town. Lieut.-Colonel Wilson, R. A., the
oommuiulaiit, very politely allows us to go into the old fort. Captain
King very ill, and we obliged to stay all night.

" 27th. Embark, and reach Drummond's Island at 5 o'clock in the
afternoon. Leave two letters with Lieut. Portlock from Lieut.-Colonel
Addison, in relation to work and his leave.

" 29th. Embark from Drunuuond's Island for Sandwich.

" September 2. Arrive at Sandwich : meet Captain Payne, R. E."

In this brief journal, my father mentions — in connection with Montreal,
— Citadel Hill, and Hen Island, two places not recognizable at
this date, 1863. The confluence of the rivers Kichelieu and
St. Lawrence, struck him as of vast importance, and he speaks
of a satisfactory survey being exhibited to him, to the mouth of the
Rideau, on the first visit he made to the Upper Province. He entered
into every risk, and met every unforseen privation, with cheerful energy,
on all occasions bearing exertion and fatigue better than his younger
officers.

Another of the few letters preserved of his, is subjoined ; written ten
days before setting off ou the tour of the Upper Lakes :

Quebec, 16th July, 1816."
'i My dear Daughter,

Although no letter is come from you, yet I feel satisfied that you have
written to me ; if not you will make up for it very soon. I hope your
brothers will be pleased with my letters to them. I could hardly write
when I first sat down ; I began with theirs, fearing the arrival of the
post from Upper Canada might, as generally the case, have brought me
public papers to answer, when I should not have been able to address
these few lines to you.

" I think you will like our house and gardens (three in number) very
much ; one is almost entirely full of fruit, gooseberries, currants, straw-

berries, and rnapberries, nnd all sorts of flowers, with a nice cool arbor
for reading in, &o., either in the morning or evening : in the middle of
the day the sun is too hot upon it, indeed to go out any where unless
the wind blows a little fresh.

I am sorry to say that the old ruui of the Intendant's Palace is rebuilt
in the modern style ; part is our carriage house (when we get one), cow
house, and straw or luiylol't, whieh takes away part of our prospect of the
waters ; but we still have a very pretty view of the country, particularly
at liigh water ; at low, horj^ea and carts go across the river : the suburb
extends very far beyond one quarter, wliich cei l.iinly lays low and the
Fortilication walls tower over us, and are only separated from us by the
road. Please to tell Mr. Vicars that I am very much obliged by his
kind and long letter, which I hope ho will repeat ; perhaps after I visit
the Upper Countries I shall have something to say a little interesting to
him ; uniil which time he must excuse my answering.

If Colonel DeButts should call on your mama, I beg my best remem-
brance to }»im, and wish him every happiness in his command.

You will perceive therefore my dear daughter, 1 was a little disap-
pointed in not receiving a letter from you amongst the rest. I felt
equally assured of your love nnd affection, which I hope will increase for
me with your years, as well as for your dear mama, to whom I need not
enjoin you to pajf the greatest attention in every respect. Kiss the dear
little boys and Popsy for me, and believe me, my dear daughter, your
affectionate father,

E. W. DURNPORD.

With the closing navigation, my father sailed for England in the mer-
chant ship, the Mary, and rejoined his family the evening before Christ-
mas-day. Again he had the satisfaction of seeing some of his former
friends. Among the visits lie paid was one to Mrs. Walker, of lledland,
Bristol, widow of the uncle at whose house he was, when he first return-
ed as prisoner on parole, from Rochelle. Mrs. Walker's eldest son had
lately married a sister of Lady Sherbrookc, wife to the newly appointed
Governor-General of the Canadas. This fortnight he enjoyed much the
society of his amiable relations, who did all in their power to make time
pass in an agreeable and improving way, driving him and my mother to
several fine seats in the neighbourhood, the Duke of Beaufort's and ])laze
Castle, in particular. He stopt for one night at the beautiful town of
Bath, to call on General Francis Moore, to whom, as already mentioned,
he was for several years Aid-de-Camp in Newfoundland.

He also visited Captain Godfrey, storekeeper of Purfleet, a friend to
whom he was much attached. This was the same gentleman who, while
shooting with him over the Tipperary Mountains in Ireland, had dislo-
cated his kneepan, as before told.

While in London, my father twice consulted the famous Dr. Aberne-
thy on the subject of a nervous affection he suffered from. That poss-
esser of supposed first-rate talent in his line, refused to prescribe, saying
he required perfect quiet and a long course of treatment to effect reco-
very. The complaint was attributed to over fatigue of body, and anxiety

iiii

ofniiiid, rcsullltii^ from the multiplicity of his (luties; unfortunately ho
did not ro.solvo on followiii}^ up tlic! reeonmiiMiilod HyHtom.

Tiio I'ollovviiig Hprin;^ he returned with his family to Canada. Tho
outward l)ound pas,sa<^e, made in a deeply laden onlnance Htore trans-
port, waH prolonj^jed to tho extraordinary len}j;th of thirteen weeks; tiio
crew and paHseuf^erH, short of provisiouH, witli the pump incewsantly at
work to \iw\) the veHwel afh)at, wero only too happy and thankful to bo
permitted by tho Kuler of storms and calms, to anchor in health after so
luany discomforts.

The remend)ranco of his youthfid adventures was forcibly recalled to
recollection, by receivin;^ a lett(!r from the same (Japt. Walker, who had
in so daring' a lUiinuer made his escape, when condiied as prisoner of war
ou board, "la Bonne Mere," in the harlutiir of Gua^ieloupo.

" Jiarbadoes, Dtli .lime, ISIS. IMy di^ar Colonel, lookin<^ over the ca-
lendar of our former unfortunates of Borville, I lind that very few remain:
yet there is some scltish gratilication in sayinj;', that you and I are still
upon the shelf, after the horrid treatment wo suti'ored from that execrable
tyrant Victor Ungues.

" Although our correspondence lior; hitherto been silent, my en(|uiric8
have not been so : and our fri(!nd S'leldrake (second husband of Rebecca,
the mother of Colonel Durnford at this period deceased), and myself do
not forgtst you, when we meet ; he is just returned from J3erbice, where
he had been on a visit to his estate. I am told that it is a very valuable
one, but the old gentleman denies that, and pleads poverty.

" Your present high situation must place you conspicuously with tho
Duke of llichmond, who I am toid is a hoii vivant. As to myself, eter-
nally tossed from good to bad, and bad to good — a dreadful enemy at
length assailed me — the gout — and selc'om will let me alone. I am not
now the man who would again head an escape from Pointe-iVl'itre.
A prnjws — I have, since I saw you, been twice at the capture of Guade-
loupe ; and did not fail to visit Eerville. Two scoundrels have now
the possession of it and 8t. Jeans ; not a single person remaining of their
families. Notwithstanding my suft'erings from the gout, I strive to keep
up my spirits, but cannot get over what I cannot but consider as a hu-
miliating misfortune, that of having been taken prisoner in the Java, by
the Constitution, when going out to India with 8ir Thos. Ilislop.

Although a stranger to Mrs. Durnford, may I, notwithstanding, beg
that you will present my best respects, and at the same time accept your-
self my very best wishes for your health and happiness. Jielieve me, my
dear colonel, your sincere friend, Tho. Walker. }*evhaps you may be in-
duced to write me a few lines by return of this vessel ; I shall feel happyj"

My father's residence, on first arriving at Quebec, was in part of an
old pile of buildings, called the Intendant's Palace. Afterwards a house
was appointed for him near the Plains of Abraham, the same as continues
to be occupied by his successors in office.

Quebec as a station formed a strong contrast with St. Johns. It loomed
in the estimation of the minor military posts of British North America,
the focus of fashion, gaiety and refinement.

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!My fiitlicr'n strictly professional dutios tliroiif^linut tliu wliolo poriod of
hin Htiitioii ill tlio CimaclaH, were LiboriouK and ouorous. Every Miuniiior,
following; up the font prints of the (irut, lio miido tdurs of innpoction of
groati;r or K'.sm extent, with Hirveyn of the exteiihi\( ly ncaltered statidns,
conipris(Ml within the hir;j;i! eunipass ul' botli I pper and liower Canada,
inclndiri}^ the iNolnted pOHts on the ^reat LakcH. No one posseHscd a
keener nenwc of enj(»ynient for the heaulien of natun;. lie was never
weary in admiring the niagniticencc of the 8t. Lawrenee and had navi-
gated the rapids so fre<)uently, as to beconu) familiar will all the shoots
and rippl(\s ol'its interrujded waters, and always accustomed to look around
Iiim in a ])rofessional point of view : he was constantly considerini: which
were the ])Ositions of most importance. The caiK)e in which he lirst shot
the dang(!rous rapid of the " CascadcH," was placed in no Bundl risk, by tho
padlle's sudd(>nly breakini; ; lueklly u Hccond was in reserve, and ho often
Bpoke of (his moment of jeopardy.

To liini was appt)int<!d the task, hijihly flattering to his abilities as a mili-
tary engineer, of planningand erecting the citadel of QiU'bec, on the heiiiht
of (Jape Diamonil. A site eaimot e.isily be innigiuiul better selected tor
natural strength and beauty of situation, (Quebec as a fortilied city [3
Qcknowledged to rank as of third importance in the; vvorld : the panoramic
prosp(!ct its extensive ramparts eonmiand, is strikingly pleasing.

Wiien stationary, his ollice hours dated from 10 o'clock A. M., to tho
late dinner hour. At this period, the important task of ibrming ))lan3
for tho intended citadel, fully engrossed his attention. Tiie i.iilce duties
of writing and rc|)lying tolett(!rs, statements, reports, — above all, the com-
plicated, with ditficulty-detined estimates, rc(piiring to bo given in with
the most minute and exact detail, math; large demands upon every day's
attention. Other calls, considi-red as duties of a lighter and more recrea-
ting character, likewise claimed much time, in the levees, v \ncrs, balls,
and other public ent(U-taiinnents held at the chateau of St. Louis : in
these he was often invited to mingle ; and being at the head of a depart-
ment, was always (jbliged to form one of the governor in chief's stall, on
public occasions, and grand parades or reviews. Such things are en-
tered into with joy, energy, and < citement, fraught with pleasurable
necessity; and yet by reason of fr i\tand multiplied repetition, they
may become wearisome and dist.i il. Naturally sociable and most
hospitable, a quieter and more f*< Me circle would have been better
suited to his tast( and liuiestic ;. .nper. Though so continually at tho
desk, and writing for nuiny hours in the day, whatever work was in con-
struction, he would visit before breakfast, at ti u'clork. He mostly kept
a pony to relieve him in these - vlees, and wore a snudl light dirk or
dagger, in place of the heavy sword ui' regimental costume.

Another claim upon his time and observance, were the meetings of
respective oflicers, and that these wc e obnoxious and vexatious, is un-
derstood by the name generally at that period, and long afterwards
applied to the source they emanated from, and heard ,. oncrally in tho
lips of gentlemen of the two Scientific Corps, civilly stying it, •' The con-
founded Board of Ordnance." Of that precious and valuable treasure —
time, he had absolutely none at his own disposal.

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

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Hiotographic

Sciences

Corporation

23 WIST MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

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''I

SECTION VIII.

Sir Charles Bagot's letter. — Journey to New-Orleans. — Grants. &c., found at
Washington. — Return to Quebec. — Correspondence. — Mrs. Fontenelle and her
letters. — Mr. Roberts.

It is not to be imagined that the vast extent of land the father had
lost in West Florida, on its change of masters, was forgotten by his heirs ;
on the contrary, from the period of the eldest son, Elias Walker's arri-
val at Quebec, he made inquiries relating to it ; and understanding the
period was a favorable one for advancing the claims of his family, the
obliging assistance of the Duke of Richmond, then Governor of the
Canadas, was the occasion of the following letter from the gentleman,
who five and twenty years afterwards, occupied the same post his Grace
then did.

"Washington, March 10, 1819. My Lord, I had the honour to re-
ceive on the 10th of last month your grace's letter of January 29, trans-
mitting to me a letter from Lt.-Col. Durnford, desiring to ascertain
whether there is any prospect of his recovering certain lands which be-
longed to his father in the vicinity of New-Orleans. At the time when I
received your grace's letter, a bill was pending in the Congress, entitled,
* An Act for adjusting claims to land in the district east of the island
of New-Orleans,' which I thought might be found to affect in some man-
ner the lands to which Col. Durnford refers. I therefore delayed to an-
swer your grace's letter till the fate of this bill was decided. It passed
within the few last days of the session, aad I have the honour to enclose
a copy of it for Col. Durnford's information and guidance. At the latter
end of the year 1816, I received instructions from his Majesty's govern-
ment to endeavour to make some arrangement with the government of
the United States upon the subject of the claims of British subjects to lands
in Florida and the Mississippi territory. Soon after the receipt of these in-
structions, a bill was brought into Congress for erecting the western part of
the Mississippi territory into a state. During the progress of this bill, I
endeavoured to induce the American government to take that opportu-
nity of coming to some compromise with the British claimants ; but the
committee of the House of Representatives, which waa appointed to pre-
pare the bill, declined to take any measures upon the subject. The bill
however contained nothing which at all affected the validity of their claims :
and I then suggested to the claimants, what I am persuaded is the only
course now to be taken, viz., that some one claimant should carry his
cause before the tribunals of the state, where, from the local interest
opposed to him, he probably will not obtain a decision in his favour ; but
from whence, since the admission ol the territory into a state, he can
carry an appeal to the supreme Federal court at Washington with every
prospect of an equitable decision. I have since heard that the claimants
in England are far from satisfied at this proposal of sending them to the
courts for redress ; but I am fully persuaded that it is the only course
which they can take with any reasonable prospect of success ; for unques-

the

tionably tho general government will not interfere, even if it should appear
(which ia very doubtful) that they have the power to do so, in cases of
lands already occupied, until the parties have sought redress in the Su-
preme Court of law to which they have now, for the first time, the power
to appeal. " I have the honour to be, &c.,

" Charles Baqot.
" General his Grace, the Duke of Richmond, &c., &c."
The journey now to be mentioned forms an unexpected and singular
episode ; and was suggested to my father in consequence of becoming
acquainted with Sir Charles Saxton, Baronet, who was at that time mak-
ing a tour in Canada and the United States, and during his stay at
Quebec, a guest of the then governor-in-chief, the Duke of Richmond.
My father first travelled in Sir Charles' company in Canada. Th ^y wore
driving by night in the same coach along the portage from Lachine to
Montreal, when my fa'^her's portmanteau was cut from behind the coach ;
and the next morning, ifter the loss had been discovered, Sir Charles
good-naturedly supplied from his private stock his fellow traveller's im-
mediate requirements. On finally departing from Quebec, with the
intention of proceeding to Washington, he took advantage of the friendly
oflFers of Sir Charles, to ascertain whether any documents relating to his
father, the late Colonel Dur'iford's estates and grants in West Florida,
were lodged in that city. In due time. Sir Charles Saxton wrote :

"Baltimore, Dec. 11, 1819. My dear sir, I lose no time in forward-
ing to you the enclosed certificate of grants made by the British govern-
ment, in which it was probabb you might be interqgted : to which it
seems necessary only to add, that the documents from which it has been
extracted are at Washington : where in that city and under whose supe-
rintendence the enclosure furnishes of itself sufiicient information. I
have found as yet no opportunity of forwarding your letters to New-
Orleans, nor shall I till I have decided that I shall not have the oppor-
tunity of delivering them in porson. I have taken a copy of the sub-
stance of Mr. Gardiner's certificate, that I may use it, should any proper
opportunity of introducing it occur : be assured however that I will not
press it into notice in any way that can be mischievous or give offence."

■; I'

GRANTS FROM THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT OF PENSACOLA TO

ELIAS DURNFORD, VI7. :

^ Recorded in Jl 1, Vol. 9.

ITTO, July 3, acres 500, on the river Perdido, — not recorded.

1772, Jan. 20,

(>00,

Mississippi, —

•recorded

Al p.

Feb. 4,

1,000,

421

10,000,

Amit

341

1772, May 14,

613,

325

100,

332

500,

329

July, 28,

2,100,

and Mijsissippi,-

— A2 and Al

1776, May, 7,

315,

do Thompson's creek,

—A3

P-

167

Note. — Vols 2 and 3 were never in this office.
General Land Office, 9 December, 1819.

John Gardinkb, Clerk.

I I

■fr

, ■»■■-"

: !-, >

i ! ]'■ : ■■

These reports from "Washington by Sir Charles, appeared so highly
flattering and satisfactory, as to induce my father, after consulting the
first legal advice in Canada, to undm-take a long, and at that period con-
sidered perilous journey to New-Orleans, taking Washington en route,
thence to proceed to his destination by the rivers Ohio and Mississippi.
The plans for the intended citadel were completed and approved; but
until the many feet deep ice and snow that encumbered the ground was
removed by genial spring, nothing could be attempted towards its com-
mencement. His youthful son Philip was his companion on this jour-
ney of two thousand miles. They reached Washington the beginning of
March, 1820, three weeks after leaving Quebec, selecting this most rigo-
rous season of the year, as being the only period when his official and
professional duties admitted of long absence.

The subjoined notes, taken while journeying, were found after his
death by accident, in a trunk containing with other papers many copies
of the grants, &c., in question. The affectionate and benevolent soul of the
writer is legible throughout the narrative, written in pencil, and in some
places not easily read. . , , .

" The object of the journey I am about to undertake was to prove
titles to act on account of Florida land, which should devolve to my
family, having been granted or purchased by my father, and which
although the grants were actually in possession of my mother prior to
her second marriage, through carelessness were missing from her house.

''' On Christmas day, in the year 1819, I received intimation through
the medium of my kind friend. Sir Charles Saxton, that many of these
grants were registered at Washington : likewise a list thereof was trans-
mitted to me from the chief clerk of the Land Office, corroborating
the intelligence. Under such circumstances, and by the advice of those
I considered as competent judges, among whom was the talented Chief
Justice Sewell of Quebec, it was determined that I should proceed to
New Orleans to register as necessary, according to the act of 3, the year
1819, and act according to circumstances, in the prosecution of the claims,
by instituting necessary law suits, &c.

" The knowledge that my family had of my unsteady temper and unfit-
ness to proceed on such an important errand alone, induced them to con-
sent, or rathor recommend, that my young son Philip should accompany
me, as being the best means of keeping up my spirits, and rendering
services to me as a companion. I could not claim the same description
of assistance from indifferent persons, and my dear boy proved a comfort
to me.

" Several incidents delayed my journey, and little events that I hope
hereafter to laugh at, but appeared vexatious at the time, occurred during
the few days previous to our departure ; especially on the night preced-
ing it, when the whok family were kept awake almost the whole night ;
and about 5 o'clock in the morning, my son and myself were seated as
sole passengers in the stage cariolo, a description of vehicle peculiar to
Lower Canada. The thermometer was between 17 and 18 below x-^xtj

wo were we?l cl.ad, as also our driver, whom the cold did not affect,
though I fully expected he would have been frost-bitten. Great exercise
and employment to his arms was used in driving Tandem, and avoiding
the cahots, a kind of deep gully formed by accumulated and scooped out
snow, in consequence of the singular construction of the Lower Canada
winter carriage. About 8 o'clock we got to Jacques Cartier and break-
fasted ; the unpleasunt motion of the carriage had made my son very
sick. We paid three shillings for our breakfast, and had afterwards a
beautiful day, with the exception of frequent cahots. We dined at St.
Ann's, paying five and sixpence for our dinner, and reached Three llivers
about 6 o'clock in the evening, having drove about 90 miles in 13 hours.
The acting governor, Sir Peregrine Maitland, arrived at the same pla..t,
at 9 o'clock, when we went to bed. Sir Peregrine Maitland started
before daylight, and got the start of us by about half an hour. The
morning was very cold, with that degree of frost that penetrates much.
We overtook his party at breakfast, and started this time before it. Hith-
erto we had suffered but little comparatively speaking from the cahots ;
but on departing from Tour au Loup, it is difficult to express how dis-
agreeable was the state of the road. It nearly resembled a field with fur-
rows of from three to four or five feet deep, and about the latter in width ; but
notwithstanding we proceeded at a good rate, with a pair of sniall Cana-
dian ponies, and an old fellow in a carter's frock for our driver. While
eating our dinner at Berthier, Sir Peregrine again overtook us. This
meal here cost five and sixpence. The great depth of the snow has pre-
vented us from seeing the country to advantage, but the frequent peeps
we obtained of the St. Lawrence, and the variety of hamlets, or rather
series of cottages with their gardens and back fields, gave a good idea of
how diversified and pleasing tl.e scenery must be in summer. We had
not apprehended to have gone t'.irough so settled a country. The road,
as we approached Montreal, was most shockingly cut up with cahots.
Sir Peregrine overtook us onoe more when we were about eighteen miles
from Montreal. Several times, doubts arose as to whether we should be
enabled to proceed, as we were twice overturned within a few miles of
Montreal, but luckily we sustained no sort of injury.

" At 8 o'clock we arrived at Montreal, and were kindly received by my
friend Captain Romilly, who was at the house of his female friend.
Sir. P. did not arrive until 10 o'clock. On the 10th, settled a good
deal of duty, and propose to start the same day at 10 o'clock : Captain
Romilly and Mr. Blennerhasset overtook us — came with the latter.

" As I had been importuned to take places in the stage, and was
promised to be called for next morning at 4 o'clock; I accordingly
got up, and took hastily a breakfast. No carriage arrived half an hour
after the appointed time ; and, after waiting a full hour in expectation,
I sent Captain Romilly's servant, who returned saying he could find
no body up, or the least appeai'ance of a carriage. I then went myse!f,
and having found out the coachhouse, asked to see the owner, but inef-
fectually, meeting with anger instead of ledreps. I then enquired for
another stage, offering k> pay half the fare to Plattsburg^ and to be takea
up at 8 o'clock.

r^'

^i^

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* ) ;

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ill

" February 12. Instead of a covered stage, an open oariole arrived
for me, and as the morning was fine I preferred going on in it, expecta-
tions being held out by the driver that we should soon overtake the

sttige we soon found out the untruth of this nonsense. We crossed

the St. Lawrence near the rapids ; the cahots were bad, but on the otht*'
side of Laprairie, indescribably so. On one occasion we were detained
half an hour by several sleighs and loaded sledges, as these are obliged
mutually to help each other along. At last, our driver out of patience
dashed on into the snow, and the horses with much difl&culty plunging
into it, — we continued to go plump through. It now became very
pleasant travelling ; still the same dead flat across Laprairie. Having
breakfasted at 4 o'clock, we got, what we stood much in need of, a snack
of eggs and bread and butter. About 20 miles from Laprairie, on
passing the boundaries, we found beautiful roads, and were enabled
to drive two horses abreast, as is generally done throughout the United
States. We arrived at Plattsburgh, a neat town, about 9 o'clock, having
previously dined at Chaniplain, and paid five shillings for our meal,
likewise a very pretty neat village, with fine upland country about it.
A small river here falls into the Lake Champlain.

" 13th. A major was the host at the inn or hotel, where we put up at
Plattsburgh, and we enjoyed its pleasant situation on the shore of Lake
Champlain, commanding an extensive view of those waters, the scene
of action between the two fleets in 1814, and of the wrecks of forti-
fications, which are seen on a ridge of hills, within half gun shot :
the blockhouse was within musket shot. This being Sunday, I deter-
mined to attend divine service, and the host very politely offered me a
sleigh, and also sent with us his son, who conducted us to a seat in
a very neat building. The service was very well performed. I sat
next two ladies in deep mourning ; one of whom I noticed seemed par-
ticularly affected by the sermon. The text was, " Having no Hope."
My conductor informed me, this female was a bad woman, who had
lately lost an infant. After church, I went in the sleigh to the camp
ground, and near the remains of the redoubt, &c.

" We started at 4 o'clock to go one stage or rather route, which was
said to be about 16 miles, but owing to a great delay at the Post office,
there was a derangement in line of stages as stated. We did not reach
the end of the route until near 10 o'clock, and travelling through the
woods almost all the way, and in the dark. The driver declared he had
never been this road before, and that his horses were jaded before we
left Plattsburg. Our resting place was a hut in the woods, where we
got a comfortable supper and beds, &c. Started on the 14th about two
hours before daylight, and all our great coats, &c., &c., were not found
to be too much. Our breakfast this day cost 3s. 9d. and dinner 5s.
The road led through a mountainous country very much resembling the
wild parts of Wales, and scenery remarkably interesting. We reached
Chester about 7 o'clock, where were very comfortable beds. Philip and
myself however were obliged to sleep together, and we started next
morning at 2 o'clock with two additional passengers in our stage, and

nt; !i

and

much rain and sleet, which made our route very disagreeable. We
reached Georgetown on t)ie lake at six o'clock, and thoroughly drenched
with the rain. This was the first really disagreeable place we had stopt
at, for though so uncomfortably wet, we could hurdly get to a fire; there
was no sort of comfort obtainable, and we were made to wait an immense
time for breakfast. This last proved tolerably good when we partook
of it ; but I was not at all satisfied with my driver's charge for fare,
much less this delay after having been made to start so soon in the
morning. Still more was I mortified when we shortly afterwards stopt
at the very respectable town of Caldwell, and in a delightfully cultivated
country ; after having wasted my time in feeding, and tiresome delays at
the inn on Lake George, when we were so near to Glensfalls, its roman-
tic scenery being only about half a mile from the town. The country
here appeared to me in a much better state of cultivation than any yet
past, and resembled many parts of England.

" The town of Saratoga, the termination of this day's route, is near
the springs of waters of Saratoga, and noted' for its healthy and sweet
situation. It is handsomely built, with a very long and elegant bridge,
that seemed lately to have been thrown over the river Hudson, here
about 200 yards in width. We had now to change our vehicle for
a stage on runners. The hotel where we rested was -^ery handsomely
fitted u]> with portraits of most of the leading characters in town. * Our
road from this became very heavy, owing to the thaw ; and it was with
difiiculty we reached Albany, considerable doubt having arisen as to the
propriety of crossing the ice on the river; but however, thank God,
we got over in safety, and were glad to rest for the night at Albany.

" After engaging places in the stage for New York next morning, we
were ushered into the common eating room, a most splendid apartment,
both as to size and elevation ; but in point of fitting up and appoint-
ments generally speaking, by far the best inn I had seen as yet.

" 16th. Although I had taken great care to desire we might be called
next morning in good time, I was awakened with a report that the stage
was about to start, and without us — the people of the inn having forgotten
to call us. We were not long dressing; — and while in this state of
hurry, Mr. Steinkoff, a gentleman from Quebec came in ; he was on his
return home, but without the mail — he said there had been some mistake
in sending it to Halifax. When we were seated in the stage, doubts
arose as to danger in crossing the ice, for water was here standing a
foot deep upon it. The opposite stage led over, we changed carriage,
and it was to return here upon wheels. When we were getting into this
stage after breakfast, one of the passengers called out that he had left
his portmanteau behind, and would not proceed. We drove along a
branch of the Hudson, or North river, — the country very picturesque.
In passing that particular part, where the banks of the river resemble
long walls with low battlements, and where there are two waterfalls,
one running contrary to the other, our first horse took fright at the
hill or some object near it, and suddenly jumped on the back of the
oflf leader, with his fore legs resting on him : the reins became very much

I'ii

entangled, and the passcnpjcr who sat forward, too much frightened to
aff'ord aHsistiincc. I moved forward ; when the rest of the pa.ssengcrs
having alighted, I desired the driver to give the reins to nio, and
go himself to extricate the horse. This was some trouble, and certainly
not without danger to us all, was at length etfucted. Our breakfast
to-day cost five sliillings, and our dinner tiie same.

" Since leaving Plattsburg, our road has laid through mountains, and
been very pleasing to me. About IJ o'clock in tho evening wo reached
Fishkill, a neat town of considerable magnitude : and soon after
our arrival, the gentleman who had left his portmanteau behind, also
made his appearance.

" We started early on tho morning of the 17th, and were much
delighted with the country ; we passed a great many handsome seats,
and enjoyed frequent views of the Hudson : on the whole the country is
prettier, and much better cultivated than we had conceived of it. We
reached New York about 3 o'clock, and found some difficulty in pro-
curing a private coach to take us to Mr. Day's. I found him from
home^-but was most kindly received by his sister, MxS. Ferguson, and
afterwards by himself.

"17th. I made it my first business at New York to call on Mr.
Colden, tho mayor, to whom T had letters of particuU-r introduction.
As he was not at home, I left my card, and called at the Post office.
We stayed here eight days, meanwhile endeavouring to gain all possible
information.

" In some respects I succeeded, and in consequence forwarded a number
of letters to England. All the letters entrusted to mo have been
delivered, and I received many attentions. I got a peep at a map in
Mr. Broadman's possession, containing the names of most of the British
claimants, and corresponding exactly with that seat me from England.
Mr. Day and myself dined with the mayor on Washington's birthday,
there were several French naval officers present ; the dinner was very
handsomely served up, very much in tho English style I have met
Major Leigh Hunt, to whom a power of attorney had formerly been sent,
but this only miscarried. Respecting the prosecution of our claims,
he gives no hopes of success, whilst other persons on the contrary, oiFer
some. On considering tho whole, I determined to proceed. Mr. Colden
informs mo, that the grants are not yet arrived at New York, as they
are in train of copying at Washington, I resolve to proceed to the
Federal city, and send letters directing the grants to be detained, and
not sent forward, until again advised.

" We left New York on the 23rd Feb. in tho stage for Philadelphia,
which place was readied the same night, after very hard driving.

" I called on Mes.jrs. Pater-ion & Griffith, who received me in a manner
the most friendly ; and as our steamboat went oiF the morning after
my arrival, I .am recommended to stay for a second boat, that is now
mending. I am delighted with this city, which for variety and neatness,
far surpasses any I have seen. Among its numerous public buildings,
the new bank, built of white marble, is very beautiful.

^^^^

also

" On February 28, wc left Philadelphia in a fitcambont for "nultiniore,
and at a lew miles from the fort, we landed and took in more j)a(<sen-
gers. The Tortuge was rcafihed iibout 10 o'elock. when eight or ten
Btagos were ready to convey the passengers, some of whom, young col-
legians, were rather- too merry. At Frenchtown, we ro-embnrked in a
very tino steamboat, while a fresh gust of wind, out of the Sus(|Ueh!\nna
river, caused so much motion that most of the passengers on deck huid-
ed at Baltimore about two o'clock in tho morning. Not being ii])lo to
sleep a wink, 1 walked tho deck most of the night, and was therefore
glad to get a bed at tho Inn. Introduci d to Mr. Judge, wliose brother
was about to marry the President's daughter. His two sisters and ano-
ther young lady in their eompany were going as brides-maids.

" Commodore Chainscry and his brother, n very gLntlemanly man, mak-
ing with us a party of four, took a very j)leasant drive. Tlie road, wliich
is not remarkable for fine scenery, is a good deal resembling some of tho
English post roads, but owing to rlic late thaws was a good deal cut up.
Before leaving Baltimore we visited most of the public buildings, and
mounted to the top of the Washington monument. On the whole, the
town is very well worth seeing, as it lays on a commanding site, inter-
spersed with many hills. I was much pleased on arriving at Washington :
but as Congress was sitting, and the place full of members, debating at
that moment the great Missouri (question, we could scarcely get a dark
garret to sleep in.

" I first proceeded to find out Mr. Antrobus, the British charg<5 d'affaires,
who offered his assistance, should it be necessary. We found the copies
of the grants were forwarded to New York, and had just been returned.
Having safely received them, I offered to pay the gentlemen who were
employed in copying a work performed out of the regular time ; but the
gentleman I wished to remunerate refused, as ho said ' no bribery was
allowed.' I explained as not intending such compensation as a bribe,
htaving made the offer from their appearing only the grants enclosed or sold
to Mr. Samuel Flowers, of a part of 500 acres granted near Baton Rouge.
Of this I requested an explanation of tho Chief Clerk. Saw Colonel
Forbes' brother, who attended me the next day to the Land OfKco to
search the articles at that time of the treaty at the Peace of 1788. I
again requested to have a sight of the Kecords, and found other claims
of uncle Samuel Fontenelle and my father relative to Pensacola, which
I hope may lead to elucidate Mr. Thomas Durnford's conduct. Calling
on Mr. Bufus King, I was very politely received by him, and he pro-
mised to meet me at Commissioner Moody's ofiico the next morning.
We went accordingly, and Mr. King overruled the Commissioner's
doubts as to giving me farther access to the Records. Mr. King stated
that as they were delivered to him by the United Ministry, they were of
course available to every British subject. I have in consequence au-
thority to search again, but a different clerk is employed, and strict hints
given me, that bribes are not allowed. I gained access to an original
plan of the town of Pensacola, drawn by my lather, wherein every build-
ing lot is described and regularly numbered; but could not get any
document copied.

I ill

i i

-^ssam

w^m

n !:

" Fobruary 2fi. Thia day T called on Mr. Antrobus and prevailed on
him to <;() witli 1110 to Mr. Mop;8. lie u,ii;ain sayH what I request, cannot
be allowod to bo copied by us or any person out of the office ; but ho will
deliver tliein to Mr. Antrobus as soon as copied, probably in a week or
ton days. In coiise(|uonco of this information, I determined to start as
soon as possible for Wheeling. I have received a kind letter from Mr.

" March 5. On Sunday niorninp; at 3 o'clock I left Washington.
Philip choose to ride on the outside of the stage. It rained hard, and
ho was not able to got inside. That night we reached Ilagarstown,
and slept thnre ; the place is situated in a well cultivated and populous
country. Our broakfast generally costs 5s. and dinner the same.

" Utli. Wo reached Cumberland, through a pretty good road, and
travel through much wood.

*' 7th. Tliis day we proceeded through Union Town to Brownvillo, by
Washington. A considerable fall of snow and severe frost having set in
again, wo took to sleighs ; occasionally proceeding along the green turn-
pike road from B tltiinore to Wheeling. This road is now making on a
magnilicent scale ; we have groat difficulty in proceeding, being obliged
occasionally to have two additional horses; — these being driven by the
same man, and in the dark, as night came on, rendered our journey very
dangerous.

" March 8. Stopt at Brownvillo this night, and a passenger was rob-
bed in the same room Philip slept in. The pockets of this gentleman,
as well as those of others appear to have been ransacked. A person came
into the room where I slept, but did not catch me napping. I spoke to
him, and o'lserved him scribbling notes on small papers by candlelight,
at the other end of the room. Here we missed Philip's great coat, but
it was found in the morning. Suspicions are strong that persons seen
by us on horseback are concerned in the robbery.

" 9th. More snow having fallen, the land is in a very bad state, and wheel
carriages cannot get on well — we again add horses, and an inexperienced
driver is given us, who neglecting to lock the wheel in going down a
steep hill upsets the carriage, and we were in great danger, the whole
six horses running away with the front wheels. This prevented us from
volunteering to proceed a second time. Philip, who appeared to be the
only person hurt, commenced walking to Washington (Pennsylvania.)
A sleigh was hired, and the doctor examined him. He decided that no
injury was done, and we proceeded on in an open sleigh, the road and
appearance of tlie country being very good, but the weather again very
cold, and arrived at Wheeling at 10 o'clock at night. We judged the
drive we had taken to have been very picturesque. It led evidently
along the side of a small river, and the land on the other side looked to
be high. We heard at Wheeling that a steamboat would be down the
next day.

" March 10. Thursday. I made every enquiry as to whether flat boats
are descending the river, but find ice prevents them as well as steamboats.
After staying two days, with no sign of being able to depart, I employed

myficlf in writing letters to "Wnsliington, New York, nnd Quol)oe, nnd
also took advantage of hearing divine Bcrvico on Friday evening in tlio
oourt yard, with a most excellent discourse.

" On the evening of Saturday the 11th we detorminod to proceed for
Cincinnati, thence to Mobile by the mail sleigh ; but the ice is ho much
accumulated, that it is thought wo shall find it-impracticnble. The driver
had grout difficulty in getting over tlie river : we abandoned the prospect
ourselves of proceeding, and about 11 o'clock returned and embarked.
Wo ran great risk in getting over, the current being strong an'l the ice
very thick : but we got on our stage en route that evening."

Again it is impossible to avoid regretting the nurrative breaks off ho
abruptly — no continuation having been found. It was a journey of
mingled expectation and appreliension.

At New York, my father's friends and legal advisers first put a dnmp
upon his hopes of success, and under this impression he wrote from New
York, February 22, 1820.

" I am sorry to acquaint you the day appears entirely to have gone by
for the recovery of our property. I have met Major Leigh Hunt, wl;o
has stated to mo, before Mr. Golden the mayor, that he has seen all the
documents registered at Washington, and that they are totally incom-
plete, because the boundaries are not defined, nor the plots of survey at-
tached ; and indeed were they quite complete, as the land lays below the
31° of north latitude, would they bo of any use, as the Spaniards to
whom it was ceded by the British, (and only lately has become Ameri-
can territory, by their decrees or law,) considered them forfeited, and
have made new grants : however, I shall proceed to investigate them
both at Washington and New Orleans, personally, It appears to be the
opinion of Major Leigh Hunt, and another gentleman, who both know
Mr. Thomas Durnford and corroborate Mr. Joseph Durnford's statement,
that it is worth my while to visit New Orleans. Mr. Golden has paid
me very kind attention. Mr. Day and myself are to dine with him to-day,
and I hope to start for Philadelphia on Thursday. Sir Gharles Saxton
was on the Ohio, January 27, having been detained a fortnight,
the waters not being high enough, &o. ; he will visit New Orleans, and
return to New York, to embark in the April packet : so I fear I shall
not see him. I hope the grants will be copied by the time I arrive at
Washington, though I have some doubts upon the subject ; I am very
much pleased with the country we have passed through, and this city,
which is a little London, — public buildings, &c., very handsome. I have
seen Mr. Golden this morning : he does not consider our case a hope-
less one."

His son's account of it here follows :

" Leaving New York, the travellers proceeded for Philadelphia, where
they also remained a few days, for the purpose of admiring its magnifi-
cence, regularity of plan, and general neatness. Among the public
buildings of this fine city, they were most pleased with the handsome as-
pect of the banks, built entirely of marble. They visited the museum,
to view the huge mammoth bones, and were then shewn round the third

li !

■*
i' A 1

•ii; '

il|!HM:> fl

; ■ il

Hon of I'hil.idolpliia, viz., the lioHpitals, by Mr. Griffin, with whom thoy
viiiKul Hovcral times. From IMiiladolphiu thoy went down tho Dela-
ware hy Hteani to Newcuntic, thence in a Htaj^o acrosH u necic of hmd,
tho diMtanco of fourteen miles to Frenulitown ; fntm Fronchtown by
stoaiu a;^ain to IJaltiin(»re, through ))art of Cliesajteake Bay. Tho pas-
flafjo wa.s boistorouH, and tho Hteaniboat iiiuch crowded ; most of tho pas-
sengers were ill, and my father with Home others, wore obli;!;i!d to go
without a bed. Keaching Baltimore at night, thoy w(;re inforiued a
Stage would Htart next morning for Washington, of which conveyance they
availed tliemscilves ; having iirst walkcid round the town, looked at and
asi ended the monument then erecting to Wa.sliington, KiO f(!et high, and
admired the beautiful view its lieight commanded of Baltimore and the
Burrounding country. In tho la.st two days tho woatlior had cluingod
again to cold, with liigh wind, and the dust proved annoying." Tin- fol-
lowing letter will bc-it explain how the businetis atood when thoy reached
Washington.

" Washington, March 18, 1820.

" Sir, — I have tlic honour to enclose to you, tlio papers I received
yesterday evening fiom the Land Office relative to the grants of land
referred to in your letters of the 4th and 10th of this month.

" The papers herewith transmitted arc : — Ist. A grant to Elias Durn-
ford, Esq., of Pensncola, of a town lot (No. 14) and garden lot attached
to it, dated Tensacola, October 4th, 17()5, and signed Geo. Johnstone.
2nd. A grant to Samuel Fontcnellc, surgeon of the Royal Artillery, of
a town lot (No. 67) and garden lot attaclied to it, dated and signed as
above; and 3rd. Fiat for a tract of land containing fifty acres on tho
river Amite about three miles west of lake Maurcpas, at the deserted vil-
lage of Pascagoulas, in favour of Elias Durnford, Esq., dated August
1, 1772, and signed Peter Chester.

" Though I am assured to the contrary, I yet fear I am not possessed
of all the documents you expected, nor ha^e I been able to forward these
in duplicate, but I will with pleasure endeavour to procure for you any
papers which you may find wanting. I regret it lias not been in my
power to procure a certificate from Mr. Jones such as you wished. Not
being acquainted with that gentleman, I transmitted an extract of your
letter of the 10th May to Mr. Forbes, and requested him to endeavour
to procure the certificate for me. You will perceive by the answer sent
me by Mr. Forbes, copy of which I have the honour to enclose, that Mr.
Jones's memory does not serve him sufficiently to enable him to point
out the exact spot of ground on which the house of the late Lieut.-
Govcrnor Durnford was situated. I beg you will not hesitute to inform
me if I can be of any further service to you.

" I am, Sir, &c., G. Crawford Antrobus.

*' Lieut.-Col. Elias W. Durnford."

This letter bears reference to the site of his father's residence
at Pensacola, which to his inexpressible regret could not be ascertained.
Having arrived at Washington, on examining the public deposits, nu-

morons pnpors bearing relL'nuce to Li(>ut.-Col. Durnford'H grants and
estutcH in Wo»t Florida, were indeed i'oniid to be lodged tliere, bnt un-
fortunately they proved to be only eopieK of the original deed.-* ; tlio true
documents having been elnewhero depoHited : it in most likely tiieHe
were destroyed, not being atterwurdM diwovered. Some mendier.-* of the
family declare, the propirly higned and surveyed griintH were brought
over to Kngland by Col. Durni'ord, and packed in a trunk, had Imcii do-
pohited in an upper room while he waw Mtationed at I'lymouth ; but after
his prenmture death, children and ignorant pcr.sonH obtained access to
this chamber, where they wantonly nmuwd themselves in their disligurc-
lucnt and destruction. The discovery of the iiu-ompleteness oftlie.se re-
cords, though it caused severe disappointment to my fatlier, did not in-
duce an alteration in his lirst intention of j)roeeeding to New Orleans.
Only those endowed with the kindliest graces of all'ection, and tendor-
cst of lilial recollections, connected as these were in this amiable son's
memory with that awful moment, that had forbid to him the bereaved
child, the sad consolation of shedding a tear over the loss that nature
never repairs, — can imagine the sensations called up by all these traces of
bis departed parent. Feelings of pleasure outweighed even bis melan-
choly reminisccncoa; and when at Charleston he discovered the plan of
the town of I'ensacola, which .Judge liay liad preserved and valued so
highly, and that seemed to furnish the re(iui»ed infornn\tioii respecting
where his father's mansion had stood, almost the greatest concern ho ac-
knowledged to, was, the not being permitted to carry with him that me-
mento. Judge Bay would not resign it, but, as his graphically written
letter on the subject says, presented it as a gift of much value, to be by
W. S. Crawford, Secretary of the government of the United States, de-
livered over to safe keeping at Washington. This letter is well deserv-
ing of regaiii and preservation.

To the Ilonoiirahle WilUnm IT. Crawford, Secretary of the Treiuury
of the United States, Wnshimjton.

" Charlestown, May 28, 1819.
" Sir, — In consequence of a paragragh in a letter I received the begin-
ning of the present month, from Mr. Edward Jones of your department,
signifying your wish to have the plan of the town of Pensacola in West
Florida, I now do myself the pleasure of enclosing the original, as laid
off by Lieut.-Governor Durnford, wlio was a distinguished officer in the
Engineer Department, and who came out with governor Johnstone when
ho first took possession of the Provi. ■ j, after the peace of 17G3. This
gentleman was appointed Lieut.-Gover or of the Province, and Surveyor-
General. He was a scientific man, and a good draughtsman, and this plan
may confidently be relied upon, by the American government as an ac-
curate and correct one. It usually bung up in the council chamber,
where the governor and his council met for the purpose of granting
lands, and other public business, and all the grants which ever passed
under the seal of the province, referred to the numbers on this plan.
To every town lot there was a garden lot annexed, as an appendage; as

Nil

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11
.ill

you may observe by an accurate examination of the plan itself. The
town lots are nuuibered 'vith black ink, and the corresponding garden
lots with red ink. The reservations for public uses, are delineated on
the plan, and they were handsome and useful, but I fear have been sadly
altered and deranged by the ruthless Spaniards.

" At the time the Spanish armament came against Pensacola in 1781,
I was Deputy-Secretary of the Province and had the .are of the public
records, wl. loh had been packed up in boxes on the first approach of the
Spanish fleet on the coast, in order to be deposited in one of the bomb
proofs in Fort George. This plan was, however, in the hurry and con-
fusion of packing up the records, overlooked, and was left hanging up in
the council chamber as usual, till the afternoon of the day the Spanish
fleet came over the bar into the harbour ; when, going into the council
chamber, which commanded a fine view of the entrance into the harbour,
the plan accidentally caught my eye, upon which I immediately took it
down, and carefully put it by int(, a box of my own papers, where I
have preserved it ever since. I h:tve now great pleasure in consigning
it to your hands, as one of the public functionaries of the government,
for *he benefit and use not only of the government itself, but for the ci-
tizens of that part of the Union — and all I ask in return is, that I may
be furnished with a copy of it, as I had a valuable house and sevsral lots
of land in the town, which I never disposed of. Perhaps, sir, if you
had a neat engraver near you, it w^uld be an easier way of having copies
struck off" than by copying with a pen, which will be very tedious.

" It might justly be considered as presumption in me to touch upon
Pensacola in a political or commercial point of view, as you are, or must
bo, fully acquainted with its vast importance to that quarter of our
Union ; but as I resided seven years in that town before its fall to Spain,
I think I may be pardoned for saying a few words upon the salubrity of
its situation and climate.

" The town itself is situated upon a handsome plain upon the northern
shore of the harboiir, which is large and spacious : capable of containing
all the navies of Europe, if they were to anchor in its basin. It is open
to the sea, except a narrow island called Santa Eosa, which protects the
harbour from the ocean, and is delightfully fanned by the sea breezes
during the summer months : at each extremity of the town there is a
fine running stream of fresh water, a never-failing supply both for the
town and shipping : and in rear of the plain on which the town is si-
tuated, there are beautifully rising grounds, hi" and dale, for several
miles into the country, where you occasionally fall in with charming
streams of fresh running water, equal to any on earth : wh^-re ten thou-
sand beautiful seats for gentlemen might be established. There are no
low grouads in +' e neighbourhood to make it unhealthy ; the whole sur-
rounding country is high and dry ; and if I were called upon to fix a
spot on the continent of America, which I thought the healthiest — I
should, without hesitation, put my finger upon Pensacola as the favourite
spot. I have thus touched upon the climate and situation, because I am
well oonviuced that thousands froir all the south-western parts of the

slf. The
g garden
leated on
een sadly

in 1781,
he public
ch of the
the bomb

and con-
;ing up in
e Spanish
le council
} harbour,
5ly took it
3, where I
ionsigning
vernment,
for the ci-
hat I may
evaral lots
sir, if you
ring copies

)US.

»uch upon
e, or must
ter of our
to Spain,
ilubrity of

B northern
containing
It is open
rotects the
ea breezes
there is a
th for the
;own is si-
for several
charming
ten thou-
lere are no
whole sur-
n to fix a
althiest — I
e favourite
sause I am
arts of the

American world will resort to Pensacola and its vicinity, as a retreat
from fevers and agues, and the other disorders incident to the low un-
healthy portions of the country to the westward of it ; and because the
salubrity of the climate has hitherto been little known by the great bulk-
of the citizens of the Union. " I have the honour to be, Sir, with great
consideration and esteem, your most obedient and humble servant,

" (Signed,) E. H. Bay.

" The Hon. W. H. Crawford,

Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, Washington."

This letter was written from Charleston, May 28, 1819.

This plan, denied to Colonel Durnford, was subsequently burned when
Washington Senate House was destroyed by fire.

Few hearts are so cold ns to refuse to enter into, and mingle with the
feelings of my father, while occupied with this journey ; and extraor-
dinary as the assertion may seem, it is no less true, that so deep was the
mournful impression he ever retained of the moment he first became
sensible to the loss of a father, that though so many years had since flown
by, not one of bis children knew the startling manner in which it had
been announced to him, until the fiat of recall to his own spirit had
gone forth ; — the secret had remained buried in nervous agony within
the mcst sacred folds of his soul.

It is not exactly remembered in what part of the States he again met
Sir Charles Saxton, but that he did so, is certain from the annexed
anecdote in his own words :

" Another time I travelled with Sir Charles Saxton, his servant, when
we sat down to the long public table, refused to be seated with his mas-
ter. But American ideas of equality could not comprehend such refined
distinctions ; they sneered at and ridiculed the man so much that the
punctilious point was ceded."

In some part of the journey, supposed to have been in the transit from
Washington to the river Ohio, when only in company with his son, pro-
ceeding in the common stj^e of the country, on alighting at the Inn,
where as usual a public table d'hote was in readiness, the American sub-
ject, who had driven the vehicle, and with whom the travellers had con-
versed as they came along, could not be induced to take a seat at the
same table with the English gentleman^ whose notice and bearing re-
called the ideas and prejudices of the old world once familiar to him."

Another of my father's anecdotes : — " I relate what literally occurred
to me during my journey up the Ohio, when at the table appointed for.
the travellers who arrived with the stage, as I and my son Philip were
sitting discussing our meal, a smith quitted his forge, with his brawny
arms and coarse shirt sleeves, tucked up above the elbows, and com-
posedly occupied a seat by our side."

The annexed note of expenses incurred on this journey, will explain
the route he pursued ia returning to Canada.

?f'

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ii \\

I i
I

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February, 1820. From Quebec to New York £19 6 9

February and March. New York to Wasbiui^ton, 30 6 1

March. Washington to Wheeling, 31 8

March. Wheeling to Louisville, 10 8

March and April. LouisTille to New Orleans, Mobile, Pensacola,

back to Mobile, and New Orleans, 101 2 3

May. New Orleans to Natchez, St. Helen's Court, thence and back

to New Orleans, -±2 16 llj

May and June. New Orleans to Havana and Charleston, 7113

June. Charleston to Petersburg, North Carolina, 29 9 8

June. Petersburg to Washington and New York, 25 12 9

June and July. New York to Quebec, 20 5 10

382 1 lOi

Embarking from Louisville on La Belle Riviere, as the French de-
signate the river Ohio, he undertook the descent of this dangerous stream
at the season of spring freshets, caused by the melting of the winter's
snow. The passage was hazardous. Imperfect were both maps and
charts of the strangely beautiful river, whose navigation is at all times
embarrassed by rapids, rocks, sandbars, logs, snags, and in one place an
eddy, which forms a whirlpool. New settlements occasionally diversified
the wild aspect, and between the small town of Manchester and the river
of the little Miami, he noted Ripley, I'Havanna, Neville, and Moscow,
all built of brick, and villages not marked down at that time. My
father went on shore near the small settlement of " Deer's Creek," and
picked up a superb pair of deer's antlers, which were afterwards pre-
served by being handsomely mounted as "handles for a carving knife and
fork, to this day used at the table of one of his sons, to whom they were
presented.

He bid adieu to the Ohio on the evening of March 27, to enter the
Mississippi, the gigantic Nile of North America. Although the general
aspect of this vast stream disappoints, it has bluffs and bends to admire,
and he noted the pretty settlement on the St. Francis River, with its
flocks of paroquets. On the chart, my father held in his hand while dor
wsending the river, is written in pencil of legible character, *' St. Francis-
ville," close to " Thompson's Creek," and the first land he saw of which
his father had once been owner. The settlement is not marked on the
chart. An item of travelling expenses is marked " a horse and waggon ;"
this was necessary to enable him to visit his father's widely scattered
grants, and was sold on embarking in the John Fulton, being the first
voyage made by this rather noted steamship. The dangers and fatigue
experienced in the course of the long inland river route, determined him
to return by sea.

At New Orleans, he saw Mr. Thomas Dumford, the Lieut.-Govemor'js
^ent, who disclaimed being in possession of any of his property. The
greater part of what should have been my father's and his ftunily's, wa8
occupied by squatters, so that even had the original grants been forth-
coming, tedious and expensive lawsuits must have been necessary before
regaining them. Again at the HaVanna, his father's presence rose before
him ; and continuing his course to .-Chaiieston, he was there introduced

■ li:

TTf

to Judp;o Bay, after perusing whose interesting letter, but one judgment
can be formed of the reception given by him to the son of Lieut.-Governor
Durnford. In after years, when speaking of the features of the fine
countries through which he then travelled, he was accustomed to dwell
much upon the beauty of the Ohio ; while recollection of the muddy
waters of the great Mississippi, always by their menilon drew from
him a sigh. For New Orleans he entertained an unconquerable anti-
pathy.

In 1819, Mr. Joseph Durnford, a distant relative of the family, had
undertaken, partly on speculation, a journey to New Orleans. He
reached the city in safety, since my father's letter from New York men-
tions his advice given there. From this period the unfortunate younj
man was no more heard of, and surmise whispered he had met with a
violent death. With these suspicions then, but recent, uppermost, and
during the journey of return to Canada, at whatever stage or town he
rested, always being disturbed at table by the company of a man, who
placed himself before his view, as if with the especial object of watching
for and detecting his movements, my father was sometimes sensible to
considerable uneasiness and alarm.

In July of the same year, Mr. Charles Roberts, who had been secre-
tary to Lord George Germain, at the period when the Floridas were in
the possession of England, addressed a letter on the subject of these
claims to Major Philip i Jurnford, who equally with Col. Elias Walker,
their brother George, and three sisters, had been made, by the father's
will, coheir to the estate. . .

" London, July 17, 1820.

" Dear Sir,— -I did myself the honour of writing to you from New
Orleans early last spring, shortly after my arrival there, in which I
enclosed ybu a list of the lands belonging to your father's estate in West
Florida, and also forwarded a duplicate of the same to your brother
Eliaa in Canada : which I hope were duly received. I afterwards had
the pleasure of mee^'ng Sir Charles Saxton in Orleans, who seemed much
interested in the success of your claims, to whom also I gave evtry infor-
mation I could in the business ; and as I understood he was on his way
to this country, via the Havanna, you will probably have heard from him
on the subject.

"I arrived in Edinburgh about six weeks ago, where I was laid up with
a severe fit of the gout, and could only get t^is length a few days ago.
I have brought a commission from the court in Louisiana, to take evi-
denee before the American Council to certain points necessary in the suits
pending in the Court there, before I can proceed fartJier in them — the mar-
riage of Mr. Gould with Ann Organ, to prove the death of said George
Gould and the probate of his will, to prove the marriage of the widow
with me, &c. ; after which I shall return again to Orleans, in order to
prosecute farther my suit, but shall return to Edinburgh first, where I
shall remain some time, perhaps until September. I am in hopes of finish-
ing here in ten days; and if I can render you any service with respect to

1 t 1

I i

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r.\

(■■■ i

100

your business it will afford me pleasure ; or any information I may have,
that you want, apply to me without hesitation, and it will be cheerfully
given, either to your family or to any West Floridean.

" I remain, dear sir, yours most sincerely,

"Charles Roberts.

« No. 23, Cullen St. Finchurch St.
" London, July 17, 1820.

" P. S. — Charles Roberts, Edinburgh, will readily find me there after I
leave this."

In writing to his brother. January 5, following, Major Dumford thus
expresses himself of this gentleman : " Mr. Roberts is again in New-
Orleans ; and should you require anything from him in the way of infor-
mation, he will be most happy to give it you. He is a wonderful old man,
being upwards of 85, and appears to have every thing in his recollection
quite perfect for many years back. He tells me he often quarrels with
our relation, Tom Dumford." In this letter. Major Philip offers to pro-
cure a cadetship to India for his brother's eldest son, in the Company's
service."

The attention so strongly directed to Lt.-Governor Durnford's claims,
in which Col. Dumford was but coheir, was also at the same time turned
by him to others, which if successful would more individually have bene-
fited him. His separate claims were in behalf of Samuel Fontenelle,
Esq., the husband of the same aunt, to whose care when an infant he
had been confided. The vast grants made likewise to Mr. Fontenelle,
appear almost incredible, were they not attested by his widow, a lady
who bore the derivation of the noble territory that might have been
hers, with a greatness of mind, and uncomplaining dignity, conferring
the more honor on her memory, from the fact being known to few even of
her confined circle of friends. Anticipating a period of nearly 12 months,
it seems scarcely believable to add, that at a time of universal peace, such
as was 1821, Mrs. Fontenelle complains her first and second letters re-
mained unacknowledged, and consequently unreceived by the nephew.
A letter is subjoined from her, bearing on the subject, together with
another to his sister Maria.

" London, Miss Adair's, Cecil St. Strand, April 10, 1821.
" My dear Elias,

I received your letter through Mrs. Day, which does not mention (nor
in any other) receiving one addressed to you and Maria, in the same
sheet, containing my first power of attorney, sent off immedial^sly upon
your desiring me to send that directed to Mr. John Day, New York. I
therein gave you an account of Mr. Fontenello's having twenty thousand
acres of land upon the Mississippi, and 13 or 1,500 upon the Mobile River j
which Tom Dumford may know of, as he was in your father's office (but
a mere boy) when the governor presented Mr. Fontenelle. Dumford
was offered a great deal of money could he have procured it for more than
one to purchase ; it was so very valuable, and convenient for shipping
Staves to Jamaica : accordingly our laud was partly cleared for planting,

101

and money in our pockets, instead of the expense we must have been at
for that purpose, as Mr. F. intended it. He had his white servant there,
and he had prepared three negroes. I have a receipt of, I believe, £20,
paid for that land. All the Mississippi lands, Mr. Fontenelle, I think,
purchased conjointly with a Mr. Roberts, secretary to Lord George Ger-
main long since dead. All his land he bequeathed *i you in his Will
(after my decease) which Maria must know, having heard the will read.

** Those Halifax or Nova Scotia lands, upon the river St. Johns, I wrote
you, were taken from Mr. Fontenelle (he not being settled there himself)
by the Governor, to provide for the American royalists who flocked there
during the war. Those were purchased of General Halderman. He
promised to assist Mr. F. in recovering some cou»pensation ; when in
pursuance of Mr. F's continued ill luck, the general died, and Mr. Fon-
tenelle was obliged to submit to all the loss. I sent a second power of
attorney through Phil — you do not mention that ; not having seen any
of the documents belonging to us. I fear those lands, nor any other will
only make us spend more money to little purpose. I am truly sorry you
had such a long, fatiguing, and disheartening expedition ; but as you had
two purposes to induce you to undertake it, you were perfectly justified,
in order to satisfy your own mind, that no exertion on your part was
neglected. In respect to myself, I had so little faith in the success of
the case, that not one farthing should have passed out of my pockets, to
establish my claims, had not your interest been more concerned than my
own. I hope the anxiety you have had, and still experience, will not
injure the health, and life of one so precious to his family. Elias is quite
well, very good, and apparently to me grown very steady. He now and
then spends a few hours with me, but does not like my place so well as
Bungay, and all that country. He says the young men call him young
Bungay. He and I went to St. Martin's church yesterday, the hand-
somest in London, and where we heard the most elegant as well as excel-
lent discourse, by one of the best preachers ; and I observed Elias remark-
bly attentive, and he expressed himself much gratified. Indeed I never
saw a youth before so desirous of going to church. As I am going to
relate all the little chit-chat news to Maria on the other side, I will con-
clude this, with best regard, and kindest wishes to you, Mrs. Durnford
and family : and believe me, I am, my dear Elias,

" Your most affectionate aunt,

• ' "Elizabeth Fontenelle.

" P. S. — I very much wish to see all your family, I hear so good an
account of them ; good and handsome as they may be, I think they can
scarce exceed Elias." ,

" Mr DEAR Maria,

" The letter Y wrote you from Bungay, last spring, where I passed the
winter, gave you an account of my proceedings up to that time, since
which I have been travelling many long miles, and although relating
where, and in what manner I have been entertained, cannot be very
interesting to you, at such distance ; yet I know ^ou will expect the detail,

!!''

102

and that it will give you pleasure to learn t^at my first trip was to pay a
visit to Carolino, where I found tboiu (Mr. and Mrs. Davis) settled in a
small but comfortable house, neatly furnished ; and Caroline looking
stouter, and bettor than I thought could ever be possible, from her ap-
pearance, when I .aw her at St. Johns (near Bungay). Spent four or five
weeks very pleasantly with them, when finding the situation too warm for
my health, (Henley-on-Thames), I determined upon going to Ramsgate;
accordingly I set o£F for town to meet Elias, on his way to Lowcstoff, to
visit Mrs. Pickover, thinking he might like to take a week's trip with
me ; but I found to be even one week from the dear part of the world,
he has passed so many happy days, and is so fond of, would cause great
sorrow and disappointment— -time always flying too fast in that excursion.
Therefore as giving him pain, would be still more so to myself, I left
him to pursue his road towards dear Bungay, and returned to Henley :
but finding the heat still very oppressive, 1 took Mrs. Davis to escort
me there (Ramsgate,) and pass a few days until I was settled in a genteel
boarding-house, when the pleasant society I met in it induced my stay-
ing three months.

" I bathed the latter part of the season, and reaped great benefit, so much
BO that I was constantly flattered with my improved appearance. This
t)kce is very pleasant — has the longest and handsomest pier of any in Eng-
J ind, plenty of excellent warm baths, and 20 machines with strong hand-
some faced women to attend you. The best company visit this place in
preference to Margate, although that is the most lively in respect to the
flocks of all sorts of company and public amusements. It is only a short
ride from Ramsgate, and there are most convenient carriages to, and for
every hour of the day. We used to ride in parties of a morning round
the country, and to public breakfasts which were full and genteelly attended,
every week : — one was sufficient to satisfy me, as I am not fond of public
amusements, unless it is to accommodate young people. The marine
boarding house, as well as handsome lodging houses, stand delightfully
pleasant, upon a high cliff, which commands a view of the sea and pier ;
and the marine boarding house has a large library, with music, and raf-
fling of an evening. Elias said he had been there one week, with his
aunt Kirwan, and found it very dull.

" In the middle of October I returned to town, to repair and make some
new dresses (as I was rather worn out) ; and as I still continue so uncom-
fortably deaf (which is a great drawback upon all my pleasure in society),
I put myself under an aurist's care, which costs much pains and still
more money, particularly as it detained me longer in town than I wished,
without finding benefit, as I fear mine is a nervous deafness. Elias visi-
ted me twice, but was too much engaged in studying for his examination
for me to see him oftener. He passed his vacations at his aunt's (Mrs.
Kirwan's,) and I eat my Christmas dinner with Caroline. Phil, also
came there for two or three days.

"I believe you know Mrs. Belcher, — Colonel Sheldrake's niece. She is
very much afflicted with a cough, and I think from her sickly appearance,
he will soon have to seek another wife : which, between you and I, I
believe he will not much regret.

tor

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103

" The first week in January I proceeded to Bath, where I passed 9 weeks,
the happiest in my life. Such a pretty gay place. The Spurgeons, Ac-
tons, Shorts and Azozas from Lowestoff were there. The two latter
have resided there three or four years, although tliey make but a poor appear-
ance in such a genteel part of the world, yet are so well satisfied that no
other can be so agreeable. You know Miss Short: she still corresponds
with George Pearse, who is tutor to Lord Olive's son, through the interest
of your brother George.

. " I went to a ball with Mrs. Azezas, where there were 400 people,
without being incommoded. The rooms are so large and handsome and
well fitted up with four tiers of benches on each side, and at the top, for
to see them dance. There are two balls and two concerts every week
generally, well filled in the season. Captain Fade called upon me, and I
often saw him. The family Mrs. Pugh is with wcre.there, and I knew
many others. I went to a grand rout and three plays, and these ended
my public amusements, as I enjoyed myself much more with our own
society at the boarding house playing a rubber : we sometimes had four or
five card tables, and the most agreeable select society of ladies and gen-
tlemen you can imagine : four and five livery servants waiting at dinner,
at which there were two sorts of soup, — the best of fish — fowls — roast
and boiled meats — hashes and haricots — constant removes of game
or something as nice — after which sweet puddings — tops and bottoms —
fruit — tartlets — ^jellies and custards alternately — and all the nicest
ever tasted : tea and coffee morning and evening — ham and eggs
at breakfast. Very large drawing room, and dining parlour, with good
sleeping rooms. We paid three guineas a week, and three — six servants :
the landlady, a nice genteel person and single woman wlo presided
at the dining and tea tables, to take all trouble off" the company. I
must not forget to give you an account of your cousin Durnford, from
Wales, as I know what pleasure it will give you to learn that she is mar-
ried to a Colonel Peacock, a man of good fortune, a widower— one child
at least I am told, — of course iruoh older than herself. I called upon
them, and introduced myself. Sho and her second sister, were seated
in an elegant drawing room, delighk.i'ully situated in Green Park buildings.
They seemed delighted to see me. Mrs. Peacock is a sweet, and pretty
looking young woman : her sister very agreeable, but not quite so pretty.
A lady and gentleman at our house gave me the account of their wed-
ding, as they were lodging in the same house with the colonel. He,
seeing them walking by the seashore, upon making enquiry found them
to be of a family he once knew, therefore called, and married the eldest
daughter in lesa than three weeks. I was pleased that I called upon
them, but not much so, when they returned my call by leaving cards,
although they enquired, and the servant told them I was within,
as I had waited all the morning in expectation of seeing them. I
therefore saw no more of them, except twice in the street, when she
always looked glad to meet me. He is a genteel, well looking, middle
aged man. Phil, is going to Bath in a few days, (Lieut. Col.
Philip Durnford, of the Royal Artillery,) on his way to Mr. Walker's

I'll

! t

I'l ! ;

104

at Kcdland, perhaps ho may seo them. I know not how long I
shall roiuuin here, or where I shall go to next, as it depends upon
circunistuiices.

" I think Mrs. Day will give you all the Suffolk news, therefore will
proceed to tell you, that I have been favoured with a visit from Mrs.
Kirwan, (Mrs. Durnford's sister.) I liked both her, and her manners,
and very much Mr. Kirwan. Elias was staying four days with thorn, so
that I saw him also. I walked in the park with him yesterday after
church. His aunt was so good to spare him for the purpose. This
is a very good boarding house, and there are 13 ladies and gentlemen
at present here, but still I feel alone, not having any friend to go about
with me. Phil, is always so much engaged, that I have not yet seen
Woolwich. I am always thinking to go and see Hush at Chelsea, but
know not when it will be put in execution.

" Here is a Mr. and Mrs. Helsham with their son and daughter on
their way to Paris. They offered me to go with them, politely saying,
they would take good care of me. I should like much to see France,
but I dare not venture myself with strangers. If Phil, calls to-day,
I shall give him this letter to enclose to you, fearing he will be soon
off for Redland — if he does not come I will write it on another sheet, as I
am afraid you will not be able to read this bad scrawl. You will see I
want your assistance in the pen-mending way. I am glad to learn that
you and all your family enjoy good health, and that the situation is
agreeable. 1 had almost forgotten to tell you, that I staid three weeks
at Rodland, They all spoke very kindly and with admiration of Mrs.
Durnford. As she knows them, and the situation altogether, I need not
say more than that Charles has a genteel pretty wife, and three children.
He lives within three miles of them. Farewell my dear Maria, and
accept the best regards of,

"Tour affectionate aunt,

" Elizabeth Fontenelle."

In 1 822, his eldest son Elias received a commission in the Corps of
Royal Engineers, and he was then allowed the privilege of visiting his
family, while as yet unemployed. This gratified in no slight degree the
pride and affection of the parents of this promising young man, who re-
turned to l^jngland the autumn of the following year. The following in-
formation is an extract from a letter addressed to Lieut. Elias soon after
his return to England, and bears date, Deo., 26, 1823. " Papa has just re-
ceived a curious note from Sir Francis Barton and Mr. Primrose for the
sixth of January, inviting him to partake of a rump and dozen. Are
you as much puzzled as I was, to divine the moaning of the phrase ?
which in plain language means, a dinner given to decide a wager, and
that too about as great nonsense as ever entered the imagination of man.'
The wager related to a story told by Sir John Sherbrooke, Governor-
General of Canada, when papa first went there. It was this. During a
voyage made soon after his brother's death, as Sir John was sitting alone
in the ship's cabin, and in the evening, his brother's form appeared to
enter, and pass to a chamber within. Sir John rose, called, and foUow-

106

ed him. Of course no person was discovered. In these days, when
many sober minded persons look inquiringly into the mysteries of table-
turning and spirit rapping, the strong impressions left on the mind of
one so little likelv to bo led astray by the weakness of inmgination, must
not be treated with levity. The wager depended [as to by which doors
the spirit entered and departed, and most likely was not decided.

SECTION IX.

Excursions. — Citadel progressing. — Letters from Mr. Loder and Mr. Orabam. —

Promotions. — Fossil recreations.

My father's descriptions recall the incidents of some of his journeys.
When ascending the St. La renoe, after passing the lake of St. Francis,
the shores of which are flat and distant, he always enjoyed the variegated
scenery presented by " ihe Lake of the Thousand Islands," or rather
sixteen hundred, wh Te tha green foliage of pretty islets, enlivened by the
sun of summer, was contrasted now and then with a squatter's log hut,
and again made a yellow corn patch look bright and conspicuous. In
turn he marked the low creeping mists, that settle over those positions,
where the wild fowl revel in unwholesome fields of rushes ; one hour listen-
ing in this diversified vicinity to the plaintive cry of the bald eagle, the
next, in descending the rapids by bateau, to the songs of Canadian boat-
men.

He often spoke of the journey to Craig's Court as being one of much
interest. " The lakes, rivers, and mountains of this tract are wildly
striking, and the almost impassable roads leading to the outlet of lake
Memphremagog, form such a recurrence of stony and rutty passes, of jolt-
ting corduroy, with its alternate swamps, as caused me," using his words,
" to look out eagerly for Copse's Ferry, where was to be found the set-
tler's log hut, with its rude substantial comforts. Mountains, capped
and covered with the finest wood, surround this beautiful lake, and shut
out its waters from view, occasionally breaking and affording the most
romantic peeps. The road is continued among clusters of hills, low
marshes, and almost endless corduroy roads, formed from the trunks of
newly felled trees, the bark still on, laid across the green morass.

" Tlie territory, stretching from lake Memphremagog to the St. Law-
rence, encloses a tract of forest and water wilderness : but in the neigh-
bourhood of the outlet, the labours of one apostolic man, the late Dr.
Stjwart, bishop of Quebec, have opened a pathway for Christianity to
blossom. The oasis appeared with its bridge, mill, church, school-house,
and clean looking settler's hut, to diversify the wild scenery. As I went*
on, sometimes my progress was impeded because a bridge was carried
away during the late heavy rains, and occasionally the road becomes so
muddy and rough as to prove nearly impassable, though I still travel
through a fine country, much broken with high land. At times, a good
road occurs, and now and then fine clearances are seen very distant
among the mountains, the features of which are very bold.

III

lilt

lOG

" The village of Waterloo is not far from the bankn of the Yamasoa.
This river is only navigable for canoes, and frc(juent falls interrupt its
course ; but as the most considerable of these does not exceed 12 or 16
feet in height, they fall probably more within our ideas of that broken
surface of water, which forms a furious rapid. Notwithstanding the
high uneven roads and continued corduroy to be encountered, this dis-
trict is considered thickly inhabited for a new settlement. From its
finely wooded hills innumerable clear springs and streamlets run, and the
first step towards civilization is marked by the culture of Indian corn
and the potatoc."

No part of the Canadas can compete in natural beauty with Quebec.
Descending the St. Lawrence from Montreal, after passing the current
of the Richelieu rapids, caused by the navigable portion of the stream's
running between two ridges of granite rocks, sometimes at low water ap-
pearing 12 foot above the level of the water, the shores of the river im-
prove in interest, and begin to contrast their wooded banks with those of
the flat unmarked country round Sorel. They soon rise in height,
particularly at Point Platon, succeeded by Cape Santd, and Pointe aux
Trembles. Increasing interest is stamped on the aspect of these shores,
the nearer they approach Quebec : bold, steep, and covered with ever-
green and gloomy foliage ; beyond these the pine wooded summits of dis-
tant ranges of hills repose blue and tranquil. As soon as the mouth of
the river Ohaudi«^re is passed, the steep summit of cape Diamond appears,
bearing on its rocky front the sweeping lines, and lengthened projections
of its citadel. The traveller shoots by the spot where the gallant Wolfe
landed his brave little army, and looks up to the height be gained and
died on. Large rafts towards autumn, or the fall of the year, are floated
down from the upper lakes, to be broken up and their timber deposited
on the beaches of the lumber coves of Diamond harbour, Wolfe's Cove,
Sillery, &c., which are lined with stores and shops ; wharves jut out ;
and ships and steamers are here built of large size and tonnage.

Cape Diamond rises full south perpendicularly from the river to the
height of 320 feet. The labour of raising the vast blocks of granite
used in building the walls of the citadel, was expedited by my father's
causing an inclined plane, of 360 feet, at an angle of 45 degrees, to be
made,* which, worked by a windlass of 4 horses, assisted the conveyance
of all kinds of stores and materials employed while the fortress was eon-
Btructing, lifting them with facility from the wharf when landed, to the
Bummit.f ■*■■. !'■ ■■•■,'-:v:i -:':'' -iv, ^ .>.•■■;;■:-'.. ,■, ^r ■' .ij--^-'

* " Angle of depression 44° 25 with a slope of § of a foot to a foot." — Mr.
Alexander Sewell's remark.

t This important work, to the commencement and carrying on of which the
years ray father spent in Canada were principally devoted, is styled by War-
burton in his Hochelaga, " the Gibraltar of the West." The following doscrip-
tion of the citadel is taken from Hawkins' Picture r( Quebec :

" On the extreme left, on the highest point of the promontory is Cape Dia-
mond, rising 350 feet above the level of the river, and terminating towards the

to be

107

The numoroufl parties of Americans — summer visitors to the Canadas—-
never i'ailod to tlocit to the salioiit aii^lo, named by the Governor-General,
Lord Dalhousie, " Durnford Voint," to gaze down upon the spot where
Montgomery was killed, and from whence in the contrary direction the
field 18 likewise discernible where Wolfe and Montcalm fell. Strangers
acknowledge no walk more enjoyable than one round the citadel. No-
thing can exceed in beauty the situation of this fortress, with its oircum-
valliiting line of rampart, long extent of casement, adapted to the concen-
tration of a largo body of soldiers ; its wide ditches, ample magazines.
Bubtcrraneous passages, noble entrance, and conveniently placed signal
tower. The barracks adapted for the occupation of officers, and built
bomb proof, spread along the brow of the perpendicular height, over-
hanging the river as mentioned already. Ti»e view from the top of the
block-house takes in a wide extent of country, — the Plains of Abraham,
with two martello towers, the St. Lawrence with its long vista of darkly
wooded receding shores, and the mouths of the rivers Chaudidire and
Etchemin, reflecting on its blue waters the features and shadows of nu-
merous fine coves and projections, together with scattered shipping.
Point L^vi, on the opposite side of the river, with the pretty island of
Orl<Sans ; the village of Beauport, the Falls of Montmorency, with the
fine range of hills, that seem to terminate at cape Tourment, are severally

east in a round tower, whence is displayed the national standard of England.
Immediately in the rear is the cavalier and telegraph, and adjoining may be
seen the saluting battery.

"The fortress on Cape Diamond or citadel of Quebec, is a formidable com-
bination of powerful works ; and while it is admitted that there is no similar
military work on this continent, it has been considered second to few of the
most celebrated fortresses of Europe. It has frequently been called the Gibral-
tar of America ; and it is, indeed worthy of the great nation whose fame and
enduring renown are reflected in this chef-d'oeuvre of nature and of art.

" Cape Diamond is composed of drab coloured slate, in which are found per-
fectly limpid quartz crystals, in veins, along with crystallized carbonate^of
lime.

" The approach to the citadel, which is nearly 200 feet higher than the
ground on which the upper town is situated, is by a winding road made through
the acclivity of the glacis from St. Louis Gate.

" About midway, between the officer's barracks and the observatory, is a
building containing machinery workedjby steam, in which large trucks, holding
masses of stone, cannon, stores, and all heavy weights, are easily drawn up by
means of a railway on an inclined plane, from th^ wharf at the water's edge to
the summit of cape Diamond. There is also an artificial descent of near 600
steps which conducts the workmen safely in a few minutes from the garrison
to the lower town. The inclined plane is about 6 00 feet long, and is reserved
for the use of government only."

From Bourne's Picture of Quebec, published in 1829 :

" This stupendous (the citadel) fortress circumscribes the whole area on the
highest part of cape Diamond, and is intended not only to accommodate the
garrison as a residence, parade, &c., but also to include all the material of war.
It perfectly commands the city and river St. Lawrence ; and when completed
will be not only the most powerful specimen of military architecture on the
western continent, but also a rival of many of the renowned works in the Ne-
therlands." ;rjf.r-'"' :■) '--.•<.-' -;!.■:■■ • • ,-;.;.-j-i ' .. ,, - - -v'

! j

• 1

' 'E

;1 ■■

1 ■ - Iff 'If
•' t 'iff

108

eontomplatod to ftdvantftjro. Thowo Inst nimiod roprme nround tho boau-
tit'ul Hwccp of tho bnNiiiot'Quohoc. Tn tlio batikf^romul arc a l(Mi^'thcticJ
ranj^o of IuIIh; their undulating; fonuH j^rowinj^ soi'l»>r and nior») faint,
till their vinta also HceinH to oiid at cape Tournient. Tho pieturentiuo
guide to Quebec and its environs thtiH npeaks of tliis prospect: " 1 ho
cvo ro«tH with a p(?culiar feeliiif; on the Hinall fj;roup of hillH which form
tno portal to the wildernesH, uiitrod by any liuinan beini; except tlio In-
dian hunter, aH far as Hudson's Bay: indeed it is worthy of remark, that
tho lower ranj^o of mountains scon from Quebec, is the boundary, aB yot,
to all civilization."

My father's mind wa« ever alive to that keen Hen«e of honorable re-
sponsibility, at once tho pride and oharaeteristio of tiie British officer, and
ho was always most anxious to render an advnnta<;<M)us account of the

?ublic monoy confided to him ; sparinj; no labour, mental or bodily, to do so.
'ho computation of his estimates was a task of labour and anxiety with
him. Once, while absent on a tour of inspection, as he sat at table with
some of his officers, advice was received from Isle-aux-Noix, that a largo
bastion, newly erected, had fallen down. His concern was so great as to
appear incomprehensible to several of the company, who could not con-
nect public loss with keen feeling of regrot, lie would be seen in tho
summer season, on Cape Diamond at 5 and 6 o'clock, A. M., inspecting
the progress of the workmen. Habits of long fasting probably injured a
naturally strong constitution ; since ho accustomed himself to take no
rofreshmont between tho 8 o'clock breakfast and the 6 o'clock dinner. This
rule was seldom infringed, exhausted thougli he often retunuHl from
office, parade, or staff employment ; nordidhcevcr liold back from under-
taking a share in garrison duty, however onerous those of his profession
were. Ho was extremely fond of all field sports, shooting with correct
aim ; and passionately fond of the fine game of cricket, in which he ex-
celled as a bowler, with other athletic exercises.

Winter, which in this climate, brings gaiety and relaxation to many,
varied and relaxed the nature of his duties, during the long cold months
when labour in tho open air was impracticable. While the hard frosts
continued, tho graywacke stono to bo used in the formation of the fortress
was daily conveyed, on sledges from Cape Rouge, Sillery, the Kilgraston
and other quarries, across tho Plains of Abraham. A capital quarry being
situated in the neighbourhood of Montmorency, Capt. Baddeley, R. E.
was commissioned by my father to repair to the house of tho respectable
" Canadian habitant," on whose estate it lay. Capt. B. enquired on
what terms the owner would consent to stones being cut from the quarry
for a stipulated time, it being understood the agreement would be con-
tracted for the most liberal equivalent. But no offers however advanta-
geous could induce the Canadian to agree to the quarry's being worked ;
he said, " it was his paternal inheritance, and he was resolved it should go
uninjured to his son." The gentlemen, surprised and disappointed though
they were, could not refrain from commending his motive.

Having, wherever quartered, performed much garrison duty, and duty
of that particular description, to which his corps is not usually considered

» I I!

109

ho boau-

ri) faint,
tureHiiuo
: "Tho
ich t'orm
t t'lo Tn-
irk, tliat
r, u8 yet,

ruble rc-
iccr, and
f>t of the

, to do BO.

ioty with
iblo with
it II hirgo
reat as to

not con-
en in tho
iispccting
injured a

take no
icr. This
nod from
ni under-
irofession
h correct
ch lie ex-

to many,

i months

ird frosts

c fortress

[ilgraston

rry being

3y, R. E.

ispcctable

[uired on

le quarry

be con-

advanta-

worked ;

3hould go

d though

and duty
onsidered

amonnblo, on attaining ili« rank of full colonel, it oauncd him extreme
ounuurn to iind tliu cumniand uf the garriKon of Quebec waH given to an
officer junior to hiniHelf. lie roprcHcnted in writing to Loru DulhouHio,
in iorciblo language, the Hlight he couHidered as received in conHcuucnco
of being paHHcd over as a full colo!)cl, and to hih no HUiall pride unl Hatis-
faotion, when his Lorddhip's pleasure became known, was grutiticd by tho
subjoined intimation of his just wishes being accedud to.

" Head Quarterh, York, May lil, 1826 : The promotion of Lieut. Col.
Durnford, commanding lloyal Engineers in Canada, to be Colonel in tho
Corps of lloyal Engineers, having appeared in tho ' Courier ' newspaper
as an extract from the ' London Gazette,' Colonel Durnford will be pleased
to assume the command of tho troops in Lower Canada, agreeable to
the instructions contained in tho acting Deputy Adjutont General's
letter, and its oncloaurcs, of March 31 last, addressed to Lieut.-Col.
Evans, which as well us all other papers and documents, connected with
the command of tho troops in that Province, Col. Evans will bo pleased
to deliver over to Colonel Durnford."

" Licut.-Col. Evans will resume the command of tho Montreal district :
and Col. Hawkins will continue in tho command of that of Quebec, sub-
ject to the orders of Col. Durnford, commanding the Province."

"Signed, C. LbDER."

" Dear Sir, I annex a copy of an order received this morning from
York, and to bo issued here this day. You will perceive that it puts
you in command of the Lower Province, with two able district comman-
ders to assist you. Yours, Wm. Kemble."

Tho representations which raised him to this elevated position, were
carried on in a correspondence with the governor's Military Secretary,
Colonel Darling, and when the point in question was decided m his favor,
he was ordered to give uj^ all the letters composing it. This injunction
he obeyed to the letter, retaining no copies in possession. This is much
to be regretted. Mrs. Durnford considered his claims as therein defined,
in a manner, at once equitable, dispassionate, manly, and eloquently
truthful. Did any punctilious point of delicacy then exist, now that the
parties concerned are removed from tho shifting scene, it no longer re-
gards them, and the important consequences and benefits conferred on
bis corps still operate. To his children they would have been interesting
and valuable.

Another letter on the subject of his father's claims in West Florida
and Mississippi, shows that a correspondence was still continued by him
on the subject.

General Land Office, August, 20, 1825.
Sir, — I have the honor of receiving your note of the 19th inst. enclos-
ing a copy of a letter from Col. Durnford, and I enclose herewith certi-
fied copies from the reports in this office, of all the claims in the name of
Mr. Durnford, that have been acted upon by the Commissioners for sell-
ing claims to land in Louisiana.

i i

i»

'il

I: ilf

i. i

\l '■'

[' When Mr. Durnford in 1820 furnished this office with a 'ist of his
claims to land in the late province of West Florida, he wap furnished
with certified copies of lill the information in this office, in relation to
them, and he was informed that the records in this office did not contain
any reference to the grant of 1,300 acres at the mouth of Brijn Creek,
or that of 10,000 acres about 12 miles northerly from Manohar to which
he refers in his letter to you.

" With great respect, your obedient Servant,

" Henry Urwin" Addington, Esq., " George Graham.

" Secretary of Legation, Washington." - ,;' .- v..f. >

In 1818, a year after his arrival in Canada, the Cathedral Church of
Quebec requiring repairs and alterations, with the addition of a wall to
enfilose the whole space, the business, which hardly fell in with the rou-
tine of a military engineer's duty, was devolved on my father, and this
assistance he rendered without receiving for it any fee or emolument :
while strange to add, a guinea per day, enjoyed by his predecessor. Major
Henderson, for this service, '.;0 whom it was first entrusted, was discon-
tinued to my father. . *,

Thoug hfond of his professional duty, the occurrence of an eccentricity
would sometimes annoy him : on one occasion, fifteen years later, having
made some repairs to the house of an officer of rank, the question was
demanded of him by the general " how the hall that was paved or painted
in black and white was to be cleaned ?" Vexed at the enquiry, at once puzz-
ling and startling, he requested that reference might be made to the
housemaid. ,;,-

The fortifications of the upper town of Quebec have five gates, — St.
Louis, St. Johns, Palace, Hope, and Prescott. Through the first lies the
direct road to the Plains of Abraham. Palace gate, needing repair, was
taken down and entirely rebuilt by him. In addition to the citadel of
Quebec, he constructed Fort Lennox, Isle-aux-Noix, with various works,
barracks and stoiiehouses ; and the general supervision of the Eideau and
Ottawa canals also belonged to him.

A Sunday evening's parade was usual at five o'clock, on the esplanade,
in front of the engineer's office, after the conclusion" of Divine Service.
My father obtained exemption, for such of his men as had families, from
attending parade, and took pleasure in seeing them walk up Louis street,
in company with their wives and children, to the citadel, after the con-
clusion of the 3 o'clock afternoon service of the cathedral. It afforded
an agreeable novelty to many in observing such indulgence granted to
soldiers, while the bugle was sounding, and the banderolles were planted
on the ground they passed. *

Several surveys of the wild untrodden tracts of country intermediate
with the great Lakes of Upper Canada and the Ottawa River, were made
a little subsequent to this period. My brother, a lieutenant in the 68th
Light-Infantry Regiment, was selected for employment on one. His
experience in travelling and exploring could not have been inconsiderable ;

Il^f

it of his
irnished
lation to
> contain
a Creek,
bo which

rEAHAM.

hurch of
a wall to
the rou-
and this
)luiEent :
)r, Major
8 discon-

sentricity
r, having
stion was
r painted
inoe puzz-
de to the

ites, — St.
3t lies the
spair, was
citadel of
us works,
ideau and

isplanade,
e Service,
lies, from
uis street.,
r the con-
t afforded
granted to
:e planted

ermediate
fere made
the 68th
3ne. HiB
siderable;

111

the journey he had made with his father, a few years previously to New
Orleans and Pensacola must have inured him to the pleasant hardships
and fatigues of forest and lake travelling.

Here follow a few extracts from letters written in the year 1828, July,
28. "\fe have had a week of dismal weather. It is said, that these
easterly winds have not extended below the Saguenay, but we have hud
scarcely any thing else since you went. I am sure we have not had three
days without rain, and now the weather is ra'her fine, yet there is a
storm regularly once or twice a day. Mama was very unwell for several
days after your departure, and talked of going down to Malbay, but the
continued rains have prevented us as yet, and 1 begin to be afraid we
shall not go at all. Lord and Lady Dalhousie have been absent some cime
on their trip to the Saguenay. They were obliged to anchor ten days at
the Brandy Pots. Sir James Kempt is certainly to succeed. A grand ball
is to be given to them soon, but the managers are in great perplexity to
find a room. There appears to be no other alternative than to borrow
the old chateau, which people think v.ould not be pleasant to his lord-
ship. We saw in the Albion to-day, P 's promotion without pur-
chase. Mr .has got his vacancy in the Cuch. P has been lately

at Brantford on the Grand River with General Darling, to witness the
distribution of the Indian presents. It is there Mr. and Mrs. Lugger

reside. P says they are very nice people, and extremely kind to him.

Mrs. L. gave him a pair of mocassins for mama, and a letter as a slight
acknowledgement, she says, of hev gratitude for mama's kindness to her
niece, Mrs. West. Captain Phillpotts arrived last week ; he brought the
books for Charlotte from my aunt Kirwan. We have just parted with a
party of Americans, the Mayor of Philadelphia, his lady, and another
lady and gent, all very pleasant people. We walked round the citadel
with them the evening before last. The flagstaff has just been erected at
Durnford Point, — that round corner, near the telegraph blockhouse,
the most magnificent situation that could havebeen chosen for a flag staff."

Each country, province, or town, preserves distinctive features of re-
creation, particularly adapted to the habits, tastes, and progress in civili-
zation attained to : in Quebec the winter's sleigh, and interminable ball,
prevail: in summer, trips and excursions to the several localities of
interest, not wanting in this magnificent country. Prom 1820 to 1830,
the same places of favourite resort were visited as now, and the governor-
general, attended by his staff, and a fashionable sprinkling of ladies, ex-
plored the ups and downs of the grand St. Lawrence, from Niagara and
the Ottawa, to the Saguenay. The floating castles that now waft so many
gay parties in search of recreation and health, to these and intermediate
watering places, were not in existence ; and, while envious winds and rains
excluded the enjoyment of July's sun,we read how Lord and Lady Dalhousie
were in their progress to the river Saguenay, detained and forced to an-
chor for ten days at the Brandy Pots.

In March of this year, 1828, the cone, formed every winter at the
foot of the faUs of the river Montmorency, rose to the height of 120 feet,

ff?

i'l

|i|:lj ,1'

il ' 1 1

V 1

■I i

^
'I

^4i I

^ '! ill

112

1 \i

^ r

or forty in excess of its usual aooumulation ; and an accomplished amateur
artist, Colonel Cockburn, of the artillery, then commanding that corps in
Canada, was never weary in studying it from different aspects. A family
letter of March 3, same year, mentions, " Papa has lately been on a tour
of inspection as far as Ii.ingston by the way of the Rideau ; he under-
went great fatigue *rom the badness of the roads and boisterous weather."
Another family iettc, dated York, Upper Canada, Oct. 17,1828, details
a little more domestic news. " I fear I shall not be able to procure any
Indian curiosities. The Indians in the neighbourhood of York possess
nothing worth having. I might, had I known your wishes sooner, have
procured some from Drummond's Island, but that post is to be given up
to the United States, and the oflBcer, with the party of our regiment, has
been ordered to abandon it without delay ; had he remained I should
have asked him to get some."

A partiality for Indian relics and ornamental work, ^'^as indulged by

the family, particularly by the female portion, as 's letter has

shown, when he was requested by hia sister to obtain for her some speci-
mens from the Indians of the upper country. On leaving Quebec, like
the partmg hero of a favourite fairy legend, he was charged to bring home
to his friends tokens of remembrance. On a former occasion, when he was
my father's companion and fellow traveller to New Orleans, one said, " bring
me some of the fine ' Spanish Moss ' that hangs on the trees of the Missis-
sippi ;" another said, '* I should like the paw of an alligator;" a third, ** a few
specimen leaves plucked in the wilderness." It is unnecessary to add, these
simple requirements, were answered. Papa himself added to the collection
some elegant canes for walking sticks, he picked up in going through the
sugar plantations of Carolina, and several brightly plumaged little birds,
caught and stuffed by himself.

One domestic inconvenience, at that time common at Quebec, was the
want of good water. The wells, with which most houses were provided,
were largely imbued with lime, so as not to be drinkable, particularly that
of the one my father occupied, near the Plains of Abraham. To supply
this indispensable need, his fine horses were put to the harassing work,
every day, of bringing a large cask from the river, up the toilsome and
steep ascent of Quebec's hill streets, over roads so roilgh that each pace
the animals made, shook and sprinkled some of its contents.

It became necessary in February, 1828, a.id while the citadel was
constructing, to blow up the whole face of one of the old French bastions,
for the purpose of erecting in its place other works in accordance with
the plans carrying on. The exercise of mining, this service afforded and
displayed, was so much to the satisfaction of the governor-general, Lord
Dalhousie, who, attended by his staff, had witnessed the explosion, that,
at his lordship's expense, a ball and supper was given to the non-com-
missioned officers and privates engaged in the work, in the newly erected
basemates. This entertainment took place during my father's absence
in Upper Canada ; and on his return he had the pleasure of hearing that

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both Lord and Lady Dalhousie, accompanied by several oflScers and ladies '
of the garrison, condescended to honour it with their presence. Whera- "
fore my father was called away from participation on this occasion does
not appear ; he expressed himself at this time, as well as invariably, fully';
sensible to the uniform good conduct of this 5th company of sappers, both '
as soldiers and military workmen.

During this display, notwithstanding a mistake made by the repeating
bugle's sounding sooner than agreed on, the mine went off with simulta-
neous and magnificent effect, greatly to the admiration of the large number *^^^
of spectators assembled to witness the explosion, among whom not one en- '^
joyed the sight more than did the commanding engineer himself. In the
course of operation it appeared that in working while the intense cold of
winter exists, and ground is much frozen as in Canada, it is easier to exca-
vate into rock than earth. To the depth of four feet the ground was
then found to be a solid mass of ice.

The citadel at this date appears to have been occupied. A melancholy
scene followed shortly after it became so. A soldier, in a state of intoxi- '
cation, stabbed his corporal, for which cr'.ninal act he was sentenced to
be shot. On a bright morning the garrison were summoned to witness
his death ; nine of his comrades were chosen for the service, to whom
were presented as many muskets, eight only being loaded. To each man,
therefore, was permitted the faint hope, that his gun was uncharged.

On the first occupation of the citadel. Lord Dalhousie gave the name
of " Durnford Point" to the spot on which the flag staff was erected, the
round corner near the telegraph blockhouse, and a magnificent site it is !
This point does not appear to be known by the name now ; no other has
been bestowed on it.

Fashion and favoritism presided over the sciences at Quebec. Geology
in particular, at this period attracted to its explorement, in Canada, a
train of able followers. It became the idol accomplishment of the ladies,
and was enlisted in charity's cause. Scientific and elegant little treatises
were furnished to the ladies of " a Bazaar Committee," making " organic
remains " call from the rocks of Canada in behalf of the orphan's needs
and claimjs. One indefatigable geologist, Mr. Baddeley, of the Royal
Engineers, did not disdain to aid the appeal, by fitting up neat boxes
containing correct specimens of Canadian rocks and minerals.

The investigator penetrated the untrod, unnamed wildti-ness, to collect
and observe, with unwearied attention, and make the testing hammer
echo among the rocks and hollow ravines. Nature repays, in all her
departments, with still increasing delight and interest, to her devoted stu-
dents. Organic remains of great beauty were discovered in abundance,
and the philosopher opened, daily, fresh leaves in the promising volume
of Canadian geology. Their four main deposits were considered to be,
Drummond's Island, Montreal, Beauport, and Montmorency. These
time-telling records of ages of mysterious evolutions, in durable fixed-
ness are called up, to be again cas^ upon a world, that still looks upon
them, " so fair and wonderful." The natural steps of the river Montmo-
renci, nine miles from Quebec exhibit them in beauty and variety. This

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spot my father often visited ; it is situated midway to the favoarite shoot-
ing ground of Chateau Rioher ; nor did he ever fail to select it as being
one of the most eligible and delightful spots of interest for his visitors, and
one he the most enjoyed driving them to. Corallines are found in
the deep natural sections formed by this rapid and wild stream, and
among them the madrepora favosa, known by its near resemblance to a
honey-comb, and turbinolisel Nature acknowledges here some of her
long unrecognized creations. Fragments are found of the vertebrse of the
enorinite, an animal aliei from unknown times, to existence ; and of testacea
or shells, turbo, and trochus. The ammonite, in particular, with its blue
coils of stone, at once sacred, magical, and classic, was at this period
abundantly found, with the curious orthoceratite ; on the limestone banks
of this darkly-wooded river, rich in fossil endowments, historical recollec-
tions and romantic scenery.

Many have been the curious and important conjectures hazarded,
relating to the fossil remains of Multilocular univalves, and additional
interest is attached to the natural steps on the river Montmorenci, as the
shell of the many-chambered orthoceratite has been found there. Natu-
ralists say, that of the twenty-two genera which have been found in a fossil
state, the nautilus alone survives. One supposition affirms the animals,
of which fossil shells only are found, no longer exist; the other, that they
exist, without quitting the bottom of the ocean. This theory seems to
make the power and actual ascension of the animal essential to and
dependent on digestion of its food, but the nautilus never launches its
glistening pearl of beauty except upon the tranquil wave, and this would
lead to the belief, of the mechanism of its tiny bark being acted upon by
some atmospheric oi *idal cause, lending this gentle buoyancy, while the
sensitiveness the little creature manifests to danger, and expertness in
hauling in its sail and rapidly sinking, displays another characteristic to
delight and amaze, amid the multiplying varieties of never worn out
nature.

This fascinating voyager had engaged the attention of Viney, my young-
est brother, since, after his untimely death, the subjoined translation was
found in his writing desk. The subject remains equally inexhaustible in
its elegance of inquiry and depth, as it was in the days of the classic.

The Maid who Selenoea hight • ^

Sends me, oh Venus Zephyrite,

The due first fruits to thee, —

Who used a Nautilus of late.

Fearless to roam and navigate

On the high sea.

' For, hoisting tinj yard and sail, */

I skimmed along before the gale ;
But, where sleek calm hath reign,
. Had oary feet my bark t'impel, .-> >

Pulling — this my name doth tell—
With might and main, 7 '• "-

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Till stranded on the Julian shore.
V ' I In halcyon calms I shall not more

[< Delighted glide along—

1 But thus to me is honor shewn,—

Oypris I a toy before thy throne,

I now to thee belong.

Arsinoe I sweet in thy sight

By Clinias' daughters' gift, so bright,

May she thy favor gain ;

Her virtue and her skill of hand,

She learned in far Eolia's land,—

Smyrna's domain 1

Written at Spike Island, October 9, 1833, by V. Durnford.

My father took much delight in the society of his friends, and many
talented and good men frequented his sociable house at this time. Such
topics were often discussed ; indeed they generally constituted the
leading subjects of interest, as soon as the last brilliant ball, or adven-
'turous exploits of the morning's driving club, were exhausted in detail.
He enjoyed lectures on these things, although, both in conversation
and in the lecture room, they were handled with the reserve looked upon
as indispensable. He admired and enjoyed both, without acknowledging
any particular predilection for the science. He conpidered his time as the
peculiar property of his country, that had entrusted to him the prosecu-
tion of important works ; and large expenditure of the public money, to
which he devoted his bsst energies.

To the close of his life my father would say, he believed no man had
seen more wonderful things than himself, and expressed a determination
to commit to writing the various vicissitudes of his life. Among these,
the hazards, fatigues, strange scenes and objects witnessed in descending
the rivers Ohio and Mississippi, were often adverted to by him.

For ten years after returning from New Orleans, his time and chief
attention were given to the advancement of the citadel on Cape Diamond,
which he conducted with the energy and ability peculiar to his character.

The elevation of its walls and ramparts was necessarily carried on
daring the intense heat of Quebec's summer, benefitting, while in the
course of construction, thousands of poor Irishmen employed as labourers
with the sappers. There are days at Quebec exceeding in heat the West
Indies ; on some of such, when the carefully cooled drawing-room was
scarcely endurable, the workmen's toil on the cape was still to be urged
forward. During the months of July and August, appointing task work
was a kindly palliative to the labourers, who would often be seen at work
by the first twilight. Among the miserably poor immigrants who throng
in tens of thousands the shipping and shores of the St. Lawrence every
spring and summer, so much pride is often found, that a starving Irish-
man has been known to undertake removing snow for oQe shilling per day

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engaging another man to do the aotual work, and dividing — himself re-
maining in idleness — the shilling with his friend. This strange, and by
no means unusual agreement, was, on one occasion, accidentally discovered
by my mother, the actuating motive being that it was beneath the first
contractor's dignity to exert himself for so trifling a remuneration.

The admired crystals are now rarely to be met with, which first gave
name to Cape Diamond. The skillful lapidary formed them into neck-
laces, broaches and other ornaments. The supply is nearly exhausted,
those found at present in the " Black Rock " being only large enough for
pins. The occurrence of any decided organic remains in the " Black
Rock" of Quebec, has not appeared, — either vegetable or mineral. The
rook itself was generally considered to be a limestone.

SECTION X.

Arrival of Commissionera.— Col. By. — Letters of Charles Durnford. — Berbiee.
^Returns to Quebec, and then to England with his family. — Portsmouth.

In 1825, commissioners from the corps of Royal Engineers came ont
to report on and arrange the laying out designs for the Ottawa, Rideau,
and Wellaud canals. They were soon followed by Lieut. Colonel By, the
ofl&cer to whose superintendence these works were confided, who fixed his
residence at Bytown, so named, first from himself, but since designated
Ottawa city. This outlay of expense and labour, that has altered
the face of Canada, and operated so richly in benefits not only to the lum-
ber trade, but the general commerce and civilization of the country,
was commenced and carried on during the five years of Colonel By's
residence in Canada, under his especial management and direction ; yet
my father annually visited these works, affording Colonel By the benefit
of his advice. They were on a scale of magnificence hitherto not
attempted in Canada ; which since that period has been so abounding in
grand and varied provincial outlays. Colonel By enjoyed from his wife
a handsome private income, and his showy hospitable mode of living
made him universally popular and beloved.

From Kingston, October 16, 1826, the young oflScer in the 68th writes,
" We arrived here early this morning with Colonel By and family, whom
we overtook at Presoott — they proceeded in the steamboat for Miagara."
-—A later date says, " We found Colonel By at Hull busily engaged in
building a bridge, and about to open the canal." As the steamboat which
goes there was out of order, Mrs. By, (who is indeed a very charming
young woman, and her health is much improved,) was obliged to go
to the head of the Long Sault, viz., 60 miles, in a boat with an awning
fixed for the occasion. This occupied two days, and she bore the fatigue
very well, and quite enjoyed the trip. Colonel By is certainly a very
good-natured man : he told me that my father promised him, as he said,
that he should have me in the spring, bat I am afraid the business
would not at all suit me. Captain Bolton has got a most magnificent
house at Montreal ; it exactly answers to the description given of castles
of ancient times*

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,In subsequent years, Colonel By continued my father's most valued
friend — in fact, they wore attached like brothers. The many impedi-
ments encountered from strong currents, spring freshets, when the win-
ter's ice breaks up and floats down the rivers with irresistible strength,
and other hindrances, that would sweep away or damage in a night the
labour of months, as it distressed and disappointed Colonel By, was
equally felt by my father ; and the services rendered by the latter at such
times, was accompanied with sympathy. The repeated occurrence of
frustrated attempts while constructing the bridge at the Hog'c back, in
particular, caused much additional expense and vexation.

The following letter bears date Quebec, July 6, 1829 :

" "We have just returned from an excursion to Saratoga and New York.
Mama was advised to go to the former place for the benefit of her health,
which has not lately been very good, and she intended to stay there
a fortnight or three weeks; but not finding much benefit from the waters,
after a trial of three days, we left Saratoga and went on to New York,
where we also staid three days. All our friends there were extremely
kind to us. We saw Mr. Ogden's family, and Miss Morewood every
day ; Mrs. Bell was also very attentive to us ; and we saw Mrs. John
Day's sister, Mrs. Henry Wilkes. New York is certainly a very fine
Oity, and the country round is very rich and well cultivated ; but the
scenery of the Hudsou river surpasses in beauty everything I ever
remember seeing. On our return from New York, we visited the ** Cats-
kill Mountains," and the " Kaatskill Falls." The appearance of these
lofty mountains from the river is magnificent ; and the ascent to them,
to me at least, was frequently quite terrifying. At the height of three
thousand feet, is a very large hotel called the " Mountain House," where
we staid two days. The view from this is the most extensive I ever saw,
and the scenery of the Kaatskill Falls is extremely fine. We saw also
the celebrated " Glenn's Falls," and " Baker's Falls," on the Hudson,
and the falls of " the Cahoes" on the Mohawk, — all of which are very
different from those I had seen before. Mr. Edward Ferguson returned
with us from New York to Montreal. We passed through Lake George.
I had heard a great deal of this lake, and expected to see something very
beautiful, but it really exceeded my expectations. It is enclosed among
very high and wild mountains, and scattered in many parts with Wvely
little islands. The water is as clear aa crystal, and delicious to drink.
The sites of Fort William Henry and of Fort George were pointed out
to us as we passed along, and many other spots celebrated in the records
of the French and revolutionary wars. The scenery, and the whole
country of the States, are certainly superior to Canada ; and although
I do not go so far as to say, I admire everything there, I certainly
saw a good deal to admire.

" We had a great mortification on our return home. At Montreal
we heard that papa was expected up in a few days, amd accordingly made
haste to return to Quebec ; but what was our surprise when a letter was
sent on board the steamboat at Three Rivers, by which we found that
papa had passed us in the night a few miles from Montreal. Papa's
vexation was still greater than ours, as he had calculated on meeting us.

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It must have been about this period, or a year later, that while in
Lord Dalhousie's suite during a progress to Nova Sootia, a false step
my father made in stopping from a boat, precipitated him headlong into
Lake Temiscouata.

f* !•;'!'*

" It is now right to recall to notice, Charles, the fifth of the six sons
my father could then boast of From early boyhood, Charles was subject
to violent bilious attacks, which appeared so alarming, that for two years
he was sent to make trial of his native air, at Newfoundland, whence
he returned, to outward observation, with a frame full of muscular
strength, and a mind of great energy and generous feeling ; at the same
time, from his peculiar physical constitution, disinclined, perhaps unequal,
to deep study or much reading. His parents thought to strengthen
his mind and body by the further advantages of English air and eduoar
tion, and so sent him over to the care of his uncle. Colonel Philip Dum-
ford, then stationed as commanding artillery ofiicer at Devonport. His
life there, progress of ideas, and particular mould of character, are best
described by himself, in the perusal of the few charming letters preserved
of his, the first written while living with his uncle, the rest subsequently
penned from Berbice, the only records of his life during the period of
his absence from his father's roof.

Devonport, February 3, 1828.

" My dear J : , I received your two liind letters of 10th October and

21st November, and am daily expecting more. You all appear to be
very sparing of your letters ; I having received only two in eight long
months. I have been in this place ever since I arrived in England, not
at school but studying at home : I have one master who teaches me
Latin, Euclid, Mathematics, &c. ; another French ; and another who gives
me lessons on the flute twice a week. I cannot say that I like England
particularly well, nor so well as Quebec, for I never get a ride by any
chance ; in fact there is not a good horse in the place, except those that
the officers possess.

" I had a very agreeable surprise about a month ago. On returning
houe after a long walk about dusk, and going into the parlour, I saw
somebody standing in the middle of the room in regimentals. I offered
him a chair, thinking he was some officer come upon business to my
tincle. After eyeing him for a minute, I thought him a very odd-looking
fellow, for he burst out laughing ; and looking at him again I perceived
it was Mr. Greorge, who had put in here with a foul wind, along with
his depot on their way to Cork. I was the more surprised as I thought
he had been there for two or three months. They were wind-bound for
a month in this place. We have heard from him since his arrival in
Cork, but he did not tell us how he liked it. We have had several
jroyal guests here. H. K. H. the duke of Clarence was here when
I landed, and again a few days ago to present colours to the Royal
Marines, and is expected here again in August to see the largest ship

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in the navy launched. Don Miguel, the Prince of Portugal, who is
going to take possession of his throne, has been wind-bound hero for
three weeks nearly, on his way there. Ho is a young man about 26
years of age, dark complexion, and rather short. He has reviewed the
troops here three times, and they are all heartily tired of him, and so is
every body else. He gave us a splendid ball at the assembly room
the other night, and waltzed, — the only sort of dancing he likes, — with
a great many of the Devonport and Plymouth beauties. We have very
good assemblies here during the winter once a fortnight; I attend there
sometimes. They tell me this is the winter — we have had snow once, it
staid upon the ground an hour ; and this is all I have seen of the winter
yet. But such a place for rain ! we have a little every day with a very
few exceptions. The people here have a very strange idea of America.
They very often ask me if they are not all Indians at Quebec. It
is quite the fashion to wear moustaches, and I have a most noble set :
my uncle won't buy me a pair of razors, and therefore I let them grow.
Several old friends are here, — Peter Turguand amongst the rest, and
a whole brigade of Furneauxs. The Southwaith, the vessel that I came
in, is now here. She is going to Bermuda. Pray excuse this scrawl,
as I am in a very great hurry, and the post is just going oflF. With love
to all at home, believe me, dear J , your affectionate brother,

" C. DUENFORD."

" P. S. I shall write again by the first opportunity."

At the foot of this affectionate and gentlemanly letter, his uncle
unoourteously wrote : " Charles is such an idle fellow that he will not
write a word more to you — he will not be fit to have his commission
these five years. My love to you all ; and believe me, your affectionate
uncle, ^ ,

■ «'P. DURNFORD."

"Devonport, June, 1828.

" Mt Dea.r J : , I received your letter of April, last week, after it

had had a voyageof nearly three months : it must have gone to some out of
the way place, or the gentleman you sent it by must have forgotten it.
We had a grand review of the troops yesterday, to prepare them for the
arrival of the Duke of Clarence, who is expected here next week to see a
120 gun ship launched. The great folks are inconsolable at the idea of
the pulling their pocket" will undergo before he makes his exit, which
will be in ten days or a fortnight after his arrival ; it is then generally
thought he will go to Ireland for a short time. What with him, the
regatta club, and the races, we shall have a gay time of it next month.
There will be a grand ball at the assembly room, for each of the latter,
to which I intend going. I assure you, I need something to divert me,
having been here nearly a year without any employment; indeed I
am excessively tired of such a monotonous life as I lead.

" There is one thing that this place excels in — that is boating. There

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aro sovernl sninll rivers that run into the harbour and sound, up which
tho rich inhnbitanta very often make ploaHuro parties. Four of our
mess and myself rowed nearly thirty miles up one of these tho other day
to a place called tho Warehcad ; on our way up we landed at a place
called Cotheil ; it is a castlo 900 years old, and is very well worth seeing.
I cannot give you any description of it as it would take up too much
room in my letter. Wo then continued to tho Warehead, where we had a
plentiful supply of drinkables and eatables, and then rownd homo in
three hours and twenty minutes. I had a letter from Viney the other
day, but I cannot get anything out of him ; ho only says that ho is not a

corporal yet. Mr. , a surgeon of artillery, who dined at the mess

to-day for the first time, says that Mr. , a handsome young

man, also surgeon of artillery, who was ordered to onibark for America
in a few days, went to a large ball at Woolwich, wnere he met a Miss
Campbell, a relation of the Duke of Argyle's, who asked to bo introduced
to hiui ; but he was engaged and could not dance with her. The next
night he went to another ball, where ho danced with her once or twico,
and thought her rather smitten with him. Two days afterwards he
received a letter from her, directing him to meet her at a grand breakfast.
He immediately went to a lawyer, and looked over her father's will, and
found her possessed o'' fifty thousand pounds in landed property near
Suffolk. He took his friend the lawyer, a license, and a post chaise to the
breakfast — she said she was determined to have him — ho said he had no
objection, shewed her the licence, and away they we.it and were married.
I suppose he will change his mind and resign. With love to all at home,
believe mo, my dear, your affectionate brother,

C. DURNFORD."

" P.S. — You may as well send me Dr. Carson's letter, when next you
write."

(ThisJetter most probably contained a medical certificate.)

When ho wrote the next letter, addressed to his father at Quebec, ho
was an ensign in tho G5th regiment. His commission had been pur-
chased by his father, thqpgh most of the family friends believed his uncle
had paid for it. In fact, every expense the nephew incurred while re-
siding with the Colonel at Devonport, the lessons of his masters, even
the mess expenses, were scrupulously charged, and aS' scrupulously dis-
charged to the bachelor brother. He first joined his regiment in Ire-
land.

"Fort WelUngton, Berbice, Feb. 23, 1830.

*' My Dear Father, — I have sat down several times with the inten-
tion of writing to you, but have never been able to accomplish more
than three or four lines, in consequence of the myriads of mosquitoes
that are continually tormenting us here ; — I am happy to say that they
are leaving us fast, as the dry weather is coming on. I think you must
have been a little surprised at hearing of my change of residence ; I as-
sure you I was. Things are conducted in a very odd way at home, for
the juniors of all ranks were ordered out ; on a Saturday morning our

191

Dep6t was formed, and on the Mondny following wo mnrchcd for Cork :
we remained there ton days in oonHeouoncc of the trunsftorts not having
•rrived ; and as I had been huHtlcd iroin No. 1 to 6, I expected to have
embarked with tho second division, but was equally surprised at the
colonel's ordering mo to embark with Head Quarters. We sailed from
Cork on October 20, and had a very fine though rather tedious passage
of 41 days to Barbadoes, where we were rather disappointed ut hearing
that we wore to prolong our voyage to Berbice : as tho regiment was
under orders for Barbadoes, we expected at least to have remained thore
Bomo two or three years. On our way here wo touched at Demerary,
whore our loft wing are at present stationed. It is a very low swampy
plaoo, if possible worse than this — we were only there two days. On
the evening of our disembarkation, December 23, I marched here ten
miles with a detachment of 30 men, and was followed by the other
subaltern, our captain (Warren) having the command of the third ship,
I received the other day a budget of letters from my mother and
yourself, for all of which I am much obliged. Yours, of September 22,
1 received at tho same time ; and I hope that before this a letter
of mine which I wrote a short time before my le "ig Fermoy
has reached you, in which I said that uncle Philip had ordered
Mr. Marriott to pay Thompson ; Cater, cap-maker ; and Corn, boot-
maker, thd amount of their bills — a list of tho articles which I
had from each he gave Mr. M. He also desired him to pay £15 for a
bed for me, &c. ; but my uncle must have writen to you before this and
have let you know more fully than I can, his arrangements with Mr. M.
Instead of Mr. Marriott paying my entrance money (£20) as was my
uncle's wish on joining, Mr. M. said he thought I had better draw on
Greenwood and Cox for it, which I did. I believe my uncle made some
little arrangement with uncle George about my living with him, but I
do not know what it was. You are indebted to uncle George for nothing
else on my account, as I settled every thing with him before I left
Dublin. I am much obliged for your kind aid of £10 per quarter: it
will enable me to live very comfortably. I have not yet drawn any of
it, nor shall I for some time, as I am not particularly in want of it. I
must conclude this rather abruptly, as there is a Post going to Head
Quarters immediately: and wishing you all health and happiness,
believe me, my dear father, your ever dutiful and affectionate son,

C. DURNFORD."

The next is to his sister :

^ - »Fort Wellington, Berbice, Sept. 20, 1830.

" My Dear J , I think I am in your debt about half a dozen

letters, but by the length and goodness of this I hope to blot three or
four off the score. I wrote about three weeks ago to my father, and I
believe I said that I had received some newspapers from my brother (for
which I was very thankful), and also letters from my mother, yourself,
Charlotte, &o. : for one of yours I am particularly obliged ; I mean that

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in which you give mo bo much voiy good and roligioas advioo. And
indeed I stood in nood of something of the Hort, as I have not had an
opportunity of hearing a sermon, I boliovo, for those last twelve months.
Among my numerous and important duties, I have one that you may
think I am not particularly adapted for, thatof /)a/-fora ; I am obliged to
officiate whenever my captain is out of the way ; and of the two I think
the men like me the beat, as I don't read quite so much of the sorvioo as
ho does.

" A number of our people are beginning to tiro already of this beautiful
country. Two have gone home, one Hails to-morrow, and two more have
applied for leave. You ask mo for a long account of myself, of my pro-
ceedings, and of the country. Of myself, I have little to say except
that I am tolerably happy, as much so as one can bo in a plaoo where
there is no society and little amusement of any Hort, except shooting.
Of the appearance of the country : you can fancy an immense meadow as
level as a bowling green, planted with black currant trees, (for the cotton
plant is in appoajraiioo very much like them, and grows about the same
neight,) without even the addition of a single hedge, or fence, or tree,
except about the managers' houses, and here and there a solitary clump
of cocoa nuts, — ^you have a flattering picture of this beautiful country.
Here ditches do the duty of walls and fences, of separating the estates,
and also of draining them : all the estates are obliged to be drained, and
they are intersected wilh them in every direction. We are about a foot
higher than the level of the sea. There are dams in front to keep the
water out at spring tides ; and the same behind to keep tho water of the
savannah in the wet season from coming in. Thero is not a hill of two
feet in height from this to Demerary ; and I am told that for hundreds
of miles down the coast it is just as flat. Even the sea seems discon-
tented with the ' muddineaa of the land:' instead of the beautiful blue
or green that it is at Barbadoes, or any other island, it is here of a nasty
muddy colour ; and at low tide, instead of the sandy beach there la
nothing to be seen but mud weed for several miles out. Tho only thing
that I can say in its favour is, that thero is always oxoellent shooting on
it. The blacks have rather an odd but expeditious way of traversing it.
In the centre of a board about six feet long ond one broad, a sort of chair
is nai! d, on which you sit, and a black fellow kneels behind on one leg
and a' i'.«, and shoves you along at a very clipping pace with ihe other.
But if you happen to slip ofi", — and it has been my happy lot once or
twice, —it is like falling out of a sleigh into soft snow, where you sink
to your middle but come out neither so clear nor comfortable.

" The sickly season is I believe over or nearly so : our men within these
last ten months have suflFered very much both at Berbice and Demerary
— we have lost six sergeants ; and out of two companies and a half at
Berbice, last month they had few more than forty men fit for duty, and
nearly 100 convalescent. Our company here have come oflF very well,
though we had a touch of the Colony a few weeks ago : it carried off throe
of our finest men in a week, and what was rather odd, two of them the
right and left band men of the company. The colonel has written from

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183

Borbioe for nomo of our healthy iu«n, and wo are to get cripplcfl ilk
exohnnco. T think it very prnbablo I shall ji^o there in a few «layH, afl
young Wyalt has had a very H«vere attack of fever, and I have written
in to uiTor him my berth fur Home time. Captain Smith of the Knf;incers
wa« at Demerary when we arrived ; he very kindly Hont me word that if
ever I paid them a visit, ho would always have a bod for me, and that I
might make his house my home. He is gone to England to be m»rried|
and intends coming out to settle at Barbadoes, as I have heard. I wrota
to George last week, and also to my uncle George. Philip, I see, com-
mands a detachment at Shannon Bridge. I have not written to Vinoy
lately, as I don't know where he is, or anything about him. I am very
Borry to h(v.r of this business in France, but 1 think Charles the Tenth
deserves to lose his crown, since he cannot keep it when ho has it ; bt'sidcB

I bolievo he is a priest-ridden, press-binding old . I am thinking

about paying you a visit next spring, as I intend applying for leave of
absence. Lot me know if ray company would be acceptable at Quebec.
if not, I \7ill think of some other place where I may direct my peregri-
nations. And now I have almost exhausted my communicativeness, and
I think your patience. With best love to all at home, not forgetting to
thank m^ mother for her present, I will put an end to this epistle, by
flubscribmg myself, your ever aflfectionato orother,

. ., C. DURNFORD.

" Caroline's very learned epistle requires a great deal of mature delibe-
ration before I can think of answering it, but I will do myself that
honour, please God, one of these days. — C. D."

Six months afterwards he writes thus to his father :

" Fort Wellington, Berbice, March 13, 1831.

" Mt Dear Father, — I wrote a long letter to my sister Elizabeth a
few weeks ago, but I do not know whether I said any thing to her about
a certain cough that I am troubled with. I was in hopes that it would
have got better here ; but for the Inst three weeks we have had such
dreadful wet weather, continued rain day and night, that although I
have taken the greatest care of it myself, it has gained ground to a very
alarming extent, and I am, I am sorry to say, dangerously ill, my liver
being out of order, and my lungs slightly aflFected ; but I still entertain
very sanguine hopes of a recovery. I have been strongly advised by
several medical officers and others, to try a trip round the islands. A
medical board is to be held on me at Berbice, and I am to proceed in
either the Marshal Bennett (transport) or Duke of York, whichever
oomes to take up invalids at the different islands for Barbadoes. One
or other is to be at Berbice on the 20th of this month, and I suppose, I
Bhall have about six weeks voyage round the islands to Barbadoes.
When there, unless miraculously better, I intend having another board,
and proceeding round the other islands, and going home with the inva-
lids in June, or else sailing direct for Quebec. My funds are tolerably
strong ; out of your allowance commencing from September, 1829, I
have drawn but £25 ; therefore at the end of this month I shall have

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about £38 of yours to the good, and I shall have due me about £34 pay,
making a total of £70, besides which I have £50, to pay oflF my debts,
&o., at this place. Hoping I may yet live to see you, my dear mother,
and sisters, believe me, your ever affectionate son,

"0. DURNPORD."

The following is most likely the last he ever addressed to his father :

" Barbadeos, April 10, 1831.

" My Dear Father, — I wrote you last month, saying that I was ill,
and that I intended paying you a visit. I have commenced operations,
and arrived here about ten days ago, on a medical board from Berbice.
Colonel Craig, the Adjutant-General, advised me not to' apply for a med-
ical board here, for another month, that I may have a milder sea-
son for my voyage, and try and recover a little strength. I am under
the care of a very clever and kind man, a Dr. Doyle of the staff. He
also advises my staying here for a month under medical treatment. He
tells me that I shall have no difficulty in getting aboard, and also pass-
age allowance, which I did not in the least expect. Compared with
Berbice, this place is a perfect paradise, and I am only afraid that I
shall recover too rapidly here, in which case, folks may have n. ions of
Bending us back again ; and I have fully made up my mind upon one
thing, which is, that I will never more set foot in Berbice — sooner than
spend anrther year in that villainous hole, I'd be content to stand be-
hind a counter all my life, should I live for the next sixty years, I am
at present in quarters with the 35th regiment, though of course I am
not allowed to dine at their mess, — my meat and drink being limited to fish,
rice, arrowroot, and water. The folks here are very civil : I was invited
to the Government House immediately I arrived, but was unable to
go, as I am not allowed to dine out of my room. Mrs. Craig, who I be-
lieve knows my mother, threatens me with a visit, and says that what-
ever my wishes may be, her husband will use his interest to forward
them. I think I told you in my last, that I had drawn upon you in
last October for £25, and the other day, March 25, I drew for £35, so
that I have drawn all my allowance up to the end of February. My
funds are strong I am happy to say, so that I am in no fear of being
baulked in any plan for want of cash, that I think may contribute to my
recovery. I have been advised to go to thfe south of France for a few
months, and I should like it much, but I cannot give up the idea of vis-
iting Quebec, if it is only for a week. The voyage I hope will do me a
great deal of good, and the pleasure of seeing my mother, and all at home
will do me more. Begging to be remembered to all, believe me, my dear
fether, your affectionate son,

Charles Durnford."

Charles arrived at his father's house in the course of the summer, far
advanced in consumption, pronounced beyond human aid. His hand-
some countenance, and tall elegant form, together with his mental attain-
ments, had developed and improved to a degree that surprised ail who
remembered the open-hearted lad, who five years previously had quitted

125

Quebec. He appears to liave joined his regiment first at Fcnnoy and
proceeded to Cork on the 65th, being ordered for the West Indies, for
which destination he finally embarked at Cove. Passionately fond of all
open air sports and exercises, particularly shooting, it was by many of
his friends believed that from being too much addicted to them, the
fatal malady ho now suffered under, was first brought on. The expres-
eion of his fine countenance, naturally dark, but now become pallid, and
piercing eyes, soft and fringed with remarkably loug curling eyelasliea,
spoke the benevolence of soul he inherited from his father and grand-
father. It was truly touching to witness the entire composure and re-
eignedness with which he contemplated his approaching end. A few d.iys
after his return, one of his sisters entered his room, darkened to keep it
oool during the hot weather. The apartment had to her eyes a tropical
aspect, as it contained several articles of West Indian fashion and adap-
tation, formed from the bamboo and cane. Several large wicker-covered
flasks or bottles, in particular, attracted hei attention. To hide the emo-
tion the sight of his wasted figure caused her, reclining on a bed, while
the dim light rendered his pale face startlingly white, pointing to a corner
where one of them stood, she said, " How beautiful their forms are ! "
Hfc answered with one of his sweet smiles, **I give them to you." She
could not restrain her tears, but his composure was unruffled. He had
procured, while at Barbadoes, magnificent specimens of corals, and sea
fans, which ho haa caused to be carefully packed in baskets to present to
his mother and sisters.

In conversation, on most occasions, he spoke of the female sex with
contempt and severity, bringing forward two cases where officers had
been induced to take as wives with them to the West Indies, young
ladies they had inadvertently paid, as the papas thought, too much atten-
tion to, while quartered at some country place in Ireland. He declared
the gentlemen would have dismissed from memory all recollection of the
ladies, had not the angry papas, immediately on hearing the regiment
was ordered to another hemisphere, brought down their daughters in
postchaises, and oflFering to the false knights the alternative between a
duel or a wife, the affair terminated happily. He made no exception in
his opinion of the wives of the officers and soldiers of the regiments sta-
tioned at Berbice, all of whom he despised and thought meanly of. There
was one lady only, the best wife in the corps, and seemingly, as he
thought, the sole good wife in the world, who could claim exemption'
from the hard fiat pronounced by this severe censor of the sex. It ifl
gratifying however, to remember, that the woman he acknowledged to ' '
to have worth was one of the Irish belles. The sweeping estimate he "
had formed to the disadvantage of ladies who go to the West Indies, was
at that period generally considered as justly deserved. The enervating,;
dimate, the great scarcity of female domestics, and social feminine inter-
course, fostered slovenly habits of dresa,, and indifference to the com- •
fortable neatness the English woman places her delight and pride in. *
The young matron, who at home was remarkable for choice and elegance ^
of attire, rapidly degenerated into the slipshod, untidy slattern j and on '

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126

Buoh, he would pour forth the never-wearied sarcasm and unpitying
abuse. They were all alike, he declared ; deterioration of this kind was
universal ; nor would he permit indulgence or excuse to be oflfered to
woman's weak frame, or inability for exertion in those who hud been
accustomed to the indulgences of refinement in a temperate climate, when
they found themselves transported, like sickly exotics, to endure the fieiy
influence of the tropics, without the friendly aids they once enjoyed.
Doubtless had Charles Durnford survived to maturer years, he would
have remained an inexorable bachelor. His temper was much affected
by the bilious character of his disorder, yet his generous feelings con-
tinually came to light. On one occasion, while seated at the dinner table,
the mild evening sun of summer illuminating the prospect the windows
commanded of the rivers St. Lawrence and St. Uharles, throwing
mellow shades and lovely colouring over blue hills, the smiling island of
Orleans, the distant Falls of the river Montmorency, and countless charm-
ing features in view, too various for minute description here, he was
drawn into unwonted cheerfulness. The conversation happened to turn
on some poor young lady, an officer's orphan, and lately left entirely des-
titute. Charles seemed to enjoy himself to an unusual degree ; and
entering freely and with an earnestness of feeling into the subject under
discussion, said, with much energy, " How long do you suppose, mama, I
have to live? 1 believe about three montb.' — ^, '' ' at my death my
widow will be entitled to a pension — and I wi I laaaj nerfrom charitable
motives." His mother could only with a melancholy smile reply, " My
dear Charles 1" Fortunately the voung lady's case was not again brought
forward.

With regard to the fine pieces of coral and sea fans, Charles took so
much care in collecting, it is remarkable, that although in beauty and
perfectuess, they exceeded any exhibited at that time and for years after-
wards by the British Museum, they remained in his father's house, after
his departure from Canada, conspicuously exposed to observation, with-
out attracting notice from any one, until after his parents' death they
called forth the admiration they deserved. Charles was accomplished in
the management of both farmyard, garden, and dairy.

■til

[ ; f

This year my father was removed to Portsmouth. "^^^ b ti his new
appointment was known, complimentary addresses were ;. re^v a '^d "^o him
by the city authoiities, and by the secretary to the garrison 'V .u-y, of
which he had been president for several years, expressing regret ..t his
approaching departure from Quebec.

At a general meeting of the Justices of the peace for the District of Quebec,
residing la the City of Quebec, holden on Monday, the 3rd of October, 1831.

Resolved, — That on the occasion of the approaching departure from Quebec of
Colonel Durnford, of the Royal Engineers, Commandant of this garrison, it be
communicated to that Officer on the part of the Magistrates, that deeply regret-
ting, as they do, thai his presence should now be withdrawn,— -they entertain the
highest sense of hla meritorious conduct during the lonf;. riod tbroughoat

127

!i ■•:

and

with-

al "o him

-u-7, of

st ^i, his

which his peculiarlj assiduous exertions in fulfilling the arduous duties of his
fltation, rendered hia residence in this place so eminently useful.

The foregoing resolution having this day been duly communicated by Col.
Duchesnay and other gentlemen on behalf of the Magistrates, to Colonel Durn-
ford, he returned the following answer :

" Gentlemen, — I can scarcely express the sense I entertain of your
expressions of regret at my approaching departure from this station,
where I have had the pleasure of being employed above fourteen years.

" That my conduct and exertions should have come under your observa-
tion affords me much gratification ; and I can sincerely assure you I shall
ever entertain such testimony as a high honor conferred on, Gentlemen,
your most obedient and humble servant,

" E. W. DuENPORD, Colonel,
" Corps of Royal Engineers."
" Quebec, 4th October 1831."

Copy by B. S., Mount Pleasant, Quebec, October, 3rd, 1862.

While president of this library he was called on to choose a book, and
the work he named was considered singular for a military library. It
was " The Works of Hannah More." Both my parents regarded the
abilities and character of this author with almost religioud admiration ;
and from " the Shepherd of Salisbury Plain " to " The Character of St.
Paul," considered her writings unequalled in excellence. This partiality
took its rise from my mother's having missed being educated by her.
Hannah More was one of the teachers redommended to Mrs. Wadman
when she sought to place her young ward at a boarding school ; but from
some reason, most likely Miss More had resigned her pupils, Mrs. Brett's
Seminary, in Poets* Corner, Westminster Abbey, was selected. Having
failed to make acquaintance with this admirable woman, was a subject of
regret to her through life.

On the eve of embarking in the Wanderer transport, he was suddenly
seised with an attack of rheumatism, so severe as to render him unable to
move. His family, therefore, reluctantly judged it best to proceed by the
Wanderer, in which vessel a passage had been provided for them, while he
remained at a boarding house, for the arrival of his successor. Colonel
NichoUs, from Halifax, and until he should be sufficiently recovered to
follow them. He took passage in the Mary, the last ship that left Quebec
that fall ; and, aH)er encountering considerable danger from ics, had a fine
voyage, and joined his family on Christmas eve. After my mother's
departure he was nursed and attended with all possible care and tender-
ness by his attached friends, among whom his own officers were most
assiduously kind ; and his good and faithful office keeper, who had
been a servant in his house, and was with great difficulty persuaded from
following him to England, nursed and attended to all his requirements,
most faithfully and affectionately. Mr. John Hall was some years after-
wards promoted to a situation as tidewaiter, by his son-in-law, Mr. Duns-
oomb, and performs the duties of his respectable place with credit, pre-
serving his esteem and affection for his good colonel to the last, and trans-
ferring to the children the same kind wishes he had entertained for the
father.

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128

Tho Engineer's Quarter at Portsmouth had lately Been occupied by
the general in command, Sir Colin Campbell, and, though situated in an
undesirable part of the town (Landport,) had the advantage of excellent
gardens, for vegetables, fruit, and flowers. Myrtle and purple fig trees
flourished in them ; and one white fig tree, in particular, was considered
the finest in the county, — two thousand luscious figs having been
gathered from it in the course of one year.

Restored to their native land, from whose shore? they had been so long
alien, and whi^'h Col. and Mrs. Durnford had so much desired again to
Bee, (the first appointed to a station with comparatively easy duty, and ex-
cellent society,) in all human probability they were placed there with every
thing that was agreeable in anticipation, but for the grief the malady of
their beloved son caused them. He bore the homeward voyage well,
growing gradually weaker, till he expired gently, January 6. No mur-
mur was ever heurd to escape from Charles' lips. His masculine mind
maintained itself to the last ; he listened to and entered into the pastoral
assistance lent him by the Rev. Mr. Dusatoy, the minister of St. John's
Chapel, Portsea, with feeling and devotion, but suffered no female mem-
ber of the family to offec him religious advice. A few minutes before
breathing his last he called to his brother, "John, go and bring me word
how much milk that cow has given." He alluded to a newly purchased
one, aware of milking time bemg near. To his father he left £400, the
value of his commission, — a large sum, taking into consideration the pay
and emoluments of an ensign in a regiment of the line, and spoke well of
his moderate and regular habits. His last worldly hours and thoughts
were employed in bestowing on each member of his family pretty little
gifts or legacies; giving to the sister who had written to him such highly
prized letters, a gold watch and chain ; to another, an album, &o.

highly

129

SECTION XL

Col. By'9 Letters. — Vindication of him.

Colonel By's affairs, while in Canada, attracted public attention rather
priw to this period, and will now be noticed, so far as the scanty docu-
ments that were found among his faithful friend's papers permit.
Colonel By's public papers were required to be rendered up, as were
Colonel Durnford's, — his office papers, letters, estimates, and reports,
though wherefore this arbitrary requisition is put in force when no fur-
ther use is contemplated from collections of true and valuable facts, is
hard to explain.

While the parliamentary enquiry relating to the sum in excess expended
over that originally laid down, in the making and completion of the Ot-
tawa canal, was being canvassed, my father was summoned to give his
opinion and evidence on the necessity for such expenditure ; and in those
days, when a telegraphic summons was of rare occurence, he was surprised
to receive one, desiring his immediate appearance before the House. A
select committee (juestioued him, as he afterwards described, in a rude
and most uncourteous manner, though his plain straightforward words
seem to have been considered by these gentlemen as deserving of no slight
degree of consideration.

To explain the original outlay intended to complete the great canal
works, the following extract is made :

" To defray the charge, in the year 1831, of improving the water com-
munication between Montreal and the Ottawa, from the Ottawa to King-
ston, and from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, £296,000."

It is anticipating, to consider the disappointment and vexation felt
by Colonel By to find his work on the Ottawa (to which his best efforts
had been devoted), on returning to his country, met by reprehension
and exacting rigor, instead of reward or at least approbation, as he had
expected. This reception from tLe home authorities made a deep and
lasting impression on his mind, from which he never recovered, and was,
indeed, supposed to have hastened his death. The few remaining years
of his life were spent at his wife's beautiful seat in Sussex ; but even there,
while enjoying the society of his two beloved daughters and that of their
accomplished mother, the bitter check received in his public career was
always uppermost in his thoughts.

The two letters following will speak, in his own words, with most truth
on the subject :

" Shernfold Park, near Tunbridge Welle,

" January, 23, 1833.

" My Dear Colonel, — "Your kind letter of Dec. 17, only reached m«

a few days ago, it having travelled over the country, owing to the direction

being insufficient. Esther wrote to Mrs. Dumford on Saturday, and, I

believe, mentioned the circumstance, which I trust will account for its re-

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130

mainingso long unanswered. You will be glad to learn, that a few days
since I had a very kind letter from our old friend, Lord Dalhousie. He
complains of his health and his spirits, and expresses a wish to hear of the
Rideau, and to renew our acquaintance ; but as he lives near Edinburgh,
I fear it will be some time before I take so long a trip. I have therefore
sont him a duplicate of the inclosed papers, relative to the Treasury min-
ute, which, from your letter, it appears you have not seen. I have only
seen it through the Canada newspapers, and feel extremely ill-used that
the said minute was not sent oflBcially to me, that I might have an op-
portunity of defending my character; but find that the editors of news-
papers have felt the unjust conduct of the government towards me, an('
have taken up my cause, as you will perceive by the enclosed ; which 1
shall foel much obliged by your sending to General Pilkington, with f.uch
remarks as will tend to explain the difficulties I liad to contend with.

" Tlie present government appears to throw blame on me for not wait-
ing for parliamentary grants ; forgetting that it was ordered by his grace
the master-general and Board, that I was not to wait for parliamentary
grants, but to proceed with all dispatch consistent with economy, and the
contracts were formed by the commissary-general at Montreal accordingly :
by which the Engineer Department was bound to pay for the works as
they progressed, which precluded tlie possibility of stopping the works
without laying the government open to pay heavy damages for so doing.
This was reported, to the government in 1828, in answer to Mr. Huskin-
son's request to delay the works as much as possible ; which was accord-
ingly done, but I was never ordered to stop the works until I was so
unjustly recalled ; when, thank God ! they were all finished, and the canal
had been open to the public for some months, or I should have been
robbed of the honour of completing the magnificent work. As for con-
trolling the amount of contingencies in water-works on such an extensive
scale it is beyond the power of any man ; I therefore hold myself free from
all blame, and feel dreadfully ill-used. It should be remembered that
this great work has only amounted to £789,940, not double the original
estimate for small locks, which amounted to £474,899 Is. 3^d. for toorJcs
only ; without civil or military establishments, barracks, hospitals, work-
shops, stones or any other contingencies. I send you a copy of my letter
of the 18th instant, in answer to some further enquiries of Sir James
Kempt, that you may understand what I have stated to them at head
quarters. The lawsuits I do not comprehend ; for, though the judge
decided that I had the right of doing what I did, yet in the trial relative
to the stone taken from Smith's Falls, valued, as I believe, at £1,800,
the jury awarded the government to pay £10, which the attorney gene-
ral has thought proper to submit to. His report on this subject I have
not yet received. The trial about the quantity of land taken by me at
Smith's Falls, and approved of by you, amounting to 70 odd acres, which
was tried and given in our favor at Brockville in 1831, when you were
present, was re-tried last September and given against us, and the jury
decided that we had taken one acre more than was necessary on the island
formed by the Hornet's side ; this I positively asserted to be indispcn-

3W days
e. He
ir of the
nburgh,
lioreforc
iry min-
ave only
scd that
B an op-
)f news-
nic, an<'.
which 1
rith f-uch
with.
lot wait-
liis grace
inientary
, and the
)rdingly :
ivorks as
10 works
30 doing.
Huskin-
s accord-
I was so
the canal
ave been
1 for con-
extensive
'ree from
jred that
original
or loorJcs
lis, work-
luy letter
ir James
1 at head
he judge
il relative
£1,800,
ney gene-
jt I have
by mc at
es, which
you were
the jury
the island
indispcn-

131

sably nooossary for the works, and the Attorney-General has therefore re-
served that question for the judges. Our trial against Simpson to recover
the sums advanced him was put ofiF by Simpson from the York Assizes
in March last, to Kingston in August, and from that to Brockvillc in
September, when he declared ho had not been able to i rocure his wit-
nesses, and the trial was again put off until next year; and, to avoid
Pooley and myself being obliged to attend the trial next year, the judge
appointed a commission to receive our evidence. I have much to say to
you on the subject of a lock at St. Ann's, but I am too unwell to write
more at present, and we hope to have the pleasure of seeing you before
long at Shernfold, when we can quietly talk over the affairs of Canada.
'■ On the 20th of September last, I examined the St. Ann's llapids, and
found a very good passage near the mill, close to the old church. The
lock at Vaudrcuil being now impassable, it is indispensably necessary to
erect one at St. Ann's before the llideau Canal can come into full opera-
tion ; and Mr. 11. Drummond, the contractor will undertake to complete
it for £7,000. We all unite in kindest regards to yourself and family,
Believe mc, my dear Durnford, yours most faithfully,

John By.
" To Colonel Durnford, 11. E., Portsmouth."

" Shernfold Park, near Tunbridgc Wells,

"February 26, 1833.
'• My Dear Colonel,— Your kind letter of the 18th, which has
overwhelmed me with gratitude, I did not receive until I returned home
fiom London, having been six days absent to attend the levee, where I met
with Sir Peregrine Maitland, who expressed great pleasure at seeing me ;
I regret I had not received yours before I went to town, but perhaps
whatever is is best, for I would rather be thanked for my exertions through
the interference of our own officers than by any court influence j and I feel
confident that General Pilkington will lose no time in laying your highly
complimentary letter before the master-general. I therefore feel some hope
of having the unmerited slur that has been thrown on me by the minute of
the lords of His Majesty's Treasury removed, through your kind interfer-
ence. My old friend. General Mulcaster, was at the levee ; I told him I
wished tobemadeaking'sA.D.C.,forthesakeofthcrank,buthe said that
required great interest. Sir Henry Hardinge, whom "I called on
the day before the levee, received me with great kindness, and assured mc
he would take up the llideau Canal when the Ordnance estimates were
brought forward ; he said they were laying on the table of the House,
and that, in all probability, in a few days they would be debated on ; he
said he thought me extremely ill-used. I have not words to thank you
for the high testimonial you have given of me; I only hope that my future
conduct through life may be such as to prove me worthy of what you said
in my behalf. Pray remember us all most kindly to Mrs. Durnford, your
sister, and the whole of your beloved family. I ha"e felt better since I
had the pleasure of readmg your letter, but am muc^ plagued with ague
and low spirits. My dear Esther and the girls are looking forward with

,i ''

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132

delight to the promised pleasure of seeing Mrs. Durnford, your sister, and
daughters with you at Shemfold. The king appeared to remember me,
asked ' how long I had been absent, and if the canal was finished.' God
bless you, my dear colonel, and may Heaven reward you for all the good
you do. Believe me, over yours faithfully,

John By.
" To Colonel Durnford, R. E., Portsmouth.
" Lord Dalhousie has had another attack."

Then follows the letter from Colonel Durnford to General Pilkington,
which cemented the friendship that from the first hour of their introduc-
tion had existed between the two colonels, into such truthful esteem and
affection as never diminished After tlie decease of Colonel By, the
amiable and grateful widow still remembered this tribute to lier husband's
professional labours.

To General Pilkington:

"Portsmouth, February 28, 1833.

" Dear General, — I hope you will believe that in addressing you
respecting the more immediate concerns of a brother officer, Colonel By,
who served with me in Canada, but holding, as it were, a description of'
command depending so intimately with his own particular judgment to
conduct, and for which he had the high honour, in the first instance, to
be selected to plan and prosecute, entirely independent of me, as the Com-
manding Royal Engineer of both provinces ; that I do not mean to
intrude, unnecessarily, on your time, or with any supposition that you
are not equally anxious (as I can possibly be) to endeavour to be instru-
mental in relieving my friend from the many discomforting circumstances
that, in a most zealous discharge of his duty, have been brought on him
from various causes; but that I may hope what I say upon the subject,
will afford you such insight into the case, as may enable you to take the
same into favourable consideration.

" The principal source of Lieut.-Col, By's present discomfort arises from
the apprehension that, without some certificate or testimony (equally
public) is afforded him, that the censure of the Committee of the House
of Commons, contained in the report, of which J, N. Fazakerley, Esq.,
was chairman, that such was not authorized by the House, in consequence
of actual misconduct on the part of Colonel By, but really arising from the
nature and magnitude of the service he was employed to execute, coupled
with the orders he received to prosecute that service with all possible, and
more than ordinary energy, and especially from the utter impossibility of
controlling the ultimate expense by any common foresight.

" Having intimated above that the honor of conducting and planning
personally, the works upon the Rideau communication were so immedi-
ately entrusted to Lieut.-Col. By, I am at the same time to inform you,
that by subsequent instructions of the master-general, it became my duty
to receive and transmit all communications relating to this work, give
any orders that the Commander of the Forces was pleased to issue, and
to afford, in all caSes of emergency, my own personal attendance and the

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133

best advioo in my power ; and Lieut.-Col. By thought proper, upon seve-
ral oooasions, to call upon me. I mention this more especially to explain,
that in consequence I became intimately acquainted with most of the
untoward and almost insurmountable occurrences that Lieut.-Col. By
had to contend against, and I should do him infinile injustice if I did
not declare to you, that from my observation of his active and zealous
exertions, he deserved any thing rather than the shadow of censure.

" The expenditure has certainly far exceeded the estimate, particularly
the original one ; but I must state at the same time, were it possible for
any of his majesty's ministers or members of the House of Parliament, to
have seen the country, lakes, and swamps, &c., &c., through which this
water communication has been carried agreeably to the orders given to
Lieut.-Col. By, and could now see the stupendous chain of works that
have been constructed, that the outlay of money would not be wondered
at, or given unwillingly, as a record of British ability and muniBcence.

" Certainly in the present state of both the Rideau and Grenville canals,
as now cut off from the lower parts of the Lower Province, below the
Lake of the Two ]\[ountains, for want of connecting communication be-
tween that lake and Montreal, Quebec, and the CJulf of St. Lawrence,
neither in military or commercial points of view can government or the
community at large reap the expected benefit from either of them ; and it
is very much to be feared that u state of inactivity may militate against
the preservation of these noble Avorks. I also very much fear, from the
known apathy of Canadians, that the government will probably be dis-
appointed in their seeming reliance on the legislatures of these provinces
stepping forward to complete the navigation in any way, especially upon
the scale that the far greater part has already been executed.

" I am greatly concerned that the testimony I was called upon to afford,
when examined before the Committee of the House (as above alluded to),
that the tendency of that examination did not afford opportunity for ex-
plaining the total impossibility of the expense being prevented ; that is,
by stopping the execution of any of the works during the progress ; they
all having been commenced as simultaneously as possible, in order to in-
sure corresponding couipletion, consequently at any stage of the business
suspension, setting aside the hold for compensation that each contractor
would have had upon government, and which I am firmly persuaded,
would not have been much short of the excess upon the estimate made
by Lieut.-Col. By, and also there is no doubt but that most of the work
would thus have been nearly destroyed ; such is the astonishing effect of
the floods in those waters, with which you are so well acquainted.

" Permit me to bring to your notice the order, signed Bathurst, (the
date I do not recollect) wherein the works are to proceed without await-
ing the grant from parliament ; and again (by a subsequent communica-
tion) that Lieut.-Col. By was most fully authorized to proceed on the
work, and, iri fact, defied to complete it within the time he had expected
to be practicable, and even that money should be granted in a fourth
instead of a fifth proportion ; and here I must also beg to call your atten-
tion to the assurance that— in the best of my judgment — had not Lieut.-

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134

Col. Uv boon »hackleJ by actual susponHion for some weeks or iiionthH
militating uguinnt his e8tiuiatc8,an(l with other inexplicable anil unforeseen
embarrassnicnts, as lawsuits and other matters of extremely distracting
litigation, conse<iucnt upon the failure of the supposed liberality of those
landholders who could be ascertained (and many could not) but who, in-
stead of facilitating, most decidedly threw every obstacle in the way of
Lieut.-(\)1. By's proceeding, notwithstanding the laws of the province that
had been niado expressly upon the occasion, — that the canal would other-
wise have b(!en much sooner finished, and many expenses prevented.

" I anxiously hope, my dear general, you will enquire whether, as far
as documents in your office have been issued, I am correct or not in these
my views of this important subject; I say important, because it certainly
affects the comfort and happiness, if not the health, of a most meritorious
brother officer, whose exertions, having been often personally witnessed by
mo, I can most conscientiously assure you, as I have upon former occasions
probably declared, have been more than conunonly zealous, and indicative of
the most thorough knowledge and ability to conduct works of such stu-
pendous magnitude and importance, so particularly affecting the credit of
the corps, and, as far as my knowledge extends, never before entrusted
to any officer of it ; and certainly it would be difficult for any officer
clearly to judge of, except he had personal knowledge (as T have had)
both on the commencement and teimination thereof."

This is copied from the original draft in Colonel Durnford's hand
writing, and headed, " 1833, February 28 : To General Pilkington, in
justification of Lieut.-Col. Hy."

(^Neiiii^pniier report.')
CANAL COMMUNICATIONS, CANADA.

The following is the report of the Parliamentary Committee appointed
to take into consideration the accounts and papers relating to the canal
communications in Canada :

" With respect to the Rideau Canal, the House will recollect, that,
according to the papers presented to Parliament in 1831, the estimate for
that work amounted to £693,448, exclusively of a sum of C0U,230 for
fortifications, and the purchase of land. The money already voted
amounts to £692,066, leaving a balance of £732 to complete the esti-
mate of 1831.

" By a memorandum from the office of Ordnance, dated May 18, 1832,
it appears that the total expenditure on the canal, up to December, 31,
1831, was £715,408 15 being an excess of £22,742 15 6 beyond the
votes of Parliament, and of £21,960 15 6, beyoixl the estimate made for
the whole work in 1831. The present estimate, as given in the memo-
randum just referred to, in the abstract annexed to it, amounts to
£776,024 5 6 being £83,358 5 6 more than the votes of Parliament, and
£82,576 5 6 beyond the estimate of last year. If, however, to last year's
estimate be added a sum of £69,230, which in the papers then presented
to Parliament was stated to be likely to be required for defences and
bridges, and the purchase of land, and if £27,750 for nearly the same

i.3r>

purposes, be added to the estimate of this year, the two fmms will then
be,— for the estiniato of 1R31, £7(12,008, and f(.r (hat of this year
£803,774 5 6 ; beinpj an exeessin the estimate of this year, as compared
with that of the last, of £41,076 5 6.

" It is, however, to be observed, that lost year, with respect to the sum
of £60,230 it was stated, that with the exception of £8,230 for bridges,
it would not bo necessary to apply that sunx immediately ; how far the
postponement then recommended has been attended to, the committee,
from the manner in which the accounts are made up, have been unable
to determine.

" The present accounts therefore, show an expenditure of £82,740 15 6
beyond the votes of Parliament, and an estimate of £111,181 5 beyond
the same votes for the completion of the canal, and for expenses and
works stated to be in necessary connexion with it. Of this sum, what
portion may have been already spent, or even wlint part of it may be
involved in existinj^ contracts, the committee have no means of ascertain-
ing with accuracy ; they presume, however, that under the arrangements
which still subsist, the public must be ultimately liable for the payment
of the whole: this of course, supposes that the contracts shall have been
faithfully fwrfornied. Whenever the canal sliall be finished, the com-
mittee think that it would bo most desirable to close the accounts with
the least possible delay.

" An estimate, dated June 21, 1832, has been prepared by the officer
of Ordnance for the annual maintenance and repair of the canal, and
for the management of the locks. This amounts to £18,700 1 ♦> for the
present year, and the connnittce presume that a sum must be proposed
for this service on account : as, however, this threatens to be an annual
expense, tliey recommend that immediate steps should be taken to place
this charge on a regular'and economical footing ; and they agree with the
Treasury and Colonial Office in thinking that the provinces of Canada,
to whom tlie whole of these works must be most valuable, may be rea-
sonably expected to bear this expense. Those provinces, they hope, will
not be indisposed, for such an object, to come to the assistance of the
mother country, by whom so large an expenditure has hitherto been ex-
clusively incurred. Tt appears to be still quite uncertain, and it must be
so until the water communication from Montreal to Kingston shall be
completed, how far any tolls to be collected on the different canals may
or may not be sufficient to keep them in repair, and to support the
necessary establishment.

" With respect to the three canals on the Ottawa, the committee observe,
that in 1831 the estimate for these works, including £54,245 for the
enlargement of the Grenville canal, amounted to £285,3(57. The votes
of Parliament amount to £200.000, having by the estimate of 1831 a
sum of £70,208 still to be provided for. By a memorandum from the
office of Ordnance, dated June 10, 1832, it appears, that up to the 31st
December, 1831, there had been expended upon the Grenville Canal,
£137,244; on the Carillon Rapids, £23.721 ; and on the Chute-a-Blon-
deau, £9,872 ; making a sum total of £170.837— being £1 14,530 withia

fe,;.«

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130

the estimate of 1831, and £38,202 within the votcH of Parliament. It
i« now Btutod in the memorandum from the office of Ordnance before
referred to, that £18,411 will be nuffioient to complete thcBO canals,
cxclusivclv of £54,246 for tlie enlargement of a part of the Grenville
canal. Iherc is also an estimate from the Ordnance office of £23,701
for the expense of the suporintendonce and cHtablishnicnt connected with
the canals on the Ottawa.

" The committee think it due to the office of Ordnance, under whose
directions the works on the Ottawa have been placed exclusively, to call
the attention of the house to the care and economy with which they
appear to have been recently conducted, the expenditure of the your
having been far within the annual vote, and various savings appearing
in the present estimates; they therefore do not hcifiiato to recommend
the completion of these works, with the exception of the enlargement of
the Orenvillc canal, to which they will presently advert. The estimate
for this purpose hns been already stated IIS £18,411, which with the money
expended up to the December 31, 1831, makes a total of £189,248,
being a saving on the cstiniate of 1831 of £06,110; or, if we exclude
from the estimate of 1831, £54,245, for the Grenville canal, a saving of
£41,822.

"It results from this .statement, that the votes for the whole of this
water communication amount to £901,705, and tliat the present estimates,
including the money already spent, amount to £993,022 5 for the com-
pletion of the Rideau canal, and the canals o 'he Ottawa, on the scale
now existing: this calculation excludes thr ,245 at different times

proposed for the enlargement of the Grenvi.. .^nal, and the expense of
Buperintendeiiec and establishment on the Ottawa.

" From the evidence of Colonel Durnford, and from past experience,
the committee fear that the present estimates will be found insufficient
for the Rideau canal. They arc therefore of opinion, that it would be
imprudent not to calculate on some excess, though they have no moans
of estimating its amount ; and they doubt whether the expectation hold
out by Colonel By of opening the canal on the May 1, 1832, has been
realized.

'■ "With regarJ to the cnlnrgcineiit of the Grenville canal, and the con-
templated works, either at St. Ann's and La Chine, or in the rear of the
Island of Montreal, the committee do not think that any immediate
decision need be taken. The Grenville canal, if it remain at its present
size, will not absolutely interrupt the commimication ; and in the mean
time .«;ome experience will have been obtained of the sufficiency and dura-
bility of the works already completed. The same observations apply to
the proposed works on the island of -dontreal, with this additional rea-
son for suspending the decision of Parliament, that the estimates appear,
from Colonel Durn ford's evidence, to have been altogether framed by
Colonel By, and the couimittee, after what has passed with regard to the
Rideau canal, do not think that it would be prudent to rely on their
accuracy. They observe, that in miscellaneous estimates on the table of
the house, it is proposed to ask for a vote of £02,500 for the water com-

l:J7

munioution in Canada, and thoy cannot adviau the prupusiil of ii larger
sum, until uioro full and accurate uxnlanation of tlu> «>xiH!ndituro on the
Ridoau uhall have buon obtained. Tliey reooniiuond that the money nhall
bo employed in satisfying contracts wherever they have been faithfully
performed ; and that, in the premuit .state ofMnformation and experience
on the subject, no fortifications should be undertaken on the Uideau,
nor any further works proceeded with, either on the Ottawa or the
Island of Montreal.

" Having now called the attention of the hou.se to various details of
expense, the conmiitteo arc anxious to describe shortly the extent of the
works in <|uestion. The distance from Kingston, on Lake Ontario, to
Bytown, where the Kideau river joins the Ottawa, is stated te bo 150
miles; from Bytown to the Grenville canal, (!4 miles; making together
2l.'3 miles: througliout tin; whole of which line the locks and cuttings are
of a size to admit 8t*)amboat« IIU feet long, iilJ feet wide, and drawing
5 feet water.

" From the Grenville canal to Montreal is (54 miles; all the locks on
the Carillon and on the Chute-d-Blondeau are of the same .size as on the
Ridoau; but on a part of the Grenville canal, commenced before the
larger scale was adopted, .some locks and a part of the cuttings will only
admit boats of 20 feet ; and the imperfect work at St. Ann's, described
by Colonel Durnford, will not allow tho passage of larger boats. Until,
therefore, the locks on tli' (irenvillc cunul, and the works on tlie Island
of Montreal, shall be muM.! on the same scale as those on the Kideau, the
navigation for boats above 20 feet wide will be interrupted where the
smaller locks begin ; and if larger boats are used on the Kideau, and on
the higher part of the Ottawa, all goods must be un.shippcd on arriving
at tho Grenville canal, and be either conveyed by portage, or removed to
smaller boats. The estimate for enlarging the Grenville canal being
£54,245, and that for making a communication between the Islands of
Montreal and Jesus being stated to be £117,270, the whole expense of
completing this part of the water communication would be £171,515, if
it were probable that the estimates wore accurate. Colonel Durnford
states, that though the expen.se of making a canal at St. Ann's might be
from £23,000 to £4G,000, according to the particular line which was
determined upon, yet, that as in that case Lachine Canal must also be
enlarged, the pa.ssage that way would be nearly, if not (juitc, as expen-
sive, and in all other respects much less eligible than by the rear of the
Island of Montreal. If at any future time the further prosecution of
these works should be thought desirable, the House will have to deter-
mine in what way the expense should be provided for ; but the commit-
tee cannot recommend that any money should now be voted for that pur-
pose.

" The Committee cannot conclude their report without a strong expres-
sion of their regret, that the irregularity, hitherto so much complained of
in the conduct of the works on the Kideau, should have prevailed to a
great extent in the course of the last year. The expenditure lias much
exceeded both the estimates and the votes of Parliament, and a conside-

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13S

rable delay, not very properly explained, seems to have taken place in
making this excess known to the Treasury. The committee are the
more surprised that this should have occurred, as the Treasury minutes
of the June 10 and July 8, 1831, called the attention of the several
departments of Government to the subject, and gave positive directions,
which appear calculated to remedy the inconveniences complained
of. By a Treasury minute ot" May 11, 1832, some restraint is im-
posed on the application of money by the commanding-general of Canada.
The committee have observed this with pleasure, being of opinion, that
in works of this description there is no security against extravagance,
and the amount of expense can never be accurately known, unless the
annual expenditure be confined within the limits of the annual votes.
In those cases of rare occurrence, in which a deviation from this prin-
ciple may be unavoidable, the comiiiittee believe that the directions con-
tained in the Treasvy minutes, above referred to, would secure the piiblic
service from interruption and inconvenience ; they trust, therefore, that
the Treasury will not allow the orders contained in these minutes to be
neglected by any department, and that they will take care that they are
carried into strict and immediate execution ; and, in conclusion, with a
view to place works of this description under the undivided responsibi-
lity of one department, they suggest the expediency of inserting the
votes for money in the Ordnance estimates, and not in the miscellaneous
estimates.

'< June 29, 1832."

J. N. Fazakerley, Chairman.

'sjitit!

139

SECTION XII.

Family corresponutnce. — Don Carlos. — Viney's letters and illness. — Sarah's
death— (to p. 126.)

Those only who have been separated from tlieir brothers and sisters
in early youth, when family affection is most fresh in its warm impulses,
can imagine the pleasure experienced when they again meet with so
much to tell, so much to wonder at and approve in the mutual develop-
ment of person, manners, ideas, and intellect. At this period my father's
whole family were occasionally assembled around him. His eldest and
youngest sons, Elias and Viney, were in his own corps : Philip and
George had commissions in the 68th and 70th Regiments; while his
remaining son John, who had failed to obtain advancement in the com-
missariat, but afterwards was more successful in the war department,
was an inmate (unemployed) of his fiither's house. A blight had by
the loss of Charles been thrown over their enjoyments, but the elastic
vigour of youth and hope recovered from the shock of the first trial
caused by the separation of death.

The depots of the 68th and 70th being at Portsmouth, and the two
young officers in those regiments being allowed to remain there for some

as also to find that the two
them. Viney, the
youngest son, had always been remarkable, as a boy, for his fondness for
reading ; and, to enable him to carry on his studies without disturbance,
he now made choice of an out door apartment looking out on the poultry

time, afforded the family much

delight,

engmeer officers were likewise to be stationed near

yard and garden wall, while his books were arranged in a room within
the house. His studies were multifarious ; he read in English, French,
Italian, German, Spanish, and Portuguese, besides Latin and Greek
authors, latterly entering upon the study of Hebrew. He possessed
works of the best authors in all these languages ; — in German especially,
at that date little read and by no means well taught, his attainment was
such, that his master could with difficulty be persuaded but that his
knowledge of it had been acquired in a country where it was vernacular.
He had also made considerable advancement in the mathematics, and
nearly all his spare pay was devoted to increasing his valuable stock
of books. Young as he was, he directed the studies of his sisters ; read
Italian witli them, — a language he had been taught at Malta, — bought
books for them, and was always delighted when they visited his library
or read his volumes : indeed his sisters looked up to him, superiorly
gifted as he was, with love and admiration such as he deserved.

Viney was modest and humble in his opinion of himself, and so devoid
of vanity that, althougli scrupulously elegant in the choice of' ' -^ttire
and personal appliances, he dreaded the epithet of dandy bei. affixed
to him, and told his sister that whenever he first put on a new suit, to
destroy the idea of his aiming to be a beau, he would put on a pair of soiled
gloves, a patched boot, or a hat that liad seen better days. No reasoning ever

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140

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li :i

induced his ceding to the remonstrances of his sisters on these points ;
he consistently maintained his manly supremacy, with noble amiability
loving them the better for what he thought their weakness. He made
them many pretty presents— all his wishes tended to their benefit : when
he told them their faults, it was with the manner and temper of an
angel. l*erhaps, and as he thought himself, his profession was ill chosen ;
certain it is he looked down on his professional duties, and would have
liked to devote himself to a life of college study and seclusion, for he was
shy of the society of strangers, and hurt the feelings and opinions of his
parents and family by his over love for retirement.

Familiar epistles are truthful of domestic life and individual character ;
the subjoined were addressed to Canada; in their boyish simplicity,
they speak more of Vincy than any recollection can.

Woolwich, March 29, 1826.
" Dear J — , As Captain Douglas (commandiM- of n favourite general
cargo trading ship, the Ottawa,) sails on Saturday, 1 have just sat down to
write to you. I am come herefrom Epping, and am going to school again
to-morrow. Aunt Kirwan received me very kindly, as did all the
family : while I was there I went to the stag-hunt on Easter Monday ;
you see the account of in the newspaper, so I need not give you the
history of it — at all events I can't say much for it as a hunt, but there
were a great number of people there, among whom were, Mr. Goodman
a friend of Mrs. Kirwan, my cousin George and myself, who walked six
miles to see nothing, unless you call a parcel of people scampering about
on foot and on horseback anything. Mrs. K. told me to tell you that
she sent you a letter about a month ago. John is still in France.
I hope you have I'eceived my letter of the 28th of last month. My
uncle has got the music for Elizabeth, and is going to town to-morrow
for the other things. Tell aunt that he has bought a pocket book for
me, for which I am very jnuch obliged to her. I send Charles a knife,
and Charles Smith the same, which Charles can give him. Mr. Day
has asked me to spend the mid-summer holidays with himself — if I don't
go there : Mrs. Kirwan has asked me. I hope you are all quite well.
Give my love to papa, mama, aunt, brothers, and sisters, and believe me,
dear J , your affectionate brother,

" ViNEY DURNFORD."

"11. M. A., November 4, 1827.

"Mr DiSAR J — , I received your letter of the August 20, about a fort-
night ago : — I have not been able to answer it before, because the mail does
not go till the 7th. Of course you have heard of Charles' arrival, and
I dare say he has told you that he has not seen me yet. I had a letter
from him last week. He seemed very contented, and said his time was
passed very pleasantly, which I am sure he cannot help doing with such an
uncle. He says a young man attends him three times a week, whom he
denominates his tutor.

'' I wrote to aunt Kirwan a short time ago, in answer to a letter she
sent me : she has not yet given me an invitation to spend the vacation
with her, but I expect it every day.

141

"■^1

e points ;
miability
ict made
it: when
ler of an
1 chosen ;
)uld have
jf he was
ms of his

iharacter ;
implicity,

general
it down to
lool again
all the
Monday ;

you the
but there
Goodman
talked six
ing about
1 you that
1 France,
nth. My
to-morrow
t book for
es a knife,

Mr. Day
-if I don't
:|uite well.
)elieve me,

JFORD."

i, 1827.
>out a fort-
3 mail does
rrival, and
lad a letter
s time was
ith such an
:, whom he

a letter she
he vacation

"As to my drawings, you may believe me, that there is not one worth
seeing, much more sending so far.

" We had a grand day here a short time ago : the duke of Clarence
came down to present the marines with new colours, the cadet company
was turned out under arras, and marched down to the riding-school, as
the rain came down in torrents. It was a long time before we could get
in ; and, as you may conceive, we got a fine ducking, particularly as we
wore white trousers for the occasion. There was a platform in the
middle of the school, on which stood the duchess of Clarence, Glouce-
ster, and the princess Augusta ; around it were the marquis of Anglesey,
Lord Fitzroy Somerset, and several other noblemen. As the cadets
take precedence of any other troops, we wore very near the platform.
As soon as we got in, General Fisher, our commandant, gave the word,
and we presented arms ; and in about five minutes after, the Duke of
Clarence began a long speech reflecting on the s«rvices of the marines
in different parts of the globe; and as soon as he had finished this,
he explained the different devices on the colours, and then presented them
to the senior lieutenant.

" Two or three cadets have just been admiring your hand, which they
saw on the direction of one of your letters I was referring to.

" I must say I envy your picnics. I have been to Lake Duchesnay ;
I believe it is the same as the one you call Lake Beauport. I have
•never been near the other lakes and falls you mention. We have just
had an examination in our academy, and several of the first cadets have
been examined for commissions, and have gone down into the arsenal :
there is to be another in December, when nine more will go down.

*' The Duke of Wellington is very unpopular with us for having
stopt the intended promotion in the artillery, particularly as it had been
in the papers and we were almi -f sure of it. Our hours have just been
changed, and now the morninj.:, parade i.s ut 8 o'clock instead of 7 : it
will continue so I believ dl the winter.

" We are looking out lui the frost, which has not yet mndr^ its appear-
ance even in the shape of hrir frost. There arca^i' at many larce
ponds on the common, and, as 1 !- pe, there will be some good skating,
which is a good deal better here than \v Canada, tlierc being no snow to
spoil it. And now my dear I must conclude : give my love to papa and
mama, and all the other relations, and believe m- your af (innute brother,

' VlNEY DURNPORD.''

" Cadet Barracks, December 1, 1829.

" My Dear J — , T have to thank you for your short account of your
travels, as also I believe for divers unanswered epistl . of yours, which I
am ashamed to particularize ; but I believe al i that it is about the

best thing I could do, viz., to write as little as iiossible, if I cannot pro-
duce something more worth reading than those unintelligible, ill-written
productions, to which the name of Viney Durnford is affixed.

'* My fortnight's leave will I believe be spent with my aunt Kirwan,
as she has invited me. I have also been invited by the Durnfords at
Chatham.

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*' I have bjon to see the R 's several times since 's departure,

and am going to-morrow to see Dr. Parker, who with his wife is now
at Woolwich.

'• You no doubt arc not sorry for the change that is to take place
in your residence —by the by you will I suppose be quartered somewhere
near my uncle George and family.

" Charlotte I hoar is grown quite out of roiuembrance : my best love to
her and to Caroline and Sarah — they must excuse my not writing to
tliem this time, but I promise them one in my next packet. I suppose
John will come with you : I hope he likes his new studies. Believe me,
my dear J , your aflfectionate brother,

" ViNEY DURNFORD."

The next, from a friend of Viney's, is rife with the ingenuous feelings
of I'riondship and confidence, besides other interesting matter. The
author wa8 unknown to the family, save by his signature.

" Rajeunal on the (Jangcs, Aug. 4, 1832.

'• 31y Dear Durnford, — Since I separated from you last Christmas,
I have traversed more than half the circumference of the earth, and
arrived in India, the country where I must pass the prime of my ex-
istence, and labour for bread, and for what fame may be acquired in
peaceful times, or against the enervated inhabitants of a hot climate.
I address you at random, as you may be in Africa or America, or per-
haps in the classic land of Greece, where I cannot but envy you the
pride of spirit — of searching among the ruins of all that was great and
all that was noble in former times.

'• ^ly voyage out was not very short, but as every thing was perfectly
ncAV, the time did not hang so heavy as is usually considered. We had
no bad weather except in the " Bay of Biscay," that disagreeable ordeal
of all people fresh from land. The days flowed smoothly along, occa-
."^ionally interspersed with the view of islands, or the capture of birds and
of fishes, or the sight of a returning ship, enabling the care-sick and
the home-sick to vent their feelings on a sheet of paper. We landed
upon the island of Johanna, petite and beautiful like other tropical
islands, but labouring under the double despotism of the religion of
Mahomet and the most inordinate desire of money. We sailed
round Ceylon,- where perhaps you may one day be, — and were much
amused by the l i utesque appearance of its hills ; one of these precisely
resembling, we named after " Westminster Abbey." We saw Madras,
a noble monument of British honour and wealth, and only surpassed by
Calcutta, situated on the holiest branch of the holy Ganges. When I
arrived, and found myself after three years study, the tenth supernume-
rary in the Corps of Engineers, with my pay dipt and cut and drawn
through the slender wire holes of modern currency, and the ideas of Lord
William Bentinck, who has pinched the Court of Directors, displeased,
and impoverished the offic s of 300,000 armed men: a dangerous
policy. I am now proceeding up the Ganges to join the sappers and
miners at Delhi, in charge of 'hose educated at Chatham. And we shortly

143

expect to be called to the field, to form a camp of 40,000 men, for the
purposes of instruction, but really to observe die conduct of Runjit Singh,
a very powerful rajah in the western provinces with a large array, and
the keep of India in his hand, wliich he can open to the ambition of the
emperor of Russia. I hope such a thing may happen, for we will drive
them back to their desert, and perhaps you and I may meet under the
walls of Moscow, and promote the interest of England jointly with the
votaries of Christ and of Mahomet, — a strange difference to throwing
up field-works, or drawing plans on the marshes of the Medway.

" I hope you have been in good health since I saw you, and that you
have been stationed at a place that you will like, for you did not seem
anxious to rocjucst the board for the favour of a good appointment. Of
course I shall have cut, unless it is to be employed in the field, the true
post for a young officer. Have you seen Moody lately? and how
long has he left Chatbam ? How do your studies in chemistry
and geology and history proceed ? Has your perusal of the Fathers
cleared your miuJ, or involved you in endless confusion ? I have
given up all such things, and confine my reading to the mathematics, —
to history — and to poetry. There is at present very good play for all
the sciences in India. The Trig. Survey far exceeds that of England,
Ireland, or France. I shall be most happy to hear from you at all times
— the oftencr, the gladder I shall be. I hope your friends are well. I
remain, my dear Durnford, yours most sincerely.

'• To Lieut. Viney Durnford, 11. E. J. W. Cunninoham."

The two next letters in order of time are from Mrs, Kirwan's eldest son,
who always met the same cordial welcome at his aunt's house, as did his
cousins in Mrs. Kirwan's, whose sheltering mansion never failed at vaca-
tion time to open for the reception of her nephews, while the Atlantic
separated them from their parents ; and the mutual regard of both fami-
lies for each other resembled that of brothers and sisters.

1 Manchester St., Manchester Square, October 12, 1823.

'• jMy Dear Cousin, — Allow mc to express the pleasure I feel from the
reception of those lines, the purport of which you thought me not
unworthy of fulfilling ; and since you have thus commenced an epistolary
correspondence, let mo hope that this is but the forerunner of future
favors.

You little know me, if you think your directions could ever, from my
hand, find their way into the fire.

" You doubt whether your request might appear to me as an extraor-
dinary piece of assurance, rather say as an extraordinary piece of favour :
for, to tell you the truth, my opinion is always in favour of candour and
sincerity ; thus taking you as my model, let me hope I shall pr jve my-
self a docile and willing pupil.

" Now to business with regard to the chess-board. I have visited
Ackerman's, and have inspected, very minutely, boards of different shapes
and sizes : I shall in the first place answer those points you wish to know.

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The shape of the board must be a square: the sizes are from sixteen to
twenty-one inches — understand, when T say the board must be square, I
mean within the pattern, the rim or edge of the board may be, and are
of various shapes — such as waved edr>es. The prices I fear you will think
exorbitant. The boards consist of white wood, veneered on mahogany.
Those ready for inlaying are from twenty-four to thirty shillings with
patterns, and those without are from four to six less. As to the expense
of sending down to you, I should think the utmost they could charge
would be from eighteen pence to two shillings at the outside. You wish
to know whether it is possible to build the same at Portsmouth, the di-
mensions being rightly understood ?

" T should say decidedly yes, for I see no reason why you could not
begin another, with those dimensions before you, as well as if it caiiie
from as renommi a place as Ackerman's. I have answered your letter
item by item : hope therefore it will enable you to complete one at last ;
but be sure and get a good seasoned piece of wood, or otherwise it will
serve as did the last. I was on the eve of my departure for the country
when your letter arrived or would have attended to it ere now ; on my
way home I came through Woolwich and saw the Petleys, they jskcdrne
to dine with them, but I wished to return to town as early as I could, so
politely declined the offer. They Jisked after you all. Mrs. Petley, I
was told by a person constantly in the habit of visiting her, is in a very
tottering state, and is supposed not long for this world.

" My mother is just leaving Orpington to reside at Canterbury, I sus-
pect only for a short time. My brother was in town a short time ago,
he is at present residing at Maiden Bradley in Dorsetshire, without any
earthly occupation. The fogs begin to make their appearance in London.
Town ..as been very empty for the last two months, but now the streets
begin to assume a more cheerful appearance. I hope all chez vous are
well, faites mes souvenirs il tous, s'il vous plait. Will you ask my aunt
if she will be kind enough to return Dr. Milner's work as soon as conve-
nient. If agreeable to her, I will send her another work of later period.
I hope you will always favour me with a line whenever you may chance
have any commissions to execute, as will prove to me that I am not for-
gotten by all. Believe me, my dear cousin, yours truly,

" J. F. KiRWAN."

{From the same to the same.)

" 13 Duke St., Manchester Square, Nov. 8, 1835.

"My Dear Cousin, — I arrived here a few days ago,after taking Brigh-
ton on my way to London from Southampton. I sojourned ten days at
Brighton, and which flew by as if it were but two, being chiefly occupied in
waiting on your sex, almost as charming as yourself. A propos, during our
country rides I had frequent opportunities of observing that the Portsmouth
fashion for ladies to ride with unbound hats appears not to have extended
to London or Brighton. So much for that: now as to the different items

146

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yoii wrote in my memorandum book, I shall attend to in rotation. I am
told at Ackerman's, that twenty-four inches square is tlie largest size ;
thickness from three quarters to an inch. They are generally made of
white wood, or, in other words, of holly wood. Price from 25s. to 30s.
I send you the magazine and bottle of gall water. With regard to Indian
ink running, they say nothing will prevent it if the paper is bad. I also
enquired at a firstrate upholsterer's the damage of a handsome stand or a
frame for a chess-board, made ^sually of rosewood ; nothing handsome
under £5, as much more as you like. This appears to be the last com-
mission, at least for the present, I will add, until you learn to treat me
like some friends of ours, when they get impatient and are not attended
to by return of post, and beg to have their letters sent back. I am not
at all apprehensive that this will be your case, knowing so well, my dear
cousin, your amiable qualities. I trust I need not add, I shall at all
times feel flattered in attending to your commands. I am sorry to find
I am just returned time enough to witness the commencement of the
London fogs, which usually visit the capital at this season of the year.
How is my dear aunt ? I sincerely hope she impro\;(;8 daily, and will ere
long recover her strength. Pray say every tiling kind and afiectionate
from me. I am sorry to say there is so little stirring in town that you
must not expect any thing in the shape of news. My friend Selby is to
be married on Tuesday the 12th inst. first by one of our bishops and then
at his parish church ; after which, I am told there will be an assembly of
friends to a dejeuner a la fourchette, to the number of sixty. The s^^je,
I hope, ere long, to be my case. I fear all absentees will come poorly off
for cake. Since my return to town I am told by some friends that I
was seen by them riding with a lady near Portsmouth, on the London
road, and how fortunate the rencontre did not take place coming down
Postdown Hill ! (The lady this letter was written to, in galloping down
Postdown Hill in company with Mr. Kirwan, had been thrown from her
horse.) Be kind enough to tell Caroline I hope she will not forget her
promise to her dear cousin John, conveying all the Portsmouth news,
from time to time. Pray excuse this neat scrawl, as I am, as usual when
writing, in a hurry. A good apology for a pack of nonsense — n'est ce
pas. My kind regards also to cousin J, and shall feel it a compliment if
she will occasionally favor me with her handwriting, reporting progress
of her invalids, which I trust will be realized. Accept my best wishes
for your family circle, and believe me to remain.

" Your affectionate cousin,

John Kirwan."

Arrivals stirring and gay — if royal — doubly welcome, constantly occur
at Portsmouth. The Duchess of Kent and the young princess, her child
of fully realized, happy hope, paid England's proud seaport several visits
at this period, and the exiled Don Carlos of Spain with his queen ; also
Donna Maria the young Queen of Portugal, and her mother-in-law, the
Empress of Brazil and Duchess of Braganza. My father happened

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146

occasionally, in consequence of the frequent absence of the general com-
manding, to be in charge of the garrison ; and the disposition of the troops
for the reception of distinguished guests thus devolved necessarily on him.
For Donna Maria's reception, on her second visit, the appearance the
Boldieramade in lining the streets, &o., was so well managed, as to receive
complimentary thanks from the Rear Admiral, Sir Thomas Williams.
Donna Maria offered to confer on him the decoration of the Cross of the
Legion of Honour of Portugal ; he was advised to decline it.

When the Princess Victoria visited and went over " the Royal Clarence
Victualing Establishment," near Gosport, and was shewn the newly ap-
proved process of biscuit making for the navy, my father had the honour
of taking her round it, leaning on his arm, and an amiable young lady
present, afterwards observed to one of his daughters, that Colonel Durn-
ford took the princess in his kind manner. lie was also honoured with
invitations to the Duchess of Kent's table, while residing at Cowes in the
Isle of Wight ; after retiring to the drawing room, the princess would
sing to the company.

My father now enjoyed meeting with many old friends of his boyhood
and youth, as well as many who remembered and had been his father's :
indeed the toilsome life he had led in Canada was much lightened by the
change of station. The fearful disease — cholera — made its appearance in
the sappers' barracks, only separated from his own residence by the street.
Several soldiers' children died, and alarm, with its consequent dejection
followed. The company, at his recommendation, was immediately removed
to Southsea Castle, where the salubrious sea air at once established health
and confidence. It would no doubt have been better to have refrained
from entering into the violent canvassing parties, that, during election
times disturbed Portsmouth, ; papa was a decided conservative or toiy,
and once, indeed only once, in making his way to the hustings, to give
his vote accordingly, was nearly killed. It was doubtless owing to this
ill-judged act, that on an occasion of an address of thanks being made by
the corporation for the restoring or new building of the Lion Gate, one
of the gates of the fortified town of Portsmouth, the name of his second
in command was substituted for that of the commanding Royal Engineer.
Besides a periodical attendance on the king, at Brighton, his tour of in-
spection comprised Winchester, New Forest, Southampton, Isle of Wight,
the coast as far as Brighton, taking in a great extent of beautiful country,
replete with interest and importance. The curious old castles of Calshot
and Hurst were included.

At break of day, one morning, the Donegal frigate was discovered lying
at Spithead. A boat was immediately despatched to know the reason
why the usual salute had not been fired. The answer returned was
"because there was a royal party on board." (From the Gazette):
" June 18, 1834. At 6 A. M. this morning, the Admiral Superinten-
dent's yacht was dispatched to the Donegal for the pmrpose of conveying
on shore Don Carlos's family and suite. At a quarter before seven
•'clock, the Donegal was seen to ' man yards,' and a royal salute of
twenty-one guns was fired from that ship upon the party embarking on

liilii

board the vacht ; Capt. Fanshaw nooompanied the illustrious strangers,
who, upon landing at Sally-port stairs, were received with a second salute,
of twenty-one guns from the platform battery. A captain's guard of
honour was drawn up in the street, and the marine band, as the prince and
princess entered the post carriage which conveyed them to their apart-
ments in High Street, struck up * God save the King.' Nothwithstanding
the early hour, the platform was covered with well-dressed people
anxious to gaze on exiJed royalty."

Sir Frederic Maitland, the Superintendent, Lord Adolphus Fitz-
clarence, &c., paid their respects at 12 o'clock. Don Carlos, on leaving
the Donegal, expressed himself in terms of heartfelt gratitude for the
kind and generous reception he experienced from the captain and every
officer on board. He addressed them on the quarter deck as follows in
French : —

" Messieurs : Avant do vous quitter, mon coour sent le besoin de vous
t^moigner ma reconnaissance pour la manidre aimable avec laquel'e vous
tous nous avez traitd. Moi, et to«te ma famille, n'oublierons jamais les
services rendus avec tant de franchise etde generosity, qui atoujours dis-
tingud la marine de la Grande Bretagne.

" De prtNs, comme de loin, je me rapellerai toujours de votre excellent
eapitaine et des officiers appartenans ii ce beau vaisseau, et pour que j'aie
toujours en mdmoire leur noms, je vous prie, M. le Capitaine, de vouloir
bien me donner la liste de ces braves officiers."

His consort, who had been deemed remarkably handsome, landed with
a frame shattered from fatigue and ill health, having suffered many hard-
ships and privations in the flight ; on one emergency she was forced to
walk twenty miles on foot. At this time those who saw her recognized
little of her former beauty, but described her as a tall, gaunt woman.
The young princes, boys of ten and twelve years of age, were constantly
seen walking about Portsmouth, accompanied by their tutor, and with
their mother were left by Don Carlos near Gosport, as in secure deposit.
The exiled queen, after languishing a few months, expired at Stoke, in
the apartment in which her remains lay in state for some days ; the bed
watched by her body guards, was visited by crowds. My father, with
his family crossed the harbour to see it. While Don Carlos, his queen
and two sons were thus allowed the shelter of hospitality at Portsmouth,
volunteers from the same place were collecting in great numbers to join
Colonel Napier's band against him.

About 1833, Louis Philippe's sailor son, the Prince de Joinville, came
to Spithead, and while his ship lay there at anchor, he sent invitations to
all the chief authorities of Portsmouth to breakfast with him. Papa re-
ceived one :

" Monsieur le Colonel du Gdnie, &c., &c., Durnford, Portsmouth.

" S. A. R. Monsieur le Prince de Joinville, me charge d'avoir I'hon-
neur d'inviter M. le Colonel du Gdnie k dejeuner demain, lundi, k bord
de la frigate la Didon, ce lime ftvrier.

" d, bord de la Didon^ Porttmouth, 13, 7.

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For some reason his politeness was not accepted by the oflHoials at
Portsmouth. Papa went in person on board the prince's vessel to oflFcr
apology for declining; the prince received him standing, with much
courtesy, telling him ho regretted the shortness of his visit.

It was now God's will that clouds should for some time settle over
Colonel Durnford's hitherto happy family. The death of poor Charles
proved but the prelude to other keen trials. Ellas, the eldest son, a
most promising officer in the Engineers, rv'^markably handsome in per-
son, and gifted both with mental and bodily accomplishments, was the
next prematurely taken from them. He fell a victim to fever, on his
way to Ceylon, after a long and hazardous journey by the way of the
Danube, Constantinople, Babylon, and Bussorah. Well for him, had
he been contented to have gone by the usual sea route I But after es-
caping the perils of the wild unfrequented countries he traversed, it was
fiad to learn twelve months nearly after his melancholy end, how all his
toils, hopes, and ardent best endeavours had terminated. " There was not
a finer young man in the whole army than was my son!" his weeping
father said, as he turned aside that his children might not see the tears
he could not stop. His interesting journal, and numerous letters written
from the successive resting posts of his long journey, were duly received
and read with delight and pride at the family fire-side, while those who
sat round little thought, the affectionate heart that dictated, and the able
hand that guided the description of the traveller's risks and privations,
would never mingle with them again in converse. Like Charles, his
thoughts and affections always turned to home ; and as the first departed
had collected the beautiful among ocean's corals and sea-fans, so did
Elias make choice as he went along of whatever he thought likely to give
pleasure to those, who " though absent to sight were to memory dear."
Among the presents he made to his mother and sisters, were a fine col-
lection of Turkish costumes, embroidered handkerchiefs from Constanti-
nople, pieces of mosaic and lavas, with rich Albanian scarfs he had pre-
viously sent over while stationed in the Ionian Islands ; but the pro-
mised " BricW^ from the " Tower of ruined Babylon," whose procuring
and receiving had occasioned so much conversation and agreeable antici-
pation, never arrived.

When Elias discovered to his great regret the place of his destination,
he had every esteemed work on Turkey, Persia, and India, that " Eber's
Library " contained, sent to him ; reading with assiduity day and night,
and making himself well acquainted with the route he unfortunately
could not be deterred from undertaking, and purchasing many valuable
and useful scientific instruments.

One of his sisters has performed the task of putting together his let-
lers and journal, along with his services in the corps he had entered into,
and of which, none can deny, he was an ornament and valuable mem-
ber ; and she has executed the task with fidelity, prompted by affec-
tionate wishes to render justice to her beloved and manly brother's mem-
ory, who did not yield in generosity of temper to Charles. It is there-
fore unnecessary to say more on his untimely departure from a world of

149

tffioials At
el to offer
ith muoh

wttle over
)r Charles
est 8on, a
ne in per-
s, was the
^er, on his
ray of the
him, had
t after cs-
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low all his
sro was not
is weeping
Q the tears
jrs written
ly received
those who
id the able
privations,
harles, his
t departed
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ely to give
ory dear."
a fine col-
Constanti-
ic had pre-
it the pro-
procuring
iblc antici-

estination,
" Bber's
and night,
brtunately
y valuable

ler his let-
tered into,
able mem-
by aflFec-
ler's mem-
t is there-
a world of

perplexity and frustrated purpose, which, had Qod pleased, it seemed
ho might have long lived to serve in his honourable calling.

Some time before the intolligonco of his melancholy end was received,
Mrs. Bumford told her family, at the breakfast table, she had passed a
disturbed night, and dreamed of a very long journey — her dream was
all about black, coffins, and confusion. Better had it been for the anx-
ious mother to have u^uardcd the secret of her mournful vision within
her bosom ; for unluckilv one of the domestics overheard the recital, and
told it among her fellow-servants. In the number of these was a
woman, who was laundress to the family, and had been the same
in the familv of Colonel Durnford's predecessor. This person had
the extraordinary want of humanity and tact to say to her companions,
" There was good coming to them, for Missis had dreamed of Mr.
Elias' death, and they would all have new black gowns 1" Who can
blame the heurt-strickon mother, to whose ears this cruel saying came,
if in the anguish of her just resentment, she denied the usual com-
pliment being paid to her loved son's memory, by disappointing the
thoughtless woman. This person was an honest, good-hearted crea-
tairo ; and that this unfortunate inconsistency of speech did not proceed
from malevolence or premeditation, is most certain, for Elias was beloved
universally by his inferiors in station ; neither did the bereaved parent
retain afterwards a warped view of her dependant's levity, since she con-
tinued to hold the same place in her service as long as her family
remained at Portsmouth. The husband was a superannuated marine,
enjoying a small pension.

The next letter is of a sad character, replying to one from Miss Durn-
ford on hearing that Colonel By was no more. Miss Lucy Adams, the
amiable lady who penned it, had been on the point of marriage wit^'
Mrs. By's father, when his unexpected death placed Mr. Marsh's two
infant daughters under her care and surveillance; and she loved them
through life with a mother's entire fondness.

" Shernfold Park, Feb. 17, 1836.
" My Dear Miss Durnpord, — I should ere this have thanked you
for your kind sympathising letter, had not your dear father left us so
lately that I thought you would be glad to hear how my dear afflicted
friend Mrs. By bore up against her severe loss; and I am happy to say
tliat, considering her afflicting bereavement of one of the most tender
and affectionate of husbands, she is as well as could be expected. It is
true the sad event was in some degree anticipated, yet I can assure you,
it was nevertheless awful and distressing ; but as we all only linger on
earth in hopes of being translated to a better and happier world, the
event is more to be lamented for those left behind him. We are all
most anxious to hear a better account of Mrs. Durnford ; and that before
long one of you will favour us with a few lines to say how she is getting
on. We hope Colonel Durnford reached home in safety without taking
cold. We all unite in aft'ectionate regards to your papa and mama,
yourself, and all the family ; and believe me ; my dear Miss Durnford,
Your truly affectionate Lucy Adams."

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Let Ufl pasfl on now to pay nnotlicr tributo of recollection to the
amiable and gifted Vincy, who, on returning from Malta, hiH first Htation,
and Hpondine a wintc in bin parentn' houHc, was ordered to Ireland.
His Icttcrri from thenco relate what his life there was, until tho al
torod hand-writing they betrayed, to the observation of his alarmed pa-
tenta, caused them to believe some malady was consuming tho strength
of their bolovod son, — the correspondence ho enters into with his father
relating to exchanging quortcrs with another officer, cannot properly be
omitted, as it intimately concerns the history of Vincy's brief life.

" [Private.] Boyle, Fob. 22, 1836.

" My Dear "Father, — I yesterday received a note of which tho fol-
lowing is a copy : —

" Enniskillcn, Feb. 19, 1835.

" ' My Dear Sir, — As you will probably be surprised at receiving a
letter from mo, I had better at once let you into the object of it. Heforo
I know that you wore appointed to succeed Biscoe at Boyle, I had
written to Colonel Thackeray to ask him to remove me there ; his reply
was that ho was sorry he had not known my wishes before, as you had
already boon ordered there, but that if I could arrange an exchange with
you, it should have his consent provided no expense was incurred by tho
government for travelling. My reason for wishing to remove from this
district is, that I am quite a stranger in this part of the country, all my
relations and friends living in the West and South of Ireland ; and Sligo
is the head quarters of my family. If you have nothing particular to
bind you to your present station, I think you would find this much the
most desirable, being in a far more civilized country, and you would
very much oblige me by consenting to an exchange. As you would not
be allowed travelling expenses in the event of your exchanging with mo,
I would of course be happy to defray the expense you might be put to
in accommodating me. Hoping for an early reply, believe me to be, sir,
very truly yours,

" ' G. W., Lt. R. E.'

" My reply to thi.s note was : —

"Boyle, Feb. 21, 1835.

" * My Dear Sir, — I have received your note of the 1 9th, and intend to
take advice on the subject of it, so that I shall not be able to give you a
final answer for a week or so — but this much I may say before hand,
that, barring oy wish to oblige you, I have no desire to move from my
present quarter. I am, very truly yours,

V. Durnford.
" < Lieut. W , R. E., Enniskillen.'

" I should like to have your opinion of thi.s matter. I am myself dis-
inclined to this proposal. Mr. W offers to defray my travelling

expenses, but he says nothing about my trouble, and nothing about the
extra expense of living at Enniskillen : it is however something nearer
Dublin, which is certainly an advantage. •

161

" Tho now Hvatcm ImH now iittaincd to considcralilo romiluritv in thl«
country. Ample dirwtionH (of which I can if you \>\vum hoauI copicH)
hnvo boon forwarded for tho uhu of tho forni.s, but I rather tiiink that
tho dirootionH nii^ht not ho well apply to the (Mtnipliciitcd uccountH at
PortHmouth. " Tho Dinry " in niudo a UHeful record, answering indeed
to some of tho Clerk of Workw' books at I'ortHmtmth, I unfortunately
however did not make myHcIf fully uc(iuuinted with your improved
method."

" Whilo in Dublin I dined at the Artillery Mess at Island Uridge.
Tho conversation fell on the llideuu Canal ; and opinions differing on a

SjuoHtioD connected with it — whether or not tlie locks were at first built
or tho passage of small craft, and then pulled down an<l rebuilt to admit
largo vossels ? reference was made to mo, who ^could only plead igno-
rance, rather discreditable to me. Mention was made of a series of
reports with which you had something to do, which give tho history of this
canal. I would give anything to possess them. Can you not send them
to mo ? Tliov aro of course to bo had in London, as I understood thoy
wore printed m parliamentary papers. I am very much in want of the
Barrack Regulations. Thoy are on sale I should think at Kgerton's,
Whitehall, and might bo ordered of Comcrford. With love to all, and
trusting my mother's health is improving, I am, your aifectionate son,

ViNEY."

" Tho Gorrard, to whom my present valet was groom, is I find not tho
Gerrard I knew, although in 70th. Martin my valet is a proper lout j
he beats all the fellows I have yot had, seems however to know some-
thing about horses, but I am afraid that if I keep him, I must get a boy
for indoor work. I have heard it truly remarked, that considering the
description of article provided, Ireland is not a cheap place. I have said
that my lodgings, for which I pay rather more than at Portsmouth, are
not the best. I understood that I was to be furnished with China and
Plate, which turn out to be one cup, three plates of all patterns, and one
glass, two black-handled knives and forks, which have to be cleaned between
first and second course. I ordered a fowl to be bought, and a fine young
one was procured for eight pence ; as it was too fresh, I ordered some
mutton, but was told that though cheap, the slieep were diseased ; and,
after all, the chicken turned out a hen.

" To my sister : I found tliat it would be advisable to keep the gold
chain. The jeweller valued it absurdly low, though the same man who
8ol<' it to me a year ago. Always write ' single ' on the letters you
s jnd me, if a large paper ; and it would be well to enquire whether letters
for Dublin cannot go by Bristoi, in which case you will not omit to write
" vi& Bristol," which will save thirteen or fourteen hours from London
to Holyhead. I paid two shillings and ten pence the other day for
Caroline's letter, but it was ^yorth at least five shillings, and so had a
cheap bargain. I by no means however despise franks. I do not want
all the newspapers ; two or three a week will suffice. Articles I should

; (
!■ ■

' 162

meh to be sent to me in addition to those I have mentioned before ;
Leather scabbard of sword, which should be first repaired ; Leigh's Road
Book ; Damm's Lexicon, two 'arge books ; Ileync's Homer, vol. 2,
large book ; Umbrella ; Retsch'n Macbeth ; Drawing of Looks at en-
trance of Eideau ; Printing : machine."

This letter was written ' . ihe days when po^itage cost money, and
t^ose who had much to say r-rote on long paper, and scribbled over all
^he foldings and corners, and before envelopes were considered necessary.
Viney adds on another corner : —

" Major M. C. Dixon, who is in temporary command of Ulster dis-
trict, is under orders for Ceylon, and has been so for near a month. He
will I have no doubt be happy to take anything."

•' [Private.] Rnniskillen, April 2, 1835.

" My Dear Fathgr, — I reached this place on Friday last, and
think I have on the wliole bettered myself by tho exchange from Boyle,
as Enniskillen is a metropolis compared tc the othor, and is, indeed, as
you found it thirty years ago, a neat pretty place. My forebodings that
my loork would be harder have however been confirmed, and I have been
in fact, in despair at the host of letters There are two Clerks of Works,
and a Foreman of Works reporting to me, and I shall I believe be shortly
ordered on a tour of inspection to these places ; and you will se^, on
reference to a map, that my division of the Ulster district forms a frac-
tiOii Oi Ireland with no low denomination.

*' Londonderry, and some dozen of forts on Lough Swilly, and Lough
Foyle, Liffbrd, Omagh, Ballyshannon, Beltarbet, and Cavan. The 52nd
Light Infantry is here (head quarters of th'e regiment), and has detach-
ments at the outstations, and there are cavalry in some of the barracks.

'•' I found that I was in the dark at Boyle on the 7icw si/stem. The
diary was, I finj, long ago, September, 1834, done away, the book at
least containing it ; as containing a mere copy, as I said, at the back of
the Weekly Roport (No. 1 Form), it was thought useless. I have
trouble 1 you about it very vexatiously, but you will make allowances for
me. Liout.-Colonel Hustler had this district the time of his death, and
it appears to be in excellent order, so that it will be my own fault if I
fail in my own duties. I shall get into the routine in time I hope, but
am at present in bad health, and cannot get through the business in the
proper siyle.

" You are aware, I suppose, if Elizabeth says true, that Lieut. Biscoe
is appointed to Portsmouth ; that I relieved lit. B. at Boyle, and that he
was then bad health. Captain Wilson, my former Irish commanding
officer, is iu temporary command of the district, to be relieved soon by
Captain Williams going himself to Belfast. I remain your affectionate

son,

V INEY.

" Colonel Cardew arrived at Boyle the day before I left. He asked
me to dine with him at the inn : said he had met you at a levee.

153

sefi, on

c asked

" ( To whom it concerns.)

" The attempt of the girls to avoid postage was a complete failure — as
thus on cover — Opened O 3s. lOd., which 3s. lOd. I had to pay, and it might
have been 10s. However I was glad to hear from them, and the delin-
quents may think themselves lucky to have escaped at sixpence a-piece,
over two such letters. If you write to me hero your letters will be for-
warded to me during my tour, and I shall be happy to execute com-
missions in any of the places mentioned. I made the tour of the other
district before I left it.

" William Hale is here (Adjutant), and called on me very kindly. He
desired me to mention his name. He is a fine young man, and I dined
at their mess one day. The gents are a trifle high, and I do not yet
understand them. There is a great deal going forward here. Two
oflScers of the navy arrived same day I did, to survey Loch Earne, in con-
nection with the ordnance people, — Wulff and Beechey ; the latter, brother
of North Pole, and indeed North Pole himself Lieut. E. W. Durnford
lives at Swanlinbar, County Cavan, ten miles oflF, and has called on
me. Lieut. Vicars, R. E., is at Bally shann'^n. Tell me who he is, as I
shall likely see him soon. Lieut. Stotherd, H.. E., is here, with his fam-
ily, but is going away, which is a loss. Ensign Fanshaw is here, a nice
little boy who sits smiling at the mess table.

" Please send me, according to my numerous catalogues, if preserved,
the things you have, except the bedstead and Damm's Lexicon ; and as
to the mattress and bedding, if they are useful in the house, keep them ;
otherwise send them, as they may be useful for a friend. As my mother
said, there are good furnished lodgings here. Please to add, or not, at
pleasure, a new dressing gown or robe, according to taste, and I want a
French book to read. Select me one from the range of French literature.
I shall certainly be pleased, but give you a deal of trouble. Ad 'ress to me
at length, Enniskillen, Ireland ; and as to conveyance, the steamers have
commenced, or will shortly from Portsmouth to Dublin, or, at any rate,
from Ports, to Plymouth, and thereon. I hope the Philosophical Society
was settled. If any things not in the catalogue are sent 1 shall not be
angry in the least — non-intelligible letter I Take care to inform me ex-
actly what you do about the baggage ? more trouble ! My mother directs
a newspaper forwarded from Boyle, with others. She is better, and down
stairs."

" Enniskillen, April 8, 1835.

" My dear Mother, — Since my first letter from this place I have
discovered a place that suits me for a dwelling, at £4 per quarter, unfur-
nished, but entirely to myself, which you will, I think, consider so advan-
tageous as to be preferable to taking a furnished lodging, and therefore I
must send you a fresh set of addenda to the list of thosa to be sent ;

" Iron bedstead. ') t t i i. h. j

« Curtains for the same. [ ^ «^" '^ ^^^ P^^^^J ^^^« ^^^'^ «^^^^ ^P

" Curtains for three windows^ j ^^*'

" Also white trousers.

'I'

'. I ■

' I. .

I fii:

154

*' Army Regulations.

" Card plate (if to be found), and fifty cards to be printed, and sent

along with it.
'' Steel boothooks, my property.
" Black knives and forks (those eyesores).
' ' German candlesticks.
" Pair of patent snuffers (to be bought).

" You may perceive that I grow economical in my old age ; you must
however charge these articles to my account, as I think I was paid for
them before leaving Portsmouth. Also printed Parliamentary Ordnance
Estimates for 1835. Possibly my father may think of procuring a copy
for himself, and in that case may as well get two.

" The windows (in case you choose to make up the curtains) are com-
mon twelve-paned. Have you decided to send me a robe ? If you have,
Mr. Ranger has my measure.

" I set out for Ballyshannonon Monday 13, and thence take the king's
mail to Derry on the following day. I expect to remain at the latter
place or neighbourhood, cruising on Loch Foyle and Swilly for about a
week, and am then to return through Lifford and Omagh. The folks
here will take care of any thing you send me.

" I am an honorary of the mess of the 52nd regiment, but am not sure
I shall trouble them much. William Hale has been staying some days at
Florence Court, Lord Enniskillen's place. I have been interrupted in
writing this by the entrance of the cows from Swanlinbar, and it is near
post time. I had not, however, to tell truth, much more to say, and
so, believe me to be, your affectionate son.

I have bought a horse — a noble chestnut.

ViNEY."

" Enniskillen, September 7.

" Dear J. — My thanks are due for a letter received from you some time
since, as also for those from other correspondents, the last being dated July
23, six weeks back, but writers have doubtless been waiting for replies, and
I suppose I may not complain. Are you still at Hambleton ? Is mama
getting better ? also the other two invalids you mentioned ? Bad news
travels fast, and I have heard nothing, but expect confirmation of my
hopes.

" Since beginning of August I have been living in a kind of cottage,
which I have taken until 1st May, a few hundred yards from the bridge.
Enniskillen occupies a small island in the Lough, as its name denotes,
Innis, or Inch, signifying island. It is rather a grandiose little place,
with a demesne of nearly two acres, garden, field, coachhouse, &c. I
make no use of the stable, my horses being lodged m the barrack square,
and I do not possess a vehicle. When travelling I either coach or post
in a car, my journeys being too long for my own cattle,

" Pray thank my kind correspondents; I hope they will write. Don't
forget to remember me to John in next letters. Whether single or mar-
ried, I wish him and all things and persons, whose welfare concerns him,

155

11 i

all the success and happiness which he deserves, and you know my opinion
of his merits.

" Have you heard more of EHas ? The intelligence I received from
Pctsmouth in July was very satisfactory to my mind, joined to the news
which I understood had been received in Pall Mall from Colonel Vava-
sour, of his having t ived at Bombay. I thought that the trait of his
remaining to purchase Arabians was very characteristic. A Mons. Quin,
by advertisement, has published ' A Steam Voyage on the Danube.' Elias
will reserve himself I am about to set out on my tour of inspection,
which, comprehending Derry, I intend if I can posJbly spare time to
make an excursion to the Giant's Causeway, not that I anticipate any
extraordinary pleasure from the trip. If I had the choice, I would
go down to Killarney in preference, but that may not be ; and I fear
I have missed for ever the opportunity which once offered, when I
was in the south of Ireland. George, by the by, was to have gone with
me J but poor Elias — you say you have not yet heard of his arrival at
Ceylon — we really must do something to ascertain something certain
about him. He had certainly however got safely through the greatest
difficulties he was likely to meet. You will of course let me have the
earliest account of him, which will, I trust, soon arrive. I did not tell
you of the addition to my stud, a beautiful black pony, quite a picture
or model. I must part with him though for all that, not having work
iOr two animals. I fear he would not suit Sarah, having been disposed
of by his former noble proprietor, because somewhat unmanageable :
but really the young lady's cowardice is a reflection on the family, which
I would exhort her to remove.

" I send you a newspaper containing an account of a ball in the Town
Hall, at which I was present. I flatter myself the editor i^ieant to include
me among the 4Ute he mentioned ; still you are not to imagine that there
are much of these amusements for me. I cannot be said to be fond of
society, but at this place I have less society than to my taste ; indeed the
people of Enniskillen are not over civil to me.

" Lately proceeding to Lough Swilly (for the second time within a
month) by way of Ballyshannon, I took the opportunity of going to
another ball at Banderan, (a diminutive Brighton) on the coast three
miles off. I returned to Ballyshannon that night. The lion was Colo-
nel Conolly, M.P., and his lady. He was once in the artillery, but has
now £30,000 per annum ! The splendid mansion of Castletown, near
Dublin, is his, but he has property also in Donegal, for which county he
sits in parliament.

" Is George coming to England? 1 see by the Portsmouth paper you
sent me that the 70th depot is at Fort Monckton. A son of Colonel Moody,
K. E,, is or was adjutant.

'' I have been dilatory in replying to a question about Athena3um and
Mr. Caunter. I do no* exactly remember how it was. It is of the less
consequence as the matter has, ere this, been decided by judges equally
to be depended on as the Athenaeum. ' Attila,' I am told by judges aforc-

{

\ !•:!;

1 !•'?

!!t:

-<p— *■

■^i!

^■f

156

said, is * pretty,' and sublime would I think be the word, but perhaps it
is both. With love to all, believe me, your aft'ectionate brother,

ViNEY."

As plainly read in the last of his letters, Viuey had then no idea of
misfortune being connected with his brother's lot ; and though he evidently
was ill, his spirits and youthful hopes bore him up during this sad
time. In the summei of 1835, in which these letters were written, a
lodging was engaged for my mother in the beautiful village of Hamble-
ton, distant from Portsmouth about twelve miles. Viney knew of his
mother's invalid condition, the serious state of health that prompted her
to quit the comfortable and envied Engineer Quarter at Landport, with
its well kept gardens and shrubberies, that severally produced and dis-
played the finest of vegetables, fruits, and flowering shrubs. Part of Mrs.
JDurnford's family accompanied her, indeed as many as the apart-
ments they were in could accommodate ; and while their mother slowly
recovered, her daughters derived equal benefit and enjoyment from the
attentions of several elegant and amiable families in the neighbourhood
of the village, regretting when the period for departure arrived, as the
closing year recalled them to Portsmouth. Up to this year they had re-
mained in ignorance, as Viney's letters inform us, of Elias' fate, but con-
tinued anxiously expecting to receive from him the happy tidings of his
safe arrival at Ceylon — tidings that were never to reach home !

The melancholy intelligence reached after their return, and gloom
overshadowed the paternal residence for many, many months succeeding.
Philip had married, and, with his brother John, had gone to Canada ; but
George and Viney visited home at this time, and had the grief to observe
that among the countless mysterious dispensations of Heaven, other trials
were appointed for them. My mother regained her health, while S-'rah,
the youngest and loveliest blossom of the domestic group, began to decline.
As spring advanced, George returned to Guernsey and joined his regi-
ment, and Viney went back to Ireland ; but pretty little Sarah never
rallied. Beautiful, quiet, and unobtrusive, her parents loved her as their
youngest darling. The advice of various medical gentlemen was called
in for her, but failing nature profited from none. Removal to a farm-
house at Purbrook was then tried, in the hopes that change would be of
benefit to the drooping child ; and then, as country air was still recom-
mended, her affectionate father, when forced to resign the lodging at Pur-
brook, hired a small house in the elevated village of Waterloo, over Post-
down Hill, on the London Road, engaging it for nine months, that being
its only means of procurement.

Here she died, languishing rapidly and most gently away, but not
before her Almighty Father had infused into her whole mind and soul a
ray of heavenly comfort and joy. Calmly and happily she expired, sur-
rounded by her weeping father, mother, and sisters ; who had all watched
her asiduously, by day and by night, for she would permit no hireling to
attend on her. Sarah had the advice of Dr. Ogilvie, the artillery surgeon,

167

Dr. Lara, then esteemed the best physician in Portsmouth, with the at-
tendance of Mr. Cooper, his apothecary, Dr. Jones, a retired physician,
residing at Hambleton ; and Sir William Knighton, late physician to
George the 4th, saw her very shortly before her death, closing his Chris-
tian visit, made at his own request, by saying to my mother, " Your
child is very safe, for she is in the hands of God ! she must have been
a beautiful little girl 1 " After Sarah's death he gave Mrs. Durnford a little
work addressed to mourners, written by his wife, entitled " Passages of Con-
solation," which my mother kept near her until the day of her own depar-
ture to join her children's spirits.

Not long after Sarah's death a young girl in humble circumstances, a
resident of Portsmouth, presented my mother with the following lines,
written by herself:

To the memory of Sarah Durnford, who died in a consumption the

22nd August, 1836.

Rest thee, slumberer, rest,

Thy pilgrimage is o'er,
And those thy presence blest

Thy smiles will glad no more.
Thou wert too bright, too fair for earth,

And thou hast passed away,
Like flow'rets drooping in the bud,

Or summer's fading May.
Many a fair fabric hope had framed

Of visions bright for thee ;
Seen thro' the vista of long years, —

A sweet futurity :
But thine early death hath broken

The dream that fancy gave ;
The voice of God hath spoken,

And thou sleepest in the grave. 0. Moss.

The following lines are Sarah's own composition; they were written
two years prior to her early death :

THE MORNING WALK.

The sun had kindly spread a veil

O'er his bright and burning tace.
That we might not shrink from his scorching rays,

Or blush at his dazzling gaze..

The shadows were long, tho' the trees around
' Did not cast a gloomy shade.

The flowers seemed just to have opened their eyep,
To drink up the dew they found.

'i'i

: i
1 '

1.-

1 ■

\
i

' 1

l«

M f

158

The birds were chirping in the trees,

Or sweeping in the air :
And what then seemed to us their joy, —

It was to them a care.

Their young were wailing in the nest,

With gaping bealts, for food,
'Till their parent's wing the foliage crushed,

And they deposited their load.

So the songsters fulfilled their morning task ,
And the bee to the flower did talk,

And then all nature was alive, —
And we took our morning walk.

Then while my sisters sleep,

A resolve I now would form,—
That I will never lose like them,

The dewy breath of morn.

Monday, July 17, 1834,

Sarah Ddrnpobd.

A letter from a former servant of the family, written on the death of
Sarah, is too feeling to be omitted :

" Gloucester Lodge, Cheltenham, November 14, 1836.

" Honoured Madam, — With feelings of the deepest regret I have just
heard that it has pleased the Almighty Disposer of all things td take from
you your lamented brother, and dear sweet sister, I almost fear you
may think it presumption in me to intrude on your sorrow, but I cannot
let an event so full of affliction and sorrow to a family to whom I owe so
much gratitude pass without condoling with them on their irreparable
loss ; and I offer up my humble but heartfelt prayers to God to comfort you,
madam, and all your honoured family under this trying affliction; and it
must be a great consolation to your honoured mama in her bereavement
to remember how fit her dear children were for their heavenly home.
Poor dear Miss Sarah ! when I think of how devoutly she used to kneel,
night and morning, to say her prayers, I can easily fancy her now, a
beautiful angel in heaven ; but the more I see of this world, honoured
madam, the more convinced I am of the true piety I saw practised in
your best of families. If you should think, madam, that I have taken
too great a liberty in addressing you, I trust you will pardon me; and
believe that nothing but the sincere grief I feel would have induced me
to do so. My kind mistress. Lady Burton, desires me to offer her sin-
cere condolence ; and with my most sincere remembrance of the great
kindness experienced both by me and mine for so many years, for which
I trust the Almighty will reward you, madam, and all your honoured
femily, I remain madam, your humble and affectionate servant,

Mary Anne Fox."

169

DBNPOBD.

e death of

^, 1836.

I have just
take from
fear you
I cannot
I owe BO
irreparable
mfort you,
and it
reavement
nly home,
to kneel,
Her now, a
honoured
actised in
lave taken
and
duoed me
her sin-
the great
for which
honoured

liFox."

n me;

When the intelligence reached Viney of his beloved sister's end, the
shock it would appear was too much for his delicate frame ; for he sank
rapidly in strength and spirits — craved for home — the tender care of pa-
rents and sisters ; obtained immediate sick leave, and returned to them
alarmingly altered, only reaching home to be found past recovery. Ap-
petite failed him — he could not eat ; a hrctic red or purple suffused his
face — he pronounced on himself as not much longer destined to remain
in this world ; and, while his amazed and sorrow-stricken fiimily sought
to rally, soothe, and expostulate, he only smiled resignedly, saying — ** it is
no use." His father walked with him gently in the paths of the shrub-
bery : he gratefully and affectionately thanked him — still his sad words
were — ** Father I it is of no use I "

It is now impossible to ascertain the channels of opinion or research
from which Viney's religious ideas were formed ; they were at variance
with those of his family ; and the orthodoxly-receivcd conceptions on the
sacred doctrine of the Trinity, were to him so bewildering and unsatis-
factory, as to cause much concern and pain to all who were aware of
them. To carry out his ideas, therefore, and enquire fully into the
grounds and authorities which established this most ancient and holy
belief, he at once sought information at the source of all religious dogmas
and truth — Holy Writ itself, — and, previous to departing for Ireland,
had commenced the study of Hebrew. Greek he was previously well
acquainted with. He had talked over his sentiments with one of his
sisters, and they appeared to her altogether erroneous. But the tongue
will sometimes utter what the heart belies. He never openly avowed
his faith or his hope ; and yet he possessed the Christian grace of cha-
rity, and entertained a deep horror of the feeling existing in the gene-
rality of families, that forbids the mention of their departed relations.
" I beg of you," he often said, '* when I shall have left you, to continue to
speak of me ; and mention my name, not with regret, but as if I still
resided among you." His sister speaks :

" I was with my talented and high-minded young brother. He was
sick — he had lately lost those he loved and looked up to. I imagined
he sorrowed overmuch for them, and that grief had increased his bodily
ailments. He never mentioned them, but I took courage to probe ; though
fully conscious of my little power of grappling with a superior mind in
distress. ' Dear Viney,' I said, ' I fear you sorrow too much for those
who are gone ?' — ' Not at all ' he answered, — yes they are gone. . . where is
the assurance that they live now ?' ' No,' I said, ' they are not gone; have
we not the Word of God to teach us the contrary ?' — It then occurred to
me that on a former occasion he had raised strong diflScultics respecting
the important passage in Matt. xxii. and verse 23, — so I replied : ' Do
you not remember Christ's own words, — " But as touching the resurrec-
tion of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by
God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living !" '

" He made no reply, but was thoughtful for some minutes ; then other
conversation intervened of a serious nature. He eaid, ' very well ! very

m.
Ill

■ill

. 160

welll' 'May I read something to vou?' 'Yes, if you please.' 'What
l)ook do you prefer ?' Without hesitation he answered, ' The Bible.' —
' Ah I you were right, beloved Viney ; there is no book, or tongue of man,
that can speak comfort like the Bible I' "

The last end of man — the elimacterio of young and old ; years making
no separation of the awful fiat, that to all it is appointed once to die —
cannot bo calmly and nearly considered without trembling ; and with
Viney a shadow of deep uncertainty rested, over both mind and body.
His disease, appearing to bo a total want of appetite, attended with total
abstinence from nourishment, was alone sufficient to destroy his delicate
frame ; while the unfixed bias of his thoughts was doubtless the result of
the various and undigested studies of his youth, instead of any
adopted decision. His sister, who held with him the above conversation,
was requested by him, a day or two before his eyes closed over his suffer-
ings, to read to him from the Testament, and he named the first chapter
of St. James' Epistle. His whole attention was given to it while it was
being read, but he made no remark at the close, nor desired to hear more.
The Rev. Mr. Dusatoy ; had been the clerical visitor of Charles, and Mr.
Pewdney of Viney, both ministers of St. John's Chapel, Portsea. Viney
died ; and sadness touched the hearts of all who knew him, not only for
his own worth, but in sympathy with those, who had sustained so irreparable
a loss. Not a tradesman, who served his father's family, failed to offer
a tribute of condolence : the undertaker shed tears — and even the music
master, from whom he had received some lessons on the violin, was not
wanting. He had practised, with his brother John, Corelli's fine lessons,
always playing for the assistance of his short sight, in glasses : and when
my mother asked Mr. Sibly, which of her two sons he considered as likely
to play the best, he pronounced, rather to her surprise, " the one in spec-
tacles."

His funeral was a military one. From the mournful engineer's house,
the roll of the muffled drum was heard of " the March in Saul," accom-
panying him to be laid with his brother Charles, in the Kingston bury-
ing ground. Mr. Dewdney, who read the service over him, saw for the
first time a soldier's funeral, and afterwards expressed how deeply he was
impressed by its great beauty and solemnity. Never before had he seen
soldiers follow on and stand with arms reversed round the open grave —
he listened to strains of music breathing more than Handel's inspiration ;
and then followed volleys over the closed grave — above all the sad im-
pressions of his own heart, visible on the countenances of all around. Yet
he did not like the lively air to which the troops were marched back ;
nor did the suggestion, made to him, that the frequent recurrence of gar-
rison funerals was otherwise likely to depress the men's spirits, wholly
satisfy him.

161

' 'What
Bible.'—
e of man,

■s making
) to die —
and with
and body,
with total
is delicate

result of
i of any
iversation,
his Buffer-
•st chapter
hile it was
hear more.
IS, and Mr.
ea. Viney
ot only for
irreparable
led to offer

1 the music
in, was not
ine lessons,
: and when
3d as likely
)ne in spec-

3cr's house,

ul," accom-

ston bury-

saw for the

ply he was

lad he seen

len grave —

nspiration ;

he sad im-

round. Yet

ched back ;

snce of gar-

rits, wholly

SECTION XIII.

ELIAS DUBNPORD.

Lieutenant Elias Durnford, eldest son of Licut.-Ocncral Durnford, was
distinguished, from childhood, by cncrf;;y and talent. He was admitted
to the R. M. Academy, at Woolwich, in 1 815 ; but, promotion being then
extremely slow, did not obtain his commission as second lieutenant until
1822, when, being immediately placed on half-pay, he received leave from
General Mann to visit his father, then commanding-engineer in Canada ;
a passage being provided for him in the transport Olarkstone, August 20,
1822. Lieut. Durnford remained six months in Canada, during which
time, under the direction of Lieut.-Col. Cockburn, R. A., he made many
sketches of the country and different fulls, especially Niagara. He was
promoted to full pay, March 28, 1823, when he returned to England, and
ordered to Chatham for instruction in field duties under Lt.-Col. Pasley,
when he returned to England. He was for some time detached to Sheer-
ness, and, when ordered to return thence to Chatham, received the follow,
ing testimonial :

(Copy.)

" C.R.E.O. " Sheerness, January 28, 1825.

" Colonel Sir Alexander Bryce has been pleased to express his appro-
bation of the drawing of the plan of Sheerness, made by Lieut. Durnford ;
and Capt. Thompson feels much pleasure in communicating the same to
him.

" Captain Thompson has further the satisfaction to express, on his own
part, his sense of the zealous co-operation and active assistance which he
has received from Lieut. Durnford, in the various duties in which they
have been mutually engaged, during the time in which he has been under
Capt. Thompson's command.

" A true copy. (Signed,) R. Thompson, Capt. Rl. Engrs.

" Signed, George Harris, Clerk of Works."

Lieutenant Durnford was promoted to first lieut., April 20, 1826, and
soon after ordered to Corfu, where he remained until July 14, 1831,
when he left that station to return home. Before his leaving Corfu, the
non-commissioned officers and privates of the 5th company of Sappers and
Miners presented Lieut. Durnford with a silver snuflf-box, bearing an
inscription expressive of their respectful attachment.

« From the 6th Company R. S. & M., to Lieut. Elias Durnford, R. E.,
on his leaving the company, at Vido, July 1831, as a token of their
respect."

" Elias showed me the snuff-box, from which I have copied the above,
when I was in Portsmouth, in 1833. I remarked that such was rather
contrary to general orders and regulations. He replied, so it was, and
that he had mentioned the same thing to the men of the company of R.
S. & M., but the matter was not worth further notice. — P. D."

ii i

f I '1 I 1

■I i

t I;

f!B

160

Juno 23, 1800.

Travcllinf^ throufjh Italy and Frnnco, and in tlu' ofiurse of his journey
fretjuontly employing liis pencil in Mkotching, on lii.s arrival in England,
Lieut, Durnt'ord was utationod at Port.sinonth, undi-r the counnand of hia
father, until May, 183iJ, when lie proeemled to Ireland.

He was ordered to Ceylon, Pec. G, iH.'Mr. He was not pleased with
his destination ; and expressed some thouj^ht of leaving tlm arm^ in pre-
ference to going thither, but his father being of opinion that a British
officer should never decline any station allotted to him, he determined to
go, and deciutd on taking the overland route. Lieut. Durnford was
warned, by those aec^uainted with the subject, of the difficulties and great
danger of the journey, but nothing could dissuade him from the project.
His habits, apparently, ((ualilied him for such an undertaking, lie had
had some practice in several modern languages. lie was an excellent
rider, a capital sportsman, and excelled in all manly athletic games, and
his ((uick observation and cultivated taste, enabled him to distinguish at
once whatever was most worthy of observation in art or nature.

In order to gain information as to the countries ho was about to visit,
he had books from London, and applied himself to the studies of Hero-
dotus, and the works of Eastern travellers, especially those of Sir 11. Kcr
Porter. His route was from London to Rotterdam, through Holland
and Belgium to ^ uMina ; thence down the Danube to Con.stantinoplo,
across the Blae,, i to Trebizonde ; through the Koord country to Bag-
dad, thence down the Tigris to 13ussorah, and by the Persian Gulf to
Bombay. Lieut. Durnford promised his brothers and sisters to trans-
mit his journal, as he proceeded, home, and instructed them to copy it {
and, when they should receive intelligence of his arrival at his destina-
tion, to return the original to him. He was provided with letters to the
consuls and other authorities at the principal cities on his route, and with
the following circular from Sir Frederic Maitland, Superintendent of thd
Dock Yard at Portsmouth :

(Copy.)

"Portsmouth, March 15, 1834.

" Dear Sir, — Lieut. Durnford, an officer of the Royal Engineers,
being about to proceed to Ceylon, overland, may probably be placed in
situations where the assistance and support of an officer of the navy in
command of a ship might be of much importance, in forwarding his views
and enabling him to proceed on his journey with security and despatchj
I shall esteem it a personal favour to myself, that under any circumstances
Mr. Durnford should receive every attention and assistance from the
officers of his majesty's navy, wherever he may meet them, and more parti-
cularly if he should stand in need of their support in a distant country.

" I remain, dear sir, your very humble servant,

(Signed,) " FuED. Maitland, Rear Admiral."

To the Captain of any of H. B. M. ships or other naval officers.

Lieut. Durnford left England, March 23, 1834, and proceeded pros-
perously as far as Constantinople ; his ample despatches being regularly
received and copied.

163

ic iiad

(Extract of a letter from Constantinople.)

July a, 1834.

" My Dear Father, — I Imvc boon <lctai*mMl licre wnitiiij^ the arrival
of a packet from Trobizondo, by which I aui to ^n to that place, and on
to Erzcrouin, Tabroez, i^c. I havo biv-n hero about ten days, and a
week a;j;o f^avc in charge; to Mr. Hobort.s, a mid of the Actajon, several
b«x)k8 and that part of my diary continued from leaving Vienna. The
tbrmor part I HuppoHo you havo received from Colonel Ellicombe, which
I sent under cover to him, in charge of the courier, Mr Fricker, who,
I before wrote to say, had taken charge of it for me. There wore also
in the last parcel, Home sketches, all which I wish to bo put in Jane's
charge and forwarded to me. Cupt. Jon(!H, 11. E., Ih now here, from
Malta, planning a new palace for the British ambawHatlor, to replace the
old one burnt down. T am lodging with Capt. li. D. Jones.

" I dine to'day with Mr. Cartwright, the consul, in an hour's time. I
might have saved myself the trouble of looking after a Haddle in England ;
as the saddle, called Tartar saddle hero, in much better fitted for a jour-
ney than ours, and can always be procured. I have seen the Sultan, the
Grand Vizier, and the lioti.s of Constantinople. It is a strange and not
less beautiful place to look at externally ; but the interior is liorribly dis-
gusting. Keturning, a few days ago, from the famous aqueducts, near
north of this place thirteen miles, saw a man hanging to a tree; and to-
day, in the street, at the corner of a house, much as indifferently as dead
pigs hang at butchers' shops, was a man hanging. He was to remain
twenty-four hours ; ho was a robber ; had broken into some shop. I am
looking for a servant. If I have an opportunity, will send some otto of
roses, or Eastern curiosities, but as yet havo not had time. The Turks
have perhaps twenty first rate ships,one very fine one 140 guns, and another
148. The plague has broken out here and is spreading. The streets are
full of dogs, and eagles fly about as familiarly as sparrows."

" Constantinople, July 24, 1834.

" I have been so long detained here waiting for a southerly wind to
ascend the Bosphorus, that I foresee I shall have no occasion for these
articles for want of time, and therefore think it best to disencundxT my-
self of them. I beg you to send them to me at Ceylon. The three little
cubes of glass were taken from the interior of the dome of St. Sophia,
with which it is entirely covered. We gained admittance with -ome foreign
ministers, the Spanish Ambassador, who had the Sultan's penuission; but
few were allowed that privilege.

" Had I been aware of the uncertainty of getting up the Bosphorus
sooner, I should have gone by land three weeks ago, but they say the
wind may change every day. I am much afraid of a wigging at Ceylon
for delaying so long. The vessel, called the Shah, I am going in, is now
partly up the Bosphorus, where she has waited several days for wind."

i*: i

1G4

" ConHtantinoplc, July 27, 1R34.

" TToro I Htill romain. My vchhoI for Trobizondo i« ncaily up the
BosplioruH, which I hiivo l>y thin tiiiiu iiHCortaituid in a difTicult paHNa^o
to aHCuiid. I p) on hoard to-uiorrow, t\n h\\o will vory likoly get ofl' the
Baiiu! or luixt clay. Had 1 known of thin doUuition hoforo, t Hhould of
courwo have gone by land, and Hhould now havo boon in Tabrooz. The
Shah brings back here from Tabrooz the lady (»f Sir J. CanipboU from
Perrtia. From what I can awcortain it will take four monthn more to
arrive there (Ceylon). Mr. Cartwright, the couhuI, recommended mo
to go by the Shah, but ho thought it would havo Hailed throe weeks earlier.
You will probably hear from mo while in Persia or before reaching Coy-
lou. I am just going to row up tho harbor called Golden Horn."

" Tabrooz, Sept. 3, 1834.
" Dear Father, — I havo just timo to eny that I am well, and am
about to start this afternoon, in company with a Mr. Hodgson, an Eng-
lisii traveller, for Bagdad ; he is going with me to Bombay. Our bag-
gage has been on tho road these two days, and we have been detained
waiting for a lluckam from tho prince. I havo been staying with Sir
John Campbell, who haH been most kind to mo. Thoro arc sevoral
officers from India here. I expect to bo at Bagdad in fourteen days. I
Lave rotjuestod Mr. Barlow, a friend of mine at Constantinople, to send
you somo Turkish costumes for tho girls. My love to all.

" E. DURNFORD.

" Lady Campbell is now at Constantinople on her way to England.
She was very obliging to me at Trebizondo, where I mot her and Mrs.
McNeil."

« Bagdad, Sept. 20, 1834.

" My Dear Father, — It is with groat pleasure I hoar of a Tartar
going from honco to Constantinople, and embrace tho opportunity of
writing to you to inform you as soon as possible of my safe arrival at this
place, having performed the most dangerous part of my journey. I must
now inform you of the manner in which I havo travelled in the first place
from Trebizondo to Tabroez. I camo in company with a servant of Sir
John Campbell, who was taking despatches to labrOez. Wo travelled
Tartar, that is, with post horses, changing wherever tho post station was.
TVo got to Erzcroura in four days, and from thence to Tabreez in seven
more, passing by Byazid, close to Mount Ararat, which was beautiful.
Tho road from Erzeroum had boon represented at Constantinople as most
dangerous, two Englishmen having been robbed, and two large caravans
completely plundered, and numbers killed, which was all true. I was
nine days at Tabrooz : Sir John Campbell was very kind. Here I met a
young man, a Mr. Hodgson, son of the Dean of Carlisle, an East India
writer going to Bombay. He accompanied me to Bagdad. We had our
horses, and travelled at first about forty miles a day, latterly rather less.
We were fifteen days on the road from Tabreez to Bagdad ; arrived here
yesterday. Very hot here : thermometer at noon 93 in shade. I visited

165

the I'liHha of Suliinancn on rond in cckiIcihI hat nn<l fonthor. My flvo-
barrollod nLstol liiis aHtnniNlicd the nativcH ; it \mn h«!en a roal womlor,
and shootin^j; flyiii;^ wan coiiHidcjnMl a thiiii; itn|)<iHMihlc. Wo start lor
Hahylon in a day or two. I iiit»Mul procuri.if^ a brick tVoni tlu; tower of
Babel, for which pur|K)Mc T Hhall tal(c my hiijrj;a<;e horwc on tlu; cxfurMiftn.
l[odjj;Mon and I travelled through the Koord cotuitry rcniarkjildy well.
We alwayH Hhowed our arms in evc^ry place. I had weven |)i«t(»l« and
two I'owlinj^ j)iein's ; his amounted —

" I have a horwo to carry niy ba^i^ago on whicih my servant alwo rodo.
I hired a ncrvant at Tabrcez, a Persian, who did little more lor iiu^ than
take caro of the horso.s. lie also opened your old bii^ and took out u
cloak or Hort of carpet which constituted my mattress. We had tea, cof-
fee, and portable soup with us. Col. Taylor is now very kind to \is hero.
Wc embark from hence for Uussorah after our return from Babylon. I
hope to tind several lottorH from you ut Ceylon. Yours,

" E. DuRNFoai)."

" By cutting oflf from Tabrcez, I liavo made a short business of the
journey. To liave gone by Ispahan, which just now is e(|ually dangerous
OS the road wo came, would have taken us two months at least."

The following extracts from letters from Mr. Hodgson wore obligingly
forwarded to Col. Durnford by the Douu of Carlisle in answer to inc^uir-
ies aitor Lieut. Durnford.

" Bagdad, Sept. 21, 1834.

" One morning, after stating the difficulties he was under as to the
route ho sliould take in consecjuencc of the disturbed state of Persia at
that time, an English officer. Captain Durnford of the Engineers, arrived
at Tabrcez on his way to join his regiment at Ceylon, lie was pressed
for time, and, danger or not, ho was obliged to proceed. The thing was
talke^J over, and it was at last agreed that the route via Bagdad and down
the Tigris should be undertaken, as the least dangerous and the least
likely to oppose any obstacles of detention."

*' We have been just a fortnight reaching Bussorah, and, after staying
four days there, I started for Bushori, my comj)ugnon de voyagi, Captain
Durnford, who was in the fullest enjoyment of health, remaining behind
to purchase some horses to take with him to Ceylon. Wo have not mot
sinoe."

His father and all his family waited long and anxiously for intelligence
of the arrival of Elias at Bombay, Months elapsed, during which
time, thoy eagerly caught at every glimpse of hope offered by friends and
passing travellers, that some unforeseen delays, so common in the East,
might have retarded his letters. At length, in November, 1835, a letter,
which had been soaked in vinegar, arrived from Muscat. It merely
dtated, that after a most fatiguing and very dangerous journey, he had
reached that port in safety, and was to embark for Bombay directly, in

166

company with Mr, Parnell, son of Sir H. Parnell, but this, so far satis-
factory, (lid not account for the time since elapsed.

A few weeks passed, and on January 5, 1836, hope was finally extin-
guislied by tlie receipt of a letter from Col. Vavasour, commanding R. E.,
at Co^'lon, stating that J.ieut. Durnford not having arrived as expected,
enquiries liad been made at Bombay, when it was ascertained that Lieut.
Durnf jrd had died at sea of fever, five days' sail from Bombay, February
6, ISHf

No m /.■ particular account has ever been received by his friends of the
fata of this much lamented youn;.; officer, whose noble appearance, strength,
activity, and robust health, apparently promised a long and useful life.

" Unloved, admired, and lost In manhood's prime,^
But who shall question Gcd'a unerring time ?"

Deep and bitter was the affliction of his family. His free and lively
disposition, and repeated acts of kindness and generosity had mads him
a great favourite in the circle of his friends and relatives ; and many let-
ters of condolence and affectionate sympathy expressed the sorrow caused
by his eixr\y removal from this world.

(Copy No. 390.)

" Commander-in-Chief's Office,
" Head Quarter.^, Camp Poonah, Aug. 10, 1835.

SiE, — With reference to your letters of April and ultimo, with
accompaniments on the subject of instituting an inquiry as to the fate
of Lieut. Durnford of the Koyal Engineers, I am now enabled to send
certain infonnation relative to that officer ; he having died on board of
a bugalov» on the 6th February last, of fever, on his passage from Mus-
cat to Bombay.

" I herewith transmit, by desire of Sir John Keane, for the informa-
tion of Sir John Wilson, a statement furnished by the Registrar of the
Supreme Court at Bombay, of the proceeds of the effiicts of the late Lieut.
Durnford, and I shall be happy to attend to any further wish that may
be expressed on the subject of disposing of the small balance due, or to
the sending of the watch, &c., &v.., to the friends of Lieut Durnford.

** Signed, A. Mapdonald,

" Major.
" The Military Secretary +"> the General Officer Comg at Ceylon."

The above brief account of Elias Durnford is prepavcd by his sister,
to whose care he desired his letters and journals should be entrusted.

167

SECTION xiy,

WillUra the 4th. — Tunbridge Wells Anecdotes. — Mr. John Day's letter, — Devon--

port. — Belvedere lets.

Iniperativo duty summoned Col. Durnford from bis sorrowing liouse
to present himself to the king at Brighton, as was every year the custom ;
and this attendance on royalty was tucceoded soon afterwards by a
brevet, which changed the course of my father's subsequent life.

My de;i" father's annual visit to the sailor king, naturally enough,
therefore, created interesL among us. On his return, we always
crowded round him, when he was seated in his arm chair, stirred the fire
into its brightest blaze, and then heaped question upon question. The
last time he was at Brighton, His Slajesty's reception was courteous,
and condescending even to kindness: he made minute enquiries respect-
ing his family, about Portsmouth, md about the regiments or duty
there, and hoped !■> see hira at dinner, after appointing an audience
uext day, for the ostensible purpose of my father's presenting his officers.

Papa happened to be the first in the drawing or reception room : a
few minutes after, a lady and gentleman (Lord and Lady Cork) came in,
and the comp;iny dropt in by degrees, but none were announced, until
the lord in waiting, preceding a royal personage, said, the king, or the
Queen, the Princess Augusta, &c. This day the Duchess of Gloucester
(Princess Mary) was a visitor : the queen embraced her affectionately.
Princess Aujmsta spoke to my father, and enquired after his health.
When the company filed Cu for dinner, my father was left with a lady,
whom he gave his arm to, and afterwards found to be Miss Wynyard,
bedchamber woman to Princess Augusta,

On a subsequent occasion, as he was taking a place at the dinner table,
by the allotment of one of liie gentlemen in waiting, the gentleman next
before was told to resign his place to him ; on which he abruptly de-
manded, " Pray, Sir, allow me to ask the date of your commission ?" Relat-
ing this mistake, papa said '' He was in plain clothes, and saw me in a
colonel's full uniform — he migl\t be a general officer iov what T knew,
and therefore I said. Upon my word. Sir, I hardly know, but J believe
it is dated April, &c,' ' Oh! if that is the case. Sir!' He bowed, in ac-
quiescence," This punctilious gentleman w^us Colonel , commanding

the Cavalry Depot at Maidstone.

At dinner there was an equ.Tl number of ladies and gentlemen : this
day my father sat between L-idy Cork and Miss Wynyard, He f 'und
them both very pleasant and good-natuied : on saying something to the
latter, about the Aides-de-Camp carving, sha replied with a smile. " Oh I
there is very little to do here, in that way, as you will sec." In fact,
njthitig on tht! table was touclied — every thing was carved by the atten-
dants, Thirt style was new to him then, indeed it was considered resnl.

Among the uelicaci/is for December, were plenty of asparagus, ;.iid
pineapples, Service was of gold, with magnificent chandeliers; but these
were not lighted up ever^ nigli'j tte expense being £50 per evening.

II'

few !

.■'•■"^

tJ:

168

His Majesty generally drank sherry, his favourite wine, with all the
company separately. lie conversed much while at dinner : enquired
whether there was much gaiety going on near Lord Cork's place, and
of what kind it was, dancing, (Stc. ; wanted to know at what time people
generally got up in the morning? His Majesiy made himself at home
with everybody in a very winning and clever way. During dinner a
gentleman told my father, the Princess Augusta wished to speak to him.
She asked questions concerning the late heavy gales at Portsmouth, what
damage had bef done there, and whether he knew Lord Charles Wel-
lesloy and Lord William Paulott, both then stationed in that garrison, —
calling them dear boys. Papa described the princess as very large and
tall, she was universally kind and aftable. The king always took her to
dinner ; this day he had a sister on each arm, — Princesses Augusta and
Mary.

When the company adjourned to the drawing-room, the queen
and the ladies were seated at work — the queen's band playing
delightfully. The king generally sat down to whist. My father asked
Miss Wynyard who a young lady was, thea conversing with the
queen ?" *' Lady 8elsay." Don't you think her a very beautiful
young woman !" Another day he said to a young lady, "you are all
very notable.' " Oh ! we make believe," she whispered laughing. The
ladies assured him, that all the queen's work was for the poor. They
dwelt much on her charitable disposition. Her Majesty was knitting
cars for horses.

There was a different carpet this year from the last, and several little
tables exactly like some in our drawing room. This latter information
pleased us much. The utmost ease and urbanity of conversation pre-
vailed at the pavilion : but one thii.g my father always regretted, and
that was the too great profusion of mulled claret. The last audience he
Lad with William the 4th, on his Majesty's asking his standing in the
army, he replied that in case of a brevet, ho stood one of the first for
promotion. Now my father was always sceptical about the brevet, and
never would allow that any such thing was forthcoming.

Immediat<ily after, the king said " General " : but ray father declared
to us he did not at the time understand the broad hint. The king turned
to the officer he had just presented, and asked a great many questions
about his family, being a near relative to a former minister, Sir
Kobert Walpole : and so the audience concluded.

The expected, unwelcome brevet was gazetted, and Major-General
Durnford, with hi^ fimily lessened, his income reduced, was at once re-
moved frou) military duty, and the caarming gardens and precincts of
the Engineer Quarter at Portsmouth. One cold sunny morning the
bells of the Parish Church of St. Thomas rang one of their most cheer-
ful peals, such as usually proclaimed some pleasant occurrence. There
was a loud ring at the street door, that led through a covered passage to
the house ; and it was announced to my mother, that the ringers were
come for payment, after having rang in compliment to the newly-created

169

admirals and generals. My mother sent word to them, " there were no
such people in the house, — they were under a mistake." No, they
would not go : so vexed at the cause for the compliment, to her tar from
welcome, and, as she confessed to her children, ashamed at ♦^he smallness
of the gift offered, she gave half a guinea, instead of the ten, that the
liberality of her ladylike feelings prompted. Perhaps it was fortunate at
this melancholy period, that my parents' thoughts and cares were forced
from dwelling too long over their heavy bereavements.

Domestic arrangements intervened, — packing — selections for reserve :
above all — the clioice of a new residence. It was difficult to fix on the
last; but the friendly invi ''ons given by Mrs. By, induced my mother
to prefer the elegant town c +' Tunbridge Wells, instead of a cottage papa
wished to purchase no':r Waterloo, on the London Road. An auction
took place, immediately after the fannily had vacated the premises, to be
in readiness to receive the next engineer. Col. Graydon, and the amount
of the sale, including some valuable cattle, was £400. One of the cows, a
great favourite, had for three successive years calved twins, — each time a
male and female.

Mr. Kirwan, at my mother's request, undertook to engage a house in
London for immediate reception ; and thinking to consult economy in her
new arrangements, proposed he should seek for lodgings in or near Ox-
ford street, under the belief they would there be reasonable, or more so
than in a fashionable or private locality. This proved to be an erroneous
idea, proceeding from ignorance of town, and Mr. Kirwan expressed him-
self cquall}- surprised ; ten guineas per week proving the lowest rent for
which a bed-room and parlour in that immediate vicinity could be met
with. Finally, Landport was bid adieu to, and the family left it in the
stage of times gone by — the old fashioned fourin-hand, for London, while
still uncertain where their new location might be placed.

Kindly and conscientiously did Mr. Kirwan fulfil the task entrusted to
him. My fiither, with two of his daughters, left home first. Bonham
Carter, Esq., M.P,, for Portsmouth, was their fellow-traveller, and the
cook was seated on the coachbox. The remaining party followed next
day. The house engaged for them in London, was in Edward street,
Cavendish Square — the rent was five guineas per week.

One day in the course of the three weeks of his detention in town,
papa accompanied some of his family to see Westminster abbey. After
looking over the monuments, &c., he asked the beadle or person who went
round with the party,* " Where Sir Richard Fletcher's monument was ?"
' There is no monument in the Abbey to any such person." " Yes, there
is, to Sir Richard Fletcher, who fell in Spain." " I never heard of him."
'■ I am certain one was erected to his memory." " I am sure it was not
put up here." " I am confident," persisted my father, " for I subscribed
towards its erection, I must see it.' The man would not yield his opin-
ion, but at length consented to make enquiry. He returned with the
key of the partition where it stood, mth. statuary looking new and fresh
as if just from the sculptor's chisel. Papa looked at it with satisi'action,

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and read the inscription recording that it was put up by the officers of
his corps.

My father with his family left London the beginning of April, 1837;
going thenco to Timbiidgc Wells was considered (|uite ajonrncy : in fact,
it was so, witli the eiii'uiiibranco of a liirgo family. It was a cold dark
E^ght. when they arrived at llosemonl House. Mount l<]pliraim, and the
weuUier continued very severe, with occasional snow for weeks afterwards.

Tlicre was much bcauly in the new situation, and the novel sight of
the fine Common, wiili flocks of sheep, Uuit dispoilcd with little lambs
under the windows. 'JMiere was still anxiciy in slot e for my dear parents,
the most urgent at this period being to hire a suitable house: after much
search tliey decided on taking one nearly finished, built by Mr. Beeching,
the banker, situated neai' the church, w'.iich however, was not ready for
occupation before July. Mrs. By and Miss Aduni-^ weleotned Gcacraf and
Mrs. Durnford most affectionately, indeed jMrs By's hospitality and kind-
ness to each meinbor of the (aniily was unlimii;)d, and many were the
visits paid to Sliernfold Park, which visits mei with fre([uent returns,
and countless the walks up Frant Hill, and looks over the prospect its
termination presented.

Roscmout House afforded a good insight to the migratory habits of the
fashionable watering place of Tunbridge Wells ; the visitors of Somerset
House, the next nciglibours, particularly attracted the attention of
Charlotte Durnford ; her description drew a laugh from Mrs. By. " The
contents of the house," she said, '"were multifarious : it contained old and
young, ladies and gentlemen, beaux and belles, children and nurses,
manias, papas, graudmamas, with servants to correspond." A sweet little
boy of five years old, discovered the way into Rosemont House, where he
made himself a favourite, one subject of his pretty prattle, being the deli-
cious coffee cream made by his mama's cook. Hunter, the upholsterer from
Finsbury Square, was engaged to furnish the new house : he came from
London, to take the necessary measurements, &c.

While at Rosemont House, mama observed to us, that yellow is the
colour of spring. The yellow crocus leads in the year ; then follow the
yellow primrose and cowslip ; the dairy too is tinged with yellow. The
yellow furze colours the English commons, the yellow broom, laburnitra,
wall-flower, and daffodil, our gardens and shrubberries ; the yellow but-
tercups iiud dandelion, our fields and hedg<>s. Delicate health obliging hex
to drink the waters, induced her also to ride on the fashioi\able donkey,
whose tiresome eccentricities of laziness, gave in I urn occasion to merri-
ment and annoyance. On being asked to contribute to an album, she
refused, saying, " Verses I never wrote, that were worth a single groat."
The first year Belvedere was occupied an acorn was dropped into tl ^ strip
of garden ground at the back of the house. The flower garden was
guarded by an invisible fence, its greatest ornament becoming, after a few
years, tlie advancing young tree, promising, when my ftither quitted
Belvedere, to become in future time one of the " Weeds of Sussex," fiB
the men of Sussex term the noble oak of Etigland. The comparatively
poor soil about Tunbridge Wells could not boast of luxuriant myrtle trees,

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171

she

rroat.

aa (lid the Engineer's Quarter at Landport, where, once every year, the
Jews, with whom John Purnford made acc}uaintance, would come asking
permission to gather sprigs of threo-loaved myrtle to deck the booths
with, when the observance of the feast of that name was held.

One night between twelve and one o'clock, while we resided at Belve-
dere, robbers attempted to break into the house. They succeeded in
bending and displacing one of the iron bars of the pantry window. A
slight noise made by the ringing of the china placed in contact with it,
was heard by mama : her sloepiiig-room opened on the hall, — she rose,
threw open the casement of the hall window, that was immediately above
that of the pantry, and boldly said, " Who is there ? go away ! " "I will
shoot you !" was answered. " I don't care for that, go away. Sir," was
her reply. The hint was taken, but some months' afterwards, in the
Spring, on the removal of a quantity of faggots, the area in front of the
pantry window had been heaped up with, a dark lanthorn was picked
up, this man had dropt in his hasty retreat, A man servant slept close
to the pantry, who protested to not hearing the confusion the alarm
caused.

My flxther long before had relinquished all expectation of obtaining
compensation from the claims of his fother's family on the West Florida
grants and estates, to which he was only co-heir, as well as those more
exclusively his own of Mr. Pontenelle ; but it being suggested to him that
in consequence of the death of Mr. Thomas Durnford, who was never
married, and had left much valuable property, he might advance the
claims of the legal heirs, he was induced to osumine more fully into them.
At first he believed himself sole heir to Mr. Thomas Durnford's property,
English lawyers having assured him of such being the law of England,
as he was the eldest branch ; but, on discovering that such precedence
was not allowed in American judicature, and that all the collateral rela-
tions of Mr. Thomas Durnford w<nxld share equally in division, this
information by no means checked his desire of benefitting them likewise,
or going on with his endeavours, though at the cost of much labour and
money to himself. He spared no pains in making the necessary encjui-
ries, and obtaining the requisite parish registc-s, &c. He employed Mr.
William Stone as his legal adviser, and took pleasure in tW business.
The cause was undertaken in a New Orleans Court, and $40,000 were
actually adjudged in his favor. The opposite party, not isatisfied wi
this decision, carried it before another court, who, iusttW of supporting
this award, brought forward anothec claim agaio-st Vtfai of £6,000 (six
thousand pounds). Seeing, from tt.oso conflictii\jj judgments, and the
vast distance at which they were being carried vm», the pi'obabil^V} of their
proving extremely lengthened or interminable, most likely they would
have been discontinued, even liad not my dear father's dealli intervened,
and none of his rolatives have since had the spirit or energy to proceed
with a cause, in which he always worked with untiring zeal.

The suhjuincd Inllev iVum Mr. Jithn Day, formerly of New York, and
then residing at Ueocles, in Snfielk, was written when the pretensions of
TUuUMia Uui^Hfovd's heirs first engaged uttentiou ;

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nl':

Bcccles, July 25, 1838.

" jVIy dear Friend, — I have to npologizc for not linving before an-
swered your valued favour by my nieco Ann Day, but I have been since
its reception unwell ; a part of the time unable to leave my room, — my
complaint the gout, which is bad in both feet, — one of those ailments suf-
ferers get but little compassion for: thank God, am now better, and
rapidly recruiting.

" The documents accompanying your letter I have perused carefully ;
the result of which, in the first place, appears to me the difficulty of
establishing the relationship to the late Mr. Thomas Durnlord : and here
I would respectfully put the case to yourself, which is, could you or any
other administrator pay over any eifccts to heirs at law upon such vague
proofs as you only are able to establish? I am no lawyer, but my own
reasoning, such as it is, tells me not : if in this you agree with me, why
give yourself any further trouble or anxiety about a business which, at
best, in my opinion, is most uncertain in its results ? If you think differ-
ently, there can be no impolicy in your writing to Mr. Crawford agreeably
to the draft of the letter you have sent to me ; in which however, I would
state the difficulty of establishing the relationship: otherwise it will
assuredly be a waste of time; for no one, I should think, would under-
take to prosecute the claim in question, without first precisely knowing
the ground they stood upon in this respect, inasmuch as the whole chance
of remuneration to them hinges upon this : If Mr. Thomas Durnford is the
descendant of the gentleman you mention, surely it is yet possible to trace
the descent ; but you know best the steps hitherto taken to ascertain this.
I think I have before stated to you that, in the year 179G, I was a clerk
in the then banking house of Messrs. Lefrore, Currie, Yellowlcy, and
Raiks, 29 Cornhill, now continued in the same premises under the firm^
of Currie and Co. At that time, I have an indistinct recollection, there
was a gentleman who kept a banking account there of the name of Durn-
ford, and who was,|I have an idea, in the American trade ; and his count-
ing house was, I believe, in Lencie Street, or in one of the streets between
Finchurch and Leadenhall Streets ; do not now remember what you said
about this party, but now again call it to your recollection, in case from
this source any information could by possibility be obtained. I never
was at Mr. Durnford's office, but have a vague recollection of a fellow
clerk who occasionally was, and of his mentioning how Mr. Durnford's
counting-house was hung round with maps of his American property, and
how fond the gentleman was to dilate his expectations therefrom. This
is so very probable, I may be under a delusion as to the precise name ;
and as to the other particulars just stated, if I should go to London this
autumn, which is not improbable — will make some inquiries on this head,
that is, if you have not done so previously.

*' In the second place, the relationship being more clearly established,
if the claim is not undertaken on tlie conditions named to Mr. Crawford,
is it worth while to risk £200 in this business? In your case I candidly
but respectfully state, I would not ; for it suggests itself to me, that in the
case of the other heirs not joining in the suit, and you should hj success-

173

se name ;

ful, that the administration could only pay to you your own personal
Bharo of the effects and not alno that of the other heirs. You are, of
course, aware there is in the United States no primogeniture law, and
besides so confident do I feel the whole estate will be absorbed in law
charges, and other deductions, after twelve years only *25,42G.91 are
recovered, the whole of this absorbed in the payment of debts, and no
mention made whether any debts yet remain to be licjuidatcd. Let us
take it for granted Hodges' claim cannot be supported. If it can, the
estate in question is insolvent ; and it is, at least, deserving of considera-
tion, that this suit was commenced in Thomas Durnford's life. Although
in August 1827, Grima states Hodges' claim is not of importance, and
could be quashed, I think he intimates at any time ; still, in February,
1836, the suit is still pending. I beg of you to reflect upon the accumu-
lation of law charges in all this time in a city where these notoriously
are as extravagant as in any place I have ever heard of; every claim has
to be recovered by law, the expense of which must be enormous.

" Both Grima and McDonough write, I think very candidly, and
much to the purpose. The services of the first are now lost; those of the
second perhaptf cooled ; as he fairly acknowledges the inducements with
him to undertake the administratorship, was the protection of his own
interests, and his debt is of course amongst those paid. Grima's, I of
course know nothing about, but in my own case would well satisfy
myself before I trusted him, not liking his reference, viz., Edward Living-
stone, whom, when living, I was strongly prejudiced against. He was a
man of splendid talents, of elegant and refined manners, but in embar-
rassed circumstances, which led him into acts quite inconsistent with
principle and honesty ; one of which, very long since, came under my
cognizance. J. C. Durnford writes wildly and under excited feelings ;
my experience in life convinces me that no people are often so over-esti-
mated, as to their property, as those of the character of your late N. 0.
name-sake, about whom my impression is I know something — having,
when in New York, with a view to your service, occasionally made
enquiry about him from parties I came in contact with from New Orleans :
such griping avaricious characters, as he was, very frequently overshoot-
ing their mark. No mention is made that I recollect of the property in
Mobile, alluded to by J. C. Durnford.

" Mr. Crawford, I have an impression, is a most respectable character ;
this I think I can ascertain for you in Liverpool. I shall write there in
a few days, and will enquire : the result shall be communicated, if worth
while.

" Thomas Durnford's claims on the Land Office you know all about,
I know nothing favourable; these do not appear to have been prose-
cuted.

" I know not, my dear sir, anything firrthcr I can add on this subject.
If anything should suggest itself to you, will cheerfully give you any advice
in my power ; but, indeed, in these matters I am but a broken reed. I
have made rough extracts from all the papers now returned,which shall keep
by me for reference ; these have been transmitted to my brother Charles,

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at Yarmouth, from whom, directly or indirectly, you will probably hear
upon the subject. I hope you, Mrs. Durnford, and family are well. Mrs.
Day unites with me in friendly rcmcmbrance.s and good wislies. Your
sister Maria is favouring us witli her company and is quite well. With
great regard and esteem, bolievo me, my dear sir, yours most sincerely,

"John Day.
" To Major-General Durnford, R. E.

" Tunbridgo Wells, Kent."

My parents had resided two years at Belvedere, before it was suggested
to them by their friends and their agent, that they could let their dwell-
ing very proHtably, and by doing so enjoy an excursion to some other
place, while the season for high rents lasted, and fashionable fa'iiilies
were thronging to Tunbridgo Wells. The liint was not neglected ; and
August, 1839, Belvedere was speedily let at nine guineas per week, to a
gentleman and lady, with one baby, and ten servants. My mother took
a country lodging, for the benefit of the health of one of her dauglitera,
and then removing to London for medical advice, hired a house in St.
John's wood. My father left part of his family in St. George's street,
and took advantage of liis sou John's being stationed at Devonport, to
visit there.

While paying this visit, two officers, father and son, both in the same
Regiment, came to call on him. Finding him not at home, the father,
afield officer, expressed disappointment, saying, ** I regret very much not
seeing General Durnford ; he was a long time my conmianding officer."
" Comrade, Sir, comrade," interrupted the son, " you should say." " No,"
replied his father, " I say again commanding officer," and so he was. In
1840, on the occasion of his daughter Caroline's marriage, he was again
called to town, and the same spring his aunt Elizabeth, widow of Sanmel
Fontenelle, Esq., mention of whom has been made before, died at Yar-
mouth at the age of 8G.

To return to an earlier period :

Soon after their marriage, papa introduced my mother to Mrs. Pugh, a
lady with whom he had formerly boarded. Mrs. Pugh said to her, "Ma'am,
if you are not happy, it will not be that gentleman's fault." It may
have been at Mrs. Pugh's house my father first made the ac(juaintance
of Mr. Morton Dyer, that best and most gentlemanly of men, for many
years the head of the London Police, and consequently a resident of
Devonshire House, at the top of Portland Place. My fatlicr with his
family visited at his house when in town, as did Mr. Dyer with his
daughters at ours, when they were at Tunbridgo Wells. On one occa-
sion, my sisters called at Devonshire House, and, on enquiring for the
Miss Dyers, the melancholy answer was returned, that he was then lying
dead. My father attended his remains to their last resting-place. Mrs.
Pugh lived to extreme old age, always continuing in Mr. Dyer's family,
indeed to within but a year or two years of his own death, though n h his
senior. This was in 1841 or 1842. Mr. Dyer was wellinformeu on all

176

points connected with the West Florida estates — ho considered the case
hopeless.

i'apa continued to urge the chiims of tho lej^nl heirs of IMr. Thos.
Durnford in the Courts of htiw at New Orleans, and was san'^uiuc in his
hopes, an the following extract from a letter to his Hon-in-law, Mr. Duns-
comb, explains :

" Tunbridge Wells, May 2, 1. .42."

" T am much obliged by your prompt enquiries, in tlu. Now Or-
leans concern, which I have thcsatislaelion of saying, arc rendered

unneecs.sary (It will do no harm for my friends at New Orleans to find,
I have a practicability of making occasional cn(|uiries how they are goinji;
on, and I hope you will permit me to ask your further good oftiees, as I
may find necessary,) by receipt of letters from that place, which liavo
eased my fears, and entibled me to have the papers returned to the con-
sul duly executed by myself and cousins, and from which I and them-
selves, aiigur very favorably, and hope the issue will be equal to our
sanguine expectations. I have found a map, which I thought only re-
lated t<i n»y fallier's property, but which luckily concerns the numbers
and sites of nearly all the 24 tracts of land, amounting to 15,000, acres,
which arc reported ' Valid to the late Mr. Thos. Durnford' — and I
think, although the lawyer is to get half, tlierc exists some hope that he
will be able to realize something considerable from them, especially as
the original grants must be duly registered iji the Court of Law, of the
United Stiites Office; but perhaps two or three years (D. V.,) we may
bear more on this subject. I am glad to find you remain tranquil, and with
every good wish and regard to yourself — yours and mine, — I am, most truly
and affectionately, E. W. Duiinfoud."

In 1841, he had a visit from Archdeacon Bridge, and his family.
The Archdeacon was married to his son-in-law's sister ; and shortly
after this visit, again letting Belvedere, two of his daughters having gone
to Scotland, my parents, with their remaining daughter and three ser-
vants, went to llamsgate. At Ramsgate they renewed acquaintance with
an old friend, Col. Bodger, R. A.

SECTION XV.

Canterbury. — Ramsgate. — Jcavs' Synagogue. — Broadstaira.— Pcgwell.

In the journey through Kent, the glad prospect was spread before
our eyes, of the busy harvest men and women, reaping, gathering in,
and gleaning the corn : the Isle of Thanet was already one wide expanse
of stubble. This was on the first September. The postilion stopped to
change horses at Canterbury, which place my mother regarded with the
reminiscences of her youth, and remained there ai\ hour to see the cathe-
di'al. On entering it, the organ was swelling, and the voices of the choir
sounding through the building, but the doors leading into the church
were all locked. An elderly man in a black gown went two or three times

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176

throujj;h tho grating my puronts sUmhI at, locking and unlocking it oach
tinui, and, in doing ho, provoked away all desire to explore tho untiquitiuo.
Wlien Hcrvico was concluded, my mother, not caring to examine the old
curiosities, went in Hcarch of lier great aunt, Mrs. Cumming's monument.
Then the elderly man in black came and said, " Ladies ! it' you don't go,
I must lock you in." The rather savage retort was, " 1 would rather be
lockcul in, than locked out, as wc just now were by you," " Ilow so,
]\Ia'am ?" " Sir, wo .xlioujd have been very glad to have joined in the ser-
vice, hut found ourselves locked out." " Ma'am, any one may come in at
three o'clock, but then tho doors are locked, and no body can enter." " We
ure sorry we were late." " Oomo to-morrow ut ten." ** Wc cannot, for wc
leave Canterbury immediately."

Tho flii tstono built, walled, and paved town of Ramsgate, disappointed
cxpectaticn. Its cockney amusements were incessant. Punch and Judy,
mountebanks, and street bands from harp to jowsharp, and singeis in
great variiity, were continually heard, in addition to cries uU day long
of fi.'ih, fruit, and vegetables, with ** ftFargate ! Margate !" from the omni-
buses. Then would succeed tho silk weaver's distresses, and one man
cried a book of songs, sonic of them five hundred years old, &c., which
in the full, generous, and liberal humour of his heart, he bad great plea-
sure in offering as a present to any lady or gentleman, tor tho sum of
five pouiids eight .shillings. Within doors is not tho place for Ramsgate
visitors ; thoy must seek the cliif, tho beach, the pier, to benefit by the
seabathing, and gaze on tho Channel waters, with its gay steamers, and
fleets numbering liundreds of sail. When calm, it is pleasant to watch
the still and variegated water from the height where the town stands, the
billows trembling gently in, and trim little boats and sou-fowl scattered
about. When tho tide was down, and the water had loft the beach, tho
extensive tracts covered with seaweed looked curiously green and chan-
nelled. The coast of Franco was generally visible. The crowds, attract-
ed by tho bathing machines at other times, gave life to tho scene.

My parents arrived at Ramsgate tho !}rd, and the 8th was fixed on for a
regatta. Their confined, uncomfortable hou.i', was prematurely engaged,
on tho plains of Waterloo, for six weeks. Colonel Rodger had brought
regatta tickets, and it was a pretty sight to view a sailing match from
the cliff, and two boat races, Tho 15th was a day of rain, thunder, and
lightning, and at breakfast the report of guns was heard, and conjec-
tured to bo the signal for the removal of the foundation for tho "Light of all
Nations." Rain continued to come down, and Punch paid his customary
bad weather visit. Tho next day. Colonel Rodger called early, and after
saying the caisson had not been deposited, the Duke of Wellington was
certain to arrive, and talking of the manner the irons would be laid
in the rocky depths of tho Goodwin, he took papa out for a walk.

Next day, a walk to Marsion, noted for its caves was decided on.
There was nothing to observe on the level, unvaried road, except large
fields of canary seed, and a chalk pit, proceeding from whose round
sundry little caves were cut, and their continuous summit crowned with
vegetation. At Marston, a smith left his forge and said, that the caves,

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177

of old tlio retreat of the harassed SaxooH hud lonj^ been stoped up, plant-
ed with corn for ten yeurB, and at the present time covered with a crop
oF potatoes. A pole, round whose top little figures were swutijj; from an
opposite troo, attruotcd my mother's notice ; the smith said " it was a
Shrove Tursday, and these things wore put up when weather-cocks were
pat down." " What do you mean by a Shrove Tuesday ?" " Called so in
remembrance of the day that we all used to dine with the stiuirea on a
leg of veal and fritters." The man hinted his belief of tho caves not
being as old as reported : they were before his time, but he had hoard
when a boy of a Mr. Strode, who t-mployed men after their working hours
in digging at them. My father hinted the probability of many a keg
of gin liaving been there, to which tho man shrugged his shoulders, and
said, " aye."

A present from a friend of Colonel iJodger's, of a piece of Jews' Pas-
sover cake, was conjoined with advico to go to their place of principal
resort, llanisgate being remarkable f<ir the number of Jews in it. 5ly
father was very desirous of visiting the synagogue ; and after making en-
quiries, being directed wrong, and taking many perplexing turnings, he
stumbled lastly over an arched excavation in a chalk pit. This was close
to the lone, melancholy looking synagogue, enclosed by walls built of
flint, with latticed gaten at two corners. Constructed without windows,
except at one extremity, it appeared like a fabled magician's palace,
dreary and still. Returning past a school-house, a farm-liouse, a wood
full of benches, we read a placard describing the wondeiful MargptQ
cavern, andcalling at the residence of Sir Moses Montifior, were told his
house might be seen, Alas the present time should have been taken
advantage of; for Sir Moses rot arned that same evening fnmi his journey
to Jerusalem, and his house afterwards was not shewn to strangers. So desi-
rous were my parents to obtain admission within the synagogue, that next
morning they set off a little after six o'clock to walk to it. They follow-
ed ai old Jew : the building is so situated as to be only visible ^rom

'ht immediately above : in that respect cunningly contrived. The
iQ doors were not open ; and as papa proposed strolling about
were, the priest came out of his house, and called out, " come
abi'ui eight," "A quarter to seven,'' answered papa, mistaking his mean-
ing. " Eight," repeated the priest, in an angry tone. "A quarter to seven,"
said papa. " Thi. gci 'ral service begins at eight," again persisted the
pr ^t, and they went home, hurried breakfast, changed their damp
shoes, and were before the synagogue a second time exactly by eight.
The do'T was closed : tliey opened it, and entered.

The -vomen's "utrance to the gallery was by a handsome staircase ; and
a room well furnished was at the head of the stairs, opposite to the gal-
lery. The synagogue wa^- without a window, the light was admitted
through the ofiling, and it cast, from the red stained glass, a rich and so-
lemn reflection. Over the altar, a smaller circular inlet let in yellowish
light. Every thing was splendid. Two large glass chandeliers hung
from the ceiling, supported by golden frames, with multitiides of candles
and golden candlesticks : two sfjuarc boxes, placed on e;. 'i side of the

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altar, had each an enotmous puir placed on them. A reddish carpet
covered the floor ; and round the building sat the Jews, on benches, with
polished low desks before them. They were singing psalms, and their
voices were sometimes richly and wildly melodious, at other times mum-
bling and harsh. Sometimes they sat, sometimes they stood, with hats
always on, and scarfs round their shoulders ; all deeply earnest, and all
frequently joining with the voice of the priest. At one time, the ser-
vice was so wild and moving, that some of the spectators shed tears.
Visions, long gone by of eastern magnificence and oriental seclusion,
appeared to be embodied in the scene they saw and heard before them ; it
reminded them of the altar beside which the young Samuel slept, particu-
larly when the sharp voices of several boy Jews were heard, and
fancy strove to recall a little ofthe glory of the temple as Solomon dedicated
it. Several Jews or elders, preceded by Sir Moses Montifior, brought
forth from behind the altar " the Book of the Law." The moving orna-
ments at the top tinkled as they went along : they were first laid on the
table, then fixed on the bock, and then the roll was spread out, the use
of those ornamented staffs appearing to be to keep the roll open. After
reading aloud for some time from it, they prepared to carry it back.
They sang while doing so, but their voices v^ere discordant, startling,
and mournfully wild. The queen was prayed for in English. Going
out, mama spoke to Lady Montifior— a pleasing lady-like person. Lady
Montifior politely offered to show the building to my mother : she regret-
ted afterwards declining her civility. The synagogue is very singularly
situated, the neat house and gardens of the priest, who is at the
same time butcher, adjoining. Every wall about Ramsgate is built
of flint, begiiming with the old ivy grown gateway, and other antique
scraps.

The wonderful and beautiful face of nature as displayed on the sea, is
no where more visible than at Ramsgate. When the tempest, so frequent
on that coast, howls, it is grand to look down over the foaming, dashing,
rough, noisy waves. When a day of thunder, lightning, and rain occui*-
red, and recourse was needful to within door employments, a circula-
ting library furnished reading, and my father read through " The Con-
fessions of a Thug," " The Huguenot," " Rienzi," ".Bubbles of Cana-
da,'' &c. There was no want of amusement on such days : Punch and
the tumbler seemed to revel in the storm. It was indeed a serious cause
of vexation to be continually teased by such odious exhibitions. Ou one
rainy day in particular. Punch, with his admiring crowd of spectators,
took post close to the windows, enabling complete observation of his pro-
ceedings. Punch first made a low bow to his company. Then he
danced himself about, tossing his arms and legs in time very cleverly.
Then he called vociferously for Judy, who soon made her appearance ;
and at first they seemed to be very loving, till quarrelling, they beat each
other unmercifully, and poor Judy finally disappeared. An automaton
wearing a cocked hat next encountered Punch, but he was quickly dis-
comfitted, to be succeeded by the redoubtable Jim Crow himself. This
little black faced imp danced, and shook his arms, legs, and body in such

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capital time, while singing out who he was, that Punch himself was
forced to cry " Bravo I Bravo!" When Punch was quite exhausted
with his comb'\is, he laid down to sleep, — alas I not to repose! The
ghost of Judy disturbed him. He rose terrified, shook himself, but laid
down on her disappearance. She rose again, to increase the agitation of
poor Punch. On her second disappearance, the doctor jumped into the
window, and called out, " What is the matter ?" "I have seen a ghost !"
cried Punch. The doctor proceeded to rub his patient, but Punch
would not brook such treatment, and beat his friend off the field. A
large dog now mounted the stage, and what with Punch's earnest cries
to him to " go away,' his piteous tremblings, and the alarm displayed
on his huge nosed face, though striving to laugh over his conquered op-
ponents, it was really ludicrous. When the dog barkeci. Punch crept
into a corner. There seemed likely to be no end to it, when a third
figure appeared. Then they all, Punch, dog, and third figure, danced,
fought, trembled, barked, and finally made exit, bearing doggy on their
shoulders, to parade to the next street with banner and music.

Among these gay annoyances, one man passed every evening precisely
at seven o'clock, ringing a cheerful bell, whose advent on rainy nights
was seldom disagreeable. The well-dressed, smiling ladies, in the next
houses, were found to make acquaintance with him, as was discovered
by the temporary discontinuance of his lively alarum, and more lively
song. He made a ballad of his much prized wares, displaying consider-
able talent in the way he altered the list of the various attractive com-
pounds. His song ran thus, or in this style :

Lemon cream, liquorice, and fine brandy ball,

Only one penny, all for one penny.

Do taste and try, for ladies a treat ;

Parliament, noyau, and bull's eye, complete, —

Only one penny, all for one penny.

With my aiicampagne, and delicious erbagne,

Come ladies and buy, here's sweets for the sweet.

Fine lemon cream, for my customers ali,

With almond candy, and rocket, and fine brandy ball ;

All for one penny, here's sweeta for the sweet.

To tumblers, ballad singers, and all sorts of instruments, there was in
all weathers, no end. One night it was refreshment to hear my mother
say, " I was on the cliff this evening at seven o'clock ; no one was there,
it was low water, and I enjoyed it as much as I expect to enjoy anything
in this world. There was the earth, the sea, and the sky, — the green
c*" the earth, the ships on the sea, and the beautiful stars of heaven. I
thought of those who lie in the earth, of those who lie in the sea, and of
those who are above in heaven !"

Several times my parents walked on the most fashionable walk of
Ramsgate — the pier. Once, a steamboat having just arrived, it was
crowded with all the beauty and fashion the town could boast. The
" Duchess of Kent" lay along side the pier, or in the harbour, — the passen-
gers cloaked, and luggaged, passed. Swarms of pet dogs and children
were mingled with the groups of belles and beaux. While loitering, the

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Royal Adelaide shot past close to the pier. It danced over the rough
ifater, the deck covered with company, and it r/as a disappointment to
see the beautiful vessel proceed for Dover. A quarter of an hour after,
another steamer oame into harbour from the South Foreland, but this
was not so trim in looks ; so a walk on the strand was preferred, to stop-
ping to gaze at what might be landed on the pier. It was pleasant to
watch the tide coming in on this boisterous evening, and the waves as
they broke and tumbled along the beach, foaming and spreading at our
feet. Taking shelter under the pier, from the cold rough blast, papa
called attention to the numbers of little hermit crabs, hiding in the mud,
as my mother on a former occasion had to the holes thrown up over a
smooth surface of sand, for the worms used as bait by the fishermen.
The stone work of the pier, as far as the water reached, covered with the
tenacious whelk, and young muscle, was moistened from the briny drop-
pings of the variously shaded brown and green alga). Papa asked a
sailor to what height the tide rose at highest, and he said seventeen feet.
Another day, walking on the cliff, though it threatened rain, they stopt
to admire the great beauty of the sea. Never had its tints looked more
brilliant or more soft — the distant waters reposed in placid deep sea-
green, the foreground frowned in turbid grey, terminating in noisy,
foaming breakers. Anon, when the sun shot down, shifting lengthened
gleams of buff, and narrow streaks of dark lead, swept grandly over the
waves.

An excursion to Calais was several times talked of, without being fol-
lowed up. Domestic vexations occurred. At breakfast the ebony coffee
pot was a great tormentor, refusing to pour its beverage from the spout ;
and it is grievous to record that one morning the spread eagle, hitherto
its pride and ornament, was missing from the summit ; it was also on the
list of household misfortunes that Hetty had broken the fish plate and a
large dish, and papa had effected the destruction of two water crafts, be-
sides throwing over the ink in the middle of the blue table cover.

The walk along the strand to Broadstairs, generally considered the
aristocratic quarter of Ramsgate, was grand and tame at the same time,
rich in historic recollections, past and present, like each foot of the Eng-
lish channel shores. At high water, the waves were sometimes so high
as to cast a shadow when the sun was hidden. How my parents enjoyed
the grand sight, as moving along within tleir left hand's reach of
Albion's towering white cliffs, they saw on their right the black foaming
billows, dashing onward, tumbling and spreading along the sand, fre-
quently washing their feet, they would stop, riveted in admiration of
their wild tumult, and frothy play, ever spending itself yet never spent.
This was not the season for spring tides, yet the tide marks were within
a foot in some places of the cliff, and the treacherous footing of the
ground created a sensation of awe. Yet should a sto.rm overtake the trav-
eller, there were numerous dark caverns within reach, if the advancing
waters o. t off from the land, and the living. We entered one of these
oaves, dark, and foul, and mysterious to peep in ; and a feeling of the
ma^ic of the moment, with the stalking precipice over head, and only the

181

the rough
ntment to
liour after,
3, but this
id, to stop-
jleasant to
B waves as
ing at our
slast, papa
I the mud,

up over a
fishermen,
d with the
riny drop-
)a asked a
nteen feet.

they stopt
oked more
I deep sea-

in noisy,
engthened
[y over the

, being fol-
)ony coffee
the spout ;
e, hitherto
lIso on the
late and a
crafts, be-
er.

dered the

lame time,

the Eng-

es so high

ts enjoyed

, reach of

c foaming

sand, fre-

iration of

ver spent.

re within

ig of the

the trav-
advancing
} of these
Dg of the

only the

black frowning billows visible from the cavern's entrance, prompted to
ask

" What hid'st tlioti in tUy treasure cares and cells,
Thou ever sounding and mysterious main?"

Broadstairs is about two miles from Ramsgate ; to walk there is
neither pleasant nor safe whcin the tide is up. At low water we set off
for the beach, descending the Augusta stairs, and accepting a boy's ser-
vice in laving Laura, poor Elias' pet dog, in the salt wave, before pro-
ceeding. The cliffs are truly magnificent, their perpendicular aspect
makes the human figure a mere pigmy by contrast, and adds to their ap-
parent height. Before proceeding far, our attention was entirely directed
to the excavations along the chalky bulwark of Albion, appearing exter-
nally in the shape of large loopholes at different heights and intervals.
The most remarkable amounted to fourteen close in succession, commen-
cing and terminating by cave like entrances leading from the sand, and
closed in by wooden lattices, said to be always locked. They were im-
mediately under Sir Moses' estate. The curious felt a wish to explore
the secrets of these labyrinths of concealment and delinquency, for such
purposes no doubt hollowed, and farther on so frequent were the caves
and cliffs, that it was perplexing to distinguish the natural from the ar-
tificial. The tide was at its lowest ebb, the water rough, the wind strong ;
and when the smooth footing of the yellow sands was left, to wander
through the green and rocky fields the receding waves expose to view,
we pulled aside the sea-weeds, to observe among the sea-green stones how
busily employed the myriads of whelks were in their perforations, from
which our utmost strength could not move them, as also numbers of their
clammy companions, — ithe cockles and periwinkles. One solitary crab
affected the soldiei', and opened its little pincers to mama's touch. Near
the bridge thrown over the ruptured cliffs close to Broadstairs, the beach
was very rough, and so full of large stones and fragments of the chalk,
directly over head, as to be of difficult footing. There was no want of
companions, male or female, during this marine excursion. On reaching
Broadstairs, we met shoals of nicely dressed children and ladies, dispersed
over the smooth sand. Intentions of walking to the North Foreland
Lighthouse, were frequently frustrated by winds tremendously high, when
not a vessel was seen.

The favourite study at Ramsgate was that of the curious marine
plants every tide's flow threw on the strand, — spoils of ocean's forests.
Volumes were written on the subject, and ladies wandered over the slip-
pery amphibious territory in search of fresh specimens. These were
found in abundance, from the fungous tree of fathoms length, thick
and strong as a ship's cable, with its highly developed leaf, to the deli-
cately coloured sea moss, with fibres thin as thread, of vermillion, brown,
white, and green tints, that decorate the drawing-room, and ornament the
album.

There was only one vicar to the five churches at Ramsgate, and the
curates preached alternately at each. In their sermons they made
frequent and appropriate allusions to the holy and beautiful face of

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nature. One Sunday morning my parents walked to the church of St.
Lawrence. The sun shone brightly, and Ramsgate's beautiful peals of bells
were ringing from her churches and still in hearing, as the sound from
that of St. Lawrence was heard. The old pile was reached just in time
to get comfortably packed up in a pew, that held exactly three, though
to judge from its double seat, originally designed for six. It was a fine,
venerable old edifice, said to bo eight hundred year.3 old, and the walls
covered with escutcheons and monuments. Among theee, was a plain
slab to the memory of Lady Augusta Murray, married to thj Duke of

Sussex ; and by the side of the altar, one to the memory of Harvey,

one of the six preachers of Canterbury Cathedral. The galleries and stairs
are curiously contrived and disjointed ; but talent at description is requi-
site to note the plan of the church, which apparently contains as many
compartments and corners, as the utensil sacred to its patron saint. The
organ was played in an unaffected style, and the singing simple. After
the service was concluded, my parents walked round the church, and
then the churchyard. The last was a melancholy stroll. Too many
tears shed over the dead are a far easier penance than toilsomely stemming
the thorny path among the living. " Why seek ye the living among the
dead?" It is better to look beyond the narrow, dreary tomb, — to burst
in thought its painful barrier !

The last lion seen was Pegwell Bay. We set off" a little after 12 o'clock,
passing a house the Duchess of Kent resided at, then tenanted by Mr.
War, cousin to the commandant of Chatham. The late house of sir Wil-
Jiam Garrow had lately been bought by Mr. Harris, the vicar, for ten
thousand pounds, and is indeed a pretty spot. The village boasted its shrimp
f.auce shop, served by its deaf and dumb girl, its great fat shopman, and
its insupportable fish odour, — four things altogether delightful. This es-
teemed ess'inoe could be purchased by the dozen at one shilling per bottle.
It was high water j and proceeding up the bay, we soon lost sight of the
chalk, that gave place to clay. This furnished to the industrious hands
employed in the making, materials for bricks, while farther on the shore
was verdant. AVe stopped to look at the brick making process, and walked
to the extremity of the coast-guard station, to ob.serYe from whence the
Pegwell scotch was taken. Here, the nodding clpy, suspended over the
steep ; the water viewed between its gaps ; the barrel on the margin ; the
rabbits confined in what looked like nmd coops, and the deep
well, with its aqueduct leading to where the bricks were preparing, was,
taken as a whole, very picturesque. " Deal looked clearly stretched out,
within the South Foreland : and a large fleet in the Downs, the pretty
boats, and buoys, &c., all added a something to look at. On our return.
Punch came round as if to greet us; and the untiring man with the bell.

The term of engagement for the Ramsgate house being expired, Papa
went to Dover per coach, to engage another there before returning to
Belvedere. The morning was stormy and rainy ; thsre was a large ship
towed in from the Goodwin sands, and the Royal Adelaide steamer towed
into harbour the water-logged ship Belvedere, from Quebec. Several other
damaged vessels came into the harbour of refuge : news came of the taking
of Canton.

183

SECTION XVI.

Dover. — Shakespeare's Cliflf. — Castle. — Return to Belvedere.

Although torronts of rain had fallen the last day and night, contrary
to expectation, and early morning rain, the day turned out clear and
bright, on which my parents started for Dover. The coach was fright-
fully overloaded with outside passengers and luggage. As far as Sand-
wich, tlio land was intersected with rivers and streams ; and from Pcgwell,
where chalk is lost sight of, flags and rushes prevailed, interspersed with
the shipping of tho tranquilly winding Stour ; then came an old
castle at Sandwich, and pens of white sheep. Sixty or seventy
years back, it is said, salmon were caught at Fordilch, but they
have now forsaken the coast. A prodigious quantity of luggage
was taken in at Sandwich, and as the poor coach had only two
horses with four passengers inside, and ten outside, mama looked aghast.
It stopped at Eastney. when a man brought out a large box full of saws and
knives for Hythe, to be placed on the top, much to the terror of the pas-
sengers within, who did not expect to arrive at Dover without accident.
Within a few miles of Dover the country grows bolder, rising in fine
heights, chequered with pretty villas and flower gardens. Then on the
left came the sombre castle, frowning in its old power, and casting its
mellow reflection on the blue sky. The town of Dover (perhaps by con-
trast) seemed so clean and interesting in descending tlie hill, that the
fright and package of the disagreeable coach was forgotten. Papa had
engaged a lodging at a hair-dresser's in Snargate Street ; but boxes and
servants went on with the stage ; and it annoyed my dear parent, as well
it might, to be charged five shillings for bringing them back. After the
Plains at Ramsgate, the lodgings here seemed magnificent. The draw-
ing-room looked towards the sea ; and the back of a fine range of build-
ings, bathing machines, sometimes a passing sail, &c., were visible.
The dry bed of a water courre or river, was under our windows.

Mama longed to renew acquaintance with the fine strand she had often
walked along i-n her youthful days ; but now there was nothing to reward
her expectations but heavy shingle, over which the great billows swelled
and darkly tumbled ; beyond, there was no enlivening shipping as at
Ramsgate : on the other side were the tall white cliffs, variegated with
loop holes hollowed as at Eamsgate, the bright-looking battery and sen-
tries, and, whenever it rose to view, the always grandly spreading and
cloud-caressing castle.

Shakespeare's clifi" was to bo reached, and ascended : report said it was
gradually giving way and crumbling down. It was fearful indeed to
ascend, with nothing before the view but a narrow arch of green grass,
looking verdant over head, and the sun's rays dazzling the eyes as they
strained up to where the green line met the clear blue sky. The ascent
fatigued ; we turned to take breath. The rough sea roared and foamed
•below, and the receding cliffs hid the town, though the beautiful castle

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surmounted the highest ground. When the summit was gained, sud-
denly another distant view equal to the last appeared, like softly shaded
points, — Hythe with its castle. Folkstone, with its castle, reposed in
the vista ; while across the straits, the French coast peered distinetly
visible, and the chalk cliffs of Calais. The inland prospect presented
wide downs ; except where a shecpfold reminded of pins thickly stuck on
a" cushion. Altogether the Shakespeare cliff affords a prospect of wild
grandeur, and novel beauty. On reaching our lodging, it was discovered
that mama's pet dog, Laura, was missing. She went tb the Shakespeare
cliff, it was remembered. Papa went first in search of her, but in vain :
then James was sent. Hetty went in another direction ; Sally laid the
cloth for dinner, and when the meal was nearly finished, Laura rushed
into the room, with great frolicking, having been found at the Shakespeare
Hotel. The good taste displayed in putting up at such a sign, gained
forgiveness for the pretty animal. At a distance, the Shakespeare Cliff
looks like a great grey umbrella ; its fearfulness is concentrated on the
summit, or rather grandly worked up till that is attained, there to repay
the labour of ascent : its height 350 feet. Papa said that on the highest
point a stake is fixed, to which a rope is fastened, from which a boy lets
himself down to gather samphire. Like the "cloud capped towers, and
gorgeous palaces," belief runs that this toy of the Tempest will ere long
totter, and, leave not a wreck behind."

*' 18, Snargate St., Dover, October 12, ia4i.

" My Dear , We have at last reached Dover. The weather fa-
voured our journey j yet on that morning a bright flash of lightning
glared in my eyes as I dressed, succeeded by a heavy clap of thunder.
Our present abode is far more roomy than the one at Ramsgate, and
the place very different. Unfortunately the bad weather keeps us in,
or I had anticipated going over the castle, which, from its high situation,
and venerable aspect, is certainly the most beautiful thing of the kind I
ever saw. We arrived here before 12 o'clock yesterday, and luckily made
the most of the fine day walking along the beach, and looking at the
little tavern that hangs out the sign " Sir Sidney Smith," where the
old boat house formerly stood, you must remember mamsi's telling us of,
and exploring both jetties, neither of which are on the grand scale of
the Ramsgate pier. The beach is composed wholly of shingle — it is
not so comfortable a walk as the smooth sand along the strand at Broad-
stairs, and ships and steamers are fewer and more distant ; nevertheless,
the aspect of the place is far more imposing. Mama looked for the site
of Mrs. Farbrice's old house — it has long since been demolished : and
we unintentionally found ourselves on the Shakespeare cliff road. The
idea of reaching it did not occur until we were within half a mile.
Mama gave up. So good an opportunity was not likely again to offer,
so papa proposed to go on. Mama said, again and again, " Now be sure
you go to the very top." You will not credit the difficulty I had in per-
suading papa to ascend with me. He doubted my strength. " Now, my
dear, it will do," he said. " There's nothing at all to be seen more,"^

185

nevertheless I begged him to proceed. When the top was reached,
however, I felt very joyful to descend again it was very warm work
to climb up with th6 sun's rays diiectly in our eyes. I had not even
time to look for the French coast until we were half way down, and
then papa said, " Well 1 are you sorry we came to Dover?"

(Ramsgate was very gay with balls and races while we were there, on
the wcasion of the foundation's being laid for the new lighthouse on
the Goodwin sands. We are enjoying the comforts of a large room,
after the small sitting apartment of our Ramsgate house, so close to the
street, that every word spoken both within and without was heard. We
also feel the genteel quiet of Dover, after the Ramsgate noises all day
long, of band and ballad singers, cries of all kinds, shows and buffoonery,
deafening and distracting — mobs and boys and squalling children — dis-
turbing vision and annoying hearing !)

l^ext day the channel under our windows was filled with water, being
dry before. This flow caused an agreeable surorise, and was partly arti-
ficial, there being mills on the high ground. There was a great contrast
between the piers of Ramsgate, lined with crowded sail, drying in the
grateful warmth of the bright sui?, as lately seen, with the deserted sea
now viewed, rough and inhospitable. No weather-bound bark tarries
here, no tempest driven vessel joys to reach safe and welcome anchorage :
truly the benefits conferred by Ramsgate's noble harbour are interesting
and cheering to the heart that owns humanity. Papa said the coachman
should have been prosecuted for taking in such an immense load yesterday.

Another walk to the sea was decided on ; a storm came on, or rather
a tempest of wind and rain, from which a bathing machine's shelter was
sought. The sea was awfully grand, roaring, hissing, with a noise resem-
bling a thousand great boiling cauldrons. Tempest and torrent seem
especially to revel over Dover.

On Sunday my parents wont to St. Martin's church, founded by
Withred, king of Kent, in 696. Next day, taking the road to the castle,
they mounted by a steep flight of 103 steps, to the entrance. Here an
old sergeant of artillery recognized papa, having known him at Quebec,
and an old invalided corporal of the same corps sprang delighted forwards,
claiming the same recollection. It was really heart-cheering to witness
the joy it gave to both these honest fellows, and, as the corporal led on,
how he mentioned all he knew of some of his old oflSicers, enquiring after
others. We stopped on the platform, where stands the beautiful but
useless pocket pistol of Queen Elizabeth. The fleet lately anchored in
the Downs were stretching sail on the sea we looked down on, and the
grey-hued waters, che(|uered with golden gleams, never reflected more
splendour. The coast of France, however, was not very distinct, as a
haze hung over it. After seeing the old Roman tower of Claudius Caesar,
A. D. 45, and the old Saxon tower, the Roman ditch, the long rampart
for archers, and the celebrated well, Harold was by treaty required to

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(IcHvor up to the Duko of Normaiiby, ciiiiio tlio keep. Ten feet is the
thickness cf the lloinan wull, forty-fivo the tower's height ; the guide
drew observation to the dove-tailed bricks, <5onipo8ition, &o. Every sound
was echoed with hollow otFoct through the cylindrical staircase of the
loopholod ascent, but it had tlio fault of clean, unromantic white-wash.
Mama mounted tho 140 stops leading to the summit without once com-
plaining of fatigue, so exciting was tho scene, though the corporal begged
Jier to take it slowly ; and magnificent was the wide, clear view spread out
like a coloured map below. Tho wind was very strong ; and another
large fleet had by this time come to view, — there must have been s(?veral
hundred sail in both, — with steam packets from Boulogne, Calais, and
London. Prom several pcinta in the ascent to the castle, the Shakes-
peare cliff looked clothed in verdure and white, divested of its grey
umbrella aspect, forming a more beautiful feature than it seemed likely to
make, from tho awkward form it presents from the beach. After leaving
the castle we walked a short way on the Deal road, Dover looked so pretty ;
and the castle, if possible more beautiful from every new point of view,
invited exertion to attain the top of the hill, to enjoy the whole prospect
of the valley, and opposite lofty ground, with its citadel. Returning, wo
tarried whore the castle makes an angle with the sea, and had a full and
solitary view of tho grand old fortress, with the ever-magnificent straits.
Along the rampart, only the Saxon and Roman towers were visible ; and,
on the part of the lines seen, but one sentinel's shifting musket moved.
Not a sail was to be seen on the water. It was charming to indulge in such
solitude. Coming down the liill, home, wc passed two men breaking
stones by tlie road side, and papa asked one of them what ho made by
it ? He answered *' Nothing," " What did ho get for breaking a cart-
load ?" " Tenpence," " And you gain ribout eighteen pence a day ?" The
man assented, but said, " He had ji wife and three children, and the
stones were very hard." " That gentleman/' he pointed to the other
man at work, "makes it answer very well, for he understands it." After
dinner, papa took a long walk beyond the citadel, and saw lights very
bright on the French coast. The steps from the ground of the castle to
the top of the keep are 300, the thickness of the wall on the summit of
' the last, eighteen feet. Mama ascended and descended the keep with
agility, nor afterwards complained of fatigue.

Our party, next day, got out to walk about 12 o'clock, passing a num-
ber of old streets, the bank, the new church, the ship hotel, &c., and
reaching the sea-side, were glad to take shelter in a boat-house from the
cold and boisterous wind ; when, tired of watching the waves dashing
along the shingle^ we cast longing looks in the direction of the south cliff,
which, the people affirmed, would not be approachable for two hours. The
billows, true enough, spread to within a few feet of the cliff, whose high
and bonding head " looks fearfully on the confined deep ;" while many
large, white, safe stepping stones, clearly once appertaining to the caver-
nous chalk, cast out sharp wild angles, near and far as the eye
could see. It was comfortable to enter one of these sheltering caverns,
whose bright, clear walls were split and hollowed half way to the summit ;

1S7

and the tcmpcHtuous sea wanhcs its layers each returning tide;, encroach-
ing upon and undermining them. We could have lingered for hours
watching the sea approach in black, swelling, long, long walls. The en-
croaching waves ran beneath our feet ; it was necessary to retreat from
being drenched. Coming reluctantly away, another look vas bestowed
on old Shakespeare, and lo ! he rose towards the sky into a sharp point,
and the chalk threw out three arms from the " confined deep " to enclose
his green summit. All pleasant things come to an end, as did this happy
hour. In ascending the Dover heights, a view e<(ually fine with that
admired yesterday, spread itself out far and wide below. Tlie sea's mag-
nificence was uncheijuered, save here and thc.e, at distant intervals, by a
golden beam thrown upon its grey expanse : the hundreds of vessels that
sailed by a few hours ago, had disappeared ; scarcely a tishermaii's little
skiflF rocked. Hill upon hill rose, with ranges of chalk scattered hero
and there. Here a chalky wall was passed, indented by four or five caves;
and here was another inai)-likc view to regard, liehind rose the heights
with its chalk, its caverns, its surmounting citadel, its redoubt and prac-
tising grounds. To the left, the old castle flag, Saxon and Koman ruins,
the fair white cliffs below, with their narrow, receding strands, edged by
the wavy line of foam ; tlie river winding through the dense assemblage
of houses; the port and harbour, with the foaming breakers at its entrance ;
the long military lines, terminated by the Shakespere clift", — the whole cm-
braced by the sea, and forming a truly grand panorama. A naked, inter-
minable extent of downs is seen from the high redoubt, and gladsome was
tlie descent from the bleak wind, to turn and gaze down on the sheltered
valley Dover lies snugly ensconced in : two or three minutes walk brought
us to the head of the military shaft, or cylindrical tower. We looked
down the deep perpendicular, said to be of 140 steps, but we counted
197 from the road; it was dark at the foot of the stairs, the last were
wet ; and it was very agreeable after emerging from a long, dark, arched
passage, with its rifle sentinel, to stand at once in Snargate Street and
look up at the lofty, straight clifl' just descended. All the dashing visitors
at Dover seemed congregated in the row of houses fronting our windows;
numbers of carriages and four were continually driving there.

October 15. Went with papa to church at St. Mary's, the old Saxon
church, where, in 1728, the people not choosing to let Maequeamc, their
old minister preach, when he mounted the pulpit, sang the 119th psalm
entirely through twice, and on their beginning it a third time, he lost his
patience, saying, " My friends you liave long borne with me, and now I
have borne with you ; so we arc even." After lunch ascended with papa
a narrow patli to the heights, — the castle on one side, and the redoubt on
the other, — to gain another eharniing view of Dover valley, the river Stour's
gentle windings, and the black, dark sea, with not a sail visible. Missed
the path to the South Foreland, but continued so far on the Deal road,
that the fleet anchored in the Downs, and shipping at llamsgate lay before
us. The view took in the whole coast from the South Foreland light-
house to the delicately North Foreland point, which lay stretched across
the distant horizon. Deal was plainly iracn, with the shrubberies of Wal-

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188

raer CaHtlo, four miles on. The French hills were very plainly discerned,
and wo longed niuoh to climb them. Papa walked, after dinner, on the
beach to Shakonpeuro'H cliff; fragments of loosened olialk lay along the
strand, in large pieces under the cliff, forming stepping Btonns the whole
way. Tt in rcporUid to be very tottering and oontinually falling. Ifith.
A day of rain — and staying at homo ; but letters came in the evening from
Archdeacon Bridge, at Newfoundland, with intimations of kegs that were
to arrive floating in good thingH. Papa called on Mr. Gain, the store-
keeper, on busincsH, and saw him at his office. Mr. Gain said Mr. Gar-
net (upholsterer at !*ortsmouth) and his wife were both dead, their
daughter married and gone to Syria, where, meeting with Cant. Napier
he introduced her to the pacha. The pacha presented her husoand with
a lucrative place.

17th. Attended St. Jamos' Church. Mr Darwell, the curate, preached
from Isa. liii. 9, on the support God provides for his people in their pil-
grimage through life I As Oou fed the Israelites with bread from heaven
and water from the flinty rock, so they have no helpless futurity to look
forward to. He f(uoted Article xi. This church is either Saxon or
Norman, very beautiful and comfortable ; the service excellently per-
formed, and singing very good and comprehensible. Rain great part of
the day. Papa went to St. George's in the afternoon, and sat by the organ.
The preacher was an old man, not very plainly heard. The evening
turned out fine, and we went to the old Saxon church of St. Mary's.
It was lighted up with tallow candles, and much crowded. A form was
brought and placed for us to sit on in front of the communion table. A
fine old gentleman preached from Eph. iv. 20. The music and singing
good in all the churches. The beadle's snuffers got entangled in our
shawls while standing without scats, and it was not without trouble both
were got rid of

18. Packed up after breakfast, and then proposed walking to the South
Foreland. Going up the castle hill, papa stopped several times, complain-
ing of shortness of breath, but to the proposal of relinquishing the walk,
he said " Oh no." A party of ladies in advance, who turned the castle
angle, encouraged our proceeding , for it really blew a tempest, or rather a
hurricane. When about the middle of the fine valley the castle so beauti-
fully surmounts, papa asked a man "how far to the lighthouse ?" " A
good two miles and a half," he said, " and a very rough road." Papa
looked doubtfully at his companion. " The lighthouse now or never," was
the reply ; " wc will make the effort." He said," very well." There was
not a sail to be seen. The path was muddy and slippery, and a long
desolate tract was traversed, with bare heights rising round, not a tree
visible, that excepted seen far and near on the Deal road, that resembled
in conspicuousness a landmark ; on one hand loomed the top of the light-
house; and directly in fr'^nt a church; beyond, the sea, th' North
Foreland, Ramsgate and the shrubs of Walmer castle. High lines of foam
marked the Goodwin sands. Near the road turning to the lighthouse there
were tracts of ground covered with turnips, looking sufficient to supply half
England. Then c:ime chalk and large caverns cut under it, which papa

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1S9

ubBorvud luuHt bu capital shelti for tlio carts and waggons, kc, apper-
taining to a largo farm house, with large Htoron of huy, staclcH, ponds,
ducks, poultry, and »o on. At last the lighthouse was reached. With
some difficulty disuovering the door, and knocking, a young woman ap-
peared, and granted iwrmission to enter. The sea was grandly shadowed,
the clouds gave a deep blue hue to Iho grey waters whereon they wero
reflected. Bound the building the ground was encumbered with brick
and mortur, preparatory to the erection of another lighthouse. A few
steps led to a little parlour, where this woman and her brother had lived
for twenty years. Wo then ascended to the highest room, wliere the
reflecting lights wero placed, — sixteen largo brass reflectors, lined with sil-
ver. Another lighthouse stood at a little distance, lower towards the cliflF.
St. Margaret's cliff, strand, and line of foam, with its chuiJi and village,
wore lower still. A large fleet lay in the Downs ; and the green hills and
white cliffs of France wero distinctly visible.

The 1 7th was fixed for leaving Dover. The travelling chaise came to
the door ; the boxes, tVc, wero carried down ; when, after near an hour
wasted in endeavouring to arrange them on the vehicle, it was discovered
not to be a proper ono and must bo changed. Sally was sent to purchase
Berlin wools at the cheap shop, to buy parliament and biscuits at Bachel-
ler's, and to get salt water for some ci'.rious little fish, that had travelled
in their shells from llamsgate. Sally made wrong selections the first
time of going to the worsted shop, and on returning found the people at
breakfast ; instead of Bachcllcr's noted shop, gho went to Widow's ; and
finally, after the tiny pet fish had been corked up and carried as far as
Tenterden, she forgot to take them out of the post-chaise. Dover was
quitted with the gratification of recollecting having viewed the watery
site destined for the new lighthouse. Near this site we had also looked
at its present substitute, a floating light, and thought it was nrjually beau-
tiful in appearance, whether seen in the shape of a little tossing boat,
strongly anchored, with its twelve brave sailors on board, and the raging
breakers of the Goodwin surrounding it ; or as a bright, clear beacon, amid
the darkness of night.

At last the post-chaise drove off, though it rained hard. The road
wound pleasantly among the heights for some miles, and the sea was lost
sight of. Nothing appeared fov hours but the passing view of an ivy-
grown archway, and part of a wall outside Dover ; not an animal or liv-
ing thing was visible, except sometimes sheep grazing mid-way up the
hills. Suddenly a magnificent aea-view opened, and the sky beginnii.
to clear, the grey waters were finely gleamed by the sun's softening beams,
There were two or three fishing boats on the water; three maitello towers,
with their batteries, sloped down from the high ground we travelled over ;
and a grand inland prospect added to the commanding beauty of this ex-
tensive view. The town of Folkstone, with the new railroad, its arches
and train, to where it passes into a tunnel, fields, pastures, farms, boyond
— looked interminable. We passed under the railroad bridge, and, going
through the town, drove along the beach, again enjoying, for some time,
the sight of billows rolling along the strand. The bathing machines were

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190

II *

Mi'

all laid up inactive on the beach : it would seem no one was found
hardy enough to venture upon a dip on so rough and raw a day.
Throughout the extensive channel prospect the only vessels visible were
four small fishing boats. The situation of Hytho is not so striking as
that of Folkstone. The noble heights were left behind, the charming
near view of the sea ; the towered hills and towered fort, so wildly grand,
above Folkstone My parents were true lovers of natux*e, and ever alive
' to its features : to-day the dark, unsettled sky haa lent additional subli-
mity to every prospect ; and they enjoyed to watch the shifting, silvery
tempered sunbeams, as they mildly shone on the distant waters. The
postillion drove througli the roughly paved streets of the little town of
Hythe, up a hill, and furiously jolted past the church. The church, how-
ever, is a very fine looking edifice, its entrance particularly pretty, with
a long flight of steps leading into the body, having been, in olden days,
a cathedral. We got out of the chaise, and, preferring the risk of getting
wet feet to that of broken lirabs, walked to Mrs. Davis's. She hud a pret-
ty little cottage in the middle of a gardener's plantation, close enough to
the sea to have a good view of it : at this time a Isrge fleet of ships were
anchored at tiie Ness. It made Mrs. Davis very happy to see her brother,
whom she much resembled; and he was equally pleased with the sweet
wom:An, very lady-like and amiable in her manners. My father felt com-
fortable in her snug little room ; and she made hira take a glass of wine.
Mr. Davis recommended for perus:il Madame de Stael's work on the
French Revolution, and John.son's I'reface to his Dictionary. He would
see my parents to the inn, whence Ihoy again started. After leaving
Hythe, no more was seen of the son. The views became tame, — a few
gentlemf houses, a few deer: till, on reaching the market town of
Ashford, something novel presented itself in a town penned full of oxen,
sheep, and pigs.

At Tentevden we changed carriages ; and while mama walked round
the chu.cii and then warmed herself by the fire, papa settled fare?, and
ascertained that it was thirty-six miles from Dover. It took three hours
to reach Lamberhurst, a distance of sixteen miles. Mama had travelled
hitherto on the box, but was now obliged to come inside ; she preferred
having the carriage open ; and although the. young byight moon, and
glorious stars cheered the journey, nevertheless the travellers could not
help feeling very cold. Post-chaises were again changed ; it was a little
warmer but mama again liked to be outside. There were seventeen turn-
pikes on the road from Dover, some one shilling, some eightpence, some
sixpence. The last shilling toll had been paid at Woodgate ; and the
chaise was proceeding cheerily along, the travellers congratulating them-
selves on the close and pleasant vicinity of home, when suddenly they
came to a halt. Those inside were not aware of the extent of the evil,
but loud bawlings of '' let down the window and get out," soon aroused
them. The heavy trunks had given way; some rested on the horses'
hind legs, and some lay in the road. The inside travellers jumped out ;
and, after a good deal of righting, and settling, and packing, and lifting,
jjud labouring, the luggage, with one of the maids was placed inside ; the
gther maid got on the box with mama ; and papa, with his daughter,

191

round
3?. and

some

determined to walk the remaining distance, of near a mile, home. Ar-
rangements had been made that Hetty was to alight at Hunnisett the
grocer's, to order the nicessaire, and Sally was to go for the key of the
house. Nevertlielcss, Sally could not find Mr. Delves (the house agent) ;
he had left the key of the hoube at Mis^ Jacomb's, so that papa, mama,
Hetty, Sally, Hunnisett, James, the man-servant, who in a short time
joined, the post-boy, the post-chaise, trunks, &c., were detained in the
cold, clear, frosty, night air, for more than half an hour.

While papa lived at Belvedere, Lady Bagot, wife of Sir Charles Bagot,*
who, when envoy at Washington, wrote to him on the subject of his father's
grants, was residing in the same terrace, prior to joining her husband the
governor of Canada. Lady Bagot was the only daughter of Lord Mary-
borough;* and his lordship, on learning where General Durnford resided,
did not forget his early high estimation of him, but called and spent an
hour with my father in recalling bygone years. Then the conversation
turned on the need of a suitable residence for the governor of Canada,
and he asked papa if he did not think such a thing greatly needed. Pre-
vious to this visit. Lady Bagot told my parents that her father walked
with the elastic step of twenty-five.

This mention of Canada recalls two little anecdotes. ' ' ;'

During the time my father was stationed at Quebec, it once happened j
that Captain Phillpotts,R.E., was on!a visit at his house during tl cintensely
hot weather, and expressed bis admiration of a large clear piece of ice,
placed over some butter, to prevent the latter from melting, which accord-
ing to custom, had just been laid on the breakfast table. The substance
of the ice was indeed remarkably pellucid, and devoid of flaw, with the
exception of one black spot, which our frisnd sat considering, uncertain
whether to pronounce it a particle of sand, a small pebble, or insect of
some sort. As this flaw in the be-iuty of the ice was lodged, when first
noticed, at some depth from its surface, it must have been for months,
lodged many feet deep in its cold hiding place. Great was his surprise
when as the ici dissolved, which it rapidly did, and before the whole com-
pany were assembled for the morning's meal, a very Lirge spider lost no
time in freeing its long legs from their chill involvements, and crawling
away with every appearance of healthful animation.

The father of Captain West, R. E,, was on duty in Hollatid. He
v th a party of men, had lain all night in a trench, or ditch ; and after
such rude repose. Colonel West woke to the morning's ominouu light, and
with words of significant import ringing in his mind's ear. He was far
from being a religious man, or even sufficiently acquainted with the
Divine volume, to know whether the words which dwelt on his thoughts
were to be found in it, " arise and depart, for this is not your rest i "
Obeying the invisible intimation he rose; but hardly had he quitted his
post before a volley from the enemy killed three of his companions, 'fhe
movement of an instant saved him from a similar fate.

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192

SECTION XVII.

Hastings. — Arrival at Folkstone. — Boulogne.

la 1842, Belvedere again let, we went to London, and had lodgings
in the several looalities of Craven, North Audley, and Park streets. At
this time my father and mother enjoyed meeting with several valued and
attached friends. They had seen in the early part of tho summer, at
Tunbridge Wells, the family of Colonel, afterwards Sir John Reid, and
the daughters of Colonel Darcy, formerly of the Royal Engiueers. Mrs.
and tho Miss Reids they again met in town. In 1843, their dear and
excellent friend, Mrs. Brooking, let her house in York street to papa ;
George joined his family from the West Indies ; the Miss Kirwans were
residing at Kensington ; two trans-atlantic friends, — Mr. Henry Sewell
from Quebec, and Miss Frazer from Nova Scotia, — contributed to enlarge
the social party ; and some idea was entertained, if Belvedere had found
a tenant, of continuing in town.

In 1844, Hastings, or rather St. Leonards, was selected for change.
Mama was anxious to afford her invalid daughter the advantage of sea
air; and apartments were taken in a row of houses intermediate to
Hastings and St. Leonards. Here, the so much hoped for benefit was
not derived, but my dear father found recreation from taking exercise
along the stranrl ; and in these walks, which he greatly enjoyed, picking
np and selecting numbers of good specimens of the esteemed Hastings
pebbles. Some, he had the good chance to find, were fine water-agates,
and he had several nicely set ; these are preserved and worn by the sev-
eral members of his family, they were affectionately bestowed o i.

Tunbridge Wells was the resort of all ranks and varieties of society.
Invitations to add to subscriptions were countless, and circulars for pious
purposes endless ; indeed the post daily conveyed such. These continued
calls papa assisted with gifts of from a sovereign to half a crown. One
morning an appeal was made to his generosity by a stranger, whose volu-
bility was great, in behalf of a chapel of ease to be erected at Beverley
in Yorkshire : he sjiid, after a long introduction, that a young man at
Brighton told him, he supposed nothing less than fifty or. hundred guineas
would be acceptable; and he replied, he would gladly take sovereigns or
even half sovereigns. The young gentleman said, " I will give you wil-
lingly a sovereign." He ran on very fast ; but on my dear father's offer-
ing Lim a trifling sum, returned many acknowledgments.

In 1845, Boulogne wae chosen for the summer visit. Embarking at
Folkstone, the steam-packet taken passage in, had accomplished nearly
half the passage, when her paddles broke, and with difficulty she was
brought back to Folkstone. This caused a detention for above a week ;
but again going on board, my invalid sister, on whose account the change
was chiefly designed, could not be induced to travel any more by sea ;
and mama therefore remained behind with her, hiring a country lodging
in the locality. This check to full enjoj^ent, almost prevented my

i# : i

man at

irking at
nearfy"

she was

a week;
change

5 by sea ;
lodging
ted my

193

father from proceeding : after a little persuasion, however, he agreed to
go over.

July 22, 1845. We left Folkstone at a little after eleven in the fore-
noon, having taken passage in the magnificent new iron steam-packet,
" the Queen of the Belgians." As we approached Boulogne, the rapi-
dity with which the packet shot along the fine pier of a mile long, was
extremely trying to our heads. The passage was made in exactly
two hours. Immediately on landing we found ourselves inclosed between
barriers of ropes, guarded by soldiers ; the gazing crowd was kept with-
out, so that a free space was afforded for the steamboat passengers
to proceed. Leaving the "Queen," we were all forced towards the
Douane or Custom House, which was soon filled, and squeezed our-
selves through a door into a chamber lined with soldiers and tables, at
one of which sat a stout gentleman, who examined strangers, &c. A
large tall man, who had come over the water with us, on reaching the
first door pushed before, saying as he did so, " Excusez, je suis I'Eveque."
Well, when Papa had reached the stout gentleman who sat at the table,
and displayed his pass-port, he graciously bowed, and told us to proceed.
When clear of the outer door, at least a do'iien commissionnaires, as they
call themselves, assailed us with offers of assistance, and a profusion of
good advice. I understood them to say, that as we did not appear to '
speak French well, it would be best to proceed at once to one of the
English hotels which were close at hand. " Marine Hotel," did indeed
stare us in the face The hotel we preferred going to was the " Croix
de Bourgogne," to reach which was a tolerably long walk, and sitiated
in the " Haute-Ville." Boulogne is a handsome town, with good shops,
and casements to all the windows. Its streets reminded us of Quebec and
Montreal ; but the carters crack their heavy whips with more noise, as
they cry A-donc to their horses, who look in much worse condition than
they in fact are, from the miserable rope and straw harness in which
they are seen, and the enormous size of the cart wl eels. The lower
class of females all go without bonnets, in neat white caps, and blue
stockings ; they also wear the kirtle, mostly of dark blue, and form pic-
turesque groups everywhere. The better sort of men walk about in
moustaches and hideous beards ; their aspect is terrific. The " Hotel de
Bourgogne" is built round a court yard, and the entrances to its several
staircases are from within. Our apartment was situated over the gate-
way, or entrance from the street ; a white pannelled and closeted room,
with two compartments taken off it, each containing a bed, exactly simi-
lar in style to a Canadian cottage. The furniture was curious and an-
tique. After drinking some coffee we walked out; went a little
way on the Ramparts, which appear to be strong and well kept; went
over a large house within " I'enclos de TEvSque," for which we were
asked 200 francs the month, and then into another just without " Porte
Gayole," for which they demanded 100 francs the month. This house
being conveniently situated, in a large garden, we agreed to take a salon,

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194

salle-iirmanger, and three chamhres, for a month. Nobody will let houses
or lodgings in France for a less period. After this agreement we re-
turned to our Hotel, and called for supper at half-past seven. A leg of
roast lamb was immediately brought, out of which a slice had been cut,
some tarts, and tea. Papa called for beer ; it came in a decanter, and
was not good; but everything else was excellent; it waa evidently in-
tended for English style. To take this repast we descended to the table-
d'hote, and looked at the pannelling painted with the prettiest designs,
and pier glasses in profusion. The china services are all of pure white,
the young women who attended on us were very pretty, with fascinating
manners. Indeed all the women strike us as being good looking, while
the men are universally disfigured by their monstrous fashion of covering
their faces with hair. On returning up stairs from the supper room, we
stopt to look at the basse-cour of the hotel, lit up all round, although
rather sombrely, it not appearing to contain much company. Opposite
to the gallery we lodged in, was one decorated with statues and flowers.
The mistress of the hotel sat nearly in the centre of the court ; she was
a stately looking woman. Every article of furniture was elegant and
worthy of attention to us, from the marble surfaces of the tables and
window seats, to the porcelain tiled fire-place furnished with dogs. We
looked out upon a narrow street, and an old gentleman in a black cap
sat at an upper window opposite poring over a book, from which he
never raised his eyes. The town cloct strikes a fine musical note ; and
a charivari of drums and trumpets struck up at 10 o'clock at night.

July 23, Boulogne. Rose at 6 o'clock, and the first object which at-
tracted notice on opening the curtains from the sahn, was the same old
man, observed the evening before, seated at the open window reading for
ever in his book : — but at this early hour, the black cap was exchanged
for a dingy coloured night cap, with a long end hanging down behind. No
soul living could have refrained from merriment. The charges at the
hotel were very moderate, and the people did not like our leaving it.
They inquired whore we were going ; on being told, seemed surprised.
They half hinted we should not like the house, but would not explain
more than by adding that a family had left that house because they had
interfered and found the kitchen disagreeable. We assured them we
should not meddle in such matters ; and they then said .that for a month
it would not signify. The situation of this hotel was too confined to
have suited us for any length of time. This morning has been devoted
to unpacking and settling. The commissionnaire, who carried our trunks
one by one up stairs to our several rooms, seemed or pretended to be
hardly equal to the task, though a great tall man. In defiance of the
advice given us at the hotel, that we ought to market for ourselves, and
look sharp after its consumption, we had the weakness to-day to suffer
ourselves to be persuaded to pay 200 additional francs the month to be
fed and furnished with all requisites, washing included, which last was
particularly insisted upon. A domestic was excepted to in this bargain :
we agreed to give one, 15 francs the month. A well dressed dinner put
us into the best of humours with our new dwelling, and we took a walk

195

after it through the town, which is really a very imposing and pretty
one ; Rue de I'Ecu, et la Grande Rue in particular pleased. The shop
windows were full of nice caps and collars ; in the first important article
of womanly decoration, we observed but one pattern during the time we
wore in France.

July 24. This morning we walked to the fine column just erected to
Napoleon's memory ; and in our route travelled over the ground once oc-
cupied by our bluff Harry the VIII, and visited the hameau of Inlinc-
ture where he is said to have held his court ; then went into the curious
little chapel, whose walls are covered with small pictures, and the roof
hung with little ships, said to have been suspended there by pious ma-
riners. On coming out of this chapel I discovered talking with

an old soldier of the Emperor's. He told her he had served in Holland,
Germany, and Italy, and for four years had never slept except on the
grass or snow-covered ground. He asked if we were Italians, and said
he could speak, read, and write Italian as well as he could French, but
had not English enough, '^pour demander un sou." He looked rather
roguish. We then proceeded to the column, which is commanding
in aspect, the more so from its insulated site ; its sides and pedestal are
covered with inscriptions and records of the great conqueror's victories.
We returned home by a different road, over part of the ramparts, and
passed the fine old chateau. There are but few soldiers in garrison. Our
dinners are capital, greatly owing to the exquisite sauces with which the
dishes are served. The French like their coffee very strong, but dilute
it largely with boiled milk.

July 25. To-day papa deposited letters in the post for mama
before eight o'clock. We heard from her last night to our great joy.
Papa after breakfast was somewhat unwilling to go out, but we persuaded
him, and Jane selected the subject to explore, as I had done yesterday.
She chose Outreau, and we proceeded down the promenade des petits
arbres, which is just without the ramparts, and scarcely a stone's throw
from our villa. We proceeded along close and most insalubrious
streets to the Pont de Briques, which is close to the Pont de
Service; the former lay in our route, and conveyed us over the
river Liane; and though there were some tolerably sized fishing
craft on it, its still muddy waters more resembled an immense mill-dam
than a navigable stream ! Its windings beyond this are very picturesque.
We continued along the streets, which certainly were, as a little boy was
overheard to say, "■ Men sale, vilaine sale.'^ We toiled up a long steep
hill, and met several English parties returning, some in carriages, some
walking, and a few gentlemen on horseback. This ascent is interspersed
with pretty houses and elegant gardens, but they look entirely out of
place, surrounded aa they are by the wildness of neglect. The view
from the hill, looking down upon Boulogne, is fine ; we reached the ruins
of the Fort Ville Neuve, Mont Plaisir. This old work was erected by
Mar^chal da Biez, when the English held Boulogne, and here it was
the treaty was signed which restored it to France. We sat dowa on

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196

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[. i I

the grass, and, being all and each of us decidedly tired, thought of
returning, but upon extra deliberation, agreed to go a little farther, and
actually passed through the village of Outreau, and went up to the door
of the old church, without finally resolving to turn homewards. As
to our route, we were doubtful whereto it might tend ; '^ut, if no other
object had been ours to attain, we were amply rewarded for our toil
by the charming view surrounding on all sides, when we attained the
fine downs or dunes, there to inhale the pure air, perfumed by numbers
of newly made hayricks : the sea was in the distance on one side ; on
the other a fine line of heights terminated by Napoleon's column.
Below, lay the town of Boulogne, and the river Liane : closer to us,
what once was a baronial residence, with its round tower. This is now
a farm house, and nearer to us still Fort Kenaud. Nevertheless, pretty
as all this was, it was by no means certain in what quarter our road
home lay, and papa and I in turn went forward to explore. After
rambling some time, we squeezed into a muddy lane, through which
we finally succeeded in extricating ourselves, not without extreme risk
of sticking in the deep mud, or had we lost footing, of floundering in
the mire. The road over part of the dunes was sunk fifteen or sixteen
feet below the foot path and looked, from the deep mud at its bottom,
nearly impassable for even a carriage. At last we entered a lane even
prettier than any of those near Tu >bridge Wells, in which neither
nettle, nor briar, nor mud was visiblr , The houses of the lower classes
are all farm-houses, surrounded by heaps or collections of manure, on
which the poultry enjoy themselves. There is an air of rude but cheer-
ful profusion everywhere, and the country people are happy-looking
creatures. They seemed generally to possess more intelligence than the
same class with us. We reached home, after a walk of more
than deux lieues, or six miles. Our dinner to-day consisted of a fish
called the Jean Dord dressed with superb sauce, artichokes, and peas
with sugar and butter : then a dish of veal with a sweet sauce of
sorel, and a brioche. With this last, we were enraptured. Before tea,
my two indefatigable companions took another walk.

July 26. We persuaded papa to come out at twelve, although
rather ur.willing, and went to the museum, which was closed. The
library however was open ; and after turning over a book of prints,
and reading an account of the Duo de Montpensier's reception at Alex-
andria, we asked for the illuminated books. No one could tire in looking
over these curious old volumes. Some were rudely designed, and others
as finely finished. The gold looked fresh as if but of yesterday's
application. One volume of the history of the Belgians was
handed to us, the characters in French, the illustrations and pictures
laboriously beautiful. The resources of this library are boundless.
After dinner we went out again, and heard a charming band in one of
the streets : then went to tbe extremity of the eastern pier, and watched
the fishing boats enter the magnificent harbour. The surrounding
views, both of Boul(^ne and the coast, were charming. Made inquiry

197

on tho \ray homo nbout a French Protestant Church, but without
suoocss.

27th, Sunday. Papa had pronounced yesterday a desperate day, and
to-day he called a coarse one. Notwithstandinj* our inquiries about a
church where the servi''e is performed in French have been so fruitless,
we resolved to go somewhere, and were proceeding out, when a gentleman
met ua at the street door attired in a grey nSgligi, and said in English,
" Do you seek a place of worship ?" Papa replied in the affirmative.
He explained that there wore several, where the service was performed
in English, but the best was very near our present residence. Wo
followed his advice, and went there, much wondering who this gentle-
man could be. I must recall the inmates of our house. First then
came the owner of it and his wife. Monsieur and Madame du Pr^s, who
had nearly completed their fiftieth wedding-day anniversary, a pleasing
looking old couple, gay and affable in their manners. Then came their
only daughter, Mademoiselle, a tall, harsh- countenanced, thin woman,
of about forty, very voluble in speech, and overbearing in manner, but
excessively shrewd and clever, as we soon discovered. Next came our
maid Paoifique, or as the du Prds called her, Madame Drollet; a dig-
nified looking handsome woman of twenty-nine, separated as we were told
from a most cruel husband, — and the mother of three children. Mile.
had recommended her strongly to our service as being a good cook,
une brave femme, every thing desirable — efficient from dressing
a lady's hair, to scrubbing the floor of her room. When told we had
consented to engage her for our service, she threw herself into Mile's,
arms and kissed her. In a short time her faults were the continual
theme of Mademoiselle's discourse ; she was idle, she would not wash,
she did nothing but talk, she was good for nothing. The fact was,
poov Pacifique spent every spare moment in talking to us, particularly

, and a most superior creature for her station she was, only too

fond of reading, well acquainted with French history and politics,
and quite companionable. Mademoiselle had stipulated to wash our
clothes, inclusive in our bargain, but it turned out that she Jntisited
upon Pacifique's performing the service of laundry woman, and
pestered us with complaints of Pacifique's inability to iron. Indeed
more wretchedly washed and got up linen was never seenj and it was
all laid to Pacifique : at last we had to engage a laundress. But my
reminiscences have betrayed me to wander from the subject, which was
— going to the nearest church, — and a very nice one too, but it did not
begin until a quarter past eleven. After church we took a walk on the
ramparts, and went a short distance on the Paris road. Papa met at the
church door an acquaintance. At seven o'clock in the evening we went
i^ain, and found a full congregation. We started last Sunday at Sand-
gate, when hymn 310 was given out, but this morning hymn 531 was
sung. The collection of Bickersteth contains more than 800.

July 28. We were too late by the time breakfast was over to see
let diligences come in, and therefore walked to the Fort of St.
Lambert, and then to the village. The view is very extensive from

ill

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I-

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198

I!'

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the summit of the mount, which is the higliest ground ahout Boulogne
and 300 feet above the level of the sea. I never have seen so beautiful
a country. The undulations of the hills and lovely vallies enchauted
us, though a mist hung over the horizon, which, towards the sea, obscured
the English coast.

In the opposite part of the house to where we lodged a gentleman
with his family had rooms, whom they called captain Spencer.
Mademoiselle called him un homme de grands connAissances, grand
voyageur, grand — everything. Ho was society of himself. We had
heard from all our friends at home that the English society of Boulogne
was of no promising description ; all said, " beware of it, enter not into
it." This made us cautious and rather afraid of encountering this
family ; and we supposed at first that the gentleman who had directed
us to a place of worship was the captain. Wo had resolved, during
our stay in France, to confine ourselves to French reading, but Capt. S.^
with the true spirit of an author, presented us with a hind-
rance. A few days after our arrival, Mademoiselle invited me to play
on her piano-forte, I thought it would be uncivil to refuse, and accord-
ingly went into Madame's salon. This was a handsome sized room,
with a charming prospect of the windings of the river Liane, and
surrounding country. Monsieur and Madame were alone, but the
sound of music attracted Pacifique also, who entered, and listened to
my performance with the attention of one who liked music; and
when I rose from the instrument, the gentleman in the grey nigligi
came forward and addressed me in English. He brought some
pretty quadrilles for me to try, after whioh they expressed con-
jectures as to wli ether I had seen this music before. I assured
them not, but, lo place my musical capability beyond a doubt,
he brought me a little piece he said had never been published
before, and lately discovered in a nation hitherto supposed to possess no
such thing as music. He opened the book and I played the march,
one in itself of no great beauty. He then pointed to the author's full
length picture, which fronted the title-page, ** Travels in Circassia, by
Edmund Spencer, Esq."* " This," he said, " is Capt. Spencer, the father
of the children you may have seen ; the likeness is taken by himself, in
Circassian costume." He made me take the book with me into our
salon : we returned it the same evening, and Pacifique took^charge of it
with remercimens to Capt. Spencer. These gentlemen smoked
continually, and we soon learned to distinguish the Orientalist
by his moustaches and long chibouque. By degrees also we heard from
Pacifique that I'autre Monsieur " dtaitun pauvre garden anglais," wrecked a
few months ago at Boulogne ; she said he was a portrait painter, and that
from his loss of property consequent on that misfortune, he was neces-
sitated to work his way farther on.

* This gentleman's works are referred to hy Sir A. Alison in bis " History
of Europe."

199

Capt. Spencer soon made papa's acnuaintanco ; ho lent U8 English
newspapers, at the same time letting us know, that his large library was
at our service, and the " the Prophet of the Caucasus," an Historical
Homancc in 3 vols., accompanied this polite offer. We were little disposed
to spend our leisure hours in reading, out the books were by degrees read.
Great preparations are making and great expectations are forming in
anticipation of the annual fair soon to be held without one of the gates.
Pacifique is eloquent in describing the various pretty things to be dis-
played at it. Besides Pacifique there is an old woman in the house, who
goes by the appellation of " la cuisinUre," or Madame Spencer's servant.
Madame Spencer's voice in speaking French with the women, is particu-
larly soft and pleasing. Her girls go to he school at the convent of the
Ursulines.

July 29. Jane and I set off before 8 o'clock this morning with our
maid Pacifique to hear mass in the church of St. Nicholat areen seemed
to be the prevailing colour both in the priest's orn ment(<, and in the
furniture of the church. A woman during the st vico went about col-
lecting money ; when she came to us, as we happened to be without,
Pacifique put in a sou a piece for us. This usage of demanding a sou
from each person is so minutely observed, that, on one occasion, Jane
having given two, one was returned. Two of the priests were in white
surplices with green bands, and three in black ; one of the last was the
vicar-general. On our return it rained hard. These being one of the
three days set apart by the French nation for the commemoration of the
Revolution, as soon as breakfast was over we set out again to see a Review
of the National Guards, but the National Guards thought it was going to
rain, and therefore turned in when it was expected they would have fired
their /at de joie. The cannon, however, fired in remembrance of the
three memorable days of July. We dined at 2 o'clock, an hour earlier
than usual, at the instigation of Mademoiselle, who had accompanied us
in the morning, and oftered to go with us again after dinner to witness
the rejoidssances ; but we had only reached the middle of Rue d'Aumont,
when a violent storm came on, accompanied with thunder and lightning.
We took refuge in the house of Madame la Boulangire. Her place was
extremely neat, and her reception of us would not have disgraced a lady.
The conversation turned upon Colonel Sanscous having dismissed the
soldiers in so hasty a manner. A report was in consequence spread
through Boulogne that Louis Philippe was dead. The inhabitants are
very angry about it. The conversation then turned upon animal magne-
tism, and its wonders, but we understood very little of what was said.
Mademoiselle entered into a long history of a suitor of hers, who would
have married her two years ago, if one of the parties (we could not com-
prehend clearly which) had consented to change their religion. Made-
moiselle, from her own confessions, has broken many hearts. Madame
la Boulang^re's husband casts bronze figures ; among these, Cromwell and
Charles the 1st of England were the most conspicuous.

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200

" To Capt. Durnford, Newry :

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" Boulogno-8ur-mor. July, 30, 184&.

" Mt Deaf. Georoe, — It being uooessary to keep letters ready for
instant dospatoh, tipritent thiH is oommcDood a day or two before it is
likely to travel. I assure you this is a beautiful country, and I have
never enjoyed myself so much. Our table is entirely French, and the
more we enter with our landlady's daughter into its details, the bettor
pleased she is, and the more pains she takes to pleaso us. This is how-
ever considered to be an expensive part of Franco. Wo ought now to bo
celebrating les rijouissances for the three days of July, but none have as
yet taken place, and the people were first enraged with the commanding
officer for turning in his soldiers, who were of course en grande toilette
because it threatened rain, calling him un imbecile, and then began to ap-
prehend an Ameule in Paris, supposing that some event of moment had
occurred, such as the deatli of Louis Philippe. Indeed such a report
waa current at Boulogne for a few hours. Mademoiselle took us to see
a Review of the National Guards, but they turned in at the wrong mo-
ment, and disappointed thousands who oared quite as much about spoil-
ing their clothes as they did. Mademoiselle made us dine an hour earlier
than usual, to enable us afterwards to walk out and see lea rdjouissances
but instead of these, a violent thunder storm delavod our progress, and
we had to run home and change our clothes. After tea, Mademoisello
again came and said, we must come with her and see lea illuminationa
et let/eux d'artijicea. I pleaded the fear of taking cold, but Papa and
Jane went upon the ramparts, and returned in half an hour, looking
somewhat sombre. At 10 o'clock, as we were retiring to our rooms, wo
met Mademoiselle on the staircase, and she called out to us, " J'ai par-
couru toutc la ville, mais point d'illumination, point de fcux d'artifices,
et le bruit court que Louis Philippe est mort." Yesterday and to-day
all is quiet again, and the disappointment seems to be forgotten. The
soldiers we saw, did not amount to more than fifty. Boulogne is a hand-
some town, and the fortifications strong and extensive, with several gates :
the whole reminds me very much of Quebec. We have engaged our
lodgings to August 23, at the end of which period, we have some
intention of going on to St. Omer, there to engage another lodging for a
month, as nobody in France will take you in for a shorter time. If you
will come over, we will go to Paris ; your determination will decide, it is
quite impossible but you must be delighted with France. I never felt
so happy as now. I am convinced you would enjoy yourself also, so do
pray " faites votre possible pour venir nous rejoindre." We are just
returned from hearing a sermon preached in French ; I am writing at 9
o'clock at night. Yesterday we walked along la route de Paris, to see lea
diligentes come in, and met six. They drive six horses, three and three
abreast. We live on la route de Paris, just outside Porte Gayole, a situa-
tion centrical and convenient both for town and country. Napoleon's traces
are discernible all round Boulogne ; and there is in the Museum a medal he
caused to be struck to commemorate the conquest of England, which we

SUi

and

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have not yet seen. We have seen the ouluiun juHt cructud tu his lueiuory,
it is considered a very fine one. For my part, what I enjoy most, are
the delightful walks, und the lino and oxtensivu viuws from the heights:
I have never seen any thing so beautiful. At the Wells we were told
that there were neither walks nor country about Boulogne ; and it appears
to us that Boulogne possesses both in perfection. At the Wells we were
told that Boulogne was a horrid hot place, and we find it pleasantly cool,
while our domeatique tulls us it is never too hot in sunmier, or too cold
in winter. At the Wells we were also told that we should liave plenty
of delicious fruit in Franco, but as yet we have seen only the common
kinds, and these not as fine as we had in England, but much chenper.

I am, &o.

M.D."

July 30. As soon as breakfast was over, we set out upon the Paris
road, purposely to see its diligences. Saw in the course of our walk five
or six ; all with six horses, three and three abreast. The road is for a con-
siderable distance paved or laid down with large stones. The river Liane
winds along the road very beautifully, and wo passed two very large hand-
some houses, one of which was the abode of Napoleon. Jane made two
sketches, one of a mill and stream at Pont de Briques, und the other of
the ruins of St. Leonard, u church said to be more than iOOO years old.
While Jane was engaged at the first, I sauntered about charmed with
the lovely scenery, and a fine poultry yard filled with turkeys of a bril-
liant white plumage. A picturesque group of Frcnoh girls assembled
round us at Pont de Briques, chattering and enjoying the rencontre.

July 31. The first news this morning was, that the storm last night
has caused the milk to turn, and consequently we must wait for break-
fast until Pacifique run to Bue Boy ale for more. This occasioned our
being too late for mass at the Ursulines. Set off a quarter before eleven
o'clock for the valley of DenScre, but although the valley was very lovely,
full of shade and pretty buildings, all very quiet and retired, the mud-
diness of the road made walking disagreeable. We returned by the route
de Calais. Sent off letters to mama and John. Papa and Jane returned
in high spirits from the Post Oflfice, having found out Monsieur Poul-
lain, the French Protestant preacher, and we went to hear him preach
at seven o'clock the same evening.

August 1. Went before breakfast to hear mass in " TEglise du Convent
des Visitantines." Very handsome edifice, the church a miniature of St.
Paul's.

August 2. L'eau a tombe toute la matini^e. A deux heures, j'ai trou-
v^ qu'il m'^tait n^cessaire d'aller faire un tour de promenade avant le
diner. Papa et moi nous sommes months sur une hauteur qui commandait
une belle vue. Apr^s le diner, nous sommes all^s in la Poste. Lettre de
mama.

August 3. Just returned from hearing Mons. PouUain. The sky
cleared in time. His discourse was on the duties of a bishop.

August 4. Went with Mademoiselle to see an exhibition of pictures,
Vi;hich has been the topic of conversation for the last few days. Paci-

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202

fiquo had informed us that tlic portrait painter, or nontlcman in groy, wa»
vrorkin^? for th« exhibition ; and accordingly t'lo firHt pictures which pro-
Bcntcd thciuHclves were hin |)crforinanoo. They were family grouiw* ; one
portrait reminded U8 of our lato neighbour, Dr. Burdor. Another
flingular Bubjeot of his reprcHcnt<«l n crosH, the hands joined at top with
the words <\ Dieu, the heart (i mrg umiii, the hIcuU at the bottom,
d la ttwrt. Wo could not commond his ohoioo of subjects. Some of the
pictures in the oxliibition wore extremely well executed. At night Pa-
cifiquo told us that the painter was employed upon another nioture tri»
joli, with cows, also designed for the exhibition. In the evening
hoard Mons. PouUain again. Ho gave a sort of missionary sermon, of
which I understood very little. Twelve persons were present including
himself. Wo then walked through part of tho Museum, which contains
a superb ooUection of animals, birds, fish, and reptiles, insects, shells,
minerals, and statuary. The medals are magnificent.

August 5. Debuted over night which was the best road to the Convent
of tho Scours Orises, as papa thought there would bo too much confusion
and noise if wo passed oy the Foire. We set off a quarter before six
o'clock, and went vid Foiro, where every think looked quiet nnd orderly.
The merchandise was partly set out, but there was no appearance of
Btir. Passed a funeral just without Porte Oayolo. We knocked at the
Convent door for admittance, and were told by one of les Scours, there
was no service in the church. She was a good-natured looking young
women, who courtesied affably. We then proceeded homewards; and
haaring music, and a black cloth being suspended outside the church
belonging to the Couvent do I'Annonciation, we entered it, and heard
some good chanting. The altar was lighted up with a number of can-
dles, some of which were moved about continually. After breakfast, wo
went at my solicitation to the Foire, but it turned out a mere display of
paltry jewellery, toys, and things of that description. Without the
Dooths, exhibitions of all kinds were announced. Leading from the
Foire in all directions wore streets filled with more useful and substantial
merchandise. One street was literally filled with old clothes ; another
with stalls of country people's strong shoes and boots, and half a street
was devoted to the clean-looking white ware peculiar to France. The
market place was nearly empty, it not being th? proper day for that
spectacle, and so in spite of a high wind, we walked to tho height where
stands tho ruins of what is supposed to have been tho frantic wretch
Caligula's Tower. Papa settled with Mademoiselle for our third week.
When money matters were closed, Mademoiselle entered into conversa-
tion, and after talking for some time, alighted on the topic of pictures,
arid at last the portrait painter. She dwelt much on the merit of the
picture he had just finished, and asked permission to introduce the artist
and his performance. We could not in civility decline seeing either.
The picture was first introduced ; it was well done, but a carious compo-
sition, being nothing more than two cow.s, — one standing higher than the
other, — two sheep, and a goat. We were obliged to commend it, and Ma-
demoiselle went in search of the painter, but returned in a few minutes,

fj;

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203

saying, " ho wiw no where to bo found." Wo nil Inrghcd ; Imt not diw-
couragcd, dho wont to look for him again, and with lUoro nuccchh than
before, as she noon re-entered accompanied by the gcnllemnn, who came
in bowing very modostlv, and Haying an ho did ho, " I am not a firHt-ratc

r inter." However this might be, wo all prniHod liiH performaneo, and
persuaded , who wbh uIho very modoHt on the occasion, to bring

forward Bomo of hor Bketches. Of oourso ho wan much pIcaHod, but her
skotoh of Porte Gayolo ho objected to in not Imving a foreground, at the
same timo pointing to his own. Tho most prominent object in ]m was
a leafless be igh, of which I could not discover the beauty. I objected
to the dark colour of his sheep, but ho maintained that a scoroliing suu'h
rays produced no other. Ho then told us his father was colonel in tho Ame-
rican militia, and had distinguished himself in the old American war, he
Wtt8 himself English born, and had travelled in Italy, Germany, Kgj'pt,
England, Wales, and Scotland. He spoke English, French, Italian,
German, and Welsh, and dwelt much on his regret in not having ac-
quired the Scotch. He appeared very well informed. He begged to
bring in a camera luoida of his own making, which ho represented as a
wonderful thing; but luoklesslv, as there happened to be no sun, it could
not bo made to act. Soup to-day was rather indifferent, and pupa did
not like his pork, chops.

August 0. A high wind, cold and dry, blew, whose searching effects
our warmest wrappings were insufficient to protect against ; it raised
clouds of unwholesome dust, that threatened to stop our breathing and
blind our eyes. Papa often strolled on a road intermediate with the
valley of Donfioro, and the path leading to Echinhen ; it led past the Cou-
vent dos Visitantinos, and large fields planted with potatoes. This <vas
Bolected on this disagreeable day as being moro sheltered than any other
road. Out door exorcise was ill-suited to such weather, and we soon
turned back, but not before papa had taken notice that the heretofore
green and flourishing potato plants wore entirely blacketied and blighted.
This sudden appearance he and others attributed to the previous night's
frost. The malignant wind now blowing, was elsewhere distroying this
valuable root, and it was only too soon discovered to be tho prelude
to the potato disease, and melancholy famine that followed in its
consequences.

August 7. The morning rainy. However, as we were very desirous
of seeing the market, we took umbrellas and sallied out. It was a pretty
sight, the market place was quite full of the cheerful-looking country
people, — the women all in neat white caps, dark blue petticoats and
kirtles ; while the old women, and those who were afraid of the rain had
tied dark cotton handkerchiefs over their heads. Most of them were
knitting blue or grey worsted stockings. Vegetables of all kinds, and
fruit were in groat abundance, and very cheap. Poultry, pigeons, and
rabbits, the same. The fish market is always excellent. One quarter
of the market was set apart for flowers, and these were also very pretty
and reasonable. The tout ensemble interested us much. We returned
home to change our dress, and then at twelve o'clock went to Rue de

fe'l

! 1

204

I'Ecu, the most fashionable street in Boulogne, which Pacifique pro-
nounces to be " tout k fait oomme Paris," and the residence of Monsieur
le Jeune, the cordonnier of Mrs. Brooking's recommendation. Bought a
pair of shoes for six franc?. Went to the Museum, but found it closed :
then went to the Foire. Toys of all kinds, and trinkets, perfumery,
«nd quantities of ginger-bread, — which last is very detestable. Heard
Monsieur Poullain ir the evening : Ps. xxv. 15. A tolerable congrega-
tion. Two small pi^ ons for dinner, and vegetables.

August 8. Set off at ten o'clock for the magnificent strand. "We cer-
tainly failed in making acquaintance with the richest part of Boulogne
by hrving taken up our quarters at I'Hotol de la Croix de Boulogne, for
the numerous English Hotels along the strand are very handsome build-
ings indeed. Both going to and returning from the strand, we encoun-
tered parties of miserable women, young and old, some even pretty ;
bare-footed and bare-legged to the knees carrying burdens on their backs,
and bending their heads low before them in the attitude of beasts of bur-
then. This sight greatly shocked as. In the evening, our quiet tea-
tabld was disturbed by loud reports of cannon. This occasioned plenty
of conjc .fures, and Mademoiselle and Pacifique divined it to be a salute
fired in honour of some royal person just landed from England. We
went so far as to dispute what hotel he would put up at. In the midst
of this dilemma, one of the gentlemen entered with the information, that
it was nothing but the noise of the long delayed feux d'artifices, and
wound up his report by hinting, " qu'il n'est pas de grand chose."

August 9. Rained all the day. Before tea walked on the St. Oracr
road. The painter brought his sketch of the mill near Arundel, done as
he said f'-om recollection.

August 10. Rained hard in the morning, but turned out very fine
when we went to church. Mons. PouUain, Job xv. 11 ; supplement to
last Sunday. The room very full. Began to rain as soon as we got
home. In the evening heard him preach again from Timothy, on the
duties of a bishop. This sermon we found very difficult to understand.

August 11. Walked on the other side of the river Liane as far as St.
■Leonard's wood. Passed some brick-making and hay-making grounds.
Yery windy with a few gleams of sunshine. As the tide was out, the
bed of the river was nothing but mud. The first John Bull arrived.

August 12. Set out a quarter before twelve o'clock to visit the school
of les Soeurs Grises, and entered an infant school next door to it, called
^' I'Ecole d'Asile," where were a gieat number of little children. The girls
were mostly employed in worsted stocking knitting, and the mistress ad-
dressed them, though of the poorest order, as " ^ demoiselles." Their
-dismissal was extremely orderly. Then went to Rue de I'Ecu, and
bought a pair of gloves, and a fine guitar string for half a franc (very
dear) ; from thence to the Museum, and looked at the extensive collection
of medals, birds, insects, Egyptian mummies, and statues — the whole
on a very magnificent scale. Called again on les Soeurs Grises, where
the door was opened by a sister, who however could not admit us as we
had not the regular permission. Monsieur du Prds returned from Mon-

»■ s

205

^Pr

We ccr-
Boulogne
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ome build-
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The girls
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collection
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ses, where
t us as we
i om Mon-

treuil this afternoon. Our fare at dinner to-day was rather a failing off.
as it consisted of two miserably small ill-roasted pigeons, with a small
dish of Frencl and broad beans. We must be out of Mademoiselle's
favour, or she would furnish us better.

13th. Raired all last night and all the morning. Cleared up after
breakfanfc, and we set off to visit the market again. This we found very
full of the picturesque groups of country people ; and in consequence of
the unsettled state of the weather, the cotton handkerchief was mostly
substituted for the clean white cap. A man asked five and a half francs
for a goose, and a woman four francs for a fowl. Both we knew to be
exorbitant. When we turned away, they ran eagerly after us. " Madame,
madame, coii.bien voulez vous donner." Sixteen sous for a couple of
pigeons, four sous for an artichoke, one sou for a large bunch of carrots,
three for a fine chouohjleur, and one for a cake we have frequently with
our dessert. Dinner to-day not abundant in quantity.

14th. We shall regret to lose the pretty view from our front windows
of acacias and elms, that look so cheerful, and cast so grateful a shade
through the crimson window curtains. One becomes inclined to feel
romantic in this house, for there is a broken lock to one door, and this
chamber is at night barricaded with trunks or chairs. The apartments
are adorned with fine prints by Vernet, but the looking glasses, though
numerous, are so contrived as to be useless for the purpose of accurate
reflection. Then we are close enough to the road to hear children's
voices from the hour of sunrise, and also the loud crack of the carter's
heavy whip, as he goes to and fro the Porte Gayole, and we look oat
upon the ramparts with the charming foliage of la Promenade des
Petites Arbres. All this we enjoy, and shall be sorry to leave. There
is the originality of Mons. du Pr^s' household, our mloii furnished
with high backed chairs, covered with crimson velvet, the long passages
hung throughout with Vernet's prints, and all kept alive the livelong
day by the ceaseless clatter of feminine voices. Pacifique complains fre-
quently that Mademoiselle contraries her ; " oh ! qu'elle est mechante," she
says, and Ma'^.emoiselle, that her mother, contraries her, so that she would
rather be married than continue at home. What strange contradictions
this world is composed of. However, as from Pacifi(]ue's account there
were no less than 15,000 divorces last year in France, marriage is not so
desirable. Ou^ coffee at breakfast is execrable, weak, and void of flavour ;
when we comphtin, Pacifique says it is the fault of the house, there is
" trop de int^age." As we sometimes have vegetables brought to the
dinner table, ^after the fish and meat have disappeared. Papa desired the
vegetables might be brought -earlier ; and to his surprise and my amaze-
ment, the next day Pacifique brought in, as first dishes, potatoes and
turnips. Papa was inclined to be angry. We could not discover if she
knew any better. Last night we walked a little way on the Calais road,
and on our return stumbled upon the cathedral now re-building, over the
spot where is large subterraneous church or crypt. This morning we
walked again on the charming Paris road ; and while Jane sketched St.
Leonard's church, I ran about among the lanes and found out one most

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lovely villa. a our return we had rain again, '' 11 tombe de I'cau sana
ccsse." Went in the evening to hear Mons. Poullain, on the 2&th Psalm.
Wont in the rain. The fair was very full of people, and the scene there
altogether very gay and lively.

August 15. Went at 10 o'clock to St. Nicholas, it being a festival
in honour of the Virgin, The church very full, and the music was very
fine, but the choir weak for the size of the building. When it was con-
cluded, we walked to the end of the church, and met two of the " Sceurs
Grises," with their school. These ladies, in their white flannel robes and
hoods, are always to be met with in the streets, although their order is
said to be rigid; and in diet they confine thamselves to vegetable fare.
When we came home. Mademoiselle introduced us to Capt. Spencer.
The sun shines once more. Proposed walking to the village of Ostrohove
after dinner, but it rained hard. We were somewhat annoyed by our mea-
gre dinner table to-day. Pork chops — a meat we all dislike — and a few
small, shrivelled artichokes, did not satisfy sharp appetites, improved by
exercise ard pure air. Mademoiselle talked a great deal about Madame
DroUet's want of skill in the cooking department, and was particularly
indignant with her for having dressed the artichokes so ill. However,
as we considered the artichokes, making all due allowance for the quality
of the article, to have been remarkably well dressed, her eloquence did
not move sympathy.

August 16, Kain in the morning; but in defiance of all our friends'
advice, we set otF to walk to Echinhen, where Capt. Spencer tells papa he
is in the habit of going to fish, and which he strongly recommends our
walking to. This secluded little place is snugly situated in the riante
valley we have so much admired before. The road was nniddy and
slippery, over hills and down dales. Several times we were on the point
of returning, from the unpromising aspect of both the sky and the ground,
but the wild magnificence of the path led us on. Numbers of market
women overtook us, returning from Eoulogne on donkeys, with bread,
Veau de-vie, etc., in exchange for the vegetables and fruit they had
disposed of. The valley in which Echinhen lies looks extremely beautiful
from the high ground passed over in reaching it. Jane, who makes
acquaintance with every one, entered into conversation with some of
these women, and asked if they knew of lodgings to be had at Echinhen.
They replied in the affirmative, and conducted us to asmall house in the
centre of the dell ; where a man, to whom our business was explained,
invited us to enter, and left us in a small parlour with a prfetty girl of
about thirteen. This girl, whose appearance and manners werej)leasing was
excessively slovenly in her attire, and so regularly slip-shod, as in walking
to support her slippers dexterously on the points of her toes. She
chattered to us about ten minutes, and said her mother was an English-
woman ; at the end of which time her uncle reappeared, having retired to
slip on a long, sky-blue sort of dressing gown ; not so long, however, as
to hide his boots and gaiters, etc., d la ehasse. It was impossible not to
approve Monsieur's notions of showing respect to ladies. He was a tall,
handsome man, and wore a thick beard and moustache; the costume

207

Pll

became him ; and his sporting dogs, when he appeared, came round him.
His chamber d. louer was quite out of the question for us ; and politely
he was tha first to regret its being " troppetit,'^ more suitable, as he justly
observed, "pour une seule personne." The general aspect of untidiness
which the house offered, presented rather a ludicrous contrast \i'dh his
own spruce attire. Leaving this curious little dwelling, Jane stopped to
sketch the church, and we set out to retrace, by slow d^rees, the laborious
route we must return by. Leisurely we toiled up the long steep ascent
which led from Echinhen, stopping, many times, to recover breath and
gaze upon the enchanting beauty of the wild, wide view. Got home
without rain, and soon forgot both mud and toil. In the evening an
unlucky letter arrived from the gentleman in our house. The evening
was passed in consultation on the subject, and an immediate recall to
England apprehended.

August IS. The finest morning we have seen in France. Answered my
cousin's letter after breakfast, and with papa and Jane went to the sands.
As we talk of going to stay at St. Omer it puts Mdlle. terribly
out of humour; she can only endure our proceeding to Paris.
Capt. S. came very civilly to oflFer us tickets to go with him and witness
the distribution of the college prizes. We went with him and his
family'at half-past two o'clock. He procured us the best seats, and we
were much pleased. A young gentleman first rcui a long discourse, his
own composition. The boys next performed a dramatic piece, the plot of
which was the incognito of the Czar Peter the Great, when he played his
apprenticeship to ship-building in Holland : — a well acted piece. About
fifty priests sat close to us, and Capt. S. said to me, " It was rather to
be wondered at that they should carry their liberality so far." Fearful
of this observation being overheard, I laconically answered " No doubt
they considered it for the advantage of their pupils." One great source
of the entertainment of the piece was caused by an English boy, who per-
sonated the English ambassador, " and spoke French," as Capt. S. said,
" so esactly as we do that it vf SiS capital." The boys sung between acts,
and then came the distribution of prizes. Each boy received a crown,
<jither of silver or green paper leaves : he was first crowned by the Abb^,
and last by his nearest relative present. The Abb^ is so rich that the
new cathedral is erecting wholly ds ses depens The Abb^ is not young
but there was an old priest with him of eighty or ninety, who had been
his tulor. My new Shetland shawl was pulled and dragged so violently
by an ill-mannerly party of English women who sat behind me, that
"the shine "to make use of my brother John's expressive phrase, was
quite taken out of it. ;

August 19. At home all day. Very stormy. Received a letter from
mama recommending our going to Paris, and we finally resolved to go.
Mademoiselle overjoyed to hear it ; on the strength of this resohe we
returned " The Prophet of the Caucasus," and the captain immediately
sent us his " Travels in Circassia." No help for us I

August 20. An advertisement has been posted outside Monsieur Poul-
lain's lecture room ever since we have attended it, announcing a baz'^xir

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or fancy fair, to be held in Rue des Vieillards, at a dancing master's,
and this being the second day, papa and Jane thought it right to attend.

On their way they met our Eohinhen acquaintance, looking as

said, " quite a gentleman," and in company with another monsieur. Papa
recognized him by bowing ; he acknowledged the compliment very gen-
teelly, and enquired if papa had received news from Angleterre since he
had the pleasure of seeing him. ' '* '' '

August 21. Remained at home in the morning and packed up — baggage
in France, luggage in England, tcaA plunder in America. Dined at two
o'clock, and went afterwards to reclaim our passports. In the evening the
painter paid us a visit, and brought the plan of a bridge, constructed in some
singular way, of which he proposed making a picture. He borrowed two of
Jane's sketches, which he praised extravagantly. When papa came in, the
picture of the cows and sheep was again displayed, and he asked papa at
what distance he guessed the distant ground in it to be ? Papa said "about
a mile or two." " No," he said, "much greater; eighteen or twenty."
Papa said ho had mistaken the direction he alluded to, which pleased him
much. Heard Monsieur Poullain, in the evening, preach from 26th
Psalm ; larger congregation than we have seen before on a week day.

" To Mrs. John Dunscomb, Montreal,

" Boulogne, August 20.

" My Dear Caroline, — Your husband's letter gave us an infinity of
pleasure, and I assure you we all feel disposed to return his congratula-
tions, and to hope that both you and your petit gargon are now strong
and well. I fear, my dear sister, that in this uncertain world we must
not expect to meet with unalloyed satisfaction, for the happiness your
news conveyed was greatly disturbed by the terrible Quebec accounts.
As poor Elizabeth did not write, I tremble lest Mr Sewell should have
suflFered with the others. I am commencing a letter to her, but know
not how to touch on the sad subject. There has been a fire at Toulon,
and a railroad disaster ne^r Penshurst, and this has been the coldest and
most rainy summer ever known at Boulogne, and fears are entertained
lest the harvest should be injured. But I do not like to dwell long on
unpleasant topics, and will therefore dismiss them, while I write, my dear
Carry, to you. We continue to like Boulogne; it is a lively, stirring
town, witli plenty of amusement always going forward; I have been to
the fair, but the stalls displayed nothing but nicknacks, such as toys and
common trinkets, &c. Its ramifications extended through several streets,
and filled up one with common and old clothes; occupied another with
stalls of country peoples' shoes and boots ; and in another direction set out
a third, with quantities of the pretty white crockery, which, when of a
better description, is so peculiarly neat and elegant looking; it ap-
pears to be universally used in France. The Mr has turned the heads of
the female inmates of the house we now reside in ; our steady maid Paci-
fique cannot resist its attractions, and even the stately and somewhat im-
perious Mademoiselle du Pr6s forgot, one night, amidst its gaity and charm
that the important key which guarded the stores of tea, sugar, cassonade,

209

and tartine, destined to furnish our evening refreshment, was imprisoned
in her pocket tor more than an hour beyond the usual time. The museum
is a splendid one, and the library said to be inexhaustible in its resources ;
it certainly would be so to us, for we spent two hours one day there, in
looking over such curious old books, as made us prefer it even to the
museum. The market place is another interesting and beautiful scene ;
I feel a strong desire to sell fruit, eggs, and vegetables myself, when I
regard those happy looking peasants. How much prettier their pictu-
resque costume is than the fashionably cut frock, more aspiring flower-cov-
ered straw bonnet, and parasol of our village damsels. I have received
a most obliging letter from our cousiL, the Comtcsse de St. Antoine,
recommending an hotel, and promising to get tickets for public places in
case we go to Paris ; and it ir now not unlikely that we may avail our-
selves of her kindness. Never was, I believe, since the creation of the
world, so cold a summer as this continues to be : the public exhibitions
are all free. We procured tickets to witness the distribution of prizes at
the principal college, the advantage of a ticket being, on this occasion,
that it secured seats. This was lucky, as we went at half-past two o'clock,
and did not come out till half-past six in the evening. The distribution
took place in the open court of the college ; the new cathedral and ram-
parts surrounding it. A boy first read a speech or discourse, a sort of
review of the extent and benefits derived from learning in general, goi»g
back to the days of the old Greeks and Romans; thm followed a little
drama, performed by the young gentlemen, and between acts they sang,
in chorus. The whole concluded with the distribution of prizes. Each
deserving boy received a crown from his tutor of either silver or green
leaves ; he was then presented to the abb^ or president, who crowned him,
and kissed him on both cheeks, and lastly led him up to his nearest rela-
tive present, who placed the crown again on his head with more kisses.
About one hundred and fifty fared in this manner, amid showers of
crowns and kisses. I could not help fancying the poor old president of
ninety must have been rather rejoiced when it all came to a conclusion,
though, to judge from his good-tempered and smiling round face, a spec-
tator would have imagined he could have kissed these meritorious youths
all over again : the whole was novel and interesting. The weather favoured
us, the sun actually chone upon the scene, but it began to rain soon after
we reached home. Yours, &c., ♦* M. D."

August 22. When we announced our intention of leaving Mons. du
Pr^s a few days ago, to our no small surprise it occasioned great discon-
tent and complaint. Madame, and her daughter seemed half inclined to lay
an embargo on us, and protested, had they known before of our intention
of remaining so short a period with them, they would either have de-
manded more, or not taken us in ; we ought to continue the winter where
we were. We laughed and papa got angry at this impertinence. At
length Mademoiselle became more reconoled at the prospect of her
tenants' departure, on hearing it was for Paris. For some days the
stormy weather had continued with scarcely any intermission, and accounts

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210

of damage done by it were daily received; the paquebots came into port
damaged; the diligence from Paris was overturned ; 100 men were killed at
Rouen ; and every face that approached us wore a serious aspect. Then
there were fires at London, Toulon, Quebec, and New York. In
passing through the long passage leading to my room, I nightly
watched the angry moon, and prayed for her more benignant coun-
tenance on the approaching night of our journey. On the same
morning our projected departure had given so much dissatisfaction,
Pacfique's visage, at ddjeuner, wore a dejected oast, and on making
inquiry into the cause, we were told that Monsieur and the cap-
tain had had so violent a quarrel, as to induce the latter also to give
warning, he would leave the house at the end of the week. The disagree-
ment was owing to the captain's having attempted, with his own hands,
to dislodge a few of the thriving weeds, which spread themselves in that
part of the garden immediately below his window. Papa had often ex-
pressed his annoyance at the neglected state of the garden, and been
ready to remonstrate with monsieur on the subject. Indeed, several times,
when four and five men were set to work there, he entertained hopes of
amendment ; but, on the contrary these monsieurs merely plucked currants
and gooseberries, and the evil complained of remained unremedied. As
loud voices did sometimes pronounce the term " Charlatan," we were led
to conjecture that the obnoxious weeds or flowers, were nurtured by Mon-
sieur as medicinally useful. While these complaints and annoyances
were accumulating in the house, the ill-humour of both Madame and
her daughter rose with them, and poor Pacifique came in for her share ;
she now scarcely ever came to our department of the house without their
angrily calling to her, and we were tormented with complaints of her idle-
ness. iWe felt it was full time for us to remove : even to the last appre-
hensions crowded. Two hours before the hour for our departure, the
painter had not returned J ane's sketches ; but all turned out right at
last. The two gentlemen came pour dire adieu ; the captain, with
advice and valuable recommendations respecting what we were to do at
Paris ; the painter with the sketches and regrets, &c. After all the little
squabbles, privations, storms, &c., we had experienced in Monsieur du
Pr^' house, the month spent here has been one of interest and enjoyment
to us, and we should have felt very sorry to have quitted it, if Paris had
not been the prospect in view. Mademoiselle placed on our. dinner table
the most delicious fish the Boulogne market afforded, tHe veal cotelettes
were, of her best dressing, the rice pudding the nicest, and the cake the
lightest. She. appeared desirous that even Parisian fare should not eclipse
her bon ^nage. M * ,

211

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SECTION XVIII.

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Paris. — St. Omer. — Calais. — Passage to Dover.— Weston Hanger. \

Aug. 22, 1845. Wo took leave of Monsieur du Pr^s soon after
dinner, as our diligence was to start at 4 o'clock. Capt. and Mrs
Spencer with Pacifique accompanied us to the station, where we said
adieu to our kind friends. There was some confusion before we were
finally seated in the diligence, with three ladies and a child besides
ourselves. They battled for their places, saying they h?d engaged them
in Lon4on a week ago. They were strange, vulgar-looking women,
the little girl, one of the ugliest, disagreeable children imaginable, but
all four were handsomely attired, noisily sympathising with each other,
on their late stormy passage from London, and the trouble they expe-
rienced in stowing their little persons comfortably in the capacious seats
of the diligence. The lady with the child had an oaken chest, so large,
that it caused no small terror among us when brought out to be placed
over our heads ; she behaved very civilly and considerately however —
for the child setting up a terrific howl, she would have sent the packing
case by the baggage conveyance, but for the assurance of the people
employed that we were not over regulation weight. The diligence set
off, 20 minutes after 4 o'clock. It stopped at Montreuil for dinner,
20 minutes before 8; having already taken that meal, we preferred
coffee, which, with the butter and milk, was exquisite. The diligence
is among carriages what the elephant is among animals; the one we
travelled in was both easy and commodious, yet our fellow-travellers
annoyed us by complaining of want of room, and we were obliged to
push for our places against them, or they would have occupied our seats
in addition to their own. As night drew on, the planet Mars first
attracted our attention; and then the harvest moon rose and drove away
obscurity. During night we passed through Saumur, Montreuil, Abbeville,
Beauvais, and Beaumont, and morning's light spread to view a free
and fine country, with plenty of standing corn, and hay in ricks, while
In some places the cheerful reaping hook was busy. Then 'appeared
long avenues planted with trees, and vineyards in abundance, the vines
trained to about the height of currant bushes. But I encroach on a
day, and must therefore date from

Aug. 23. By 8 o'clock A. M. we were terribly tired, the more so,
as no call or intimation for breakfast came. When there were halts
for relays, papa Called out more than once the word dejeuner: the
ladies were becoming clamorous. We were at last called to get out at
a wretched public house about 25 miies from Paris — it was half-past
ten, and our party were resigning all prospect of breakfast, — however
every one responded gladly to the invitation. My dear father's nose
"bled very profusely, after we returned to our travelling conveyance,
alarming us much — on this occasion our fellow passengers were very
Icind, and made amends for their former ungracious impression.

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Previous to entering Paris by the Porte St. Denis, we halted under a
machine for the purpose of having the diligence weighed. This
adjusted, we were permitted to behold the streets and boulevards, and
were then safely lodged in the office of the messagerie.

Before indulging in the solace of rest or refreshment, it was necessary
to engage apartments — proceeding from the office, a man from the
Palais Royale urged us to conclude a bargain with him, offering board
and lodging for fifteen shillings per diem, exclusive of a sitting apart-
ment. We refused him, and went to Lawson'n Hotel, recommended
by my cousin as being kept by an Englishman. Lawson had nothing
to furnish us with but two handsome bedrooms, which we at once
decided against, not then being sufficiently initiated in Parislnn* custonjs.
The charges were also higher than at the Palais Royale. L'llotel de
I'ambassadcur, which Capt. Spencer named, was next tried, and finally
decided on.

It was nearly 5 o'clock when our first Parisian breakfast
of coffee, eggs, &c., entered. The journey bad occupied twenty one hours.
After coffee we walked out, passed by the Bourse, the Madeleine, the
gardens of the Tuileries, and Rues St. Honor^ and Rivoli. The shops

. and bazaars looked very attractive.

Aug. 24. t^^unday. , We were disturbed this morning at a quarter
before six by loud knocking. It proved to be the noise of v orkraen
employed in the next house. There is to be a grand fete at Versailles
to-day : — this makes us feel our locality. The sun shone brightly upon
our loftily perched eyrie, on dtage 5. Our spacious and comfortable
rooms look down upon a court yard enlivened by the green foliage of
a tree or two, seldom without a carriage in readiness to convey some
traveller abroad. No sound reaches us except the voices of the
domettiques, and the occasional locking and unlocking of doors, — a
work of singular difficulty when it comes to our turn, from the strange
construction of our key. The hexagonal-paved and slippery floors will
break us in for the Louvre. In this old-fashioned French hotel the
time seems to reckon from six in the morniiig ; 7 o'clock is one hour,
or 1 o'clock, &c. At nine we descended to breakfast at the table
d'hdte, where several gentlemen were eating cold meats and vegetables —
wine was also on the table. We alone called for coffee, eggs, and
bread — the last came in long stale rolls, which it was hard work to cut.
Reasoending to No. 5 to |dress, we proceeded first to the messagerie, to
enquire for a missing cloak of papa's ; — this was safely guarded there,
and most civilly returned to its owner. At VEglise de VOratoire, we staid
two services, the first being more than half over when we entered. The
ginging was loud, and discordant enough to throw a nervous person into

■ hysterics. The church was crowded with well-dressed people, though
the building throughout was gloomy and dirty. We then walked
in the gardens of the Tuileries, as far as the Champs Elys^es,

\mA at 4 o'clock entered the beautiful and celebrated church of St.

.dRdohes, which, notwithstanding its great size and magnificence, was
solely mentioned to our notice as being the church in Paris where the

213

best music is heard. The singing was pretty and not too loud ; wo
went round the building, and then called on my cousin in Rue St.
Florentine, who was not at home. Wo again entered the gardens of
the Tuileries, and sat down. Then a French lady and gentleman
joined ua, with whom we entered into conversation. They strongly
recommended the convenionoo of a restdurateur to travellers instead
of expensive hotels, declaring that a good dinner might be -had for
sixpence, and a splendid one for trcnte sous. The graceful shade and
gay company of these gardens did not reconcile papa to spending a
Sunday evening there, and he felt relieved when the hour approached
for us to attend service again at TEglite de la Reine Il4line. On
reaxshing the church we were given to understand the service would
not commence before half past seven, — we determined to return to our
hotel. " Le$ rues viltUnement sales partout.^' My cousin and her
husband called while we were taking aifi ; they had been to the hotel
twice before, while we were out, and brought a ticket for the Chambre
des Paires.

Aug. 25. Called at 12 o'clock by appointment on my cousin. Her
apartments were up three flights of stairs, but very elegant, being a
number of rooms opening into each other, and possessing the advantage
of being quite removed from the noise and stir of the street. From
thence we proceeded to the chamber of the Deputies, and then to
I'Hotel des Invalides. I tasted une goutte d'eau from one of their
pewter jugs, and we sat down in the chapel to contemplate its blood-bought
decoration of countless ensigns suspended on high round the building.
The galleries and passages formed in each direction lengthened vistas
for the eye to search through. " Now for the Champs de Mars" we cried,
in coming out of this splendid edifice; and, regardless of heat and dust,
we toiled across the noble field. Returning by the fine suspension-bridge
" Pont des Invalides," in passing along the Seine we obtained a good
view of the Parisian washerwomen, and the large barges full of wood,
which is said to be so dear in Paris. The Champs Elysdes were now
in view, and feeling by this time in need of refreshment, we looked
jpar ga et par la, in search of a restaurateur but none eligible pre-
sented, before reaching Rue St. Honor^, when we entered one, and had
Vermicelli soup, PdUs d, bechamel, Parmesan cheese, and an odious
tarte it V Anglais, with the addition of a wine glass of eau-de-vie, for not
quite six francs. This was very comfortably served, and, as usual in
France, pepper as well as salt cellars were laid. We came home by
les Champs Elysies et le Palais Roi/al, through some filthy streets.

August 26. The table d'Hote at breakfast to-day, was filled up with
gentlemen. The newspapers gave accounts of fires at New- York and
Bordeaux. Our morning's visit was allotted for the Chambre des Pairs,
■which has not sat depuis deux loois. The route to the Luxembourg
lay over Pont-Neuf; and, on reaching the palace, our guide Mnc dame
dignified according to the old style, first shewed us the apartments of
Marie de Medicis — next came the fine Chambre des Pairs, and then the
Throne, wheto Napoleon once sat, and where the statue of Louis

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214

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Phillippe then replaced him. The gardens were enchanting ; we rented
in them, and thence proceeded to the Pantheon and the large Church of
St. Sulpioo. Both seemed melancholy. Bought cambric handkerchiefs
for muma in a neighbouring street, and then went into a rittaurant ;
but it proved much inferior to that in Rue St. lienor^.

As it was still early, we wont to the Louvre. Papa produced a pass-
port, which had been given him in exchange for the first at I'Hdtcl de
I'Auibasfladeur, and had the mortification to hear the person pronounce on
it, " i7 ne vaut rien." Wo then displayed a ticket de paire which admitted
us. It was after 3 o'clock when we entered, and therefore were not per-
mitted to remain long, as every exhibition in France closes at four. This
celebrated gallery is of an immense length indeed. We had previously
made up our minds not to get heailacbcs by looking at too many pictures.
We were soon hurried out. Looked ut apartments, and partly engaged
them. Our passport was returned to us, when we reached the hotel,
and we have decided on moving. We shall quit a lofty and somewhat
romantic site — its principal drawback is caused by the filthiness of the
surrounding streets. At 8 o'clock papa descended to the table d'hote^
and when he rc-a^cnded, said he had eaten a capital mutton chop.

August, 27. Papa and Jane went out before breakfast to secure
apartments, and while they were absent the Count of St. Antoine called.
He brought more tickets, and advised our visiting the Gobelins. At 12
o'clock we removed to the Faubourg St. Honore, after taking leare of
the civil people at Vhotel. The gargon to our no slight amazement,
brought all our baggage after us on his back, but broke a window in
carrying it up stairs. He demanded four francs for his labour, more
than double the charge a carriage would have been. We marketed, and
then took a voitnre for the Gobelins. The company looking over the
pieces of embroidery executing there, was numerous — the time and la-
bour bestowed on each design immense. We returned to our Rue Ma-
tignon likewise in a voiturc. A smell of charcoal from the cuisine warn-
ed papa, that its close proximity to his room might be dangerous, and
we resolved in future to avoid having fires in the evening, and forego
the English luxury of drinking tea. The noise in the streets, and the
smallness of our room, contrasted unfavourably with the space and quiet
of I'Hotel de I'Ambassadeur.

August, 28. At three o'clock we met my cousin, and repaired with
her to I'Elysde Bourbon. After going through the rooms of this palace^
and admiring our faces in three droll magnifying mirrors, we were joined
by the count, when we all got into a voiture, which drove us first to the
Place Louis Treize, and then to the site of the old Bastille, taking the
fish market en route. In the Place Royale stands an equestrian statue
of Louis Treize. An elephant of colossal proportions marks the ground
where once stood the Bastille, while the monument and column erected
to the memory of those who fell on the ever-memorable three days of
July, stands fresh beside it. With one foot extended, the figure of the
winged angel on its summit, mildly rose in golden beauty against the

215

we redtecT
Cliurch of
dkorohiefs
staurant ;

icd a pasB-
rH6tcl de
nounce on
1 admitted
e not jper-
bur. This
previously
' pictures.
y engaged
the hotel,
somewhat
!S8 of the
i/e d'hote,
liop.

o secure
ne called,
i. At 12
5 leave of
lazement,
'indow in
)ur, more
cted, and

over the
! and la-
Rue Ma-
ine warn-
rous, and
d forego

and the
nd quiet

red with
is palace,
re joined
it to the
dng the
statue
J ground
erected
days of
re of the
inst the

clear blue sky, and bright fresh crowns of artificial flowers lately hung
on the rails surrounding the column, told of the living spirit that
breathed from and around this awful spot. At & o'clock we
reached I'Hotol do Parin, where we dined. The niinistf>r from
Monte Video was among the company, a friend of the St.
Anthoines. This is considered one of the best hotels in Paris, and the
dinner served to us did not belie its estimation. The table was orna-
mented with large gold plateaux. Sonpe au vermicelli came round first,
then melon ; this era at dinner being, as the French say, the proper time
for that fruit to bo eaten ; mackerel <i la $auce brune with parsley, and a
large dish of mashed and delicately prepared potatoes in a shape, handed
about with the fish ; veal in small pieces stewed with tomato sauce.
SouJfUe, composed of oysters, mushrooms, ohioken, &c ; minced spinach,
^tewed chicken ; salad ; rich bread pudding with plums ; yough-
mano of some sort: peaches, and cheese. Every thing was carried
round in this succession, and the dinner so managed that every person
was allowed an equal share of all the dishes. Thus, when one of us
expressed a wish for chicken, and the dish was exhausted, the waiter
said more chickens were coming, which was the case. The wines were
said to be superlative.

August, 29. Marketed before breakfast; bought vegetables and
butter. Immediately after breakfast we set out to walk to the Cemetery
of Pere la Chaise. Wo proceeded to it past la Madeleine, the Boule-
vards, the Quai, got into some miserable streets where the gloomy walls
of 1' Abattoir offered themselves, and thence until we reached the Ceme-
tery. Two funerals entered while we were there. The view of Paris
from the high ground was very beautiful. On coming out we went
in searcli of a voiture to convey us to the Chfiteau de Vincennes. The
street leading from the cemetery was filled with shops containing nothing
for sale except tombstones, and quantities of the wliite and yellow gar-
lands, or circular crowns, the lower and middle classes of people, delight
in hanging upon the last resting-places of those they have loved. They
were similar to those suspended on the monument of the Place de Bas-
tille, and numbers hung upon the railings surrounding the graves of the
cemetery.

Soldiers kept guard here, as every where else, — a company beat their
execrable drum close to our voiture as we got into one — there was a very long
stand of carriages in front of this pleasing abode of the dead, yet still living.
From this to the fine old chateau every view wore an aspect of magnifi-
cence ; — the broad straight roads, planted with intercunable avenues of
trees, the imposing beauty of the barriers, the soldiers, and above all the
new fortifications in sight for the first time, drove away the disagreeable
recollections of weariness. The grand, massy sweeping walls of Vin-
cennes came in view — we descended from our voiture, and walked along
the length of two of its sides. Its grey antiquity in sublime eloquence
spoke of time long past ; and had we lingered long there the spirit of d'En-
ghiei would surely have apostrophized us from its stern towers. Parties of
soldiers passed ; it was startling to hear them laugh and chatter close to tliis

iil6

vonorublo pile. Our cocher drove us home through la Placo Koyulc, la
Plaoo do Bastille, and the Faubourg St. Antoino, of ominouii celebrity.

Au^uatSO. Set off aflor breakfaat, and marketed ; then bought a cap with
yellow ribbonn, etc. ; and ntaid at home to recover, after the great tutiguo
of yesterday. At 7 o'olook, my eounin and the BaronuHH Murgrito
called to take ua to I'Opera Comi(|uo. The baronctw obligingly
lent us her box — an old French lady, who did not know a word of English.
The decorations and scones were beautiful, and tho performance, s<nging,
and music, pretty ; but tho voices struck us as being weak, ana the
whole rather unequal to preserve against an impression of monotony
throughout the four hours the performance extended to. Act 3d was
diversified by the dancing of from forty to fifty little girls, to look at
whom, there was a general bonding of heads and arms forward. Their
dancing was not remarkable. Tho house was very full, and the pit prin-
cipally ocoupiod by soldiers.

August 31, Sunday. Wo went at 10 o'clock to tho Madeleine ; and
entering tho body of tho church, were allowed to have chairs, for which
we paid deux som apieco. Tho chanting was very good— ^nothing struck
us particularly in tho pcrforniunoo of the service, except that the people
went in and out during tho whole time it lasted. I comprehended little
or nothing of the sermon, only now and then catehing a word. Sad to
add, tho effects of last night's s])ectaclo is not yet shook off. We
returned homo from la Madeleine for papa, and went to the French
Calvinistio church in la Place do 1' Oratoirc; where wc arrived late, and
again comprehended very little of the sermon. Papa then went to tho
Posto Restanto, while we returned homo through the gardens of the
Tuilerius, and watched the rainbows thai hung upon tho fountains. In
passing this spot, wo always wi.siicd the crowds away, to be enabled to con-
template more at ease, tho red Egyptian trophy, recalling, at once, to view
and mind, the wonders of new and old Time. We never sufficiently gazed
on that fair obelisk ; it seemed to speak to the multitudes hurrying by,
" I stand a smiling emblem of Eternity." A letter from mama awaited
our arrival at Rue do Matignon, so that dear papa's tiresome walk
had been thrown away. We remained (juiotly at home during the after-
noon, and had nothing to look at except the Count do Castclman's
splendid mansion, nearly fronting our windows, whose beautiful groups
of statuary look down, in all tranquillity, upon tho Qeaselcss noise of
Faubourg St. Honord. Julie, our bonne, says, that Louis Philippe often
dines at this mansion, and that " le Comte » '/ tris riche." The French
are jealous, to a great degree, of their su^n.-ieign ; when inadvertently
speaking to them, and saying " le Roi" I h v'O never been able to obtain
an answer ; but the name of Louis Philippe, substituted, immediately,
operated as a talisman.

At 6 o'olook, we sot off for the Placo de I'Oratoire, by the way of
les Champs Elysdes and les Tuileries. These gardens were every-
where crowded ; thousands and thousands walked, sat, or took reircsh-
ment under the trees. The rettauranta in the champs were alive with
amusement and company; and, though this vast assemblage was, of

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way of

evcry-

rcl'resh-

with

ive

was,

oourne, oonipimfid montly <»f the lowcflt orders of the jx^oplo, the utmost
(looorum pruviiilud. Tlio crowd continued the whole way to the Louvre;
indcud, wus ho dense, ns wo nppronchui la Place dc Curousnl, an to
impede our progrcM. On reaching the church, wo found the doors shut :
one sido ontrunco only thruw out n dim ligtit, giving indication of lifo
within. The body of the church was looked, but we followed in the dircC'
tion of the candles, and went up stairs, through a long pai)sago behind the
seats of the galleries, which were likrwiHc all locked, until we reached a
small apartment, at tlic extremity of the building. This room was fitted
up with a mean reading desk, etc., and chairs, but dirty and looking pov-
erty stricken throughout. After waiting some time, the service oom-
menocd, to a full congregation. The preacher gave out that a missiimary
sermon would be given on the following Sunday, and delivered his dis-
course in such plain language, as to enable us to carry away nearly the
wliolo in recollection. The persons addrcfsed were of the jworer sort : a
poor, little, deformed creature sat before us, an object far from recoiling
in itself; bu» the place altogether was so disagreeable that wo shall fear
to venture there again. A philosophic as well as a Christian spirit
might huvo buried itself in profound comparison between the assemblage
of morning and evening. In the morning the (jucxtion put to the atten-
tive flock had been, " I'ourquni ccsjoUh vitevcnts ?" In the evening to
the anxious listening ears, the question might have been applied, Ut
V0U8, mes amis, pourq itoi, ces huhillements miscniblcH ? Sad contradiction.
I rejoiced when the uioment came to depart. Papa was averse to encoun-
tering the crowds in the gardens again, and we, therefore, returned home
** par le Rue St. Ilonord ;" but the streets were equally thronged with
the gardens { and we found the necessity of pushing our way very fatig-
uing. The crowd was composed entirely of foot passengers. The stars
shone brightly, and every now and then I glanced up at them, through
the towering heights of aerial dwellings, seven • itagrs throughout,
filled with animation above and about. How strangely contrasting it
was, to view the serene constellation of the Great Bear looking down into
this street, so immense in its narrowness, its dissipation, its stir. The
rtstaurants were a blaze of light, full of Messieurs reading newspa-
pers, taking refreshments, or, sometimes, smoking. All Paris seemed
poured abroad — I marvelled if any could have witnessed the water-works
at St. Cloud, where we had been importuned to go. Often, while wading
onwards, a sensation allied to terror crept over ntc — and we reached
Rue Matignon completely tired.

September 1. We called on my cousin at 12 o'clock, and took her
beautiful little boy Clifford, with us, to proceed to St. Cloud by le
ch'emin defer. On arriving at the palace, we had the mortification of
being informed that admission could not be obtained, as the princes had
just arrived, and intended remaining there three months; so we con-
tented ourselves walking about the park, and admiring the charming views
from it. In entering the park, the great fountains presented themselves ;
but the monsters peered forth in undisguised ugliness, not being permit-
ted to hide themselves under their watery brilliancy oftener than once in

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218

a montlrt After clambering up a steep hill, we were attrat«ed towards an
edifice, which looked like an observatory ; on approaching nearer, cakes ,
and refreshments were perceived, etc. ; we addressed the good woman
who presided at i^his temple ; bat alas 1 her store of eatables was confined
to the detestable French gingerbread, and another description of cake,
«ut into stripes, full of whole almonds; and, if possible, even more exe-
crable than the gingerbread. " Well," thought I, " is this the trash
offered to those who visit these royal grounds, in view of the palace,
and in the land of the Brioche and the Biscuit?" We walked to the
edge of the hill, and stood looki ig down upon a fine prospect of Paris
and the river Seine. While standing there two English ladies came up.
Their deep, double flounced dresses betrayed their nation, before their
language confirmed it. Many groups of visitors were scattered about.
Before leaving the park, two beggars importuned us for alms, and we
considered it strange that such interruption should be allowed within the
precincts of a royal residence. We returned home by the train, tired by
the excursion. Paris is surrounded by vineyards ; but this year the
vintage is late and unpromising. The only kind we have seen in the
market is small and black, very cheap, about fourpence the pound, very
sweet, and very bad.

September 2. According to previous arrangement, we went to-day
to Versailles ; and at half past eleven met by appointment, at the rail-
road station, the Count and Countess, with their little boy. The former
went back after seeing us take places. Unfortunately, however, for the
full enjoyment of *^'s extraordinary place, what with the walk to the
station, the journey x>ar chemin de fu; and the distance again from the
terminus at Versailles to the palace, we were tired by the time of reach-
ing it — we hc>d over-calculated our strength. The town itself is hand-
some : it has fine, open streets, with good shops ; in this respect not
so desirable for a place of retirement as the more unostentatious St.
Cloud, though without the magnificent cavalry barracks and stables of
the latter, that had yesterday attracted so much of our notice. To note
upon paper the beauties of Versailles, would be waste time and attempt ;
its countless rooms, interminable length of galleries, and myriads of
pictures, mirrors, statues etc. ; no two apartments seemed to be alike,
except in successive splendour. We had heard of the three days in the
week only it is open to public exhibition, the other days being appropri-
ated to polishing the floors, and keeping the whole in exact order. The
mosaic floors of France, especially of Paris, are, indeed, of great beauty,
from the hexagonal tiles in the Hotel de l' Ambassadeur and our humble
flat in Rue de Matignon. to the finely laid down floors of the Louvre,
and the far more brilliantly pf^-fect footing presented throughout unri-
valled Versailles. Indeed, in some of the last visited and most exquisite
departments of the palace, it was necessary to tread cautiously upon
these shining and slippery floors. Among the painters, David and
Vernet stood most conspicuous. Some pictures were striking ; and partic-
ularly one, representing the Prince de Joinville, at Algiers, standing on
the quarter-deck of his ship, I am not likely to forget, as it occasioned a

219

difference of opinion among our party ; papa maintaining it was the stern
of the vessel seen in the picture ; and another of us insisting it was part
of the side. In the room next to where this representation hung, there
was a painting of a review on the Champ de Mars, accurately laid down^
but with buch dead shades and absence of colouring as to border on the
ludicrous. Through the vast number of historical and family designs
that crowd this marvellous pile, the gaze actually alights on few. Whether
the palace contains, os said, three hundred and sixty-five rooms, or not,
we tailed in ability to reckon, and cannot decide ; but we thought, while
traversing them, that they seemed more resembling the tales of the Ara-
bian Nights in number, which amounted to one thousand and one. As
to the enchanting gardens and parks, thfeir lovely serenity, as seen
through the windows, tempered the golden and crimson blaze 9f the
palace : and we cast longing looks in their direction, for exploring them,
with our limited time, was impossible. Versailles has never been paid
for ; it belongs to the nation, and a glorious monument it presents of the
past and present, for Louis Philippe never tires in its improvements..
Water and wood abound. It is an oriental palace, such as fables paint,
tranquil and verdant in the midst of its brilliancy. Crowds of visitors,
of all ranks, went over it with us. On returning, we reached the terminus
five minutes too late for the train, so were obliged to wait until 5 o'clock
for the next ; and were nearly spent by the time we arrived home, so
allied to pleasure is fatigue.

September 3. At half past eleven we went to the Louvre. On the
way there we fell in with a regiment of soldiers, drawn up somewhere
behind the palace. Papa stopped to look at them, — they did not
• manoeuvre. The men seemed of short stature ; but papa said they were
exactly the size for infantry, strong built and agile. In general, the
French are not tall. We find ourselves little bodies among the lofty
English belles, but maintain a just medium of height in Paris ; indeed,
feel too tall — too tall to compete for light Parisian grace. When we got to
the Louvre, papa exhibited his passport, and was desired to write in a
book the number of his place of abode, etc. ; having done the same
before, he felt impatient, and said loud enongh to be overheard, " Lord
bless the man !" The gallery was well attended, without being too full.
The pictures are certainly exquisite, but require wore time and attention
in looking over than I had patience to bestow. In fact, nothing exhausts
more than multitudes of fine pictures looked at together ; singly contem-
plated, they refresh ; altogether, they distract. Numbers of artists were
everywhere engaged in copying paintings ; they were both male and
female, and of all ages ; some so young and lovely as to compete, in my
vulgar estimation, with the interest excited by the admired subjects they
studied. Often we observed several employed about the same picture.
Before one subject no less than five artists were busied. Some had
mounted themselves on ladders, and all seemed alike regardless of the
observation they attracted. One gentleman, with beard and moustaches ot
such monstrous proportions, as to rival, as a curious exhibition, any
fabled monster of antiquity, on the walls of the gallery, was overlooking

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the work of a little girl, with exquisitely pencilled and braided ringlets of
flaxen hair. A matron, engaged in reading, aat close to this young lady ;
and her copy was very masterly in its progress. We returned home oy
Bue Rivoli, whose magnificence we were delighted in having an
opportunity of contemplating at leisure.

September 4. The count called, and charged himself with letters for
George to be sent by the ambassador's bag. We visited la Cathddrale
de Notre Dame, the oldest church in Paris; and, of all the temples
ever consecrated to the worship of Deity, that in which the Spirit of
Darkness has contended most openly for supremacy. The interior of the
edifice did not correspond with the grandeur of its outward appearance.
Papa, on the way back, engaged places for us to go next Wednesday per
St. Omer.

September 5. Called on Madame de St. Antoine at twelve. Her
black servant procured a citadine that conveyed us from Rue St. Flor-
entin to our destination, which was le Jardin des Plantes. We drove
along the fine quai. Hotel d' Oraay, and past la Cath(5drale de Notre Dame.
This last is truly a grand old Gothic building, and well shown oflF.
False reason and the hero's pomp and power, have, in turn,
held sway within those walls; opinion and fashionable estimation
now throw it in the back ground. On reaching le Jardiu des
Plantes, we got out of the citadine, to walk about in search
of what was to be seen. Numbers of people were amusing themselves
watching the animals ; there were a number of very fine ones. The most
remarkable was a hyena, of immense size, and a magnificent camel,
with two great humps, a large elephant, girafie, dromedary, etc. ; and
innumerable lions, tigers, bears, with a countless train of inferior
captives, swelled the train. We sauntered over the gardens, enjoying
the refreshing shade ; but the tree that drew our especial attention was
the Cedar of Lebanon, planted in 1735, by Bernard de Jussieu. Although
this promising tree has lived much over ore hundred years, youth is still
the character of its bloom ; the noble aspect of its formation combines
with graceful development of foliage. Coming out of le Jardin, we
proceeded along la Halle aux Vins, which, at first, we mistook for a
continuation of the gardens ; it was so elegantly laid out, and carta loading
at different pretty, fanciful looking storehouses, performed their tasks
with admirable order and exactness. We were desirous of seeing
r Hotel de Mus^e de Cluny ; and threading the way by narrow, dirty
streets, succeeded iu reaching it. Here, the illuminated volumes, the
chief object of our curiosity, failed to gratify expectation, being by no
means comparable with those we had so much admired in the Library of
Boulogne, although the Museum contained many curious old things ;
and, among these, the tapestry worked by Mntllda, queen of our William
the Conqueror. This hotel was guarded by soldiers, as every place and
corner of Paris is. Descending a circular staircase, in making our sortie
we noticed the last remaining arch of what was the residence of the
Roman emperor, Julian, which looks to great advantage from the win-
dow loop. Returned home in a cabriolet ; and, in driving up the grand

221

avenue of the ChampB Elys^es, observed an arch in view before us, and
were told it was I'Arche de Triomphe. After dinner we wlked to tlie
church of St. Pierre de Chaillot, in the (Grrande Rue de Chaillot, — a
church of tlie 11th century, small, neat, and newly done up. We con-
tinued our walk to I'Arche de Triomphe, — it seemed to recede on
approach. The roads leading to and branching o£f from it are magni-
ficent. As to the arch itself, ^ it is the chief ornament of Paris ; it
stands isolated in elegance and impressive effect ; it is inscribed all over
with the names of the fields which have conferred imperishable renown
on the great hero and his heroic marshals. Our admiration of its incom-
parable beauty wf.s unbounded. The ascent to the height where it stands
IS so gradual as to deceive the eye while approaching it in a very
remarkable manner.

Sept. 6. We determined to see Neuilly this morning, after some
deliberation, and got into an omnibus at Place de I'Etoile ; but were put
out long before reaching the grand Arche, and forced to wait in the street
until a proper conveyance came up. When we reached Neuilly we
alighted at the bridge, and were charmed with the banks of the Seine ;
its woody islands, and the thick foliage that covered its banks. Men were
fishing and women washing linen in its dark green stream, which was full
of boats, for sailing and for rowing, and also large floating houses. At
the chateau we were refused admittance, being unprovided with regular
^ormission to enter, although they said the Duchess of Orleans was in t'le
country. Returning, Jane made a sketch, and then we enteroil another
of the innumerable omnibuses which pass and re-pass the b: idge • A
sort of clock, fastened to the entrance of this conveyance, marked each
voyageur's admittance. We reached home before 1 o'clock. The wide
avenues of trees meeting the view in all directions on this fine road are
surprising. Made our way to the Bibliothcque du Roi, but found it
closed.

Sept. 8. Sunday. This has bccn a day of hard uork. Unfortunately our
petite bonne, Julie, was au hal last night, and, in consequence, this morn-
ing's dijevner was half an hour latei than usual. Leaving papa at home,we
went, after breakfast, to the Madeleine, but the sermon had begun, and
we were forced to leave the church as the chanting the Hallelujahs com-
menced. Thence, with papa, we repaired to the chapelle de 1' Ambassa-
dor, Hue J'Agnesseau, and heard the Bishop of London preach. The
cha|, ' ' » -to crowded that it was a relief to get home, and rest a short time,
pr« pa ;ry to proceeding to the Palais Royale. It was thronged
with vL ♦ 'fb, Sunday being the only day in the week for admit-
tance. For this reason our party, particularly my father, visited it
reluctantly. A bust of Mary of Naples, mother of the present queen, in
an end room, was admired by some ladies present. The chandeliers
throughout these brilliant suites of apartments, were very splendid; the
room in which the throne was placed hung with crimson velvet, the sofas
and chairs covered with the gobelin tapstry. No doubt many of the pic-
tures were good, but we recollected little of any, except a full length
TA^ness of the poor young prince, the late Duo d'Orleans, Louis Philippe's

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222

eldest son. The rooms were all filled with historical tableaux. We looked
again and again at the beautiful stoves, in white and gold porcelain, dis-
posed in horizontal lines. Leaving this bijoux of a palace, we mounted
a cabriolet, and drove to the chapel of the morning. Bishop Lus-
combe preached. Numbers of well-dressed ladies morning and evening.
In the evening my cousin, with her son, paid us a visit. Julie says that
her uncle, our pres'^nt landlord, is an old soldier, and served in all
Napoleon's wars and in every campaign since. He has never been wounded,
but his constitution is impaired by the hardships he has undergone.
On one occasion, in Russia, he lived fourteen days on horseflesh. I
repeated this to some one, who answered, " and lucky was he to fare no
worse." At present he has a police appointment at I'Elysde Bourbon ;
and, Julie says, saw us on the day we went over that palace with Madame
de St. Antoine. He was, of course, dressed in the uniform of the
police.

Sept. 8. Set off at 1 o'clock for the Louvre. The. direct road there led
by the Champs Elysdes and Tuileries ; but papa, conceiving there was
more shade from the streets, preferred them ; unfortunately we became
entangled in m^-'ny filthy, narrow streets, and were in danger of being run
over by different voitiires, \ I'" pfter all this, came the mortification to
find the Louvre closed, it ben aday. We returned by the gardens,

and they proved a pleasant coi^ ist. The Palace of the Tuileries is
undergoing repairs, and, therefore, not at present open to the public.
Unwillingly we rose, from the bench we rested on, to quit its charming
shade, but gratified to find that papa enjoyed the rorte home we had
chosen. The Champs Elysdes led us directly home ; and, arrived at our
central flat, we rested, then dressed, and called at No. 7 Rue St. Floren-
tin a little before five o'clock, being engaged to dine with our cjusins at
Lawson's, or the Bedford Hotel. The count did not join us for more
than half an hour ; he was engaged at a meeting of railroad directors,
and said, in his simple English, it was composed of an admiral, a general,
a baron, a plain gentleman, kc. The English table d^hote at Paris dis-
appointed altogether ; the fare was so coarsely served as to disgust ; the
table cloth was dirty, and the meat, eut up in large slices, suffered to
remain before the company in large cii'cular pewter dishes or plates. One
of sliced ham was more offensive than the rest. The guests amounted
to forty-four : at I'Hotel de Paris, fifty. Most of them had a plebeian look
they were nearly, if not all, English. Papa made acquaintance with the
person placed next him, who said he knew the Kirwan that used to enter-
tain thf Prince Regent, and give seven guineas for a turbot. Mr. Kir-
wan's extravagance reminds me of our bill of fare — it must not be omitted.
Sotipe with macaroni, good ; boiled flat-fish, a description of brill, with
tomato sauce; stewed giblets with onions; chicken, ham, roast beef,
salad, peas d VAnglaise, as they called it, cooked without auy condiment,
perfectly uneatable— duck. These several dishes of meat were cut into
large, thick slices, and handed round in shabby peWter plates. A sweet
jpdtie, with cream, good; large currant jam pie, ^^od but not sweet
enough— called for sugar, and coarse cassonadevf2& brought ; cheese, pears,

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melons, and peaches. Papa's new acquaintance said his father had been
governor of Montserrat, After dinner, when the company had gone, our
party excepted, he called out, " I say, can any of you Messieurs speak
English?" We all started, thinking he addressed the count, but he
spoke to the waiter who stood behind the latter's chair. "Yes sir."
■" Well then, can you tell me of some place where I can sec a little danc-
ing ? " The ladies were gone to I'Ecole dc Musique, which, doubtless,
put the idea into his head. " Can I go to the opera about the
time they dance ? I don't want any of the crash of the orchestra, I only
want to see a little dancing." " Oh yes, you can sir,, go exactly at the
time." " I am glad of it. Pray is there any other place besides where I
can see dancing? " The waiter answered " If he wanted to amuse him-
self for an hour or two, the most eligible place would be the Palais Royale.
He might smoke there." " No, hang it, that won't do, I don't smoke ;
but is there dancing there ? " " No, sir." On our way home, the count
proposed going into the Champs Elys^es. We did so ; the ehamps were
prettily, lighted up, and we stopped twice to listen to some rude music,
vocal and instrumental. The crowd everywhere was composed of the
lower orders, but decorum prevailed. The Champs Elysies glittered
with lights both below and through the trees and avenues ; they con-
trasted charmingly with the dark thick foliage : then the multitudes of
human creatures, all apparently enjoying themselves, while the tranquil
moon and stars looked down in glory : the whole scene was unique.
Among the novel sights of France, we often notice the enormous size of
the waggon and cart wheels.

September 9. We went with papa at 12 o'clock to Rue Pelletier in
search of a banker ; as the weather was warm, the long walk tired us, and
we flagged still more on reaching the manufactory for glass, when told
it could not be shewn to those who did not intend making purchases.
When we reached Rue Matignon we heard that the cat had again been
mischievously disposedtowards the macaroni andParmesan cheese destined
for our dinner. After dinner, dressed and spent the evening with Madame
de St. Antoine. We were shewn two remarkable albums of the count's.
One was solemn for a book of entertainment, being composed of leaves and
flowers gathered from the tombs and graves of distinguished persons.
To each, forget-me-not verses were attached. The other was made up of
autographs, Jbrming altogether a brilliant assemblage : emperors, kings,
princes, marshals, &c., without end. Papa, being a general, was invited
to join the company. The count was full of railway projects — his soul
seemed devoted to his country's benefit. ** We stand upon the ashes of
two volcanoes," he said ; " confusion is yet surrounding us. We have
done much, yet much remains to be done. We have an army of 400,000
soldiers — they want employment — it is dangerous to have so many ardent
spirits in idleness. We think of putting them to work upon the for-
tifications of Paris," and les chemins de fer. This suggestion startled
us. Papa mentioned having "lately met with a debate on a similar pro-
ject in an English paper : the expediency of employing troops in these ways
was brought forward, but opposed on the ground that doing so would con-

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224

vert English soldiers into slaves." This reply fired the count. He cried
out " Britannia I Britannia I Britannia ! rule the waves I Britons never,
never will be slaves !" We talked this evening no more on such projects.
What England was about, seemed much on his heart ; — he supposed "her
railroads were all completed." " No, far from it; nothing was thought
of but commencing more." " Then she was building new churches, and
designing new bishopricks ?" " She was engaged in both these, but at the
same time was unable to fill those already built, and had hosts of unemployed
clergymen on her hands." He thought change was necessary for his
country. We told him the French seemed individually happier and more
contented than the English, for discontent and a spirit of equality
was rapidly pervading the lower classes ; in fact, Mammon was the sole
deity worshipped, and Mammon, not content, was supposed to have
reward in his right hand." He did not say much to this, but hinted at
" the vast wealth of England." There was no denying this. We soon
after took our leave. In going through his rooms, we stopped to admire
the 4)rofu8ion of mirrors round them, multiplying and improving by
reflection every article of furniture. These agreeable hotels are never
molested by the noise and dust of the street.

September 10. This being the day fixed on for leaving Paris, was
employed in packing. Nothing unforeseen fell out, except that an item
in our landlady's nirnioire demanded so many francs pour la cuisine,
which we innocently concluded were to reward the services of our petite
bonne, -^^ but to our no small surprise the good lady appropriated the
gum to herself, and poor Julie was left to our generosity. The diligence
was to start for St. Omer at six o'clock in the evening : to forestall time,
we set off in a fiacre at four, together with our trunks, &c., only paying
two francs. This low charge reminded us of the gargon from Tam-
bassadeur, who had demanded four, and broke a pane of glass in addition
while carrying his load up stairs. In consequence of setting off so early,
there was an unpleasant delay at the messagerie ; this was something
lessened by leaving it for half-an-hour, though at the hazard of our lives
in getting past the voitures and chevaitx of the messagerie, to buy
cakes for the voyage and enter the Church of " Notre Dame des Vic-
toires." Papa found he had been undercharged on first engaging places,
which annoyed him ; and next a gentleman insisted on placing a great
case that looked like a picture, within the top of the diligence which
also made him angry. Another Monsieur got in before we started, when
for some hours we travelled pretty amicably. At 12 o'clock at night, we
stopped for the first time since bidding adieu to Paris, which was quitted
exactly ten minutes before six, and two large trays with coffee were
brought to the door of the diligenee.

The night air was cold, and our cloaks needful. At 6 o'clock we were
invited to take cafi at Amiens. The invitation was joyfully accepted,
though papt, who with ourselves considered it breakfast, grumbled at
being hurried. The room we snatched this hasty meal in, was, like all
the country inns, hung with a large shewy landscape paper. On leaving
Amiens, hills occasionally diversified the prospect, but in general the

226

was

road was tamo and monotonous. Hay, in large stacks, standing corn,
with here and there a reaping hook; droves, sometimes of cattle, and
sometimes of pigs, with one of sheep, were passed. Perhaps frequent stop-
pages for relays roused us and caused double sight — certainly the towns
during the night appeared to have occurred in very rapid succession ;
indeed it seemed as if nothing like country had been seen. At half past
ten came another halt ; and papa, not comprehending until too late that
this was le veritable dijeuner, was rather annoyed at the discovery.
From this to St. Pol, the hills rise high, making the road rather pretty —
but from St. Pol to St. Omer the distance appeared interminable. It
seemed as if St. Omer would never be reached.

September, 11. "We reached St. Omer about 3 o'clock, or after a
little more thon twenty-one hours travelling. It was as we had been led
to expect, rather a sombre-looking place ; tranquille, triste, would it
could bo added, clean. DiUjhes and lines warned of approach to a for-
tified place ; we entered through a heavy gateway. After our baggage had
been deposited in the messagerie, my companion instead of thinking
about the Hotel de Commerce, which we had been recommended to lodge
at, would absolutely first go to the Poste ; by which means, there
being no letters, we had on our return the mortification of finding, that
Monsieur le Commissionaire from VHQtel de Poste, had engaged Papa by
dint of importunity to take up his quarters at his house. " We are
recommended to T Hdtelde Commerce" we said, angrily to the man. "I
will conduct you to a very good hotel, — TllStel de Poste" he quietly
answered. This discomposed us, at first; we were obliged to
content ourselves with two good bed rooms, and the table d'Ifote.
For our beds we were to pay two francs and a half per night, for our
dinner, two francs a head. At 5 o'clock we came down to the table
d'Hote, to a capital dinner, — a profusion of every thing good. About
fourteen persons sat down, mostly military, one very large man in uni-
form, appeared to be the superior officer, as one of the younger officers
in speaking of him, designated him, le sire ? No ladies were at table
except ourselves. The table d'Hote at St. Omer, looked to advantage
even after those of Paris. After dinner we again walked out.
The aspect of the town surprised us, aa the houses were low-built,
and the churches by no means either magnificent or numerous.
We walked a little distance on the ramparts, from whence the confined
view, and the water surrounding the town, sluggish and thick-looking,
soon induced us to descend. This ditoh-water circumvallation is made
by the river Aar. We met with no appartements d. louer. We took
coflFee on returning to VHdtel de Poste, with bread and butter, there
being no one present but ourselves.

One terrible drawback to comfort in France, is unquestionably the
neglected state of the streets. This occasions slovenliness in the dress of
the people. It is impossible that ladies can take much pleasure in putting
on fresh handsome garments, or elegant shoes and stockings, when
streets are ill kept and devoid of neatness. French gentlemen — even
those who are intellectual, accomplished, young, who devote their time

If!

226

S, '

J h

m i

and thoughts to the benefit and auieliorntiono f their country, — will, even
in the presence of ladies of rank, spit on a carpet. As to the
pretty shoes, Ac, of the Parisian belles, in the hot days of summer,
to our amazement we noted that many wore great black boots, and suffered
their long dresses to sweep the dirty streets, never holding them up like
the tidy English woman. This impressed us with the notion, that the
elegance of their toilette costume is chiefly reserved povi' la coiffure.
This is indeed very pretty : — their chapeaux, bonnets and hair, are all
charming.

September 12. St. Omer. Enjoyed a comfortable night's repose after
the journey. The same party of oflScers were at breakfast as had dined
at the table d'hota the last evening, but we waited a considerable time for
ca/6 while the French gentlemen breakfasted on cold meats, vegetables, and
drank wine. Set off immediately after breakfast to sec tb3 town. We
entered two large churches. In one, la Cathidrale, the mass was being
offered up, — an old woman seated outside the door, told us she was aaee
de cent et trois ans. The ruins of a fine old church stood a short dis-
tance beyond. Several times we attempted to mount the ramparts, but
they were not neatly kept ; grass covered them in a dusty uncomfortable
manner, and although the view from them looked upon trees and fields,
it was not refreshing. Several nice lodgings came in our way, which we
looked at, but these were not to be had unless engaged for some months,
Our walk was fatiguing; we returned to the hotel by two o'clock, to
rest until the dinner hour of five. To day the dinner was better than
yesterday's. The profusion was great, and every dish extremely well
dressed and served. We marvel how they make it answer, meat not being
cheaper here than at Paris or Boulogne. Passed to day through the
market place, but the show of eatables was not particular. Beef 5d,
the lb. veal 5d., mutton 6d.

September 13. The same party at breakfast. Hurried out a little
after 10 o'clock, to find the Bibliotheque Royale. In our route, went
through the market place, if such it could be termed, when the whole
town seemed to b« one great market. If the elegance and economy of
Parisian taste was here wanting, greater abundance compensated. The
pig lords it over the rest of the slaughter-house flock, and grunts and
eats with more than common contentedness in the streets, the woods
and fields surrounding St. Omer. Fowls are fifteen pence the couple,
turkeys five shillings the pair, and a large goose two shillings and two
pence ; fish and rabbits, &c., in profusion. An entire street was filled
with old clothes, and another with pigs, just the size for roasting.
Thence proceeding for the library, we had the mortification to find it
closed. While stoping here, a regiment of Calvary passed, — with it
papa's good eyes recognized a member of our table d'hote.
Bested an hour at VHdtel de Poste, and then again attempted
la Bibliothique. Found it still closed — it was vacation time ; neverthe-
less we obtained admission, through the medium of two obliging old
women, among fusty old tomes of all kinds. This building had been a
fine church, but was destroyed at the Revolution. Some old scraps, frag-

227

1, even
to the
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nffered
ip like
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are all

se after
1 dined
ime for
les, and
1. We
18 being
ras aaee
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fortable
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months,
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ter than
liely well
ot being
)ugh the
Jeef 5d,

a little
te, went
le whole
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The
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e woods
couple,
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oasting.
find it
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.tempted
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ips, frag-

ments of sculpture, and Dther remains, are preserved here, but nothing
very remarkable. Alas ! St. Omer, in old times the cradle of Catholi-
cism, the grand nursery of the church to France, was at the sweeping
era of the Revolution shorn of all its glory, of all its priestly wealth and
power. No longer the Oxford of France, it now exists as the school of
another vocation ; — the Cavalry soldier's sabre clangs, the restless hoof
of the wurhorse clatters, over its heavily paved streets. From the Bib-
Uothiqur we returned to the hotel, but papa and Jane went out again
to bring back news of having paid a satisfactory visit to the
Convent des UrsuUnes. A letter arrived from mama, saying
our house had not let when she wrote. Three new or rather novel
dishes have come under our observation at this hotel, — an immense
roasted pig, which came to table whole, black puddings ; and a
thin fillet of veal, sliced into perpendicular divisions, similar to those of
a round cake. When the pig was placed before the big French officer,
after contemplating it with ominous respect, he relinquished the task of
carving it to an Englishman, who sat opposite to him. Black
pudding is a thing wo have been educated in a religious horror
of, and never met with before on any board ; the genteelest looking
of the officers, however, handed the dish over to us, which, as we were
the only ladies at table, seemed to imply, that it was a fare well-
esteemed. We had also the bean from the large scarlet runner, haricots,
or what we call in Englafld, the French bean, but it makes a coarse,
unpalatable vegetable.

September 11. II ^)?cu^ aujourdliui. A lady this morning
made her appearance at dejeuner, but her looks were not particularly
prepossessing. Then we set oiF for tha English Protestant church.
It was a clean upper room, bettor furnished by far than was poor
Monsieur Poullain's at Boulogne, and provided with a harsh little
organ, chanting, &c. It played us out with, " How beautiful are the
feet of those who preach us the Gospel of Peace," (Handel) — very
appropriately, as the preacher gave out that on the following
Sunday, a jermon would be preached in aid of " The Incorporated
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts." It is sin-
gular that since we have been in France, every time we have entered a
Protestant church, a missionary sermon has been given out for the next
Sunday. It was pleasing to find these poor people, so indifferently and
poorly provided for themselves, emulous to work for the savage and the
cannibal. At three o'clock attended service again in the same church
or room ; very small congregation. It has been alternately raining and
shining all day. The lady made her appearance at dinner, she is not lady-
like looking. During dessert, as a gentleman helped himself to filberts,
papa offered him a pair of nut-crackers, but he politely declined them,
saying he had good strong teeth to use in their stead. We are well fur-
nished in relays of plates, eight or ten to each guest, but the same knife,
fork, and spoon, hold out during the feast. Since entering France, the
cutlery supplied to us has been scant and miserable. Neither salt nor
pepper spoon has made itself visible at St. Omer, although the pepper

228

cellar is inseparablo from the salt. In a little treatise on manners, writ-
ten in France, it is laid down as contrary to polite Uujuette to help our-
selves to salt or pepper with les doigU, ni avec le lout du manche de la
cueiUer ou de la fourchette, ma it avec la pointe du couteau on avec iine
cneiller blanche. It is usage which reconciles to all, since we actually
begin to believe that elegance of manners may exist among people who
have never used a regular salt spoon.

September 15. This day we left St. Omer. Breakfast was ready at
eight o'clock, and the English lady and gentleman, who dined yesterday
at the tahh-d'h6te, took c(i/4 ai the same time. They were strange
vulgar looking people, particularly the lady, with her coarse features,
brown skin, and dark dingy coloured travelling dress. The gentleman
prognosticated that we should be miserably disappointed with Calais,
but was lavish in praise of Cassel, and the fine country surrounding it.
The sky was overcast. Julie whispered to us, II est temps de jxatir,
and we proceeded for our diligence. Papa told us he had bowed adieu
very amicably to the great big officer, and the great dog was walking
about the court yard as we passed through it, announcing the arrival or
the approach of the ofl&cers. Besides the coupee, the diligence held nine :
we were en arriere ; two Frenchwomen en bonnet sat before us, — there
was a youth from Grand, and a French gentleman, who used, when he
spoke, great action and gesticulation, besides our two English friends.
We experienced a feeling allied to relief, on getting free of the creeping
waters, and weed-covered ramparts of St. Omer, whose rank ditches, half
choked up with noxious verdure, would give the lie to the plain truth,
that its walls contain two regiments of horse, and two of foot soldiers.
A short distance from the town, long straight avenues, regularly planted
with the favourite horsechestnut,ofiered themselves to view ; we could have
supposed the environs of Paris visible ; and along the high road were
placed, as in the gardens of the Tuileries or the Champs Elyslcs, com-
fortable looking benches. As we drove along, little bare-legged children
annoyed us by begging. It wa^ amusing to observe their mal-adroitness.
A girl, with a large loaf of bread under her arm, and every symptom of
health and good feeding, prayed vehemently for alms a long time ; then
suddenly recollecting this detracted from the effect of her appeal, or to
obtain freer action for the motion of her frequently clasped hands, she
gave the loaf to the younger boy. The French gentleman threw out a
sous to the boy, but would not suffer the girl to take it. After these,
two older children continued to keep up with the diligence — the gentle-
man told them to go and work in the fields. He, however, appeared to
possess a warm heart, as he at last threw them a second sous.

We were overjoyed to reach Guines, we sauntered about among
its few shops, while tarrying for a fresh voiture. From Guines,
the route presents a totally difierent aspect, following the course
of a narrow river or canal full of barges heavily laden, mostly with
timber. St. Pierre came next. The approach to Calais is
striking, with its ramparts, ditches, and heavy gates, the aspect
of the town is far more lively than that of St. Omer, and the

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229

fitreets pasnod through were furnished with nice looking Hliops. The
hotel the diligence Btoppcd at had an inner court, old French staircase,
and French inmates ; but having been rccorauicndcd to the Union Hotel,
we were silly enough to proceed through a heavy rain to it. Here to
our mortification wo found every thing English. A largo party having
just arrived, and sat down to dinner, we were asked to wait in an opposite
room until we could bo attended to. This did not much please, and we
employed the time in abusing English hotels in France, and officious
English people who sot them up. On first arrival the news was, wo were
too late for to-day's paquehot ; the next would not start till ten or twelve
o'clock to-morrow ; besides which wo lieard, to our great dismay, that
our passage would probably extend to four hours. Papa and Jane twice
attempted to walk out, and were twice driven back by rain. An old
man laid our table cloth, and waited on us at dinner ; wc took him for
im Anglais, but he was born at Lyons, his father was Swiss, his mother
of Boulogne, he had been naturalized in England, and married an
Englishwoman, who had made him the father of a largo family. Poor
man ! he liad met with reverses in life, and feelingly said all was not
gold that glittered. He had been three years in Calais. Papa went
out again after dinner, traversed the town and the ramparts, and returned
to the hotel, reporting a storm.

September IG. Ordered breakfast by nine. Morning cloudy. Our
breakfast to-day lost its French character ; we had but a small propor-
tion of milk to our cn/6, and English salt butter with the rolls. After
breakfast, we resolved to go out, having three alms in view, viz. : to see
what sort of place Calais was, to get a hrioche for mama, to buy our-
selves stout shoes. We soon got upon the ramparts, which, for French
works, are unusually well kept, and look down upon the sea, the har-
bour contained nothing but a few small vessels. Two monuments have
lately been erected at Calais, — one to the memory of a humane pilot, in
commemoration of a merciful deed performed during the cruel revolution ;
the other, to Louis XVIII, who landed here on his way from England.
When wc entered the town, wc went into every cake shop, to enquire for
brioches, but no such ^f^i^mw could find. At hat, une pdtissiere i^iromiaed
to send u dozen, tout chxud, dans un qwtrt d'heure a V Hotel deV Union.
We were delighted, considiiring our trouble as amply compensated.
The people at V Union said the pa quchot would start at eleven, or probably
not before half past. Papa was in a fidget to get olF, and had paid the
reckoning, which, for an English house, was reasonable ; — when behold !
the anxiously expected hrioclus arrived, and on inspection turned out to
be nothing but English buns, with the addition of saffron and currants.
We exclaimed, " ilsne sont pas de veritahles brioches," while the French
maid for some time had the assurance to maintain they were : we were
not a little discomposed by the failure of our hopes of presenting
mama with one of these cakes. Under a heavy drizzle and clouded sky,
we reached the place of embarkation. After we had tarried some time
on the pier, it began to rain again, and we went on board the dingy
looking little steamer. As I sat disconsolately wrapt in a cloak on the

i-,

I
ft

230

ic-
))iui-

Hk'p that divldoH tho decks, otjo of thoHo iinportniit offioiftlH who wear
tlirt'C-coruercd liaU approached, and duiimiidcd our pasuoport. Papa
made reply he was weary of producing it, witcn tlie gcntloniuii, with tl
hat, glancing ovor tho paper, angrily exclaimed, " Jtt nr voinqu'nne ih
telle, oA e.-t I'aiitre f" I could not help laughing, puna pointed to where
my sister sat, when, appearing satiHfied, ho took his leave. The rain
continuing, wo were forced to go below, and I for one hud actually laid
down in a berth, with no very consoling anticipations of un agreeable pas-
sage, before tho steward announced to us that the boat was at last started.
It was one o'clock. On entering the cabin, I t(H)k out a little book on
" Christian Manners in France," and read attentively until the conver-
sation of the ladies drow my attention from it. One lady counted on a
two hours' passage ; I informed her we could not depend upon ono of
less than three or four. "And we arc to be landed in sniall boats;"
said another. This intimation startled me. Miss Kingston had
described to us being carried on shore ut Calais on tho stout fisherwomcn's
shoulders, and wo had also lieard the grei.t antipathy expressed by the
captain of tho " Queen of the Belgians," to liis passengers being put
out at Boulogne in boats ; but the idea of being set on shore at Dover in
such guise, was completely novel. I listened in incredulous silence.
" Mama," said a young lady in a berth opposite to the one I had taken
pos.session of, " I do not like this man waiting on us." " Nor I either,"
replied a lady, " it is not so in our English boats, but tho French, my
dear, think nothing of these things." " No mama, it was not in the
least like this in the English steamer we came from London in, you
recollect we had two women to attend on us then." On hearing this, I
was again silent, recollecting perfectly well the two clever stewards who
had attended tho ladies on board the Kolkstono and Boulogne boats. It
is better to sec with one's eyes, than even to trust to the hearing of one's
ears, thought I. Until now I have doubted which of those precious
senses are the most to be prized. " I don't like it indeed, mama, do you
know the man wanted to untie my dress and unlace my stays for me ?
He .'^aid I was " trop 4troit" — too tight, but I would not let him." The
ladies present all expressed indignant surprise, as indeed was natural.

The motion of the piujuebot soon became affreuse to those not at
home at sea ; I, along with the rest, was deadly sick, and unable to open
my eyes, except at intervals, but the groans and plaints of my poor
suffering companions made me sensible to not being solitary in this hope-
less misery, of all others the worst while it endures. One young lady,
lying on the bench immediately below me, appeared to outdo everybody
else in suffering. She was, indeed, terribly sick, I opened my eyes
once, and saw her rich head of light brown hair bent over a basin the
steward was holding for her, I opened my eyes again, really to think it
must bo a dream, for, behold ! the man was verily and certainly in the act of
unlacing her stays. I closed them quickly ; not entirely from horror, I
was too ill to feel as much at the moment as I ought to have done. The
steward's principal attention was occupied by this lady, but, indeed, the
poor thing did seem much in need of it. Nearly the last time I opened

231

'11

iiiy evcM, while wo continued in this wretched plight, the man was
Htnuding beside her; ho winhed to know it' " I hud not nnked for Hoinc-
thin^?" I hud not. Ho niiHunderstood nie, I apprehend, for ho throw
v(tH-<hrvh>gne in iny face; I exclaimed, " «/i jwu (Vc.au nil voiia ptitlt;"
he gave mo some, but it tuHtod suit, and increased my drcndAil
sicknosH. Now and then I tliought I heard a voico reseinhiing my sis-
tor's ; Hhe, poor thing, wuh terribly ill ; but for the whole w«)rld'H p<i8sos-
Hion, I could not muHter exertion to .speak to her. At length, u different
motion of tho ptnjitcbvt announced that it stood still, The steward
called out to mo, " Miul'vie, ne vuulez mug pas montcz ? '" But I lind
no strength for exctlon. Again ho told me that "T nniHt go back
to CahuH, unless I made haste." T got up, and left my wrappings
in the berth. " Mou chapcau." " Voila, Madtiine.'^ I wrapped m
great wet cloak about me, unable to put on my gloves; papa, thoug
nearly as ill him.self, rolled up mantles and shawls, iSte , and we
mounted to the dock. Here all was dripping with the ruin ; we seated
oursolves, and waited the return of the boat to put us on shore. It was
soon alongside. With a heavy sea rolling, getting into this boat looked
tremendously difficult. " My dear," said papa, " trust yourself
to tho sailors: they will manage it." Several ladies were put into the
boat before us. At last my turn came ; the little boat touched the side
of tho paquebot, the next instant it was many, many yards — poles
distant. Again it touclied. " Now," they cried. A man held me in
readiness. No. The same instant a watery mountain separated them
from us again. "Now," they cried. Two sailors stcnd firmly planted
on the boat to seize me; another on the side of the ,'aquehot held me
ready to fling to them. I was flung in. The next moment we wore off,
toiling and striving with the huge billows, whicli tower high in even the
smoothest weather at Dover. A sailor told me to change my place, but
still suffering from the recent sickness, I wanted power. Papa angrily
asked the man, " if he did not see tliat the lady was too ill to move ? "
Upon this, they gave papa to understand lie njust pay them immediately :
and this had the mistbrtune to put papa a little out for he too was still
very ill ; he said, " he would be landed first." " There is no time for
that," they cried ; " you must pay us now, for we return instantly."
" I will fir>t be put on shore." They were actually beginning to lay on
their oars. "Well! well! you shall not come off we have your number,
we'll find you." " Yes, that we will," said the man at the rudder. I
was terrified. " My good men," I courageously said, " you will be
paid." They said no more. Wc were now run upon the shingle, and
men who there stood in readiness, carried us through the water.

I was landed among tlie first, and turned round to see papa and my
sister follow in turn. " Thank God ! " our dear papa said. We .sat
down on tho side of a boat wliich lay on the beach, lo wait for a vehicle
to convey us away, for it continued raining heavily, and the streets were
too muddy for walking, /Vt last a carriage took us up, and while papa
went to the custom-house, we stopped at an hotel next door to it, ap-
parently of a second grade, and bespoke a cup of tea, before proceeding

232

to the railway terminus. Dover, even when seen through the rain,
looked clean and splendid after miserable Calais ; on this occasion we felt
grateful for the services rendered by the stout Calais shoes.
Papa joined us^ we forced down some excellent tea, and fancied our-
selves refreshed by it. A fresh hack carriage conveyed us to the ter-
minus. Ah elderly gentleman got into the same seat with as on arriving
at the train. Papa was complaining of having been ill-treated, he had
waited two hours before the paquehot started — he had expected a pas-
sage of little more than two hours, and had been exactly four ; h». WuS
convinced i\iQ paquebot might have started two hours earlier; it was
some trick to benefit the hotels. The elderly gentleman was of the
same opinion. " He knew, for certain, that this very night no less than
sixty families were detained unwillingly at Dover. For his part, he was
worse off than papa, he was come from Ostend, and his baggage, con-
sisting, indeed, merely of a small portmanteau, had been, through negli-
gence, left behind. But have you got your baggage, sir? " he said ti
papa. " Yes sir, I have." *' Then, indeed you are lucky, landed as you
have been, in such weather." This conversation was interrupted by the
entrance of «i fashionable-looking young man. Our third gentleman
commenced a fresh subject of complaint. Just arrived from London by the
"Eclipse," all his baggage had been left behind, he was obliged to return
to London himself for it. Papa said, " Sir, it will be forwarded to you."
" No," he said, " I shall not trust to that, I intend, — indeed am now
on my way to see about it myself. I am going up the Rhine." " Well,
here is something I don't understand," said tlie Ostend gentleman ;
" here's a party just arrived from Calais, landed in boats, and with their
baggage all safe ; and here am I from Ostend, and you from London, who
h;.ve both met with this strange neglect." The words, " party just
landed from Calais," created at once an alteration in the iushionable
gentleman's looks towards us. He considered us with much respect, for
our miserably drenched appearance was now in our favour. The train,
meanwhile, proceeded through tunnel ai'ter tunnel ; we seemed to have
been landed from the bark of old Charon, at once into the shades of the
infernal regions. The train rocked, and was agitated with a similar
motion to that we had noticed in the French trains. I commenced
thinking on the stranae delight men take in excluding themselves from
the blessed light of day, and glorious orb of nature. " This is Weston
Hanger," some one said. " Oh ! thank God ! " I sighed to myself, in
stepping out, to wait half an hour at this new terminus, before another
hack took us up.

In 1846 my father succeeded to a battalion with the rank of Colonel
Commandant.

233

rain,

Colonel

SECTION XIX.

Grove Houso. — Clarence Villa. — Melancholy Events.— Conclusion. — Letters.

In 1846, his daughter C.\roline, Mrs. Dunscomb, with four children,
returned from Canada, to pay her family a twelvemonth's visit. She
arrived in June; and, for her gratification, papa accompanied her to
London, and then to Brighton, where, in the fashionable month of
November, he hired apartments for a fortnight. His two sisters, also,
Mrs. Charles Day, and Maria Durnford, came to see him at Clarence
Villa. Mrs. Davis, the remaining sister, had the misfortune to lose her
husband during this winter, on which occasion, my parents, regardless
of their delicate health, journeyed to Hythe, to attend his funeral, and
support, by their presence, at this trying time, the poor widow. Early
in the spring, Mrs. Durnford received the afflicting intelligence of the
death of her only sister Elizabeth, the widow of Clement Kirwaii, Esq. ;
when my dear parents again made a visit to the house of mourning, and
comforted, with ^heir company, the sorrowing daughters. These were, —
Eliza, who came over from Paris with her husband, the Count de St.
Antoine, and their only son Clifford ; Louisa, the wife of the Rev. Mr.
Withers ; Jane, who was married to Mr. Sylvester, a gentleman in the
medical profession ; and Eleanor, who afterwards became the wife of
Mr. Russell, of Swanscombe. Mrs. KIrwan left, by will, to her sister's
three unmarried daughters, handsome legacies.

Mrs. Kirwan's lease of the Grove House, at Northfleet, on the banks of
the river Thames, being unexpired, papa determined to take it for the
r"raainder of the term, having meantime let Clarence Villa, his own
residence at Tunbridge Wells, to General Middlemore ; and accordingly
his family occupied it until late in the autumn of the following year. It
was a melancholy time ; and previous to the departure of the numerous
members of my dear departed aunt's family from the Grove House, my
father engaged a house for his party, now augmented by that of Mrs,
Ounscomb's,at Roshervilie,a distance of two miles from the Grove House.
These sad events, and journey's umicrtaken in severe weather, doubtless
left injurious eflFects on both my parents' frames ; papa, in particular,
from thiis time suffered much from rheumatic gout which seemed increased
by proximity to the swamps near the Grove House. George came several
times from his quarters in Ireland, as did Mrs. Davis, to Northfleet;
Mrs. Dunscomb returned to Canada, while Miss Kirwan continued to
reside with us. My parents went into the country together to see their
invjilid daughter: on the journey papa was attacked by a bilious disorder,
which delayed their return or some time. My mother wrote home thus :

'• Saturday, July 3, 1847.

" My Dear, — We have been most anxiously waiting to hear tidings
from the Grove House, for it is so long since the ' ugly old woman' left
you all, that even should nothing have occurred, it would have been a
very great pleasure to hear ' all's well,' or to see something on the seal,

ill

234

M ).:

J-

indicative of the same, as that poor cockney young man used to relieve
his parents by sending 'Jack's alive.' I now have the pleasure to tell
you dear papa has wonderfully recovered. We breakfast between eight
and nine o'clock, about twelve off we start, the three last days we have
been driven back by the rain. Yesterday we walked half a mile beyond
the cross, it was delightful We rested on the steps of the Monument,
and then walked on. Pa took his biscuit and only half a glass of wine,
but it supported him. I do really believe he longs to see you all. He
takes his milk, two eggs, and sometimes a little bit of bacon at breakfast.
Does the Knight of the Manor House often come to see you ? and how do
all affiiirs go on ? How many times has cousin been to the grand
city ? and how many new gowns and new bonnets have come from that
place of celebrity ? Tell cousin I enquired.

" Pi, no doubt, has recovered ; he was very bad when we first came
here. This place has been of more service to him than Leamington,
beautiful as it was, and he greatly enjoyed those three lions, and so

would you and , and so would the young blue stockings. The person

who shewed the castle at Warwick, appeared to me to be the steward.
The likeness of the Hon. Mrs. Percy's daughter was exactly like Mrs.
Edmund Sewell. There was a painting of the ' Cave of Despair,' by
Mrs. P's father, who was celebrated in that art, as was his only son, who,
dying in Italy, made Mrs. Percy a great heiress. The father's name
was Bertie Greathead. Esq. We are not far from Coventry, so I bought
three ribbons for the three maids, however, keep this secret. If you
could have seen the strawberries, your mouth would have watered for
weeks. How are all our relations about the world ? You had better
put down the answers to all my questions, or you or I will either be

breathless, or I shall forget to ask again. Dear C looks very thin,

but healthy, and the whole house are like a number of Gypsies, which

Mrs. N much laments ; even her baby resembles a coloured child.

Has Eleanor joined Mrs. Withers yet ? and how are all at Tunbridge ?
and in France ? I expect to find American letters, and trust to hear all
are well. Your affectionate

T. S.

" Mother."

When on our walk, pa and I sit down to rest ; I either take out the
Common Prayer Book, or the Leamington Guide. Pa seems to have
formed a vast idea of my aptness, for he declares I know that little book
by heart. It gives a good description of the country surrounding the
town, which answers all I have heard of it. We hope to be home the
beginning of the week. Unless you or some of you have written, it is of
no use now — ten to one if we receive it. Papa has just been to see the
market, and is now urging me to go with him again. He says nothing
can equal the profusion of vegetables, and, in short, of everything else —
fish, fowl, and flesh. I counted fourteen or fifteen salmon, with two,
three, and four lobsters to each, several turbot, hampers of mackerel,
whiting, etc., etc., and sucti quantities of poultry ! fowls by hundreds,
ducks the same, and young geese, pears, by hundreds of bushels, and

i.\«X;5,s.. ..:.( .

235

asparagus, by thousands of bundles, horses of every description, but I
did not see* "four spanki- "j greys," oxen, and cows, and sheep, were
numberless, pigs by droves, I even saw young plough ponies. Eatables
very cheap. , ,. , , , . . . . •

The next autumn found us residing at Clarence Villa, whence my father
did not again remove, except on the occasion of George's being ordered
to the East Indies, he went with him to town, to speak to Lord Raglan
on business connected with his son's regimental promotion. These
several departures were sore trials to him ; yet they were borne with the
mild Christian resignation that increased and shone more brightly as life
drew on, and his strength evidently began to fail. In the long winter
evenings, iuama, while engaged at the needle, enjoyed to hear him read
aloud and being a member of the excellent Tunbridge Wells Library,
or Literary and Historical Society, and also of a Lending Club, he had
no want of the newest and best books to select from. In this agreeable
way he got through many fine works — Alison and Macaulay's histories
being among them. There were portions of the terrible revolution of
1793, which, in reading Alison, agitated him so much he could not
proceed with their recital. The reading rooms of this society he visited
daily, to read the newspapers, and converse on the current topics.

In May, 1849, at an evening party, composed chiefly of ladies, one of
the youngest present entertained the party by singing a song, describing a
young man after an evening's prolonged merriment, finishing it up by
"rowing the girls in the morning." This pleased papa so much that he
encored it, and then said it reminded him of what he had heard of the
good old days when George the Third visited Plymouth, on which occasion
a barge with a crew, composed wholly of women, and also guided by a
female coxswain, preceded His Majesty when he \,'ent on the water.

He took great delight in attending religious morning meetings, such
as were frequently held at Tunbridge ^Xells ; on all occasions when calls
on his purse were made, he gave liberally with regard to his moderate
means, with pleasure, and gratitude, to the bestower thosje means.
When young, he was very fond of the fine English gam- <vicket ; and,
to the last, enjoyed to overlook the- sport he no longer eui red into as a
player : he also liked a rubber of whist sometimes, at the various Iri' nUy
and pleasant houses of the friends he visited among.

One of my father's regrets was, the not having, when young, been
taught music, of which he was very fond ; he considered, had he possessed
scientific skill and an educated ear, his enjoyment would have been
enhanced. Dibdin's songs were his great favourites ; he sang several, —
" Sweet is the Ship that under Sail," and " The Storm," in particular^
extremely well. Unfortunately, mama disliked his singing, entreating
him not to sing before people. When he was in the habit of dining at
regimental messes, with oflScers who had served with the Duke of
Wellington, before breaking up, on peculiar occasions, the company would
rise, join hands round the table, and sing songs, prompted more from the

* In allusion to her niece, Miss Kirwan's great fondness for fine horses.

Mir

236

loyal feelings of the hour, tlian consciousness of vocal talent. Mama's
restrictions were unattended to then.

Mania executed well on the piano-forte, the delightful Sonatas of
Pleyel and Kozoluch, but she early neglected her music. Both my
parents were excellent time-ists.

Two honest old men happened to be continually employed by my
father at Tunbridge Wells. One was a coloured man who bore the name
of Napp. He was considered the best sinker of a well in the county,
and became known to papa from being employed in boring the one at
No. 1 Belvedere, immediately previous to its being tenanted by our
family. Papa was among the number of Napp's steady employers, and
he continued to perform different outdoor jobs, during the whole period
we resided at Belvedere, and afterwards at Clarence Villa. The other
old man, Hunt, had been a marine. The black liad been a sailor, and
actually fought at Trafalgar, on board Nelson's own ship. Hunt was
also at the battle of Trafalgar, but not on board the hero's ship. The
fact of Napp's being a seaman on board " The Victory," and Hunt
only a marine, raised the temptation to hold his heac' over the marine,
but Hunt claimed superiority as a white man, and so these two poor
old fellows were always jarring — sad to record — actually fought, for
neither would yield. This rivalry only ceased when my father obtained
for Napp a pension of £20 per annum. He did not long surviye this
little piece of good fortune.

Miss Sheppard-I^ had the Manor House on Bishops' Down, Tunbridge
Wells. It was a lovely spot, always in perfect order, though the flowers
were not in first-rate style. Its mistress was a city lady, born, as she
said, within the sound of" Bow Bells." She was rich and High Church,
very active, very charitable, and indefatigable in every good work. She
gave a handsome font to Trinity Church. Papa took Archdeacon
Bridge to call on her, and she gave him £10 for the cathedral at New-
foundland. A lady artist, a miniature painter, whose drawings were
exhibited at the lioyal Academy, often resided with her, this lady lent
me several of her pictures to copy. iShe was a most religious and
amiable character ; on my expressing a tear that I might injure the
drawings, " Do not distress yourself," she said, " if you were to spill a
glass of water over one of them, I should only say, ' such is life.' "

]Mr. William Wix, the old bachelor city beau, possessed the seat adjoin-
ing Miss Sheppard's. The turf in front of his house was smooth
as velvet ; a fine elm tree rose up on one side from a little mound, and
at its foot in the early spring, tufts of snow-drops, crocuses, and polyan-
thuses were the first to attract our eyes. Mr. \\ : x was brother to the
rector of St. Bartholomew's, who was so anxious t' bring about a union
with the Roman Catholics, and both brothers were considered very High
Church. Mr. Wix was kind, friendly and hospitable. He often told the
history of his being, in his youth, one of the city volunteers, in which

• These remembrances of Miss Sheppard and Mr. Wix are contributed by a
member of the family.

Ifffi.M^

237

e marine,

troop every private possessed ^^"500 a year; it was in 1802, when Bona-
parte threatened England with invasion, that this corps was raised, and
of his having an opportunity of rendering a service to a gentlemun in
Italy, who in return begged leave to order rooms for Mr. Wix at a hotel
in Rome, and turned out to be the Duke of Gordon. He used to say,
that it was through his exertions an English Chapel was allowed at
Rome. When Mr. Wix was no longer able to walk, he used to stop in
his brougham at the gate of Clarence Villa, and beg papa or mania to
go out and talk to him. He always called papa his general, taking
pleasure in saluting him in the military style ; he once told me he was
going to town, and required a furlough from papa, asking if that was the
proper term, when I said, he should have asked for leave of absence, the
term furlough being only used by the soldier. He bequeathed his gold-
headed cane to his general.

Mr. St. John Baker and his sister Adelaide, had sought the bracing
air of Tunbridge Wells, when delicate health induced his resigning the
office he held at Washington, as British Consul to the United States.
He and Miss Baker had visited Quebec, and it was while papa was com-
mandant there, and Mr. Baker well remembered the guai-d of honour my
father had ordered to receive him. MLss Bakei liked to talk of Ameiica,
and my parents liked to hear her. The quiet elegance of Mr. B.'s
residence, told the cultivated taste of this amiable pair, who lived in the
midst of the flower parterres of their own planting. The whist-table was
always enjoyed by papa at their pleasant evening parties — there was no
end to the brother's choice collection of books, or the sister's new
patterns in Berlin work, her tasteful attempts in illustrating favourite
subjects and feminine artistic designs. Among Mr. Baker's favourite
recreations were attendance on Archaeological Lectures, and the promo-
tion of Horticulturnl Shows.

The venerable Gener.il Midtland, the owner of Hollywitch, a farm
distant twelve miles from Tunbridge Wells, when he determined to
reside at T. W. during the winter months, was introduced to papa, and
delighted in his society. General M. had been on the same expedition
in 1794, with my father and grandfather, under Sir Charles Grey, and
had afterwards the command of 10,000 men in Spain.

It is remarkable, that although my father was, in the course of his
life, much employed in writing, and public official conespondence, few
traces of this toil remain ; indeed his fine bold handwriting is nearly
effiiced from the possession of his family. One reason for this losa is
attributable to a custom he indulged of destroying his letters, and doubt-
less, valuable records have perished, that would now be prized. He was in
the habit of transcribing passages from various esteemed authors ; these
he also destroyed : they seem to have been taken wholly from the works of
divines of the Church of England.

A few weeks before his last illness, a clergyman called on him, to ask
his subscription to a Church Society. My father was much hurt by the
request, for he had always subscribed, not only to the one in question,
but to several others. " The Society for Promoting Christian Know-

23S

Icdsc," " Tho Bible Society," " The Church Missionary Society," and
" Pastoral Aid Society," were among the number. He loved to frequent
the house of God, never in his latter years passing by an opportunity of
approaching the table of the Lord ; always repeating aloud the responses
to the Litany, singing also and chanting. As already said, be gave lib-
erally, frequently telling his daughters not " to fear to cast their bread
upon the waters," for God would return it to them. He told them they
would please him much by always having a black dress in readiness,
in case of public mourning; and, indeed, at such times, while he lived at
Tunbridge Wells, his family were remarked for their attention to this
particular. He advised them to be exact in filing and keeping their
bills, and to keep copies of their letters.

His " Scenes from an Officer's Early Life," that appeared in '* the
United Service Journal," were put to paper not long before God called
him to himself: he entitled it his " Autobiography," and had intended
proceeding with the interesting recital, but it was otherwise ordained.
He read it over to his family, after some persuasion, a few nights before
his dear voice ceased to be heard among them, with much emphasis and
excitement, such as its n collections called up. The pretty shrubberies
surrounding Clarence Villa, improved under his careful management ;
he turned some grass-plata into culture, and was proud of his celery
plants and strawberries. Exactly one week before his death, being
apparently in health, his valued friend. Miss Whitclocke,* walked round
and viewed with him the pet improvements.

His benevolent heart responded to every call of charity, never did
sympathy for the distressed glow in a warmer heart, or receive more
sincere assistance than from my father ; the perplexed looked to him for
advice, the needy, and many who sought advancement, found no check
to their reliance on his exerting his every ability to serve them. The
affectionate regard and esteem of his friends for him, seemed to increase,
as his ties upon the world weakened; anxlity lay at his heart when he
looked on those he knew must be deprived of his tender smile and
paternal care, but no other fear, no other regret came to disturb his con-
verse with his Maker. He was frequently surprised on his knees in his
dressing-room, engaged in addressing the Saviour, on whom his firm, but
humble trust was reposed — the virtue of humility was pre-eminently his.
Each of his children believed themselves to have been his best beloved ;
nor was it until after his death, that, as one of them timidly expressed
this conviction, the impartiality of their father was discovered in its
entire and beautiful consistency.

The following extract from a letter penned by his sister Maria, ten
days previous to his eyes being closed forever on this world, seem antici-
pating an event not then apprehended ; they describe without such inten-
tion, the condition of mind in which the last summons was met by him
" the Angel of Death " was hovering over, and also afford an insight

* This accomplished ladj was the daughter of General Whitelocke, and sis-
ter to the Lady of Sir Ousely Gore, many years ambassador at tho Court of
Persia.

239

into the mind of tlio writer. The letter was addressed to my mother :

" I am much obliged to you for the perusal of ' Dean Kirwan's
Memoirs,' if he were now alive, how much would the patriots of the
present day benefit by his beneficent exertions.

" What you mention of Lady D 's manner of dying, is the second

instance I have hoard of individuals accomplishing their wish in thig
respect, but I think it is better for us to be enabled to feel resigned to
our Heavenly Father's will with respect to manner, place, and time, yet
were I permitted to make choice, I should say, let me be awake, and
perfectly sensible, that my last moments might be those of adoration, and
commendation of my spirit into the hands of Him who gave it me,
trusting to that Divine promise, ' as thy day is, so shall thy strength
be,' for support under the severest trial which can await me here."

The Rev. John Pearson visited and prayed over his sick bed, and all
were mourners who followed his remains. His brother. Col. Durnford,
of the Artillery, his nephew, George, son to the Colonel, the Eev. Henry
Sewell, rector of Headcorn, Mr. Eussellof Swansccmbe, Mr. Trustram,
his medical adviser, his daughter Jane, his two little grandchildren,
Caroline and Mary Dunscomb, and his talented and good friend, Miss
Whitelocke, formed the number. The Rev. Daniel Wenham read the
solemn service. He lies close to Trinity Church, of whose congregation
he had formed one.

When Miss Whitelocke heard of my father's serious illness, she wrote
to mama, offering her kind services in any way, even to sit up at night ;
and, although this was declined, on her afterwards offering the accommo-
dation of her handsome house to the family friends she knew would
soon repair to the house of affliction, my dear mother accepted the deli-
cate hospitality, for several of her own and departed husband's relatives :
My father's eyes were closed by dawn of day, March 8, 1850.

Subjoined are the thoughts of his absent children, and some of his
friends, on hearing their loss, being extracts from their letters :

" I need not tell you with what grief I received the intelligence of my
dear father's death. It is a great consolation, however, that he died
hoping for eternal happiness. Although his last days were attended with
some anxiety in worldly interests, I think a better man never lived, and
many is the poor man who had reason to bless him."

"■ May 1, 1850. Your letters of March 10 reached me to-day, inform-
ing me of the sad and grievous loss we have all sustained. I did not
expect this intelligence, as only the last mail brought me a letter from
himself, in which he says that he had not felt so well in health and spirits
for some years past. He must have felt happy as well as in good spirits
when he wrote that of February 14. 1 reflect with great satisfaction
that, on the laat trip I made with him from London to Northfleet, one of
the gentlemen on board the steamer was talking of the trouble of large
families, upon which my father remarked with great pride and pleasure,

240

that he thanked God none of his children had ever civen him an hour's
sorrow or uneasiness. I am happy now to have had an opportunity of
hearing him say that. Ho always appeared happy in the society of his
family. The life of a good man is always happy ; and when my death
comes, I hope I may be able to meet it with as full assurance of salvation
as he has done. I was in great hopes that he would have lived to see me
return from this country, but it has pleased the Almighty that I should
not enjoy that happiness, which his welcome would have given me. Pray
take great care of my mother, in doing so (although it is unnecessary that
I should have said this) your love will be shown to her, and also to our
father who is departed."

" I am writing on the desk dear papa left me, and very happy am I
to think I had the lasting gratification of seeing him since I left him on
my marriage. Oh I that wc may all meet him in heaven, and turn our
days to account as he did, with the true repentance of a sincere and truth-
ful heart."

" April 9, 1850. This day fortnight I received the mournful account of
the departure of our dear parent for a better world. To-day your letters of
the 20th arrived, and I have had the melancholy satisfaction of hearing that
the last rites have been performed, and may you all be supported under the
remaining trials that await you. We feel assured that the exchange that
has been made by our dear papa is a blessed onr, and that ho has only
gone a little before us, and ere long we shall be called to pass through
the valley of the shadow of death. May we meet that time as well pre-
pared for our great change as he was, and it will be well, with us.

" I feel truly thankful to hear that you have been so greatly supported
under the heavy affliction that our heavenly father has called us all to
bear. We have, indeed, the greatest of all consolations, which is to
remember that our deceased relative was a truly pious and devoted Chris-
tian, and one whose steps we may safely follow. He knew the path of
duty, and always walked therein."

" March 9, 1850. It is impossible for me to express what Mr. Day and
myself feel for you all in the heavy loss you hava sustained, of a dear, and
excellent husband and father ; may the Almighty in his goodness please
to support you all under this heavy trial, and give you all the comfort
and consolation this world can bestow. We will indeed, pray for you, for
we all know what your feelings must be on this melancholy occasion,
dear man, he is happy, for a better and kinder-hearted person never
breathed, may our end be like his, quiet and resigned to the will of our
heavenly father, who orders everything for our good. That every bless-
ing and consoling comfort may attend you all, is the sincere and heart-
felt wish of ...
your affectionate uncle and aunt,

Charles and Charlotte Day."

241

for

" My Dear Little Dauoiiter, — The mail last week brought us the
Bad news that God had taken to himself dear,kind, grandpapa. Follow in his
steps, be as good as he was, or try to be ; pray God to enable you to be,
and you will again sec him in heaven. How good, how kind, you will
try to be to dear grandmania ; remember you must not talk loud before
her, and do nothing in the world to vex her. Dear mama is plunged in
the greatest affliction at hearing of the loss of her dear kind parent, who
she was devotedly attached to." >

" April 27, 1850. The great affliction witli which it has pleased the
Lord to try you and your family, has been a great and sudden shock to
us all in this country. Philip has felt most severely the loss of his
revered parent, whom to know was to love. * Blessed are the dead that die
in the Lord,' and praised be the Lord for the comforting assurance of his
holy revelations, that the separation from those we love, by a mortal death,
is but short and temporary. The affecting and interesting details of the last
moments of our dear father, towards whom, I had an affection and venera-
tion not inferior to what I felt for my own parents, I trust will be profit-
able to us, that when our time shall come, we too may die the death of
the righteous."

" March 9, 1850. We were much grieved this morning to rece%e the
unexpected and mournful intelligence of your dear husband's death. We
had not at all, from the preceding letter, anticipated so sad and speedy a
termination to the illness under which ho had been suffering, but sup-
posed it to be nothing more than the effects of the variable weather on
his weakened frame. But the Lord had disposed it otherwise, and I am
firm to believe that his faith and confidence in the one and only Saviour
of his people was such, as that he is now enjoying his everlasting presence,
and the joys of his kingdom. I am not stoic enough to bid you not to
grieve at the departure of the companion of your life and the father of
your children, but I pray that grace and strength may be given in pro-
portion to your need, and the everlasting arms be under you to bear you
up under your severe affliction. In the Lord alone can you find that
peace and consolation which the world can neither give nor take away,
and which is all we want in such times of sorrow and bereavement.

H. D. Sewell."

" March 15, 1850. Deeply I feel for you all in the severe trial it has
pleased the Lord to lay upon you, and, sincerely I hope you may be sup-
ported and strengthened according to your need. Your dear mother has
lost a kind husband, and you as kind a parent ; his loss therefore, will be
keenly felt by you all. We too, have reason to speak most highly of him,
for we ever found him a truly kind friend, and one for whom we had
a great regard.

" I little thought when we received your last kind letter that his ill-
ness would have terminated fatally, especially as you said he was better

!li

848

and had boon ordorud ntrcngtlicning thingn ; but the Lurd nppointod it
otherwise, and may you bo enabled to Hay ' It is well.'

" 1 shall bo thankful to h««r your hoalth hns not boon injured by the
effort you intend making on Tuesday. It will doubtless be satisfaction
to you to fool, that at least ono of his children was able to follow him
to the grave. - CuARiiOTTE Sewell.

" I know not how to offer consolation under the loss you have sus-
taiiled. I can only iwsuro you of luy own love, for you have been the
most affectionate of mothers to me, and my dear departed father has
always been the most indulgent of fathers to me. I must often have
given him cause for anger, but he never shewed that he was displeased;
and one of the last expressions of his that I can remember was, that none
of his children had ever caused him an hour's sorrow or uneasiness. I
hope my dear mother you will be able to say the same of us. I am sure
we shall all strive so to act, that you may bo able to say so, during the
time we may have to remain in this world."

" April, 1850. It was with the deepest sorrow I hoard of the death of
your beloved father, and all I felt on losing my dear parents, makes mc
feel your irreparable loss. We must submit humbly to the decrees of
God, and if consolation can bo found after such a heavy loss, it is in the
idea that my dear uncle is now receiving the reward of his virtues ; for
I believe a better man never existed. Eliza de St. Antoine."

" C'est aveo la plus profonde douleur que nous apprenons I'irr^parable
perte que la famille vient de faire, et nous unissons nos larmes aux votros.
Vous perdez un bon p6re, Madame Durnford un bon dpoux, I'armde un
galant officier, et nous un bon parent. II regoit en ce moment dans le
ciel la recompense de ses vertus. Je me rappelerai toujours aveo (Amo-
tion toutes ses bontds et toute sa bienveillance, et ses souvenirs ne s'offa-
oeront jamais de mon ooeur. Puissent nos profonds regrets adouoir
ramcrtume des v6tres." Hipp. Comte de St. Antoine."

" March 13, 1850. Your note only reached me last evening, soon
enough certainly for the sad intelligence it conveyed ; you have all been
in my thoughts and in my prayers the night past, and truly do I sympa-
thise with you, the more especially with you dear mother. He alone can
heal the wound who has inflicted it ; and that it is done in love and
mercy we know, for He doth all things well. You have much to console
you in the certainty of the clear and firm faith and resignation of your
excellent parent, who is now released from all care — safely lodged in his
Saviour's kingdom, in the mansion prepared for him and all who, like
him, have fought the good fight, and is now crowned with a crown of
glory that fadeth not away. He did not long remain after his old
attached friend, my own ever to be lamented husband, whose friendship

243

nnd csteom for hiin was hh Niticore m it wuh pure ; ho often spoko of the
pleiifluro ho derived from his intimate Hcquaintunco with your worthy
father: nor was my esteem for him any less. His amiable conduct dur-
ing our visit in London, in 1840, would have won our hearts' best feel-
ings, even if we had not known him before that period. What rich con-
solation is yours I — (oh ! how different from thone who arc called uj)on to
part with friends, even dear to them, who cannot cherish a hope for their
happiness beyond the world they leave behind them.) Dwell on all those
meroies, my dear young friend — it will soothe your spirit*, and greatly
tend to soften this unexpected bereavement ; and may this solemn call
excite mc and all that loved him, to pray and strive to watch, that we
may also die the death of the righteous, and bo permitted to join him and
all dear ones where tlu- woary are at rest. You do not say how your dear
mother is. I am concerned for her ; this great trial so soon after her
recent illness I hope will not be too nmch for her strength. I shall not
attempt to write her just now, merely because I think I had better not
do so ; but do you say all to her for mc that your own kind heart would
suggest for a friend as dear to you as my excellent friend is to me. She
will require much attention after her recent fatigue, and I know your
dear mother is sometimes careless of herself. How nmch I do wish we
were near you, that wo might in any way be useful to you. I cannot
realize the contents of your note though I have read it so many times,
and although I seem to have spent the last night in your family.

" Eliza Dunsoomb."

The next letter is to Mrs. Durnford, also from Mrs. Dunsoomb, the
mother of her son-in-law, and as well as the last recalls a twofold loss.

" March, 29, 1850.
" My Dear Friend, — I know well that no effort of friendship, however
well intended, can do that which He only can do — that has in His divine
wisdom seen fit to thus test your faith in the removal of your dear
companion ; but, although I know I cannot afford you that consolation
my heart would earnestly desire to communicate, yet I can no longer
forbear to tell you how truly I do sympathize with you in this sad be-
reavement. I have refrained until now, because from experience I was
assured nature must be indulged, though grace will triumph, and ere
this I trust my dear friend has begun to see mercy, and even love, in the
rod which seemed to chasten so severely : you have been called upon to
drink deep of the cup of affliction, yet He who ordered even this trial,
has promised to sustain you under all your trials, and never to leave nor
forsake you. No human being can offer or afford the comfort or conso-
lation contained in this rich promise — how sweet in its tender love for
us ! how encouraging in our tribulation 1 It does require all your faith
and resignation to resign your dearest best friend — your early compa-
nion, who has so faithfully and affectionately walked hand in hand with
you, through so many years of your pilgrimage here on earth, partaking
in all your joys and all your sorrows, — all your house must miss one

244

wliow aiuinMo, benevolent, humane (lispositlon, would endear him to all
that had the honour and pleasure of hiH acciuaintanco. flow great th«
privilcj^o of being al.owed to cousider wuch exeelloiico among our inti-
mate friends : I have often reflected on this, and felt thimkful for every
good friend I was pern)itted to have: it certainly is am(,iig our giX'atcst
earthly blessings ; and then liow sweet the hope to look forward to u re-
union hereafter; and this dear fiiond \H for your support, and must recon-
cile you t<) a short separation. Many things teach us to see love in this
removal for departed ones — hard us tlie blow is for uh to bear, both you
and I can do better without them, while wo are to continue in this world
of wants and cares, than these beloved ones could have done without us—
our dear daughters can lessen niuch of our cares ; but neither son nor
daughter, can be to a husband when advanced in years, what a wife is :
the desolation is great for our desolate hearts — but how niueh greater
would it be for theirs? The nature of our very employments are such,
as to have a tendency to these helps ; but this they could not apply :
accustomed to depend ejitircly on us for domestic comfort, how sadly
would they miss all those little attentions that so much lessen the inlir-
mitics of advanced age ! In many things our beloved companions resem-
bled each other. In kind feelings to all their fellow creatures, in deep
love for their own immediate family and relations, in bearing and for-
bearing others' infirmities in the most generous of charitable leelings — ,
in all this they assimilated : they arc in the enjoyment of that happiness
which is promised by our bkissed Saviour to those who fed, clothed, and
visited in his name and for his sake. How precious in his sight are his
saints ! even while we are here, lie will not inflict one more stroke than
is for our good, for ho is a loving God. Those breaks in those links in
the charm of our earthly dcliglits, are necessary to wean us from our
strong attachments to this life. Where our treasure is, there will our
hearts be also. Eliza Dunboomb."

" I hope and trust that by this time, my dear friends can view their
Heavenly Father's dispensation as it was intended, and that the gain has
been so great to their departed dear one, as to reconcile them in some
measure to their own irreparable loss. I have a great desire to know on
what day the last sad rites were performed : I did not en(iuire when I
answered 's letter, but I fixed on a day in my own mind, from circum-
stances in which I thought this painful duty would be attended to. How
much I value the likeness you so kindly did for me of your departed
parent ! I always valued it — and have now u,n affection for it : it has
been the companion of all my travels. That it was a likeness was proved
by Mr. Daly's knowing it as soon as he saw it at the cottage. I have
also a walking stick which the dear good general gave my dear lamented
husband in London, in 1840 ; and so much did dear Mr. Dunscomb
esteem it for the donor's sake, that he had both their names engraven on
it, one as the giver, the other as receiver. I have kept it with great care,
intending to send it — to keep for our little Godfrey. The weather seems
to be getting a little warmer : I do hope you will prevail on your deai

Ilim to all

grout thti
; our inti-

for every
r gvcatcst
•d to u ro-
ust recon-
>vo in this

both you
this world
liout UH—
iT son nor
a wife is :
cli greater
I arc such,
ot apply:
how Hudly
I the intir-
ons rcsem-
!S, in deep
y and for-
leelings — ,

happiness
othed, and
;ht arc his
troke than
ic links in

from our
re will our

COMB."

view their
10 gain has
m in some
o know on
ire when I
om circum-
d to. How
: departed
it: it has
ivas proved
e. I have
r lamented
Dunscomb
ngraven on
great care,
ither seems
your deal

245

mama to got out as soon as tiio weather will permit lior — the country will
soon have muoh to interest and attract with its natural beauties, always dis-
playing the wonders of a mighty Creator,— nothing earthly ho well cal-
culated to sootlie the spirits and compose the mind. We h)rgot self, in
contemplating His glorious works in beauty and usefulness.

"Eliza Dunscomb."

" March lli, 1850.

" My Deaii Jane, — Tho sight of your note yesterday evening,
shocked mo inexpressibly, and I liad hardly the courage to break
tlio seal, for I saw but too plainly that it was sent to tell tho sad-
dest news. Tho first gluTice at your handwriting confirmed my worst
fears, and I could not help weeping bitterly wlu^n [ found who the loved
one was that had been taken from you. You have indeed been bereaved,
but you have tho sweetest and dearest consolation that can be afforded
under such circumstances, even the blessed certainty that your dear
father has entered into a huppy, a glorious rest, where suffering and sor-
row can no more 'reach him. ' Thanks be to God who has given him
the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.' Oh! my dear, in such
moments what should wo be? what should we do? without that gracious
Saviour, in and through whom alone there is life and hope. May Hebe
sensibly present with you all by the power of his Holy Spirit, and com-
fort and sustain you in this season of sorrow and trial. To his gracious
care I commend you affectionately and earnestly. God is indeed dealing
with you just now, but doubt not for a moment that ho only chastens in
tender love : not for his pleasure, but for your profit. * Sorrow may en-
dure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.' You are constantly
in my thoughts ; and much, very much, do mama and I wish that wo
vrere noar you, that we might do the utmost in our power to be of use
and assistance to you. She unites with me in tender love and deepest
sympathy. She would write to our dear Mrs. Durnford, but she thinks
it best not to do so just at present. It was so very kind and considerate

of you to write so to me, my dear , but you are always full of

thought for others. May our Heavenly Father richly bless and fidli/
comfort you and yours, for Jesus Christ's sake. M. A. B.

" If you can, will you let me hear from you in the course of a few
days."

" May 31, 1850.
" A short time after I had written last to you, my dearest

on taking up a newspaper wl)*A;h had been some days in the house,
without my looking at it, how was I struck by a notice ii. the Obi-
tuary I — and how did I regret my untimely letter ! I would have
recalled it if I could. I would have written immediately on receiving
the melancholy announcement which had so surprised me, if I had felt I
could say anything seasonable or soothing. All I could then offer — all

246

IV i

I can now say 13, to ask you to accept my affectionate sympathy, believ-
ing that I have been much in thought with every member of your
bereaved family, and have felt for each and all, deprived of its honoured
and beloved Head. My own personal recollections give rise to many a
grateful feeling within me, recalling the recent friendliness so very grati-
fying to me, which I experienced in England, and which contributod not
a little to the enjoyment my London visits aflPorded me. To ' His
rest ' we may believo thu Lord has taken him whose loss we deplore,
— taken him from x world of grief ind pain : and to iunf .. .st, dear

, let us look, trusting to enter tuerein, through the merits of Him

who is mighty to save, and wLo v.e humbly hope will hereafter 'reunite
us to those who have gone be/ore ' to their ' Eternal Home,' — leaving
sorrowing friends behind them- yet not sorrowing as those without
hope. E. F."

" September, 1850.
" Accept my best thanks for your kind attention in forwarding
me ' The United Service Magazine,' containing ' Scenes in an Offi-
cer's Early Life.' It was with a mixed feeling of pain and melan-
choly pleasure I perused the interesting article; following our dear
departed through some of his many dangers, with almost breathless
dread ; his was, comparatively speaking, a long life of danger and service
in a few months. How strong the affectionate filial heart in the tender
mentioi; of his parental bereavement ! it was almost as though one heard
the sad voice that would utter them : w liat narrow escapes — multiplied
upon him without space for rest — so'^etimes for consideration ! yet our
dear friend seemed always collected, always so brave. With what grate-
ful feelings did we trace, throughout, the love and mercy of a Divine
Providence : although I so greatly rejoiced when he was safely landed
again on his native shore, I regretted we were at the termination of that
which interested us so much. Eliza Dunscomb."

'' It was very kind of you to anticipate the wish I had so much at

heart — naniiely, to read the interesting narrative contained in the book you
sent me. I have often been wishing vo learn in what publication it was
to be met with, and had more than once questioned the dear little girls as
to where it might be found, being sadly ignorant of most of the periodical
publications. I could not from them exactly make out what to ask for,
and I felt regret after your departure, that I had not at once made the
request of you. However, through your kindness and consideration, I
was soon gratified, and upon reading the by far too short account, I was
not long in discovering how much I should htvve lost had I not been
successful in obtaining it. Much more of it would have been read with
interest. S. B. Saint."

" Toronto, April 7, 1850.
" Mt dear Mother-in-Law, — We received by the last mail
the sad, sad intelligence tliat it had pleased Almighty God to re-

247

'y beliov-
of your
ionoured

many a
ry grati-
utod not
Do 'His

deplore,
wSt, dear
I of Him
' reunite
-leaving

without
S. F."

1850.
rwarding
an Offi-
i melan-
our dear
ireathless
id service
tie tender
ine hoard
Multiplied
yet our
lat grate-
i Divine
y landed
n of that

OMB."

much at
jook you
)n it was
e girls as
»eriodical
ask for,
uade the
ration, I
it, I was
not been
ead with

IINT."

1850.
ast mail
to re-

move from this world of trouble our very dear excellent parent. Our
loss is hia gain — for he was all goodneas in this life, and will be
hdippy in the next. May our all-wise and merciful God strengthen
you to bear the burden of your great affliction, is our constant and
heartfelt prayer.

" When I spoke to Alice and Godfrey Metcalfe of the great loss we had
all sustained, they seemed to understand it well, for little Metcalfe ex-
claimed with a look, as if his cup of bitterness was full, * Then, dear papa,
we have no grandpapas at all now.' Alice wished to know if she should
see him in heaven. They have both spoken to me of the sad event since.

" It was a great trial for my dear wife : her affectionate attached heart,
was plunged in grief. Her love for her dear father was without
any othev feeling— and I think she finds consolation in the sad comfort
that he had seen her children, and had loved them as well as her, before
he left us."

April 12, 1850. "Persuaded as I am in my own mind that your late
excellent husband has entered into the rest which remaineth for the
people of God, still I cannot but condole with you upon the heavy lo8»
which it has pleased God you should sustain in his sudden removal from
your little happy circle. To a mind piously disposed, such as yours, it
must at least be an alleviation of distress when the thought is present,
that the wound thus inflicted has been caused by One who makes all
things work together for His people's good — by One who will not afflict
yv.u beyond what you are able to bear ; and I trust that ere this you will
have experienced, in some measure, a fulfilment of those words of the
prophet, that " though the Lord hath torn he will heal, though he hath
smitten he will bind up." In death itself there is, no doubt, a sting,
and that sting is sin ; but you have every reason to rejoice in the know-
ledge of the comforting fact, that your late partner could look upon the
last enemy as a conquered foe. He has fallen ' asleep in Jesus,' and
them that ' sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.' Therefore take
comfort from the happy assurance of these comforting words.

Edmund W. Sewell."

To Mrs. E. W. Sewell.

"May I request the favour of you, in writing to Mrs. Durnford, or any of
your family at home, to convey to them the expression of my sincera con-
dolence upon occasion of the heavy bereavement with which it has
pleased God that they should be visited, and of my affectionate respect
for the memory of the deceased, whom I always regarded as among ' the
excellent of the earth,' and who, I am well persuaded, is now numbered
ariong those who have ' died in faith," and await, through Christ, a
' resurrection to immortal glory.'

" G. J. Montreal."

H
l{

My dear mother survived my father three years; she expired June
27, 1853, and the same tomb contains both their remains, in Trinity
Church yard, at Tunbridge Wells.

S48

" My dear Miss Durnpoud and Miss Jane Durnford, — I
could not hear of your having affliction without feeling it to be a loss
also to myself; but I am most deeply grieved, my dear ladies, for your
most painful bereavement. I truly sympathize with you ; but I grieve
to^ think how little comfort this can give you. However, I console myself
with the thought that you will be led to seek consolation where alone it
is to be found, and v:here it can never be sought for in vain. May you
be mercifully supported in this trying time. I trust, my dear Miss
Durnfords, you will not think me intrusive or troublesome, in thus ventur-
ing to address you. I hardly know how to resist writing a few lines, to
tell you how much I felt for you in your distress. I will not add more —
except to beg of you not to think of writing to me in reply. I would
not pain you by asking it ; I do not, in the least, expect you to attempt
it ; it would be much too painful a task for you, I well know, at least,
at present, or for some time to come.

" I cannot but say that I am very anxious to hear how you are in health
and spirits also, after the anxieties, watchings, and many painful scenes
you must have passed through ; but I shall find some other means of
hearing of you. My mother begs me to give her kindest regards; and
with my kind love to the two young ladies, my younger friends, I remain,

" Yoiirs most sincerely,

"S. B. Saint."

Groombridge Place, July 4, 1853.

This amiable young lady, now no more, was daughter to the heiress of
Groombridge Place, which Evelyn, in his diary, mentions as a house built
within a moat, in a woody valley ; and was the place where the Duke of
Orleans was confined when taken by one Waller, at the battle of Agincourt.

Dear Miss Durnford, — Most sincerely do we all sympathize with
you and your sister in your present affliction, of which we heard, with
real concern, on our return home on Thursday evening. In our absence
we had heard so favourable a report of your dear mother, whom you had
both been nursing and tending with such filial aflfection, that I can
imagine you had also entertained hopes of a recovery ; and the shock,
therefore, must have been the greater to you. But the' dear sufferer,
now no longer such, but, as we confidently hope, in rest and peace, would
bid you not to mourn for her, but to anticipate that future reunion, the
hope of which is graciously given to console us under our sad bereave-
ments and trials : our merciful and loving Saviour, who has himself so
deeply drunk the cup of human woe, is ever a present help in time of
trouble, and such he will prove to you. I am truly sorry to find that
your health, and that of your sister has failed so much, but I hope for
a better account. Can I, or my daughters, be of the least service to you
in any way ? It would give us much pleasure, if we could be of any use
in lessening your fatigue and anxiety. Do not trouble yourself to send

249

RD, — I

be a loss
for your
I grieve
le myself

alone it
May you
jar Miss
3 ventur-

lines, to
I more —

I would
t attempt

at least,

in health
ul scenes
means of
rds; and
I remain,

ilNT."

ciress of
se built
)uke of
incourt.

Iiizc with
d, with
absence
you had
I can
shock,
sufferer,
e, would
ion, the
)ereaye-
mself so
time of
ind that
lope for
c to you
any use
to send

more than a verbal reply to this. My daughters unit ' 'and, sympa-
thizing regards to you both, with, Yours truly,

Charlotte Harrison."

9 Calverloy Par?de.

The dear old lady, who wrce this affectionate note, was the near
neighbour of her whose loss she deplored, and did . ot long survive her.
Like my mother, she was remarkable for her beauty.

" 27, Grove St., Leamington, July 5, 1853.

" I do sympathize with you in this great loss. We know we are all in
the hands of a merciful and loving Father, who hath promised to comfort
all those who seek Him, when heavy laden. I know your trust is in
Him ; may He, my dear friends^ support you in all this, and in every
sorrow. You have much to comfort you in this sad bereavement — oh !
how much more than maay who are called upon to part with a parent,
and who must mourn with very little hope. Oh, how different is your
case ! feeling, as you must, this change is for your good parent's very
great gain — that she is called to receive her reward. She has left but
few behind that can equal her in many things : it can be truly said of
your inestimable mother, '' she has faithfully served her generation."

" There certainly would be great comfort in all trials, if we could but feel
that all things are under His control, who never willingly afflicts His
people ; and that, in all our trials and disappointments, there is much
mercy and love ! I am, myself, striving to attain to this very desirable
and exalted realization, in my own trial, which has been very great, and
with very aggravated circumstances, which, in your affliction, you have
been spared. I am certain you have had great anxiety and much fatigue,
and I fear you have no dear friend to remind you of yourselves, or to
watch your needs just now. Oh ! that we were near you in this trying
time, when real friends are so much required ! I have found this blessing
in my need, in our dear friends, the Tuckers, who, like the good Sama-
ritan, pour tho oil into the wounded heart; and, from bitter experience,
know how to pity and how to soothe. Tf we can, at this distance, be of
any service to you, do, my dear friends, command us. There is no one
thing in our affliction so assuasive, as to endeavour to lessen the sorrows
or difficulties of others ! The time has been when I should have hastened
to you ; bui that time has passed, and I can only now pray for you and
sympathize with you ; and this I do fervently and sincerely.

"Eliza DuNscoMB."

" Headcorn Vicarage, July 4, 1853.
'* Mt Dear Miss J. Durnford, — Your sad letter of last Saturday,
received this morning, has given us quite a shock. We had seen nothing
of the melancholy event in the newspapers, and had hoped, from not
hearing further from you, that your dear mother was getting over her
previous severe attack, and had the prospect of some years more of this

i"'

X-* '.'■'T'.'..g

rsassm

250

' I

'If

lis

life before her. But it has pleased the Lord otherwise, in his love and
wisdom ; and it is among His other mercies that she has been taken
away without pain and suffering. What a glorious change it is to the
believer in Christ ! At one moment perplexed with the cares and trou-
bles of life, cast down, though not forsaken ; at the next, wearing the
garments of salvation, attended by those who are * ministering angels,
sent forth to minister to the heirs of salvation,' placed at the right hand
of the Father, comely in the comeliness of Jesus, ' accepted in the
Beloved,' and made one with Him in glory, and honour, and immortality t
While we deeply mourn over the bereavement of the living who remain,
we cannot mourn as those who have no hope, over those who fall asleep
in Jesua.

** It will be a satisfaction to me, though a sad one, to pay the last tri-
bute of respect to your dear departed mother, for whom I ever enter-
tained the highest esteem and respect, and thank you for giving me the
opportunity to do so.

"My dear wife joins with me in the deepest sympathy for you all.
May the Lord keep and guide you, and give you the blessing of His
spiritual riches and grace, in and through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Henry D. Sewell."

" Mornington Koad, Regent's Park, July 1.

" My Dear Jane, — I was exceedingly shocked last evening to see in
the paper the death of your excellent mother. Believe me, my dear
Jane, I most truly sympathize with you and your sisters in your sad be-
reavement, having myself experienced the same bitter trial ; and you, like
myself, are left without brothers ir. this country to assist you, and with
only your sister to share your sorrow. May God support you and com-
fort you. I should like to have, seen your dear mother once more. I
have never forgotten her kindness to me when I was in bad health, and
when I was in sorrow for the sudden death of my eldest brother.

" Yours very affectionately, Laura Burton."

" Gloucester-place, Portman-square, July 8, 1853.

" My Dear Jane, — You have been much in my thoughts, my dear
friends, since I heard of your sad bereavement, and you have my heart-
felt sympathy on the occasion. We cannot grieve for your dear mother,
as she is now blessed and happy with her Saviour, free from pain and
care ; but the void that must be in your hearts must be sad, and you
must grieve for the loss of such a mother and friend as she has been.
May God bless you, and comfort and direct you in your future trials.
Think of me with affection, and believe that nothing can be sweeter to me
than to be of use to the daughters of so sweet and much valued a friend,
independent of my regard for you.

" Ever your attached friend, Mary Brooking."

251

" For the last six weeks I Lave been very anxious that my pen should
express to you the dt ep sympathy and interest I felt for you and your
sister, as I was prevented seeing you before I left Tunbridge Wells,
having left home earlier than usual, and with inconvenient suddenness,
too early after the period of your sad calamity to admit of my seeing
you when I called at your door to inquire for your sorrowing party, and
then I grieved to find that you and your sister were both physically as
well as mentally suffering ; and no wonder, after the painful scenes you
had been called on to go through, and the severing of one of the dearest
and closest ties of nature. Believe me, dear Miss Jane, few of your
friends sympathize and feel more truly for you than I do, and greatly
interested shall I feel in hearing from you, whenever you feel disposed
to give me some intelligence of your sister and yourself; and sincerely do
I hope that you will be able to tell me that time has already begun its
friendly oflSce of smoothing the keen edge of sorrow, and that Miss Durn-
ford's and your health is beginning to recover its usual tone. Deep and
heavy must indeed be your sorrow, but you have the blessed support of
the Christian's hope; may that sustain and strengthen you both. In
your departed parent I feel I have lost a kind and partial friend, one for
whom I, in common with all who had the pleasure of her acquaintance,
had much esteem ; still it is indeed satisfactory to recall that our loss is
her gain. Your dear young folks, I apprehend, must have been suffer-
ing, in common with yourselves ; but, at their age, tears are soon wiped
away, though doubtless, through life, they will recall the memory of their
sainted grandmother with that grateful veneration her maternal kindness
and love claimed from them. Pray offer my kindest regards to your
Bister and nieces ; and, with every good wish, believe me, my dear Misa
Jane, affectionately yours, Maria Whitblockk.

" Foston Rectory, August 13."

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252

SECTION XX.

DURNFORD PEDIGREE.

When my father turned his attention to the claims of the heirs
of Thomas Durnford, prior to proceeding further it became necessary to
obtain the baptismal registry of each ; in procuring these, he had some
trouble, attended with considerable expense, but he regarded neither, for
the inquiry was full of interest to him. lie says in his " Autobiog-
raphy," I have traced my ancestry back to 1590, and probably he would
have carried the searoh much farther, but that it was attended with
expense. The essential result of his labours is subjoined.

The Doomsday Book mentions, as then existing in the three adjoining
parishes of Sarisburie ; now Stratford, Darneford, now Durnford ; and of
Ambresbury, no less than 17 mills." — Duke's II. of J. II.

" Roger de Derneford, in 12 of Henry II., held the fifth part of a
knight's fee in the county of Wilts, of Patrick, Earl of Salisbury." —
Liber niger Scaccarig, p<tge 108.

" Stephen V urnford was Sheriff of Devon, 6, Henry V., his arms sable,
a ram's hcA, erased argent, horns or." — Isaac's Antiquities of Exeter.

Extract from Lyson's Brittaimia, under the head of Plymouth, Devon.

" Among the great Cornish landholders of the present day, we may
reckon Earl Montedgecombe, who possesses the ancient patrimony of his
family at Cotehill, and the Durnford estates, the more valuable part of
which is on the Devonshire side of the water, comprising the town of
Stonehouse, and the Montedgecombe Estate, &c., &c., arms, &c., being the
Ram, whose heiress Durnford married Cuthbert Fisher, Esq., Chief
Clerk, Treasurer's office. Ordnance, Streatham, Norwood." — Tewkesbicri/
Glossary.

Another Extract. On the origin of the surname. Its use was merely
limited to the Lord of the Parochial Town or Mill, as Edwardas de Sar-
isberrie, Ricardas de Derneford.

" Sir Thomas Arundel, ancestor to the Lord Arundel of Trerice, married
Mary, daughter of Thomas Durnford, of the county of Somerset." — Col-
lins' Peerage, Art. 7, page 171.

" Sir Piers Edgecombe, of Mount Edgecombe, Devon, H. B., married
to his first wife, Jane, daughter and heir of Stephen Durnford, of East
Stonehouse in the same county, by his wife, the daughter of Rame, of
Rame, Esq. Sir Piers died August 31, of Henry Y III. "—Collins'
Peerage, vol. 7, p. 341.

Extract from the Survey of Cornwall by Richard Carew, of Antonie,
Esq.

" The first promontory of this harbour, speaking of Plymouth, on the
west side, is Rame Head, by his proportion receiving by his possession
giving that name and arms to his owner, whose posterity conveyed it by

253

he heirs
essary to
lad some
ither, for
Lutobiog-
he would
ied with

adjoining
i ; and of

)art of a
ibury." —

ms sable,
)/ Exeter.
h, Devon.
, we may
)ny of his
B part of

town of
being the
^., Chief

okesburi/

IS merely
,s de Sar-

, ))

married
Col-

married
of East
lame, of
-Collins*

Antonie,

h, on the
)ossession
jred it by

intermarriages from Durnford to Edgecombe. On the top thereof,
riseth a lit/tle vaulted chapel, which serveth for a mark at sea." —
Book 2, page 99.

" Heniy Derneford, of Sherborn, in the county of Dorset, compounded
with the rarliament sequestrators for his estate in the sum of £281." —
List of Compounders.

" William Durr.fcd, vjf North Edbury, in the county of Somerset,
compounded in like manner for his, in the sum of £50." — Ibid.

" On Septcaibcr 14, 1062, several persons assembled in a riotous
manner at the house of one Hesneb, a quaker, at Southampton. Four-
teen were apprehended by the Mayor, the principal of which were, one
Emery, a lut . ( !api;iiu of Oliver Cromwell, and one Durnford, a lieutenant
in that cause." — Krnnett^s Chronicle.

" Armh Durnford of Devon, sable, a ram's head, cab argent, attired
or. ' ' — Edmii ndson's Heraldry.

Account of the Durnfords of North Edbury, Somersetshire.

Extract of a letter from Rev. John Askew :

" The register in many places is not legible to my eyes, for I cannot so
easily make out the antiquarian manner of writing. I do not find any
monumental inscriptions, which I wonder at, as your family must have
been, ancient inhabitants of this parish. There are lands v.hich are
called by the name of Durnford's grounds. I do not find the name after
the year 1683."

It is from William Durnford the present family trace their descent,
though neither registry nor inscription directly relating to him liave'been
discovered, probably owing to the reason given by the incumbent of the
parish, the Kev, John Askew.

In tlie registry, among many others, are the following names : —

Eliza, daughter of William Durnford, baptized 1595.

Maria, daughter of William Durnford, baptized 1598.

William Durnford, Church Warden, 1615.

Thomas Clothier and Eliza Durnford, married 1618.

Joane, daughter of John Durnford, baptized 1627.

Andrew Durnford, buried 1642.

Edith Durnford, buried 1634.

Edith Durnford, baptized 1663.

Robert, son of William Durnford, baptized 1675.

William Mathews and Edith Durnford, married 1683.

Eleanor, daughter of William Durnford, buried 168.^

Mary Durnford, married William Goodall, 1694. She afterwards mar-
ried William Vannes, an attendant of King William. They were parted,
and she lived at Wick. They were buried in Sopley Church.

This branch of the family left Eadbury to settle at Andover. The
first traced there is John Durnford, buried 1653. This John Durnford,
it is supposed, was eldest son to William Durnford, traced to have been
church warden, 1615.

The son of John, also John Durnford, married first Martha Philpot,
at Andover, 1683. He again married Mary Lancaster, 1690.

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' t If

264

HiB son, Thomas Dumford, baptized at Andovor, June 14, 1^84,
married, at Eppingham, May 16, 1719, Mary Lane, whoso father, Elias
Lane, died at Thornford, near Shorborn, aged llOyexrs, March 28,
1752. — GcntferrKin's Magazine, By this wife Thomas Dumford had a
fortune of £8,000 and a small estate at Wick. She was buried at Ring-
wood, November 18, 1734. By this wife ho had two sons. Ho was
buried at llingwood, December 21, 1737.

Elias Dumford, bom at llingwood 1720.

Andrew Dumford, bom 1728, married Joanna Swaine, October 20,
1760. His son, Thomas Dumford, died at New Orleans, unmarried,
and without leaving a will. May 23, 1826.

Elias Dumford, born November 1, 1715, married Martha Gannaway,
at Rockbury, 1738. After the year 1744 he appears to have removed to
Norwood, where he subsequently resided. He was buried at Streatham,
May, 1774 ; his wife was buried at the same place, December, 1780.
They had four sons — Elias, Thomas, Andrew, Clark.

Elias Dumford, their eldest son, bom at Ringwood June 13, 1739.

CkntJemmCs Magaeine, 1769, July, — Elias Durnford, Esq., appointed
Lieutenant-Governor of West Florida.

U '

4.1 ;:

' if

14, 1684,
iher, Elias
^arch 28,
brd had a
i at Ring-
Ho was

jtober 20,
ininarried,

Jannaway,
■emoved to
Jtreathain,
ber, 1780.

J, 1739.
appointed