Toronto of Old Collections and recollections illustrative of the early settlement and social life of the capital of Ontario (part 3 of 5)

Toronto of Old Collections and recollections illustrative of the early settlement and social life of the capital of Ontario (part 3 of 5)

In the meadow on the left, just above the Ford, a little meandering brook, abounding in trout, entered the Don. Hereabouts also was, for a long while, a rustic bridge over the main river, formed by trees felled across the stream.

Proceeding on our way we now in a short time approached the great colony of the Helliwells, which has already been described. The mills and manufactories established here by that enterprising family constituted quite a conspicuous village. A visit to this cluster of buildings, in 1827, is described by Mr. W. L. Mackenzie, in his "Sketches of Canada," published in London, by Effingham Wilson, in 1833. At page 270 of that work, the writer says: "About three miles out of town, in the bottom of a deep ravine, watered by the river Don, and bounded also by beautiful and verdant flats, are situated the York Paper Mills, distillery and grist-mill of Messrs. Eastwood & Co.; also Mr. Shepard's axe-grinding machinery; and Messrs. Helliwell's large and extensive Brewery. I went out to view these improvements a few days ago, and returned much gratified with witnessing the paper-manufacture in active operation--as also the bold and pleasant scenery on the banks of the Don. The river might be made navigable with small expense up to the brewery; and if the surrounding lands were laid out in five-acre lots all the way to town, they would sell to great advantage."

XVIII.

QUEEN STREET, FROM THE DON BRIDGE TO CAROLINE STREET.

We return once more to the Don Bridge; and from that point commence a journey westward along the thoroughfare now known as Queen Street, but which at the period at present occupying our attention, was non-existent. The region through which we at first pass was long known as the Park. It was a portion of Government property not divided into lots and sold, until recent times.

Originally a great space extending from the first Parliament houses, bounded southward and eastward by the water of the Bay and Don, and northward by the Castle Frank lot, was set apart as a "Reserve for Government Buildings," to be, it may be, according to the idea of the day, a small domain of woods and forest in connection with them; or else to be converted in the course of time into a source of ways and means for their erection and maintenance. The latter appears to have been the view taken of this property in 1811. We have seen a plan of that date, signed "T. Ridout, S. G.," shewing this reserve divided into a number of moderate sized lots, each marked with "the estimated yearly rent, in dollars, as reported by the Deputy Surveyor [Samuel S. Wilmot]." The survey is therein stated to have been made "by order of His Excellency Francis Gore, Esq., Lieutenant-Governor."

The number of the lots is eighty-three. None of them bear a larger amount than twenty dollars. Some of them consisting of minute bits of marsh, were expected to yield not more than one dollar. The revenue from the whole if realised would have been eleven hundred and thirty-three dollars. In this plan, what is now Queen street is duly laid down, in direct continuation of the Kingston Road westward, without regard to the engineering difficulties presented by ravines; but it is entitled in large letters, "Dundas Street." On its north side lie forty-six, and on its south, thirty-seven of the small lots into which the whole reserve is divided The scheme was never carried into effect.

The Park, as we remember it, was a tract of land in a state of nature, densely covered, towards the north, with massive pines; and towards the south, with a thick secondary growth of the same forest tree. Through these woods ran a devious and rather obscure track, originating in the bridle-road cut out, before the close of the preceding century, to Castle Frank; one branch led off from it to the Playter-estate, passing down and up two very steep and difficult precipices; and another, trending to the west and north, conducted the wayfarer to a point on Yonge Street about where Yorkville is now to be seen.

To the youthful imagination, the Park, thus clothed with veritable forest--

The nodding horror of whose shady brows Awed the forlorn and wandering passenger--

and traversed by irregular, ill-defined and very solitary paths, leading to widely-separated localities, seemed a vast and rather mysterious region, the place which immediately flashed on the mind, whenever in poem or fairy tale, a wild or wold or wilderness was named. As time rolled on, too, it actually became the haunt and hiding-place of lawless characters.

After passing, on our left, the burial-plot attached to the first Roman Catholic Church of York, and arriving where Parliament Street, at the present day, intersects, we reached the limit, in that direction, of the "Reserve for Government Buildings." Stretching from the point indicated, there was on the right side of the way, a range of "park lots," extending some two miles to the west, all bounded on the south by what at the present time is Queen Street, but which, from being the great thoroughfare along the front of this very range, was long known as "Lot Street." (In the plan above spoken of, it is marked, as already stated, "Dundas Street," it being a section of the great military way, bearing that name, projected by the first Governor of Upper Canada to traverse the whole province from west to east, as we shall have occasion hereafter to narrate.)

In the early plan of this part of York, the names of the first locatees of the range of park-lots are given. On the first or easternmost lot we read that of John Small. On the next, that of J. White.

In this collocation of names there is something touching, when we recall an event in which the first owners of these two contiguous lots were tragically concerned. Friends, and associates in the Public Service, the one as Clerk of the Crown, the other as Attorney-General for Upper Canada, from 1792-1800, their dream, doubtless, was to pass the evening of their days in pleasant suburban villas placed here side by side in the outskirts of the young capital. But there arose between them a difficulty, trivial enough probably at the beginning, but which, according to the barbaric conventionality of the hour, could only be finally settled by a "meeting," as the phrase was, in the field, where chance was to decide between them, for life or death, as between two armies--two armies reduced to the absurdity of each consisting of one man. The encounter took place in a pleasant grove at the back of the Parliament Building, immediately to the east of it, between what is now King Street and the water's edge. Mr. White was mortally wounded and soon expired. At his own request his remains were deposited in his garden on the park-lot, beneath a summer-house to which he had been accustomed to retire for purposes of study.

The Oracle of Saturday, January 4, 1800, records the duel in the following words:--"Yesterday morning a duel was fought back of the Government Buildings by John White, Esq., his Majesty's Attorney-General, and John Small, Esq., Clerk of the Executive Council, wherein the former received a wound above the right hip, which it is feared will prove mortal." In the issue of the following Saturday, January 11th, the announcement appears:--"It is with much regret that we express to the public, the death of John White, Esq." It is added: "His remains were on Tuesday evening interred in a small octagon building, erected on the rear of his Park lot." "The procession," the Oracle observes, "was solemn and pensive; and shewed that though death, 'all eloquent,' had seized upon him as his victim, yet it could not take from the public mind the lively sense of his virtues. Vivit post funera virtus."

The Constellation at Niagara, of the date January 11th, 1800, also records the event, and enjoying a greater liberty of expression than the Government organ at York, indulges in some just and sensible remarks on the irrational practice of duelling in general, and on the sadness of the special case which had just occurred. We give the Constellation article:

"Died at York, on the 3rd instant, John White, Esq., Attorney-General of this Province. His death was occasioned by a wound he received in a duel fought the day before with John Small, Esq., Clerk of the Executive Council, by whom he was challenged. We have not been able to obtain the particulars of the cause of the dispute; but be the origin what it may, we have to lament the toleration and prevalency of a custom falsely deemed honourable, or the criterion of true courage, innocency or guilt, a custom to gratify the passion of revenge in a single person, to the privation of the country and a family, of an ornament of society, and support: an outrage on humanity that is too often procured by the meanly malicious, who have preferment in office or friendship in view, without merit to gain it, and stupidly lacquey from family to family, or from person to person, some wonderful suspicion, the suggestions of a soft head and evil heart; and it is truly unfortunate for Society that the evil they bring on others should pass by their heads to light on those the world could illy spare. We are unwilling to attribute to either the Attorney-General or Mr. Small any improprieties of their own, or to say on whom the blame lies; but of this we feel assured, that an explanation might easily have been brought about by persons near to them, and a valuable life preserved to us. The loss is great; as a professional gentleman, the Attorney-General was eminent, as a friend, sincere; and in whatever relation he stood was highly esteemed; an honest and upright man, a friend to the poor; and dies universally lamented and we here cannot refuse to mention, at the particular request of some who have experienced his goodness, that he has refused taking fees, and discharged suits at law, by recommending to the parties, and assisting them with friendly advice, to an amicable adjustment of their differences: and this is the man whom we have lost!"

For his share in the duel Mr. Small was, on the 20th January, 1800, indicted and tried before Judge Allcock and a jury, of which Mr. Wm. Jarvis was the foreman. The verdict rendered was "Not Guilty." The seconds were--Mr. Sheriff Macdonell for Mr. Small, and the Baron DeHoen for Mr. White.

(In 1871, as some labourers were digging out sand, for building purposes, they came upon the grave of Attorney-General White. The remains were carefully removed under the inspection of Mr. Clarke Gamble, and deposited in St. James' Cemetery.)

Mr. White's park-lot became afterwards the property of Mr. Samuel Ridout, sometime Sheriff of the County, of whom we have had occasion to speak already. A portion of it was subsequently owned and built on by Mr. Edward McMahon, an Irish gentleman, long well known and greatly respected as Chief Clerk in the Attorney General's office. Mr. McMahon's name was, for a time, preserved in that of a street which here enters Queen Street from the North.

Sherborne Street, which at present divides the White park-lot from Moss Park commemorates happily the name of the old Dorsetshire home of the main stem of the Canadian Ridouts. The original stock of this family still flourishes in the very ancient and most interesting town of Sherborne, famous as having been in the Saxon days the see of a bishop; and possessing still a spacious and beautiful minster, familiarly known to architects as a fine study.

Like some other English names, transplanted to the American continent, that of this Dorsetshire family has assumed here a pronunciation slightly different from that given to it by its ancient owners. What in Canada is Ri-dout, at Sherborne and its neighbourhood, is Rid-out.

On the park-lot which constituted the Moss-Park Estate, the name of D. W. Smith appears in the original plan. Mr. D. W. Smith was acting Surveyor-General in 1794. He was the author of "A Short Topographical Description of His Majesty's Province of Upper Canada in North America, to which is annexed a Provincial Gazetteer:"--a work of considerable antiquarian interest now, preserving as it does, the early names, native, French and English, of many places now known by different appellations. A second edition was published in London in 1813, and was designed to accompany the new map published in that year by W. Faden, Geographer to the King and Prince Regent. The original work was compiled at the desire of Governor Simcoe, to illustrate an earlier map of Upper Canada.

We have spoken already in our progress through Front Street, of the subsequent possessor of Mr. Smith's lot, Col. Allan. The residence at Moss Park was built by him in comparatively recent times. The homestead previously had been, as we have already seen, at the foot of Frederick Street, on the south-east corner. To the articles of capitulation on the 27th April, 1813, surrendering the town of York to Dearborn and Chauncey, the commanders of the United States force, the name of Col. Allan, at the time Major Allan, is appended, following that of Lieut.-Col. Chewett.

Besides the many capacities in which Col. Allan did good service to the community, as detailed during our survey of Front Street, he was also, in 1801, Returning Officer on the occasion of a public election. In the Oracle of the 20th of June, 1801, we have an advertisement signed by him as Returning Officer for the "County of Durham, the East Riding of the County of York, and the County of Simcoe"--which territories conjointly are to elect one member. Mr. Allan announces that he will be in attendance "on Thursday, the 2nd day of July next, at 10 o'clock in the forenoon, at the Hustings under the Colonnade of the Government Buildings in the Town of York--and proceed to the election of one Knight to represent the said county, riding and county in the House of Assembly, whereof all freeholders of the said county, riding and county, are to take notice and attend accordingly."

The writ, issuing from "His Excellency, Peter Hunter, Esq.," directs the returning officer "to cause one Knight, girt with a sword, the most fit and discreet, to be freely and indifferently chosen to represent the aforesaid county, riding and county, in Assembly, by those who shall be present on the day of election."

Two candidates presented themselves, Mr. A. Macdonell and Mr. J. Small. Mr. Macdonell was duly elected, "there appearing for him," we are briefly informed in a subsequent number of the Oracle, "112 unquestionable votes; and for J. Small, Esq. 32: majority, 80."

In 1804 there was another election, when the candidates were Mr. A. Macdonell again, Mr. D. W. Smith, of whom above, and Mr. Weekes. The address of the last-named gentleman is in the Oracle of May 24th. It is addressed to the Free and Independent Electors of the East Riding of York. He says: "I stand unconnected with any party, unsupported by any influence, and unambitious of any patronage, other than the suffrages of those who consider the impartial enjoyment of their rights, and the free exercise of their privileges as objects not only worthy of the vigilance of the legislator, but also essential to their political security and to their local prosperity. The opportunity of addressing myself to men who may be inclined to think with freedom, and to act with independency, is to me truly desirable; and the receiving of the countenance and support of those characters, must ever bear in my mind impressions more than gratifying."

"It will not accord with my sentiments," the address proceeds to say, "to express myself in the usual terms of zeal and fidelity of an election candidate; inasmuch as that the principle of previous assurances has frequently, in the exercise of the functions of a representative, have been either forgotten or occasionally abandoned; but I hope it will not be considered vaunting in me to assert that that zeal and the fidelity which have manifested themselves in the discharge of my duty to my clients, will not be abated in supporting a more important trust--the cause of the public!"

In the Oracle of April 7th is an address put forth by friends on the part of Mr. D. W. Smith, who is at the moment absent. It is "to the free and independent electors of the County of Durham, the East Riding of the County of York, and the County of Simcoe." It runs as follows: "The friends of the Hon. D. W. Smith beg leave to offer that gentleman to represent you in the ensuing Parliament. His honour, integrity and ability, and the essential services which, in different capacities, he hath rendered to the Province, are so well known and felt that his friends consider the mentioning of his name only to be the most powerful solicitation which they can use on the present occasion, to obtain for him your favour and suffrage." To this address the following paragraph is added on May the 5th: "The friends of Mr. Smith consider it as their duty further to intimate, that from late accounts received from him in England, it was his determination to set out from that country so as to arrive here early in the summer of this present year."

On the 2nd of May Mr. Macdonell's address came out. He speaks like a practised orator, accustomed to the outside as well as the interior of the House. He delivers himself in the following vigorous style:--

"To the Worthy Inhabitants of the East Riding of the County of York, and Counties of Durham and Simcoe: Friends and Fellow Subjects. In addressing you by appellations unusual, I believe, on similar occasions, no affectation of singularity has dictated the innovation: my terms flow from a more dignified principle, a purer source of ideas, from a sentiment of liberal and extensive affection, which embraces and contemplates not only such of you as by law are qualified to vote, but also such as a contracted and short-sighted policy has restrained from the immediate enjoyment of that privilege. Your interests, inseparably the same, and alike dear and interesting to me, have always been equally my care; and your good-will shall indiscriminately be gratifying, whether accompanied with the ability of advancing my present pursuit, or confined to the wishes of my succeeding in it.

"The anxious anticipation of events, which has engaged so many persons unto such early struggles to supplant me, forces me also to anticipate the dissolution of parliament, in declaring my disposition to continue (if supported by my friends at the next general election) in that situation which I have now the honour of filling in parliament; a situation, which the majority of suffrages which placed me in it, justifies the honest pride of supposing, was not obtained without merit, and inspires the natural confidence of presuming, will not be lost without a fault.

"I stoop with reluctance, gentlemen, to animadvert upon some puny fabrications calculated to mislead your judgment, and alienate your favour. It has been said that I am canvassing for a seat elsewhere. No! gentlemen: the satisfaction, the pride, of representing that division of this Province, which, comprehending the capital, is consequently the political head, is to me, too captivating an object of political ambition to suffer the view of it to be intercepted in my imagination for a moment, by the prospect of any inferior representation. Be assured, therefore, gentlemen, that I shall not forsake my present post, until you or life shall have forsaken me.

"Another calumny of a darker hue has been fabricated. I have been represented as inimical to the provincial statute which restrains many worthy persons migrating into this Province from voting at elections, under a residence of seven years. A more insidious, a more bare-faced falsehood, never issued from the lips of malice; for during every session of my sitting in parliament, I have been the warmest, and loudest advocate for repealing that statute and for rendering taxation and representation reciprocal.

"I shall notice a third expedient, in attempting which, detraction (by resorting to an imposture so gross as to carry its own refutation upon the very face of it) has effectually avowed its own impotency:--It has been whispered that I have endeavoured to increase the general rate of assessments within the Home District. Wretched misrepresentation! I should have been my own enemy indeed, if I had lent myself to such a measure. On the contrary; my maxim has been, and shall ever continue to be, that so much of the public burden as possible should be shifted from the shoulders of the industrious farmers and mechanics, upon those of the more opulent classes of the community; persons with large salaries and lucrative employments: the shallow artifice of these exploded lies suggests this natural reflection, that slander could find no real foundation to build upon, when reduced to the necessity of rearing its fabrics upon visions.

"To conclude, gentlemen, I have no interests separate from yours, no country but that which we inhabit in common. In all situations, under all circumstances, I have been the friend of the people and the votary of their rights. I have never changed with the times, nor shifted sides with the occasion; and you may therefore reasonably confide that I shall always be, gentlemen, your most devoted and most attached servant, A. Macdonell, York, 2nd May, 1804."

An attempt had also been made to induce Mr. R. Henderson to become a candidate at this election. He explained the reason why he declined to come forward, in the following card:--"The subscriber thinks it a duty incumbent on him thus publicly to notify his friends who wished him to stand as a candidate at the ensuing election for York and its adjacent counties; that he declines standing, having special business that causes his absence at the time of the election. He hopes that his friends will be pleased to accept of his grateful acknowledgments for the honour they wished to confer on him. But as there are several candidates who solicit the suffrages of the Public, they cannot be at a loss. He leaves you, gentlemen, to the freedom of your own will. He has only to observe that were he present on the day of election, he would give his vote to the Honourable David William Smith. I am, Gentlemen, your obedient and obliged servant, R. Henderson, York, 26th May, 1804."

Mr. Henderson's occupation was afterwards that of a local army contractor, &c., as may be gathered from an advertisement which is to be observed in the Oracle of September 6, 1806:--"Notice. The subscriber having got the contract for supplying His Majesty's troops at the garrison with fresh beef, takes the liberty of informing the public that he has engaged a person to superintend the butchering business, and that good fresh beef may be had three times a week. Fresh pork and mutton will be always ready on a day's notice; poultry, &c. Those gentlemen who may be pleased to become customers, may rely on being well served, and regularly supplied. If constant customers, &c., a note of the weight will be sent along with the article. Families becoming constant customers, will please to send a book by their servant, to have it entered, to prevent any mistakes. The business will commence on Monday, the 1st of September next. R. Henderson, York, Aug. 28, 1806."

The grazing ground of Mr. Henderson's fat cattle was extensive. In the same paper we have a notice bearing his signature, announcing that "the subscriber has a considerable number of fat cattle running at large between the town and the Humber. They are all branded on the horns with R. H." The notice continues: "If any of said cattle should be offered for sale to butchers or others, it is hoped no one will purchase them, as they may suppose them to be stolen. A number of fat cattle is still wanted, for which cash will be paid."

The result of the election at York in 1804 is announced in the Oracle of June 16. As was probably to be expected, Mr. Macdonell was the man returned. Thus runs the paragraph: "On Monday last the 11th instant, the election of a Knight to represent the counties of Durham and Simcoe and the East Riding of the County of York, took place at the Government Buildings in this town. At the close of the poll, Angus Macdonell was declared to be duly elected to represent the said counties and riding. We have not yet been able to collect any further returns," the Editor adds, "but as soon as practicable they will be laid before the public."

On the 4th of the following August, accordingly, the following complete list was given of members returned at the election of 1804. Alexander Macdonell and W. B. Wilkinson, Esqrs., Glengarry and Prescott. Robert Isaac D. Grey, Esq., Stormont and Russell. John Chrysler, Dundas. Samuel Sherwood, Esq., Grenville. Peter Howard, Esq., Leeds. Allan McLean, Esq., Frontenac. Thomas Dorland, Esq., Lennox and Addington. Ebenezer Washburn, Esq., Prince Edward. David McGregor Rogers, Esq., Hastings and Northumberland. Angus Macdonell, Esq., Durham, Simcoe and East Riding of York. Solomon Hill and Robert Nelles, Esqrs., West Riding of York, First Lincoln, and Haldimand. Isaac Swayzey and Ralph Clench, Esqs., 2nd, 3rd and 4th Ridings of Lincoln. Benaiah Mallory, Esq., Norfolk, Oxford and Middlesex. John McGregor, Esq., Kent. Matthew Elliott and David Cowan, Esqrs., Essex.

The Mr. Weekes who, as we have seen, was an unsuccessful candidate for a seat in parliament in 1804 was nevertheless a member of the House in 1806, representing the constituencies to which he had previously offered himself. In 1806 he was killed in a duel with Mr. Dickson at Niagara, another victim to the peculiar social code of the day, which obliged gentlemen on certain occasions of difference to fire pistols at each other. In the Oracle of the 11th of October, 1806, we read the announcement: "Died on Friday, the 10th instant, at night, in consequence of a wound received that morning in a duel, William Weekes, Esq., Barrister-at-law, and a Member of the House of Assembly for the counties of York, Durham and Simcoe." In the next issue of the paper, dated October 25, 1806, we have a second record of the event in the following terms, with a eulogy on Mr. Weekes' character: "It is with sentiments of the deepest regret that we announce to the public the death of William Weekes, Esq., Barrister-at-law in this Province; not only from the melancholy circumstances attendant on his untimely death, but also from a view of the many virtues this Province is deprived of by that death. In him the orphan has lost a father, the widow a friend, the injured a protector, society a pleasing and safe companion, and the Bar one of its ablest advocates. Mr. Weekes was honest without the show of ostentation. Wealth and splendour held no lure for him; nor could any pecuniary motives induce him to swerve in the smallest degree from that which he conceived to be strictly honourable. His last moments were marked with that fortitude which was the characteristic of his life, convinced of the purity of which, he met death with pleasure.

"His funeral was delayed longer than could have been wished, a form of law being necessary previous to that ceremony. He was interred on Tuesday, the fourteenth. His funeral," it is added, "was attended by a respectable assemblage of people, from the house of John MacKay, Esq., in the following order:--mourners, John MacKay, Esq.; three Members of the House of Assembly, of which he was a member: viz., Ralph Clench, J. Swayzey, Robert Nelles; Dr. West, Surgeon of the American Garrison, Dr. Thomas, 41st Regt., Dr. Muirhead, Niagara; the Gentlemen of the Bar; the Magistrates of the place; and a numerous concourse of people from town and country."

This duel, as we have been informed, was fought on the United States side of the river, near the French Fort.

Mr. Weekes, we believe, was an unmarried man. He was fond of solitary rambles in the woods in search of game. Once he was so long missing that foul play was suspected; and some human remains having been found under a heap of logs on the property of Peter Ernest, Peter Ernest was arrested; and just as the evidence was all going strongly against him, Mr. Weekes appeared on the scene alive and well.

One more of these inhuman and unchristian encounters, with fatal result, memorable in the early annals of York, we shall have occasion to speak of hereafter when, in our intended progress up Yonge Street, we pass the spot where the tragedy was enacted.

Mr. Weekes was greatly regretted by his constituents. "Overwhelmed with grief," they say in their address dated the 20th September, 1806, to the gentleman whom they desire to succeed him, "at the unexpected death of our late able and upright Representative; we, freeholders of these Counties of York, Durham and Simcoe, feel that we have neglected our interests in the season of sorrow. Now awake, it is to you we turn; notwithstanding the great portion of consolation which we draw from the dawning of our impartial and energetic administration. (The allusion is to Gov. Gore.)

"Fully persuaded that the great object of your heart is the advancement of public prosperity, the observance of the laws, and the practice of religion and morality, we hasten with assurances of our warmest support, to invite you from your retreat to represent us in Parliament. Permit us, however, to impress upon you, that as subjects of a generous and beloved King; as a part of that great nation which has for so long a time stood the bulwark of Europe, and is now the solitary and inaccessible asylum of liberty; as the children of Englishmen, guarded, protected and restrained by English laws; in fine, as members of their community, as fathers and sons, we are induced to place this confidence in your virtue, from the firm hope that, equally insensible to the impulse of popular feeling and the impulse of power, you will pursue what is right. This has been the body of your decisions; may it be the spirit of your counsels! (Signed by fifty-two persons, residing in the Town and Township of York.)" The names not given.

These words were addressed to Mr. Justice Thorpe. His reply was couched in the following terms: "Gentlemen: With pleasure I accede to your desire. If you make me your representative I will faithfully discharge my duty. Your confidence is not misplaced. May the first moment of dereliction be the last of my existence. Your late worthy representative I lament from my heart. In private he was a warm friend; at the Bar an able advocate, and in Parliament a firm patriot. It is but just to draw consolation from our Governor, when the first act of his administration granted to those in the U. E. list and their children, what your late most valuable member so strenuously laboured to obtain. Surely from this we have every reason to expect that the liberal interests of our beloved sovereign, whose chief glory is to reign triumphantly enthroned on the hearts of a free people, will be fulfilled, honouring those who give and those who receive, enriching the Province and strengthening the Empire. Let us cherish this hope in the blossom; may it not be blasted in the ripening." A postscript is subjoined: "P. S. If influence, threat, coercion or oppression should be attempted to be exercised over any individual, for the purpose of controlling the freedom of election, let me be informed.--R. T."

In 1806 Judges were not ineligible to the Upper Canadian Parliament. Mr. Justice Thorpe and Governor Gore did not agree. He was consequently removed from office. Some years later, when both gentlemen were living in England as private persons, Mr. Thorpe brought an action for libel against Mr. Gore, and obtained a favourable verdict.

We now proceed on our prescribed course. So late as 1833, Walton, in his "York Commercial Directory, Street Guide, and Register," when naming the residents on Lot Street, as he still designates Queen Street, makes a note on arriving at two park lots to the westward of the spot where we have been pausing, to the effect, that "here this street is intercepted by the grounds of Capt. McGill, S. P. Jarvis, Esq., and Hon. W. Allan; past here it is open to the Roman Catholic Church, and intended to be carried through to the Don Bridge."

The process of levelling up, now become so common in Toronto, has effectually disposed of the difficulty temporarily presented by the ravine or ancient water-course, yet partially to be seen either in front of or upon the park lots occupied by the old inhabitants just named; and Queen Street, at the present hour, is an uninterrupted thoroughfare in a right line, and almost on a level the whole way, from the Don in the east to the Lunatic Asylum in the west, and beyond, on to the gracefully curving margin of Humber Bay.--(The unfrequented and rather tortuous Britain Street is a relic of the deviation occasioned by the ravine, although the actual route followed in making the detour of old was Duchess Street.)

XIX.

QUEEN STREET--DIGRESSION AT CAROLINE STREET--HISTORY OF THE EARLY PRESS.

A little to the south of Britain Street, between it and Duchess Street, near the spot where Caroline Street, slightly diverging from the right line, passes northward to Queen Street, there stood in the early day a long, low wooden structure, memorable to ourselves, as being, in our school-boy days, the Government Printing Office. Here the Upper Canada Gazette was issued, by "R. C. Horne, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty."

We shall have occasion hereafter to notice among our early inhabitants some curious instances of change of profession. In the present case, His Majesty's Printer was in reality an Army Surgeon, once attached to the Glengary Light Infantry. And again, afterwards, the same gentleman was for many years the Chief Teller in the Bank of Upper Canada. An incident in the troubles of 1837 was "the burning of Dr. Horne's house," by a party of the malcontents who were making a show of assault upon the town. The site of this building, a conspicuous square two-storey frame family residence, was close to the toll-bar on Yonge Street, in what is now Yorkville. On that occasion, we are informed, Dr. Horne "berated the Lieutenant-Governor for treating with avowed rebels, and insisted that they were not in sufficient force to give any ground of alarm."

The Upper Canada Gazette was the first newspaper published in Upper Canada. Its first number appeared at Newark or Niagara, on Thursday, the 18th of April, 1793. As it was apparently expected to combine with a record of the acts of the new government some account of events happening on the continent at large, it was made to bear the double title of Upper Canada Gazette, or American Oracle. Louis Roy was its first printer, a skilled artizan engaged probably from Lower Canada, where printing had been introduced about thirty years previously, soon after the English occupation of the country.

Louis Roy's name appears on the face of No. 1, Vol. I. The type is of the shape used in contemporaneous printing, and the execution is very good. The size of the sheet, which retained the folio form, was 15 by 91/2 inches. The quality of the paper was rather coarse, but stout and durable.

The address to the public in the first number is as follows:--"The Editor of this paper respectfully informs the public that the flattering prospect which he has of an extensive sale for his new undertaking has enabled him to augment the size originally proposed from a Demy Quarto to a Folio.

"The encouragement he has met will call forth every exertion he is master of, so as to render the paper useful, entertaining and instructive. He will be very happy in being favoured with such communications as may contribute to the information of the public, from those who shall be disposed to assist him, and in particular shall be highly flattered in becoming the vehicle of intelligence in this growing Province of whatever may tend to its internal benefit and common advantage. In order to preserve the veracity of his paper, which will be the first object of his attention, it will be requisite that all transactions of a domestic nature, such as deaths, marriages, &c., be communicated under real signatures.

"The price of this Gazette will be three dollars per annum. All advertisements inserted in it, and not exceeding twelve lines, will pay 4s. Quebec currency; and for every additional line a proportionable price. Orders for letter-press printing will be executed with neatness, despatch and attention, and on the most reasonable terms."

An advertisement in the first number informs the public that a Brewery is about to be established under the sanction of the Lieutenant-Governor. "Notice is hereby given, that there will be a Brewery erected here this summer under the sanction of His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, and encouraged by some of the principal gentlemen of this place; and whosoever will sow barley and cultivate their land so that it will produce grain of a good quality, they may be certain of a market in the fall at one dollar a bushel on delivery. W. Huet, Niagara, 18th April, 1793."

The number dated Niagara, May 2, 1793, "hath" the following advertisement:--"Sampson Jutes begs leave to inform all persons who propose to build houses, &c., in the course of this summer, that he hath laths, planks and scantlings of all kinds to sell on reasonable terms. Any person may be supplied with any of the above articles on the shortest notice. Applications to be made to him at his mill near Mr. Peter Secord's."

In the Number for May 30, 1793, we have ten guineas reward offered for the recovery of a Government grindstone:--"Ten Guineas Reward is offered to any person that will make discovery and prosecute to conviction, the Thief or Thieves that have stolen a Grindstone from the King's Wharf at Navy Hall, between the 30th of April and the 6th instant. John McGill, Com. of Stores, &c., &c., for the Province of Upper Canada. Queenstown, 16th May, 1793."

The Anniversary of the King's Birth-day was celebrated at Niagara in 1793, in the following manner:--"Niagara, June 6. On Tuesday last, being the Anniversary of His Majesty's birthday, His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor had a Levee at Navy Hall. At one o'clock the troops in garrison and at Queenston fired three volleys; the field-pieces above Navy Hall, under the direction of the Royal Artillery, and the guns of the Garrison, fired a Royal Salute. His Majesty's schooner, the Onondago, at anchor in the river, likewise fired a Royal Salute. In the evening His Excellency gave a Ball and elegant Supper at the Council Chamber, which was most numerously attended."

In the second volume (1794) of the Gazette and Oracle, Louis Roy's name disappears. G. Tiffany becomes the printer. In 1798 it has assumed the Quarto form, and is dated "West Niagara," a name Newark was beginning to acquire.

No Gazette is issued April 29th, 1798. An apology for the omission constitutes the whole of the editorial of the Number for May 5. It says: "The Printer having been called to York last week upon business, is humbly tendered to his readers as an apology for the Gazette's not appearing."

In 1799, the Gazette being about to be removed across permanently to York, the new capital, whither also all the government offices were departing, Messrs. S. and G. Tiffany decide on starting a newspaper on their own account for Niagara. It is called the "Canada Constellation," and its terms are four dollars per annum. It is announced to appear weekly "opposite the Lion tavern." The date of the first number is July 20. In the introductory address to the public, the Messrs. Tiffany make use of the following rather involved language:--"It is a truth long acknowledged that no men hold situations more influential of the minds and conduct of men than do printers: political printers are sucked from, nursed and directed by the press: and when they are just, the community is in unity and prosperity; but when vicious, every evil ensues; and it is lamentable that many printers, either vile remiss in, or ignorant of, their duty, produce the latter or no effect; and to which of these classes we belong, time will unfold."

The public means of maintaining a regular correspondence with the outer world being insufficient, the enterprising spirit of the Messrs. Tiffany led them to think of establishing a postal system of their own. In the Constellation for August 23, we have the announcement: "The printers of the Constellation are desirous of establishing a post on the road from their office to Ancaster and the Grand River, as well as another to Fort Erie; and for this purpose they propose to hire men to perform the routes as soon as the subscriptions will allow of the expense. In order to establish the business, the printers on their part will subscribe generously, and to put the design into execution, but little remains for the people to do."

We can detect in the Constellation a natural local feeling against the upstart town of York, which had now drawn away almost every thing from the old Newark. Thus in the number for November the 14th, 1799, a communication from York, signed Amicus, is admitted, written plainly by one who was no great lover of the place. It affords a glimpse of the state of its thoroughfares, and of the habits of some of its inhabitants. Amicus proposes a "Stump Act" for York; i. e., a compulsory eradication of the stumps in the streets: so that "the people of York in the space of a few months may" as he speaks. "relapse into intoxication with impunity; and stagger home at any hour of the night without encountering the dreadful apprehension of broken necks."

The same animus gives colour to remarks on some legal verbiage recently employed at York. Under the heading "Interesting Discovery" we read: "It has been lately found at York that in England laws are made; and that a law made in England is the law of England, and is enforced by another law; that many laws are made in Lower Canada and follow up, that is, follow after, or in other words are made since, other laws; and that these laws may be repealed. It is seldom," continues the writer in the Constellation, "that so few as one discovery slips into existence at one birth. Genius is sterile, and justly said to be like a breeding cat, as is verified in York, where by some unaccountable fortuity of events all genius centres; at the same time with the above, its twin kitten came forth, that an atheist does not believe as a Christian."

In another number we have some chaffing about the use of the word capital. In an address on the arrival of Governor Hunter, the expression, "We, the inhabitants of the Capital," had occurred. "This fretted my pate," the critic pretends to complain. "What can this be? Surely it is some great place in a great country was my conclusion; but where the capital is, was a little beyond my geographical acquaintance. I had recourse to the books" he continues: "all the gazettes and magazines from the year One I carefully turned over, and not one case among all the addresses they contained afforded me any instruction: 'We, the inhabitants of the cities of London and Westminster, of Edinburgh, Dublin, Paris, &c.,' only proved to me that neither of these is the Capital. But as these are only little towns in young countries, and cannot be so forward as to take upon themselves the pompous title of capital, it must be in America." He then professes to have consulted the Encyclopaedia Eboretica, or, "A Vindication in support of the great Utility of New Words," lately printed in Upper Canada, and to have discovered therein that the Capital in question "was, in plain English, York." He concludes, therefore, that whenever in future the expression "We, the inhabitants of the Capital" is met with, it is to be translated into the vernacular tongue, "We, the inhabitants of York, assembled at McDougall's, &c."

There is mention made above of a Stump Act. We have been assured that such a regulation was, at an early day, in force at York, as a deterrent from drunkenness. Capt. Peeke, who burnt lime at Duffin's Creek, and shipped it to York in his own vessel, before the close of the last century, was occasionally inconvenienced by the working of the Stump Act. His men whom he had brought up with him to assist in navigating his boat would be found, just when especially wanted by himself, laboriously engaged in the extraction of a great pine-root in one or other of the public thoroughfares of the town, under sentence of the magistrate, for having been found, on the preceding day, intoxicated in the streets.

The Constellation newspaper does not appear to have succeeded. Early in 1801 a new paper comes out, entitled the Herald. In it, it is announced that the Constellation, "after existing one year, expired some months since of starvation, its publishers departing too much from its constitution (advance pay)." The printer is now Silvester Tiffany, the senior proprietor of the Constellation. It is very well printed with good type; but on blue wrapping paper. In little more than two years, viz., on the 4th June, 1802, it announced that the publication of the Herald is suspended; that it will appear only "on particular occasions;" but Mr. Tiffany hopes it "will by and by receive a revival." Other early papers published at the town of Niagara were the Gleaner, by Mr. Heron; the Reporter; the Spectator. The Mail was established so late as 1845. Its publication ceased in 1870, when its editor, Mr. Kirby, was appointed to the collectorship of the Port of Niagara. Down to 1870 Mr. Tiffany's "imposing stone," used in the printing of the Constellation, did duty in the office of the Mail.

In 1800, the Upper Canada Gazette or American Oracle is issued at York, weekly, from the office of William Waters and T. G. Simons. In the number for Saturday, May the 17th, in that year, we read that on the Thursday evening previous, "His Excellency Peter Hunter, Esq., Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Province, arrived in our harbour on board the Toronto; and on Friday morning, about nine o'clock, landed at the Garrison, where he is at present to reside."

We are thus enabled to add two items to the table of dates usually given, shewing the introduction of Printing at different points on this Continent: viz., the dates 1793 and 1800 for Niagara and York respectively. The table will now stand as follows:--

1639, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Stephen Day and Samuel Green; 1674, Boston, John Foster; 1684, Philadelphia, Wm. Bradford; 1693, New York, Wm. Bradford (removed from Philadelphia); 1730, Charleston, Eleazer Phillips; 1730, Bridgetown, Barbadoes, David Harry and Samuel Keimer; 1751, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Bartholomew Green, jun., and John Bushell; 1764, Quebec, Wm. Brown and Thos. H. Gilmore; 1771, Albany, Alex. and Jas. Robertson; 1775, Montreal, Chas. Berger and Fleury Mesplet; 1784, St. George's, Bermuda, J. Stockdale; 1793, Newark (Niagara), Louis Roy; 1795, Cincinnati, S. Freeman; 1800, York (Toronto), Wm. Waters and T. G. Simons.

As at York and Niagara, the first printers in most of the places named were publishers of newspapers.

It may be added that a press was in operation in the City of Mexico in 1569; and in the City of Lima in 1621. The original of all the many Colonial Government Gazettes was the famous royal or exclusively court news sheet, published first at Oxford, in November, 1665, entitled the Oxford Gazette, and in the following year, at London, and entitled then and ever afterwards to this day, the London Gazette.

In 1801, J. Bennett succeeds Messrs. Waters and Simons, and becomes the printer and publisher of the Gazette or Oracle. In that year the printing-office is removed to "the house of Mr. A. Cameron, King Street," and it is added, "subscriptions will be received there and at the Toronto Coffee House, York." From March 21st in this year, and onward for six weeks, the paper appears printed on blue sheets of the kind of material that used formerly to be seen on the outsides of pamphlets and magazines and Government "Blue-books." The stock of white paper has plainly run out, and no fresh supply can be had before the opening of the navigation. The Herald, at Niagara, of the same period, appeared, as we have already noticed, in the like guise.

On Saturday, December 20th, 1801, is this statement, the whole of the editorial matter: "It is much to be lamented that communication between Niagara and this town is so irregular and unfrequent: opportunities now do not often occur of receiving the American papers from our correspondents; and thereby prevents us for the present from laying before our readers the state of politics in Europe." In the number for June 13th, the editorial "leader" reads as follows:--"The Oracle, York, Saturday, June 13th. Last Monday was a day of universal rejoicing in this town, occasioned by the arrival of the news of the splendid victory gained by Lord Nelson over the Danes in Copenhagen Roads on the 2nd of April last: in the morning the great guns at the Garrison were fired: at night there was a general illumination, and bonfires blazed in almost every direction." The writer indulges in no further comments.

It would have been gratifying to posterity had the printers of the Gazette and Oracle endeavoured to furnish a connected record of "the short and simple annals" of their own immediate neighbourhood. But these unfortunately were deemed undeserving of much notice. We have announcements of meetings, and projects, and subscriptions for particular purposes, unfollowed by any account of what was subsequently said, done and effected; and when a local incident is mentioned, the detail is generally very meagre.

An advertisement in the number for the 27th August, 1801, reminds us that in the early history of Canada it was imagined that a great source of wealth to the inhabitants of the country in all future time would be the ginseng that was found growing naturally in the swamps. The market for ginseng was principally China, where it was worth its weight in silver. The word is said to be Chinese for "all-heal." In 1801 we find that Mr. Jacob Herchmer, of York, was speculating in ginseng. In his advertisement in the Gazette and Oracle he "begs leave to inform the inhabitants of York and its vicinity that he will purchase any quantity of ginseng between this and the first of November next, and that he will give two shillings, New York currency, per pound well dried, and one shilling for green."

At one period, it will be remembered, the cultivation of hemp was expected to be the mainstay of the country's prosperity. In the Upper Canada Almanac for 1804, among the public officers we have set down as "Commissioners appointed for the distribution of Hemp Seed (gratis) to the Farmers of the Provinces, the Hon. John McGill, the Hon. David W. Smith, and Thomas Scott, Esquires."

The whole of the editorial matter of the Gazette and Oracle on the 2nd of January, 1802, is the following: "The Oracle, York, Saturday, January 2, 1802. The Printer presents his congratulary compliments to his customers on the New Year." Note that the dignified title of Editor was yet but sparingly assumed. That term is used once by Tiffany at Newark, in the second volume. After the death of Governor Hunter, in September, 1805, J. Bennett writes himself down "Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty." Previously the colophon of the publication had been: "York, printed by John Bennett, by the authority of His Excellency Peter Hunter, Esq., Lieut.-Governor."

Happening to have at hand a bill of Bennett's against the Government we give it here. The modern reader will be able to form from this specimen an idea of the extent of the Government requirements in 1805 in regard to printing and the cost thereof. We give also the various attestations appended to the account:--

York, Upper Canada, 24th June, 1805.

The Government of Upper Canada,

To John Bennett, Government Printer.

Jan. 11. 300 copies Still Licenses, 1/2 sheet foolscap, pica type 0 16 6

March 30. Printing 20 copies of an Act for altering the time of issuing Licenses for keeping of a House of Public Entertainment, 1/4 sheet demy, pica type 0 3 4

April 5. Inserting a Notice to persons taking out Shop, Still or Tavern Licenses, 6 weeks in the Gazette, equal to 41/2 advertisements 1 16 0

April 16. 1,000 copies of Proclamation, warning persons that possess and occupy Lands in this Province, without due titles having been obtained for such Lands, forthwith to quit and remove from the same, 1/2 sheet demy, double pica type 4 18 4

April 22. 100 copies of an Act to afford relief to persons entitled to claim Land in this Province as heirs or devisees of the nominees of the Crown, one sheet demy, pica type 3 6 3

Printing Marginal notes to do 0 5 0

May 14. Printing 1,500 copies of the Acts of the First Session of the Fourth Parliament, three sheets demy, pica type 45 0 0

Marginal Notes to do., at 5s. per sheet 0 15 0

Folding, Stitching and Covering in Blue Paper, at 1d. 6 5 0 -------- Halifax currency L63 5 9

Amounting to sixty-three pounds five shillings and nine-pence Halifax currency. Errors excepted. (Signed) John Bennett.

John Bennett, of the Town of York, in the Home District, maketh oath and saith, that the foregoing account amounting to sixty-three pounds five shillings and ninepence Halifax currency, is just and true in all its particulars to the best of his knowledge and belief. (Signed) John Bennett.

Sworn before me at York, this 20th day of July, 1805. (Signed) Wm. Dummer Powell, J.

Audited and approved in Council 6th August 1805. (Signed) Peter Russell, Presiding Councillor.

(Examined) (Signed) John McGill, Inspector Genl. P. P. Accts. [A true copy.] John McGill, Inspector Gen. P. P. Accts.

Bennett published "The Upper Canada Almanac," containing with the matter usually found in such productions the Civil and Military Lists and the Duties, Imperial and Provincial. This work was admirably printed in fine Elzevir type, and in aspect, as well as arrangement, was an exact copy of the almanacs of the day published in London.

A rival Calendar continued to be issued at Niagara entitled "Tiffany's Upper Canada Almanac." This was a roughly-printed little tract, and contained popular matter in addition to the official lists. It gave in a separate and very conspicuous column in each month "the moon's place" on each day in respect to a distinct portion of the human body with prognostications accordingly. And in the "Advertisement to the reader" it was set forth, that "in the calculation of the weather the most unwearied pains have been taken; and the calculator prays, for his honour's sake, that he may have not failed in the least point; but as all calculation may sometimes fail in small matters," the writer continues, "no wonder is it that in this, the most important, should be at times erroneous. And when this shall unfortunately have been the case with the Upper Canada Almanac, let careful observers throw over the error the excess of that charity of which their generous souls are composed, and the all-importance of the subject requires; let them remember that the task, in all the variety and changes of climates and seasons, is arduous beyond that of reforming a vicious world, and not less than that of making a middle-sized new one."

In the number of the Oracle for September 28th, 1805, which is in mourning, we have the following notice of the character of Governor Hunter, who had deceased on the 23rd of the preceding August at Quebec:--"As an officer his character was high and unsullied; and at this present moment his death may be considered a great public loss. As Lieut.-Governor of Upper Canada, his loss will be severely felt; for by his unremitting attention and exertions he has, in the course of a very few years, brought that infant colony to an unparalleled state of prosperity." An account is then given of the procession at the funeral. The 49th and 6th Regiments were present; also Lieut.-Col. Brock, Commanding. At the grave one round was fired slowly and distinctly by eleven field pieces, followed by one round of small arms, by regiments; then a second round of artillery, followed in like manner by the small arms; and, lastly, a third round of artillery, and a third round of small arms. The mourners were, the Hon. Thomas Dunn, President of the Province (Lower Canada). Col. Bowes, Major Curry, Hon. Mr. Craigie, Col. Green, Major Robe, Capt. Gomm and Mr. William Green.

In 1813, during the war with the United States, Cameron is the printer of the official paper, which now for a time assumed the title of The York Gazette. Mr. John Cameron also published "The Upper Canada Almanac," from which we have already had occasion to quote, but it put in no claim to an official character. It did not contain the Civil Lists, but, as stated in the title page, "some Chinese sayings and Elegant Aphorisms." It bore as a motto the following lines:--

"Ye who would mend these wicked times And morals of the age, Come buy a book half full of rhymes, At three-pence York per page. It would be money well outlaid, So plenty money is; Paper for paper is fair trade: So said "Poor Richard Quiz."

Among the aphorisms given is this one: "Issuers of paper-change, are entitled to thanks from the public for the great accommodation such change affords. They might render the accommodation more extensive were they to emit a proportionate number of half-penny bills." At one place the query is put, "When will the beard be worn, and man allowed to appear with it in native dignity? And if so, how long before it will become fashionable to have it greased and powdered?" In the almanac for 1815, towards the end, the following paragraph appears:--"York supernatural prices current: Turnips 1 dollar per bushel; Potatoes, long, at 2 ditto; Salt 20 ditto; Butter per lb. 1 ditto; Indifferent bread 1 shilling N. Y. cy. per lb.; Conscience, a contraband article."

In Bennett's time the Government press was, as we have seen, set up in Mr. Cameron's house on King Street. But at the period of the war in 1812 Mr. Cameron's printing office was in a building which still exists, viz., the house on Bay Street associated with the name of Mr. Andrew Mercer. During the occupation of York by the United States force, the press was broken up and the type dispersed. Mr. Mercer once exhibited to ourselves a portion of the press which on that occasion was made useless. For a short period Mr. Mercer himself had charge of the publication of the York Gazette.

In 1817 Dr. Horne became the editor and publisher. On coming into his hands the paper resumed the name of Upper Canada Gazette, but the old secondary title of American Oracle was dropped. To the official portion of the paper there was, nevertheless, still appended abstracts of news from the United States and Europe, summaries of the proceedings in the Parliaments of Upper and Lower Canada, and much well-selected miscellaneous matter. The shape continued to be that of a small folio, and the terms were four dollars per annum in advance; and if sent by mail, four dollars and a half.

In 1821 Mr. Charles Fothergill (of whom we have already spoken) became the Editor and Publisher of the Gazette. Mr. Fothergill revived the practice of having a secondary title, which was now The Weekly Register; a singular choice, by the way, that being very nearly the name of Cobbett's celebrated democratic publication in London. After Mr. Fothergill came Mr. Robert Stanton, who changed the name of the private portion of the Gazette sheet, styling it "The U. E. Loyalist."

In 1820 Mr. John Carey had established the Observer at York. The Gazette of May 11, 1820, contains the announcement of his design; and he therein speaks of himself as "the person who gave the Debates" recently in another paper. To have the debates in Parliament reported with any fulness was then a novelty. The Observer was a folio of rustic, unkempt aspect, the paper and typography and matter being all somewhat inferior. It gave in its adherence to the government of the day, generally: at a later period it wavered. Mr. Carey was a tall, portly personage who, from his bearing and costume might readily have been mistaken for a non-conformist minister of local importance. The Observer existed down to about the year 1830. Between the Weekly Register and the Observer the usual journalistic feud sprung up, which so often renders rival village newspapers ridiculous. With the Register a favourite sobriquet for the Observer is "Mother C----y." Once a correspondent is permitted to style it "The Political Weathercock and Slang Gazetteer." Mr. Carey ended his days in Springfield on the River Credit, where he possessed property.

The Canadian Freeman, established in 1825 by Mr. Francis Collins was a sheet remarkable for the neatness of its arrangement and execution, and also for the talent exhibited in its editorials. The type was evidently new and carefully handled. Mr. Collins was his own principal compositor. He is said to have transferred to type many of his editorials without the intervention of pen and paper, composing directly from copy mentally furnished. Mr. Collins was a man of pronounced Celtic features, roughish in outline, and plentifully garnished with hair of a sandy or reddish hue.

Notwithstanding the colourless character of the motto at the head of its columns "Est natura hominum novitatis avida"--"Human nature is fond of news," the Freeman was a strong party paper. The hard measure dealt out to him in 1828 at the hands of the legal authorities, according to the prevailing spirit of the day, with the revenge that he was moved to take--and to take successfully--we shall not here detail. Mr. Collins died of cholera in the year 1834. We have understood that he was once employed in the office of the Gazette; and that when Dr. Horne resigned, he was an applicant for the position of Government Printer.

The Canadian Freeman joined for a time in the general opposition clamour against Dr. Strachan,--against the influence, real or supposed, exercised by him over successive lieutenant-governors. But on discovering the good-humoured way in which its fulminations were received by their object, the Freeman dropped its strictures. It happened that Mr. Collins had a brother in business in the town with whom Dr. Strachan had dealings. This brother on some occasion thought it becoming to make some faint apology for the Freeman's diatribes. "O don't let them trouble you," the Doctor replied, "they do not trouble me; but by the way, tell your brother," he laughingly continued, "I shall claim a share in the proceeds." This, when reported to the Editor, was considered a good joke, and the diatribes ceased; a proceeding that was tantamount to Peter Pindar's confession, when some one charged him with being too hard on the King: "I confess there exists a difference between the King and me," said Peter; "the King has been a good subject to me; and I have been a bad subject to his Majesty."--During Mr. Collins' imprisonment in 1828 for the application of the afterwards famous expression "native malignity" to the Attorney-General of the day, the Freeman still continued to appear weekly, the editorials, set up in type in the manner spoken of above, being supplied to the office from his room in the jail.

In the early stages of society in Upper Canada the Government authorities appear not only to have possessed but to have exercised the power of handling political writers pretty sharply. In the Kingston Chronicle of December 10th, 1820, we have recorded the sentence pronounced on Barnabas Ferguson, Editor of the Niagara Spectator, for "a libel on the Government." Mr. Ferguson was condemned to be imprisoned eighteen months; to stand in the pillory once during his confinement; to pay a fine of L50, and remain in prison till paid; and on his liberation to find security for seven years, himself in L500, and two sureties in L250 each. No comment is made by the Chronicle on the sentence, and the libel is not described.

The local government took its cue in this matter from its superiors of the day in the old country. What Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer says in his sketch of the life of Cobbett helps to explain the action of the early Upper Canada authorities in respect to the press. "Let us not forget," says the writer just named, "the blind and uncalculating intolerance with which the law struggled against opinion from 1809 to 1822. Writers during this period were transported, imprisoned, and fined, without limit or conscience; and just when government became more gentle to legitimate newspapers, it engaged in a new conflict with unstamped ones. No less than 500 venders of these were imprisoned within six years. The contest was one of life and death."

So early as 1807 there was an "opposition" paper--the Upper Canada Guardian. Willcocks, the editor, had been Sheriff of the Home District, and had lost his office for giving a vote contrary to the policy of the lieutenant-governor for the time being. He was returned as a member of parliament; and after having been imprisoned for breach of privilege, he was returned again, and continued to lead the reforming party. The name of Mr. Cameron, the publisher of the Gazette at York was, by some means, mixed up with that of Mr. Willcocks, in connection with the Upper Canada Guardian in 1807, and he found it expedient to publish in the Gazette of June 20, the following notice: "To the Public--Having seen the Prospectus of a paper generally circulated at Niagara, intended to be printed in Upper Canada, entitled the Upper Canada Guardian or Freeman's Journal, executed in the United States of America, without my knowledge or consent, wherein my name appears as being a party concerned; I therefore think it necessary to undeceive my friends and the inhabitants of Upper Canada, and to assure them that I have no connection with, nor is it my most distant wish or intention in any wise to be connected with the printing or publication of said paper. John Bennett."--When the war of 1812 broke out the Guardian came to an end; its editor at first loyally bore arms on the Canadian side, but at length deserted to the enemy, taking with him some of the Canadian Militia. He was afterwards killed at the siege of Fort Erie.

The newspaper which occupies the largest space in the early annals of the press at York is the Colonial Advocate. Issuing first at Queenston in May, 1824, it was removed in the following November to York. Its shape varied from time to time: now it was a folio: now a quarto. On all its pages the matter was densely packed; but printed in a very mixed manner: it abounded with sentences in italics, in small capitals, in large capitals; with names distinguished in like decided manner: with paragraphs made conspicuous by rows of index hands, and other typographical symbols at top, bottom and sides. It was editorial, not in any one particular column, but throughout; and the opinions delivered were expressed for the most part in the first person.

The Weekly Register fell foul of the Advocate at once. It appears that the new audacious nondescript periodical, though at the time it bore on its face the name of Queenston, was nevertheless for convenience sake printed at Lewiston on the New York side of the river. Hence it was denounced by the Weekly Register in language that now astonishes us, as a United States production; and as in the United States interest. "This paper of motley, unconnected, shake-bag periods" cried the Editor of the Weekly Register, "this unblushing, brazen-faced Advocate, affects to be a Queenston and Upper Canadian paper; whereas it is to all intents and purposes, and radically, a Lewiston and genu-wine Yankee paper. How can this man of truth, this pure and holy reformer and regenerator of the unhappy and prostrate Canada reconcile such barefaced and impudent deception?"

Nothing could more promote the success of the Colonial Advocate than a welcome like this. To account for the Register's extraordinary warmth, it is to be said that the Advocate in its first number had happened to quote a passage from an address of its Editor to the electors of the County of Durham, which seemed in some degree to compromise him as a servant of the Government. Mr. Fothergill had ventured to say "I know some of the deep and latent causes why this fine country has so long languished in a state of comparative stupor and inactivity, while our more enterprising neighbours are laughing us to scorn. All I desire is an opportunity of attempting the cure of some of the evils we labour under." This was interpreted in the Advocate to mean a censure upon the Executive. But the Register replied that these words simply expressed the belief that the evils complained of were remediable only by the action of the House of Assembly, on the well-known axiom "that all law is for the people, and from the people; and when efficient, must be remedied or rectified by the people; and that therefore Mr. Fothergill was desirous of assisting in the great work."

The end in fact was that the Editor of the Register, after his return to parliament for the County of Durham, did not long retain the post of King's Printer. After several independent votes in the House he was dismissed by Sir Peregrine Maitland in 1826, after which date the awkwardness of uniting with a Government Gazette a general newspaper whose editor, as a member of the House of Assembly, might claim the privilege of acting with His Majesty's opposition, came to an end. In 1826 we have Mr. Fothergill in his place in the House supporting a motion for remuneration to the publisher of the Advocate, on the ground that the wide and even gratuitous circulation of that paper throughout Canada and among members of the British House of Commons, "would help to draw attention in the proper quarter to the country."

Here is an account of McKenzie's method in the collection of matter for his various publications, the curious multifariousness of which matter used to astonish while it amused. The description is by Mr. Kent, editor of a religious journal, entitled The Church, published at Cobourg in 1838. Lord Clarendon's style has been exactly caught, it will be observed: "Possessed of a taste for general and discursive reading," says Mr. Kent, "he (McK.) made even his very pleasures contribute to the serious business of his life, and, year after year, accumulated a mass of materials, which he pressed into his service at some fitting opportunity. Whenever anything transpired that at all reflected on a political opponent, or whenever, in his reading, he met with a passage that favoured his views, he not only turned it to a present purpose, but laid it by, to bring it forward at some future period, long after it might have been supposed to be buried in oblivion."

The Editor of the Advocate, after his flight from Canada in 1837, published for a short time at New York a paper named McKenzie's Gazette, which afterwards was removed to Rochester: its term of existence there was also brief. In the number for June, 1839, we have the following intelligence contributed by a correspondent at Toronto: a certain animus in relation to the military in Canada, and in relation to the existing Banks of the country, is apparent. "Toronto, May 24th: The 93rd Regiment is still in quarters here. The men 660 strong, all Scotchmen, enlisted in the range of country from Aberdeen to Ayrshire: a highland regiment without highlanders: few or none of Englishmen or Irishmen among them. They are a fine-looking body of men: I never saw a finer. I wished to go into the garrison, but was not permitted to do so. Few of the townspeople have that privilege. ---- has made the fullest enquiries, and tells me that a majority of the men would be glad to get away if they could: they would willingly leave the service and the country. He says they are well-informed, civil and well-behaved, and that for such time as England may be compelled to retain possession of the Canadas by military force, against the wishes of the settled population he would like to have this regiment remain in Toronto. ---- tells me that a few soups have been kept at Queenston during the winter, because if they desert it is no matter: the regulars are all at Drummondville, near the Falls, and a couple of hundred blacks at Chippewa watching them. The Ferry below the Falls is guarded by old men whose term of service is nearly out, and who look for a pension. It is the same at Malden, and in Lower Canada. The regiments Lord Durham brought were fine fellows, the flower of the English army.

"The Banks here tax the people heavily, but they are so stupid they don't see it. All the specie goes into the Banks. I am told that the Upper Canada Bank had at one time L300,000 in England in Commissariat bills of Exchange: their notes in circulation are a million and a quarter of paper dollars, for all of which they draw interest from the people, although not obliged to keep six cents in their money-till to redeem them. All the troops were paid in the depreciated paper of these fraudulent bankrupt concerns, the directors of which deserve the Penitentiary: the contracts of the Commissariat are paid in the same paper as a 10 per cent. shave: and the troops up at Brantford were also paid in Bank notes which the Bank did not pretend to redeem; and it would have offended Sir George [Arthur], who has a share in such speculations (as he had when in VanDieman's Land), had any one asked the dollars. Sir Allan McNab, who has risen from poverty to be president de facto, solicitor, directors and company of the Gore Bank, ever since its creation, is said to be terribly embarrassed for want of money. He is not the alpha and omega of the Bank now. He has quarrelled with his brother villains. The money paid to Canada from England to uphold troops to coerce the people helps the Banks."

In the same number of the Gazette published at Rochester we have an extract from a production by Robert Gourlay himself, who in his old age paid a final visit of inspection to Canada. In allusion to a portion of Gourlay's famous work published in 1822, the extract is headed in McKenzie's Gazette "Robert Gourlay's 'Last Sketch' of Upper Canada." It is dated at Toronto, May 25th. Having just presented one gloomy view, we will venture to lower the reader's spirits a particle more, by giving another. Let allowance be made for the morbid mental condition of the writer: the contrast offered by the Canada of to-day will afterwards proportionably exhilarate.

"What did Upper Canada gain," Gourlay asks, "by my banishment; and what good is now to be seen in it? Cast an eye over the length and breadth of the land" he cries, "from Malden to Point Fortune, and from the Falls to Lake Simcoe: then say if a single public work is creditable, or a single institution as it should be. The Rideau Canal!--what is it but a monument of England's folly and waste; which can never return a farthing of interest; or for a single day stay the conquest of the province. The Welland Canal!--Has it not been from beginning till now a mere struggle of misery and mismanagement; and from now onward, promising to become a putrid ditch. The only railway, of ten miles; with half completed; and half which cannot be completed for want of funds! The macadamised roads, all in mud; only causing an increase of wear and tear. The province deeply in debt; confidence uprooted; and banks beleaguered!

"Schools and Colleges, what are they?--Few yet painted, though lectures on natural philosophy are now abundant. The Cobourg seminary outstaring all that is sanctimonious: so airy and lank that learning cannot take root in it. A college at Sandwich built before the war, but now a pig stye; and one at Toronto indicated only by an approach. The edifices of the Church!--how few worthy of the Divine presence--how many unfinished--how many fallen to decay. The Church itself, wholly militant: Episcopalians maintaining what can never be established; Presbyterians more sour than ever, contending for rights where they have none whatever: Methodists so disunited that they cannot even join in a respectable groan; and Catholic priests wandering about in poverty because their scattered and starving flocks yield not sufficient wool for the shears. One institution only have I seen praiseworthy and progressing--The Penitentiary; but that is a concentrated essence, seeing the whole province is one: and which of you, resident land-holders, having sense or regard for your family would remain in it a day, could you sell your property and be off?"

Some popular Almanacs of a remarkable character also emanated from McKenzie's press. Whilst in the United States he put forth the Caroline Almanac, a designation intended to keep alive the memory of the cutting out of the Caroline steamer from Fort Schlosser in 1837, and her precipitation over the Falls of Niagara, an act sought to be held up as a great outrage on the part of the Canadian authorities. In the Canadian Almanacs, published by him, intended for circulation especially among the country population, the object kept in view was the same as that so industriously aimed at by the Advocate itself, viz., the exposure of the shortcomings and vices of the government of the day. At the same time a large amount of practically useful matter and information was supplied.

The earlier almanac was entitled "Poor Richard, or the Yorkshire Almanac," and the compiler professed to be one "Patrick Swift, late of Belfast, in the Kingdom of Ireland, Esq., F.R.I., Grand-nephew of the celebrated Doctor Jonathan Swift, Dean of St. Patrick's, Dublin, etc., etc., etc." This same personage was a contributor also of many pungent and humorous things in prose and verse in the columns of the Advocate itself. In 1834 the Almanac assumed the following title: "A new Almanac for the Canadian True Blues; with which is incorporated The Constitutional Reformer's Text Book, for the Millenial and Prophetic Year of the Grand General Election for Upper Canada, and total and everlasting Downfall of Toryism in the British Empire, 1834." It was still supposed to be edited by Patrick Swift, Esq., who is now dubbed M.P.P., and Professor of Astrology, York.

In the extract given above from what was styled Gourlay's "Last Sketch" of Upper Canada, the query and rejoinder, "Schools and Colleges, where are they? Few yet painted, though lectures on Natural Philosophy are now abundant"--will not be understood, without remark. The allusion is to an advertisement in the Upper Canada Gazette of Feb. 5, 1818, which Gourlay at the time of its appearance thought proper to animadvert upon and satirize in the Niagara Spectator. It ran as follows: "Natural Philosophy.--The subscriber intends to deliver a course of Popular Lectures on Natural Philosophy, to commence on Tuesday, the 17th inst., at 7 o'clock p.m., should a number of auditors come forward to form a class. Tickets of admission for the Course (price Two Guineas) may be had of William Allan, Esq., Dr. Horne, or at the School House. The surplus, if any, after defraying the current expenses, to be laid out in painting the District School. John Strachan, York, 3rd Feb., 1818."

As was to be expected, Dr. Strachan was a standing subject of invective in all the publications of Gourlay, as well as subsequently in all those of McKenzie. Collins, Editor of the Freeman, became, as we have seen, reticent in relation to him; but, more or less, a fusilade was maintained upon him in McKenzie's periodicals, as long as they issued.

In McKenzie's opposition to Dr. Strachan there was possibly a certain degree of national animus springing from the contemplation of a Scottish compatriot who, after rising to position in the young colony, was disposed, from temperament, to bear himself cavalierly towards all who did not agree with him in opinion. In addition, we have been told that at an early period in an interview between the two parties, Dr. Strachan once chanced to express himself with considerable heat to McKenzie, and proceeded to the length of showing him the door. The latter had called, as our information runs, to deprecate prejudice in regard to a brother-in-law of his, Mr. Baxter, who was a candidate for some post under the Educational Board, of which Dr. S. was chairman; when great offence was taken at the idea being for a moment entertained that a personal motive would in the slightest degree bias him when in the execution of public duty.

At a late period in the history of both the now memorable Scoto-Canadians, we happened ourselves to be present at a scene in the course of which the two were brought curiously face to face with each other, once more, for a few moments. It will be remembered that after the subsidence of the political troubles and the union of Upper and Lower Canada, McKenzie came back and was returned member of Parliament for Haldimand. While he was in the occupancy of this post, it came to pass that Dr. Strachan, now Bishop of Toronto, had occasion to present a petition to the united House on the subject of the Clergy Reserves. To give greater weight and solemnity to the act he decided to attend in person at the bar of the House, at the head of his clergy, all in canonicals. McKenzie seeing the procession approaching, hurried into the House and took his seat; and contrived at the moment the Bishop and his retinue reached the bar to have possession of the floor. Affecting to put a question to the Speaker, before the Order of the Day was proceeded with, he launched out with great volubility and in excited strain on the interruptions to which the House was exposed in its deliberations; he then quickly came round to an attack in particular on prelates and clergy for their meddling and turbulence, infesting, as he averred, the lobbies of the Legislature when they should be employed on higher matters, filling with tumultuous mobs the halls and passages of the House, thronging (with an indignant glance in that direction) the very space below the bar set apart for the accommodation of peaceably disposed spectators.

The House had only just assembled, and had not had time to settle down into perfect quiet: members were still dropping in, and it was a mystery to many, for a time, what could, at such an early stage of the day's proceedings, have excited the ire of the member for Haldimand. The courteous speaker, Mr. Sicotte, was plainly taken aback at the sudden outburst of patriotic fervour; and, not being as familiar with the Upper Canadian past as many old Upper Canadians present were, he could not enter into the pleasantry of the thing; for, after all, it was humourously and not maliciously intended; the orator in possession of the floor had his old antagonist at a momentary disadvantage, and he chose to compel him while standing there conspicuously at the bar to listen for a while to a stream of Colonial Advocate in the purest vein.

After speaking against time, with an immense show of heat for a considerable while--a thing at which he was an adept--the scene was brought to a close by a general hubbub of impatience at the outrageous irrelevancy of the harangue, arising throughout the House, and obliging the orator to take his seat. The petition of the Bishop was then in due form received, and he, with his numerous retinue of robed clergy, withdrew.

We now proceed with our memoranda of the early press. When Fothergill was deprived of his office of King's Printer in 1825, he published for a time a quarto paper of his own, entitled the Palladium, composed of scientific, literary and general matter. Mr. Robert Stanton, King's Printer after Fothergill, issued on his own account for a few years, a newspaper called The U. E. Loyalist, the name, as we have seen, borne by the portion of the Gazette devoted to general intelligence while Mr. Stanton was King's Printer. The U. E. Loyalist was a quarto sheet, well printed, with an engraved ornamental heading resembling that which surmounted the New York Albion. The Loyalist was conservative, as also was a local contemporary after 1831, the Courier, edited and printed by Mr. George Gurnett, subsequently Clerk of the Peace, and Police Magistrate for the City of Toronto. The Christian Guardian, a local religious paper which still survives, began in 1828. The Patriot appeared at York in 1833: it had previously been issued at Kingston; its whole title was "The Patriot and Farmer's Monitor," with the motto, "Common Sense," below. It was of the folio form, and its Editor, Mr. Thos. Dalton, was a writer of much force, liveliness and originality. The Loyalist, Courier and Patriot were antagonists politically of the Advocate while the latter flourished; but all three laboured under the disadvantage of fighting on the side whose star was everywhere on the decline.

Notwithstanding its conservatism, however, it was in the Courier that the memorable revolutionary sentiments appeared, so frequently quoted afterwards in the Advocate publications: "the minds of the well-affected begin to be unhinged; they already begin to cast about in their mind's eye for some new state of political existence, which shall effectually put the colony without the pale of British connection;" words written under the irritation occasioned by the dismissal of the Attorney and Solicitor-General for Upper Canada in 1833.

For a short time prior to 1837, McKenzie's paper assumed the name of The Constitution. A faithful portrait of McKenzie will be seen at the beginning of the first volume of his "Life and Times," by Mr. Charles Lindsey, a work which will be carefully and profitably studied by future investigators in the field of Upper Canadian history. Excellent portraits of Mr. Gurnett and of Mr. Dalton are likewise extant in Toronto.

Soon after 1838, the Examiner newspaper acquired great influence at York. It was established and edited by Mr. Hincks. Mr. Hincks had emigrated to Canada with the intention of engaging in commerce; and in Walton's York Directory, 1833-34, we read for No. 21, west side of Yonge Street, "Hincks, Francis, Wholesale Warehouse." But Mr. Hincks' attention was drawn to the political condition of Canada, especially to its Finance. The accident of living in immediate proximity to a family that had already for a number of years been taking a warm and active interest in public affairs, may have contributed to this. In the Directory, just named, the Number after 21 on the west side of Yonge Street, is 23, and the occupants are "Baldwin, Doctor W. Warren; Baldwin, Robert, Esq., Attorney, &c., Baldwin and Sullivan's Attorney's Office, and Dr. Baldwin's Surrogate Office round the corner, in King Street, 1951/2." It was not unnatural that the next door neighbour of Dr. Baldwin's family, their tenant, moreover, and attached friend, should catch a degree of inspiration from them. The subsequent remarkable career of Mr. Hincks, afterwards so widely known as Sir Francis Hincks, has become a part of the general history of the country.

About the period of the Union of Upper and Lower Canada, a local tri-weekly named The Morning Star and Transcript was printed and published by Mr. W. J. Coates, who also issued occasionally, at a later date, the Canadian Punch, containing clever political cartoons in the style of the London Punch.

We have spoken once, we believe, of the Canadian Freeman's motto, "Est natura hominum novitatis avida;" and of the Patriot's, just above, "Common Sense." Fothergill's "Weekly Register" was headed by a brief cento from Shakespeare: "Our endeavour will be to stamp the very body of the time--its form and pressure--: we shall extenuate nothing, nor shall we set down aught in malice."

Other early Canadian newspaper mottoes which pleased the boyish fancy years ago, and which may still be pleasantly read on the face of the same long-lived and yet flourishing publications, were the "Mores et studia et populos et praelia dicam," of the Quebec Mercury, and the "Animos novitate tenebo" of the Montreal Herald. The Mercury and Herald likewise retain to this day their respective early devices: the former, Hermes, all proper, as the Heralds would say, descending from the sky, with the motto from Virgil, Mores et studia et populos et praelia dicam: the latter the Genius of Fame, bearing in one hand the British crown, and sounding as she speeds through the air her trump, from which issues the above-cited motto. Over the editorial column the device is repeated, with the difference that the floating Genius here adds the authority for her quotation--Ovid, a la Dr. Pangloss. Underneath the floating figure are many minute roses and shamrocks; but towering up to the right and left with a significant predominance, for the special gratification of Montrealers of the olden time, the thistle of Scotland.

Besides these primitive mottoes and emblematic headings, the Mercury and Herald likewise retain, each of them, to this day a certain pleasant individuality of aspect in regard to type, form and arrangement, by which they are each instantly to be recognized. This adherence of periodicals to their original physiognomy is very interesting, and in fact advantageous, inspiring in readers a certain tenderness of regard. Does not the cover of Blackwood, for example, even the poor United States copy of it, sometimes awaken in the chaos of a public reading-room table, a sense of affection, like a friend seen in the midst of a promiscuous crowd? The English Reviews too, as circulated among us from the United States, are conveniently recognized by their respective colours, although the English form of each has been, for cheapness' sake, departed from. The Montreal Gazette likewise survives, preserving its ancient look in many respects, and its high character for dignity of style and ability.

In glancing back at the supply of intelligence and literature provided at an early day for the Canadian community, it repeatedly occurs to us to name, as we have done, the Albion newspaper of New York. From this journal it was that almost every one in our Upper Canadian York who had the least taste for reading, derived the principal portion of his or her acquaintance with the outside world of letters, as well as the minuter details of prominent political events. As its name implies, the Albion was intended to meet the requirements of a large number of persons of English birth and of English descent, whose lot is cast on this continent, but who nevertheless cannot discharge from their hearts their natural love for England, their natural pride in her unequalled civilization. "Caelum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt," was its gracefully-chosen and appropriate motto.

Half a century ago, the boon of a judicious literary journal like the Albion was to dwellers in Canada a very precious one. The Quarterlies were not then reprinted as now; nor were periodicals like the Philadelphia Eclectic or the Boston Living Age readily procurable. Without the weekly visit of the Albion, months upon months would have passed without any adequate knowledge being enjoyed of the current products of the literary world. For the sake of its extracted reviews, tales and poetry the New York Albion was in some cases, as we well remember, loaned about to friends and read like a much sought after book in a modern circulating library. And happily its contents were always sterling, and worth the perusal. It was a part of our own boyish experience to become acquainted for the first time with a portion of Keble's Christian Year, in the columns of that paper.

The Albion was founded in 1822 by Dr. John Charlton Fisher, who afterwards became a distinguished Editor at Quebec. To him Dr. Bartlett succeeded. The New York Albion still flourishes under Mr. Cornwallis, retaining its high character for the superior excellence of its matter, retaining also many traits of its ancient outward aspect, in the style of its type, in the distribution of its matter. It has also retained its old motto. Its familiar vignette heading of oak branches round the English rose, the thistle of Scotland, and the shamrock, has been thinned out, and otherwise slightly modified; but it remains a fine artistic composition, well executed.

There was another journal from New York much esteemed at York for the real respectability of its character, the New York Spectator. It was read for the sake of its commercial and general information, rather than for its literary news. To the minds of the young the Greek revolution had a singular fascination. We remember once entertaining the audacious idea of constructing a history of the struggle in Greece, of which the authorities would, in great measure, have been copious cuttings from the New York Spectator columns. One advantage of the embryo design certainly was a familiarity acquired with the map of Hellas within and without the Peloponnesus. Navarino, Modon, Coron, Tripolitza, Mistra, Missolonghi, with the incidents that had made each temporarily famous, were rendered as familiar to the mind's eye as Sparta, Athens, Thebes, Thermopylae, and the events connected with each respectively, of an era two thousand years previously, afterwards from other circumstances became. Colocotroni, Mavrocordato, Miaulis, Bozzaris, were heroes to the imagination as fully as Miltiades, Alcibiades, Pericles, and Nicias, afterwards became.

Partly in consequence of the eagerness with which the columns of the New York Spectator used to be ransacked with a view to the composition of the proposed historical work, we remember the peculiar interest with which we regarded the editor of that periodical at a later period, on falling in with him, casually, at the Falls of Niagara. Mr. Hall was then well advanced in years; and from a very brief interview, the impression received was, that he was the beau ideal of a veteran editor of the highest type; for a man, almost omniscient; unslumberingly observant; sympathetic, in some way, with every passing occurrence and every remark; tenacious of the past; grasping the present on all sides, with readiness, genial interest and completeness. In aspect, and even to some extent in costume, Mr. Hall might have been taken for an English bishop of the early part of the Victorian era.

XX.

QUEEN STREET, FROM GEORGE STREET TO YONGE STREET.--MEMORIES OF THE OLD COURT HOUSE.

When we pass George Street we are in front of the park-lot originally selected by Mr. Secretary Jarvis. It is now divided from south to north by Jarvis street, a thoroughfare opened up through the property in the time of Mr. Samuel Peters Jarvis, the Secretary's son. Among the pleasant villas that now line this street on both sides, there is one which still is the home of a Jarvis, the Sheriff of the County.

Besides filling the conspicuous post indicated by his title, Mr. Secretary Jarvis was also the first Grand Master of the Masons in Upper Canada. The archives of the first Masonic Lodges of York possess much interest. Through the permission of Mr. Alfio de Grassi who has now the custody of them, we are enabled to give the following extracts from a letter of Mr. Secretary Jarvis, bearing the early date of March 28th, 1792:--"I am in possession of my sign manual from his Majesty," Mr. Jarvis writes on the day just named, from Pimlico, to his relative Munson Jarvis, at St. John, New Brunswick, "constituting me Secretary and Registrar of the Province of Upper Canada, with power of appointing my Deputies, and in every other respect a very full warrant. I am also" he continues, "very much flattered to be enabled to inform you that the Grand Lodge of England have within these very few days appointed Prince Edward, who is now in Canada, Grand Master of Ancient Masons in Lower Canada; and William Jarvis, Secretary and Registrar of Upper Canada, Grand Master of Ancient Masons in that Province. However trivial it may appear to you who are not a Mason, yet I assure you that it is one of the most honourable appointments that they could have conferred. The Duke of Athol is the Grand Master of Ancient Masons in England. Lord Dorchester with his private Secretary, and the Secretary of the Province, called on us yesterday," Mr. Jarvis proceeds to say, "and found us in the utmost confusion, with half a dozen porters in the house packing up. However his Lordship would come in, and sat down in a small room which was reserved from the general bustle. He then took Mr. Peters home with him to dine: hence we conclude a favourable omen in regard to his consecration, which we hope is not far distant. Mrs. Jarvis," the Secretary informs his relative, "leaves England in great spirits. I am ordered my passage on board the transport with the Regiment, and to do duty without pay for the passage only. This letter," he adds, "gets to Halifax by favour of an intimate friend of Mr. Peters, Governor Wentworth, who goes out to take possession of his Government. The ship that I am allotted to is the Henneker, Captain Winter, a transport with the Queen's Rangers on board."

The Prince Edward spoken of was afterwards Duke of Kent and father of the present Queen. Lord Dorchester was the Governor-General of the Province of Quebec before its division into Upper and Lower Canada. Mr. Peters was in posse the Bishop of the new Province about to be organized. It was a part of the original scheme, as shewn by the papers of the first Governor of Upper Canada, that there should be an episcopal see in Upper Canada, as there already was at Quebec in the lower province. But this was not carried into effect until 1839, nearly half a century later.

When Jarvis Street was opened up through the Secretary's park-lot, the family residence of his son Mr. Samuel Peters Jarvis, a handsome structure of the early brick era of York, in the line of the proposed thoroughfare, was taken down. Its interior fittings of solid black walnut were bought by Captain Carthew and transferred by him without much alteration to a house which he put up on part of the Deer-park property on Yonge Street.

A large fragment of the offices attached to Mr. Jarvis's house was utilized and absorbed in a private residence on the west side of Jarvis Street, and the gravel drive to the door is yet to be traced in the less luxuriant vegetation of certain portions of the adjoining flower gardens. Mr. Secretary Jarvis died in 1818. He is described by those who remember him, as possessing a handsome, portly presence. Col. Jarvis, the first military commandant in Manitoba, is a grandson of the Secretary.

Of Mr. McGill, first owner of the next park-lot, and of his personal aspect, we have had occasion to speak in connection with the interior of St. James' Church. Situated in fields at the southern extremity of a stretch of forest, the comfortable and pleasantly-situated residence erected by him for many years seemed a place of abode quite remote from the town. It was still to be seen in 1870 in the heart of McGill Square, and was long occupied by Mr. McCutcheon, a brother of the inheritor of the bulk of Mr. McGill's property, who in accordance with his uncle's will, and by authority of an Act of Parliament, assumed the name of McGill, and became subsequently well known throughout Canada as the Hon. Peter McGill.

(The founder of McGill College in Montreal was of a different family. The late Capt. James McGill Strachan derived his name from the marriage-connection of his father with the latter.)

In the Gazette and Oracle of Nov. 13th, 1803, we observe Mr. McGill, of York, advertising as "agent for purchases" for pork and beef to be supplied to the troops stationed "at Kingston, York, Fort George, Fort Chippewa, Fort Erie, and Amherstburg." In 1818 he is Receiver-General, and Auditor-General of land patents. He had formerly been an officer in the Queen's Rangers, and his name repeatedly occurs in "Simcoe's History" of the operations of that corps during the war of the American Revolution.

From that work we learn that in 1779 he, with the commander himself of the corps, then Lieut.-Col. Simcoe, fell into the hands of the revolutionary authorities, and was treated with great harshness in the common jail of Burlington, New Jersey; and when a plan was devised for the Colonel's escape, Mr. McGill volunteered, in order to further its success, to personate his commanding officer in bed, and to take the consequences, while the latter was to make his way out.

The whole project was frustrated by the breaking of a false key in the lock of a door which would have admitted the confined soldiers to a room where "carbines and ammunition" were stored away. Lieut.-Col. Simcoe, it is added in the history just named, afterwards offered Mr. McGill an annuity, or to make him Quartermaster of Cavalry; the latter, we are told, he accepted of, as his grandfather had been an officer in King William's army; and "no man," Col. Simcoe himself notes, "ever executed the office with greater integrity, courage and conduct."

The southern portion of Mr. McGill's park-lot has, in the course of modern events, come to be assigned to religious uses. McGill Square, which contained the old homestead and its surroundings, and which was at one period intended, as its name indicates, to be an open public square, was secured in 1870 by the Wesleyan Methodist body and made the site of its principal place of worship and of various establishments connected therewith.

Immediately north, on the same property, the Roman Catholics had previously built their principal place of worship and numerous appurtenances, attracted possibly to the spot by the expectation that McGill Square would continue for ever an open ornamental piece of ground.

A little farther to the north a cross-street, leading from Yonge Street eastward, bears the name of McGill. An intervening cross-street preserves the name of Mr. Crookshank, who was Mr. McGill's brother-in-law.

The name that appears on the original survey of York and its suburbs as first occupant of the park-lot westward of Mr. McGill's, is that of Mr. George Playter. This is the Captain Playter, senior, of whom we have already spoken in our excursion up the valley of the Don. We have named him also among the forms of a past age whom we ourselves remember often seeing in the congregation assembled of old in the wooden St. James'.

Mr. Playter was an Englishman by birth, but had passed many of his early years in Philadelphia, where for a time he attached himself to the Society of Friends, having selected as a wife a member of that body. But on the breaking out of the troubles that led to the independence of the United States, his patriotic attachment to old far-off England compelled him, in spite of the peaceful theories of the denomination to which he had united himself, promptly to join the Royalist forces.

He used to give a somewhat humorous account of his sudden return to the military creed of ordinary mundane men. "Lie there, Quaker!" cried he to his cutaway, buttonless, formal coat, as he stripped it off and flung it down, for the purpose of donning the soldier's habiliments. But some of the Quaker observances were never relinquished in his family. We well remember, in the old homestead on the Don, and afterwards at his residence on Caroline Street, a silent mental thanksgiving before meals, that always took place after every one had taken his seat at the table; a brief pause was made, and all bent for a moment slightly forwards. The act was solemn and impressive.

Old Mr. Playter was a man of sprightly and humorous temperament, and his society was accordingly much enjoyed by those who knew him. A precise attention to his dress and person rendered him an excellent type in which to study the costume and style of the ordinary unofficial citizen of a past generation. Colonel M. F. Whitehead, of Port Hope, in a letter kindly expressive of his interest in these reminiscences of York, incidentally furnished a little sketch that will not be out of place here. "My visits to York, after I was articled to Mr. Ward, in 1819," Colonel Whitehead says, "were frequent. I usually lodged at old Mr. Playter's, Mrs. Ward's father. [This was when he was still living at the homestead on the Don.] The old gentleman often walked into town with me, by Castle Frank; his three-cornered hat, silver knee-buckles, broad-toed shoes and large buckles, were always carefully arranged."--To the equipments, so well described by Colonel Whitehead, we add from our own boyish recollection of Sunday sights, white stockings and a gold-headed cane of a length unusual now.

According to a common custom prevalent at an early time, Mr. Playter set apart on his estate on the Don a family burial-plot, where his own remains and those of several members of his family and their descendants were deposited. Mr. George Playter, son of Captain George Playter, was some time Deputy Sheriff of the Home District; and Mr. Eli Playter, another son, represented for some sessions in the Provincial Parliament the North Riding of York. A daughter, who died unmarried in 1832, Miss Hannah Playter, "Aunt Hannah," as she was styled in the family, is pleasantly remembered as well for the genuine kindness of her character, as also for the persistency with which, like her father, she carried forward into a new and changed generation, and retained to the last, the costume and manners of the reign of King George the Third.

Immediately in front of the extreme westerly portion of the park lot which we are now passing, and on the south side of the present Queen Street in that direction, was situated an early Court House of York, associated in the memories of most of the early people with their first acquaintance with forensic pleadings and law proceedings.

This building was a notable object in its day. In an old plan of the town we observe it conspicuously delineated in the locality mentioned--the other public buildings of the place, viz., the Commissariat Stores, the Government House, the Council Chamber (at the present north-west corner of York and Wellington Streets), the District School, St. James's Church, and the Parliament House (by the Little Don), being marked in the same distinguished manner. It was a plain two-storey frame building, erected in the first instance as an ordinary place of abode by Mr. Montgomery, father of the Montgomerys, once of the neighbourhood of Eglinton, on Yonge Street. It stood in a space defined by the present line of Yonge Street on the west, by nearly the present line of Victoria Street on the east, by Queen Street on the north and by Richmond Street on the south. Though situated nearer Queen Street than Richmond Street, it faced the latter, and was approached from the latter.--It was Mr. Montgomery who obtained by legal process the opening of Queen Street in the rear of his property. In consequence of the ravine of which we have had occasion so often to speak, the allowance for this street as laid down in the first plans of York had been closed up by authority from Yonge Street to Caroline Street.

It was seriously proposed in 1800 to close up Queen Street to the westward also from Yonge Street "so far as the Common," that is, the Garrison Reserve, on the ground that such street was wholly unnecessary, there being in that direction already one highway into the town, namely, Richmond Street, situated only ten rods to the south. In 1800 the southern termination of Yonge Street was where we are now passing, at the corner of Montgomery's lot. At this point the farmers' waggons from the north turned off to the eastward, proceeding as far as Toronto Street, down which they wended their way to Richmond Street, and so on to Church Street and King Street, finally reaching the Market Place.

Of the opening of Yonge Street through a range of building lots which in 1800 blocked the way from Queen Street southwards, we shall speak hereafter in the excursion which we propose to make through Yonge Street from south to north, the moment we have finished recording our collections and recollections in relation to Queen Street.

Memories of the Old Court House.

In the old Court House, situated as we have described, we received our first boyish impressions of the solemnities and forms observed in Courts of Law. In paying a visit of curiosity subsequently to the singular series of Law Courts which are to be found ranged along one side of Westminster Hall in London--each one of them in succession entered through the heavy folds of lofty mysterious-looking curtains, each one of them crowded with earnest pleaders and anxious suitors, each one of them provided with a judge elevated in solitary majesty on high, each one of them seeming to the passing stranger more like a scene in a drama than a prosaic reality--we could not but revert in memory to the old upper chamber at York where the remote shadows of such things were for the first time encountered.

It was startling to remember of a sudden that our early Upper Canadian Judges, our early Upper Canadian Barristers, came fresh from these Westminster Hall Courts! What a contrast must have been presented to these men in the rude wilds to which they found themselves transported. Riding the Circuit in the Home, Midland, Eastern and Western Districts at the beginning of the present century was no trivial undertaking. Accommodation for man and horse was for the most part scant and comfortless. Locomotion by land and water was perilous and slow, and racking to the frame. The apartments procurable for the purposes of the Court were of the humblest kind.

Our pioneer jurisconsults in their several degrees, however, like our pioneers generally, unofficial as well as official, did their duty. They quietly initiated in the country, customs of gravity and order which have now become traditional; and we see the result in the decent dignity which surrounds, at the present day, the administration of justice in Canada in the Courts of every grade.

Prior to the occupation of Mr. Montgomery's house as the Court House at York, the Court of King's Bench held its sessions in a portion of the Government Buildings at the east end of the town, destroyed in the war of 1813. On June 25, 1812, the Sheriff, John Beikie, advertises in the Gazette that "a Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace for the Home District will be holden at the Government Buildings in the town of York on Tuesday, the fourteenth day of July now next ensuing, at the hour of ten o'clock in the forenoon, of which all Justices of the Peace, Coroners, Gaolers, High Constables, Constables and Bailiffs are desired to take notice, and that they be then and there present with their Rolls, Records, and other Memoranda to do and perform those things which by reason of their respective offices shall be to be done."

It is with the Court Room in the Government Buildings that the Judge, Sheriff and Crown Counsel were familiar, who were engulfed in Lake Ontario in 1805. The story of the total loss of the government schooner Speedy, Captain Thomas Paxton, is widely known. In that ill-fated vessel suddenly went down in a gale in the dead of night, along with its commander and crew, Judge Cochrane, Solicitor-General Gray, Mr. Angus McDonell, Sheriff of York, Mr. Fishe, the High Bailiff, an Indian prisoner about to be tried at Presqu'Isle for murder, two interpreters, Cowan and Ruggles, several witnesses, and Mr. Herchmer, a merchant of York; in all thirty-nine persons, of whom no trace was ever afterwards discovered.

The weather was threatening, the season of the year stormy (7th October), and the schooner was suspected not to be sea-worthy. But the orders of the Governor, General Peter Hunter, were peremptory. Mr. Weekes, of whom we have heard before, escaped the fate that befel so many connected with his profession, by deciding to make the journey to Presqu'Isle on horseback. (For the seat in the House rendered vacant by the sudden removal of Mr. McDonell, Mr. Weekes was the successful candidate.)

The name of the Indian who was on his way to be tried was Ogetonicut. His brother, Whistling Duck, had been killed by a white man, and he took his revenge on John Sharp, another white man. The deed was done at Ball Point on Lake Scugog, where John Sharp was in charge of a trading-post for furs belonging to the Messrs. Farewell. The Governor had promised, so it was alleged, that the slayer of Whistling Duck should be punished. But a twelvemonth had elapsed and nothing had been done. The whole tribe, the Muskrat branch of the Chippewas, with their Chief Wabbekisheco at their head, came up in canoes to York on this occasion, starting from the mouth of Annis's creek, near Port Oshawa, and encamping at Gibraltar Point on the peninsula in front of York. A guard of soldiers went over to assist in the arrest of Ogetonicut, who, it appears, had arrived with the rest. The Chief Wabbekisheco, took the culprit by the shoulder and delivered him up. He was lodged in the jail at York.

During the summer it was proved by means of a survey that the spot where Sharp had been killed was within the District of Newcastle. It was held necessary, therefore, that the trial should take place in that District. Sellick's, at the Carrying Place, was to have been the scene of the investigation, and thither the Speedy was bound when she foundered. Mr. Justice Cochrane was a most estimable character personally, and a man of distinguished ability. He was only in his 28th year, and had been Chief Justice of Prince Edward Island before his arrival in Upper Canada. He was a native of Halifax, in Nova Scotia, but had studied law in Lincoln's Inn, and was called to the Bar in England.

In the old Court House, near which we are now passing, were assigned to convicted culprits, with unflinching severity and in a no inconsiderable number of instances, all the penalties enjoined in the criminal code of the day--the lash, the pillory, the stocks, the gallows. We have conversed with an old inhabitant of Toronto, who had not only here heard the penalty of branding ordered by the Judge, but had actually seen it in open court inflicted, the iron being heated in the great wood-stove that warmed the room, and the culprit made to stretch out his hand and have burnt thereon the initial letter of the offence committed.

Here cases came up repeatedly, arising out of the system of slavery which at the beginning was received in Canada, apparently as an inevitable part and parcel of the social arrangements of a colony on this continent.

On the first of March, 1811, we have it on the record, "William Jarvis, of the Town of York, Esq. (this is the Secretary again), informed the Court that a negro boy and girl, his slaves, had the evening before been committed to prison for having stolen gold and silver out of his desk in his dwelling-house, and escaped from their said master; and prayed that the Court would order that the said prisoners, with one Coachly, a free negro, also committed to prison on suspicion of having advised and aided the said boy and girl in eloping with their master's property." Thereupon it was "Ordered,--That the said negro boy, named Henry, commonly called Prince, be re-committed to prison, and there safely kept till delivered according to law, and that the girl do return to her said master; and Coachly be discharged."

At the date just mentioned Slavery was being gradually extinguished by an Act of the Provincial Legislature of Upper Canada, passed at Newark in 1793, which forbade the further introduction of slaves, and ordered that all slave children born after the 9th of July in that year should be free on attaining the age of twenty-five.

Most gentlemen, from the Administrator of the Government downwards, possessed some slaves. Peter Russell, in 1806, was anxious to dispose of two of his, and thus advertised in the Gazette and Oracle, mentioning his prices:--"To be sold: a Black Woman named Peggy, aged forty years, and a Black Boy, her son, named Jupiter, aged about fifteen years, both of them the property of the subscriber. The woman is a tolerable cook and washerwoman, and perfectly understands making soap and candles. The boy is tall and strong for his age, and has been employed in the country business, but brought up principally as a house servant. They are each of them servants for life. The price of the woman is one hundred and fifty dollars. For the boy two hundred dollars, payable in three years, with interest from the day of sale, and to be secured by bond, &c. But one-fourth less will be taken for ready money. York, Feb. 19th, 1806. Peter Russell."

According to our ideas at the present moment, such an advertisement as this is shocking enough. But we must judge the words and deeds of men by the spirit of the age in which they lived and moved.

Similar notices were common a century since in the English newspapers. It is in fact asserted that at that period there were probably more slaves in England than in Virginia. In the London Public Advertiser, of March 28th, 1769, we have, for example, the following: "To be sold, a Black Girl, the property of J. B----, eleven years of age, who is extremely handy, works at her needle tolerably, and speaks English perfectly well; is of an excellent temper, and willing disposition. Enquire of Mr. Owen, at the Angel Inn, behind St. Clement's Church, in the Strand." And again, in the Edinburgh Evening Courant of April 18th, 1768, we have, "A Black Boy to sell. To be sold a Black Boy with long hair, stout made and well limbed; is good tempered; can dress hair, and take care of a horse indifferently. He has been in Britain near three years. Any person that inclines to purchase him may have him for L40. He belongs to Captain Abercrombie, at Brighton. This advertisement not to be repeated."

The poet sings--

"Slaves cannot breathe in England: if their lungs Receive our air, that moment they are free; They touch our country and their shackles fall."

But this was not true until Lord Mansfield, in 1772, uttered his famous judgment in the case of James Somerset, a slave brought over by a Mr. Stewart from Jamaica. Cowper's lines are in reality a versification of a portion of Lord Mansfield's words. A plea had been set up that villeinage had never been abolished by law in England; ergo, the possession of slaves was not illegal. But Lord Mansfield ruled: "Villeinage has ceased in England, and it cannot be revived. The air of England," he said, " has long been too pure for a slave, and every man is free who breathes it. Every man who comes into England," Lord Mansfield continued, "is entitled to the protection of English law, whatever oppression he may heretofore have suffered, and whatever may be the colour of his skin: Quamvis ille niger, quamvis tu candidus esses. Let the negro be discharged." But this is a digression.

Peter Russell's Peggy had been giving him uneasiness a few years previous to the advertisement copied above. She had been absenting herself without leave. Of this we are apprised in an advertisement dated York, September 2nd, 1803. It runs as follows: "The subscriber's black servant Peggy, not having his permission to absent herself from his service, the public are hereby cautioned from employing or harbouring her without the owner's leave. Whoever will do so after this notice may expect to be treated as the law directs. Peter Russell."

In the papers published at Niagara advertisements similar to those just given are to be seen. In the Niagara Herald of January 2nd, 1802, we have, "For sale: A negro man slave, 18 years of age, stout and healthy; has had the small pox and is capable of service either in the house or out-doors. The terms will be made easy to the purchaser, and cash or new lands received in payment. Enquire of the printer." And again in the Herald of January 18th: "For sale: the negro man and woman, the property of Mrs. Widow Clement. They have been bred to the business of a farm; will be sold on highly advantageous terms for cash or lands. Apply to Mrs. Clement."

Cash and lands were plainly beginning to be regarded as less precarious property than human chattels. In 1797 purchasers, however, were still advertising. In the Gazette and Oracle of October 11th, in that year, we read; "Wanted to purchase, a negro girl from seven to twelve years of age, of good disposition. For fuller particulars apply to the subscribers, W. and J. Crooks, West Niagara, Oct. 4th." At York, in 1800, the Gazette announces as "to be sold"--"A healthy strong negro woman, about thirty years of age; understands cooking, laundry and the taking care of poultry. N.B.--She can dress ladies' hair. Enquire of the Printers. York, Dec 20, 1800."

In respect to the following notice some explanation is needed. We presume the "Indian slave" spoken of must have been only part Indian. The detention of a native as a slave, if legal, would have been difficult. Mr. Charles Field, of Niagara, on the 28th of August, 1802, gave notice in the Herald: "All persons are forbidden harbouring, employing, or concealing my Indian slave Sal, as I am determined to prosecute any offender to the extremity of the law; and persons who may suffer her to remain in or upon their premises for the space of half-an-hour, without my written consent, will be taken as offending, and dealt with accordingly."

In the early volumes of the Quebec Gazette these slave advertisements are common. A rough wood-cut of a black figure running frequently precedes them. It appropriately illustrates the following one: "Run away from the subscriber on Tuesday, the 25th ult., a negro man, named Drummond, near six feet high, walks heavily; had on when he went away a dark coloured cloth coat and leather breeches. Whoever takes up and secures the said negro, so that his master may have him again, shall have Four Dollars reward, and all reasonable charges paid by John McCord. Speaks very bad English and next to no French." Another reads thus: "To be sold, a healthy Negro Boy, about fifteen years of age, well qualified to wait on a gentleman as a Body Servant. For further particulars inquire of the Printers."

Mr. Sol.-General Gray, lost in the Speedy, manumitted by his will, dated August 27th, 1803, and discharged from the state of slavery in which, as that document speaks, "she now is," his "faithful black woman servant, Dorinda," and gave her and her children their freedom; and that they might not want, directed that L1200 should be invested and the interest applied to their maintenance. To his black servants, Simon and John Baker, he gave, besides their freedom, 200 acres of land each, and pecuniary legacies. The Simon here named went down with his master in the Speedy; but John long survived. He used to state that his mother Dorinda, was a native of Guinea, and to describe Governor Hunter as a rough old warrior, who carried snuff in an outside pocket, whence he took it in handfuls, to the great disfigurement of his ruffled shirt-bosoms. His death was announced in the public papers by telegram from Cornwall, Ontario, bearing date January 17, 1871. "A coloured man," it said, "named John Baker, who attained his 105th year on the 25th ult., died here to-day. He came here as a chattel of the late Colonel Gray, in 1792, having seen service in the Revolutionary war. Subsequently he served throughout the war of 1812. He was wounded at Lundy's Lane, and has drawn a pension for fifty-seven years." Mr. Gray, it may be added, was a native of our Canadian town of Cornwall. His place of abode in York was in what is now Wellington Street, on the lot immediately to the west of the old "Council Chamber" (subsequently the residence of Chief Justice Draper.)

We ourselves, we remember, used to gaze, in former days, with some curiosity at the pure negress, Amy Pompadour, here in York, knowing that she had once been legally made a present of by Miss Elizabeth Russell to Mrs. Captain Denison.

But enough of the subject of Canadian slavery, to which we have been inadvertently led.

The old Court House, when abandoned by the law authorities for the new buildings on King Street, was afterwards occasionally employed for religious purposes. By an advertisement in the Advocate, in March, 1834, we learn that the adherents of David Willson, of Whitchurch, sometimes made use of it. It is there announced that "the Children of Peace will hold Worship in the Old Court House of York, on Sunday, the 16th instant, at Eleven and Three." Subsequently it became for a time the House of Industry or Poor House of the town.

Besides the legal cases tried and the judgments pronounced within the homely walls of the Old Court House, interest would attach to the curious scenes--could they be recovered and described--which there occurred, arising sometimes from the primitive rusticity of juries, and sometimes from their imperfect mastery of the English language, many of them being, as the German settlers of Markham and Vaughan were indiscriminately called, Dutchmen. Peter Ernest, appearing in court with the verdict of a jury of which he was foreman, began to preface the same with a number of peculiar German-English expressions which moved Chief Justice Powell to cut him short by the remark that he would have to commit him if he swore:--when Ernest observed that the perplexities through which he and the jury had been endeavouring to find their way, were enough to make better men than they were express themselves in an unusual way.--The verdict, pure and simple, was demanded. Ernest then announced that the verdict which he had to deliver was, that half of the jury were for "guilty" and half for "not guilty." That is, the Judge observed, you would have the prisoner half-hanged, or the half of him hanged. To which Peter replied, that would be as his Lordship pleased.--It was a case of homicide. Being sent back, they agreed to acquit.

Odd passages, too, between pertinacious counsel and nettled judges sometimes occurred, as when Mr. H. J. Boulton, fresh from the Inner Temple, sat down at the peremptory order of the Chief Justice, but added, "I will sit down, my Lord, but I shall instantly stand up again."

Chief Justice Powell, when on the Bench, had a humorous way occasionally, of indicating by a kind of quiet by-play, by a gentle shake of the head, a series of little nods, or movements of the eye or eyebrow, his estimate of an outre hypothesis or an ad captandum argument. This was now and then disconcerting to advocates anxious to figure, for the moment, in the eyes of a simple-minded jury, as oracles of extra authority.

Nights, likewise, there would be to be described, passed by juries in the diminutive jury-room, either through perplexity fairly arising out of the evidence, or through the dogged obstinacy of an individual.

Once, as we have heard from a sufferer on the occasion, Colonel Duggan was the means of keeping a jury locked up for a night here, he being the sole dissentient on a particular point. That night, however, was converted into one of memorable festivity, our informant said, a tolerable supply of provisions and comforts having been conveyed in through the window, sent for from the homes of those of the jury who were residents of York. The recusant Colonel was refused a moment's rest throughout the live-long night. During twelve long hours pranks and sounds were indulged in that would have puzzled a foreigner taking notes of Canadian Court House usages.

When 10 o'clock a.m. of the next day arrived, and the Court re-assembled, Colonel Duggan suddenly and obligingly effected the release of himself and his tormentors by consenting to make the necessary modification in his opinion.

Of one characteristic scene we have a record in the books of the Court itself. On the 12th of January, 1813, as a duly impanelled jury were retiring to their room to consider of their verdict, a remark was addressed to one of their number, namely, Samuel Jackson, by a certain Simeon Morton, who had been a witness for the defence: the remark, as the record notes, was in these words, to wit, "Mind your eye!" to which the said Jackson replied "Never fear!" The Crier of the Court, John Bazell, duly made affidavit of this illicit transaction. Accordingly, on the appearance in court of the jury, for the purpose of rendering their verdict, Mr. Baldwin, attorney for the prosecution, moved that the said Jackson be taken into custody: and the Judge gave order "that Samuel Jackson do immediately enter into recognizances, himself in L50, and two sureties in L25 each, for his appearance on the Saturday following at the Office of the Clerk of the Peace, which," as the record somewhat inelegantly adds, "he done." He duly appeared on the Saturday indicated, and, pleading ignorance, was discharged.

In the Court House in 1822 was tried a curious case in respect of a horse claimed by two parties, Major Heward, of York, and General Wadsworth, commandant of the United States Garrison at Fort Niagara. Major Heward had reared a sorrel colt on his farm east of the Don; and when it was three years old it was stolen. Nothing came of the offer of reward for its recovery until a twelvemonth after the theft, when a young horse was brought by a stranger to Major Heward, at York, and instantly recognized by him as his lost property. Some of the major's neighbours likewise had no doubt of the identity of the animal, which, moreover, when taken to the farm entered of his own accord the stable, and the stall, the missing colt used to occupy, and, when let out into the adjoining pasture, greeted in a friendly way a former mate, and ran to drink at the customary watering place. Shortly after, two citizens of the United States, Kelsey and Bond, make their appearance at York and claim the horse which they find on Major Heward's farm, as the property of General Wadsworth, commandant at Fort Niagara. Kelsey swore that he had reared the animal; that he had docked him with his own hands when only a few hours old; and that he had sold him about a year ago to General Wadsworth. Bond also swore positively that this was the horse which Kelsey had reared, and that he himself had broken him in, prior to the sale to General Wadsworth. It was alleged by these persons that a man named Docksteader had stolen the horse from General Wadsworth at Fort Niagara and had conveyed him across to the Canadian side.

In consequence of the positive evidence of these two men the jury gave their verdict in favour of General Wadsworth's claim, with damages to the amount of L50. It was nevertheless generally held that Kelsey and Bond's minute narrative of the colt's early history was a fiction; and that Docksteader, the man who transferred the animal from the United States side of the river to Canadian soil, had also had something to do with the transfer of the same animal from Canada to the United States a twelvemonth previously.

The subject of this story survived to the year 1851, and was recognized and known among all old inhabitants as "Major Heward's famous horse Toby."

Within the Court House on Richmond Street took place in 1818 the celebrated trial of a number of prisoners brought down from the Red River Settlement on charges of "high treason, murder, robbery, and conspiracy," as preferred against them by Lord Selkirk, the founder of the Settlement. When our neighbourhood was itself in fact nothing more than a collection of small isolated clearings, rough-hewn out of the wild, "the Selkirk Settlement" and the "North West" were household terms among us for remote regions in a condition of infinite savagery, in comparison with which we, as we prided ourselves, were denizens of a paradise of high refinement and civilization. Now that the Red River district has attained the dignity of a province and become a member of our Canadian Confederation, the trial referred to, arising out of the very birth-throes of Manitoba, has acquired a fresh interest.

The Earl of Selkirk, the fifth of that title, was a nobleman of enlightened and cultivated mind. He was the author of several literary productions esteemed in their day; amongst them, of a treatise on Emigration, which is spoken of by contemporaries as an exhaustive, standard work on the subject. For practically testing his theories, however, Lord Selkirk appears to have desired a field exclusively his own. Instead of directing his fellow-countrymen to one or other of the numerous prosperous settlements already in process of formation at easily accessible and very eligible spots along the St. Lawrence and the Lakes Ontario, Erie and Huron, he induced a considerable body of them to find their way to a point in the far interior of our northern continent, where civilization had as yet made no sensible inroad; to a locality so situated that if a colony could contrive to subsist there, it must apparently of necessity remain for a very long period dismally isolated. In 1803, Bishop Macdonell asked him, what could have induced a man of his high rank and great fortune, possessing the esteem and confidence of the Government and of every public man in Britain, to embark in an enterprise so romantic; and the reply given was, that, in his opinion, the situation of Great Britain, and indeed of all Europe, was at that moment so very critical and eventful, that a man would like to have a more solid footing to stand upon, than anything that Europe could offer. The tract of land secured by Lord Selkirk for emigration purposes was a part of the territory held by the Hudson's Bay Company, and was approached from Europe not so readily by the St. Lawrence route as by Hudson's Strait and Hudson's Bay. The site of the actual settlement was half-a-mile north of the confluence of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers, streams that unitedly flow northward into Lake Winnipeg, which communicates directly at its northern extremity with Nelson River, whose outlet is at Port Nelson or Fort York on Hudson's Bay. The population of the Settlement in the beginning of 1813 was 100. Mr. Miles Macdonell, formerly a captain in the Queen's Rangers, appointed by the Hudson's Bay Company first Governor of the District of Assiniboia, was made by the Earl of Selkirk superintendent of affairs at Kildonan. The rising village was called Kildonan, from the name of the parish in the county of Sutherland whence the majority of the settlers had emigrated.

The Montreal North West Company of Fur Traders was a rival of the Hudson's Bay Company. Whilst the latter traded for the most part in the regions watered by the rivers flowing into Hudson's Bay, the former claimed for their operations the area drained by the streams running into Lake Superior.

The North West Company of Montreal looked with no kindly eye on the settlement of Kildonan. An agricultural colony, in close proximity to their hunting grounds, seemed a dangerous innovation, tending to injure the local fur trade. Accordingly it was resolved to break up the infant colony. The Indians were told that they would assuredly be made "poor and miserable" by the new-comers if they were allowed to proceed with their improvements; because these would cause the buffalo to disappear. The colonists themselves were informed of the better prospects open to them in the Canadian settlements and were promised pecuniary help if they would decide to move. At the same time, the peril to which they were exposed from the alleged ill-will of the Indians was enlarged upon. Moreover, attacks with fire-arms were made on the houses of the colonists, and acts of pillage committed. The result was that in 1815, the inhabitants of Kildonan dispersed, proceeding, some of them, in the direction of Canada, and some of them northwards, purposing to make their way to Port Nelson, and to find, if possible, a conveyance thence back to the shores of old Scotland. Those, however, who took the northern route proceeded only as far as the northern end of Lake Winnipeg, establishing themselves for a time at Jack River House. They were then induced to return to their former settlement, by Mr. Colin Robertson, an agent of the Hudson's Bay Company, who assured them that a number of Highlanders were coming, via Hudson's Bay, to take up land at Kildonan. This proved to be the fact; and, in 1816, the revived colony consisted of more than 200 persons. On annoyance being offered to the settlement by the North West Company's agent, Mr. Duncan Cameron, who occupied a post called Fort Gibraltar, about half a mile off, Mr. Colin Robertson, with the aid of his Highlandmen, seized that establishment, and recovered two field-pieces and thirty stand of arms that had been taken from Kildonan the preceding year. Cameron himself was also made a prisoner. (Miles Macdonell, Governor of Assiniboia, had been captured by the said Cameron in the preceding year, and sent to Montreal.) A strong feeling was aroused among the half-breeds, far and near, who were in the interest of the North West Company. In the spring of 1816, Mr. Semple, the Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, appeared in person at the Red River, having been apprized of the growing troubles. During an angry conference on the 18th of June, with a band of seventy men, headed by Cuthbert, Grant, Lacerte, Fraser, Hoole, and Thomas McKay, half-breed employes of the North West Company, he was violently assaulted; and in the melee he was killed, together with five of his officers and sixteen of his people. Out of these events sprang the memorable trials that took place in the York Court House in 1818.

The Earl of Selkirk being desirous of witnessing the progress made by his emigrants at Red River, paid a visit to this continent in the autumn of 1815. On arriving at New York he heard of the dispersion at Kildonan, and the destruction of property there. He proceeded at once to Montreal and York to consult with the authorities. The news next reached him that his colony had been re-established, at least partially. He immediately despatched a trusty messenger, one Lagimoniere, with assurances that he himself would speedily be with them, bringing proper means of protection. But Lagimoniere was waylaid and never reached his destination.

It happened, about this time, in consequence of the peace just established with the United States, that the De Meuron, Watteville and Glengarry Fencible Regiments were disbanded in the country. About eighty men of the De Meuron, with four of the late officers, twenty of the Watteville, and a few of the Glengarry, with one of their officers, agreed to accompany Lord Selkirk to the Red River. On reaching the Sault, the tidings met the party of the second dispersion of the colony, and of the slaughter of Governor Semple and his officers. The whole band at once pushed on to Fort William, where were assembled many of the partners of the North West Company, with Mr. McGillivray, their principal Agent. Here were also some of the persons who had been made prisoners at Kildonan.

Armed simply with a commission of a Justice of the Peace, Lord Selkirk then and there, at his encampment opposite Fort William across the Kaministigoia, issued his warrant for the arrest of Mr. McGillivray.

It is duly served and Mr. McGillivray submits. Two partners who came over with him as bail are also instantly arrested. The prisoners had been previously liberated and information was procured from them.

Warrants were then issued for the arrest of the remainder of the partners, who were found in the Fort. Some resistance was now offered. The gate of the Fort was partially closed by force; but a party of twenty-five men instantly rushed up from the boats and cleared the way into the Fort. At the signal of a bugle-call more men came over from the encampment, and their approach put an end to the struggle. The arrests were then completed, and the remaining partners were marched down to the boats. "At the time this resistance to the warrant was attempted there were," our authority informs us, "about 200 Canadians, i. e., French, in the employment of the Company, in and about the Fort, together with 60 or 70 Iroquois Indians, also in the Company's service."

The Earl of Selkirk was plainly a man not to be trifled with; a chief who, in the olden time, would have been equal to the roughest emergency.

The prisoners brought down from Fort William, and after the lapse of nearly two years placed at the Bar in the Old Court House of York, were arraigned as follows: "Paul Brown and F. F. Boucher, for the murder of Robert Semple, Esq., on the 18th of June, 1816; John Siveright, Alexander McKenzie, Hugh McGillis, John McDonald, John McLaughlin and Simon Fraser, as accessories to the same crime; Cooper and Bennerman, for taking, on the third of April, 1815, with force and arms, eight pieces of cannon and one howitzer, the property of the Right Hon. Thomas, Earl of Selkirk, from his dwelling house, and putting in bodily fear of their lives certain persons found therein." The cannons were further described as being two of them brass field-pieces, two of them brass swivels, four of them iron swivels.--In each case the verdict was "not guilty."

The Judges were Chief Justice Powell, Mr. Justice Campbell, Mr. Justice Boulton, and Associate Justice W. Allan, Esq. The counsel for the Crown were Mr. Attorney-General Robinson and Mr. Solicitor-General Boulton. The counsel for the prisoners were Samuel Sherwood, Livius P. Sherwood, and W. W. Baldwin, Esq.

The juries in the three trials were not quite identical. Those that served on one or other of them are as follows:--George Bond, Joseph Harrison, Wm. Harrison, Joseph Shepperd, Peter Lawrence, Joshua Leach, John McDougall, jun., Wm. Moore, Alexander Montgomery, Peter Whitney, Jonathan Hale, Michael Whitmore, Harbour Stimpson, John Wilson, John Hough, Richard Herring.

The Earl of Selkirk was not present at the trials. He had proceeded to New York, on his way to Great Britain. He probably anticipated the verdicts that were rendered. The North-West Company influence in Upper and Lower Canada was very strong.

At a subsequent Court of Oyer and Terminer held at York, a true bill against the Earl and nineteen others was found by the Grand Jury, for "conspiracy to ruin the trade of the North-West Company." Mr. Wm. Smith, Under-Sheriff of the Western District, obtained a verdict of L500 damages for having been seized and confined by the said Earl when endeavouring to serve a warrant on him in Fort William; and Daniel McKenzie, a retired partner of the North-West Company, obtained a verdict of L1,500 damages for alleged false imprisonment by the Earl in the same Fort.--Two years later, namely, in 1820, Lord Selkirk died at Pau, in the South of France.

XXI.

QUEEN STREET--FROM YONGE STREET TO COLLEGE AVENUE.--DIGRESSION SOUTHWARD AT BAY STREET; OSGOODE HALL; DIGRESSION NORTHWARD AT THE AVENUE.

Leaving now the site of our ancient Court House, the spot at which we arrive in our tour is one of very peculiar interest. It is the intersection at right angles of the two great military ways carved out through the primitive forest of Western Canada by order of its first Governor. Dundas Street and Yonge Street were laid down in the first MS. maps of the country as highways destined to traverse the land in all future time, as nearly as practicable in right lines, the one from east to west, the other from south to north. They were denominated "streets," because their idea was taken from the famous ancient ways, still in several instances called "streets," which the Romans, when masters of primitive Britain, constructed for military purposes. To this day it is no unpleasant occupation for the visitor who has leisure, to track out the lines of these ancient roads across England. We ourselves once made a pilgrimage expressly for the purpose of viewing the intersection of Iknield Street and Watling Street, in the centre of Dunstable, and from our actual knowledge of what Canada was when its Yonge Street and Dundas Street were first hewn out, we realized all the more vividly the condition of central England when the Roman road-makers first began their work there.

Dundas Street has its name from the Right Hon. Henry Dundas, Secretary of State for the Colonies in 1794. In that year Governor Simcoe wrote as follows to Mr. Dundas:--"Dundas Street, the road proposed from Burlington Bay to the River Thames, half of which is completed, will connect by an internal communication the Detroit and settlements at Niagara. It is intended," he says, "to be extended northerly to York by the troops, and in process of time by the respective settlers to Kingston and Montreal." In another despatch to the same statesman he says:--"I have directed the surveyor, early in the next spring to ascertain the precise distance of the several routes which I have done myself the honour of detailing to you, and hope to complete the Military Street or Road the ensuing autumn." In a MS. map of about the same date Dundas Street is laid down from Detroit to the Pointe au Bodet, the terminus on the St. Lawrence of the old boundary line between Upper and Lower Canada. From the Rouge River it is sketched as running somewhat further back than the line of the present Kingston Road; and after leaving Kingston it is drawn as though it was expected to follow the water-shed between the Ottawa and the St. Lawrence. A road is sketched, running from the Pointe au Bodet to the Ottawa, and this Road is struck at an acute angle by Dundas Street.

A manuscript note appears on the map, "The Dundas Street is laid out from Oxford to the Bay of Quinte; it is nearly finished from Oxford to Burlington Bay."

In 1799 the Constellation, a paper published at Niagara, informs its readers, under the date of Friday, August 2nd, in that year, that "the wilderness from York to the Bay of Quinte is 120 miles; a road of this distance through it," it then says, "is contracted out by Government to Mr. Danforth, to be cut and completed by the first of July next; and which, when completed, will open a communication round the Lake by land from this town [Niagara] with the Bay, Kingston, &c. Hitherto," the Constellation continues, "in the season of winter our intercourse with that part of the province has been almost totally interrupted. Mr. Danforth has already made forty miles of excellent road," the editor encourages his patrons by observing, "and procured men to the number sufficient for doing the whole extent by the setting in of winter. It would be desirable also," Mr. Tiffany suggests, "were a little labour expended in bridging the streams between Burlington Bay and York; indeed the whole country," it is sweepingly declared, "affords room for amendment in this respect."

It is plain from this extract that if the men of the present generation would have a just conception of what was the condition of the region round Lake Ontario seventy years ago, they must pay a visit to the head of Lake Superior and perform the journey by the Dawson road and the rest of the newly-opened route from Fort William to Winnipeg.

The Gazette of December 14, 1799, was able to speak approvingly of the road to the eastward. "The road from this town (York) to the Midland District is," it says, "completed as far as the Township of Hope, about sixty miles, so that sleighs, waggons, &c., may travel it with safety. The report which has been made to the Government by the gentlemen appointed to inspect the work is," the Gazette then proceeds to say, "highly favourable to Mr. Danforth, the undertaker; and less imperfections could not be pointed out in so extensive a work. The remaining part," it is added, "will be accomplished by the first of July next." The road to which these various extracts refer, is still known as the Danforth Road. It runs somewhat to the north of the present Kingston Road, entering it by the town line at the "Four Mile Tree."

Yonge Street, which we purpose duly to perambulate hereafter, has its name from Sir George Yonge, a member of the Imperial Government in the reign of George III. He was of a distinguished Devonshire family, and a personal friend of Governor Simcoe's.

The first grantee of the park-lot which we next pass in our progress westward was Dr. Macaulay, an army surgeon attached successively to the 33rd Regiment and the famous Queen's Rangers. His sons, Sir James Macaulay, first Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and Colonel John Simcoe Macaulay, a distinguished officer of Engineers, are well remembered. Those who have personal recollections of Dr. Macaulay speak of him in terms of great respect. The southern portion of this property was at an early period laid out in streets and small lots. The collection of houses that here began to spring up was known as Macaulay Town, and was long considered as bearing the relation to York that Yorkville does to Toronto now. So late as 1833 Walton, in his Street Guide and Register, speaks of Macaulay Town as extending from Yonge Street to Osgoode Hall.

James Street retains the Christian name of Dr. Macaulay. Teraulay Street led up to the site of his residence, Teraulay Cottage, which after having been moved from its original position in connection with the laying out of Trinity Square off Yonge Street, was destroyed by fire in 1848. The northern portion of Macaulay Town was bounded by Macaulay Lane, described by Walton as "fronting the fields." This is Louisa Street.

Of the memorable possessor of the property on the south side of Queen Street, opposite Macaulay Town, Mr. Jesse Ketchum, we shall have occasion to speak hereafter, when we pass his place of abode in our proposed journey through Yonge Street. The existing Free Kirk place of worship, known as Knox Church, stands on land given by Mr. Ketchum, and on a site previously occupied by a long oblong red brick chapel which looked towards what is now Richmond Street, and in which a son-in-law of his, Mr. Harris, officiated to a congregation of United Synod Presbyterians. The donor was probably unconscious of the remarkable excellence of this particular position as a site for a conspicuous architectural object. The spire that towers up from this now central spot is seen with peculiarly good effect as one approaches Toronto by the thoroughfare of Queen Street whether from the east or from the west.

Digression Southward at Bay Street.

Old inhabitants say that Bay Street, where we are now arrived, was at the first in fact "Bear Street," and that it was popularly so called from a noted chase given to a bear out of the adjoining wood on the north, which, to escape from its pursuers, made for the water along this route. Mr. Justice Boulton's two horses, Bonaparte and Jefferson, were once seen, we are told, to attack a monster of this species that intruded on their pasture on the Grange property a little to the west. They are described as plunging at the animal with their fore feet. In 1809, a straggler from the forest of the same species was killed in George Street by Lieut. Fawcett, of the 100th regiment, who cleft the creature's head open with his sword. This Lieut. Fawcett was afterwards Lieut.-Col. of the 100th, and was severely wounded in the war of 1812.

Bay street, as we pass it, recalls one of the early breweries of York. We have already in another place briefly spoken of Shaw's and Hugill's. At the second north-west corner southward, beer of good repute in the town and neighbourhood was manufactured by Mr. John Doel up to 1847, when his brewery was accidentally burnt. Mr. Doel's name is associated with the early post-office traditions of York. For a number of years he undertook and faithfully accomplished the delivery with his own hands of all the correspondence of the place that was in those days thus distributed. His presence at a door in the olden time was often a matter of considerable interest.

In the local commotions of 1837, Mr. Doel ventured in an humble way to give aid and comfort to the promoters of what proved to be a small revolution. We cannot at this hour affirm that there was anything to his discredit in this. He acted, no doubt, in accordance with certain honest instincts. Men of his class and stamp, shrewd in their ideas and sturdy against encroachments, civil and religious, abound in old Somersetshire where he first drew breath. His supposed presumption in having opinions on public questions induced the satirists of the non-progressive side to mention him occasionally in their philippics and pasquinades. His name has thus become associated in the narrative of Upper Canadian affairs with those of the actual chiefs of the party of reform. In 1827, Robert Randal, M.P., was despatched to London as a delegate on the part of the so-called "Aliens" or unnaturalized British subjects of United States origin. A series of burlesque nominations, supposed to be suggested by Randal to the Colonial Secretary, appeared at this time, emanating of course from the friends of the officials of the day. We give the document. It will be seen that Mr. Doel is set down in it for the Postmaster-Generalship. The other persons mentioned will be all readily recalled.

"Nominations to be dictated by the Constitutional Meeting, on Saturday next, in the petition for the redress of grievances to be forwarded to London by Ambassador Randal. Barnabas Bidwell--President of Upper Canada--with an extra annual allowance for a jaunt, for the benefit of his health, to his native State of Massachusetts. W. W. Baldwin--Chief Justice and Surgeon-General to the Militia Forces--with 1,000,000 acres of land for past services, he and his family having been most shamefully treated in having grants of land withheld from them heretofore. John Rolph--Attorney-General, and Paymaster-General to the Militia--with 500,000 acres of land for his former accounts as District Paymaster, faithfully rendered. Marshall S. Bidwell--Solicitor-General--with an annual allowance of as much as he may be pleased to ask for, rendering no account--for the purpose of 'encouraging emigration from the United States,' and a contingent account if he shall find it convenient to accompany the President to Massachusetts. The Puisne Judges--to be chosen by ballot in the Market Square, on the 4th of July in each and every year, subject to the approval of W. W. B., the Chief Justice. Their salaries to be settled when going out of office. Jesse Ketchum, Jos. Sheppard, Dr. Stoyell, and A. Burnside--Executive and Legislative Councillors. Joint Secretaries--William Lyon McKenzie and Francis Collins, with all the printing. John Carey--Assistant Secretary, with as much of the printing as the Joint Secretaries may be pleased to allow him. Moses Fish--Inspector of Public Buildings and Fortifications. J. S. Baldwin--Contractor-General to the Province, with a monopoly of the trade. T. D. Morrison--Surveyor-General and Inspector of Hospitals. Little Doel--Postmaster-General. Peter Perry--Chancellor of the Exchequer and Receiver-General. The above persons being thus amply provided for, their friends, alias their stepping stones," the document just quoted proceeds to state, "may shift for themselves; an opportunity, however, will be offered them for 'doing a little business' by disposing of all other public offices to the lowest bidder, from whom neither talent nor security will be required for the performance of their duties. Tenders received at Russell Square, Front Street, York. The Magistracy, being of no consequence, is to be left for after consideration. The Militia, at the particular request of Paul Peterson, [M.P. for Prince Edward,] to be done away altogether; and the roads to take care of themselves. The Welland Canal to be stopped immediately, and Colonel By to be recalled from the Rideau Canal. N.B. Any suggestions for further improvements will be thankfully received at Russell Square, as above."--(The humour of all this can of course be only locally understood.)

Mr. Doel arrived in York in 1818, occupying a month in the journey from Philadelphia to Oswego, and a week in that from Oswego to Niagara, being obliged from stress of weather to put in at Sodus Bay. At Niagara he waited three days for a passage to York. He and his venerable helpmeet were surviving in 1870, at the ages respectively, of 80 and 82.--Not without reason, as the event proved, they lived for many years in a state of apprehension in regard to the stability of the lofty spire of a place of worship close to their residence. In 1862, that spire actually fell, eastward as it happened, and not westward, doing considerable damage. Mr. Doel died in 1871.

By the name of the short street passing from Adelaide Street to Richmond Street, a few chains to the west of Mr. Doel's corner, we are reminded of Harvey Shepard, a famous worker in iron of the former time, whose imprint on axe, broad axe or adze, was a guarantee to the practical backwoodsman of its temper and serviceable quality. Harvey Shepard's axe factory was on the west side of this short street. Before his establishment here he worked in a smithy of the customary village type, on King Street, on the property of Jordan Post. Like Jordan Post himself, Harvey Shepard was of the old fashioned New England mould, elongated and wiry. After a brief suspension of business, a placard hung up in the country inns characteristically announced to his friends and the public that he had resumed his former occupation and that he would, "by the aid of Divine Providence," undertake to turn out as good axes as any that he had ever made; which acknowledgement of the source of his skill is commendable surely, if unusual. So also, there is no one who will refuse to applaud an epigrammatic observation of his, when responding to an appeal of charity. "Though dealing usually in iron only, I keep," he said, "a little stock of silver and gold for such a call as this." The factory on Shepard Street was afterwards worked by Mr. J. Armstrong, and subsequently by Mr. Thomas Champion, formerly of Sheffield, who, in 1838, advertised that he had "a large stock of Champion's warranted cast steel axes, made at the factory originally built by the late Harvey Shepard, and afterwards occupied by John Armstrong. As Shepard's and Armstrong's axes have been decidedly preferred before any others in the Province," the advertisement continues, "it is only necessary to state that Champion's are made by the same workmen, and from the very best material, to ensure for them the same continued preference."--We now return from our digression southward at Bay Street.

Chief Justice Elmsley was the first possessor of the hundred acres westward of the Macaulay lot. He effected, however, a certain exchange with Dr. Macaulay. Preferring land that lay higher, he gave the southern half of his lot for the northern half of his neighbour's, the latter at the same time discerning, as is probable, the prospective greater value of a long frontage on one of the highways into the town. Of Mr. Elmsley, we have had occasion to speak in our perambulation of King Street in connection with Government House, which in its primitive state was his family residence; and in our progress through Yonge Street hereafter we shall again have to refer to him. In 1802 he was promoted from a Puisne Judgeship in Upper Canada to the Chief Justiceship of Lower Canada.

The park-lot which follows was originally secured by one who has singularly vanished out of the early traditions of York--the Rev. T. Raddish. His name is inscribed on this property in the first plan, and also on part of what is now the south-east portion of the Government-house grounds. He emigrated to these parts under the express auspices of the first Lieutenant-Governor, and was expected by him to take a position of influence in the young colony of Upper Canada. But, habituated to the amenities and conveniencies of an old community, he speedily discovered either that an entirely new society was not suited to him or that he himself did not dovetail well into it. He appears to have remained in the country only just long enough to acquire for himself and heirs the fee simple of a good many acres of its virgin soil. In 1826 the southern portion of Mr. Raddish's park-lot became the property of Sir John Robinson, at the time Attorney General.--The site of Osgoode Hall, six acres, was, as we have been assured, the generous gift of Sir John Robinson to the Law Society, and the name which the building bears was his suggestion.

Osgoode Hall.

The east wing of the existing edifice was the original Osgoode Hall, erected under the eye of Dr. W. W. Baldwin, at the time Treasurer of the Society. It was a plain square matter-of-fact brick building two storeys and a half in height. In 1844-46 a corresponding structure was erected to the west, and the two were united by a building between, surmounted by a low dome. In 1857-60 the whole edifice underwent a renovation; the dome was removed; a very handsome facade of cut stone was put up; the inner area, all constructed of Caen stone, reminding one of the interior of a Genoese or Roman Palace, was added, with the Court Rooms, Library and other appurtenances, on a scale of dignity and in a style of architectural beauty surpassed only by the new Law Courts in London. The pediment of each wing, sustained aloft on fluted Ionic columns, seen on a fine day against the pure azure of a northern sky, is something enjoyable.

Great expense has been lavished by the Benchers on this Canadian Palais de Justice; but the effect of such a pile, kept in its every nook and corner and in all its surroundings in scrupulous order, is invaluable, tending to refine and elevate each successive generation of our young candidates for the legal profession, and helping to inspire amongst them a salutary esprit de corps.

The Library, too, here to be seen, noble in its dimensions and aspect, must, even independently of its contents, tend to create a love of legal study and research.

The Law Society of Osgoode Hall was incorporated in 1822. The Seal bears a Pillar on which is a beaver holding a Scroll inscribed Magna Charta. To the right and left are figures of Justice and Strength (Hercules.)

An incident associated in modern times with Osgoode Hall is the Entertainment given there to the Prince of Wales during his visit to Canada in 1860, on which occasion, at night, all the architectural lines of the exterior of the building were brilliantly marked out by rows of minute gas-jets.

Here, too, were held the impressive funeral obsequies of Sir John Robinson, the distinguished Chief Justice of Upper Canada, in 1862. In the Library is a large painting of him in oil, in which his finely cut Reginald Heber features are well delineated. Sayer Street, passing northward on the east side of Osgoode Hall, was so named by Chief Justice Robinson, in honour of his mother. In 1870 the name was changed, probably without reflection and certainly without any sufficient cause.

The series of paintings begun in Osgoode Hall, conservative to future ages of the outward presentment of our Chief Justices, Chancellors and Judges, is very interesting. All of them, we believe, are by Berthon, of Toronto. No portrait of Chief Justice Osgoode, however, is at present here to be seen. The engraving contained in this volume is from an original in the possession of Capt. J. K. Simcoe, R. N., of Wolford, in the County of Devon.

After filling the office of Chief Justice in Upper Canada, Mr. Osgoode was removed to the same high position in Lower Canada. He resigned in 1801 and returned to England. Among the deaths in the Canadian Review of July, 1824, his is recorded in the following terms:--"At his Chambers in the Albany, London, on the 17th of February last, Wm. Osgoode, Esq., formerly Chief Justice of Canada, aged 70. By the death of this gentleman," it is added, "his pension of L800 sterling paid by this Province now ceases." It is said of him, "no person admitted to his intimacy ever failed to conceive for him that esteem which his conduct and conversation always tended to augment." Garneau, in his History of Canada, iii., 117, without giving his authority, says that he was an illegitimate son of George III. Similar tattle has been rife from time to time in relation to other personages in Canada.

A popular designation of Osgoode Hall long in vogue was "Lawyers' Hall:"

"Farewell, Toronto, of great glory, Of valour, too, in modern story; Farewell to Courts, to Lawyers' Hall, The Justice seats, both great and small: Farewell Attorneys, Special Pleaders, Equity Draftsmen, and their Readers. Canadian Laws, and Suits, to song Of future Bard, henceforth belong."

Thus closed a curious production in rhyme entitled Curiae Canadenses, published anonymously in 1843, but written by Mr. John Rumsey, an English barrister, sometime domiciled here. In one place is described the migration of the Court of Chancery back from Kingston, whither it was for a brief interval removed, when Upper and Lower Canada were re-united. The minstrel says:

"Dreary and sad was Frontenac: Thy duke ne'er made a clearer sack, Than when the edict to be gone Issued from the Vice-regal Throne. Exeunt omnes helter skelter To Little York again for shelter: Little no longer: York the New Of imports such can boast but few: A goodly freight, without all brag, When comes 'mongst others, Master Spragge. And skilful Turner, versed in pleading, The Kingston exiles gently leading."

To the last three lines the following note is appended:--

"J. G. Spragge, Esq., the present very highly esteemed and respected Master of the Court of Chancery; R. T. Turner, Esq., a skilful Equity Draftsman and Solicitor in Chancery. See Journals of House of Assembly, 1841."

The notes to Curiae Canadenses teem with interesting matter relating to the laws, courts, terms, districts and early history, legal and general, of Lower as well as Upper Canada. A copious table of contents renders the volume quite valuable for reference. The author must have been an experienced compiler, analyst and legal index maker. In the text of the work, Christopher Anstey's poetical "Pleader's Guide" is taken as a model. As a motto to the portion of his poem that treats of Upper Canada he places the line of Virgil, "Gensque virum truncis et duro robore nata," which may be a compliment or not. The title in full of Mr. Rumsey's brochure, which consists of only 127 octavo pages, is as follows:--"Curiae Canadenses; or, The Canadian Law Courts: being a Poem, describing the several Courts of Law and Equity which have been erected from time to time in the Canadas; with copious notes, explanatory and historical, and an Appendix of much useful Matter. Itur in antiquam sylvam, stabula alta ferarum; Procumbunt piceae, sonat icta securibus ilex, Fraxineaeque trabes: cuneis et fissile robur Scinditur: advolvunt ingentes montibus ornos.--Virgil. By Plinius Secundus. Toronto: H. and W. Rowsell, King Street, 1843." The typography and paper are admirable. The Curiae, in a jacket of fair calf, should be given a place on the shelves of our Canadian law libraries.

We pause for a moment at York Street, opposite the east wing of Osgoode Hall.

It rather puzzles one to conceive why York Street received its name. If a commemoration of the Duke of York of sixty years since was designed, the name of the whole town was that sufficiently already. Frederick Street, besides, recorded his specific Christian name, and Duke Street his rank and title. Although interesting now as a memento of a name borne of old by Toronto, York Street, when Toronto was York, might well have been otherwise designated, it seeming somewhat irrational for any particular thoroughfare in a town to be distinguished by the name of that town.--A certain poverty of invention in regard to street names has in other instances been evinced amongst us. Victoria Street, for example, was for a time called Upper George Street, to distinguish it from George Street proper, so named from George, Prince of Wales, the notable Prince Regent. It is curious that no other name but George should have been suggested for the second street; especially, too, as that street might have been so fittingly named Toronto Street, as being situated within a few feet of the line of the original thoroughfare of that name which figures so largely in the early descriptions of York.--If in "York Street" a compliment had been intended to Charles Yorke, Secretary at War in 1802, the orthography would have been "Yorke Street."

After all, however, the name "York Street" may have arisen from the circumstance that, at an early period, this was for teams on their way to York, the beaten track, suddenly turning off here to the south out of Dundas or Lot Street, the line of road which, if followed, would have taken the traveller to Kingston.

The street on the west of the grounds of Osgoode Hall is now known as University Street. By the donor to the public of the land occupied by the street, it was designated Park Lane--not without due consideration, as is likely. In London there is a famous and very distinguished Park Lane. It leads from Oxford Street to Piccadilly, and skirts the whole of the east side of Hyde Park. The position of what was our Park Lane is somewhat analogous, it being open along its whole length on the left to the plantations of an ornamental piece of ground. Unmeddled with, our Park Lane would have suggested from time to time in the mind of the ruminating wayfarer pleasant thoughts of a noble and interesting part of the great home metropolis. The change to University Street was altogether uncalled for. It ignored the adjoining "College Avenue," the name of which showed that a generally-recognized "University Street" existed already: it gave, moreover, a name which is pretentious, the roadway indicated being comparatively narrow.

Of the street on the east side of the grounds of Osgoode Hall we have already spoken. But in connection with the question of changes in street names, we must here again refer to it. In this case the name "Sayer" has been made to give place to "Chestnut." "Elm Street," which intersects this street to the north, probably in some vague way suggested a tree name. "Elm Street," however, had a reason for its existence. Many persons still remember a solitary Elm, a relic of the forest, which was long conspicuous just where Elm Street enters Yonge Street. And there is a fitness likewise in the names of Pine Street and Sumach Street, in the east; these streets, passing through a region where pines and sumachs once abounded. But the modern Chestnut Street has nothing about it in the past or present associated with chestnut trees of any kind. The name "Sayer" should have been respected.

It is unfortunate when persons, apparently without serious retrospective thought, have a momentary chance to make changes in local names. Chancery might well be invoked to undo in some instances what has been done, and to prohibit like inconsiderate proceedings in the future. Equity would surely say that a citizen's private right should be sustained, so long as it worked no harm to the community; and that perplexity in the registration and description of property should not needlessly be created.

Although we shall forestall ourselves a little, we may here notice one more alteration in a street-name near Osgoode Hall. William Street, immediately west of the Avenue leading to the University, has in recent times been changed to Simcoe Street. It is true, William Street was nearly in a line with the street previously known as Simcoe Street; nevertheless, starting as it conspicuously did somewhat to the west of that line, it was a street sufficiently distinct to be entitled to retain an independent name. Here again, an item of local history has been obliterated. William Street was a record on the soil of the first name of an early Chief Justice of Upper Canada, who projected the street and gave the land. Dummer Street, the next street westward, bears his second name.

Of "Powell," his third name we have already spoken elsewhere, and shall again almost immediately have to speak.

When it shall be proposed to alter the name of Dummer Street, with the hope, perhaps, of improving the fame of the locality along with its name, let the case of March Street be recalled. In the case of March Street, the rose, notwithstanding a change of name, retained its perfume: and the Colonial Minister of the day, Lord Stanley, received but a sorry compliment when his name was made to displace that of the Earl of March. (It was from this second title of the Duke of Richmond that March Street had its name.)--It is probable that the Dummer Street of to-day, like the March Street of yesterday, would, under another name, continue much what it is. In all such quarters, it is not a change of name that is of any avail: but the presence of the schoolmaster and home-missionary, backed up by landlords and builders, studious of the public health and morals, as well as of private interests.

Digression Northward at the College Avenue.

The fine vista of the College Avenue, opposite to which we have now arrived, always recalls to our recollection a certain bright spring morning, when on reaching school a whole holiday was unexpectedly announced; and when, as a mode of filling up a portion of the unlooked-for vacant time, it was agreed between two or three young lads to pay a visit to the place on Lot Street where, as the report had spread amongst us, they were beginning to make visible preparations for the commencement of the University of King's College. The minds of growing lads in the neighbourhood of York at that period had very vague ideas of what a University really was. It was a place where studies were carried on, but how or under what conditions, there was of necessity little conception. Curiosity, however, was naturally excited by the talk on the lips of every one that a University was one day to be established at York; and now suddenly we learned that actual beginnings were to be seen of the much-talked-of institution. On the morning of the fine spring day referred to, we accordingly undertook an exploration.

On arriving at the spot to which we had been directed, we found that a long strip of land running in a straight line northwards had been marked out, after the manner of a newly-opened side line or concession road in the woods. We found a number of men actually at work with axes and mattocks; yokes of oxen, too, were straining at strong ploughs, which forced a way in amongst the roots and small stumps of the natural brushwood, and, here and there, underneath a rough mat of tangled grass, bringing to light, now black vegetable mould, now dry clay, now loose red sand. Longitudinally, up the middle of the space marked off, several bold furrows were cut, those on the right inclining to the left, and those on the left inclining to the right, as is the wont in primitive turnpiking.

One novelty we discovered, viz., that on each side along a portion of the newly-cleared ground, young saplings had been planted at regular intervals; these, we were told, were horse-chestnuts, procured from the United States expressly for the purpose of forming a double row of trees here. In the neighbourhood of York the horse-chestnut was then a rarity.

Everywhere throughout the North American continent, as in the numerous newly-opened areas of the British Empire elsewhere on the globe's surface, instances, of course, abound of wonderful progress made in a brief interval of time. For ourselves, we seem sometimes as if we were moving among the unrealities of a dream when we deliberately review the steps in the march of physical and social improvement, which, within a fractional portion only of a retrospect not very extended, can be recalled, in the region where our own lot has been cast, and, in particular, in the neighbourhood where we are at this moment pausing.

The grand mediaeval-looking structure of University College in the grounds at the head of the Avenue, continues to this day to be a surprise somewhat bewildering to the eye and mind, whenever it breaks upon our view. It looks so completely a thing of the old world and of an age long past away. To think that one has walked over its site before one stone was laid upon another thereon, seems almost like a mental hallucination.

A certain quietness of aspect and absence of overstrain after architectural effect give the massive pile an air of great genuineness. The irregular grouping of its many parts appears the undesigned result of accretion growing out of the necessities of successive years. The whole looks in its place, and as if it had long occupied it. The material of its walls, left for the most part superficially in the rough, has the appearance of being weather-worn. An impression of age, too, is given by the smooth finish of the surrounding grounds and spacious drives by which, on several sides, the building is approached, as also by the goodly size of the well-grown oaks and other trees through whose outstretched branches it is usually first caught sight of, from across the picturesque ravine.

Of the still virgin condition of the surrounding soil, however, we have some unmistakeable evidence in the ponderous granitic boulders every here and there heaving up their grey backs above the natural greensward, undisturbed since the day when they dropped suddenly down from the dissolving ice-rafts that could no longer endure their weight.

Seen at a little distance, as from Yonge Street for example, the square central tower of the University, with the cone-capped turret at its north-east angle, rising above a pleasant horizon of trees, and outlined against an afternoon sky, is something thoroughly English, recalling Rugby or Warwick. On a nearer approach, this same tower, combined with the portal below, bears a certain resemblance to the gateway of the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds, as figured in Palgrave's "Anglo-Saxons;" and the elaborate and exquisite work about the recessed circular-headed entrance enables one to realize with some degree of certainty how the enriched front of that and other noble mediaeval structures, seen by us now corroded and mutilated, looked when fresh from the hands that so cunningly carved them.

In the two gigantic blind-worms, likewise, stretched in terrorem on the sloping parapets of the steps leading to the door, benumbed, not dead; giving in their extremities, still faint evidence of life, we have a sermon in stone, which the brethren of a masonic guild of Wykeham's day would readily have expounded. As we enter a house devoted to learning and study, is it not fitting that the eye should be greeted with a symbol of the paralyzing power of Science over Ignorance and Superstition?

Moreover, sounds that come at stated intervals from that central tower, make another link of sympathy with the old mother-land. Every night at nine, "swinging slow with solemn roar," the great bell of the University is agreeably suggestive of Christ Church, Oxford, St. Mary's, Cambridge, and other places beyond the sea, which to the present hour give back an echo of the ancient Curfew.

And if to this day the University building, in its exterior aspect and accidents, is startling to those who knew its site when as yet in a state of nature, its interior also, when traversed and explored, tends in the same persons to produce a degree of confusion as between things new and old; as between Canada and elsewhere. Within its walls are to be seen appliances and conveniences and luxuries for the behoof and use of teacher and student, unknown a few years since in many an ancient seat of learning.

In a library of Old World aspect and arrangement, is a collection rich in the Greek and Latin Classics, in Epigraphy and Archaeology, beyond anything of the kind in any other collection on this continent, and beyond what is to be met with in those departments in many a separate College within the precincts of the ancient Universities--a pre-eminence due to the tastes and special studies of the first president and other early professors of the Canadian Institution.

Strange, it is, yet true that hither, as to a recognized source of certain aid in identification and decipherment, are duly transmitted, by cast, rubbing and photograph, the "finds" that from time to time create such excitement and delight among epigraphists, and ethnologists, and other minute historical investigators in the British Islands and elsewhere.

There used to be preserved in the Old Hospital a model in cork and card-board, of the great educational establishment to which, in the first instance, the Avenue was expected to form an approach. It was very curious. Had it been really followed, a large portion of the park provided for the reception of the University would have been covered with buildings. A multitude of edifices, isolated and varying in magnitude, were scattered about, with gardens and ornamental grounds interspersed. These were halls of science, lecture-rooms, laboratories, residences for president, vice-president, professors, officials and servants of every grade. On the widely extended premises occupied by the proposed institution, a population was apparently expected to be found that would, of itself, have almost sufficed to justify representation in Parliament--a privilege the college was actually by its charter to enjoy. We should have had in fact realized before our eyes, on a considerable scale, a part of the dreams of Plato and More, a fragment of Atlantis and Utopia.

When the moment arrived, however, for calling into visible being the long contemplated seat of learning, it was found expedient to abandon the elaborate model which had been constructed. Mr. Young, a local architect, was directed to devise new plans. His ideas appear to have been wholly modern. Notwithstanding the tenor of the Royal Charter, which suggested the precedents of the old universities of "our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland," wherever it should be practicable to follow them, the architecture and arrangements customary in those places were ignored. Girard College, Philadelphia, seems to have inspired the new designs. However, only a minute fragment of one of the buildings of the new plan was destined ever to exist.

The formal commencement of the abortive work took place on the 23rd of April, 1842--a day indelibly impressed on the memory of those who participated in the proceedings. It was one of the sunniest and brightest of days. In the year just named it happened that so early as St. George's day the leaves of the horse-chestnut were bursting their glossy sheaths, and vegetation generally was in a very advanced stage. A procession, such as had never before been seen in these parts, slowly defiled up the Avenue to the spot where the corner-stone of the proposed University was to be laid.

A highly wrought contemporary description of the scene is given in a note in Curiae Canadenses: "The vast procession opened its ranks, and his Excellency the Chancellor, with the President, the Lord Bishop of Toronto, on his right, and the Senior Visitor, the Chief Justice, on his left, proceeded on foot through the College Avenue to the University grounds. The countless array moved forward to the sound of military music. The sun shone out with cloudless meridian splendour; one blaze of banners flushed upon the admiring eye.--The Governor's rich Lord-Lieutenant's dress, the Bishop's sacerdotal robes, the Judicial Ermine of the Chief Justice, the splendid Convocation robes of Dr. McCaul, the gorgeous uniforms of the suite, the accoutrements of the numerous Firemen, the national badges worn by the Office-bearers of the different Societies, and what on such a day (St. George's) must not be omitted, the Red Crosses on the breasts of England's congregated sons, the grave habiliments of the Clergy and Lawyers, and the glancing lances and waving plumes of the First Incorporated Dragoons, all formed one moving picture of civic pomp, one glorious spectacle which can never be remembered but with satisfaction by those who had the good fortune to witness it. The following stanza from a Latin Ode," the note goes on to say, "recited by Master Draper, son of the late Attorney-General, after the ceremony, expresses in beautifully classical language the proud occasion of all this joy and splendid pageantry:--

"Io! triumphe! flos Canadensium! Est alma nobis mater; aemula Britanniae haec sit nostra terra,-- Terra diu domibus negata!"

Another contemporary account adds: "As the procession drew nearer to the site where the stone was to be laid, the 43rd Regiment lined the way, with soldiers bearing arms, and placed on either side, at equal intervals. The 93rd Regiment was not on duty here, but in every direction the gallant Highlanders were scattered through the crowd, and added by their national garb and nodding plumes to the varied beauty of the animated scene. When the site was reached," this account says, "a new feature was added to the interest of the ceremony. Close to the spot, the north-east corner, where the foundation was to be deposited, a temporary building had been erected for the Chancellor, and there, accompanied by the officers of the University and his suite, he took his stand. Fronting this was a kind of amphitheatre of seats, constructed for the occasion, tier rising above tier, densely filled with ladies, who thus commanded a view of the whole ceremony. Between this amphitheatre and the place where the Chancellor stood, the procession ranged itself."

The Chancellor above spoken of was the Governor General of the day, Sir Charles Bagot, a man of noble bearing and genial, pleasant aspect. He entered with all the more spirit into the ceremonies described, from being himself a graduate of one of the old universities. Memories of far-off Oxford and Christ Church would be sure to be roused amidst the proceedings that rendered the 23rd of April, 1842, so memorable amongst us. A brother of Sir Charles' was at the time Bishop of Oxford. In his suite, as one of his Secretaries, was Captain Henry Bagot, of the Royal Navy, his own son. Preceding him in the procession, bearing a large gilded mace, was an "Esquire Bedell," like the Chancellor himself, a Christ Church man, Mr. William Cayley, subsequently a member of the Canadian Government.

Although breaking ground for the University building had been long delayed, the commencement now made proved to be premature. The edifice begun was never completed, as we have already intimated; and even in its imperfect, fragmentary condition, it was not fated to be for any great length of time a scene of learned labours. In 1856 its fortune was to be converted into a Female Department for the over-crowded Provincial Lunatic Asylum.

The educational system inaugurated in the new building in 1843 was, as the plate enclosed in the foundation-stone finely expressed it, "praestantissimum ad exemplar Britannicarum Universitatum." But the "exemplar" was not, in practice, found to be, as a whole, adapted to the genius of the Western Canadian people.

The revision of the University scheme with a view to the necessities of Western Canada, was signalized by the erection in 1857 of a new building on an entirely different site, and a migration to it bodily, of president, professors and students, without departing however from the bounds of the spacious park originally provided for the institution; and it is remarkable that, while deviating, educationally and otherwise, in some points, from the pattern of the ancient universities, as they were in 1842, a nearer approach, architecturally, was made to the mediaeval English College than any that had been thought of before. Mr. Cumberland, the designer of the really fine and most appropriate building in which the University at length found a resting place, was, as is evident, a man after the heart of Wykeham and Wayneflete.

The story of our University is a part of the history of Upper Canada. From the first foundation of the colony the idea of some such seat of learning entered into the scheme of its organization. In 1791, before he had yet left England for the unbroken wilderness in which his Government was to be set up, we have General Simcoe speaking to Sir Joseph Banks, the President of the Royal Society, of "a college of a higher class," as desirable in the community which he was about to create. "A college of a higher class," he says, "would be eminently useful, and would give a tone of principles and of manners that would be of infinite support to Government." In the same letter he remarks to Sir Joseph, "My friend the Marquis of Buckingham has suggested that Government might allow me a sum of money to be laid out for a Public Library, to be composed of such books as might be useful in the colony. He instanced the Encyclopaedia, extracts from which might occasionally be published in the newspapers. It is possible," he adds, "private donations might be obtained, and that it would become an object of Royal munificence."

It was naturally long before the community of Upper Canada was ripe for a college of the character contemplated; but provision for its ultimate existence and sustenance was made, almost from the beginning, in the assignment to that object of a fixed and liberal portion of the public lands of the country.

In 1819-20, Gourlay spoke of the unpreparedness of Upper Canada as yet for a seat of learning of a high grade. Meanwhile, as a temporary expedient, he suggested a romantic scheme. "It has been proposed," he says, "to have a college in Upper Canada; and no doubt in time colleges will grow up there. At present, and for a considerable period to come, any effort to found a college would prove abortive. There could neither be got masters nor scholars to ensure a tolerable commencement for ten years to come; and a feeble beginning might beget a feeble race of teachers and pupils. In the United States," he continued, "academies and colleges, though fast improving, are yet but raw; and greatly inferior to those in Britain, generally speaking. Twenty-five lads sent annually at public charge from Upper Canada to British Universities, would draw after them many more. The youths themselves, generally, would become desirous of making a voyage in quest of learning.--Crossing the ocean on such an errand would elevate their ideas, and stir them up to extraordinary exertions. They would become finished preachers, lawyers, physicians, merchants; and, returning to their native country, would repay in wisdom what was expended in goodness and liberality. What more especially invites the adoption of such a scheme is the amiable and affectionate connection which it would tend to establish between Canada and Britain. But it will not do at present to follow out the idea."

Gourlay's prediction that "in time colleges will grow up there" has been speedily verified. The town especially, of which in its infant state he spoke in such terms of contempt, has been so prolific of colleges that it is now become a kind of Salamanca for the country at large; a place of resort for students from all parts. It is well probably for Canada that the scheme of drafting a batch of young students periodically to the old country, was not adopted. Canada would thereby possibly, on the one hand, have lost the services of some of the cleverest of her sons, who, on obtaining academic distinction would have preferred to remain in the mother country, entering on one or other of the public careers to which academic distinction there opens the ready path; and, on the other hand, she should, in many an instance, it is to be feared, have received back her sons just unfitted, in temper and habit, for life under matter-of-fact colonial conditions.

In the original planting of the Avenue, up whose fine vista we have been gazing, the mistake was committed of imitating nature too closely. Numerous trees and shrubs of different kinds and habits were mingled together as they are usually to be seen in a wild primitive wood; and thus the growth and fair development of all were hindered. The horse-chestnuts alone should have been relied on to give character to the Avenue; and of these there should have been on each side a double row, with a promenade for pedestrians underneath, after the manner of the great walks in the public parks of the old towns of Europe.

XXII.

QUEEN STREET--FROM THE COLLEGE AVENUE TO BROCK STREET AND SPADINA AVENUE.

Pursuing our way now westward from the Avenue leading to the University, we pass the Powell park-lot, on which was, up to recent times, the family vault of the Powells, descendants of the Chief Justice. The whole property was named by the fancy of the first possessor, Caer-Howell, Castle Howell, in allusion to the mythic Hoel, to whom all ap-Hoels trace their origin. Dummer Street, which opens northward a little further on, retains, as we have said, the second baptismal name of Chief Justice Powell.

Beverley House and its surroundings, on the side opposite Caer Howell estate, recall one whose name and memory must repeatedly recur in every narrative of our later Canadian history, Sir John Robinson.--This was the residence temporarily of Poulett Thomson, afterwards Lord Sydenham, while present in Toronto as Governor-General of the Canadas in 1839-40. A kitchen on a large scale which he caused to be built on the premises of Beverley House, is supposed to have been an auxiliary, indirectly, in getting the Union measure through the Upper Canada Parliament. In a letter to a friend, written at Montreal in 1840, he gives a sketch of his every-day life: it describes equally well the daily distribution of his time here in Toronto. "Work in my room," he says, "till three o'clock; a ride with my aide-de-camp till five; work again till dinner; at dinner till nine; and work again till early next morning. This is my daily routine. My dinners last till ten, when I have company, which is about three times a week; except one night in the week, when I receive about 150 people."

His policy was, as we know, very successful. Of the state of things at Toronto, and in Upper Canada generally, after the Union measure had been pushed through, he writes to a friend thus: "I have prorogued my Parliament," he says, "and I send you my Speech. Never was such unanimity! When the Speaker read it in the Commons, after the prorogation, they gave me three cheers, in which even the ultras united. In fact, as the matter stands now, the Province is in a state of peace and harmony which, three months ago, I thought was utterly hopeless."

In a private letter of the following year (1841), he alludes to his influence in these terms: "I am in the midst," he says, "of the bustle attending the opening of the Session, and have, besides, a ministerial 'crisis' on my hands. The latter I shall get through triumphantly, unless my wand, as they call it here, has lost all power over the members, which I do not believe to be the case." This was written at Kingston, where, it will be remembered, the seat of Government was established for a short time after the union of Upper and Lower Canada.

Through Poulett Thomson, Toronto for a few months and to the extent of one-half, was the seat of a modern feudal barony. On being elevated to the peerage, the Governor-General, who had carried the Union, was created Baron Sydenham of Sydenham in Kent and Toronto in Canada.

At one time it was expected that Toronto would be the capital of the United Province, but its liege lord pronounced it to be "too far and out of the way;" though at the same time he gives it as his opinion that "Kingston or Bytown would do." Thus in 1840, and in July, 1841, he writes: "I have every reason to be satisfied with having selected this place (Kingston) as the new Capital. There is no situation in the Province so well adapted for the seat of Government from its central position; and certainly we are as near England as we should be anywhere else in the whole of Canada. My last letters reached me," he says, "in fifteen days from London! So much for steam and railways." Being in very delicate health, it had been Lord Sydenham's intention to return to England in September, 1841. On the 5th of June he writes at Kingston to a friend: "I long for September, beyond which I will not stay if they were to make me Duke of Canada and Prince of Regiopolis, as this place is called." But he was never more to see England. On the 4th of the September in which he had hoped to leave Canada, he suffered a fracture of the right leg and other injury by a fall from his horse. He never rallied from the shock. His age was only 42.

The Park lot which follows that occupied by Chief Justice Powell was selected by Solicitor-General Gray, of whom fully already. It afterwards became the property of Mr. D'Arcy Boulton, eldest son of Mr. Justice Boulton, and was known as the Grange estate. The house which bears the name of the "Grange," was built at the beginning of the brick era of York, and is a favourable specimen of the edifices of that period. (Beverley House, just noted, was, it may be added, also built by Mr. D'Arcy Boulton.)

The Grange-gate, now thrust far back by the progress of improvement, was long a familiar landmark on the line of Lot-street. It was just within this gate that the fight already recorded took place between Mr. Justice Boulton's horses, Bonaparte and Jefferson, and the bears. A memorandum of Mr. G. S. Jarvis, of Cornwall, in our possession, affirms that Mr. Justice Boulton drove a phaeton of some pretensions, and that his horses, Bonaparte and Jefferson, were the crack pair of the day at York. As to some other equipages he says: "The Lieut. Governor's carriage was considered a splendid affair, but some of the Toronto cabs would now throw it into the shade. The carriage of Chief Justice Powell, he adds, was a rough sort of omnibus, and would compare with the jail van used now." (We remember Bishop Strachan's account of a carriage sent up for his own use from Albany or New York; it was constructed on the model of the ordinary oval stage coach, with a kind of hemispherical top.)

To our former notes of Mr. Justice Boulton, we add, that he was the author of a work in quarto published in London in 1806, entitled a "Sketch of the Province of Upper Canada."

John Street, passing south just here, is, as was noted previously, a memorial, so far as its name is concerned, of the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. On the plan of the "new town," as the first expansion westward, of York, was termed,--while this street is marked "John," the next parallel thoroughfare eastward is named "Graves," and the open square included between the two, southward on Front Street, is "Simcoe-place." The three names of the founder of York were thus commemorated. The expression "Simcoe-place" has fallen into disuse. It indicated, of course, the site of the present Parliament Buildings of the Province of Ontario. Graves Street has become Simcoe Street, a name, as we have seen, recently extended to the thoroughfare northward, with which it is nearly in a right line, viz., William Street, which previously recorded, as we have said, the first Christian name of Chief Justice Powell. The name "John Street" has escaped change. The name sounds trivial enough; but it has an interest.

In the minds of the present generation, with John Street will be specially associated the memorable landing of the Prince of Wales at Toronto in 1860. At the foot of John Street, for that occasion, there was built a vast semi-colosseum of wood, opening out upon the waters of the Bay; a pile whose capacious concavity was densely filled again and again, during the Prince's visit, with the inhabitants of the town and the population of the surrounding country. And on the brow of the bank, immediately above the so-called amphitheatre, and exactly in the line of John Street, was erected a finely designed triumphal arch, recalling those of Septimus Severus and Titus.

This architectural object, while it stood, gave a peculiarly fine finish to the vista, looking southward along John Street. The usually monotonous water-view presented by the bay and lake, and even the common-place straight line of the Island, seen through the frame-work of three lofty vaulted passages, acquired for the moment a genuine picturesqueness. An ephemeral monument; but as long as it stood its effect was delightfully classic and beautiful. The whole group--the arch and the huge amphitheatre below, furnished around its upper rim at equal intervals with tall masts, each bearing a graceful gonfalon, and each helping to sustain on high a luxuriant festoon of evergreen which alternately drooped and rose again round the whole structure and along the two sides of the grand roadway up to the arch--all seen under a sky of pure azure, and bathed in cheery sunlight, surrounded too and thronged with a pleased multitude--constituted a spectacle not likely to be forgotten.

Turning down John Street a few chains, the curious observer may see on his left a particle of the old area of York retaining several of its original natural features. In the portion of the Macdonell-block not yet divided into building-slips we have a fragment of one of the many shallow ravines which meandered capriciously, every here and there, across the broad site of the intended town. To the passer-by it now presents a refreshing bit of bowery meadow, out of which towers up one of the grand elm-trees of the country, with stem of great height and girth, and head of very graceful form, whose healthy and undecayed limbs and long trailing branchlets, clearly show that the human regard which has led to the preservation hitherto of this solitary survivor of the forest has not been thrown away. This elm and the surrounding grove are still favourite stations or resting-places for our migratory birds. Here, for one place, in the spring, are sure to be heard the first notes of the robin.

At the south-west angle of the Macdonell block still stands in a good state of preservation the mansion put up by the Hon. Alexander Macdonell. We have from time to time spoken of the brick era of York. Mr. Macdonell's imposing old homestead may be described as belonging to an immediately preceding era--the age of framed timber and weather-board, which followed the primitive or hewn-log period. It is a building of two full storeys, each of considerable elevation. A central portico with columns of the whole height of the house, gives it an air of dignity.

Mr. Macdonell was one more in that large group of military men who served in the American Revolutionary war, under Col. Simcoe, and who were attracted to Upper Canada by the prospects held out by that officer when appointed Governor of the new colony. Mr. Macdonell was the first Sheriff of the Home District. He represented in successive parliaments the Highland constituency of Glengary, and was chosen Speaker of the House. He was afterwards summoned to the Upper House. He was a friend and correspondent of the Earl of Selkirk, and was desired by that zealous emigrational theorist to undertake the superintendence of the settlement at Kildonan on the Red River. Though he declined this task, he undertook the management of one of the other Highland settlements included in the Earl of Selkirk's scheme, namely, that of Baldoon, on Lake St. Clair; Mr. Douglas undertaking the care of that established at Moulton, at the mouth of the Grand River.

Mr. Macdonell, in person rather tall and thin, of thoughtful aspect, and in manner quiet and reserved, is one of the company of our early worthies whom we personally well remember. An interesting portrait of him exists in the possession of his descendants: it presents him with his hair in powder, and otherwise in the costume of "sixty years since." He died in 1842, "amid the regrets of a community who," to adopt the language of a contemporary obituary, "loved him for the mild excellence of his domestic and private character, no less than they esteemed him as a public man."

Mr. Miles Macdonell, the first Governor of Assiniboia, under the auspices of the Hudson's Bay Company, and Alexander Macdonell, the chief representative in 1816 of the rival and even hostile Company of the North-West Traders of Montreal, were both near relations of Mr. Macdonell of York, as also was the barrister, lost in the Speedy, and the well-known R. C. Bishop Macdonell of Kingston. Col. Macdonell, slain at Queenston, with General Brock, and whose remains are deposited beneath the column there, was his brother. His son, Mr. Allan Macdonell, has on several occasions stood forward as the friend and spirited advocate of the Indian Tribes, especially of the Lake Superior region, on occasions when their interests, as native lords of the soil, seemed in danger of being overlooked by the Government of the day.

On Richmond Street a little to the west of the Macdonell block, was the town residence of Col. Smith, some time President of the Province of Upper Canada. He was also allied to the family of Mr. Macdonell. Col. Smith's original homestead was on the Lake Shore to the west, in the neighbourhood of the river Etobicoke. Gourlay in his "Statistical Account of Upper Canada," has chanced to speak of it. "I shall describe the residence and neighbourhood of the President of Upper Canada from remembrance," he says, "journeying past it on my way to York from the westward, by what is called the Lake Road through Etobicoke. For many miles," he says, "not a house had appeared, when I came to that of Colonel Smith, lonely and desolate. It had once been genteel and comfortable; but was now going to decay. A vista had been opened through the woods towards Lake Ontario; but the riotous and dangling undergrowth seemed threatening to retake possession from the Colonel of all that had once been cleared, which was of narrow compass. How could a solitary half-pay officer help himself," candidly asks Gourlay, "settled down upon a block of land, whose very extent barred out the assistance and convenience of neighbours? Not a living thing was to be seen around. How different might it be, thought I, were a hundred industrious families compactly settled here out of the redundant population of England!"

"The road was miserable," he continues; "a little way beyond the President's house it was lost on a bank of loose gravel flung up between the contending waters of the lake and the Etobicoke stream." He here went astray. "It was my anxious wish," he says, "to get through the woods before dusk; but the light was nearly gone before the gravel bank was cleared. There seemed but one path, which took to the left. It led me astray: I was lost: and there was nothing for it but to let my little horse take his own way. Abundant time was afforded for reflection on the wretched state of property flung away on half-pay officers. Here was the head man of the Province, 'born to blush unseen,' without even a tolerable bridle-way between him and the capital city, after more than twenty years' possession of his domain. The very gravel-bed which caused me such turmoil might have made a turnpike, but what can be done by a single hand? The President could do little with the axe or wheelbarrow himself; and half-pay could employ but few labourers at 3s. 6d. per day with victuals and drink." He recovers the road at length, and then concludes: "after many a weary twist and turn I found myself," he says, "on the banks of the Humber, where there was a house and a boat."

Col. Smith did something, in his day, to improve the breed of horses in Upper Canada. He expended considerable sums of money in the importation of choice animals of that species from the United States.

The house which led us to this notice of President Smith is, as we have said, situated on Richmond Street. On Adelaide Street, immediately south of this house, and also a little west of the Macdonell block, was a residence of mark, erected at an early period by Mr. Hugh Heward, and memorable as having been the abode for a time of the Naval Commissioner or Commodore, Joseph Bouchette, who first took the soundings and constructed a map of the harbour of York. His portrait is to be seen prefixed to his well-known "British Dominions in North America." The same house was also once occupied by Dr. Stuart, afterwards Archdeacon of Kingston; and at a later period by Mrs. Caldwell, widow of Dr. Caldwell, connected with the Naval establishment at Penetanguishene. Her sons John and Leslie, two tall, sociable youths, now both deceased, were our classmates at school. We observe in the Oracle of Saturday, May 28, 1803, a notice of Mr. Hugh Heward's death in the following terms: "Died lately at Niagara, on his way to Detroit, after a lingering illness, Mr. Hugh Heward, formerly clerk in the Lieutenant-Governor's office, and a respectable inhabitant of this town (York)."

Just beyond was the abode of Lieut. Col. Foster, long Adjutant General of Militia; an officer of the antique Wellington school, of a fine type, portly in figure, authoritative in air and voice; in spirit and heart warm and frank. His son Colley, also, we here name as a congenial and attached schoolboy friend, likewise now deceased, after a brief but not undistinguished career at the Bar.

A few yards further on was the home of Mr. John Ross, whose almost prescriptive right it gradually became, whenever a death occurred in one of the old families, to undertake the funeral obsequies. Few were there of the ancient inhabitants who had not found themselves at one time or another, wending their way, on a sad errand, to Mr. Ross's doorstep. On his sombre and very unpretending premises were put together the perishable shells in which the mortal remains of a large proportion of the primitive householders of York and their families are now reverting to their original dust. Almost up to the moment of his own summons to depart hence, he continued to ply his customary business, being favoured with an old age unusually green and vigorous, like "the ferryman austere and stern," Charon; to whom also the "inculta canities" of a plentiful supply of hair and beard, along with a certain staidness, taciturnity and rural homeliness of manner and attire, further suggested a resemblance. Many things thus combine to render Mr. John Ross not the least notable of our local dramatis personae. He was led, as we have understood, to the particular business which was his usual avocation, by the accident of having been desired, whilst out on active service as a militiaman in 1812, to take charge of the body of Gen. Brock, when that officer was killed on Queenston Heights.

While in this quarter we should pause too for a moment before the former abode of Mr. Robert Stanton, sometime King's Printer for Upper Canada, as noted already; afterwards editor of the Loyalist; and subsequently Collector of Customs at York:--a structure of the secondary brick period, and situated on Peter Street, but commanding the view eastward along the whole length of Richmond Street. Mr. Stanton's father was an officer in the Navy, who between the years 1771 and 1786 saw much active service in the East and West Indies, in the Mediterranean, at the siege of Gibraltar under General Elliott, and on the American coast during the Revolutionary war. From 1786 to 1828 he was in the public service in several military and civil capacities in Lower and Upper Canada. In 1806 he was for one thing, we find, issuer of Marriage Licences at York. From memoranda of his while acting in this capacity we make some extracts. The unceremoniousness of the record in the majority of cases, is refreshing. The names are all familiar ones in Toronto. The parties set down as about to pledge their troth, either to other, had not in every instance, in 1872, passed off the scene.

1806, Nov. 26, Stephen Heward to Mary Robinson. Same date, Ely Playter to Sophia Beaman. Dec. 11, same year, Geo. T. Denison to C. B. Lippincott. 1807, Feb. 3, Jordan Post to M. Woodruffe. July 13, Hiram Kendrick to Hester Vanderburg. Dec. 28, Jarvis Ashley to Dorothy McDougal. 1808, Jan. 13, D'Arcy Boulton, Jun., to Sally Ann Robinson. March 17, James Finch to M. Reynolds. April 9, David Wilson to Susannah Stone. May 2, John Langstaff to Lucy Miles. May 30, John Murchison to Frances Hunt. August 8, John Powell, Esq., to Miss Isabella Shaw. Sept. 12, Hugh Heward to Eliza Muir. 1809, April 14, Nicholas Hagarman to Polly Fletcher. May 18, William Cornwall to Rhoda Terry. June 19, John Ashbridge to Sarah Mercer. June 21, Jonathan Ashbridge to Hannah Barton. July 15, Orin Hale to Hannah Barrett. Aug. 5, Henry Drean to Jane Brooke. Dec. 14, John Thompson to Ann Smith. 1810, March 8, Andrew Thomson to Sarah Smith. March 30, Isaac Pilkington to Sarah McBride. June 2, Thomas Bright to Jane Hunter. July 3, John Scarlett to Mary Thomson. Sept. 10, William Smith to Eleanor Thomson. June 22, William B. Sheldon to Jane Johnson. July 30, Robert Hamilton, gent., to Miss Maria Lavinia Jarvis. 1811, Sept. 20, George Duggan to Mary Jackson.

In one or two instances we are enabled to give the formal announcement in the Gazette and Oracle of the marriage for which the licence issued by Mr. Stanton was so curtly recorded. In the paper of Jan. 27, 1808, we have: "Married, on the 13th instant, by the Rev. G. O. Stuart, D'Arcy Boulton, jun., Esq., barrister, to Miss Sarah Robinson, second daughter of the late C. Robinson, Esq., of York."

And in the number for August 13, in the same year we read: "Married by the Rev. G. O. Stuart, on Monday the 8th instant, John Powell, Esq., to Miss Shaw, daughter of the Hon. AEneas Shaw, of this place (York)." To this announcement the editor, as we suppose, volunteers the observation: "This matrimonial connexion of the amiable parties we think replete with, and we wish it productive of, the most perfect human happiness."

A complimentary epithet to the bride is not unusual in early Canadian marriage notices. In the Gazette and Oracle of Dec. 29, 1798, we have a wedding in the Playter family recorded thus: "Married last Monday, Mr. James Playter to the agreeable Miss Hannah Miles, daughter of Mr. Abner Miles of this town." In the same paper for Feb. 24, 1798, is the announcement: "Married in this town (Niagara), by the Rev. Mr. Burke, Captain Miles Macdonell of the Royal Canadian Volunteers, to the amiable Miss Katey Macdonell." (This union was of brief duration. In the Constellation of Sept 6, 1799, we observe: "Died lately at Kingston, Mrs. Macdonell, of this town (Niagara), the amiable consort of Captain Miles Macdonell of the Canadian Volunteers.")

Again: in the Gazette and Oracle for Saturday Oct, 26, 1799: "Married, last Monday, by the Rev. Mr. Addison, Colonel Smith, of the Queen's Rangers, to the most agreeable and accomplished Miss Mary Clarke." (This was the Col. Smith who subsequently was for a time President of Upper Canada.)

In the Constellation of Nov. 23, 1799, in addition to the complimentary epithet, a poetical stanza is subjoined: thus: "Married at the seat of the Hon. Mr. Hamilton, at Queenston, on Sunday last, Mr. Thomas Dickson, merchant, to the amiable Mrs. Taylor, daughter of Captain Wilkinson, commanding, Fort Erie.

For thee, best treasure of a husband's heart; Whose bliss it is that thou for life art so; That thy fond bosom bears a faithful part In every casual change his breast may know."

But occasionally the announcement is almost as terse as one of Mr. Stanton's entries. Thus in the Constellation of Dec. 28, 1799, Mr. Hatt's marriage to Miss Cooly appears with great brevity: "Married at Ancaster, Mr. Richard Hatt to Miss Polly Cooly."

A magistrate officiates sometimes, and his name is given accordingly. In the Gazette and Oracle of March 2, 1799, we have: "Married on Tuesday last, by William Willcocks, Esq., Sergeant Mealy, of the Queen's Rangers, to Miss M. Wright, of this town."

(Somewhat in the strain of the complimentary marriage notices are the following: "We announce with much pleasure an acquisition to society in this place by the arrival of Prideaux Selby, Esq., and Miss Selby.--Gazette, Dec. 9, 1807. The York Assembly which commenced on Thursday the 17th instant, was honoured by the attendance of His Excellency and Mrs. Gore. It was not numerous. We understand that Mrs. Firth, the amiable Lady of the Attorney General, lately arrived, was a distinguished figure."--Gazette, Dec. 23, 1807.)

The family of Mr. Stanton, senior, was large. It was augmented by twins on five several occasions. Not far from Mr. Stanton's house, a lesser edifice of brick of comparatively late date on the north side of Richmond Street, immediately opposite the premises associated just now with the memory of President Smith, may be noted as having been built and occupied by the distinguished Admiral Vansittart, and the first example in this region of a cottage furnished with light, tasteful verandahs in the modern style.

We now return from our digression into Richmond and Adelaide Streets, and again proceed on our way westward.

The grantee of the park-lot which followed Solicitor-General Gray's, was the famous Hon. Peter Russell, of whom we have had occasion again and again to speak. A portion of the property was brought under cultivation at an early period, and a substantial farm-house put up thereon--a building which in 1872 was still in existence. The name attached to this house and clearing was Petersfield.

Human depredators prowled about a solitary place like this. At their hands in 1803, Mr. Russell suffered a serious loss, as we learn from an advertisement which about midsummer in that year appeared in several successive numbers of the Oracle. It ran as follows: "Five Guineas Reward. Stolen on the 12th or 13th instant from Mr. Russell's farm, near this town, a Turkey Hen, with her brood of six half-grown young ones. Whoever will give such information and evidence as may lead to the discovery of the Thieves shall receive from the subscriber the above reward upon conviction of any of the delinquents. Peter Russell, York, Aug. 15th, 1803." Another advertisement has been mentioned to us, issuing from the same sufferer, announcing the theft of a Plough from the same farm.

Similar larcenies were elsewhere committed. In the Gazette of June 12, 1802, we read: "Forty dollars reward.--Mr. Justice Allcock offers a reward of forty dollars to any one who will give information of the person or persons who stole and carried away from his farm near the Garrison a number of iron teeth from two harrows. The same reward will also be given to any one who will give such information as will convict any person or persons of having bought such iron teeth, or any part of them, knowing the same to be stolen. If more than one was concerned, the same reward will be given to any accomplice upon his giving such information as will convict the other party or parties concerned with him, and every endeavour used to obtain a pardon. Note. It has been ascertained that two blacksmiths in the town did, about the time these teeth were stolen, purchase harrow-teeth from a soldier, since deserted, and that another soldier was in company when such teeth were offered for sale. 28th May, 1802."

Again, in the same paper we have:--"Twenty dollars reward will be paid by the subscriber to any person who will discover the man who is so depraved and lost to every sense of social duty, as to cut with an axe or knife, the withes which bound some of the fence round the late Chief Justice's Farm on Yonge Street, and to throw down the said Fence. Independent of the above inducement, it is the duty of every good member of society to endeavour to find out who the character is that can be guilty of such an infamous act, in order that he may be brought to justice. Robert J. D. Gray, York, June 28th, 1803."

Occasionally notices of a reverse order appear. A homely article picked up on the Common was judged to be of sufficient importance to its owner to induce the finder to advertise as follows in the Oracle of Saturday, Aug. 14th, 1802:--"Found lately near the Garrison, a Cow-bell. Whoever has lost the same, may have it again by applying to the Printer hereof, on paying the expense of this advertisement, and proving property. York, Aug. 7, 1802."

Again, in the Oracle of Feb. 25, 1804:--"Found on Saturday last, the 11th instant, a Bar of Iron. The owner may have it again, by applying to the Printer hereof. York, Feb. 8th." And again: "Found on Friday, the 5th instant, two silk handkerchiefs. The owner can have them again by applying to the Printer, and paying the expense of this advertisement. York, Oct. 12th, 1804." In October, 1806, an iron pot was picked up: "Found, on Sunday last, the 12th instant, on the beach opposite Messrs. Ashbridge's, an Iron Pot capable of containing about two pails full. Whoever may own the above-mentioned Pot, may have it again by proving property, and paying charges, on application to Samuel Lewis or to the Printer hereof. York, Oct. 16th, 1806."

A barrel of flour was found on the beach near the Garrison in 1802, and was thus advertised: "The Public are hereby informed that there has been a barrel of flour left on the beach near the Garrison by persons unknown. Whoever will produce a just claim to the same may have it, by applying to the Garrison Sergeant-Major, and paying the expense of the present advertisement. J. Petto, G. S. Major, York, March 22, 1802."

Once more: in the Gazette of Dec. 3, 1803: "On the 26th ult. the subscriber found one-half of a fat Hog on the Humber Plains, which he supposes to be fraudulently killed, and the other half taken away. The part which he found he carried home and dressed, and requests the owner to call, pay expenses, and take it away. John Clark, Humber Mills, Dec. 2, 1803."

Peter Russell's name became locally a household synonym for a helluo agrorum, and not without some show of reason, as the following list in successive numbers of the Gazette and Oracle of 1803 would seem to indicate. Of the lands enumerated he styles himself, at the close of the advertisement, the proprietor. We have no desire, however, to perpetuate the popular impression, that all the said properties had been patented by himself to himself. This, of course, could not have been done. He simply chose, as he was at liberty to do, after acquiring what he and his family were entitled to legally, in the shape of grants, to invest his means in lands, which in every direction were to be had for a mere song.

The document spoken of reads thus: "To be sold.--The Front Town Lot, with an excellent dwelling-house and a kitchen recently built thereon, in which Mr. John Denison now lives, in the Town of York, with a very commodious water-lot adjoining, and possession given to the purchaser immediately. The Lots Nos. 5, 6, and 7 in the 2nd, and lots No. 6 and 7 in the 3d concession of West Flamboro' township, containing 1,000 acres, on which there are some very good mill seats; the lots No. 4 and 5, in the 1st concession of East Flamboro' with their broken fronts, containing, according to the Patent, 600 acres more or less; the lots No. 1, 3 and 4 in the 2nd, and lots No. 2 and 3 in the 3rd concession of Beverley, containing 1,000 acres; the lots No. 16 in the 2nd and and 3rd concession of the township of York containing 400 acres; the lots 32 and 33 with their broken fronts, in the 1st, and lots No. 31 and 32 in the 2nd concession of Whitby, containing 800 acres; the lots 22 and 24 in the 11th, lot 23 in the 12th, and No. 24 in the 13th and 14th concessions of Townsend, containing a 1,000 acres; the lots No. 12, 13 and 14 in the 1st and 2nd concession of Charlotteville, immediately behind the Town plot, containing 1,200 acres; the lots Nos. 16 and 17 in the 1st concession of Delaware township, on the river Thames (La Tranche) containing 800 acres; the lots Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7 in the 10th; No. 1, 2, 4, 6, and 7 in the 11th, and Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 7 in the 12th concession of Dereham, containing 3,000 acres, with mill-seats thereon; and also the lots Nos. 22, 24, 25, 26, and 28 in the 1st, Nos. 22, 23, 25, 27 and 28 in the 3rd, Nos. 22, 24, 25, 26 and 28 in the 11th, and Nos. 22, 24, 25, 26 and 28 in the 12th concession of Norwich, containing 600 acres, with mill-seats thereon. The terms are either cash, or good bills of exchange on London, Montreal and Quebec, for the whole of such purchase, in which case a proportionably less price will be expected, or the same for one moiety of each purchase, and bonds properly secured for principal and interest, until paid, for the other. The prices may be known by application to the proprietor at York. Peter Russell."

Clearly, an idea of the prospective value of property in Canada had dawned upon the mind of Mr. Russell in the year 1803; and he aimed to create for himself speedily a handsome fortune. His plans, however, in the long run, came to little, as in another connexion, we have heard already.

Survivors of the primitive era in Upper Canada have been heard sometimes to express, (like Lord Clive, after his dealings with the rajahs,) their surprise that they did not provide for themselves more largely than they did, when the broad acres of their adopted country were to be had to any extent, almost for the asking. But this reflection should console them; in few instances are the descendants of the early very large land-holders much better off at the present hour than probably they would have been, had their fathers continued landless.

Mr. Russell died at York on the 30th of September, 1808. His obituary appears in the Gazette and Oracle of the following day. "Departed this life on Friday, the 30th ultimo, the Hon. Peter Russell, Esquire, formerly President of the Government of the Province, late Receiver General, and Member of the Executive and Legislative Councils: a gentleman who whilst living was honoured, and sincerely esteemed; and of whose regular and amiable conduct, the Public will long retain a favoured and grateful remembrance."

Of the funeral, which took place on the 4th of October, we have a brief account in the paper of Oct. 8, 1808. It says: "The remains of the late Hon. Peter Russell were interred on Wednesday the 4th instant with the greatest decorum and respect. The obsequies of this accomplished gentleman were followed to the grave by His Excellency the Lieut. Governor (Gore) as Chief Mourner; with the principal gentlemen of the town and neighbourhood; and they were feelingly accompanied by all ranks, evincing a reverential awe for the Divine dispensation. An appropriate funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. Okill Stuart. The Garrison, commanded by Major Fuller, performed with becoming dignity the military honours of this respected veteran, who was a Captain in the Army on half-pay." The editor then adds: "deeply impressed with an ardent esteem for his manly character, and the irreparable loss occasioned by his death, we were not among those who felt the least at this last tribute of respect to his memory and remains." (The Major Fuller, above named, was the father of the Rev. Thomas Brock Fuller, in 1873 Archdeacon of Niagara.)

As we have elsewhere said, Mr. Russell's estate passed to his unmarried sister, Miss Elizabeth Russell, who, at her own decease, devised the whole of it to Dr. W. W. Baldwin and his family. The Irish family to which Mr. Russell belonged was originally a transplanted branch of the Aston-Abbotts subdivision of the great English family of the same name; and a connexion, through intermarriages, had long subsisted between these Russells and the Baldwins of the County of Cork. Russell Hill in the neighbourhood of Toronto, is so called from a Russell Hill in Ireland, which has its name from the Russells of the County of Cork.--During the Revolutionary war, Mr. Russell had been Secretary to Sir Henry Clinton, Commander-in-chief of the Army in North America from 1778 to 1782.

At the beginning of Peter Russell's advertisement of properties, it will have been observed that he offered for sale "an excellent dwelling-house in the town of York," described as being in the occupation of Mr. John Denison. The building referred to, situate, as it is further mentioned, on a "front town lot, with a very convenient water-lot adjoining," was the "ornamental cottage" noted in our journey along Front Street, as having been once inhabited by Major Hillier, of the 74th. On its site was afterwards built Dr. Baldwin's town residence, which subsequently became first a Military Hospital, and then the head office of the Toronto and Nipissing Railroad.

But Petersfield was also associated with the history of Mr. Denison, who was the progenitor of the now numerous Canadian family of that name. Through an intimacy with Mr. Russell, springing out of several years' campaigning together in the American Revolutionary war, Mr. Denison was induced by that gentleman, when about to leave England in an official capacity in company with General Simcoe, to emigrate with his family to Upper Canada in 1792. He first settled at Kingston, but, in 1796, removed to York, where, by the authority of Mr. Russell, he temporarily occupied Castle Frank on the Don. He then, as we have seen, occupied "the excellent dwelling-house" put up "on a front lot" in the town of York by Mr. Russell himself; and afterwards, he was again accommodated by his friend with quarters in the newly-erected homestead of Petersfield.

We have evidence that in 1805 a portion of Petersfield was under cultivation, and that under Mr. Denison's care it produced fine crops of a valuable vegetable. Under date of York, 20th December, 1805, in a contemporary Oracle, we have the following advertisement: "Potatoes: To be sold at Mr. Russell's Farm at Petersfield, by Mr. John Denison, in any quantities not less than ten bushels, at Four Shillings, York Currency, the bushel, if delivered at the purchaser's house, or Three Shillings the bushel, if taken by them from the Farm."

And again, in the Gazette of March 4, 1807: "Blue Nose Potatoes. To be sold at Mr. Russell's Farm near York. The price three shillings, York currency, the bushel, if taken away by the purchasers, or they will be delivered anywhere within the precincts of the Town, at Four Shillings, in any quantity not less than ten bushels. Application to be made to Mr. John Denison, on the premises, to whom the above prices are to be paid on delivery. Feb. 14, 1807."

Our own personal recollection of Mr. Denison is associated with Petersfield, the homely cosiness of whose interior, often seen during its occupancy by him, lighted up by a rousing hospitable fire of great logs, piled high in one of the usual capacious and lofty fire-places of the time, made an indelible impression on the boyish fancy. The venerable Mrs. Sophia Denison, too, Mr. Denison's better half, was in like manner associated in our memory with the cheery interior of the ancient Petersfield farm-house--a fine old English matron and mother, of the antique, strongly-marked, vigorous, sterling type. She was one of the Taylors, of Essex; among whom, at home and abroad, ability and talent, and traits of a higher and more sacred character, are curiously hereditary. We shall have occasion, further on, to speak of the immediate descendants of these early occupants of Petersfield.

On the south side of the expansion of Queen Street, in front of Petersfield, and a little beyond Peter Street (which, as we have previously noticed, had its name from Peter Russell) was the abode of Mr. Dunn, long Receiver-General of Upper Canada. It was (and is) a retired family house, almost hidden from the general view by a grove of ornamental trees. A quiet-looking gate led into a straight drive up to the house, out of Queen Street. Of Mr. Dunn we have already discoursed, and of Mrs. Dunn, one of the graceful lady-chiefs in the high life of York in the olden time. In the house at which we now pause was born their famous son, Alexander Roberts Dunn, in 1833; who not only had the honour of sharing in the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava in 1856, now so renowned in history and song, but who, of all the six hundred there, won the highest meed of glory.

Six feet three inches in stature, a most powerful and most skilful swordsman, and a stranger to fear, Lieut. Dunn, instead of consulting his own safety in the midst of that frightful and untoward melee, deliberately interposed for the protection of his comrades in arms. Old troopers of the Eleventh Hussars long told with kindling eyes how the young lieutenant seeing Sergeant Bentley of his own regiment attacked from behind by two or three Russian lancers, rushed upon them single-handed, and cut them down; how he saved the life of Sergeant Bond; how Private Levett owed his safety to the same friendly arm, when assailed by Russian Hussars. Kinglake, the historian of the Crimean war, records that the Victoria Cross placed at the disposal of the Eleventh Hussars was unanimously awarded by them to Lieut. Dunn; the only cavalry officer who obtained the distinction.

To the enthusiasm inspired by his brilliant reputation was mainly due the speedy formation in Canada of the Hundredth Regiment, the Prince of Wales' Royal Canadian Regiment, in 1857. Of this regiment, chiefly raised through his instrumentality, Mr. Dunn was gazetted the first major; and on the retirement of the Baron de Rottenburg from its command, he succeeded as its Lieutenant Colonel.

In 1864 he was gazetted full Colonel: at the time he had barely completed his twenty-seventh year. Impatient of inactivity, he caused himself to be transferred to a command in India, where he speedily attracted the notice of General Napier, afterwards Lord Napier of Magdala; and he accompanied that officer in the expedition against King Theodore of Abyssinia. While halting at Senafe in that country, he was accidently killed by the sudden explosion of his rifle while out shooting deer. The sequel can best be given, as well as an impression of the feelings of his immediate associates on the deplorable occasion, by quoting the touching words of a letter addressed at the time to a near relative of Colonel Dunn, by a brother officer:

"In no regiment," says this friend, "was ever a commanding officer so missed as the one we have just so unhappily lost: such a courteous, thorough gentleman in word and deed, so thoughtful for others, so perfect a soldier, so confidence-inspiring a leader. Every soldier in the regiment misses Colonel Dunn; he was a friend, and felt to be such, to every one of them. The regiment will never have so universally esteemed a commander again. We all feel that. For myself I feel that I have lost a brother who can never be replaced. I can scarcely yet realize that the dear fellow is really dead, and as I pass his tent every morning I involuntarily turn my head, expecting to hear his usual kind salutation, and to see the dear, handsome face that has never looked at me but with kindness. I breakfasted with him on the morning of the 25th, and he looked so well as he started off with our surgeon for a day's shooting. Little did I think that I had looked on his dear old face for the last time in life. . . . I cannot describe to you what a shock the sad news was to every one, both in my regiment and indeed in every one in the camp. Our dear Colonel was so well known, and so universally liked and respected.

"Next day, Sunday, the 26th of January, he was buried about 4 o'clock p.m.. I went to look at the dear old fellow, before his coffin was closed, and his poor face, though looking so cold, was yet so handsome, and the expression of it, so peaceful and happy. I cut off some of his hair, which lately he wore very short, a lock of which I now send you, keeping one for myself, as the most valuable souvenir I could have of one I loved very dearly. And I knelt down to give his cold forehead a long farewell kiss. He was buried in uniform, as he had often expressed a wish to me to that effect. Every officer in the camp attended his funeral, and, of course, the whole of his own regiment, in which there was not a single dry eye, as all stood round the grave of their lost commander. He has been buried in a piece of ground near where our camp now stands, at the foot of a small hill covered with shrubbery and many wild flowers. We have had railings put round the grave, and a stone is to be placed there with the inscription: In memory of A. R. Dunn, V.C., Col. 33rd Regiment, who died at Senafe on 25th January, 1868, aged 34 years and 7 months."

Thus in remote Abyssinia rest the mortal remains of one who in the happy unconsciousness of childhood, sported here in grounds and groves which we are now passing on Queen Street. In numerous other regions of the earth, once seemingly as unlikely to be their respective final resting-places, repose the remains of Canadian youth, who have died in the public service of England. We are sharing in the fortune and history of the mother country, and like her, or rather like the ubiquitous Roman citizen of old, we may even already ask "Quae caret ora cruore nostro?"--sadly as individuals, perhaps, but proudly as a people.

The occupant of Mr. Dunn's house at a later period was Chief Justice McLean, who died here in 1865. He was born at St. Andrews, near Cornwall, in 1791. At the battle of Queenston, he served as Lieutenant in Capt. Cameron's No. 1 Flank Company of York Militia, and received a severe wound in the early part of the engagement. He was afterwards for some time Speaker of the House. An admirable full-length painting of Chief Justice McLean exists at Osgoode Hall.

XXIII.

QUEEN STREET, FROM BROCK STREET AND SPADINA AVENUE TO THE HUMBER.

Immediately after the grounds and property of Mr. Dunn, on the same side, and across the very broad Brock Street, which is an opening of modern date, was to be seen until recently, a modest dwelling-place of wood, somewhat peculiar in expression, square, and rather tall for its depth and width, of dingy hue; its roof four-sided; below, a number of lean-to's and irregular extensions clustering round; in front, low shrubbery, a circular drive, and a wide, open-barred gate. This was the home of one who has acquired a distinguished place in our local annals, military and civil--Colonel James Fitzgibbon.

A memorable exploit of his, in the war with the United States in 1813, was the capture of a force of 450 infantry, 50 cavalry and two guns, when in command himself, at the moment, of only forty-eight men. He had been put in charge of a depot of stores, at the Beaver Dams, between Queenston and Thorold. Colonel Boerstler, of the invading army, was despatched from Fort George, at Niagara, with orders to take this depot. Fitzgibbon was apprized of his approach. Reconnoitring, and discovering that Boerstler had been somewhat disconcerted, on his march, by a straggling fire from the woods, kept up by a few militiamen and about thirty Indians under Captain Kerr, he conceived the bold idea of dashing out and demanding a surrender of the enemy! Accordingly, spreading his little force judiciously, he suddenly presented himself, waving a white pocket-handkerchief. He was an officer, he hurriedly announced, in command of a detachment: his superior officer, with a large force, was in the rear; and the Indians were unmanageable. (Some extemporized war-whoops were to be heard at the moment in the distance.)

The suggestion of a capitulation was listened to by Colonel Boerstler as a dictate of humanity. The truth was, Major DeHaren, of the Canadian force, to whom, in the neighbourhood of what is now St. Catharines, a message had been sent, was momentarily expected, with 200 men. To gain time, Fitzgibbon made it a matter of importance that the terms of the surrender should be reduced to writing. Scarcely was the document completed when DeHaren arrived. Had there been the least further delay on his part, how to dispose of the prisoners would have been a perplexing question.

Lieutenant Fitzgibbon was now soon Captain Fitzgibbon. He had previously been a private in the 19th and 61st Regiments, having enlisted in Ireland at the age of seventeen. On the day of his enrolment, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant; and a very few years later he was a sergeant-major. He saw active service in Holland and Denmark. His title of Colonel was derived from his rank in our Canadian Militia.

His tall muscular figure, ever in buoyant motion; his grey, good-humoured vivacious eye, beaming out from underneath a bushy, light-coloured eyebrow; the cheery ring of his voice, and its animated utterances, were familiar to everyone. In the midst of a gathering of the young, whether in the school-room or on the play-ground, his presence was always warmly hailed. They at once recognized in him a genuine sympathizer with themselves in their ways and wants; and he had ever ready for them words of hope and encouragement.

Our own last personal recollection of Colonel Fitzgibbon is connected with a visit which we chanced to pay him at his quarters in Windsor Castle, where, in his old age, through the interest of Lord Seaton, he had been appointed one of the Military Knights. Though most romantically ensconced and very comfortably lodged, within the walls of the noblest of all the royal residences of Europe, his heart, we found, was far away, ever recurring to the scenes of old activities. Where the light streamed in through what seemed properly an embrasure for cannon, pierced through a wall several yards in thickness, we saw a pile of Canadian newspapers. To pore over these was his favourite occupation.

After chatting with him in his room, we went with him to attend Divine Service in the magnificent Chapel of St. George, close by. We then strolled together round the ramparts of the Castle, enjoying the incomparable views. Since the time of William IV. the habit of the Military Knights is that of an officer of high rank in full dress, cocked hat and feather included. As our venerable friend passed the several sentries placed at intervals about the Castle, arms were duly presented; an attention which each time elicited from the Colonel the words, rapidly interposed in the midst of a stream of earnest talk, and accompanied by deprecatory gestures of the hand, "Never mind me, boy! never mind me!"

Colonel Fitzgibbon took the fancy of Mrs. Jameson when in Canada. She devotes several pages of her "Winter Studies" to the story of his life. She gives some account of his marriage. The moment he received his captaincy, she tells us, "he surprised General Sheaffe, his commanding officer, by asking for a leave of absence, although the war was still at its height. In explanation, he said he wished to have his nuptials celebrated, so that if a fatal disaster happened to himself, his bride might enjoy the pension of a captain's widow. The desired leave was granted, and after riding some 150 miles and accomplishing his purpose, he was back in an incredibly short space of time at head-quarters again. No fatal disaster occurred, and he lived," Mrs. Jameson adds "to be the father of four brave sons and one gentle daughter."

The name of Colonel Fitzgibbon recalls the recollection of his sister, Mrs. Washburne, remarkable of old, in York, for dash and spirit on horseback, spite of extra embonpoint; for a distinguished dignity of bearing, combined with a marked Hibernian heartiness and gaiety of manner. As to the "four brave sons and one gentle daughter," all have now passed away: one of the former met with a painful death from the giving way of a crowded gallery at a political meeting in the Market Square, as previously narrated. All four lads were favourites with their associates, and partook of their father's temperament.

Of Spadina Avenue, which we crossed in our approach to Col. Fitzgibbon's old home, and of Spadina house, visible in the far distance at the head of the Avenue, we have already spoken in our Collections and Recollections, connected with Front Street.

In passing we make an addition to what was then narrated. The career of Dr. Baldwin, the projector of the Avenue, and the builder of Spadina, is now a part of Upper Canadian history. It presents a curious instance of that versatility which we have had occasion to notice in so many of the men who have been eminent in this country. A medical graduate of Edinburgh, and in that capacity, commencing life in Ireland--on settling in Canada, he began the study of Law and became a leading member of the Bar.

On his arrival at York, from the first Canadian home of his father on Baldwin's Creek in the township of Clarke, Dr. Baldwin's purpose was to turn to account for a time his own educational acquirements, by undertaking the office of a teacher of youth. In several successive numbers of the Gazette and Oracle of 1802-3 we read the following advertisement: "Dr. Baldwin understanding that some of the gentlemen of this Town have expressed some anxiety for the establishment of a Classical School, begs leave to inform them and the public that he intends on Monday the first day of January next, to open a School in which he will instruct Twelve Boys in Writing, Reading, and Classics and Arithmetic. The terms are, for each boy, eight guineas per annum, to be paid quarterly or half-yearly; one guinea entrance and one cord of wood to be supplied by each of the boys on opening the School. N.B.--Mr. Baldwin will meet his pupils at Mr. Willcocks' house on Duke Street. York, December 18th, 1802." Of the results of this enterprise we have not at hand any record.

The Russell bequest augmented in no slight degree the previous possessions of Dr. Baldwin. In the magnificent dimensions assigned to the thoroughfare opened up by him in the neighbourhood of Petersfield, we have probably a visible expression of the large-handed generosity which a pleasant windfall is apt to inspire. Spadina Avenue is 160 feet wide throughout its mile-and-a-half length; and the part of Queen Street that bounds the front of the Petersfield park-lot, is made suddenly to expand to the width of 90 feet. Maria Street also, a short street here, is of extra width. The portion of York, now Toronto, laid out by Dr. Baldwin on a fraction of the land opportunely inherited, will, when solidly built over, rival Washington or St. Petersburg in grandeur of ground-plan and design.

The career of Dr. Rolph, another of our early Upper Canadian notabilities, resembles in some respects, that of Dr. Baldwin. Before emigrating from Gloucestershire, he began life as a medical man. On arriving in Canada he transferred himself to the Bar. In this case, however, after the attainment of eminence in the newly adopted profession, there was a return to the original pursuit, with the acquisition in that also, of a splendid reputation. Both acquired the local style of Honourable: Dr. Rolph by having been a member of the Hincks-ministry from 1851 to 1854; Dr. Baldwin by being summoned, six months before his decease, to the Legislative Council of United Canada, while his son was Attorney-General.

Mr. William Willcocks, allied by marriage to Dr. Baldwin's family, selected the park-lot at which we arrive after crossing Spadina Avenue. A lake in the Oak Ridges (Lake Willcocks) has its name from the same early inhabitant. In 1802 he was Judge of the Home District Court. He is to be distinguished from the ultra-Reformer, Sheriff Willcocks, of Judge Thorpe's day, whose name was Joseph; and from Charles Willcocks, who in 1818 was proposing, through the columns of the Upper Canada Gazette, to publish, by subscription, a history of his own life. The advertisement was as follows (what finally came of it, we are not able to state):--"The subscriber proposes to publish, by subscription, a History of his Life. The subscription to be One Dollar, to be paid by each subscriber; one-half in advance; the other half on the delivery of the Book. The money to be paid to his agent, Mr. Thomas Deary, who will give receipts and deliver the Books. Charles Willcocks, late Lieutenant, City of Cork Militia. York, March, 17th, 1818."

This Mr. Charles Willcocks once fancied he had grounds for challenging his name-sake, Joseph, to mortal combat, according to the barbaric notions of the time. But at the hour named for the meeting, Joseph did not appear on the ground. Charles waited a reasonable time. He then chipped off a square inch or so of the bark of a neighbouring tree, and, stationing himself at duelling distance, discharged his pistol at the mark which he had made. As the ball buried itself in the spot at which aim had been taken, he loudly bewailed his old friend's reluctance to face him. "Oh, Joe, Joe!" he passionately cried, "if you had only been here!"

Although Joseph escaped this time, he was not so fortunate afterwards. He fell, as we have already noted in connexion with the Early Press, "foremost fighting" in the ranks of the invaders of Upper Canada in 1814. The incident is briefly mentioned in the Montreal Herald of the 15th of October, in that year, in the following terms: "It is officially announced by General Ripley (on the American side, that is), that the traitor Willcocks was killed in the sortie from Fort Erie on the 4th ult., greatly lamented by his general and the army." Undertaking with impetuosity a crusade against the governmental ideas which were locally in the ascendant, and encountering the resistance customary in such cases, he cut the knot of his discontent by joining the Republican force when it made its appearance.

The Willcocks park-lot, or a portion of it, was afterwards possessed by Mr. Billings, a well-remembered Commissariat officer, long stationed at York. He built the house subsequently known as Englefield, which, later, was the home of Colonel Loring, who, at the time of the taking of York, in 1813, had his horse killed under him; and here he died. Mr. Billings and Colonel Loring both had sons, of whom we make brief mention as having been in the olden times among our own school-boy associates, but who now, like so many more personal contemporaries, already noted, are, after brief careers, deceased. An announcement in the Montreal Herald of February 4th, 1815, admits us to a domestic scene in the household of Colonel, at the time Captain, Loring. (The Treaty of Peace with the United States was signed at Ghent, on the 24th of December, 1814. Its effect was being pleasantly realized in Canada, in January, 1815). "At Prescott," the Herald reports, "on Thursday, 26th January, the lady of Capt. Loring, Aide-de-Camp and Private Secretary to His Honor Lieut.-Gen. Drummond, was safely delivered of a daughter." The Herald then adds: "The happy father had returned from a state of captivity with the enemy, but a few hours previous to the joyful event." Capt. Loring had been taken prisoner in the battle of Lundy's Lane, in the preceding July.

The first occupant of the next lot (No. 16) westward, was Mr. Baby, of whom we have spoken in former sections. Opposite was the house of Bernard Turquand, an Englishman of note, for many years first clerk in the Receiver-General's department. He was an early promoter of amateur boating among us, a recreation with which possibly he had become familiar at Malta, where he was long a resident. Just beyond on the same side, was the dwelling-place of Major Winniett,--a long, low, one-storey bungalow, of a neutral tint in colour, its roof spreading out, verandah-wise, on both sides.

After the name of Mr. Baby, on the early plan of the park-lots, comes the name of Mr. Grant--"the Hon. Alexander Grant." During the interregnum between the death of Governor Hunter and the arrival of Governor Gore, Mr. Grant, as senior member of the Executive Council, was President of Upper Canada. The Parliament that sat during his brief administration, appropriated L800 to the purchase of instruments for illustrating the principles of Natural Philosophy, "to be deposited in the hands of a person employed in the Education of Youth;" from the debris of which collection, preserved in a mutilated condition in one of the rooms of the Home District School building, we ourselves, like others probably of our contemporaries, obtained our very earliest inkling of the existence and significance of scientific apparatus.

In his speech at the close of the session of 1806, President Grant alluded to this action of Parliament in the following terms: "The encouragement which you have given for procuring the means necessary for communicating useful and ornamental knowledge to the rising generation, meets with my approbation, and, I have no doubt, will produce the most salutary effects." Mr. Grant was also known as Commodore Grant, having had, at one time, command of the Naval Force on the Lakes.

After Mr. Grant's name appears that of "E. B. Littlehales." This is the Major Littlehales with whom those who familiarize themselves with the earliest records of Upper Canada become so well acquainted. He was the writer, for example, of the interesting journal of an Exploring Excursion from Niagara to Detroit in 1793, to be seen in print in the Canadian Literary Magazine of May, 1834; an expedition undertaken, as the document itself sets forth, by the Lieut.-Governor, accompanied by Captain Fitzgerald, Lieutenant Smith of the 5th Regiment, and Lieutenants Talbot, Grey and Givins, and Major Littlehales, starting from Niagara on the 4th of February, arriving at Detroit on the 18th, by a route which was 270 miles in length. The return began on the 23rd, and was completed on the 10th of the following month.

It was in this expedition that the site of London, on the Thames, was first examined, and judged to be "a situation eminently calculated for the metropolis of all Canada." "Among other essentials," says Major Littlehales, "it possesses the following advantages: command of territory--internal situation--central position, facility of water communication up and down the Thames into Lakes St. Clair, Erie, Huron, and Superior,--navigable for boats to near its source, and for small craft probably to the Moravian settlement,--to the southward by a small portage to the waters flowing into Lake Huron--to the south-east by a carrying-place into Lake Ontario and the River St. Lawrence; the soil luxuriantly fertile,--the land rich and capable of being easily cleared, and soon put into a state of agriculture,--a pinery upon an adjacent high knoll, and other timber on the heights, well calculated for the erection of public buildings,--a climate not inferior to any part of Canada."

The intention of the Governor, at one time, was that the future capital should be named Georgina, in compliment to George III. Had that intention been adhered to, posterity would have been saved some confusion. To this hour, the name of our Canadian London gives trouble in the post-office and elsewhere. Georgina was a name not inaptly conceived, suggested doubtless by the title "Augusta," borne by so many places of old, as, for example, by London itself, the Veritable, in honour of the Augustus, the Emperor of the day. We might perhaps have rather expected Georgiana, on the analogy of Aureliana (Orleans), from Aurelius, or Georgia, after Julia, a frequent local appellation from the imperial Julius.--Already, had Georgius, temp. Geo. II., yielded Georgia as the name of a province, and later, temp. Geo. III., the same royal name had been associated with the style and title of a new planet, the Georgium Sidus, suggested probably by the Julium Sidus of Horace. We presume, also, that the large subdivision of Lake Huron, known as the Georgian Bay, had for its name a like loyal origin. (The name Georgina, is preserved in that of a now flourishing township on Lake Simcoe.)

An incident not recorded in Major Littlehales' Journal was the order of a grand parade (of ten men), and a formal discharge of musketry, issued in jocose mood by the Governor to Lieut. Givins; which was duly executed as a ceremony of inauguration for the new capital.

The capture of a porcupine, however, somewhere near the site of the proposed metropolis is noted by the Major. In the narrative the name of Lieut. Givins comes up. "The young Indians who had chased a herd of deer in company with Lieut. Givins," he says, "returned unsuccessful, but brought with them a large porcupine: which was very seasonable," he remarks, "as our provisions were nearly exhausted. This animal," he observes, "afforded us a good repast, and tasted like a pig." The Newfoundland dog, he adds, attempted to bite the porcupine, but soon got his mouth filled with the barbed quills, which gave him exquisite pain. An Indian undertook to extract them, he then says, and with much perseverance plucked them out, one by one, and carefully applied a root or decoction, which speedily healed the wound.

From Major Littlehales' Journal it appears that it was the practice of the party to wind up each day's proceedings by singing "God save the King." Thus on the 28th Feb., before arriving at the site of London, we have it recorded: "At six we stopped at an old Mississagua hut, upon the south side of the Thames. After taking some refreshment of salt pork and venison, well-cooked by Lieutenant Smith, who superintended that department, we, as usual, sang God save the King, and went to rest."

The Duke de Liancourt, in his Travels in North America, speaks of Major Littlehales in the following pleasant terms: "Before I close the article of Niagara," he says, "I must make particular mention of the civility shewn us by Major Littlehales, adjutant and first secretary to the Governor, a well-bred, mild and amiable man, who has the charge of the whole correspondence of government, and acquits himself with peculiar ability and application. Major Littlehales," the Duke says, "appeared to possess the confidence of the country. This is not unfrequently the case with men in place and power; but his worth, politeness, prudence, and judgment, give this officer peculiar claims to the confidence and respect which he universally enjoys."

In the Oracle of Feb. 24, 1798, a report of the death of this officer is contradicted. "We have the pleasure of declaring the account received in December last of the death of Col. Littlehales premature. Letters have been recently received from him dated in England." He had probably returned home with Gen. Simcoe. In the same paper a flying rumour is noticed, to the effect "that His Excellency Governor Simcoe is appointed Governor General of the Canadas."

Major Littlehales afterwards attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and was created a baronet in 1802. In 1801 he was appointed under-Secretary for Ireland; and he held this office for nineteen years.

Major Littlehales' park-lot became subsequently the property of Capt. John Denison, and from him descended to his heir Col. George Taylor Denison, from whom the street now passing from south to north has its name, Denison Avenue. This thoroughfare was, in the first instance, the drive up to the homestead of the estate, Bellevue, a large white cheery-looking abode, lying far back but pleasantly visible from Lot Street through a long vista of overhanging trees.--From the old Bellevue have spread populous colonies at Dovercourt, Rusholme and elsewhere, marked, like their progenitor, with vigour of character, and evincing in a succession of instances strong aptitude for military affairs. Col. Denison's grandson, G. T. Denison tertius, is the author of a work on "Modern Cavalry, its Organisation, Armament and Employment in War," which has taken a recognized place in English strategetical literature.

In accordance with an early Canadian practice, Capt. John Dennison set apart on his property a plot of ground as a receptacle for the mortal remains of himself and his descendants. He selected for this purpose a picturesque spot on land possessed by him on the Humber river, entailing at the same time the surrounding estate. In 1853,--although at that date an Act of Parliament had cancelled entails,--his heir, Col. G. T. Denison, primus, perpetually connected the land referred to, together with the burial plot, with his family and descendants, by converting it into an endowment for an ecclesiastical living, to be always in the gift of the legal representative of his name. This is the projected rectory of St. John's on the Humber. In 1857, a son of Col. Denison's, Robert Britton Denison, erected at his own cost, in immediate proximity to the old Bellevue homestead, the church of St. Stephen, and took steps to make it in perpetuity a recognized ecclesiastical benefice.

The boundary of Major Littlehales' lot westward was near what is now Bathurst Street. In front of this lot, on the south side of Lot street, and stretching far to the west, was the Government Common, of which we have previously spoken, on which was traced out, at first ideally, and at length in reality, the arc of a circle of 1,000 yards radius, having the Garrison as its centre. Southward of the concave side of this arc no buildings were for a long time permitted to be erected. This gave rise to a curiously-shaped enclosure, northward of St. Andrew's Market-house, wide towards the east, but vanishing off to nothing on the west, at the point where Lot Street formed a tangent with the military circle.

Of Portland Street and Bathurst Street we have already spoken in our survey of Front Street. Immediately opposite Portland Street was the abode, at the latter period of his life, of Dr. Lee, to whom we have referred in our accounts of Front and George Streets. Glancing northward as we pass Bathurst Street, which, by the way, north of Lot Street, was long known as Crookshank's Lane, we are reminded again of Mr. Murchison, whom we have likewise briefly commemorated elsewhere. The substantial abode to which he retired after acquiring a good competency, and where in 1870 he died, is to be seen on the east side of Bathurst Street.

The names which appear in the early plans of York and its suburbs, as the first possessors of the park lots westward of Major Littlehales', are, in order of succession, respectively, Col. David Shank, Capt. Macdonell, Capt. S. Smith, Capt. AE. Shaw, Capt. Bouchette. We then arrive at the line of the present Dundas road, where it passes at right angles north from the line of Queen Street. This thoroughfare is not laid down in the plans. Then follow the names of David Burns, William Chewitt and Alexander MacNab (conjointly), Thomas Ridout and William Allan (conjointly), and Angus Macdonell. We then reach a road duly marked, leading straight down to the French Fort, Fort Rouille, commonly known as Fort Toronto. Across this road westward, only one lot is laid off, and on it is the name of Benjamin Hallowell.

Most of the names first enumerated are very familiar to those whose recollections embrace the period to which our attention is now being directed. Many of them have occurred again and again in these papers.

In regard to Col. David Shank, the first occupant of the park lot westward of Major Littlehales', we must content ourselves with some brief "Collections." In the Simcoe correspondence, preserved at Ottawa, there is an interesting mention of him, associated, as it appropriately happens, with his neighbour-locatees to the east and west here on Lot Street. In a private letter to the "Secretary at War," Sir George Yonge, from Governor Simcoe, dated Jan. 17th, 1792, announcing his arrival at Montreal, en route for his new Government, still far up "the most august of rivers," Capt. Shank is spoken of as being on his way to the same destination in command of a portion of the Queen's Rangers, in company with Capt. Smith.

There is noted in the same document, it will be observed, a gallant achievement of Capt. Shaw's, who, the Governor reports, had just successfully marched with his division of the same regiment all the way from New Brunswick to Montreal, in the depth of winter, on snow-shoes. "It is with infinite pleasure," writes Governor Simcoe to Sir George Yonge, "that I received your letter of the 1st of April by Capt. Littlehales. On the 13th of June," he continues, "that officer overtook me on the St. Lawrence, as I was on my passage in batteaux up the most august of rivers. It has given me great satisfaction," the Governor says, "that the Queen's Rangers have arrived so early. Capt. Shaw, who crossed in the depth of winter on snow-shoes from New Brunswick, is now at Kingston with the troops of the two first ships; and Captains Shank and Smith, with the remainder, are, I trust, at no great distance from this place,--as the wind has served for the last 36 hours, and I hope with sufficient force to enable them to pass the Rapids of the Richelieu, where they have been detained some days." Governor Simcoe himself, as we learn from this correspondence, had landed at Quebec on the 11th of November preceding (1791), in the "Triton," Capt. Murray, "after a blustering passage."

In addition to the lot immediately after Major Littlehales', Col. Shank also possessed another in this range, just beyond, viz., No. 21.

The Capt. Macdonell, whose name appears on the lot that follows Col. Shank's first lot, was the aide-de-camp of Gen. Brock, who fell, with that General, at Queenston Heights. Capt. Macdonell's lot was afterwards the property of Mr. Crookshank, from whom what is now Bathurst Street North had, as we have remarked, for a time the name of Crookshank's Lane.

Capt. S. Smith, whose name follows those of Capt. Macdonell and Col. Shank, was afterwards President Smith, of whom already. The park lot selected by him was subsequently the property of Mr. Duncan Cameron, a member of the Legislative Council, freshly remembered. At an early period, the whole was known by the graceful appellation of Gore Vale. Gore was in honour of the Governor of that name. Vale denoted the ravine which indented a portion of the lot through whose meadow-land meandered a pleasant little stream. The southern half of this lot now forms the site and grounds of the University of Trinity College. Its brooklet will hereafter be famous in scholastic song. It will be regarded as the Cephissus of a Canadian Academus, the Cherwell of an infant Christ Church. The elmy dale which gives such agreeable variety to the park of Trinity College, and which renders so charming the views from the Provost's Lodge, is irrigated by it. (The cupola and tower of the principal entrance to Trinity College will pleasantly, in however humble a degree, recall to the minds of Oxford-men, the Tom Gate of Christ Church.)--After the decease of Mr. Cameron, Gore Vale was long occupied by his excellent and benevolent sister, Miss Janet Cameron.

On the steep mound which overhangs the Gore Vale brook, on its eastern side, just where it is crossed by Queen Street, was, at an early period, a Blockhouse commanding the western approach to York. On the old plans this military work is shown, as also a path leading to it across the Common from the Garrison, trodden often probably by the relief party of the guard that would be stationed there in anxious times.

In the valley of this stream a little farther to the west, on the opposite side of Queen Street, was a Brewery of local repute: it was a long, low-lying dingy-looking building of hewn logs; on the side towards the street a railed gangway led from the road to a door in its upper storey. Conspicuous on the hill above the valley on the western side was the house, also of hewn logs, but cased over with clap-boards, of Mr. Farr, the proprietor of the brewery, a north-of-England man in aspect, as well as in staidness and shrewdness of character. His spare form and slightly crippled gait were everywhere familiarly recognized. Greatly respected, he was still surviving in 1872. His chief assistant in the old brewery bore the name of Bow-beer. (At Canterbury, we remember, many years ago, when the abbey of St. Augustine there, now a famous Missionary College, was a Brewery, on the beautiful turretted gateway, wherein were the coolers, the inscription "Beer, Brewer," was conspicuous; the name of the brewer in occupation of the grand monastic ruin being Beer, a common name, sometimes given as Bere; but which in reality is Bear.)

The stream which is here crossed by Queen Street is the same that afterwards flows below the easternmost bastion of the Fort. A portion of the broken ground between Farr's and the Garrison was once designated by the local Government--so far as an order in Council has force--and permanently set apart, as a site for a Museum and Institute of Natural History and Philosophy, with Botanical and Zoological Gardens attached. The project, originated by Dr. Dunlop, Dr. Rees and Mr. Fothergill, and patronized by successive Lieutenant-Governors, was probably too bold in its conception, and too advanced to be justly appreciated and earnestly taken up by a sufficient number of the contemporary public forty years ago. It consequently fell to the ground. It is to be regretted that, at all events, the land, for which an order in Council stands recorded, was not secured in perpetuity as a source of revenue for the promotion of science. In the Canadian Institute we have the kind of Association which was designed by Drs. Dunlop and Rees and Mr. Fothergill, but minus the revenue which the ground-rent of two or three building lots in a flourishing city would conveniently supply.

Capt. AEneas Shaw, the original locatee of the park-lot next westward of Colonel Shank's second lot, was afterwards well known in Upper Canada as Major General Shaw. Like so many of our early men of note he was a Scotchman; a Shaw of Tordorach in Strathnairn. Possessed of great vigour and decision, his adopted country availed itself of his services in a civil as well as a military capacity, making him a member of the legislative and executive councils. The name by which his house and estate at this point were known, was Oakhill. The primitive domicile still exists and in 1871 was still occupied by one of his many descendants, Capt. Alex. Shaw.--It was at Oakhill that the Duke of Kent was lodged during his visit to York in his second tour in Upper Canada. The Duke arrived at Halifax on the 12th of September, 1799, after a passage from England of forty-three days, "on board of the Arethusa."

Of Col. Joseph Bouchette, whose name is read on the following allotment, we have had occasion already to speak. He was one of the many French Canadians of eminence who, in the early days, were distinguished for their chivalrous attachment to the cause and service of England. The successor of Col. Bouchette in the proprietorship of the park lot at which we have arrived, was Col. Givins.--He, as we have already seen, was one of the companions of Gov. Simcoe in the first exploration of Upper Canada. Before obtaining a commission in the army, he had been as a youth employed in the North-West, and had acquired a familiar acquaintance with the Otchibway and Huron dialects. This acquisition rendered his services of especial value to the Government in its dealings with the native tribes, among whom also the mettle and ardor and energy of his own natural character gave him a powerful influence. At the express desire of Governor Simcoe he studied and mastered the dialects of the Six Nations, as well as those of the Otchibways and their Mississaga allies.--We ourselves remember seeing a considerable body of Indian chiefs kept in order and good humour mainly through the tact exercised by Col. Givins. This was at a Council held in the garden at Government House some forty years since, and presided over by the then Lieutenant-Governor, Sir John Colborne.

Col. Givins was Superintendent of Indian Affairs down to the year 1842. In 1828 his name was connected with an incident that locally made a noise for a time. A committee of the House of Assembly, desiring to have his evidence and that of Col. Coffin, Adjutant General of Militia, in relation to a trespass by one Forsyth on Government property at the Falls of Niagara, commanded their presence at a certain day and hour. On referring to Sir Peregrine Maitland, the Lieutenant-Governor at the time, and also Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, permission to obey the mandate of the House was refused. Col. Givins and Col. Coffin were then arrested by the Sergeant-at-arms, after forcible entry effected at their respective domiciles, and were kept confined in the common gaol until the close of the session.

The following is Col. Coffin's letter to Major Hillier, private secretary to the Governor, on the occasion: "York, March 22nd, 1828. Sir,--I beg leave to request that you will state to the Lieutenant Governor that in obedience to the communication I received through you, that His Excellency could not give me permission to attend a Committee of the House of Assembly for the reason therein stated, that I did not attend the said Committee, and that in consequence thereof, I have been committed this evening to the common gaol of the Home District, by order of the House of Assembly. I have therefore to pray that His Excellency will be pleased to direct that I may have the advice and assistance of the Crown Officers, to enable me take such steps as I may be instructed on the occasion. I have the honour, &c., N. Coffin, Adjt. Gen. of Militia."

No redress was to be had. The Executive Council reported in regard to this letter that upon mature consideration they could not advise that the Government should interfere to give any direction to the Crown Officers, as therein solicited. Sir Peregrine Maitland was removed from the Government in the same year. Sir George Murray, who in that year succeeded Mr. Huskisson as Colonial Secretary, severely censured him for the line of action adopted in relation to the Forsyth grievance.

Colonels Givins and Coffin afterwards brought an action against the Speaker of the House for false imprisonment, but they did not recover: for the legality of the imprisonment, that is the right of the House to convict for what they had adjudged a contempt, was confirmed by the Court of King's Bench, by a solemn judgment rendered in another cause then pending, which involved the same question.

Although its hundred-acre domain is being rapidly narrowed and circumscribed by the encroachments of modern improvement, the old family abode of Col. Givins still stands, wearing at this day a look of peculiar calm and tranquillity, screened from the outer world by a dark grove of second-growth pine, and overshadowed by a number of acacias of unusual height and girth.

Governor Gore and his lady, Mrs. Arabella Gore, were constant visitors at Pine Grove, as this house was named; and here to this day is preserved a very fine portrait, in oil, of that Governor. It will satisfy the ideal likely to be fashioned in the mind by the current traditions of this particular ruler of Upper Canada. In contour of countenance and in costume he is plainly of the type of the English country squire of a former day. He looks good humoured and shrewd; sturdy and self-willed; and fond of good cheer.

The cavalier style adopted by Gov. Gore towards the local parliament was one of the seeds of trouble at a later date in the history of Upper Canada. "He would dismiss the rascals at once." Such was his determination on their coming to a vote adverse to his notions; and, scarcely like a Cromwell, but rather like a Louis XIV., though still not, as in the case of that monarch, with a riding-whip in his hand, but nevertheless, in the undress of the moment, he proceeded to carry out his hasty resolve.

The entry of the incident in the Journals of the House is as follows: "On Monday, 7th April, at 11 o'clock a.m., before the minutes of the former day were read, and without any previous notice, the Commons, to the great surprise of all the members, were summoned to the bar of the Legislative Council, when his Excellency having assented, in his Majesty's name, to several bills, and reserved for his Majesty's pleasure the Bank bill, and another, to enable creditors to sue joint debtors separately, put an end to the session by the following speech:--'Honourable Gentlemen of the Legislative Council, and Gentlemen of the House of Assembly,--The session of the provincial legislature having been protracted by an unusual interruption of business at its commencement, your longer absence from your respective avocations must be too great a sacrifice for the objects which remain to occupy your attention. I have therefore come to close the session and permit you to return to your homes. In accepting, in the name of his Majesty, the supply for defraying the deficiency of the funds which have hitherto served to meet the charges of the administration of justice and support of the civil government of this province, I have great satisfaction in acknowledging the readiness manifested to meet this exigence.'"

Upper Canadian society was, indeed, in an infant state; but the growing intelligence of many of its constituents, especially in the non-official ranks, rendered it unwise in rulers to push the feudal or paternal theory of government too far. The names of the majority in the particular division of the Lower House which brought on the sudden prorogation just described are the following:--McDonell, McMartin, Cameron, Jones, Howard, Casey, Robinson, Nellis, Secord, Nichol, Burwell, McCormack, Cornwall. Of the minority: Van Koughnet, Crystler, Fraser, Cotter, McNab, Swayze, and Clench.

Six weeks after, Governor Gore was on his way to England, not recalled, as it would seem, but purposing to give an account of himself in his own person. He never returned. He is understood to have had a powerful friend at Court in the person of the Marquis of Camden.

One of the "districts" of Upper Canada was called after Governor Gore. It was set off, during his regime, from the Home and Niagara districts. But of late years county names have rendered the old district names unfamiliar. In 1837, "the men of Gore" was a phrase invested with stirring associations.

The town of Belleville received its name from Gov. Gore. In early newspapers and other documents the word appears as Bellville, without the central e, which gives it now such a fine French look. And this, it is said, is the true orthography. "Bell," we are told, was the Governor's familiar abbreviation of his wife's name, Arabella: and the compound was suggested by the Governor jocosely, as a name for the new village: but it was set down in earnest, and has continued, the sound at least, to this day. This off-hand assignment of a local name may remind some persons that Flos, Tay and Tiny, which are names of three now populous townships in the Penetanguishene region, are a commemoration of three of Lady Sarah Maitland's lap-dogs. Changes of names in such cases as these are not unjustifiable.

In fact, the Executive Council itself, at the period of which we are speaking, had occasionally found it proper to change local names which had been frivolously given. In the Upper Canada Gazette of March 11th, 1822, we have several such alterations. It would seem that some one having access to the map or plan of a newly surveyed region, had inscribed across the parallelograms betokening townships, a fragment of a well-known Latin sentence, "jus et norma," placing each separate word in a separate compartment. In this way Upper Canada had for a time a township of "Jus," and more wonderful still, a township of "Et." In the number of the Gazette of the date given above these names are formally changed to Barrie and Palmerston respectively. In the same advertisement, "Norma," which might have passed, is made "Clarendon."

Other impertinent appellations are also at the same time changed. The township of "Yea" is ordered to be hereafter the township of "Burleigh," with a humorous allusion to the famous nod, probably. The township of "No" is to be the township of Grimsthorpe; and the township of "Aye," the township of Anglesea.--The name "Et" may recall the street known as "Of" alley, on the south side of the Strand, in London, which "Of" is a portion of the name and title "George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham," distributed severally among a cluster of streets in that locality.

Gov. Gore was so fortunate as to be away from his Province during the whole of the war in 1812-13-14. He obtained leave of absence to visit England in 1811, and returned to his post in 1815, the Presidents, Isaac Brock, Roger Hale Sheaffe, and Gordon Drummond, Esquires, reigning in the interim.

Under date of York U. C., Sept., 30, 1815, we read the following particulars in the Gazette of the day:--"Arrived on Monday last the 25th instant, His Excellency Francis Gore, Esq., Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Upper Canada, to reassume the reins of government. His Excellency was received with a cordial welcome and the honours due to his rank; and was saluted by his M. S. Montreal, and Garrison."

We are also informed that "On Wednesday the 27th instant, he was waited on by a deputation, and presented with the following address: To His Excellency, Francis Gore, Esq., Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Upper Canada, &c., &c., &c. We, the Judges, Magistrates and principal Inhabitants of the Town of York, in approaching your Excellency to express our great satisfaction at beholding you once more among us, feel that we have still greater reason to congratulate ourselves on this happy event. Our experience of your past firm and liberal administration, by which the prosperity of the Province has been so essentially promoted, teaches us to anticipate the greater benefit from its resumption; and this pleasing anticipation is confirmed by our knowledge of that paternal solicitude which induced you while in England to bring, upon all proper occasions, the interests of the Colony under the favourable attention of His Majesty's Government; a solicitude which calls forth in our hearts the most grateful emotions. We rejoice that the blessings of peace are to be dispensed by one who is so well acquainted with the wants and feelings of the Colony; and we flatter ourselves that York, recovering from a state of war, (during which she has been twice in the power of the enemy), will not only forget her disasters, but rise to greater prosperity under your Excellency's auspicious administration. York, September 27th, 1815. Thos. Scott, C.J., W. Dummer Powell, John Strachan, D.D., John McGill, John Beikie, M.P., Grant Powell J.P., W. Chewett, J.P., J. G. Chewett, W. Lee, Sam. Smith, W. Claus, Benjamin Gale, D. Cameron, D. Boulton, jun., George Ridout, And. Mercer, Thomas Ridout, J.P., W. Jarvis, Sec. and Reg., S. Jarvis, J.P., John Small, J.P., W. Allan, J.P., J. Givins, E. MacMahon, J. Scarlett, S. Heward, Thos. Hamilton, C. Baynes, John Dennis, P. K. Hartney, Jno. Cameron, E. W. McBride, Jordan Post, jun., Levi Bigelow, John Hays, T. R. Johnson, Lardner Bostwick, John Burke, John Jordan, W. Smith, sen., W. Smith, jun., J. Cawthra, John Smith, Alex. Legge, Jordan Post, sen., Andrew O'Keefe, S. A. Lumsden, John Murchison, Thomas Deary, Ezek. Benson, A. NcNabb, Edward Wright, John Evans, W. Lawrence, Thos. Duggan, George Duggan, Benjamin Cozens, Philip Klinger, and Sheriff Ridout. To which His Excellency was pleased to make the following answer: Gentlemen: After so long an absence from this place it is particularly gratifying to find the same sentiments of cordiality to me, and of approbation of my conduct, which I experienced during my former residence in this Province. It is but doing me justice to say that, while in Europe, I paid every attention in my power to promote your prosperity; and such, you may be assured, shall be my future endeavour when residing amongst you; earnestly hoping that, under the fostering care of our Parent State, and under that security which Peace alone can bestow, this Colony will speedily become a valuable, though distant part of the British Empire. York, 27th September, 1815."

On the 7th of the following month, it is announced that "His Royal Highness, the Prince Regent acting in the name and on the behalf of His Majesty, has been pleased to appoint Thomas Fraser, Esquire, of Prescott, Neil McLean, Esquire, of Cornwall, Thomas Clark, Esquire, of Queenston, and William Dickson, Esquire, of Niagara, to be members of the Legislative Council; Samuel Smith, Esquire, of Etobicoke, to be a member of the Executive Council, and Doctor John Strachan, to be an Honorary Member of the same Council."

By one of the acts passed during the administration of Gov. Gore, the foundation was laid of a parliamentary library, to replace the one destroyed or dispersed during the occupation of York in 1813. In the session of 1816, the sum of L800 was voted for the purchase of books for the use of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly.

The sum of L800 for such a purpose contrasts poorly, however, with the L3,000 recommended in the same session, to be granted to Gov. Gore himself, for the purchase of "Plate." The joint address of both Houses to the Prince Regent, on this subject, was couched in the following terms: "To his Royal Highness, George, Prince of Wales, Prince Regent of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, &c., &c., &c.: May it please your Royal Highness: We, his Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Legislative Council and House of Assembly of the Province of Upper Canada, in Provincial Parliament assembled, impressed with a lively sense of the firm, upright, and liberal administration of Francis Gore, Esq., Lieutenant-Governor of this Province, as well as of his unceasing attention to the individual and general interests of the Colony during his absence, have unanimously passed a bill to appropriate the sum of three thousand pounds, to enable him to purchase a service of plate, commemorative of our gratitude. Apprized that this spontaneous gift cannot receive the sanction of our beloved Sovereign in the ordinary mode, by the acceptance of the Lieutenant-Governor in his name and behalf; we, the Legislative Council and Assembly of the Province of Upper Canada, humbly beg leave to approach your Royal Highness with an earnest prayer that you will approve this demonstration of our gratitude, and graciously be pleased to sanction, in His Majesty's name, the grant of the Legislature, in behalf of the inhabitants of Upper Canada. Wm. Dummer Powell, Speaker, Legislative Council Chambers, 26th March, 1816. Allan Maclean, Speaker, Commons House of Assembly, 25th March, 1816."

To which, as we are next informed, his Excellency replied: "Gentlemen: I shall transmit your address to His Majesty's Ministers, in order that their expression of your approbation of my past administration may be laid at the feet of His Royal Highness, the Prince Regent. Government House, York, 26th March, 1816." The Bill which suggested this allowance was popularly spoken of as the "Spoon-bill." The House that passed the measure was the same that, a few weeks later, was so abruptly dismissed.

The name on the allotment following that occupied successively by Col. Bouchette and Col. Givins, is "David Burns." Mr. Burns, who had been a Navy surgeon, was the first Clerk of the Crown for Upper Canada, and one of the "Masters in Chancery." He died in 1806. In the Gazette and Oracle of Saturday, Feb. 15th, in that year, we have verses to the memory of the late David Burns, Esq. We make the following extract, which is suggestive:--

"Say, power of Truth, so great, so unconfined, And solve the doubt which so distracts my mind-- Why Strength to Weakness is so near allied? Perhaps 'tis given to humble human pride. At times perchance frail Nature held the sway, Yet dimm'd not it the intellectual ray: Reason and Truth triumphant held their course, And list'ning hearers felt conviction's force: No precept mangled, text misunderstood, He thought and acted but for public good: His reasoning pure, his mind all manly light, Made day of that which else appear'd as night. In him instruction aim'd at this great end-- Our fates to soften and our lives amend. Yet he was man, and man's the child of woe: Who seeks perfection, seeks not here below."

From the paper of September, 1806, it appears that numerous books were missing out of the library of the deceased gentleman. His administrator, Alexander Burns, advertises: "The following books, with many others, being lent by the deceased, it is particularly entreated that they may be immediately returned:--Plutarch's Lives, 1st volume; Voltaire's Works, 11th do., in French, half-bound; Titi Livii, Latin, 1st do.; Guthrie's History of Scotland, 1st and 2nd do.; Rollin's Ancient History, 1st do.; Pope's Works, 5th do.; Swift's Works, 5th and 8th do., half-bound; Moliere's, 6th do., French."

Of Col. W. Chewett, whose name appears next, we have made mention more than once. His name, like that of his son, J. G. Chewett, is very familiar to those who have to examine the plans and charts connected with early Upper Canadian history. Both were long distinguished attaches of the Surveyor-General's department. In 1802, Col. W. Chewett was Registrar of the Home District.

Alexander Macnab, whose name occurs next in succession, was afterwards Capt. Macnab, who fell at Waterloo, the only instance, as is supposed, of a Canadian slain on that occasion. In 1868, his nephew, the Rev. Dr. Macnab, of Bowmanville, was presented by the Duke of Cambridge in person with the Waterloo medal due to the family of Capt. Macnab.

Alexander Macnab was also the first patentee of the plot of ground whereon stands the house on Bay Street noted, in our account of the early press, as being the place of publication of the Upper Canada Gazette at the time of the taking of York, and subsequently owned and occupied by Mr. Andrew Mercer up to the time of his decease in 1871.

Of Messrs. Ridout and Allan, whose names are inscribed conjointly on the following park lot, we have already spoken; and Angus Macdonell, who took up the next lot, was the barrister who perished, along with the whole court, in the Speedy.

The name that appears on the westernmost lot of the range along which we have been passing is that of Benjamin Hallowell. He was a near connection of Chief Justice Elmsley's, and father of the Admiral, Sir Benjamin Hallowell, K.C.B. We observe the notice of Mr. Hallowell's death in the Gazette and Oracle of the day, in the following terms:--"Died, on Thursday last (March 28th, 1799), Benjamin Hallowell, Esq., in the 75th year of his age. The funeral will be on Tuesday next, and will proceed from the house of the Chief Justice to the Garrison Burying Ground at one o'clock precisely. The attendance of his friends is requested."

Associated at a later period with the memories of this locality is the name of Col. Walter O'Hara.--In 1808 an immense enthusiasm sprang up in England in behalf of the Spaniards, who were beginning to rise in spirited style against the domination of Napoleon and his family. Walter Savage Landor, for one, the distinguished scholar, philosopher and poet, determined to assist them in person as a volunteer. In a letter to Southey, in August, 1808, he says: "At Brighton, I preached a crusade to two auditors: i. e., a crusade against the French in Spain: Inclination," he continues, "was not wanting, and in a few minutes everything was fixed." The two auditors, we are afterwards told, were both Irishmen, an O'Hara and a Fitzgerald. Landor did not himself remain long in Spain, although long enough to expend, out of his own resources, a very large sum of money; but his companions continued to do good service in the Peninsula, in a military capacity, to the close of the war.

In a subsequent communication to Southey, Landor speaks of a letter just received from his friend O'Hara. "This morning," he says, "I had a letter from Portugal, from a sensible man and excellent officer, Walter O'Hara. The officers do not appear," he continues, "to entertain very sanguine hopes of success. We have lost a vast number of brave men, and the French have gained a vast number, and fight as well as under the republic."

The Walter O'Hara whom we here have Landor speaking of as "a sensible man and excellent officer" is the Col. O'Hara at whose homestead, on a portion of the Hallowell park-lot, we have arrived, and whose name is one of our household words. Colonel O'Hara built on this spot in 1831, at which date the surrounding region was in a state of nature. The area cleared for the reception of the still existing spacious residence, with its lawn, garden and orchards, remained for a number of years an oasis in the midst of a grand forest. A brief memorandum which we are enabled to give from his own pen of the Peninsular portion of his military career, will be here in place, and will be deemed of interest.

"I joined," he says, "the Peninsular army in the year 1811, having obtained leave of absence from my British Regiment quartered at Canterbury, for the purpose of volunteering into the Portuguese army, then commanded by Lord Beresford. I remained in that force until the end of the war, and witnessed all the varieties of service during that interesting period, during which time I was twice wounded, and once fell into the hands of a brave and generous enemy."

From 1831 Col. O'Hara held the post of Adjutant-General in Upper Canada. His contemporaries will always think of him as a chivalrous, high-spirited, warm-hearted gentleman; and in our annals hereafter he will be named among the friends of Canadian progress, at a period when enlightened ideas in regard to government and social life, derived from a wide intercourse with man in large and ancient communities, were, amongst us, considerably misunderstood.

After passing the long range of suburban properties on which we have been annotating, the continuation, in a right line westward, of Lot Street, used to be known as the Lake Shore Road. This Lake Shore Road, after passing the dugway, or steep descent to the sands that form the margin of the Lake, first skirted the graceful curve of Humber Bay, and then followed the irregular line of the shore all the way to the head of the Lake. It was a mere track, representing, doubtless, a trail trodden by the aborigines from time immemorial.

So late as 1813 all that could be said of the region traversed by the Lake Shore Road was the following, which we read in the "Topographical Description of Upper Canada," issued in London in that year, under the authority of Governor Gore:--"Further to the westward (i. e. of the river Humber)," we are told, "the Etobicoke, the Credit, and two other rivers, with a great many smaller streams, join the main waters of the Lake; they all abound in fish, particularly salmon......the Credit is the most noted; here is a small house of entertainment for passengers. The tract between the Etobicoke and the head of the Lake," the Topographical Description then goes on to say, "is frequented only by wandering tribes of Mississaguas."

"At the head of Lake Ontario," we are then told, "there is a smaller Lake, within a long beach, of about five miles, from whence there is an outlet to Lake Ontario, over which there is a bridge. At the south end of the beach," it is added, "is the King's Head, a good inn, erected for the accommodation of travellers, by order of his Excellency Major-General Simcoe, the Lieutenant-Governor. It is beautifully situated at a small portage which leads from the head of a natural canal connecting Burlington Bay with Lake Ontario, and is a good landmark. Burlington Bay," it is then rather boldly asserted, "is perhaps as beautiful and romantic a situation as any in interior America, particularly if we include with it a marshy lake which falls into it, and a noble promontory that divides them. This lake is called Coote's Paradise, and abounds with game." (Coote's Paradise had its name from Capt. Coote, of the 8th, a keen sportsman.)

As to "the wandering tribes of Mississaguas," who in 1813 were still the only noticeable human beings west of the Etobicoke, they were in fact a portion of the great Otchibway nation. From time to time, previous and subsequent to 1813, and for pecuniary considerations of various amounts they surrendered to the local Government their nominal right over the regions which they still occupied in a scattered way. In 1792 they surrendered 3,000,000 acres, commencing four miles west of Mississagua point, at the mouth of the river Niagara for the sum of L1,180 7s. 4d. On the 8th of August, 1797, they surrendered 3,450 acres in Burlington Bay for the sum of L65 2s. 6d. On the 6th September, 1806, 85,000 acres, commencing on the east bank of the Etobicoke river, brought them L1,000 5s. On the 28th of October, 1818, "the Mississagua tract Home District," consisting of 648,000 acres, went for the respectable sum of L8,500. On the 8th of February, 1820, 2,000 acres, east of the Credit reserve, brought in L50.

All circumstances at the respective dates considered, the values received for the tracts surrendered as thus duly enumerated may, by possibility, have been reasonable. Lord Carteret, it is stated, proposed to sell all New Jersey for L5,000, 150 years ago. But there remains one transfer from Mississaga to White ownership to be noticed, for which the equivalent, sometimes alleged to have been accepted, excites surprise. On the 1st of August, 1805, a Report of the Indian Department informs us, the "Toronto Purchase" was made, comprising 250,880 acres, and stretching eastward to the Scarboro' Heights; and the consideration accepted therefor was the sum of ten shillings. Two dollars for the site of Toronto and its suburbs, with an area extending eastward to Scarboro' heights. The explanation, however, is this, which we gather from a manuscript volume of certified copies of early Indian treaties, furnished by William L. Baby, Esq., of Sandwich. The Toronto purchase was really effected in 1787, by Sir John Johnson, at the Bay of Quinte Carrying-place; and "divers good and valuable considerations," not specified, were received by the Mississagas on the occasion. But the document testifying to the transfer was imperfect. The deed of August 1, 1805, was simply confirmatory, and the sum named as the consideration was merely nominal.

On the early map from which we have been taking the names of the first locatees of the range of park-lots extending along Queen Street from Parliament Street to Humber Bay, we observe the easternmost limit of the "Toronto Purchase" conspicuously marked by a curved line drawn northwards from the water's edge near the commencement of the spit of land which used to fence off Ashbridge's Bay and Toronto Harbour from the lake.

In 1804, the Lake Shore Road stood in need of repairs, and in some places even of "opening" and "clearing out." In the Gazette and Oracle of Aug. 4th, in that year, we have an advertisement for "Proposals from any person or persons disposed to contract for the opening and repairing the Road and building Bridges between the Town of York and the Head of Burlington Bay." "Such proposals," the advertisement goes on to say, "must state what prices the Party desirous of undertaking the aforesaid work will engage to finish and complete the same, and must consist of the following particulars: At what price per mile such person will open and clear out such part of the road leading from Lot Street, adjoining the Town of York (beginning at Peter Street) to the mouth of the Humber, of the width of 33 feet, as shall not be found to stand in need of any causeway. With the price also per rod at which such party will engage to open, clear out, and causeway such other part of the same road as shall require to be causewayed, and the last-mentioned price to include as well the opening and clearing out, as the causewaying such Road. The causewaying to be 18 feet wide; as also the price at which any person will engage to build Bridges upon the said Road of the width of 18 feet.

"And the same Commissioners will also receive proposals from any person or persons willing to engage to cut down three Hills at the following places viz:--One at the Sixteen Mile Creek, another between Sixteen and Twelve Mile Creek, and the third at the Twelve Mile Creek. And also for repairing, in a good and substantial manner, the Bridge at the outlet of Burlington Bay. All the before-mentioned work to be completed, in a good and substantial manner, on or before the last day of October next, and, when completed, the Money contracted to be given shall be paid by the Receiver General." This advertisement is issued by William Allan and Duncan Cameron, of York; James Ruggles and William Graham, of Yonge Street; and William Applegarth, of Flamboro' East, Commissioners for executing Statute passed in Session of present year.

We now return to that point on Queen Street where, instead of continuing on westward by the Lake Shore Road, the traveller of a later era turned abruptly towards the north in order to pass into Dundas Street proper, the great highway projected, as we have observed, by the first organizer of Upper Canada and marked on the earliest manuscript maps of the Province, but not made practicable for human traffic until comparatively recent times.

From an advertisement in the Gazette and Oracle of August, 1806, we learn that Dundas Street was not, in that year, yet hewn out through the woods about the Credit. "Notice is hereby given," thus runs the advertisement referred to, "that the Commissioners of the Highways of the Home District will be ready on Saturday, the 23rd day of the present month of August, at eleven o'clock in the forenoon, at the Government Buildings in the town of York, to receive proposals and to treat with any person or persons who will contend to open and make the road called Dundas Street, leading through the Indian Reserve on the River Credit; and also to erect a Bridge over the said River at or near where the said Road passes. Also to bridge and causeway (in aid to the Statute Labour) such other parts of such Road passing through the Home District, when such works are necessary, and for the performance of which the said Statute Labour is not sufficient. Thomas Ridout, Clerk of the Peace, Home District. York, 6th August, 1806."

The early line of communication with the Head of the Lake was by the Lake Shore Road. The cross thoroughfare between the park lots of Mr. Bouchette or Col. Givins and Mr. David Burns, was opened up by Col. G. T. Denison, senior, with the assistance of some of the embodied militia.

The work of opening the road here, as well as further on through the forest, was at first undertaken by a detachment of the regulars under the direction of an officer of the Royal Engineers. The plan adopted, we are told, was first to fell each tree by very laboriously severing it from its base close to the ground, and then to smooth off the upper surface of the root or stump with an adze. As this process was necessarily slow, and after all not likely to result in a permanently good road, the proposal of Colonel, then Lieutenant, Denison, to set his militia-men to eradicate the trees bodily, was accepted--an operation with which they were all more or less familiar on their farms and in their new clearings. A fine broad open track, ready, when the day for such further improvements should arrive, for the reception of plank or macadam, was soon constructed.

Immediately at the turn northwards, out of the line of Lot Street, on the east side, was Sandford's Inn, a watering place for teams on their way into York, provided accordingly with a conspicuous pump and great trough, a long section of a huge pine-tree dug out like a canoe. Near by, a little to the east, was another notable inn, an early rival, as we suppose, of Sandford's: this was the Blue Bell. A sign to that effect, at the top of a strong and lofty pole in front of its door, swung to and fro within a frame.

Just opposite, on the Garrison Common, there were for a long while low log buildings belonging to the Indian department. One of them contained a forge in charge of Mr. Higgins, armourer to the Department. Here the Indians could get, when necessary, their fishing-spears, axes, knives and tomahawks, and other implements of iron, sharpened and put in order. One of these buildings was afterwards used as a school for the surrounding neighbourhood.

Immediately across from Sandford's, on the park lot originally occupied by Mr. Burns, was a house, shaded with great willow-trees, and surrounded by a flower-garden and lawn, the abode for many years of the venerable widow of Captain John Denison, who long survived her husband. Of her we have already once spoken in connection with Petersfield. She was, as we have intimated, a sterling old English gentlewoman of a type now vanishing, as we imagine. The house was afterwards long in the occupation of her son-in-law, Mr. John Fennings Taylor, a gentleman well-known to Canadian M.P.'s during a long series of years, having been attached as Chief Clerk and Master in Chancery first to the Legislative Council of United Canada and then to the Senate of the Dominion.

To the right and left, as we passed north, was a wet swamp, filled with cedars of all shapes and sizes, and strewn plentifully with granitic boulders: a strip of land held in light esteem by the passers-by, in the early day, as seeming to be irreclaimable for agricultural purposes.

But how admirably reclaimable in reality the acres hereabout were for the choicest human purposes, was afterwards seen, when, for example, the house and grounds known as Foxley Grove, came to be established. By the outlay of some money and the exercise of some discrimination, a portion of this same cedar swamp was rapidly converted into pleasure ground, with labyrinths of full-grown shrubbery ready-prepared by nature's hand. Mr. James Bealey Harrison, who thus transformed the wild into a garden and plaisaunce, will be long remembered for his skill and taste in the culture of flowers and esculents choice and rare: as well as for his eminence as a lawyer and jurist.

He was a graduate of Cambridge; and before his emigration to Canada, had attained distinction at the English bar. He was the author of a work well known to the legal profession in Great Britain and here, entitled "An Analytical Digest of all the Reported Cases determined in the House of Lords, the several Courts of the Courts of the Common Law in Banc and Nisi Prius, and the Court of Bankruptcy, from Michaelmas Term, 1756, to Easter Term, 1843; including also the Crown Cases Referred: in Four Volumes." During the regime of Sir George Arthur, Mr. Harrison was Secretary of the Province and a member of the Executive Council; and at a later period he was Judge of the County and Surrogate Courts. The memory of Judge Harrison as an English Gentleman, genial, frank and straightforward, is cherished among his surviving contemporaries.

On turning westward into Dundas Street proper, we were soon in the midst of a magnificent pine forest, which remained long undisturbed. The whole width of the allowance for road was here for a number of miles completely cleared. The highway thus well-defined was seen bordered on the right and left with a series of towering columns, the outermost ranges of an innumerable multitude of similar tall shafts set at various distances from each other, and circumscribing the view in an irregular manner on both sides, all helping to bear up aloft a matted awning of deep-green, through which, here and there, glimpses of azure could be caught, looking bright and cheery. The yellow pine predominated, a tree remarkable for the straightness and tallness of its stems, and for the height at which its branches begins.

No fence on either hand intervened between the road and the forest; the rider at his pleasure, could rein his horse aside at any point and take a canter in amongst the columns, the underwood being very slight. Everywhere, at the proper season, the ground was sprinkled with wild flowers--with the wild lupin and the wild columbine; and everywhere, at all times, the air was more or less fragrant with resinous exhalations.

In the heart of the forest, midway between York and the bridge over the Humber, was another famous resting place for teams--the Peacock Tavern--a perfect specimen of a respectable wayside hostelry of the olden time, with very spacious driving-houses and other appropriate outbuildings on an extensive scale.

Not far from the Peacock a beaten track branched off westerly, which soon led the equestrian into the midst of beautiful oak woods, the trees constituting it of no great magnitude, but as is often the case on sandy plains, of a gnarled, contorted aspect, each presenting a good study for the sketcher. This track also conducted to the Humber, descending to the valley of that stream where its waters, now become shallow but rapid, passed over sheets of shale. Here the surroundings of the bridle-road and foot-path were likewise picturesque, exhibiting rock plentifully amidst and beneath the foliage and herbage.

Here in the vale of the Humber stood a large Swiss-like structure of hewn logs, with two tiers of balcony on each of its sides. This was the house of Mr. John Scarlett. It was subsequently destroyed by fire. Near by were mills and factories also belonging to Mr. Scarlett. He was well connected in England; a man of enlightened views and fine personal presence. He loved horses and was much at home in the saddle. A shrewd observer when out among his fellow men, at his own fireside he was a diligent student of books.

XXIV.

YONGE STREET--FROM THE BAY TO YORKVILLE.

The tourist of the present day, who, on one of our great lake-steamers, enters the harbour of Toronto, observes, as he is borne swiftly along, an interesting succession of street vistas, opening at intervals inland, each one of them somewhat resembling a scene on the stage. He obtains a glimpse for a moment of a thoroughfare gently ascending in a right line northward, with appropriate groups of men and vehicles, reduced prettily to lilliputian size by distance.

Of all the openings thus transiently disclosed, the one towards which the boat at length shapes its course, with the clear intention of thereabout disburdening itself of its multifarious load, is quickly seen to be of preeminent importance. Thronged at the point where it descends to the water's edge with steamers and other craft, great and small, lined on the right and left up to the far vanishing-point with handsome buildings, its pavements and central roadway everywhere astir with life, its appearance is agreeably exciting and even impressive. It looks to be, what in fact it is, the outlet of a great highway leading into the interior of a busy, populous country. The railway station seen on the right, heaving up its huge semicircular metal back above the subjacent buildings, and flanking the very sidewalk with its fine front and lofty ever-open portals, might be imagined a porter's lodge proportioned to the dignity of the avenue whose entrance it seems planted there to guard.

We propose to pass, as rapidly as we may, up the remarkable street at the foot of which our tourist steps ashore. It will not be a part of our plan to enlarge on its condition as we see it at the present time, except here and there as in contrast with some circumstance of the past. We intend simply to take note, as we ramble on, of such recollections as may spring up at particular points, suggested by objects or localities encountered, and to recall at least the names, if not in every instance, characteristic traits and words and acts, of some of the worthies of a byegone generation, to whose toil and endurance the present occupants of the region which we shall traverse are so profoundly indebted.

Where Yonge Street opened on the harbour, the observer some forty years ago would only have seen, on the east side, the garden, orchard and pleasure grounds of Chief Justice Scott, with his residence situated therein, afterwards the abode of Mr. Justice Sherwood; and on the west side the garden, orchard, pleasure-grounds and house of Mr. Justice Macaulay, afterwards Chief Justice Sir James Macaulay, and the approaches to these premises were, in both cases, not from Yonge Street but from Front Street, or from Market Street in the rear.

The principal landing place for the town was for a series of years, as we have elsewhere stated, at the southern extremity of Church Street: and then previously, for another series of years, further to the east, at the southern extremity of Frederick Street. The country and local traffic found its way to these points, not by Yonge Street, south of King Street, but by other routes which have been already specified and described.

Teams and solitary horses, led or ridden, seen passing into Yonge Street, south of King Street, either out of King Street or out of Front Street, would most likely be on their way to the forge of old Mr. Philip Klinger, a German, whose name we used to think had in it a kind of anvil ring. His smithy, on the east side, just south of Market Street, now Wellington Street, was almost the only attraction and occasion of resort to Yonge Street, south of King Street. His successor here was Mr. Calvin Davis, whose name became as familiar a sound to the ears of the early townsfolk of York as Mr. Klinger's had been.

It seems in the retrospect but a very short time since Yonge Street south of King Street, now so solidly and even splendidly built up, was an obscure allowance for road, visited seldom by any one, and for a long while particularly difficult to traverse during and just after the rainy seasons.

Few persons in the olden time at which we are glancing ever dreamed that the intersection of Yonge Street and King Street was to be the heart of the town. Yet here in one generation we have the Carfax of Toronto, as some of our forefathers would have called it--the Quatrevoies or Grand Four-cross-way, where the golden milestone might be planted whence to measure distances in each direction.

What are the local mutations that are to follow? Will the needs of the population and the exigencies of business ever make of the intersection of Brock Street and Queen Street what the intersection of Yonge and King Streets is now?

In the meantime, those who recall the very commonplace look which this particular spot, viz.: the intersection of King Street and Yonge Street, long wore, when as yet only recently reclaimed from nature, cannot but experience a degree of mental amazement whenever now they pause for a moment on one of the crossings and look around.

A more perfect and well-proportioned rectangular meeting of four great streets is seldom to be seen. Take the view at this point, north, south, west, or east, almost at any hour and at any season of the year, and it is striking.

It is striking in the freshness and coolness and comparative quiet of early morning, when few are astir.

It is striking in the brightness and glow of noon, when the sons and daughters of honest toil are trooping in haste to their mid-day meal.

A few hours later, again, it is striking when the phaetons, pony-carriages, and fancy equipages generally, are out, and loungers of each sex are leisurely promenading, or here and there placidly engaged in the inspection and occasional selection of "personal requisites,"--of some one or other of the variegated tissues or artificial adjuncts demanded by the modes of the period,--while the westering sun is now flooding the principal thoroughfare with a misty splendour, and on the walls, along on either side, weird shadows slanting and elongated, are being cast.

Then, later still, the views here are by no means ordinary ones, when the vehicles have for the most part withdrawn, and the passengers are once more few in number, and the lamps are lighted, and the gas is flaming in the windows.

Even in the closed up sedate aspect of all places of business on a Sunday or public holiday, statutable or otherwise, these four streets, by some happy charm, are fair to see and cheery. But when drest for a festive gala occasion, when gay with banners and festoons, in honour of a royal birthday, a royal marriage, the visit of a prince, the announcement of a victory, they shew to special advantage.

So, also, they furnish no inharmonious framework or setting, when processions and bands of music are going by, or bodies of military, horse or foot, or pageants such as those that in modern times accompany a great menagerie in its progress through the country--elephants in oriental trappings, teams of camels clad in similar guise, cavaliers in glittering mediaeval armour, gorgeous cars and vans.

And again, in winter, peculiarly fine pictures, characteristic of the season, are presented here when, after a plentiful fall of snow, the sleighs are on the move without number and in infinite variety; or when, on the contrary, each long white vista, east, west, north, and south, glistening, perhaps, under a clear December moon, is a scene almost wholly of still life--scarcely a man or beast abroad, so keen is the motionless air, the mercury having shrunk down some way below the zero-line of Fahrenheit.

But we must proceed. From the Lake to the Landing is a long journey.

In the course of our perambulations we have already noticed some instances in the town of long persistency in one place of business or residence. Such evidences of staidness and substantiality are common enough in the old world, but are of necessity somewhat rare amid the chances, changes, and exchanges of young communities on this continent. An additional instance we have to note here, at the intersection of King Street and Yonge Street. At its north-east angle, where, as in a former section we have observed, stood the sole building in this quarter, the house of Mr. John Dennis, for forty years at least has been seen with little alteration of external aspect, the Birmingham, Sheffield and Wolverhampton warehouse of the brothers Mr. Joseph Ridout and Mr. Percival Ridout. A little way to the north, too, on the east side, the name of Piper has been for an equal length of time associated uninterruptedly with a particular business; but here, though outward appearances have remained to some extent the same, death has wrought changes.

Near by, also, we see foundries still in operation where Messrs. W. B. Sheldon, F. R. Dutcher, W. A. Dutcher, Samuel Andrus, J. Vannorman and B. Vannorman, names familiar to all old inhabitants, were among the foremost in that kind of useful enterprise in York. Their advertisement, as showing the condition of one branch of the iron manufacture in York in 1832, will be of interest. Some of the articles enumerated have become old-fashioned. "They respectfully inform their friends and the public that they have lately made large additions to their establishments. They have enlarged their Furnace so as to enable them to make Castings of any size or weight used in this province, and erected Lathes for turning and finishing the same. They have also erected a Steam Engine of ten horse power, of their own manufacture, for propelling their machinery, which is now in complete operation, and they are prepared to build Steam Engines of any size, either high or low pressure. Having a number of experienced engineers employed, whose capability cannot be doubted, they hope to share the patronage of a generous public. They always keep constantly on hand and for sale, either by wholesale or retail, Bark Mills, Cooking, Franklin, Plate and Box Stoves, also, a general assortment of Hollow Ware, consisting of Kettles, from one to one hundred and twenty gallons; Bake-Ovens, Bake-Basins, Belly-Pots, High Pans, Tea Kettles, Wash-Kettles, Portable Furnaces, &c. Also are constantly manufacturing Mill-Gearing of all kinds; Sleigh Shoes, 50, 56, 30, 28, 15, 14, and 7 pound Weights, Clock and Sash Weights, Cranes, Andirons, Cart and Waggon Boxes, Clothiers' Plates, Plough Castings, and Ploughs of all kinds."

In 1832 Mr. Charles Perry was also the proprietor of foundries in York, and we have him advertising in the local paper that "he is about adding to his establishment the manufacture of Printing Presses, and that he will be able in a few weeks to produce Iron Printing Presses combining the latest improvements."

We move on now towards Newgate Street, first noticing that nearly opposite to the Messrs. Sheldon and Dutcher's foundry were the spirit vaults of Mr. Michael Kane, father of Paul Kane, the artist of whom we have spoken previously. At the corner of Newgate Street or Adelaide Street, on the left, and stretching along the southern side of that Street, the famous tannery-yard of Mr. Jesse Ketchum was to be seen, with high stacks of hemlock-bark piled up on the Yonge Street side. On the North side of Newgate Street, at the angle opposite, was his residence, a large white building in the American style, with a square turret, bearing a railing, rising out of the ridge of the roof. Before pavements of any kind were introduced in York, the sidewalks hereabout were rendered clean and comfortable by a thick coating of tan-bark.

Mr. Ketchum emigrated hither from Buffalo at an early period. In the Gazette of June 11, 1803, we have the death of his father mentioned. "On Wednesday last (8th June), departed this life, Mr. Joseph Ketchum, aged 85. His remains," it is added, "were interred the following day." In 1806 we find Jesse Ketchum named at the annual "town meeting," one of the overseers of highways and fence viewers. His section was from "No. 1 to half the Big Creek Bridge (Hogg's Hollow) on Yonge Street." Mr. William Marsh, jun., then took up the oversight from half the Big Creek Bridge to No. 17. In the first instance Mr. Ketchum came over to look after the affairs of an elder brother, deceased, who had settled here and founded the tannery works. He then continued to be a householder of York until about 1845, when he returned to Buffalo, his original home, where he still retained valuable possessions. He was familiarly known in Buffalo in later years as "Father Ketchum," and was distinguished for the lively practical interest which he took in schools for the young, and for the largeness of his annual contributions to such institutions. Two brothers, Henry and Zebulun, were also early inhabitants of Buffalo.

Mr. Ketchum's York property extended to Lot Street. Hospital Street (Richmond Street) passed through it, and he himself projected and opened Temperance Street. To the facility with which he supplied building sites for moral and religious uses it is due that at this day the quadrilateral between Queen Street and Adelaide Street, Yonge Street and Bay Street, is a sort of miniature Mount Athos, a district curiously crowded with places of worship. He gave in Yorkville also sites for a school-house and Temperance Hall, and, besides, two acres for a Children's Park. The Bible and Tract Society likewise obtained its House on Yonge Street on easy terms from Mr. Ketchum, on the condition that the Society should annually distribute in the Public Schools the amount of the ground rent in the form of books--a condition that continues to be punctually fulfilled. The ground-rent of an adjoining tenement was also secured to the Society by Mr. Ketchum, to be distributed in Sunday Schools in a similar way. Thus by his generous gifts and arrangements in Buffalo, and in our own town and neighbourhood, his name has become permanently enrolled in the list of public benefactors in two cities. Among the subscriptions to a "Common School" in York in 1820, a novelty at the period, we observe his name down for one hundred dollars. Subscriptions for that amount to any object were not frequent in York in 1820. (Among the contributors to the same school we observe Jordan Post's name down for L17 6s. 3d.; Philip Klinger's for L2 10s.; Lardner Bostwick's for L2 10s.)

Mr. Ketchum died in Buffalo in 1867. He was a man of quiet, shrewd, homely appearance and manners, and of the average stature. His brother Seneca was also a character well known in these parts for his natural benevolence, and likewise for his desire to offer counsel to the young on every occasion. We have a distinct recollection of being, along with several young friends, the objects of a well intended didactic lecture from Seneca Ketchum, who, as we were amusing ourselves on the ice, approached us on horseback.

It seems singular to us, in the present day, that those who laid out the region called the "New Town," that is, the land westward of the original town plot of York, did not apparently expect the great northern road known as Yonge Street ever to extend directly to the water's edge. In the plans of 1800, Yonge Street stops short at Lot Street, i. e., Queen Street. A range of lots blocks the way immediately to the south. The traffic from the north was expected to pass down into the town by a thoroughfare called Toronto Street, three chains and seven links to the east of the line of Yonge Street. Mr. Ketchum's lot, and all the similar lots southward, were bounded on the east by this street.

The advisability of pushing Yonge Street through to its natural terminus must have early struck the owners of the properties that formed the obstruction. We accordingly find Yonge Street in due time "produced" to the Bay. Toronto Street was then shut up and the proprietors of the land through which the northern road now ran received in exchange for the space usurped, proportionate pieces of the old Toronto Street. In 1818, deeds for these fragments, executed in conformity with the ninth section of an Act of the local Parliament, passed in the fiftieth year of George III., were given to Jesse Ketchum, William Bowkett, mariner, son of William Bowkett, and others, by the surveyors of highways, James Miles for the Home District, and William Richardson Caldwell for the County of York, respectively.

The street which supplied the passage-way southward previously afforded by Toronto Street, and which now formed the easterly boundary of the easterly portions of the lots cut in two by Yonge Street, was, as we have had occasion already to state in another place, called Upper George Street, and afterwards Victoria Street.

(The line of the now-vanished Toronto Street is, for purposes of reference, marked with fine lines on the map of Toronto by the Messrs. H. J. and J. O. Browne.)

What the condition of some of the lots to which we have been just referring was in 1801, we gather from a surveyor's report of that date, which we have already quoted (p. 64), in another connection. We are now enabled to add the exact terms of the order issued to the surveyor, Mr. Stegman, on the occasion: "Surveyor General's Office, 19th Dec., 1800 Mr. John Stegman: Sir,--All persons claiming to hold land in the town of York, having been required to cut and burn all the brush and underwood on the said lots, and to fall all the trees which are standing thereon, you will be pleased to report to me, without delay, the number of the particular lots on which it has not been done. D. W. Smith, Acting Surveyor General."

The continuation of the great northern highway in a continuous right line to the Bay, from its point of issue on Lot Street, i. e., Queen Street, was the circumstance that eventually created for Yonge Street, regarded as a street in the usual sense, the peculiar renown which it popularly has for extraordinary length. A story is told of a tourist, newly arrived at York, wishing to utilize a stroll before breakfast, by making out as he went along the whereabouts of a gentleman to whom he had a letter. Passing down the hall of his hotel, he asks in a casual way of the book-keeper--"Can you tell me where Mr. So-and-so lives? (leisurely producing the note from his breast-pocket wallet). It is somewhere along Yonge Street here in your town." "Oh yes," was the reply, when the address had been glanced at--"Mr. So-and-so lives on Yonge Street, about twenty-five miles up!" We have heard also of a serious demur on the part of a Quebec naval and military inspector, at two agents for purchases being stationed on one street at York. However surprised, he was nevertheless satisfied when he learned that their posts were thirty miles apart.

Let us now direct our attention to Yonge Street north of Queen Street.

For some years previous to the opening of Yonge Street from Lot Street to the Bay, the portion of the great highway to the north, between Lot Street and the road which is now the southern boundary of Yorkville, was in an almost impracticable condition. The route was recognized, but no grading or causewaying had been done on it. In the popular mind, indeed, practically, the point where Yonge Street began as a travelled road to the north, was at Yorkville, as we should now speak.

The track followed by the farmers coming into town from the north veered off at Yorkville to the eastward, and passed down in a hap-hazard kind of way over the sandy pineland in that direction, and finally entered the town by the route later known as Parliament Street.

In 1800 the expediency was seen of making the direct northern approach to York more available. In the Gazette of Dec. 20th, 1800, we have an account of a public meeting held on the subject. It will be observed that Yonge Street, between Queen Street and Yorkville, as moderns would phrase it, is spoken of therein, for the moment, not as Yonge Street, but as "the road to Yonge Street." "On Thursday last, about noon," the Gazette reports, "a number of the principal inhabitants of this town met together in one of the Government Buildings, to consider the best means of opening the road to Yonge Street, and enabling the farmers there to bring their provisions to market with more ease than is practicable at present." The account then proceeds: "The Hon. Chief-Justice Elmsley was called to the chair. He briefly stated the purpose of the meeting, and added that a subscription-list had been lately opened by which something more than two hundred dollars in money and labour had been promised, and that other sums were to be expected from several respectable inhabitants who were well-wishers to the undertaking, but had not as yet contributed towards it. These sums, he feared, however, would not be equal to the purpose, which hardly could be accomplished for less than between five and six hundred dollars. Many of the subscribers were desirous that what was already subscribed should be immediately applied as far as it would go, and that other resources should be looked for."

A paper was produced and read containing a proposal from Mr. Eliphalet Hale to open and make the road, or so much of it as might be required, at the rate of twelve dollars per acre for clearing it where no causeway was wanted, four rods wide, and cutting the stumps in the two middle rods close to the ground; and seven shillings and sixpence, provincial currency, per rod, for making a causeway eighteen feet wide where a causeway might be wanted. Mr. Hale undertook to find security for the due performance of the work by the first of February following (1801). The subscribers present were unanimously of opinion that the subscription should be immediately applied as far as it would go. Mr. Hale's proposition was accepted, and a committee consisting of Mr. Secretary Jarvis, Mr. William Allan, and Mr. James Playter, was appointed to superintend the carrying of it into execution. Additional subscriptions would be received by Messrs. Allan and Wood.

At the same meeting a curious project was mooted, and a resolution in its favour adopted, for the permanent shutting up of a portion of Lot Street, and selling the land, the proceeds to be applied to the improvement of Yonge Street. There was no need of that portion of Lot Street, it was argued, there being already convenient access to the town in that direction by a way a few yards to the south. We gather from this that Hospital Street (Richmond Street) was the usual beaten track into the town from the west.

"It had been suggested," says the report of the meeting, "that considerable aid might be obtained by shutting up the street which now forms the northern boundary of the town between Toronto Street and the Common, and disposing of the land occupied by it. This street, it was conceived, was altogether superfluous," the report continues, "as another street equally convenient in every respect runs parallel to it at the distance of about ten rods; but it could not be shut up and disposed of by any authority less than that of the Legislature." A petition to the Legislature embodying the above ideas was to lie for signature at Mr. McDougall's Hotel.

The proposed document may have been duly presented, but the Legislature certainly never closed up Lot Street. Owners of park lots westward of Yonge Street may have had their objections. The change suggested would have compelled them to buy not only the land occupied by Lot Street, but also the land immediately to the south of their respective lots; otherwise they would have had no frontage in that direction.

In the Gazette of March 14, 1801, we have a further account of the improvement on Yonge Street. We are informed that "at a meeting of the subscribers to the opening of Yonge Street held at the Government Buildings on Monday last, the 9th instant, pursuant to public notice, William Jarvis, Esq., in the chair, the following gentlemen were appointed as a committee to oversee and inspect the work, one member of which to attend in person daily by rotation: James Macaulay, Esq., M.D., William Weekes, Esq., A. Wood, Esq., William Allan, Esq., Mr. John Cameron, Mr. Simon McNab. After the meeting," we are then told, "the committee went in a body, accompanied by the Hon. J. Elmsley, to view that part of the street which Mr. Hale, the undertaker, had in part opened. After ascertaining the alterations and improvements necessary to be made, and providing for the immediate building of a bridge over the creek between the second and third mile-posts, the Committee adjourned." All this is signed "S. McNab, Secretary to the Committee. York, 9th March, 1801."

A list of subscribers then follows, with the sums given. Hon. J. Elmsley, 80 dollars; Hon. Peter Russell, 20; Hon. J. McGill, 16; Hon. D. W. Smith, 10; John Small, Esq., 20; R. J. D. Gray, Esq., 20; William Jarvis, Esq., 10; William Willcocks, Esq., 15; D. Burns, Esq., 20; Wm. Weekes, Esq., 15; James Macaulay, Esq., 20; Alexander Macdonell, Esq., the work of one yoke of oxen for four days; Alexander Wood, Esq., 10; Mr. John Cameron, 15; Mr. D. Cameron, 10; Mr. Jacob Herchmer, 5; Mr. Simon McNab, 5; Mr. P. Mealy, 5; Mr. Elisha Beaman, 10; Thomas Ridout, Esq., 4; Mr. T. G. Simons, 4; Mr. W. Waters, 5; Mr. Robert Young, 10; Mr. Daniel Tiers, 5; Mr. John Edgell, 5; Mr. George Cutter, 10; Mr. James Playter, 6; Mr. Joseph McMurtrie, 5; Mr. William Bowkett, 6; Mr. John Horton, 4; Mr. John Kerr, 2. Total, 392 dollars.

The money collected was, we may suppose, satisfactorily laid out by Mr. Hale, but it did not suffice for the completion of the contemplated work. From the Gazette of Feb. 20 in the following year (1802), we learn that a second subscription was started for the purpose of completing the communication with the travelled part of Yonge Street to the north.

In the Gazette just named we have the following, under date of York, Saturday, Feb. 20, 1802: "We whose names are hereunto subscribed, contemplating the advantage which must arise from the rendering of Yonge Street accessible and convenient to the public, and having before us a proposal for completing that part of the said street between the Town of York and lot No. 1, do hereby respectively agree to pay the sums annexed to our names towards the carrying of the said proposal into effect; cherishing at the same time the hope that every liberal character will give his support to a work which has for its design the improvement of the country, as well as the convenience of the public: *the Chief Justice, 100 dollars; *Receiver-General, 20; *Robt. J. D. Gray, 20 (and two acres of land when the road is completed); John Cameron 40; *James Macaulay, 20; *Alexander Wood, 20; *William Weekes, 20; John McGill, 16; Wilson, Humphreys and Campbell, 15; D. W. Smith, 10; Thomas Scott, 10; *Wm. Jarvis, 10; *John Small, 10; *David Burns, 10; *Wm. Allan, 10; Alexander McDonell, 10; Wm. Smith, 10; Robert Henderson, 10; *Simon McNab, 8; John McDougall, 8; D. Cozens, 8; Thomas Ward, 8; *Elisha Beaman, 6; Joseph Hunt, 6; Eli Playter, 6; John Bennett, 6; *George Cutter, 6; James Norris, 51/4; Wm. B. Peters, 5; John Leach, 5; John Titus, 5; Wm. Cooper, 5; *Wm. Hunter, 5; J. B. Cozens, 5; *Daniel Tiers, 5; Thomas Forfar, 5; Samuel Nash, 5; Paul Marian, 3; Thomas Smith, 3; John McBeth, 3." It is subjoined that "subscriptions will be received by Mr. S. McNab, Secretary, and advertised weekly in the Gazette. Those marked thus (*) have paid a former subscription."

In the Gazette of March 6, 1802, an editorial is devoted to the subject of the improvement of Yonge Street. It runs as follows: "It affords us much pleasure to state to our readers that the necessary repair of Yonge Street is likely to be soon effected, as the work, we understand, has been undertaken with the assurance of entering upon and completing it without delay; and by every one who reflects upon the present sufferings of our industrious community on resorting to a market, it cannot but prove highly satisfactory to observe a work of such convenience and utility speedily accomplished. That the measure of its future benefits must be extreme indeed, we may reasonably expect; but whilst we look forward with flattering expectations of those benefits we cannot but appreciate the immediate advantage which is afforded to us, in being relieved from the application of the statute labour to circuitous by-paths and occasional roads, and in being enabled to apply the same to the improvement of the streets, and the nearer and more direct approaches to the Town."

The irregular track branching off eastward at Yorkville was an example of these "circuitous by-paths and occasional roads." Editorials were rare in the Gazettes of the period. Had there been more of them, subsequent investigators would have been better able than they are now, to produce pictures of the olden time. Chief Justice Elmsley was probably the inspirer of the article just given.

The work appears to have been duly proceeded with. In the following June, we have an advertisement calling a meeting of the committee entrusted with its superintendence. In the Gazette of June 12, 1802, we read: "The committee for inspecting the repair of Yonge Street requests that the subscribers will meet on the repaired part of the said street at 5 o'clock on Monday evening, to take into consideration how far the moneys subscribed by them have been beneficially expended. S. McNab, Secretary to Committee. York, 10th June, 1802."

In 1807, as we gather from the Gazette of Nov. 11, in that year, an effort was made to improve the road at the Blue Hill. A present of Fifty Dollars from the Lieutenant Governor (Gore) to the object is acknowledged in the paper named. "A number of public-spirited persons" the Gazette says, "collected on last Saturday to cut down the Hill at Frank's Creek. (We shall see hereafter that the rivulet here was thus known, as being the stream that flowed through the Castle Frank lot.) The Lieutenant-Governor, when informed of it, despatched a person with a present of Fifty Dollars to assist in improving the Yonge Street road." It is then added by "John Van Zante, pathmaster, for himself and the public,"--"To his Excellency for his liberal donation, and to the gentlemen who contributed, we return our warmest thanks."

These early efforts of our predecessors to render practicable the great northern approach to the town, are deserving of respectful remembrance.

The death of Eliphalet Hale, named above, is thus noted in the Gazette of Sept. 19, 1807:--"Died on the evening of the 17th instant, after a short illness, Mr. Eliphalet Hale, High Constable of the Home District, an old and respectable inhabitant of this town. From the regular discharge of his official duties" the Gazette subjoins, "he may be considered as a public loss."

The nature of the soil at many points between Lot Street and the modern Yorkville was such as to render the construction of a road that should be comfortably available at all seasons of the year no easy task. Down to the time when macadam was at length applied, some twenty-eight years after Mr. Hale's operations, this approach to the town was notorious for its badness every spring and autumn. At one period an experiment was tried of a wooden tramway for a short distance at the worst part, on which the loaded waggons were expected to keep and so be saved from sinking hopelessly in the direful sloughs. Mr. Sheriff Jarvis was the chief promoter of this improvement, which answered its purpose for a time, and Mr. Rowland Burr was its suggester. But we must not forestall ourselves.

We return to the point where Lot Street, or Queen Street, intersects the thoroughfare to whose farthest bourne we are about to be travellers.

After passing Mr. Jesse Ketchum's property, which had been divided into two parts by the pushing of Yonge Street southward to its natural termination, we arrived at another striking rectangular meeting of thoroughfares. Lot Street having happily escaped extinction westward and eastward, there was created at this spot a four-cross-way possessed of an especial historic interest, being the conspicuous intersection of the two great military roads of Upper Canada, projected and explored in person by its first organiser. Four extensive reaches, two of Dundas Street (identical, of course, with Lot or Queen Street), and two of Yonge Street, can here be contemplated from one and the same standpoint. In the course of time the views up and down the four long vistas here commanded will probably rival those to be seen at the present moment where King Street crosses Yonge Street. When lined along all its sides with handsome buildings, the superior elevation above the level of the Lake of the more northerly quadrivium, will be in its favour.

Perhaps it will here not be out of order to state that Yonge Street was so named in honour of Sir George Yonge, Secretary of War in 1791, and M.P. for Honiton, in the county of Devon, from 1763 to 1796. The first exploration which led to the establishment of this communication with the north, was made in 1793. On the early MS. map mentioned before in these papers, the route taken by Governor Simcoe on the memorable occasion, in going and returning is shewn. Explanatory of the red dotted lines which indicate it, the following note is appended. It reveals the Governor's clear perception of the commercial and military importance of the projected road: "Lieut.-Gov. Simcoe's route on foot and in canoes to explore a way which might afford communication for the Fur-traders to the Great Portage, without passing Detroit in case that place were given up to the United States. The march was attended with some difficulties, but was quite satisfactory: an excellent harbour at Penetanguishene: returned to York, 1793."

(On the same map, the tracks are given of four other similar excursions, with the following accounts appended respectively:--1. Lieut.-Gov. Simcoe's route on foot from Niagara to Detroit and back again in five weeks; returned to Niagara March 8th, 1793. 2. Lieut.-Gov. Simcoe's route from York to the Thames; down that river in canoes to Detroit; from thence to the Miamis, to build the fort Lord Dorchester ordered to be built: left York March 1794; returned by Lake Erie and Niagara to York, May 5th, 1794. 3. Lieut.-Gov. Simcoe's track from York to Kingston in an open boat, Dec. 5th, 1794. 4. Lieut.-Gov. Simcoe's route from Niagara to Long Point on Lake Erie, on foot and in boats: returned down the Ouse [Grand River]: from thence crossed a portage of five miles to Welland River, and so to Fort Chippawa, September, 1795.)

The old chroniclers of England speak in high praise of a primeval but somewhat mythic king of Britain, named Belin:

"Belin well held his honour, And wisely was good governour."

says Peter de Langtoft, and his translator, Robert de Brunn; and they assign, among the reasons why he merited such mention at their hands, the following:

"His land Britaine he yode throughout, And ilk county beheld about; Beheld the woods, water and fen. No passage was maked for men, No highe street thorough countrie, Ne to borough ne citie. Thorough mooris, hills and valleys He made brigs and causeways, Highe street for common passage, Brigs over water did he stage."

This notice of the old chroniclers' pioneer king of Britain has again and again recurred to us as we have had occasion to narrate the energetic doings of the first ruler of Upper Canada, here and previously. What Britain was when Belin and his Celts were at work, Canada was in the days of our immediate fathers--a trackless wild. That we see our country such as it is to-day, approaching in many respects the beauty and agricultural finish of Britain itself, is due to the intrepid men who faced without blenching the trials and perils inevitable in a first attack on the savage fastnesses of nature.

A succinct but good account is given of the origin of Yonge Street in Mr. Surveyor General D. W. Smith's Gazetteer of 1799. The advantages expected to accrue from the new highway are clearly set forth; and though the anticipations expressed have not been fulfilled precisely in the manner supposed, we see how comprehensive and really well-laid were the plans of the first organizer of Upper Canada.

"Yonge Street," the early Gazetteer says, "is the direct communication from York to Lake Simcoe, opened during the administration of his Excellency Major-General Lieut.-Governor Simcoe, who, having visited Lake Huron by Lake aux Claies (formerly also Ouentaronk, or Sinion, and now named Lake Simcoe), and discovered the harbour of Penetanguishene (now Gloucester) to be fit for shipping, resolved on improving the communication from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron, by this short route, thereby avoiding the circuitous passage of Lake Erie. This street has been opened in a direct line, and the road made by the troops of his Excellency's corps. It is thirty miles from York to Holland's river, at the Pine Fort called Gwillimbury, where the road ends; from thence you descend into Lake Simcoe, and, having passed it, there are two passages into Lake Huron; the one by the river Severn, which conveys the waters of Lake Simcoe into Gloucester Bay; the other by a small portage, the continuation of Yonge Street, to a small lake, which also runs into Gloucester Bay. This communication affords many advantages; merchandize from Montreal to Michilimackinac may be sent this way at ten or fifteen pounds less expense per ton, than by the route of the Grand or Ottawa River; and the merchandize from New York to be sent up the North and Mohawk Rivers for the north-west trade, finding its way into Lake Ontario at Oswego (Fort Ontario), the advantage will certainly be felt of transporting goods from Oswego to York, and from thence across Yonge Street, and down the waters of Lake Simcoe into Lake Huron, in preference to sending it by Lake Erie."

We now again endeavour to effect a start on our pilgrimage of retrospection up the long route, from the establishment of which so many public advantages were predicted in 1799.

The objects that came to be familiar to the eye at the entrance to Yonge Street from Lot Street were, after the lapse of some years, on the west side, a large square white edifice known as the Sun Tavern, Elliott's; and on the east side, the buildings constituting Good's Foundry.

The open land to the north of Elliott's was the place generally occupied by the travelling menageries and circuses when such exhibitions began to visit the town.

The foundry, after supplying the country for a series of years with ploughs, stoves and other necessary articles of heavy hardware, is memorable as having been the first in Upper Canada to turn out real railway locomotives. When novelties, these highly finished ponderous machines, seen slowly and very laboriously urged through the streets from the foundry to their destination, were startling phenomena. We have in the Canadian Journal (vol. ii. p. 76), an account of the first engine manufactured by Mr. Good at the Toronto Locomotive Works, with a lithographic illustration. "We have much pleasure," the editor of the Canadian Journal says "in presenting our readers with a drawing of the first locomotive engine constructed in Canada, and indeed, we believe, in any British Colony. The 'Toronto' is certainly no beauty, nor is she distinguished for any peculiarity in the construction, but she affords a very striking illustration of our progress in the mechanical arts, and of the growing wants of the country. The 'Toronto' was built at the Toronto Locomotive Works, which were established by Mr. Good, in October, 1852. The order for the 'Toronto' was received in February, 1853, for the Ontario, Simcoe and Huron Railroad. The engine was completed on the 16th of April, and put on the track the 26th of the same month. Her dimensions are as follows: cylinder 16 inches diameter, stroke 22 inches, driving wheel 5 feet 6 inches in diameter, length of internal fire box 4 feet 6 inches, weight of engine 25 tons, number of tubes 150, diameter of tubes 2 inches."

With property a little to the north on the east side, the name of McIntosh was early associated, and--Canadian persistency again--is still associated. Of Captains John, Robert and Charles McIntosh, we shall have occasion to speak in our paper on the early Marine of York harbour. It was opposite the residence of Captain John McIntosh that the small riot took place, which signalized the return home of William Lyon Mackenzie, in 1849, after the civil tumults of 1837. Mr. Mackenzie was at the time the guest of Captain McIntosh, who was related to him through a marriage connexion.

Albert Street, which enters Yonge Street opposite the McIntosh property, was in 1833 still known as Macaulay Lane, and was described by Walton as "fronting the Fields." From this point a long stretch of fine forest-land extended to Yorkville. On the left side it was the property partly of Dr. Macaulay and partly of Chief Justice Elmsley. The fields which Macaulay Lane fronted were the improvements around Dr. Macaulay's abode. The white entrance gate to his house was near where now a street leads into Trinity Square. Wykham Lodge, the residence of Sir James Macaulay after the removal from Front Street, and Elmsley Villa, the residence of Captain J. S. Macaulay, (Government House in Lord Elgin's day, and subsequently Knox College,) were late erections on portions of these spacious suburban estates.

The first Dr. Macaulay and Chief Justice Elmsley selected two adjoining park lots, both of them fronting, of course, on Lot Street. They then effected an exchange of properties with each other. Dividing these two lots transversely into equal portions, the Chief Justice chose the upper or northern halves, and Dr. Macaulay the lower or southern. Dr. Macaulay thus acquired a large frontage on Lot Street, and the Chief Justice a like advantage on Yonge Street. Captain Macaulay acquired his interest in the southern portion of the Elmsley halves by marriage with a daughter of the Chief Justice. The northern portion of these halves descended to the heir of the Chief Justice, Capt. John Elmsley, who having become a convert to the Church of Rome, gave facilities for the establishment of St. Basil's college and other Roman Catholic Institutions on his estate. Of Chief Justice Elmsley and his son we have previously spoken.

Dr. Macaulay's clearing on the north side of Macaulay lane was, in relation to the first town plot of York, long considered a locality particularly remote; a spot to be discovered by strangers not without difficulty. In attempting to reach it we have distinct accounts of persons bewildered and lost for long hours in the intervening marshes and woods. Mr. Justice Boulton, travelling from Prescott in his own vehicle, and bound for Dr. Macaulay's domicile, was dissuaded, on reaching Mr. Small's house at the eastern extremity of York, from attempting to push on to his destination, although it was by no means late, on account of the inconveniences and perils to be encountered; and half of the following day was taken up in accomplishing the residue of the journey.

Dr. Macaulay's cottage might still have been existent and in good order; but while it was being removed bodily by Mr. Alexander Hamilton, from its original site to a position on the entrance to Trinity Square, a few yards to the eastward, it was burnt, either accidentally or by the act of an incendiary. Mr. Hamilton, who was intending to convert the building into a home for himself and his family, gave the name of Teraulay Cottage--the name by which the destroyed building had been known--to the house which he put up in its stead.

A quarter of a century sufficed to transform Dr. Macaulay's garden and grounds into a well-peopled city district. The "fields," of which Walton spoke, have undergone the change which St. George's Fields and other similar spaces have undergone in London:

St. George's Fields are fields no more; The trowel supersedes the plough; Huge inundated swamps of yore Are changed to civic villas now. The builder's plank, the mason's hod, Wide and more wide extending still, Usurp the violated sod.

The area which Dr. Macaulay's homestead immediately occupied now constitutes Trinity Square--a little bay by the side of a great stream of busy human traffic, ever ebbing and flowing, not without rumble and other resonances; a quiet close, resembling, it is pleasant to think, one of the Inns of Court in London, so tranquil despite the turmoil of Fleet Street adjoining.

Trinity Square is now completely surrounded with buildings; nevertheless an aspiring attic therein, in which many of these collections and recollections have been reduced to shape, has the advantage of commanding to this day a view still showing within its range some of the primitive features of the site of York. To the north an extended portion of the rising land above Yorkville is pleasantly visible, looking in the distance as it anciently looked, albeit beheld now with spires intervening, and ornamental turrets of public buildings, and lofty factory flues: while to the south, seen also between chimney stacks and steeples and long solid architectural ranges, a glimpse of Lake Ontario itself is procurable--a glimpse especially precious so long as it is to be had, for not only recalling, as it does, the olden time when "the Lake" was an element in so much of the talk of the early settlers--its sound, its aspect, its condition being matters of hourly observation to them--but also suggesting the thought of the far-off outer ocean stream--the silver moat that guards the fatherland, and that forms the horizon in so many of its landscapes.

To the far-off Atlantic, and to the misty isles beyond--the true Insulae Fortunatoe--we need not name them--the glittering slip which we are still permitted to see yonder, is the highway--the route by which the fathers came--the route by which their sons from time to time return to make dutiful visits to hearthstones and shrines never to be thought of or named without affection and reverence.--Of that other ideal ocean-stream, too, and of that other ideal home, of which the poet speaks, our peep of Ontario may likewise, to the thoughtful, be an allegory, by the help of which

In a season of calm weather, Though inland far we be, Our souls have sight of that immortal sea Which brought us hither; Can in a moment travel thither-- And see the children sport upon the shore, And hear the mighty waters rolling evermore!

The Church with the twin turrets, now seen in the middle space of Trinity Square, was a gift of benevolence to Western Canada in 1846 from two ladies, sisters. The personal character of Bishop Strachan was the attraction that drew the boon to Toronto. Through the hands of Bishop Longley of Ripon, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury, a sum of L5,000 sterling was transmitted by the donors to Bishop Strachan for the purpose of founding a church, two stipulations being that it should be forever, like the ancient churches of England, free to all for worship, and that it should bear the name of The Holy Trinity. The sum sent built the Church and created a small endowment. Soon after the completion of the edifice, Scoresby, the celebrated Arctic navigator, author of "An Account of the Arctic Regions, with a History and Description of the Northern Whale Fishery," preached and otherwise officiated within its walls. Therein, too, at a later period was heard the voice of Selwyn, Bishop of Lichfield, but previously the eminent Missionary Bishop of New Zealand. Here also, while the Cathedral of St. James was rebuilding, after its second destruction by fire in 1849, Lord Elgin was a constant devout participant in Christian rites, an historical association connected with the building, made worthy of preservation by the very remarkable public services of the Earl afterwards in China and India.--We recall at this moment the empressement with which an obscure little chapel was pointed out to us in the small hamlet of Tregear in Cornwall, on account of the fact that John Wesley had once preached there. Well then: it may be that with some hereafter, it will be a matter of curiosity and interest to know that several men of world-wide note, did, in their day, while sojourning in this region, "pay their vows" in the particular "Lord's House" to which we now have occasion to refer.

In the grove which surrounded Sir James Macaulay's residence, Wykham Lodge, we had down to recent years a fragment of the fine forest which lined Yonge Street, almost continuously from Lot Street to Yorkville, some forty years since. The ruthless uprooting of the eastern border of this beautiful sylvan relic of the past, for building purposes, was painful to witness, however quickly the presence of rows of useful structures reconciled us to the change. The trees which cluster round the great school building in the rear of these improvements will long, as we hope, survive to give an idea of what was the primeval aspect of the whole of the neighbourhood.

The land on the opposite side, a little to the north of the point at which we have arrived, viz., Carleton Street--long remaining in an uncultivated condition, was a portion of the estate of Alexander Wood, of whom we have already spoken. His family and baptismal names are preserved, as we have before noted, in "Wood" Street and "Alexander" Street.

The streets which we passed southward of Wood Street, Carleton, Gerrard, Shuter, with Gould Street in the immediate vicinity, had their names from personal friends of Mr. McGill, the first owner, as we have seen, of this tract. They are names mostly associated with the early annals of Montreal, and seem rather inapposite here.

Northward, a little beyond where Grosvenor Street leads into what was Elmsley Villa, and is now Knox College, was a solitary green field with a screen of lofty trees on three of its sides. In its midst was a Dutch barn, or hay-barrack, with movable top. The sward on the northern side of the building was ever eyed by the passer-by with a degree of awe. It was the exact spot where a fatal duel had been fought.

We have seen in repeated instances that the so-called code of honour was in force at York from the era of its foundation. "Without it," Mandeville had said, "there would be no living in a populous nation. It is the tie of society; and although we are beholden to our frailties for the chief ingredient of it, there has been no virtue, at least that I am acquainted with, which has proved half so instrumental to the civilizing of mankind, who, in great societies, would soon degenerate into cruel villains and treacherous slaves, were honour to be removed from among them." Mandeville's sophistical dictum was blindly accepted, and trifles light as air gave rise to the conventional hostile meeting. The merest accident at a dance, a look, a jest, a few words of unconsidered talk, of youthful chaff, were every now and then sufficient to force persons who previously, perhaps, had been bosom friends, companions from childhood, along with others sometimes, in no wise concerned in the quarrel at first, to put on an unnatural show of thirst for each other's blood. The victim of the social usage of the day, in the case now referred to, was a youthful son of Surveyor-General Ridout.

Some years after the event, the public attention was drawn afresh to it. The surviving principal in the affair, Mr. Samuel Jarvis, underwent a trial at the time and was acquitted. But the seconds were not arraigned. It happened in 1828, eleven years after the incident (the duel took place July 12, 1817), that Francis Collins, editor of the Canadian Freeman, a paper of which we have before spoken, was imprisoned and fined for libel. As an act of retaliation on at least some of those who had promoted the prosecution, which ended in his being thus sentenced, he set himself to work to bring the seconds into court. He succeeded. One of them, Mr. Henry John Boulton, was now Solicitor-General, and the other, Mr. James E. Small, an eminent member of the Bar. All the particulars of the fatal encounter, were once more gone over in the evidence. But the jury did not convict.

Modern society, here and elsewhere, is to be congratulated on the change which has come over its ideas in regard to duelling. Apart from the considerations dictated by morals and religion, common sense, as we suppose, has had its effect in checking the practice. York, in its infancy, was no better and no worse in this respect than other places. It took its cue in this as in some other matters, from very high quarters. The Duke of York, from whom York derived its name, had himself narrowly escaped a bullet from the pistol of Colonel Lennox: "it passed so near to the ear as to discommode the side-curl," the report said; but our Duke's action, or rather inaction, on the occasion helped perhaps to impress on the public mind the irrationality of duelling: he did not return the fire. "He came out," he said, "to give Colonel Lennox satisfaction, and did not mean to fire at him; if Colonel Lennox was not satisfied, he might fire again."

Just to the north of the scene of the fatal duel, which has led to this digression, was the portion of Yonge Street where a wooden tramway was once laid down for a short distance; an experiment interesting to be remembered now, as an early foreshadowing of the existing convenient street railway, if not of the great Northern Railway itself. Subterranean springs and quicksands hereabout rendered the primitive roadmaker's occupation no easy one; and previous to the application of macadam, the tramway, while it lasted, was a boon to the farmers after heavy rains.

Mr. Durand's modest cottage and bowery grounds, near here, recall at the present day, an early praiseworthy effort of its owner to establish a local periodical devoted to Literature and Natural History, in conjunction with an advocacy of the cause of Temperance. A diligent attention to his profession as a lawyer did not hinder the editor of the Literary Gem from giving some of his leisure time to the observation and study of Nature. We accordingly have in the columns of that periodical numerous notes of the fauna and flora of the surrounding neighbourhood, which for their appreciativeness, simplicity, and minuteness, remind us of the pleasant pages of White's "Natural History of Selborne." The Gem appeared in 1851-2, and had an extensive circulation. It was illustrated with good wood-cuts, and its motto was "Humanity, Temperance, Progress." The place of its publication was indicated by a square label suspended on one side of the front entrance of a small white office still to be seen adjoining the cottage which we are now passing.

The father of Mr. Durand was an Englishman of Huguenot descent, who emigrated hither from Abergavenny at a very early period. Having been previously engaged in the East India mercantile service, he undertook the importation of East India produce. After reaching Quebec and Montreal in safety, his first consignments, embarked in batteaux, were swallowed up bodily in the rapids of the St. Lawrence. He nevertheless afterwards prospered in his enterprise, and acquired property. Nearly the whole of the eastern moiety of the present city of Hamilton was originally his. He represented the united counties of Wentworth and Halton in several parliaments up to 1822. A political journal, entitled The Bee, moderate and reasonable in tone, was, up to 1812, edited and published by him in the Niagara District. Mr. Durand, senior, died in 1833, at Hamilton, where he filled the post of County Registrar. His eldest son, Mr. James Durand, when, in 1817, member for Halton, enjoyed the distinction of being expelled from the House of Assembly. A Parliament had just expired. He offered some strictures on its proceedings, in an address to his late constituents. The new House, which embraced many persons who had been members of the previous Parliament, was persuaded to vote the Address to the electors of Halton a libel, to exclude its author from the House, and to commit him to prison. His instant re-election by the county of Halton was of course secured. We observe from the evidence of Mr. James Durand before the celebrated Grievance Committee of 1835, that he was an early advocate of a number of the changes which have since been carried into effect. This Mr. Durand died in 1872 at Kingston, where he was Registrar for the County of Frontenac.

We have been enabled to present these facts, through the kindness of Mr. Charles Durand, who, in a valuable communication, further informs us that besides being among the earliest to engage in mercantile enterprises in Upper Canada, his father had also in 1805, a large interest in the extensive flour mills in Chippawa, known as the Bridgewater Mills: mills burnt by the retreating American army in 1812, at which period Mr. Durand, senior, was in the command of one of the flank companies of Militia, composed of the first settlers in the neighbourhood of the modern Hamilton: moreover he was the first who ever imported foxhounds into Upper Canada, a pack of which animals he caused to be sent out to him from England, being fond of the hunter's sport. With these he hunted near Long Point, on Lake Erie, in 1805, over a region teeming at the time with deer, bears, wolves and wild turkeys. Mr. Peter Des Jardins, from whom the Dundas Canal has its name, was, in 1805, a clerk in the employment of Mr. Durand. (Omitted elsewhere, we insert here a passing notice of Mr. J. M. Cawdell, another well-remembered local pioneer of literature. He published for a short time a magazine of light reading, entitled the Rose harp, the bulk of which consisted of graceful compositions in verse and prose by himself. Mr. Cawdell had been an officer in the army. Through the friendship of Mr. Justice Macaulay (afterwards Sir James), he was appointed librarian and secretary to the Law Society of Osgoode Hall. He died in 1842.)

Proceeding now onward a few yards, we arrived, in former times, at what was popularly called the Sandhill--a moderate rise, showing where, in by-gone ages, the lake began to shoal. An object of interest in the woods here, at the top of the rise, on the west side, was the "Indian's Grave," made noticeable to the traveller by a little civilized railing surrounding it.

The story connected therewith was this: When the United States forces were landing in 1813, near the Humber Bay, with the intention of attacking the Fort and taking York, one of Major Givins' Indians, concealed himself in a tree, and from that position fired into the boats with fatal effect repeatedly. He was soon discovered, and speedily shot. The body was afterwards found, and deposited with respect in a little grave here on the crest of the Sandhill, where an ancient Indian burying ground had existed, though long abandoned. It would seem that by some means, the scalp of this poor Indian was packed up with the trophies of the capture of York, conveyed by Lieut. Dudley to Washington. From being found in company with the Speaker's Mace on that occasion, the foolish story arose of its having been discovered over the Speaker's chair in the Parliament building that was destroyed.

"With the exception," says Ingersoll, in his History of the War of 1812-14, "of the English general's musical snuff-box, which was an object of much interest to some of our officers, and a scalp which Major Forsyth found suspended over the Speaker's chair, we gained but barren honour by the capture of York, of which no permanent possession was taken."

Auchinleck, in his History of the same war, very reasonably observes, that "from the expertness of the backwoodsmen in scalping (of which he gives two or three instances), it is not at all unlikely that the scalp in question was that of an unfortunate Indian who was shot while in a tree by the Americans, in their advance on the town." It was rejected with disgust by the authorities at Washington, Ingersoll informs us, and was not allowed to decorate the walls of the War Office there. Colonel W. F. Coffin, in his "1812: The War and its Moral," asserts that a peruke or scratch-wig, found in the Parliament House, was mistaken for a scalp.

Building requirements have at the present day occasioned the almost complete obliteration of the Sandhill. Innumerable loads of the loose silex of which it was composed have been removed. The bones of the Indian brave, and of his forefathers, have been carried away. In a triturated condition, they mingle now, perhaps, in the mortar of many a wall in the vicinity.

A noble race! but they are gone, With their old forests wide and deep, And we have built our houses on Fields where their generations sleep. Their fountains slake our thirst at noon, Upon their fields our harvest waves, Our lovers woo beneath their moon-- Then let us spare at least their graves!

Vain, however, was the poet's appeal. Even the prosaic proclamations of the civil power had but temporary effect. We quote one of them of the date of Dec. 14th, 1797, having for its object the protection of the fishing places and burying grounds of the Mississaga Indians:

"Proclamation. Upper Canada. Whereas, many heavy and grievous complaints have of late been made by the Mississaga Indians, of depredations committed by some of his Majesty's subjects and others upon their fisheries and burial places, and of other annoyances suffered by them by uncivil treatment, in violation of the friendship existing between his Majesty and the Mississaga Indians, as well as in violation of decency and good order: Be it known, therefore, that if any complaint shall hereafter be made of injuries done to the fisheries and to the burial places of the said Indians, or either of them, and the persons can be ascertained who misbehaved himself or themselves in manner aforesaid, such person or persons shall be proceeded against with the utmost severity, and a proper example made of any herein offending. Given under my hand and seal of arms, at York, this fourteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven, and in the thirty-eighth year of his Majesty's reign. Peter Russell, President, administering the government. By his Honour's command, Alex. Burns, Secretary."

As to the particular ancient burial-plot on the Sandhill north of York, however, it may perhaps be conjectured that prior to 1813 the Mississagas had transferred to other resting places the bulk of the relics which had been deposited there.

Off to the eastward of the sandy rise which we are ascending, was one of the early public nursery gardens of York, Mr. Frank's. Further to the North on the same side was another, Mr. Adams'. Mr. Adams was a tall, oval-faced, fair-complexioned Scotchman. An establishment of the same kind at York more primitive still, was that of Mr. Bond, of whom we shall have occasion to speak by and by.

Kearsny House, Mr. Proudfoot's, the grounds of which occupy the site of Frank's nursery garden, is a comparatively modern erection, dating from about 1845; an architectural object regarded with no kindly glance by the final holders of shares in the Bank of Upper Canada--an institution which in the infancy of the country had a mission and fulfilled it, but which grievously betrayed those of the second generation who, relying on its traditionary sterling repute, continued to trust it. With Kearsny House, too, is associated the recollection, not only of the president, so long identified with the Bank of Upper Canada, but of the financier, Mr. Cassells, who, as a kind of deus ex machina, engaged at an annual salary of ten thousand dollars, was expected to retrieve the fortunes of the institution, but in vain, although for a series of years after being pronounced moribund it continued to yield a handsome addition to the income of a number of persons.

Mr. Alexander Murray, subsequently of Yorkville, and a merchant of the olden time at York, occupied the residence which preceded Kearsny House, on the Frank property. One desires, in passing, to offer a tribute to the memory of a man of such genuine worth as was Mr. Murray, although the singular unobtrusiveness which characterized him when living seems almost to forbid the act.

The residue of the Sandhill rise that is still to be discerned westward of Yonge Street has its winsome name, Clover Hill, from the designation borne by the home of Captain Elmsley, son of the Chief Justice, situate here. The house still stands, overshadowed by some fine oaks, relics of the natural wood. The rustic cottage lodge, with diamond lattice windows, at the gate leading in to the original Clover Hill, was on the street a little further on. At the time of his decease, Captain Elmsley had taken up his abode in a building apart from the principal residence of the Clover Hill estate; a building to which he had pleasantly given the name of Barnstable, as being in fact a portion of the outbuildings of the homestead turned into a modest dwelling.

Barnstable was subsequently occupied by Mr. Maurice Scollard, a veteran attache of the Bank of Upper Canada, of Irish birth, remembered by all frequenters of that institution, and by others for numerous estimable traits of character, but especially for a gift of genuine quiet humour and wit, which at a touch was ever unfailingly ready to manifest itself in word or act, in some unexpected, amusing, genial way. Persons transacting business at the India House in London, when Charles Lamb was a book-keeper there, must have had the solemn routine of the place now and then curiously varied by a dry "aside" from the direction of his desk. Just so the habitues of the old Bank, when absorbed in a knotty question of finance, affecting themselves individually, or the institution, would oftentimes find themselves startled from their propriety by a droll view of the case, gravely suggested by a venerable personage sure to be somewhere near at hand busily engaged over a huge ledger.

They who in the mere fraction of a lifetime have seen in so many places the desert blossom as the rose, can with a degree of certainty, realize in their imagination what the whole country will one day be, even portions of it which to the new comer seem at the first glance very unpromising. Our Sandhill here, which but as yesterday we beheld in its primeval condition, with no trace of human labour upon it except a few square yards cleared round a solitary Indian grave, to-day we see crowned along its crest for many a rood eastward and westward with comfortable villas and graceful pleasure-grounds. The history of this spot may serve to encourage all who at any time or anywhere are called in the way of duty to be the first to attack and rough-hew a forest-wild for the benefit of another generation.

If need were to stay the mind of a newly-arrived immigrant friend wavering as to whether or not he should venture permanently to cast in his lot with us, we should be inclined to direct his regards, for one thing, to the gardens of an amateur, on the southern slope of the rise, at which we are pausing, where choice fruits and flowers are year after year produced equal to those grown in Kent or Devon; we should be inclined to direct his regards, likewise, to the amateur cultivator himself of those fruits and flowers, Mr. Phipps--a typical Englishman after a residentership in York and Toronto of half a century.

But we must push on.--To the north of our Sandhill, a short distance, on the east side, was a sylvan halting place for weary teams, known as the Gardeners' Arms. It was an unpretending rural wayside inn, furnished with troughs and pump. The house lay a little way back from the road. Its sign exhibited an heraldic arrangement of horticultural implements. Another rural inn, with homely name, might have been noted, while we were nearer Lot Street: the Green Bush Tavern. But this was a name transferred from another spot, far to the north on Yonge Street, when the landlord, Mr. Abrahams, moved into town. In the original locality, the sign was a painted pine-tree or spruce of formal shape--not the ivy-bush, the sign referred to by the ancient proverb when it said, "Wine needeth it not"--"Vino vendibili non opus est suspensa hedera."

On the right, beyond the Gardeners' Arms, appeared in this region at an early date, at a considerable distance from each other, two or perhaps three flat, single-storey square cottages, clapboarded and painted white, with flat four-sided roofs, door in the centre and one window on either side: little wooden boxes set down on the surface of the soil apparently, and capable, as it might seem, of being readily lifted up and transported to any other locality. They were the first of such structures in the outskirts of York, and were speedily copied and repeated in various directions, being thought models of neatness and convenience.

Opposite the quarter where these little square hutches were to be seen, there are to be found at the present day, the vineyards of Mr. Bevan; to be found, we say, for they are concealed from the view of the transient passenger by intervening buildings. Here again we have a scene presenting a telling contrast to the same spot and its surroundings within the memory of living men: a considerable area covered with a labyrinth of trellis work, all overspread with hardy grapes in great variety and steadily productive. To this sight likewise we should introduce our timid, hesitating new comer, as also to the originator of the spectacle--Mr. Bevan, who after a forty years' sojourn in the vicinity of York and Toronto, continues as genuinely English in spirit and tone now as when he first left the quay of his native Bristol for his venture westward. While engaged largely in the manufacture of various articles of wooden ware, Mr. Bevan adopted as a recreation the cultivation of the grape, and the making of a good and wholesome wine. It is known in commerce and to physicians, who recommend it to invalids for its real purity, as Clintona.

Just before reaching the first concession-road, where Yorkville now begins, a family residence of an ornamental suburban character, put up on the left by Mr. Lardner Bostwick, was the first of that class of building in the neighbourhood. His descendants still occupy it. Mr. Bostwick was an early property owner in York. The now important square acre at the south-east angle of the intersection of King Street and Yonge Street, regarded probably when selected, as a mere site for a house and garden in the outskirts of the town, was his. The price paid for it was L100. Its value in 1873 may be L100,000.

The house of comparatively modern date, seen next after Mr. Bostwick, is associated with the memory of Mr. de Blaquiere, who occupied it before building for himself the tasteful residence--The Pines--not far off, where he died; now the abode of Mr. John Heward.

Mr. de Blaquiere was the youngest son of the first Lord de Blaquiere, of Ardkill, in Ireland. He emigrated in 1837, and was subsequently appointed to a seat in the Legislative Council of Upper Canada. In his youth he had seen active service as a midshipman. He was present at the battle of Camperdown in the Bounty, commanded by Captain Bligh. He was also in the Fleet at the Nore during the mutiny. He died suddenly here in his new house in 1860, aged 76. His fine character and prepossessing outward physique are freshly remembered.

Thus again and again have we to content ourselves with the interest that attaches, not to the birth-places of men of note, as would be the case in older towns, but to their death-places. Who of those that have been born in the numerous domiciles which we pass are finally to be ranked as men of note, and as creators consequently of a sentimental interest in their respective birth-places, remains to be seen. In our portion of Canada there has been time for the application of the requisite test in only a very few instances.

The First Concession Road-line derived its modern name of Bloor Street from a former resident on its southern side, eastward of Yonge Street. Mr. Bloor, as we have previously narrated, was for many years the landlord of the Farmers' Arms, near the market place of York, an inn conveniently situated for the accommodation of the agricultural public. On retiring from this occupation with a good competency, he established a Brewery on an extensive scale in the ravine north of the first concession road. In conjunction with Mr. Sheriff Jarvis, he entered successfully into a speculation on land, projecting and laying out the village of Yorkville, which narrowly escaped being Bloorville. That name was proposed: as also was Rosedale, after the Sheriff's homestead; and likewise "Cumberland," from the county of some of the surrounding inhabitants. The monosyllable "Blore" would have sufficed, without having recourse to a hackeyned suffix. That is the name of a spot in Staffordshire, famous for a great engagement in the wars between the Houses of Lancaster and York. But Yorkville was at last decided on, an appellation preservative in part of the name just discarded in 1834 by Toronto.

Mr. Bloor was an Englishman, respected by every one. That his name should have become permanently attached to the Northern Boulevard of the City of Toronto, a favourite thoroughfare, several miles in extent, is a curious fact which may be compared with the case of Pimlico, the famous west-end quarter of London. Pimlico has its name, it is said, from Mr. Benjamin Pimlico, for many years the popular landlord of a hotel in the neighbourhood. Bloor Street was for a time known as St. Paul's road: also as the Sydenham road.

While crossing the First Concession Line, now in our northward journey, the moment comes back to us when on glancing along the vista to the eastward, formed by the road in that direction, we first noticed a church-spire on the right-hand or southern side. We had passed that way a day or two before, and we were sure no such object was to be seen there then; and yet, unmistakeably now, there rose up before the eye a rather graceful tower and spire, of considerable altitude, complete from base to apex, and coloured white.

The fact was: Mr. J. G. Howard, a well-known local architect, had ingeniously constructed a tower of wood in a horizontal, or nearly horizontal, position in the ground close by, somewhat as a shipbuilder puts together "the mast of some vast ammiral," and then, after attending to the external finish of, at least, the higher portion of it, even to a coating of lime wash, had, in the space of a few hours, by means of convenient machinery raised it on end, and secured it, permanently, in a vertical position.

We gather some further particulars of the achievement from a contemporary account. The Yorkville spire was raised on the 4th of August, 1841. It was 85 feet high, composed of four entire trees or pieces of timber, each of that length, bound together pyramidically, tapering from ten feet base to one foot at top, and made to receive a turned ball and weather-cock. The base was sunk in the ground until the apex was raised ten feet from the ground; and about thirty feet of the upper part of the spire was completed, coloured and painted before the raising. The operation of raising commenced about two o'clock p.m., and about eight in the evening, the spire and vane were seen erect, and appeared to those unacquainted with what was going on, to have risen amongst the trees, as if by magic. The work was performed by Mr. John Richey; the framing by Mr. Wetherell, and the raising was superintended by Mr. Joseph Hill.

The plan adopted was this: three gin-poles, as they are called, were erected in the form of a triangle; each of them was well braced, and tackles were rove at their tops: the tackles were hooked to strong straps about fifty feet up the spire, with nine men to each tackle, and four men to steady the end with following poles. It was raised in about four hours from the commencement of the straining of the tackles, and had a very beautiful appearance while rising. The whole operation, we have been told, was conducted as nearly as possible in silence, the architect himself regulating by signs the action of the groups at the gin-poles, being himself governed by the plumb-line suspended in a high frame before him.

"No workman steel, no ponderous axes rung; Like some tall palm, the noiseless fabric sprung."

Perhaps Fontana's exploit of setting on end the obelisk in front of St. Peter's, in Rome, suggested the possibility of causing a tower and spire complete to be suddenly seen rising above the roof of the Yorkville St. Paul's. On an humble scale we have Fontana's arrangements reproduced. While in the men at the gin-poles worked in obedience to signs, we have the old Egyptians over again--a very small detachment of them indeed--as seen in the old sculptures on the banks of the Nile.

The original St. Paul's before it acquired in this singular manner the dignified appurtenance of a steeple, was a long, low, barn-like, wooden building. Mr. Howard otherwise improved it, enlarging it by the addition of an aisle on the west side. When some twenty years later, viz., in 1861, the new stone church was erected, the old wooden structure was removed bodily to the west side of Yonge Street, together with the tower, curtailed, however, of its spire.

We have been informed that the four fine stems, each eighty-five feet long, which formed the interior frame of the tower and spire of 1841, were a present from Mr. Allan, of Moss Park; and that the Rev. Charles Matthews, occasionally officiating in St. Paul's, gave one hundred pounds in cash towards the expense of the ornamental addition now made to the edifice.

The history of another of Mr. Howard's erections on Yonge Street, which we are perambulating, illustrates the rapid advance and expansion of architectural ideas amongst us. In the case now referred to it was no shell of timber and deal-boards that was taken down, but a very handsome solid edifice of cut-stone, which might have endured for centuries. The Bank of British North America, built by Mr. Howard, at the corner of Yonge Street and Wellington Street in 1843, was deliberately taken down, block by block, in 1871, and made to give place to a structure which should be on a par in magnificence and altitude with the buildings put up in Toronto by the other Banks. Mr. Howard's building, at the time of its erection, was justly regarded as a credit to the town. Its design was preferred by the directors in London to those sent in by several architects there. Over the principal entrance were the Royal Arms, exceedingly well carved in stone on a grand scale, and wholly disengaged from the wall; and conspicuous over the parapet above was the great scallop-shell, emblem of the gold-digger's occupation, introduced by Sir John Soane, in the architecture of the Bank of England. (The Royal Arms of the old building have been deemed worthy of a place over the entrance to the new Bank.)

The Cemetery, the gates and keeper's lodge of which, after crossing the concession road and advancing on our way northward, we used to see on the left, was popularly known as "The Potter's Field"--"a place to bury strangers in." Its official style was "The York General or Strangers' Burying Ground." In practice it was the Bunhill Fields of York--the receptacle of the remains of those whose friends declined the use of the St. James's churchyard and other early burial-plots.

Walton's Directory for 1833, gives the following information, which we transfer hither, as well for the slight degree of quaintness which the narrative has acquired, as also on account of the familiar names which it contains. "This institution," Walton says, "owes its origin to Mr. Carfrae, junior. It comprises six acres of ground, and has a neat sexton's house built close by the gate. The name of the sexton is John Wolstencroft, who keeps a registry of every person buried therein. Persons of all creeds and persons of no creed, are allowed burial in this cemetery: fees to the sexton, 5s. It was instituted in the fall of 1825, and incorporated by Act of Parliament, 30th January, 1826. It is managed by five trustees, who are chosen for life; and in case of the death of any of them, a public meeting of the inhabitants is called, when they elect a successor or successors in their place. The present trustees (1833) are Thomas Carfrae, jun., Thomas D. Morrison, Peter Paterson, John Ewart, Thomas Helliwell."

(Mr. Carfrae was for some years the collector of Customs of the Port of York. The other trustees named were respectively the medical man, iron-merchant, builder, and brewer, so well known in the neighbourhood.)

A remote sequestered piece of ground in 1825, the Potter's Field in 1845 was more or less surrounded by buildings, and regarded as an impediment in the way of public improvement. Interments were accordingly prohibited. To some extent it has been cleared of human remains, and in due time will be built over. Its successor and representative is the Toronto Necropolis, the trustees of which are empowered, after the lapse of twenty-one years, to sell the old burying-ground.

Proceeding on, we were immediately opposite the Red Lion Tavern, anciently Tiers', subsequently Price's, on the east side; a large and very notable halting-place for loaded teams after the tremendous struggle involved in the traverse of the Blue Hill ravine, of which presently.

In old European lands, in times by-gone, the cell of a hermit, a monastery, a castle, became often the nucleus of a village or town. With us on the American continent, a convenient watering or baiting place in the forest for the wearied horses of a farmer's waggon or a stage-coach is the less romantic punctum saliens for a similar issue. Thus Tiers's, at which we have paused, may be regarded as the germ of the flourishing incorporation of Yorkville. Many a now solitary way-station on our railroads will probably in like manner hereafter prove a centre round which will be seen a cluster of human habitations.

We discover from a contemporary Gazette that so early as 1808, previous, perhaps, to the establishment of the Red Lion on Yonge Street, Mr. Tiers had conducted a public house in the Town of York. In the Gazette of June 13, 1808, we have the following announcement. It has an English ring; "Beefsteak and Beer House.--The subscriber informs his friends and the public that he has opened a house of entertainment next door to Mr. Hunt's, where his friends will be served with victualing in good order, on the shortest notice, and at a cheap rate. He will furnish the best strong beer at 8d. New York currency per gallon if drank in his house, and 2s. 6d. New York currency taken out. As he intends to keep a constant supply of racked beer, with a view not to injure the health of his customers, and for which he will have to pay cash, the very small profits at which he offers to sell, will put it out of his power to give credit, and he hopes none will be asked. N.B. He will immediately have entertainment for man and horse. Daniel Tiers. York, 12th January, 1808."

The singular Hotel de Ville which in modern times distinguishes Yorkville, has a Flemish look. It might have strayed hither from Ghent. Nevertheless, as seen from numerous points of view, it cannot be characterized as picturesque, or in harmony with its surroundings.--The shield of arms sculptured in stone and set in the wall above the circular window in the front gable, presents the following charges arranged quarterly: a Beer-barrel, with an S below; a Brick-mould, with an A below; an Anvil, with a W below; and a Jackplane, with a D below. In the centre, in a shield of pretence, is a Sheep's head, with an H below. These symbols commemorate the first five Councillors or Aldermen of Yorkville at the time of its incorporation in 1853, and their trades or callings; the initials being those respectively of the surnames of Mr. John Severn, Mr. Thomas Atkinson, Mr. James Wallis, Mr. James Dobson, and Mr. Peter Hutty. Over the whole, as a crest, is the Canadian Beaver.

The road which enters from the west, a little way on, calls up memories of Russel-hill, Davenport and Spadina, each of them locally historic. We have already spoken of them in our journey along Front Street and Queen Street, when, in crossing Brock Street, Spadina-house in the distance caught the eye. It is a peculiarity of this old bye-road that, instead of going straight, as most of our highways monotonously do, it meanders a little, unfolding a number of pretty suburban scenes. The public school, on the land given to Yorkville by Mr. Ketchum, is visible up this road.

In this direction were the earliest public ice-houses established in our region, in rude buildings of slab, thickly thatched over with pine branches. Spring-water ice, gathered from the neighbouring mill-ponds, began to be stored here in quantities by an enterprising man of African descent, Mr. Richards, five-and-thirty years ago.

On the east side of Yonge Street, near the northern toll-gate, stood Dr. R. C. Horne's house, the lurid flames arising from which somewhat alarmed the town in 1837, when the malcontents of the north were reported to be approaching with hostile intent. Of Dr. Horne we have already spoken, in connexion with the early press of York.

Were the tall and very beautiful spire which in the present day is to be seen where the Davenport Road enters Yonge Street, the appendage of an ecclesiastical edifice of the mediaeval period--as the architecture implies--it would indicate, in all probability, the presence of a Church of St. Giles. St. AEgidius or Giles presided, it was imagined, over the entrances to cities and towns. Consequently, fancy will always have it, whenever we pass the interesting pile standing so conspicuously by a public gate, or where for a long while there was a public gate, leading into the town, that here we behold the St. Giles' of Toronto.

XXV.

YONGE STREET, FROM YORKVILLE TO HOGG'S HOLLOW.

Of long standing is the group of buildings on the right after passing the Davenport Road. It is the Brewery and malting-house of Mr. Severn, settled here since 1835. The main building over-looks a ravine which, as seen by the passer-by on Yonge Street, retains to this day in its eastern recess a great deal of natural beauty, although the stream below attracted manufacturers at an early period to its borders at numerous points. There is a picturesque irregularity about the outlines of Mr. Severn's brewery. The projecting galleries round the domestic portion of the building pleasantly indicate that the adjacent scenery is not unappreciated: nay, possibly enjoyed on many a tranquil autumn evening.

Further on, a block-house of two storeys, both of them rectangular, but the upper turned half round on the lower, built in consequence of the troubles of 1837, and supposed to command the great highway from the north, overhung a high bank on the right. (Another of the like build was placed at the eastern extremity of the First Concession Road. It was curious to observe how rapidly these two relics acquired the character and even the look, gray and dilapidated, of age. With many, they dated at least from the war of 1812.)

A considerable stretch of striking landscape here skirts our route on the right. Rosedale-house, the old extra-mural home, still existent and conspicuous, of Mr. Stephen Jarvis, Registrar of the Province in the olden time, afterwards of his son the Sheriff, of both of whom we have had occasion to speak repeatedly, was always noticeable for the romantic character of its situation; on the crest of a precipitous bank overlooking deep winding ravines. Set down here while yet the forest was but little encroached on, access to it was of course for a long time, difficult and laborious.

The memorable fancy-ball given here at a comparatively late period, but during the Sheriff's lifetime, recurs as we go by. On that occasion, in the dusk of evening, and again probably in the gray dawn of morning, an irregular procession thronged the highway of Yonge Street and toiled up and down the steep approaches to Rosedale-house--a procession consisting of the simulated shapes and forms that usually revisit the glimpses of the moon at masquerades,--knights, crusaders, Plantagenet, Tudor and Stuart princes, queens and heroines; all mixed up with an incongruous ancient and modern canaille, a Tom of Bedlam, a Nicholas Bottom "with amiable cheeks and fair large ears," an Ariel, a Paul Pry, a Pickwick, &c., &c., not pacing on with some veri-similitude on foot or respectably mounted on horse, ass, or mule, but borne along most prosaically on wheels or in sleighs.

This pageant, though only a momentary social relaxation, a transient but still not unutilitarian freak of fashion, accomplished well and cleverly in the midst of a scene literally a savage wild only a few years previously, may be noted as one of the many outcomes of precocity characterizing society in the colonies of England.

In a burlesque drama to be seen in the columns of a contemporary paper (the Colonist, of 1839) we have an allusion to this memorable entertainment. The news is supposed to have just arrived of the union of the Canadas, to the dismay, as it is pretended, of the official party, among whom there will henceforth be no more cakes and ale. A messenger, Thomas, speaks:

List, oh, list--the Queen hath sent A message to her Lords and trusty Commons-- All--What message sent she? Thomas.--Oh the dreadful news! That both the Canadas in one be joined.--(faints.)

Sheriff William then speaks:

Farewell ye masquerades, ye sparkling routs: Now routed out, no more shall routs be ours; No gilded chariots now shall roll along; No sleighs that sweep across our icy path,-- Sleighs! no: this news that slays our warmest hopes, Ends pageantry, and pride and masquerades.

The characters in the dramatic jeu d'esprit, from which these lines are taken, are the principal personages of the defeated party, under thinly disguised names, Mr. Justice Clearhead, Mr. John Scott, William Welland, Judge Brock, Christopher, Samuel, Sheriff William, as above, and Thomas, &c. Rosedale is a name of pleasant sound. We are reminded thereby of another of the same genus, but of more recent application in these parts--Hazeldean--the pretty title given by Chief Justice Draper to his rural cottage, which overhangs and looks down upon the same ravine as Rosedale, but on the opposite side. (A residence of the Earl of Shaftesbury in Kew-foot Lane near Richmond, on the Thames is called Rosedale House, and is associated with the memory of the poet Thomson, who is said to have written his Castle of Indolence there.)

The perils and horrors encountered every spring and autumn by travellers and others in their ascent and descent of the precipitous sides of the Rosedale ravine, at the point where the primitive Yonge Street crossed it, were a local proverb and by-word: perils and horrors ranking for enormity with those associated with the passage of the Rouge, the Credit, the Sixteen, and a long list of other deeply ploughed watercourses intersected of necessity by the two great highways of Upper Canada.

The ascent and descent of the gorge were here spoken of collectively as the "Blue Hill." Certain strata of a bluish clay had been remarked at the summit on both sides. The waggon-track passed down and up by two long wearisome and difficult slopes cut in the soil of the steep sides of the lofty banks. After the autumnal rains and during the thaws at the close of winter, the condition of the route here was indescribably bad. At the period referred to, however, the same thing, for many a year, was to be said of every rood of Yonge Street throughout its thirty miles of length.

Nor was Yonge Street singular in this respect. All our roads were equally bad at certain seasons every year. We fear we conveyed an impression unfavourable to emigration many years ago, when walking with two or three young English friends across some flat clayey fields between Cambridge and the Gogmagogs. It chanced that the driftways for the farmers' carts--the holls as they are locally called, if we remember rightly--at the sides of the ploughed land were mire from end to end. Under the impulse of the moment, pleased in fact with a reminder of home far-distant, we exclaimed, "Here are Canadian roads!" The comparison was altogether too graphic; and our companions could never afterwards be got to entertain satisfactory notions of Canadian civilization.

But English roads were not much better a century ago. We made a note once of John Moody's account of Lady Townley's journey with her coach-and-four and large household to London, from the veritable old-country York, in Sir John Vanbrugh's comedy of the Provoked Husband, so perfect a parallel did it furnish to the traveller's experience here on Yonge Street on his way from the Canadian York to the Landing in stage-coach or farmer's waggon in the olden time.

"Some impish trick or other," said John Moody, "plagued us all the day long. Crack goes one thing: bounce goes another: Woa, says Roger--then sowse! we are all set fast in a slough. Whaw, cries Miss: scream go the maids: and bawl just as tho' they were stuck: and so, mercy on us! this was the trade from morning to night."

The mode of extricating a vehicle from a slough or mudhole when once in, may be gathered from a passage in McTaggart's "Three Years in Canada," ii., 205. The time referred to is 1829: "There are few roads," McTaggart says, "and these are generally excessively bad, and full of mudholes in which if a carriage fall, there is great trouble to get it out again. The mail coaches or waggons are often in this predicament, when the passengers instantly jump off, and having stripped rails off the fence, they lift it up by sheer force. Coming up brows they sometimes get in; the horses are then taken out, and yoked to the stern instead of the front; and it is drawn out backwards."

The country between York and Lake Huron was, as we have already seen, first explored by Governor Simcoe in person, in 1793. It was also immediately surveyed, and in some measure occupied; and so early as 1794, we read in a Gazette the following notice: "Surveyor-General's Office, Upper Canada, 15th July, 1794. Notice is hereby given that all persons who have obtained assignments for land on Dundas Street, leading from the head of Burlington Bay to the upper forks of the River Thames, and on Yonge Street leading from York to Lake Simcoe, that unless a dwelling-house shall be built on every lot under certificate of location, and the same occupied within one year from the date of their respective assignments, such lots will be forfeited on the said Roads. D. W. Smith, Acting Surveyor General."

All the conditions required to be fulfilled by the first settlers were these: "They must within the term of two years, clear fit for cultivation and fence, ten acres of the lot obtained; build a house 16 by 20 feet of logs or frame, with a shingle roof; also cut down all the timber in front of and the whole width of the lot (which is 20 chains, 133 feet wide), 33 feet of which must be cleared smooth and left for half of the public road." To issue injunctions for the performance of such work was easy. To do such work, or to get such work effectually done, was, under the circumstances of the times, difficult. Hence Yonge Street continued for some years after 1794 to be little more than a rambling forest wheel-track through the woods.

In 1794, as we have before heard, Mr. William Berczy, brought over from the Pulteney Settlement, on the south side of Lake Ontario, sixty German families, and conducted them to the township of Markham, north-east of York, where lands had been assigned them. In effecting this first lodgement of a considerable body of colonists in a region entirely new, Mr. Berczy necessarily cut out by the aid of his party, and such other help as he could obtain, some kind of track through the forest, along the line of Yonge Street. He had already once before successfully accomplished a similar work. He had, we are told, hewn out a waggon road for emigrants through trackless woods all the way from Philadelphia to the Genesee country, where the Pulteney Settlement was.

In 1795, Mr. Augustus Jones, a Deputy Provincial Surveyor, who figures largely in the earliest annals of Upper Canada, was directed by the Lieutenant Governor to survey and open in a more effective manner the route which Mr. Berczy and his emigrants had travelled. A detachment of the Queen's Rangers was at the same time ordered to assist.

On the 24th December, 1795, Mr. Jones writes to D. W. Smith, Acting Surveyor General:--"His Excellency was pleased to direct me, previous to my surveying the township of York, to proceed on Yonge Street, to survey and open a cart-road from the harbour at York to Lake Simcoe, which I am now busy at (i. e. I am busily engaged in the preparations for this work.) Mr. Pearse is to be with me in a few days' time with a detachment of about thirty of the Queen's Rangers, who are to assist in opening the said road."

Then in his Note-book and Journal for the new year 1796, he records the commencement of the survey, thus:--"Monday, 4th (January, 1796). Survey of Yonge Street. Begun at a Post near the Lake, York Harbour, on Bank, between Nos. 20 and 21, the course being Mile No. 1, N. 16 degrees W., eighty chains, from Black Oak Tree to Maple Tree on the right side, along the said Yonge Street: at eighteen chains, fifty links, small creek; at twenty-eight chains, small creek; course the same at thirty-two eighty: here First Concession. At, N. 35 W. to 40-50, At 39-50 swamp and creek, 10 links across, runs to the right: then N. 2 E., to 43 chains in the line. At 60-25, small creek runs to right; swampy to 73; N. 29 W. to 77, swamp on right. Then N. to 80 on line. Timber chiefly white and black oak to 60, and in many places windfalls thereon: maple, elm, beech, and a few oaks, black ash; loose soil. Mile No. 2 do. 80 chains; rising Pine Ridge to 9 on top," &c., and so on day by day, until Tuesday, February 16th, when the party reached the Landing.

For Mile No. 33 we have the entry. "Course do. (N. 9 W.) 80 chains; descended; at 10 chains, small creek; cross aforesaid small creek; at 30, several cedars to 35-50; at 33, creek about 30 links across, runs to left; at 80 chains, hemlock tree on the right bank small creek; hemlock, pine, a few oak; broken soil. At Mile 34, do., 53 chains to Pine tree marked at Landing; timber, yellow and white Pines; sandy soil; slight winds from the north; cloudy, cold weather."

The survey and opening of the Street from York bay to the Landing thus occupied forty-three days (January 4, to February 16). Three days sufficed for the return of the party to the place of beginning. The memoranda of these three days, and the following one, when Mr. Jones presented himself before the Governor, in the Garrison at York, run thus: "Wednesday, 17th, returned back to a small Lake at the twenty-first mile tree; pleasant weather, light winds from the west. Thursday, 18th, came down to five mile tree from York; pleasant weather. Friday, 19th, came to the town of York; busy entering some of my field notes; weather as before. Saturday, 20th, went to Garrison, York, and waited on His Excellency the Governor, and informed him that Yonge Street is opened from York to the Pine Fort Landing, Lake Simcoe. As there is no provision to be had at the place," Mr. Jones proceeds, "His Excellency was pleased to say that I must return to Newark, and report to the Surveyor General, and return with him in April next, when the Executive will sit, and that my attendance would be wanted. Pleasant weather, light winds from the west."

The entry on the following Monday is this: "The hands busy at repairing (caulking) the boat to return to Burlington Bay, and thence to Newark; light winds from south, a few clouds. Tuesday, 23rd, high winds from the south-west hinder going on the Lake. Wednesday, 24th, high winds from the south drove a great quantity of ice into the harbour; obliged me to leave the boat and set out by land; went to the Etobicoke. Thursday, 25th, came along the Lake to the 16 mile creek; winds left from south, thaw. Friday, 26th, came down to my house, Long Beach; calm, thaw," &c.

Then on Tuesday, the 1st of March, 1796, the entry is: "Came down to 12-mile creek; lame in my feet; high winds from N. W., frosty night. Wednesday, 2nd, came down to Newark; some snow, calm, frosty weather. Thursday, 3rd, busy entering some field notes; some snow, calm weather. Friday, 4th, busy protracting Yonge Street; cold weather, high winds from N. W." Finally, on Monday, 7th March (1796), we have the entry: "Busy copying of Yonge Street; high winds from the north, cold, snow fell last night about six inches."

Some romance attaches to the history of Mr. Augustus Jones. We have his marriage mentioned in a Gazette of 1798, in the following terms: "May 21, Married, at the Grand River, about three weeks since, A. Jones, Esq., Deputy Surveyor, to a young lady of that place, daughter of the noted Mohawk warrior, Terrihogah."--The famous Indian Wesleyan missionary, Peter Jones, called in the Indian tongue Kah-ke-wa-quo-na-by, Sacred Waving Feathers, was the issue of this marriage.

Peter Jones, in his published autobiography, thus speaks: "I was born at the heights of Burlington Bay, Canada West, on the first day of January, 1802. My father, Augustus Jones," he continues, "was of Welsh extraction. His grandfather emigrated to America previous to the American Revolution, and settled on the Hudson River, State of New York. My father, having finished his studies as a land surveyor in the City of New York, came with a recommendation from Mr. Colden, son of the Governor of that State, to General Simcoe, Governor of Upper Canada, and was immediately employed by him as the King's Deputy Provincial Surveyor, in laying out town plots, townships and roads in different parts of the Province. This necessarily brought him in contact with the Indian tribes, and he learned their language and employed many of them in his service. He became much interested in the Indian character--so much so that he resolved to take a wife from amongst them. Accordingly, he married my mother, Tuh-ben-ah-nee-quay, daughter of Wahbanosay, a chief of the Mississaga tribe of the Ojibway nation. I had one brother, older than myself, whose name was Tyenteneget (given to him by the famous Captain Joseph Brant), but better known by the name of John Jones. I had also three younger brothers and five sisters. My father being fully engaged in his work, my elder brother and myself were left entirely to the care and management of our mother, who, preferring the customs and habits of her nation, taught us the superstitions of her fathers--how to gain the approbation of the Munedoos (or gods,) and how to become successful hunters. I used to blacken my face with charcoal, and fast, in order to obtain the aid of personal gods or familiar spirits, and likewise attended their pagan feasts and dances. For more than fourteen years I lived and wandered about with the Indians in the woods, during which time I witnessed the woful effects of the firewater which had been introduced amongst us by the white people."

There is a discrepancy, it will be observed, between the Gazette and the autobiography, in regard to the name and tribe of the father of Mr. Jones' Indian bride. The error, no doubt, is on the side of the Gazette.

It is pleasant to find, in 1826, the now aged surveyor writing in the following strain to his missionary son, in a letter accompanying the gift of a horse, dated Coldsprings, Grand River: "Please to give our true love to John and Christina," he says, "and all the rest of our friends at the Credit. We expect to meet you and them at the camp meeting. I think a good many of our Indians will come down at that time. I send you Jack, and hope the Lord will preserve both you and your beast. He is quiet and hardy: the only fault I know he stumbles sometimes; and if you find he does not suit you as a riding horse, you can change him for some other; but always tell your reasons. May the Lord bless you! Pray for your unworthy father, Augustus Jones."

Augustus Jones was, as has been already seen, concerned in the very earliest survey of York and the township attached. As we have at hand the instructions issued for this survey, we give them. It will be noticed that the Humber is therein spoken of as the Toronto River, and that the early settler or trader St. John is named, from whom the Humber was sometimes called St. John's River. The document likewise throws light on the mode of laying out townships by concessions. On general grounds, therefore, it will not be inappropriate in an account of the early settlement of Yonge Street.

"Surveyor-General's Office, Province of Upper Canada, 26th January, 1793.--Description of the Township of York (formerly Toronto), to be surveyed by Messrs. Aitken and Jones.--The front line of the front concession commences adjoining the township of Scarborough, (on No. 10), at a point known and marked by Mr. Jones, running S. 74 deg. W. from said front one chain, for a road; then five lots of twenty chains each, and one chain for a road; then five lots more of twenty chains each, and one chain for a road; and so on till the said line strikes the River Toronto, whereon St. John is settled. The concessions are one hundred chains deep, and one chain between each concession, to the extent of twelve miles."

We subjoin a further early notice of Mr. Augustus Jones, which we observe in a letter addressed to him by John Collins, Deputy Surveyor-General, dated "Quebec, Surveyor-General's Office, January 23rd, 1792." Mr. Collins mentions that he has recommended Mr. Jones to the notice of Governor Simcoe, who was at the time in Quebec, en route for his new Province in the west.--"Colonel Simcoe, the Governor of your Province," Mr. Collins says, "is now with us. I have taken the liberty to recommend you to him in the manner I think you merit, and I cannot doubt but that you will be continued in your salary."

Another early surveyor of note, connected with the primitive history of Yonge Street, was John Stegmann, a German, who had been an officer in a Hessian regiment. He was directed in 1801, by the Surveyor-General, D. W. Smith, to examine and report upon the condition of Yonge Street. The result was a document occupying many sheets. We will give some extracts from it. They will furnish a view of the great thoroughfare which we are beginning to perambulate, as it appeared a few years after Jones' expedition. Though somewhat dryly imparted, the information will probably not be without interest.

(The No. 1 referred to is the first lot after crossing the Third Concession Road from the Lake Shore.) "Agreeable to your instructions," Mr. Stegmann says to Mr. Smith, "bearing date June the 10th, [1801], for the examination of Yonge Street, I have the honor to report thereon as follows: That from the town of York to the three mile post on the Poplar Plains the road is cut, and that as yet the greater part of the said distance is not passable for any carriage whatever, on account of logs which lie in the street. From thence to Lot No. 1 on Yonge Street the road is very difficult to pass, at any time, agreeable to the present situation in which the said part of the street is. The situation of the street from No. 1 to Lot 95 on Yonge Street will appear as per margin."

We have then a detail of his notes as to the condition of the road opposite every lot all the way to the northern limit of the townships of King and Whitchurch. Of No. 1 in the township of York, on the west side of Yonge Street, it is reported that the "requisition of Government" is "complied with, except a few logs in the street not burnt." Of Lot 1 on the east side also, that it is complied with, except a "few logs not burnt."--No. 2, west side, complied with; the street cut but not burnt. East side, complied with; some logs in the street not burnt; and in some places narrow. No. 3, west side, complied with, except a few logs not burnt; east side, complied with; the clearing not fenced; no house; some logs in the street not burnt. No. 5, west side, complied with; east side, non-compliance. No. 8, west side, complied with; the street cut, but not burnt. East side, complied with; the street cut, but logs not burnt; here the street, it is noted, goes to the eastward of the line on account of the hilly ground. No. 3, west side, complied with in the clearing; the street bad and narrow. East side, non-compliance; street bad and narrow, and to the east of the road. No. 16, west side, nothing done to the road; about 5 acres cut; not fenced and no house thereon. East side, complied with. No. 17, west side, complied with; the underbrush in the street cut but not burnt.--East side, complied with, except logs in the street not burnt. No. 18, west side, well complied with. East side, well complied with. No. 25, west side, complied with. East side, complied with;--nothing done to the street, and a school-house erected in the centre of the street. This is the end of the township of York.

Then on No. 33, west side, Vaughan, clearing is complied with; no house, and nothing done to the street. East side, Markham, clearing is complied with; south part of the street cut but not burnt; and north part of the street nothing done. No. 37, Vaughan, clearing complied with, but some large trees and some logs left in the street. Markham, some trees and logs left in the streets; some acres cut, but not burnt; no fence, and a small log house. No. 55, Vaughan, clearing complied with; the street cut and logs not burnt. Markham, clearing complied with; the street cut and logs not burnt; a very bad place for the road and may be laid out better. No. 63, west side, King, non-compliance. East side, Whitchurch, non-compliance; and similarly on to No. 88, on which, in King, the clearing is complied with; not fenced; the street good; in Whitchurch clearing is complied with, and nothing done to the street. No. 93, King, four acres cut, and nothing done to the street. Whitchurch, six acres clear land, and nothing done to the street. Here King and Whitchurch and the Report end.

Mr. Stegmann then perorates thus: "Sir,--This was the real situation of Yonge Street when examined by me; and I am sorry to be under the necessity to add at the conclusion of this report, that the most ancient inhabitants of Yonge Street have been the most neglectful in clearing the street; and I have reason to believe that some trifle with the requisition of Government in respect of clearing the street."

Mr. Berczy brought over his sixty-four families in 1794. The most ancient inhabitants were thus of about seven years' standing. If we men of the second generation regarded Yonge Street as a route difficult to travel, what must the first immigrants from the Genesee country and Pennsylvania have found it to be? They brought with them vehicles and horses and families and some household stuff. "The body of their waggons," we are told in an account of such new-comers in the Gazetteer of 1799, "is made of close boards, and the most clever have the ingenuity to caulk the seams, and so by shifting off the body from the carriage, it serves to transport the wheels and the family." Old settlers round Newmarket used to narrate how in their first journey from York to the Landing they lowered their waggons down the steeps by ropes passed round the stems of saplings, and then hauled them up the ascent on the opposite side in a similar way.

We meet with Mr. Stegmann, the author of the above quoted report, in numerous documents relating to surveys and other professional business done for the Surveyor-General. His clear, bold handwriting is always recognizable. His mode of expressing himself is vigorous and to the point, but slightly affected by his imperfect mastery of the English language. He gives the following account of himself in his first application to the Surveyor-General, asking for employment. "My name is John Stegmann," he says, "late lieutenant in the Hessian Regiment of Lossberg, commanded by Major-General de Loos, and served during the whole war in America till the reduction took place in the month of August, 1783, and by the favour and indulgence of His Excellency, Lord Dorchester, I obtained land in this new settlement and township of Osnabruck, and an appointment as Surveyor in the Province; I have a wife and small family to provide for."--Descendants of his are still to be found in the neighbourhood of Pine Grove in Vaughan. Their name is now Anglicised by the omission of one of the final n's. The rivulet at the Blue Hill was spoken of, in 1799, as "Castle Frank Creek." It is the stream which runs through the Castle Frank lot. Mr. Stegmann was concerned in the building of the first bridge at this point. We have a letter of his to the Acting Surveyor-General, D. W. Smith, referring to timber, which he has provided for the structure. In the same he also takes occasion to mention that the fatigue party of soldiers who were assisting Mr. Jones in the opening of Yonge Street, had as yet received no compensation.

He says: "Sir,--You were pleased to order me to inform you what time I should want a team for to get the timber for the bridge at Castle Frank Creek, for which I am ready, whenever you please to send the same." He then adds: "The party of Rangers now on this road begged of me to inform you that they have not received any pay for the work since they have been out with Mr. Jones." This note is dated, "Castle Frank Creek, Feb. 27, 1799." On the 4th of the following March, he dates a note to Mr. D. W. Smith in the same way, "Castle Frank Creek," and asks to have a "bush-sextant" supplied to him. He says: "Sir,--I beg you will have the goodness to send me by the bearer a Bush-sextant, and am, sir, your most obedient and very humble servant, John Stegmann, Deputy-Surveyor." (According to some, the Blue Hill had its name from the circumstance that the bridge at its foot was painted blue).

The names of other early surveyors may be learned from the following notice, taken from a Gazette: "Surveyor-General's Office, York, 25th April, 1805. That it may be known who are authorized to survey lands on the part of the Crown within this Province, the following list is communicated to the public of such persons as are duly licensed for that purpose, to be surveyors therein, viz., William Chewett, York; Thomas Smith, Sandwich; Abraham Iredell, Thomas Welch, Augustus Jones, William Fortune, Lewis Grant, Richard Cockrell, Henry Smith, John Rider, Aaron Greeley, Thomas Fraser, Reuben Sherwood, Joseph Fortune, Solomon Stevens, Samuel S. Wilmot, Samuel Ryckman, Mahlon Burwell, Adrian Marlet, Samuel Ridout, George Lawe. (Signed), C. B. Wyatt, Surveyor-General."

Of Mr. Berczy, above spoken of, we shall soon have to give further particulars. We must now push on.

Just beyond the Blue Hill ravine, on the west side, stood for a long while a lonely unfinished frame building, with gable towards the street, and windows boarded up. The inquiring stage-passenger would be told, good-humouredly, by the driver, that it was Rowland Burr's Folly. It was, we believe, to have been a Carding or Fulling Mill, worked by peculiar machinery driven by the stream in the valley below; but either the impracticability of this from the position of the building, or the as yet insignificant quantity of wool produced in the country made the enterprise abortive.

Mr. Burr was an emigrant to these parts from Pennsylvania in 1803, and from early manhood was strongly marked by many of the traits which are held to be characteristic of the speculative and energetic American. Unfortunately in some respects for himself, he was in advance of his neighbours in a clear perception of the capabilities of things as seen in the rough, and in a strong desire to initiate works of public utility, broaching schemes occasionally beyond the natural powers of a community in its veriest infancy. A canal to connect Lake Ontario with the Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, via Lake Simcoe and the valley of the Humber, was pressed by him as an immediate necessity, years ago; and at his own expense he minutely examined the route and published thereon a report which has furnished to later theorizers on the same subject much valuable information.

Mr. Burr was a born engineer and mechanician, and at a more auspicious time, with proper opportunities for training and culture, he would probably have become famed as a local George Stephenson. He built on his own account, or for others, a number of mills and factories, providing and getting into working order the complicated mechanism required for each; and this at a time when such undertakings were not easy to accomplish, from the unimproved condition of the country and the few facilities that existed for importing and transporting inland, heavy machinery. The mills and factories at Burwick in Vaughan originated with him, and from him that place takes its name.

The early tramway on Yonge Street of which we have already spoken was suggested by Mr. Burr; and when the cutting down of the Blue Hill was decided on, he undertook and effected the work.

It is now some forty years since the peculiar clay of the Blue Hill began to be turned to useful account. In or near the brick-fields, which at the present time are still to be seen on the left, Messrs. James and William Townsley burnt kilns of white brick, a manufacture afterwards carried on here by Mr. Nightingale, a family connection of the Messrs. Townsley. Mr. Worthington also for a time engaged on the same spot in the manufacture of pressed brick and drain tiles. The Rossin House Hotel, in Toronto, and the Yorkville Town Hall were built of pressed brick made here.

Chestnut Park, which we pass on the right, the residence now of Mr. McPherson, is a comparatively modern erection, put up by Mr. Mathers, an early merchant of York, who, before building here, lived on Queen Street, near the Meadows, the residence of Mr. J. Hillyard Cameron. Oaklands, Mr. John McDonald's residence, of which a short distance back we obtained a passing glimpse far to the west, and Rathnally, Mr. McMaster's palatial abode, beyond, are both modern structures, put up by their respective occupants. Woodlawn, still on the left, the present residence of Mr. Justice Morrison, was previously the home of Mr. Chancellor Blake, and was built by him.

Summer Hill, seen on the high land far to the right, and commanding a noble view of the wide plain below, including Toronto with its spires and the lake view along the horizon, was originally built by Mr. Charles Thomson, whose name is associated with the former travel and postal service of the whole length of Yonge Street and the Upper Lakes. In Mr. Thompson's time, however, Summer Hill was by no means the extensive and handsome place into which it has developed since becoming the property and the abode of Mr. Larratt Smith.

The primitive waggon track of Yonge Street ascended the hill at which we now arrive, a little to the west of the present line of road. It passed up through a narrow excavated notch. Across this depression or trench a forest tree fell without being broken, and there long remained. Teams, in their way to and from town, had to pass underneath it like captured armies of old under the yoke. To some among the country folk it suggested the beam of the gallows-tree. Hence sprang an ill-omened name long attached to this particular spot.

Near here, at the top of the hill, were formerly to be seen, as we have understood, the remains of a rude windlass or capstan, used in the hauling up of the North-West Company's boats at this point of the long portage from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron.

So early as 1799 we have it announced that the North-West Company intended to make use of this route. In the Niagara Constellation, of August, 3, 1799, we read: "We are informed on good authority that the North-West Company have it seriously in contemplation to establish a communication with the Upper Lakes by way of York, through Yonge Street to Lake Simcoe, a distance of about 33 miles only." The Constellation embraces the occasion to say also, "That the government has actually begun to open that street for several miles, which example will undoubtedly be no small inducement to persons who possess property on that street and its vicinity to exert themselves in opening and completing what may be justly considered one of the primary objects of attention in a new country, a good road."

The Gazette of March 9, in this year (1799) had contained an announcement that "The North-West Company has given twelve thousand pounds towards making Yonge Street a good road, and that the North-West commerce will be communicated through this place (York): an event which must inevitably benefit this country materially, as it will not only tend to augment the population, but will also enhance the present value of landed property."

Bouchette, writing in 1815, speaks of improvements on Yonge Street, "of late effected by the North-West Company." "This route," he says in his Topographical description, "being of much more importance, has of late been greatly improved by the North-West Company for the double purpose of shortening the distance to the Upper Lakes, and avoiding any contact with the American frontiers."

As stated already in another connection, we have conversed with those who had seen the cavalcade of the North-West Company's boats, mounted on wheels, on their way up Yonge Street. It used to be supposed by some that the tree across the notch through which the road passed had been purposely felled in that position as a part of the apparatus for helping the boats up the hill.

The table-land now attained was long known as the Poplar Plains. Stegmann uses the expression in his Report. A pretty rural by-road that ascends this same rise near Rathnally, Mr. McMaster's house, is still known as the Poplar Plains road.

A house, rather noticeable, to the left but lying slightly back, and somewhat obscured by fine ornamental trees that overshadow it, was the home for many years of Mr. J. S. Howard, sometime Postmaster of York, and afterwards Treasurer of the counties of York and Peel: an estimable man, and an active promoter of all local works of benevolence. He died in Toronto in 1866, aged 68.

This house used to be known as Olive Grove; and was originally built by Mr. Campbell, proprietor and manager of the Ontario House Hotel, in York, once before referred to; eminent in the Masonic body, and father of Mr. Stedman Campbell, a local barrister of note, who died early.

Mashquoteh to the left, situated a short distance in, on the north side of the road which enters Yonge Street here, is a colony transplanted from the neighbouring Spadina, being the home of Mr. W. Warren Baldwin, son of Dr. W. W. Baldwin, the builder of Spadina. "Mashquoteh" is the Ochipway for "meadow." We hear the same sounds in Longfellow's "Mushkoda-sa," which is, by interpretation, "prairie-fowl."

Deer Park, to the north of the road that enters here, but skirting Yonge Street as well, had that name given it when the property of Mrs. Heath, widow of Col. Heath of the H. E. I. Company's Service. On a part of this property was the house built by Colonel Carthew, once before referred to, and now the abode of Mr. Fisken. Colonel Carthew, a half-pay officer of Cornish origin, also made large improvements on property in the vicinity of Newmarket.

Just after Deer Park, to avoid a long ravine which lay in the line of the direct route northward, the road swerved to the left and then descended, passing over an embankment, which was the dam of an adjacent sawmill, a fine view of the interior of which, with the saw usually in active motion, was obtained by the traveller as he fared on. This was Michael Whitmore's sawmill.

Of late years the apex of the long triangle of Noman's land that for a great while lay desolate between the original and subsequent lines of Yonge Street, has been happily utilized by the erection thereon of a Church, Christ Church, an object well seen in the ascent and descent of the street. Anciently, very near the site of Christ Church, a solitary longish wooden building, fronting southward, was conspicuous; the abode of Mr. Hudson, a provincial land surveyor of mark. Looking back southward from near the front of this house, a fine distant glimpse of the waters of Lake Ontario used to be obtained, closing the vista made in the forest by Yonge Street.

Before reaching Whitmore's sawmill, while passing along the brow of the hill overlooking the ravine, which was avoided by the street as it ran in the first instance, there was to be seen at a little distance to the right, on some rough undulating ground, a house which always attracted the eye by its affectation of "Gothic" in the outline of its windows. On the side towards the public road it showed several obtuse-headed lancet lights. This peculiarity gave the building, otherwise ordinary enough, a slightly romantic air; it had the effect, in fact, at a later period, of creating for this habitation, when standing for a considerable while tenantless, the reputation of being haunted.

This house and the surrounding grounds constituted Springfield Park, the original Upper Canadian home of Mr. John Mills Jackson, an English gentleman, formerly of Downton in Wiltshire, who emigrated hither prior to 1806; but finding public affairs managed in a way which he deemed not satisfactory, he returned to England, where he published a pamphlet addressed to the King, Lords and Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, entitled, "A View of the Political Situation of the Province," a brochure that made a stir in Upper Canada, if not in England, the local House of Assembly voting it a libel.

Our Upper Canadian Parliament partially acquired the habit of decreeing reflections on the local government to be libels. Society in its infancy is apt to resent criticism, even when legitimate. Witness the United States and Mrs. Trollope. At the same time critics of infant society should be themselves sufficiently large-minded not to expect in infant society the perfection of society well developed, and to word their strictures accordingly.

In the preface to his pamphlet, which is a well-written production, Mr. Jackson gives the following account of his first connection with Canada and his early experience there:--"Having by right of inheritance," he says, "a claim to a large and very valuable tract of land in the Province of Quebec, I was induced to visit Lower Canada for the purpose of investigating my title; and being desirous to view the immense lakes and falls in Upper Canada, where I had purchased some lands previous to my leaving England, I extended my travels to that country, with which I was so much pleased, that I resolved to settle on one of my estates, and expended a considerable sum on its improvement (the allusion is probably to Springfield Park); but considering neither my person nor property secure under the system pursued there, I have been obliged to relinquish the hope of its enjoyment."

The concluding sentences of his appeal will give an idea of the burden of his complaint. To his mind the colony was being governed exactly in the way that leads finally to revolt in colonies. The principles of the constitution guaranteed by the mother country were violated. One of his grievances was--not that a seventh of the public land had been set apart for an established Church, but--that "in seventeen years not one acre had been turned to any beneficial account; not a clergyman, except such as England pays or the Missionary Society sends (only five in number), without glebe, perquisite or parsonage house; and still fewer churches than ministers of the established religion."

He concludes thus: "I call upon you to examine the Journals of the House of Assembly and Legislative Council; to look at the distribution and use made of the Crown Lands; the despatches from the Lieutenant-Governor [Gore]; the memorials from the Provincial Secretary, Receiver-General and Surveyor-General; the remonstrances of the Six Nations of Indians; and the letters from Mr. Thorpe [Judge Thorpe], myself and others, on the state of the Colony, either to the Lords of the Treasury or to the Secretary of State. Summon and examine all the evidence that can be procured here (England), and, if more should appear necessary, send a commission to ascertain the real state of the Province. Then you will be confirmed in the truth of every representation I have made, and much more which, for the safety of individuals, I am constrained to withhold. Then you will be enabled to relieve England from a great burden, render the Colony truly valuable to the mother country, and save one of the most luxuriant ramifications of the Empire. You will perform the promise of the crown; you will establish the law and liberty directed by the (British) Parliament; and diffuse the Gospel of Christ to the utmost extremity of the West. You will do that which is honourable to the nation, beneficial to the most deserving subjects, and lovely in the sight of God."

This pamphlet is of interest as an early link (its date is 1809) in the catena of protests on the subject of Canadian affairs, from Whiggish and other quarters, culminating at last in Lord Durham's Report. Nevertheless, what the old French trader said of Africa--"Toujours en maudissant ce vilain pays, on y reviens toujours"--proved true in respect to Canada in the case of Mr. Jackson, as in the case likewise of several other severe critics of Canadian public affairs in later times. He returned and dwelt in the land after all, settling with his family on Lake Simcoe, where Jackson's Point and Jackson's Landing retain his name, and where descendants of his still remain.

Mr. Jackson had possessions likewise in the West Indies, and made frequent visits thither, as also to England, where at length he died in 1836. Up to about that date, we observe his name in the Commission of the Peace.

In the Loyalist of May 24, 1828, a Biblical work by Mr. Jackson is advertised for sale at York. Thus runs the notice:--"Just received from England, and for sale at the book stores of Messrs. Meighan and Lesslie & Sons, York, a few volumes of 'The History from the Creation of the World to the death of Joshua, authenticated from the best authorities, with Notes, Critical, Philosophical, Moral and Explanatory: by John Mills Jackson, Esq., formerly Gentleman Commoner of Ball. Coll. in the University of Oxford.'" (Then follow laudatory notices of the work from private sources.)

Fifty years ago, in Canada, English families, whose habits and ideas were more in harmony with Bond Street than with the backwoods, had, in becoming morally acclimatised to the country, a tremendous ordeal to pass through: how they contrived to endure the pains and perils of the process is now matter of wonder.

One of Mr. Jackson's sons, Clifton, is locally remembered as an early example in these parts of the exquisite of the period--the era of the Prince Regent and Lord Byron. By extra-sacrificing to the Graces, at a time when articles de cosmetique et de luxe generally were scarce and costly in Canada, he got himself into trouble.--In 1822 he had occasion to make his escape from "durance vile" in York, by opening a passage, one quiet Sunday morning, through the roof of the old jail. He was speedily pursued by Mr. Parker, the warden, and an associate, Mr. Garsides; overtaken at Albany, in the State of New York; apprehended under a feigned charge; and brought back to York. Among the inhabitants of some of the villages between Albany and Youngstown, a suspicion arose that a case of kidnapping was in progress, and Messrs. Parker and Garsides were exposed to risk of personal violence before they could reach the western bank of the Niagara river, with their prey. By a happy turn of affairs, a few years later, Mr. Clifton Jackson obtained a situation in the Home Colonial Office, with a good salary.

To distinguish Mr. Mills Jackson from another proprietor on Yonge Street, also called Jackson, the alliterative epithet, "Jacobin," was sometimes applied to him, in jocose allusion to his political principles, held by the official party to be revolutionary. In regard to the other Jackson, some such epithet as "Jacobin" would not have been inapplicable. On the invasion of Canada in 1812 by the United States, he openly avowed his sympathy with the invaders, and was obliged to fly the country. He was known and distinguished as "Hatter Jackson," from the business which he once followed. After the war he returned, and endeavoured, but in vain, to recover possession of the land on Yonge Street which he had temporarily occupied.

In the Gazette of Nov. 11, 1807, we have Mr. Jackson's advertisement. Almost anticipating the modern "Hats that are Hats," it is headed "Warranted Hats," and then proceeds: "The subscriber, having established a hat manufactory in the vicinity of York on a respectable scale, solicits the patronage and support of the public. All orders will be punctually attended to, and a general assortment of warranted hats be continually kept at the store of Mr. Thomas Hamilton, in York. Samuel Jackson. Yonge Street, Nov. 10, 1807."

An earlier owner of the lot, at which we are now pausing, was Stillwell Wilson. In 1799, at the annual York Township meeting, held on the 4th March in that year at York, we find Stillwell Wilson elected one of the Overseers of Highways and Fence-viewers for the portion of Yonge Street from lot 26 to lot 40, in Markham and Vaughan. At the same meeting, Paul Wilcot is elected to the same office, "from Big Creek to No. 25, inclusive, and half Big Creek Bridge; and Daniel Dehart, from Big Creek to No. 1, inclusive, and half Big Creek Bridge." "The Big Creek" referred to was, as we suppose, the Don at Hogg's Hollow.

In 1821, Stillwell Wilson is landlord of the Waterloo House, in York, and is offering to let that stand; also to let or sell other valuable properties. In the Gazette of March 25, 1820, we have his advertisement:--"For sale or to let, four improved farms on Yonge Street, composed of lots Nos. 20 and 30 on the west side, and 15 and 20 on the east side of the street, in the townships of York and Vaughan. These lands are so well known that they require no further encomiums than the virtues they possess. For title of which please apply to the subscriber at Waterloo House, York, the proprietor of said lands. P. S.--The noted stand known by the name of the Waterloo House, which the subscriber at present possesses, is also offered to be let on easy terms; as also an excellent Sawmill, in the third concession of the township of York, east of Yonge Street, only ten miles from town, on the west branch of the river Don. Stillwell Wilson."

In 1828, for moneys due apparently to Jairus Ashley, some of Stillwell's property has been seized. Under the editorial head of the Loyalist of December 27th of that year, we find the following item:--"Sheriff's Sale.--At the Court House, in the Town of York, on Saturday, 31st January next, will be sold, Lot No. 30, in the first Concession of the Township of Vaughan, taken in execution as belonging to Stillwell Wilson, at the suit of Jairus Ashley. Sale to commence at 12 o'clock noon."

In our chapter on the Early Marine of York, we shall meet with Stillwell Wilson again. We shall then find him in command of a slip-keel schooner plying on the Lake between York and Niagara. The present owner of his lot, which, as we have seen, was also once Mr. Jackson's--Mr. Jacobin Jackson's, is Mr. Cawthra. (Note the tendency to distinguish between individuals bearing the name of Jackson by an epithet prefixed. A professional pugilist patronized by Lord Byron was commonly spoken of as "Gentleman Jackson.")

As we reach again the higher land, after crossing the dam of Whitmore's mill, and returning into the more direct line of the street, some rude pottery works met the eye. Here in the midst of woods, the passer-by usually saw on one side of the road, a one horse clay-grinding machine, laboriously in operation; and on the other, displayed in the open air on boards supported by wooden pins driven into the great logs composing the wall of the low windowless building, numerous articles of coarse brown ware, partially glazed, pans, crocks, jars, jugs, demijohns, and so forth; all which primitive products of the plastic art were ever pleasant to contemplate. These works were carried on by Mr. John Walmsley.

A tract of rough country was now reached, difficult to clear and difficult to traverse with a vehicle. Here a genuine corduroy causeway was encountered, a long series of small saw-logs laid side by side, over which wheels jolted deliberately. In the wet season, portions of it, being afloat, would undulate under the weight of a passing load; and occasionally a horse's leg would be entrapped, and possibly snapped short by the sudden yielding or revolution of one of the cylinders below.

We happen to have a very vivid recollection of the scene presented along this particular section of Yonge Street, when the woods, heavy pine chiefly, after having been felled in a most confused manner, were being consumed by fire, or rather while the effort was being made to consume them. The whole space from near Mr. Walmsley's potteries to the rise beyond which Eglinton is situated, was, and continued long, a chaos of blackened timber, most dismaying to behold.

To the right of this tract was one of the Church glebes so curiously reserved in every township in the original laying out of Upper Canada--one lot of two hundred acres in every seven of the same area--in accordance with a public policy which at the present time seems sufficiently Utopian. Of the arrangement alluded to, now broken up, but expected when the Quebec Act passed in 1780 to be permanent, a relic remained down to a late date in the shape of a wayside inn, on the right near here, styled on its sign the "Glebe Inn"--a title and sign reminding one of the "Church Stiles" and "Church Gates" not uncommon as village ale-house designations in some parts of England.

Hitherto the general direction of Yonge Street has been north, sixteen degrees west. At the point where it passes the road marking the northern limit of the third concession from the bay, it swerves seven degrees to the eastward. In the first survey of this region there occurred here a jog or fault in the lines. The portion of the street proposed to be opened north failed, by a few rods, to connect in a continuous right line with the portion of it that led southward into York. The irregularity was afterwards corrected by slicing off a long narrow angular piece from three lots on the east side, and adding the like quantity of land to the opposite lot--it happening just here that the lots on the east side lie east and west, while those on the west side lie north and south. After the third concession, the lots along the street lie uniformly east and west.

With young persons in general perhaps, at York in the olden time, who ever gave the cardinal points a thought, the notion prevailed that Yonge Street was "north." We well remember our own slight perplexity when we first distinctly took notice that the polar star, the dipper, and the focus usually of the northern lights, all seemed to be east of Yonge Street. That an impression existed in the popular mind at a late period to the effect that Yonge Street was north, was shown when the pointers indicating east, west, north and south came to be affixed to the apex of a spire on Gould Street. On that occasion several compasses had to be successively taken up and tried before the workmen could be convinced that "north" was so far "east" as the needle of each instrument would persist in asserting.

The first possessor of the lot on the west side, slightly augmented in the manner just spoken of, was the Baron de Hoen, an officer in one of the German regiments disbanded after the United States Revolutionary War. His name is also inscribed in the early maps on the adjacent lot to the north, known as No. 1 in the township of York, west side.

At the time of the capture of York in 1813, Baron de Hoen's house, on lot No. 1, proved a temporary refuge to some ladies and others, as we learn from a manuscript narrative taken down from the lips of the late venerable Mrs. Breakenridge by her daughter, Mrs. Murney. That record well recalls the period and the scene. "The ladies settled to go out to Baron de Hoen's farm," the narrative says. "He was a great friend," it then explains, "of the Baldwin family, whose real name was Von Hoen; and he had come out about the same time as Mr. St. George, and had been in the British army. He had at this time a farm about four miles up Yonge Street, and on a lot called No. 1. Yonge Street was then a corduroy road immediately after leaving King Street, and passing through a dense forest. Miss Russell, (sister of the late President Russell) loaded her phaeton with all sorts of necessaries, so that the whole party had to walk. My poor old grandfather (Mr. Baldwin, the father of Mrs. Breakenridge) by long persuasion at length consented to give up fighting, and accompany the ladies. Aunt Baldwin (Mrs. Dr. Baldwin) and her four sons, Major Fuller, who was an invalid under Dr. Baldwin's care, Miss Russell, Miss Willcox, and the whole cavalcade sallied forth: the youngest boy St. George, a mere baby, my mother (Mrs. Breakenridge) carried on her back nearly the whole way.

"When they had reached about half way out," the narrative proceeds, "they heard a most frightful concussion, and all sat down on logs and stumps, frightened terribly. They learned afterwards that this terrific sound was occasioned by the blowing up of the magazine of York garrison, when five hundred Americans were killed, and at which time my uncle, Dr. Baldwin, was dressing a soldier's wounds; he was conscious of a strange sensation: it was too great to be called a sound, and he found a shower of stones falling all around him, but he was quite unhurt. The family at length reached Baron de Hoen's log house, consisting of two rooms, one above and one below. After three days Miss Russell and my mother walked into town, just in time to prevent Miss Russell's house from being ransacked by the soldiers.

"All now returned to their homes and occupations," the narrative goes on to say, "except Dr. Baldwin, who continued dressing wounds and acting as surgeon, until the arrival of Dr. Hackett, the surgeon of the 8th Regiment. Dr. Baldwin said it was most touching to see the joy of the poor wounded fellows when told that their own doctor was coming back to them." It is then added: "My mother (Mrs. Breakenridge) saw the poor 8th Grenadiers come into town on the Saturday, and in church on Sunday, with the handsome Captain McNeil at their head, and the next day they were cut to pieces to a man. My father (Mr. Breakenridge) was a student at law with Dr. Baldwin, who had been practising law after giving up medicine as a profession, and had been in his office about three months, when he went off like all the rest to the battle of York."

The narrative then gives the further particulars: "The Baldwin family all lived with Miss Russell after this, as she did not like being left alone. When the Americans made their second attack about a month after the first, the gentlemen all concealed themselves, fearing to be taken prisoners like those at Niagara. The ladies received the American officers: some of these were very agreeable men, and were entertained hospitably; two of them were at Miss Russell's; one of them was a Mr. Brookes, brother-in-law of Archdeacon Stuart, then of York, afterwards of Kingston. General Sheaffe had gone off some time before, taking every surgeon with him. On this account Dr. Baldwin was forced, out of humanity, to work at his old profession again, and take care of the wounded."

Lot No. 1 was afterwards the property of an English gentleman, Mr. Harvey Price, a member of our Provincial Government, as Commissioner of Crown Lands, whose conspicuous residence, castellated in character, and approached by a broad avenue of trees, was a little further on. In 1820, No. 1 was being offered for sale in the following terms, in the Gazette of March 25th: "That well known farm No. 1, west side of Yonge Street, belonging to Captain de Hoen, about four or five miles from York, 210 acres. The land is of excellent quality, well-wooded, with about forty acres cleared, a never failing spring of excellent water, barn and farm house. Application to be made to the subscriber at York.--W. W. Baldwin."

Baron de Hoen was second to Mr. Attorney-General White, killed in the duel with Mr. Small in 1800 (January 3rd). In the contemporary account of that incident in the Niagara Constellation, the name is phonetically spelt De Hayne. In the above quoted MS. the name appears as de Haine.

In our progress northward we now traverse ground which, as having been the scene of a skirmish and some bloodshed during the troubles of 1837, has become locally historic. The events alluded to have been described from different points of view at sufficient length in books within reach of every one. We throw over them here the mantle of charity, simply glancing at them and passing on.

Upper Canada, in miniature and in the space of half a century, curiously passed through conditions and processes, physical and social, which old countries on a large scale, and in the course of long ages, passed through. Upper Canada had, in little, its primaeval and barbaric but heroic era, its mediaeval and high-prerogative era, and then, after a revolutionary period of a few weeks, its modern, defeudalized, democratic era. Without doubt the introduction here in 1792 of an "exact transcript" of the contemporary constitution of the mother country, as was the boast at the time, involved the introduction here also of some of the spirit which animated the official administrators of that constitution in the mother country itself at the period--the time of the Third George.

We certainly find from an early date, as we have already seen, a succession of intelligent, observant men, either casual visitors to the country, or else intending settlers, and actual settlers, openly expressing dissatisfaction at some of the things which they noted, experienced or learned, in respect of the management of Canadian public affairs. These persons for the most part were themselves perhaps only recently become alive to the changes which were inevitable in the governmental principles of the mother country; and so were peculiarly sensitive, and even, it may be, petulant in regard to such matters. But, however well-meaning and advanced in political wisdom they may have been, they nevertheless, as we have before intimated, exhibited narrowness of view themselves, and some ignorance of mankind, in expecting to find in a remote colonial out-station of the empire a state of things better than that which at the moment existed at the heart of the empire; and in imagining that strictures on their part, especially when acrimonious, would, under the circumstances, be amiably and submissively received by the local authorities.

The early rulers of Canada, Upper and Lower, along with the members of their little courts, were not to be lightly censured.--They were but copying the example of their royal Chief and his circle at Kew, Windsor, or St. James'. Of the Third George Thackeray says: "He did his best; he worked according to his lights; what virtue he knew he tried to practice; what knowledge he could master he strove to acquire." And so did they. The same fixity of idea in regard to the inherent dignity and power of the Crown that characterized him characterized them, together with a like sterling uprightness which commanded respect even when a line of action was adopted that seemed to tend, and did in reality tend, to a popular outbreak.

All men, however, now acquiesce in the final issue. The social turmoil which for a series of years agitated Canada, from whatever cause arising; the explosion which at length took place, by whatever instrumentality brought on, cleared the political atmosphere of the country, and hastened the good time of general contentment and prosperity which Canadians of the present day are enjoying.--After all, the explosion was not a very tremendous one. Both sides, after the event, have been tempted to exaggerate the circumstances of it a little, for effect.

The recollections which come back to us as we proceed on our way, are for the most part of a date anterior to those associated with 1837; although some of the latter date will of course occasionally recur.

The great conspicuous way-side inn, usually called Montgomery's was, at the time of its destruction by the Government forces in 1837, in the occupation of a landlord named Lingfoot. The house of Montgomery, from whom the inn took its name, he having been a former occupant, was on a farm owned by himself, beautifully situated on rising ground to the left, subsequently the property and place of abode of Mr. James Lesslie, of whom already.

Mr. Montgomery had once had a hotel in York, named "The Bird in Hand," on Yonge Street, a little to the north of Elliott's. We have this inn named in an advertisement to be seen in the Canadian Freeman of April 17, 1828, having reference to the "Farmer's Store Company." "A general meeting of the Farmer's Storehouse Company," says the advertisement, "will be held on the 22nd of March next, at 10 o'clock, a.m., at John Montgomery's tavern, on Yonge Street, 'The Bird in Hand.'--The farmers are hereby also informed that the storehouse is properly repaired for the accommodation of storage, and that every possible attention shall be paid to those who shall store produce therein. John Goessmann, clerk."

The Farmer's Store was at the foot of Nelson Street. Mr. Goessmann was a well-known Deputy Provincial Surveyor, of Hanoverian origin. In an address published in the Weekly Register of July 15, 1824, on the occasion of his retiring from a contest for a seat in the House as representative for the counties of York and Simcoe, Mr. Goessmann alluded as follows to his nationality: "I may properly say," he observed, "that I was a born British subject before a great number of you did even draw breath; and have certainly borne more oppressions during the late French war than any child of this country, that never peeped beyond the boundary even of this continent, where only a small twig of that all-crushing war struck. Our sovereign has not always been powerful enough to defend all his dominions. We, the Hanoverians, have been left the greater part during that contest, to our own fate; we have been crushed to yield our privileges to the subjection of Bonaparte, his greatest antagonist," &c.

Eglinton, through which, at the present day, Yonge Street passes hereabout, is a curious stray memorial of the Tournament in Ayrshire, which made a noise in 1839. The passages of arms on the farther side of the Atlantic that occasionally suggest names for Canadian villages, are not always of so peaceful a character as that in the Earl of Eglinton's grounds in 1839; although it is a matter of some interest now to remember that even in that a Louis Napoleon figured, who at a later period was engaged in jousts of a rather serious kind, promoted by himself.

About Eglinton the name of Snider is notable as that of a United Empire Loyalist family seated here, of German descent. Mr. Martin Snider, father of Jacob and Elias Snider and other brothers and sisters, emigrated hither at an early period from Nova Scotia, where he first took up his abode for a time after the revolution.--Among the names of those who volunteered to accompany General Brock to Detroit in 1813, we observe that of Mr. Jacob Snider. In later years, a member of the same family is sheriff for the County of Grey, and repeatedly a representative in Parliament of the same county.

The Anglicised form of the German name Schneider, like the Anglicised form of a number of other non-English names occurring among us, illustrates and represents the working of our Canadian social system; the practical effect of our institutions, educational and municipal. Our mingled population, when permitted to develop itself fairly; when not crushed, or sought to be crushed into narrow alien moulds invented by non-Teutonic men in the pre-printing-press, feudal era, becomes gradually--if not English--at all events Anglo-Canadian, a people of a distinct type on this continent, acknowledged by the grand old mother of nations,--Alma Britannia herself, as eminently of kin.

We have specially in mind a group from the neighbourhood of Eglinton, genuine sons of our composite Canadian people, Sniders, Mitchells, Jackeses, who, now some years ago, were to be seen twice every day at all seasons, traversing the distance between Eglinton and Toronto, rising early and late taking rest, in order to be punctually present at, and carefully ready for, class-room or lecture room in town; and this process persevered in for the lengthened period required for a succession of curriculums; with results finally, in a conspicuous degree illustrative of the blending, Anglicising power of our institutions when cordially and loyally used. Similar happy effects springing from similar causes have we seen, in numerous other instances and batches of instances, among the youth of our Western Canada, drawn from widely severed portions of the country.

Beyond Eglinton, in the descent to a rough irregular ravine, the home of Mr. Jonathan Hale was passed on the east side of the street; one of the Hales, who, as we have seen, were forward to undertake works of public utility at a time when appliances for the execution of such works were few. Mr. Hale's lot became afterwards a part of the estate of Jesse Ketchum of whom we have spoken.

In 1808, the Gazette (October 22) informs us, the sheriff, Miles Macdonell, is about to sell "at Barrett's Inn, in the Town of York," the goods and chattels of Henry Hale, at the suit of Elijah Ketchum. Likewise, at the same time, the goods and chattels of Stillwell Wilson, at the suit of James McCormack and others.

On the west side, opposite Mr. Ketchum's land, was a farm that had been modernized and beautified by two families in succession, who migrated hither from the West Indies, the Murrays and the Nantons. In particular, a long avenue of evergreen trees, planted by them and leading up to the house, was noticeable. While these families were the owners and occupants of this property, it was named by them Pilgrims' Farm. Subsequently Pilgrims' Farm passed into the hands of Mr. James Beaty, one of the representatives of Toronto in the House of Commons in Canada, who made it an occasional summer retreat, and called it Glen Grove.

It had been at one period known as the MacDougall farm, Mr. John MacDougall, of York, having been its owner from 1801 to 1820. Mr. MacDougall was the proprietor of the principal hotel of York. Among the names of those elected to various local offices at the annual Town-meeting held in 1799 at "the city of York," as the report in the Gazette and Oracle ambitiously speaks, that of Mr. MacDougall appears under the head of "Overseers of Highways and Roads and Fence-viewers." He and Mr. Clark were elected to act in this capacity for "the district of the city of York." That they did good service we learn from the applause which attended their labours. The leading editorial of the Gazette and Oracle of June 29, 1799, thus opens: "The public are much indebted to Mr. John MacDougall, who was appointed one of the pathmasters at the last Town-meeting, for his great assiduity and care in getting the streets cleared of the many and dangerous (especially at night) obstructions thereon; and we hope," the writer says, "by the same good conduct in his successors in the like office, to see the streets of this infant town vie with those of a maturer age, in cleanliness and safety."

In the number of the same paper for July 20 (1799), Mr. MacDougall's colleague is eulogized, and thanked in the following terms: "The inhabitants of the west end of this Town return their most cordial thanks to Mr. Clark, pathmaster, for his uncommon exertions and assiduity in removing out of their street its many obstacles, so highly dangerous to the weary traveller." Mr. MacDougall was the first grantee of the farm immediately to the south of Glen Grove (lot number three).

On high land to the right, some way off the road, an English-looking mansion of brick with circular ends, was another early innovation. A young plantation of trees so placed as to shelter it from the north-east winds, added to its English aspect. This was Kingsland, the home of Mr. Huson, likewise an immigrant from the West Indies. It was afterwards the abode of Mr. Vance, an Alderman of Toronto.

One or two old farm houses of an antique New Jersey style, of two storeys, with steepish roofs and small windows, were then passed on the left. Some way further on, but still in the low land of the irregular ravine, another primitive rustic manufactory of that article of prime necessity, leather, was reached. This was "Lawrence's Tannery." A bridge over the stream here, which is a feeder to the Don, was sometimes spoken of as Hawke's bridge, from the name of its builder. In the hollow on the left, close to the Tannery, and overlooked from the road, was a cream-coloured respectable frame-house, the domicile of Mr. Lawrence himself. In his yard or garden, some hives of bees, when such things were rarities, used always to be looked at with curiosity in passing.

The original patentees of lots six, seven, eight and nine, on the west side of the street just here, were four brothers, Joseph, Duke, Hiram and John, Kendrick, respectively. They all had nautical proclivities; or, as one who knew them said, they were, all or them, "water-dogs;" and we shall hear of them again in our chapter on the Early Marine of York harbour.

In 1799, Duke Kendrick was about to establish a pot-ashery on number seven. His advertisement appears in the Gazette, of December, 21, 1799. It is headed "Ashes! Ashes! Ashes!" The announcement then follows: "The subscriber begs leave to inform the public that he is about to erect a Pot-ashery upon lot No. 7, west side of Yonge Street, where he will give a generous price for ashes; for house-ashes, ninepence per bushel; for field-ashes, sixpence, delivered at the Pot-ash." It is then added: "He conceives it his duty to inform those who may have ashes to dispose of, that it will not be in his power to pay cash, but merchandize at cash price. Duke W. Kendrick. York, Dec. 7, 1799." In the year following, Mr. Allan advertises for ashes to be delivered at pot-ash works in York. In the Gazette for November 29, 1800, we have: "Ashes wanted. Sevenpence Halifax currency per bushel for house-ashes will be given, delivered at the Pot-ash works, opposite the Gaol; and fivepence same currency, if taken from the houses; also, eightpence, New York currency for field-ashes delivered at the works. W. Allan. York, 21st November, [1800]."

We now speedily arrived at the commencement of the difficult descent into the valley of the great west branch of the Don. Yonge Street here made a grand detour to the east, and failed to regain the direct northerly course for some time. As usual, wherever long inclined planes were cut in the steep sides of lofty clay banks, the condition of the roadway hereabout was, after rain, indescribably bad. After reaching the stream and crossing it on a rough timber bridge, known anciently sometimes as Big Creek bridge and sometimes as Heron's bridge, the track ascended the further bank, at first by means of a narrow hogsback, which conveniently sloped down to the vale; afterwards it made a sweep to the northward along the brow of some broken hills, and then finally turned westward until the direct northern route of the street was again touched.

The banks of the Don are here on every side very bold, divided in some places into two stages by an intervening plateau. On a secondary flat thus formed, in the midst of a grass-grown clearing, to the left, as the traveller journeyed from York, there was erected at an early date the shell of a place of worship appertaining to the old Scottish Kirk, put up here through the zeal of Mr. James Hogg, a member of that communion, and the owner, for a time at least, of the flour mills in the valley, near the bridge. From him this locality was popularly known as Hogg's Hollow, despite the postal name of the place, York Mills.

Mr. Hogg was of Scottish descent and a man of spirit. He sent a cartel in due form in 1832 to Mr. Gurnett, editor of the Courier. An article in that paper had spoken in offensive terms of supposed attempts on the part of a committee in York to swell the bulk of a local public meeting, by inviting into town persons from the rural parts. "Every wheel of their well-organized political machine was set in motion," the Courier asserted, "to transmute country farmers into citizens of York. Accordingly about nine in the morning, groups of tall, broad-shouldered, hulking fellows were seen arriving from Whitby, Pickering and Scarborough, some crowded in waggons, and others on horseback; and Hogg, the miller, headed a herd of the swine of Yonge Street, who made just as good votes at the meeting as the best shopkeepers in York." No hostile encounter, however, took place, although a burlesque account of an "affair of honour" was published, in which it was pretended that Mr. Hogg was saved from a mortal wound by a fortunate accumulation, under the lappel of his coat, of flour, in which his antagonist's bullet buried itself.

Mr. Hogg died in 1839. Here is an extract from the sermon preached by the Rev. Mr. Leach on the occasion of his funeral: "He was faithful to his word and promise," the preacher said,--"and when surrounded with danger and strongly instigated, and tempted to a departure from public faith by the enemies of his country his determination expressed in his own words, was 'I will die a Briton.' Few men had all the veins of nature more clearly and strongly developed; and few men had a better sense of what is due to God."

The circuit of the hills overhanging the mills below was always tedious; but several good bits of scenery were caught sight of. On the upland, after escaping the chief difficulties, on the left hand a long low wooden building was seen, with gable and door towards the road. This was an early place of worship of the Church of England, an out-post of the mission at York. The long line of its roof was slightly curved downwards by the weight of a short chimney built at its middle point for the accommodation of an iron stove within. Just before arriving at the gate of the burying-ground attached to this building, there were interesting glimpses to the left down into deep woody glens, all of them converging southward on the Don. In some of them were little patches of pleasant grass land. But along here, for the most part, the forest long remained undisturbed.

The church or chapel referred to was often served by divinity students sent out from town; and frequently, no doubt, had its walls echoed with prentice-attempts at pulpit oratory. Gourlay says that this chapel and the Friends' Meeting House near Newmarket were the only two places of public worship on Yonge Street in 1817, "a distance of nearly forty miles." A notice of it is inserted in "A visit to the Province of Upper Canada in 1819, by James Strachan," (the Bishop's brother)--a work published at Aberdeen in 1820.

"My brother," Mr. Strachan says, p. 141, "had, by his exertions and encouragement among the people, caused a chapel to be built about eight miles from York, where he officiates once a month, one of the young students under his care reading the service and a sermon on the intermediate Sundays. On his day of doing duty," Mr. S. continues, "I went with him and was highly gratified. The chapel is built in a thick wood. . . . . . . . . . . The dimensions are 60 by 30 feet; the pews are very decent, and what was much better, they were filled with an attentive congregation. As you see very few inhabitants on your way out, I could not conceive where all the people came from." A public baptism of five adults is then described.

Some six and twenty years later (in 1843), the foundation stone of a durable brick church was laid near the site of the old frame chapel. On that occasion Dr. Strachan, now Bishop Strachan, named as especial promoters of the original place of worship, Mr. Seneca Ketchum and Mr. Joseph Sheppard, "the former devoting much time and money in the furtherance of the work, and the latter giving three acres of land as a site, together with a handsome donation in cash." A silver medal which had been deposited under the old building was now transferred to a cavity in the foundation stone of its proposed successor. It bore on the obverse, "Francis Gore, Esq., Lieutenant-Governor, 1816," and on the reverse--"Fifty-sixth of George Third." To it were now added a couple of other medals of silver: one bore on the obverse, "John Strachan, D.D., Bishop of Toronto; Alexander Sanson, Minister, 1843;" and on the reverse, "Sixth of Victoria." The other had inscribed on it the name of the architect, Mr. J. G. Howard, with a list of other churches erected in Upper Canada under his direction.

Among the persons present during the ceremony were Chief-Justice Robinson, Vice-Chancellor Jameson, the Hon. and Rev. A. Cavendish, and the Rev. G. Mortimer, of Thornhill. Prior to the out-door proceedings a remarkable scene had been witnessed within the walls of the old building. Four gentlemen received the rite of confirmation at the hands of the Bishop, all of them up to a recent date, non-conformists; three of them non-conformist ministers of mark, Mr Townley, Mr. Leach (whom we heard just now pronouncing an eulogy on Mr. Hogg,) and Mr. Ritchie; the fourth, Mr. Sanson, not previously a minister, but now in Holy Orders of the Church of England, and the minister appointed to officiate in the new church.

At the present day Yonge Street crosses Hogg's Hollow in a direct line on a raised embankment which the ancient Roman road-makers would have deemed respectable--a work accomplished about the year 1835, before the aid of steam power was procurable in these parts for such purposes. Mr. Lynn was the engineer in charge here, at that time. The picturesque character of the valley has been considerably interfered with. Nevertheless a winding road over the hills to the right leading up to the church (St. John's) has still some sylvan surroundings. In truth, were a building or two of the chalet type visible, the passer-by might fancy himself for a moment in an upland of the High Alps, so Swiss-like is the general aspect.

It may be added that the destruction of the beautiful hereabout has to some extent a set-off in the fine geological studies displayed to the eye in the sides of the deep cuts at both ends of the great causeway. Lake Ontario's ancient floor here lifted up high and dry in the air, exhibits, stratum super stratum, the deposits of successive periods long ago. (The action of the weather, however, has at the present time greatly blurred the interesting pictures of the past formerly displayed on the surface of the artificial escarpments at Hogg's Hollow.)

XXVI.

YONGE STREET, FROM HOGG'S HOLLOW TO BOND'S LAKE.

Beyond the hollow, Mr. Humberstone's was passed on the west side, another manufacturer of useful pottery ware. A curious incident used to be narrated as having occurred in this house. The barrel of an old Indian fowling-piece turned up by the plough in one of the fields, and made to do duty in the management of unwieldy back logs in the great fire-place, suddenly proved itself to have been charged all the while, by exploding one day in the hands of Mr. Humberstone's daughter while being put to its customary use, and killing her on the spot. Somewhat similarly, at Fort Erie, we have been told, in the fire which destroyed the wharf at the landing, a condemned cannon which had long been planted in the pier as a post, went off, happily straight upwards, without doing any damage.

Mr. Humberstone saw active service as a lieutenant in the incorporated militia in 1812. He was put in charge of some of the prisoners captured by Colonel Fitzgibbon, at the Beaver Dams, and when now nearing his destination, Kingston, with his prisoners in a large batteau, he, like the famous Dragoon who caught the Tartar, was made a prisoner of himself by the men whom he had in custody, and was adroitly rowed over by them to the United States shore, where being landed he was swiftly locked up in jail, and thence only delivered when peace was restored.

The next memorable object, also on the left, was Shephard's inn, a noted resting-place for wayfarers and their animals, flanked on the north by large driving sheds, on the south by stables and barns: over the porch, at an early period, was the effigy of a lion gardant, attempted in wood on the premises. Constructiveness was one of the predominant faculties in the first landlord of the Golden Lion. He was noted also for skilful execution on several instruments of music: on the bassoon for one. In the rear of the hotel, a little to the south, on a fine eminence, he put up for himself after the lapse of some years, a private residence, remarkable for the originality of its design, the outline of its many projecting roofs presenting a multitude of concave curves in the Chinese pagoda style.

In several buildings in this neighbourhood an effort was at one time made, chiefly, we believe, through the influence of Mr. Shephard, to reproduce what in the west of England are called cob-walls; but either from an error in compounding the material, or from the peculiar character of the local climate, they proved unsatisfactory.--The Sheppards, early proprietors of land a little farther on, were a different family, and spelt their name differently. It was some members of this family that were momentarily concerned in the movement of 1837.

In Willowdale, a hamlet just beyond Shephard's, was the residence of Mr. David Gibson, destroyed in 1837 by the Government forces. We observe in the Gazette of January 6th, 1826, the announcement, "Government House, York, 29th December, 1825. His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor has been pleased to appoint David Gibson, gentleman, to be a surveyor of land in the Province." In the practice of the profession indicated he was prosperous, and also as a practical farmer. He likewise represented North York in the Provincial Parliament. When the calm came after the tumult of 1837, he was appointed one of the Superintendents of Colonization Roads. He died at Quebec in 1864.

A road turning off at right angles to the eastward out of Willowdale led to a celebrated camp-meeting ground, on the property of Mr. Jacob Cummer, one of the early German settlers. It was in a grand maple forest--a fine specimen of such trysting places. It was here that we were for the first time present at one of the peculiar assemblies referred to, which, over the whole of this northern continent, in a primitive condition of society at its several points, have fulfilled, and still fulfil, an important, and we doubt not, beneficent function.

This, as we suppose, was the scene of the camp-meeting described in Peter Jones' Autobiography. "About noon," he writes on Tuesday, the 10th of June, 1828, "started for the camp ground. When we arrived we found about three hundred Indians collected from Lake Simcoe and Scugog Lake. Most of those from Lake Simcoe have just come in from the back lakes to join with their converted brethren in the service of the Almighty God. They came in company with brother Law, and all seemed very glad to see us, giving us a hearty shake of the hand. The camp ground enclosed about two acres, which was surrounded with board tents, having one large gate for teams to go in and out, and three smaller ones.

"The Indians occupied one large tent, which was 220 feet long and 15 feet broad. It was covered overhead with boards, and the sides were made tight with laths to make it secure from any encroachments. It had four doors fronting the camp ground. In this long house the Indians arranged themselves in families, as is their custom in their wigwams. Divine service commenced towards evening. Elder Case first gave directions as to the order to be observed on the camp ground during the meetings. Brother James Richardson then preached from Acts ii. 21; after which I gave the substance in Indian, when the brethren appeared much affected and interested. Prayer-meeting in the evening. The watch kept the place illuminated during the night." The meeting continued for four days.

Where the dividing line occurs between York and Markham, at the angle on the right was the first site of the sign of the Green Bush, removed afterwards, as we have noted, to the immediate outskirts of York; and to the left, somewhere near by, was a sign that used to interest from its peculiarity, the Durweston Gate: a small white five-barred gate, hung by its topmost bar to a projection from a lofty post, and having painted on its lower bars "Durweston Gate," and the landlord's name. It was probably a reproduction by a Dorsetshire immigrant of a familiar object in his native village.

Not excluding from our notes, as will be observed, those places where Shenstone sighed to think a man often "found the warmest welcome" we must not forget Finch's--a great hostelry on the right, which we soon reached as we advanced northward, of high repute about 1836, and subsequently among excursion parties from town, and among the half-pay settlers of the Lake Simcoe region, for the contents of its larder and the quality of its cooking. Another place of similar renown was Crew's, six or eight miles further on.

When for long years, men, especially Englishmen, called by their occasions away from their homes, had been almost everywhere doomed to partake of fare too literally hard, and perilous to the health, it is not to be wondered at, when, here and there, at last a house for the accommodation of the public did spring up where, with cleanly quarters, digestible viands were to be had, that its fame should speedily spread; for is it not Dr. Samuel Johnson himself who has, perhaps rather sweepingly said, "there is nothing which has yet been contrived by man by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn."

Where a long slope towards the north begins soon after Finch's a village entitled Dundurn was once projected by Mr. Allan McNab, afterwards the famous Sir Allan, acting, we believe at the time as agent for Mr. H. J. Boulton; but Dundurn never advanced beyond incipience. The name was afterwards familiar as that of Sir Allan's chateau close by Hamilton.

A well-travelled road now soon turned off to the right leading to certain, almost historic mills in Markham, known as the German Mills. In the Gazetteer of 1799 these mills are referred to. "Markham township in the east riding of the County of York fronts Yonge Street," it is stated in that early work, "and lies to the northward of York and Scarborough. Here" it then adds "are good mills and a thriving settlement of Germans."

The German Mills are situated on Lot No. 4 in the third concession, on a portion of the Rouge or Nen--a river which the same Gazetteer informs its readers was "the back communication from the German settlement in Markham to Lake Ontario. The expectation in 1799 was, as the Gazetteer further shows, that this river, and not either the Humber or the Don, would one day be connected with the Holland river by a canal." It was not certainly known in 1794, where the river which passed the German Mills had its outlet. In Iredell's plan of Markham of that date, the stream is marked "Kitcheseepe or Great River," with a memorandum attached--"waters supposed to empty into Lake Ontario to the eastward of the Highlands of York." Information, doubtless, noted down, by Iredell, from the lips of some stray native. Kitche-seepe, "Big River" is of course simply a descriptive expression, taken as in so many instances, by the early people, to be a proper name. (It does not appear that among the aborigines there were any proper local names, in our sense of the expression.)

The German Mills were founded by Mr. Berczy, either on his own account or acting as agent for an association at New York for the promotion of German emigration to Canada. When, after failing to induce the Government to reconsider its decision in regard to the patents demanded by him for his settlers, that gentleman retired to Montreal, the German Mills with various parcels of land were advertised for sale in the Gazette of April 27, 1805, in the following strain: "Mills and land in Markham. To be sold by the subscriber for payment of debts due to the creditors of William Berczy, Esq., the mills called the German Mills, being a grist mill and a saw mill. The grist mill has a pair of French burs, and complete machinery for making and bolting superfine flour. These mills are situated on lot No. 4 in the third concession of Markham; with them will be given in, lots No. 3 and 4 in the third concession, at the option of the purchaser. Also, 300 acres being the west half of lot No. 31, and the whole of lot 32 in the second concession of Markham. Half the purchase money to be paid in hand, and half in one year with legal interest. W. Allan. N.B.--Francis Smith, who lives on lot No. 14 in the third concession, will show the premises. York, 11th March, 1805."

It appears from the same Gazette that Mr. Berczy's vacant house in York had been entered by burglars after his departure. A reward of twenty dollars is offered for their discovery. "Whereas," the advertisement runs, "the house of William Berczy, Esq., was broken open sometime during the night of the 14th instant, and the same ransacked from one end to the other; this is to give notice that whoever shall lodge an information, so that the offender or offenders may be brought to justice, shall upon conviction thereof receive Twenty Dollars. W. Chewett. York, 18th April, 1805."

We have before referred to Mr. Berczy's embarrassments, from which he never became disentangled; and to his death in New York, in 1813. His decease was thus noticed in a Boston paper, quoted by Dr. Canniff, p. 364, "Died--In the early part of the year 1813, William Berczy, Esq., aged 68; a distinguished inhabitant of Upper Canada, and highly respected for his literary acquirements. In the decease of this gentleman society must sustain an irreparable loss, and the republic of letters will have cause to mourn the death of a man eminent for genius and talent."

The German Mills were purchased and kept in operation by Capt. Nolan, of the 70th Regiment, at the time on duty in Canada; but the speculation was not a success. We have heard it stated that this Captain Nolan was the father of the officer of the same name and rank who fell in the charge of the Light Brigade at the very first outset, when, at Balaclava,

"Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred."

The Gazette of March 19, 1818, contains the following curt announcement: "Notice. The German Mills and Distillery are now in operation. For the proprietors, Alexander Patterson, Clerk, 11th March, 1818." Ten years later they are offered for sale or to lease in the U. C. Loyalist of April 5, 1828. (It will be observed that they once bore the designation of Nolanville.) "For sale or to be leased," thus runs the advertisement, "all or any part of the property known and described as Nolanville or German Mills, in the third concession of the township of Markham, consisting of four hundred acres of land, upwards of fifty under good fences and improvements, with a good dwelling-house, barn, stable, saw-mill, grist-mill, distillery, brew-house, malt-house, and several other out-buildings. The above premises will be disposed of, either the whole or in part, by application to the subscriber, William Allan, York, January 26, 1828. The premises can be viewed at any time by applying to Mr. John Duggan, residing there."

In the absence of striking architectural objects in the country at the time, we remember, about the year 1828, thinking the extensive cluster of buildings constituting the German Mills a rather impressive sight, coming upon them suddenly, in the midst of the woods, in a deserted condition, with all their windows boarded up.

One of our own associations with the German Mills is the memory of Mr. Charles Stewart Murray, afterwards well-known in York as connected with the Bank of Upper Canada. He had been thrown out of employment by Capt. Nolan's relinquishment of the mills. He was then patronized by Mr. Thorne of Thornhill.

In our boyish fancy, a romantic interest attached to Mr. Murray from his being a personal friend of Sir Walter Scott's, and from his being intimately associated with him in the excursion to the Orkneys, while the Pirate and the Lord of the Isles were simmering in the Novelist's brain. "Not a bad Re-past," playfully said Sir Walter after partaking one day of homely meat-pie at the little inn of one Rae. Lo! from Mr. Murray's talk, a minute grain to be added to Sir Walter's already huge cairn of ana. Mr. M., too, was imagined by us, quite absurdly doubtless, to be an hereditary devotee of the Pretender, if not closely allied to him by blood. (His grandfather, or other near relative, had, we believe, really been for a time secretary to Prince Charles Edward Stuart)

A mile or two beyond where the track to the German Mills turned off, Yonge Street once more encountered a branch of the Don, flowing, as usual, through a wide and difficult ravine. At the point where the stream was crossed, mills and manufactories made their appearance at an early date. The ascent of the bank towards the north was accomplished, in this instance, in no round-about way. The road went straight up. Horse-power and the strength of leather were here often severely tested.

On the rise above, began the village of Thornhill, an attractive and noticeable place from the first moment of its existence. Hereabout several English families had settled, giving a special tone to the neighbourhood. In the very heart of the village was the home, unfailingly genial and hospitable, of Mr. Parsons, one of the chief founders of the settlement; emigrating hither from Sherborne in Dorsetshire in 1820. Nearer the brow of the hill overlooking the Don, was the house of Mr. Thorne, from whom the place took its name: an English gentleman also from Dorsetshire, and associated with Mr. Parsons in the numerous business enterprises which made Thornhill for a long period a centre of great activity and prosperity. Beyond, a little further northward, lived the Gappers, another family initiating here the amenities and ways of good old west-of-England households. Dr. Paget was likewise an element of happy influence in the little world of this region, a man of high culture; formerly a medical practitioner of great repute in Torquay.

Another character of mark associated with Thornhill in its palmy days was the Rev. George Mortimer, for a series of years the pastor of the English congregation there. Had his lot been cast in the scenes of an Oberlin's labours or a Lavater's, or a Felix Neff's, his name would probably have been conspicuously classed with theirs in religious annals. He was eminently of their type. Constitutionally of a spiritual temperament, he still did not take theology to be a bar to a scientific and accurate examination of things visible. He deemed it "sad, if not actually censurable, to pass blind-folded through the works of God, to live in a world of flowers, and stars, and sunsets, and a thousand glorious objects of Nature, and never to have a passing interest awakened by any one of them." Before his emigration to Canada he had been curate of Madeley in Shropshire, the parish of the celebrated Fletcher of Madeley, whose singularly beautiful character that of Mr. Mortimer resembled. Though of feeble frame his ministerial labours were without intermission; and his lot, as Fletcher's also, was to die almost in the act of officiating in his profession.

An earlier incumbent of the English Church at Thornhill was the Rev. Isaac Fidler. This gentleman rendered famous the scene of his Canadian ministry, as well as his experiences in the United States, by a book which in its day was a good deal read. It was entitled "Observations on Professions, Literature, Manners, and Emigration in the United States and Canada." Although he indulged in some sharp strictures on the citizens of the United States, in relation to the matters indicated, and followed speedily after by the never-to-be-forgotten Mrs. Trollope, his work was reprinted by the Harpers. Mr. Fidler was a remarkable person,--of a tall Westmoreland mould, resembling the common pictures of Wordsworth. He was somewhat peculiar in his dress, wearing always an extremely high shirt-collar, very conspicuous round the whole of his neck, forming a kind of spreading white socket in which rested and revolved a head, bald, egg-shaped and spectacled. Besides being scholarly in the modern sense, Mr. Fidler possessed the more uncommon accomplishment of a familiarity with the oriental languages.

The notices in his book, of early colonial life have now to us an archaic sound. We give his narrative of the overturn of a family party on their way home from church. "The difficulty of descending a steep hill in wet weather may be imagined," he says, "The heavy rains had made it (the descent south of Thornhill) a complete puddle which afforded no sure footing to man or beast. In returning from church, the ladies and gentlemen I speak of," he continues, "had this steep hill to descend. The jaunting car being filled with people was too heavy to be kept back, and pressed heavy upon the horses. The intended youthful bridegroom (of one of the ladies) was, I was told, the charioteer. His utmost skill was ineffectually tried to prevent a general overturn. The horses became less manageable every moment. But yet the ladies and gentlemen in the vehicle were inapprehensive of danger, and their mirth and jocularity betrayed the inward pleasure they derived from his increasing straggles. At last the horses, impatient of control, and finding themselves their own masters, jerked the carriage against the parapet of the road and disengaged themselves from it. The carriage instantly turned over on its side; and as instantly all the ladies and gentlemen trundled out of it like rolling pins. Nobody was hurt in the least, for the mire was so deep that they fell very soft and were quite imbedded in it. What apologies the gentleman made I am unable to tell, but the mirth was perfectly suspended. I overtook the party at the bottom of the hill, the ladies walking homewards from the church and making no very elegant appearance."

As an example of the previously undreamt of incidents that may happen to a missionary in a backwoods settlement, we mention what occurred to ourselves when taking the duty one fine bright summer morn, many years ago, in the Thornhill Church, yet in its primitive unenlarged state. A farmer's horse that had been mooning leisurely about an adjoining field, suddenly took a fancy to the shady interior disclosed by the wide-open doors of the sacred building. Before the churchwardens or any one else could make out what the clatter meant, the creature was well up the central passage of the nave. There becoming affrighted, its ejection was an awkward affair, calling for tact and manoeuvring.

The English Church at Thornhill has had another incumbent not undistinguished in literature, the Rev. E. H. Dewar, author of a work published at Oxford in 1844, on the Theology of Modern Germany. It is in the form of letters to a friend, written from the standpoint of the Jeremy Taylor school. It is entitled "German Protestantism and the Right of Private Judgment in the Interpretation of Holy Scripture." The author's former position as chaplain to the British residents at Hamburg gave him facilities for becoming acquainted with the state of German theology. Mr. Dewar, to superior natural talents, added a refined scholarship and a wide range of accurate knowledge. He died at Thornhill in 1862.

The incumbent who preceded Mr. Dewar was the Rev. Dominic E. Blake, brother of Mr. Chancellor Blake; a clergyman also of superior talents. Previous to his emigration to Canada in 1832, he had been a curate in the county of Mayo. He died suddenly in 1859. It is remarked of him in a contemporary obituary that "his productions indicated that while intellect was in exercise his heart felt the importance of the subjects before him." These productions were numerous, in the form of valuable papers and reports, read or presented to the local Diocesan Society.

It is curious to observe that in 1798, salmon ascended the waters of the Don to this point on Yonge Street. Among the recommendations of a farm about to be offered for sale, the existence thereon of "an excellent salmon fishery" is named. Thus runs the advertisement (Gazette, May 16, 1798): "To be sold by public auction, on Monday, the 2nd of July next, at John McDougall's hotel, in the town of York, a valuable Farm, situated on Yonge Street, about twelve miles from York, on which are a good log-house, and seven or eight acres well improved. The advantages of the above farm, from the richness of its soil and its being well watered, are not equalled by many farms in the Province; and above all, it affords an excellent salmon fishery, large enough to support a number of families, which must be conceived a great advantage in this infant country. The terms will be made known on the day of sale."

As we move on from Thornhill with Vaughan on the left and Markham on the right, the name of another rather memorable early missionary recurs, whose memory is associated with both these townships--Vincent Philip Mayerhoffer.

Notwithstanding its drawbacks, early Canadian life, like early American life generally, became, in a little while, invested with a curious interest and charm; by means, for one thing, of the variety of character encountered. A man might vegetate long in an obscure village or country town of the old mother country before he rubbed against a person of V. P. Mayerhoffer's singular experience, and having his wits set in motion by a sympathetic realization of such a career as his.

He was a Hungarian; born at Raab in 1784; and had been ordained a presbyter in the National Church of Austria. On emigrating to the United States, he, being himself a Franciscan, fell into some disputes with the Jesuits at Philadelphia, and withdrew from the Latin communion and attached himself, in company with a fellow presbyter named Huber, to the Lutheran Reformed. As a recognized minister of that body he came on to Buffalo, where he officiated for four years to three congregations, visiting at the same time, occasionally, a congregation on the Canada side of the river, at Limeridge. He here, for the first time, began the study of the English language. Coming now into contact with the clergy of the Anglican communion, he finally resolved to conform to the Anglican Church, and was sent by Bishop Stewart, of Quebec, to the German settlement in Markham and Vaughan. Here he officiated for twenty years, building in that interval St. Stephen's Church in Vaughan, St. Philip's in the 3rd concession of Markham, and the Church in Markham village, and establishing a permanent congregation at each.

He was a vigorous, stirring preacher in his acquired English tongue, as well as in his vernacular German. He possessed also a colloquial knowledge of Latin, which is still a spoken language in part of Hungary. He was a man of energy to the last: ever cheerful in spirit, and abounding in anecdotes, personal or otherwise. It was from him, as we remember, we first heard the afterwards more familiarized names of Magyar and Sclave.

His brother clergy of the region where his duty lay were indebted to him for many curious glimpses at men and things in the great outer world of the continent of Europe. During the Napoleonic wars he was "Field Chaplain of the Imperial Infantry Regiment, No. 60 of the Line," and accompanied the Austrian contingent of 40,000 men furnished to Napoleon by the Emperor of Austria.--He was afterwards, when the Austrian Emperor broke away from Napoleon, taken prisoner with five regiments of the line, and sent to Dresden and Mayence. He was at the latter place when the battle of Leipsic was fought (Oct. 16, 17, 18, 19, 1813.) He now left Mayence without leave, the plague breaking out there, and got to Oppenheim, where a German presbyter named Muller concealed him, till the departure of the French out of the town. After several adventures he found his way back to the quarters of his regiment now acting in the anti-French interest at Manheim, where he duly reported himself, and was well received. After the war, from the year 1816, he had for three years the pastoral charge of Klingenmunster in the diocese of Strasbourg. He died in Whitby, in 1859.

A memoir of Mr. Meyerhoffer has been printed, and it bears the following title: "Twelve years a Roman Catholic Priest; or, the Autobiography of the Rev. V. P. Meyerhoffer, M.A., late Military Chaplain to the Austrian Army and Grand Chaplain of the Orders of Free Masons and Orangemen of Canada, B.N.A., containing an account of his career as Military Chaplain, Monk of the Order of St. Francis, and Clergyman of the Church of England in Vaughan, Markham and Whitby, C.W."

He had a musical voice which had been properly cultivated--This, he used to say, was a source of revenue to him in the early part of his public career, those clergy being in request and receiving a higher remuneration, who were able to sing the service in a superior manner. His features were strongly marked and peculiar, perhaps Mongolian in type; they were not German, English, or Italian. Were the concavity of the nose and the projection of the mouth a little more pronounced in "Elias Howe," the medallions of that personage would give a general idea of Mr. Mayerhoffer's profile and head.

In his younger days he had acquired some medical knowledge, which stood him in good stead for a time at Philadelphia, when he and Huber first renounced the Latin dogmas. His taste for the healing art was slightly indulged even after the removal to Canada, as will be seen from an advertisement which appears in the Courier of February 29, 1832. (From its wording it will be observed that Mayerhoffer had not yet become familiarized with the English language.) It is headed thus: "The use and direction of the new-invented and never-failing Wonder Salve, by D. V. P. Mayerhoffer, of Markham, U.C., H.D., 5th concession."

It then proceeds: "Amongst all in the medicine-invented unguents his salve takes the first place for remedy, whereby it not in vain obtains the name of Wonder Salve for experience taught in many cases to deserve this name; and being urged to communicate it to the public, I endeavour to satisfy to the common good of the public. It is acknowledged by all who know the virtue of it, and experienced its worth, it ought to be kept in every house, first for its inestimable goodness, and, second, because the medicine the older it gets the better it is: money spent for such will shew its effect from its beginning for twenty years, if kept in a dry place, well covered. In all instances of burns, old wounds, called running sores, for the tetter-worm or ring, &c., as the discussions and use will declare, wrapped round the box or the medicine.

"It is unnecessary to recommend by words this inestimable medicine, as its value has received the approbation of many inhabitants of this country already, who sign their names below for the surety of its virtue and the reality of its worth, declaring that they never wish to be without it in their houses by their lifetimes. In Markham, Mr. Philip Eckhardt, jun., do. do., sen., Godlieb Eckhardt, Abraham Eckhardt, John Pingel, jun., Mr. Lang, Mr. Large, John Perkins, John Schall, Charles Peterson, Luke Stantenkough, Peter March. In Vaughan, Jacob Fritcher, Daniel Stang. Recommended by Dr. Baldwin, of York. The medicine is to be had in the eighth concession of Markham, called Riarstown, by Sinclair Holden; in the fifth concession by Christopher Hevelin and T. Amos; in the town of York, in J. Baldwin's and S. Barnham's stores; on Yonge Street, by Parsons and Thorne. Price of a box, two shillings and sixpence, currency. January 11, 1832."

Military associations hang about the lands to the right and left of Richmond Hill. The original possessor of Lot No. 22 on the west side, was Captain Daniel Cozens, a gentleman who took a very active part in opposition to the revolutionary movement which resulted in the independence of the United States. He raised, at his own expense, a company of native soldiers in the royalist interest, and suffered the confiscation of a considerable estate in New Jersey. Three thousand acres in Upper Canada were subsequently granted him by the British Crown. His sons, Daniel and Shivers, also received grants. The name of Shivers Cozens is to be seen in the early plans of Markham on lots 2, 4 and 5 in the 6th concession.

Samuel died of a fit at York in 1808; but Shivers returned to New Jersey and died there, where family connexions of Captain Cozens still survive. There runs amongst them a tradition that Captain Cozens built the first house in our Canadian York. Of this we are informed by Mr. T. Cottrill Clarke, of Philadelphia. We observe in an early plan of York the name of Shivers Cozens on No. 23 in Block E, on the south side of King Street: the name of Benjamin Cozens on No. 5 on Market Street: and the name of Captain Daniel Cozens on No. 4 King Street, (new town), north side, with the date of the grant, July 20, 1799. It is thus quite likely that Captain Cozens, or a member of his family, put up buildings in York at a very early period.

We read in the Niagara Herald, of October 31, 1801, the following: "Died on the 6th ult., near Philadelphia, Captain Daniel Cozens." In the Gazette & Oracle, of January 27, 1808, we have a memorandum of the decease of Samuel Cozens: "Departed this life, on the 29th ult., Mr. Samuel D. Cozens, one of the first inhabitants of this town [York]. His remains were interred with Masonic honours on the 31st."

Another officer of the Revolutionary era was the first owner, and for several years the actual occupant, of the lot immediately opposite Captain Cozens'. This was Captain Richard Lippincott, a native of New Jersey. A bold deed of his has found a record in all the histories of the period. The narrative gives us a glimpse of some of the painful scenes attendant on wars wherein near relatives and old friends come to be set in array one against the other.

On the 12th of April, 1782, Captain Lippincott, acting under the authority of the "Board of Associated Loyalists of New York," executed by hanging, on the heights near Middleton, Joshua Huddy, an officer in the revolutionary army, as an act of retaliation,--Huddy having summarily treated, in the same way, a relative of Captain Lippincott's, Philip White, surprised within the lines of the revolutionary force, while on a stolen visit of natural affection to his mother on Christmas Day.

On Huddy's breast was fastened a paper containing the following written notice, to be read by his co-revolutionists and friends when they should discover the body suspended in the air.--"We, the Refugees, having long with grief beheld the cruel murders of our brethren, and finding nothing but such measures carrying into execution, therefore determined not to suffer without taking vengeance for the numerous cruelties; and thus begin, having made use of Captain Huddy as the first object to present to your view; and further determine to hang man for man while there is a Refugee existing. Up goes Huddy for Philip White."

When the surrender of Capt. Lippincott was refused by the Royalist authorities, Washington ordered the execution of one officer of equal rank to be selected by lot out of the prisoners in his hands. The lot fell on Capt. Charles Asgill of the Guards, aged only nineteen. He was respited however until the issue of a court-martial, promised to be held on Capt. Lippincott, should be known. The court acquitted; and Capt. Asgill only narrowly escaped the fate of Andre, through prompt intervention on the part of the French Government. The French minister of State, the Count de Vergennes, to whom there had been time for Lady Asgill, the Captain's mother, to appeal--received directions to ask his release in the conjoint names of the King and Queen as "a tribute to humanity." Washington thought proper to accede to this request; but it was not until the following year, when the revolutionary struggle ended, that Asgill and Lippincott were set at liberty.

The former lived to succeed to his father's baronetcy and to become a General officer. Colonel O'Hara, of Toronto, remembered dining at a table where a General Sir Charles Asgill was pointed out to him as having been, during the American revolutionary war, for a year under sentence of death, condemned by General Washington to be hanged in the place of another person.

Capt. Lippincott received from the Crown three thousand acres in Upper Canada. He survived until the year 1826, when, aged 81, and after enjoying half-pay for a period of forty-three years, he expired at the house of his son-in-law in York, Colonel George Taylor Denison, who gave to his own eldest son, Richard Lippincott Denison, Captain Lippincott's name. (A few miles further on, namely, in North and East Gwillimbury, General Benedict Arnold, known among United States citizens as "the traitor," received a grant of five thousand acres.)

In connexion with Richmond Hill, which now partially covers the fronts of Captain Cozens' and Captain Lippincott's lots, we subjoin what Captain Bonnycastle said of the condition of Yonge Street hereabout in 1846, in his "Canada and the Canadians."

"Behold us at Richmond Hill," he exclaims, "having safely passed the Slough of Despond which the vaunted Yonge Street mud road presents between the celebrated hamlet of St. Albans and the aforesaid hill."

And again: "We reached Richmond Hill, seventeen miles from the Landing, at about 8 o'clock (he was moving southward) having made a better day's journey than is usually accomplished on a road which will be macadamized some fine day;--for the Board of Works," he proceeds to inform the reader, "have a Polish engineer hard at work surveying it; of course, no Canadian was to be found equal to this intricate piece of engineering; and I saw a variety of sticks stuck up; but what they meant I cannot guess at. I suppose they were going to grade it, which is the favourite American term."

The prejudices of the Englishman and Royal Engineer routinier here crop out. The Polish engineer, who was commencing operations on this subdivision of Yonge Street, was Mr. Casimir Stanislaus Gzowski, whose subsequent Canadian career renders it probable that in setting up "the variety of sticks," the meaning of which Capt. Bonnycastle does after all guess at, he understood his business. We are assured that this portion of Yonge Street was in fact conspicuous for the superior excellence of its finish.

Captain Bonnycastle indulges in a further little fling at civilians who presume to undertake engineering duties, in a story which serves to fill a page or two of his book, immediately after the above remarks on Yonge Street, about Richmond Hill. He narrates an incident of his voyage out:--

"A Character," he says, "set out from England to try his fortune in Canada. He was conversing about prospects in that country, on board the vessel, with a person who knew him, but whom he knew not. 'I have not quite made up my mind,' said the character, 'as to what pursuit I shall follow in Canada; but that which brings most grist to the mill will answer best; and I hear a man may turn his hand to anything there, without the folly of an apprenticeship being necessary; for if he have only brains, bread will come; now what do you think would be the best business for my market?' 'Why,' said the gentleman, after pondering a little, 'I should advise you to try civil engineering; for they are getting up a Board of Works there, and want that branch of industry very much, for they won't take natives: nothing but foreigners and strangers will go down.' 'What is a civil engineer?' said the Character. 'A man always measuring and calculating,' responded his adviser, 'and that will just suit you.' 'So it will,' rejoined Character, and a civil engineer he became accordingly, and a very good one into the bargain, for he had brains, and had used a yard measure all his lifetime."--Who "the Character" was, we do not for certain know.

A short distance beyond Richmond Hill was the abode of Colonel Moodie, on the right,--distinguished by a flag-staff in front of it, after the custom of Lower Canada, where an officer's house used to be known in this way. (In the neighbourhood of Sorel, as we remember, in the winter of 1837, it was one of the symptoms of disaffection come to a head, when in front of a substantial habitan's home a flag-staff was suddenly seen bearing the inscription "----, Capitaine, elu par le peuple.")

Colonel Moodie's title came from his rank in the regular army. He had been Lieut.-Colonel of the 104th regiment. Sad, that a distinguished officer, after escaping the perils of the Peninsular war, and of the war with the United States here in 1812-13, should have yet, nevertheless, met with a violent death in a petty local civil tumult. He was shot, as all remember, in the troubles of 1837, while attempting to ride past Montgomery's, regardless of the insurgent challenge to stop.

"Thou might'st have dreamed of brighter hours to close thy chequered life Beneath thy country's victor-flag, sure beacon in the strife; Or in the shadow of thy home with those who mourn thee now, To whisper comfort in thine ear, to calm thine aged brow. Well! peaceful be thy changeless rest,--thine is a soldier's grave; Hearts like thine own shall mourn thy doom--meet requiem for the brave-- And ne'er 'till Freedom's ray is pale and Valour's pulse grown cold Shall be thy bright career forgot, thy gloomy fate untold."

So sang one in the columns of a local contemporary paper, in "Lines suggested by the Lamented Death of the late Colonel Moodie."

At a certain period in the history of Yonge Street, as indeed of all the leading thoroughfares of Upper Canada, about 1830-33, a frequent sign that property had changed hands, and that a second wave of population was rolling in, was the springing up, at intervals, of houses of an improved style, with surroundings, lawns, sheltering plantations, winding drives, well-constructed entrance-gates, and so on, indicating an appreciation of the elegant and the comfortable.

We recall two instances of this, which we used to contemplate with particular interest, a little way beyond Richmond Hill, on the left: the cosy, English-looking residences, not far apart, with a cluster of appurtenances round each--of Mr. Larratt Smith, and Mr. Francis Boyd. Both gentlemen settled here with their families in 1836.

Mr. Smith had been previously in Canada in a military capacity during the war of 1812-13, and for many years subsequently he had been Chief Commissary of the Field Train Department and Paymaster of the Artillery. He died at Southampton in 1860.

Mr. Boyd, who emigrated hither from the county of Kent, was one of the first, in these parts, to import from England improved breeds of cattle. In his house was to be seen a collection of really fine paintings, amongst them a Holbein, a Teniers, a Dominichino, a Smirke, a Wilkie, and two Horace Vernets. The families of Mr. Boyd and Mr. Smith were related by marriage. Mr. Boyd died in Toronto in 1861.

Beyond Mr. Boyd's, a solitary house, on the same side of Yonge Street, lying back near the woods, used to be eyed askance in passing:--its occupant and proprietor, Mr. Kinnear, had in 1843 been murdered therein by his man-servant, assisted by a female domestic. It was imagined by them that a considerable sum of money had just been brought to the house by Mr. Kinnear. Both criminals would probably have escaped justice had not Mr. F. C. Capreol, of Toronto, on the spur of the moment, and purely from a sense of duty to the public, undertaken their capture, which he cleverly effected at Lewiston in the United States.

The land now began to be somewhat broken as we ascended the rough and long-uncultivated region known as the Oak Ridges. The predominant tree in the primitive forest here was the pine, which attained a gigantic size; but specimens of the black oak were intermingled.

Down in one of the numerous clefts and chasms which were to be seen in this locality, in a woody dell on the right, was Bond's Lake, a pretty crescent-shaped sheet of water. We have the surrounding property offered for sale in a Gazette of 1805, in the following terms; "For Sale, Lots No. 62 and 63, in the first concession of the township of Whitchurch, on the east side of Yonge Street, containing 380 acres of land: a deed in fee simple will be given by the subscriber to any person inclined to purchase. Johnson Butler. N.B. The above lots include the whole of the Pond commonly called Bond's Lake, the house and clearing round the same. For particulars enquire of Mr. R. Ferguson and Mr. T. B. Gough at York, and the subscriber at Niagara. March 23, 1805."

Bond's farm and lake had their name from Mr. William Bond, who so early as 1800 had established in York a Nursery Garden, and introduced there most of the useful fruits. In 1801 Mr. Bond was devising to sell his York property, as appears from a quaint advertisement in a Gazette of that year. He therein professes to offer his lot in York as a free gift; the recipient however being at the same time required to do certain things.

"To be given away," he says, "that beautifully situated lot No. one, fronting on Ontario and Duchess Streets: the buildings thereon are--a small two-and-a-half storey house, with a gallery in front, which commands a view of the lake and the bay: in the cellar a never failing spring of fine water; and a stream of fine water running through one corner of the lot; there is a good kitchen in the rear of the house, and a stable sufficient for two cows and two horses, and the lot is in good fence.

"The conditions are, with the person or persons who accept of the above present, that he, she or they purchase not less than two thousand apple-trees at three shillings, New York currency, each; after which will be added, as a further present, about one hundred apple, thirty peach, and fourteen cherry trees, besides wild plums, wild cherries, English gooseberries, white and red currants, &c. There are forty of the above apple trees, as also the peach and cherry trees, planted regular, as an orchard, much of which appeared in blossom last spring, and must be considered very valuable: also as a kitchen garden, will sufficiently recommend itself to those who may please to view it.--The above are well calculated for a professional or independent gentleman; being somewhat retired--about half-way from the Lake to the late Attorney General's and opposite the town-farm of the Hon. D. W. Smith [afterwards Mr. Allan's property.] Payment will be made easy; a good deed; and possession given at any time from the first of November to the first of May next. For further particulars enquire of the subscriber on the premises. William Bond. York, Sep. 4, 1801."--The price expected was, as will be made out, 750 dollars. The property was evidently the northern portion of what became afterwards the homestead-plot of Mr. Surveyor General Ridout.

It would appear that Mr. Bond's property did not find a purchaser on this occasion. In 1804 he is advertising it again, but now to be sold by auction, with his right and title to the lot on Yonge Street. In the Gazette of August 4, 1804, we read as follows:--"To be sold by auction, at Cooper's tavern, in York, on Monday, the twentieth day of August next, at eleven o'clock in the forenoon (if not previously disposed of by private contract), that highly cultivated lot opposite the Printing Office [Bennett's] containing one acre, together with a nursery thereon of about ten thousand apple, three hundred peach, and twenty pear trees, and an orchard containing forty-one apple trees fit for bearing, twenty-seven of which are full of fruit; thirty peach and nine cherry trees full of fruit; besides black and red plums, red and white currants, English gooseberries, lilacs, rose bushes, &c., &c., also a very rich kitchen garden.

"The buildings are a two-and-a-half storey house, a good cellar, stable and smokehouse. On the lot is a never-failing spring of excellent water, and fine creek running through one corner most part of the year. The above premises might be made very commodious for a gentleman at a small expense; or for a tanner, brewer, or distiller, must be allowed the most convenient place in York. A view of the premises (by any person or persons desirous of purchasing the same) will be sufficient recommendation. The nursery is in such a state of forwardness that if sold in from two to three years (at which time the apple trees will be fit to transplant) at the moderate price of one shilling each, would repay a sum double of that asked for the whole, and leave a further gain to the purchasers of the lot, buildings, and flourishing orchard thereon. A good title to the above, and possession given at any time after the first of October next.

"Also at the same time and place the right as per Register, to one hundred acres in front of lot 62, east side Yonge Street, for which a deed can be procured at pleasure, and the remainder of the lot procured for a small sum. It is an excellent soil for orchard, grain and pasture land. There is a field of ten acres in fence besides other clearing. It is a beautiful situation, having part of the Lake commonly called Bond's Lake, within the said lot, which affords a great supply of Fish and Fowl. Terms of payment will be made known on the day of sale. For further particulars enquire of the subscriber on the former premises, or the printer hereof. William Bond. York, 27th June, 1804."

Thirty years later we meet with an advertisement in which the price is named at which Lot No. 63 could have been secured. Improvements expected speedily to be made on Yonge Street are therein referred to. In a Gazette of 1834 we have: "A delightful situation on Yonge Street, commonly called Bond's Farm, containing 190 acres, beautifully situated on Bond's Lake upon Yonge Street, distant about 16 miles from the city of Toronto: price L350. The picturesque beauty of this lot," the advertisement says, "and its proximity to the flourishing capital of Upper Canada, make it a most desirable situation for a gentleman of taste. The stage-coaches between Toronto and Holland Landing and Newmarket pass the place daily; and there appears every prospect of Yonge Street either having a railroad or being macadamized very shortly. Apply (if by letter, free of postage) to Robert Ferrie, at Hamilton, the proprietor."

In the advertisement of 1805, given above, Bond's Lake is styled a pond. The small lakes in these hills seemed, of course, to those who had become familiarized with the great lakes, simply ponds. The term "lake" applied to Ontario, Huron, and the rest, has given a very inadequate idea of the magnitude and appearance of those vast expanses, to externs who imagine them to be picturesque sheets of water somewhat exceeding in size, but resembling, Windermere, Loch Lomond, or possibly Lake Leman. "Sea" would have conveyed a juster notion: not however to the German, who styles the lakes of Switzerland and the Tyrol, "seas."

Bond's Lake inn, the way-side stopping place in the vale where Yonge Street skirts the lake, used to be, in an especial degree, of the old country cast, in its appliances, its fare, its parlours and other rooms.

XXVII.

YONGE STREET: FROM BOND'S LAKE TO THE HOLLAND LANDING, WITH DIGRESSIONS TO NEWMARKET AND SHARON.

We now speedily passed Drynoch, lying off to the left, on elevated land, the abode of Capt. Martin McLeod, formerly of the Isle of Skye. The family and domestic group systematized on a large scale at Drynoch here, was a Canadian reproduction of a chieftain's household.

Capt. McLeod was a Scot of the Norse vikinger type, of robust manly frame, of noble, frank, and tender spirit; an Ossianist too, and, in the Scandinavian direction, a philologist. Sir Walter Scott would have made a study of Capt. McLeod, and may have done so. He was one of eight brothers who all held commissions in the army. His own military life extended from 1808 to 1832. As an officer successively of the 27th, the 79th, and the 25th regiments, he saw much active service. He accompanied the force sent over to this continent in the War of 1812-13. It was then that he for the first time saw the land which was to be his final home. He was present, likewise, at the affair of Plattsburg; and also, we believe, at the attack on New Orleans. He afterwards took part in the so-called Peninsular war, and received a medal with four clasps for Toulouse, Orthes, Nive, and Nivelle. He missed Waterloo, "unfortunately," as he used to say; but he was present with the allied troops in Paris during the occupation of that city in 1815. Of the 25th regiment he was for many years adjutant, and then paymaster. Three of his uncles were general officers.

It is not inappropriate to add that the Major McLeod who received the honour of a Companionship in the Order of St. Michael and St. George for distinguished service in the Red River Expedition of 1870, was a son of Captain McLeod of Drynoch.

That in and about the Canadian Drynoch Gaelic should be familiarly heard was in keeping with the general character of the place. The ancient Celtic tongue was in fact a necessity, as among the dependents of the house there were always some who had never learned the English language. Drynoch was the name of the old home in Skye. The Skye Drynoch was an unfenced, hilly pasture farm, of about ten miles in extent, yielding nutriment to herds of wild cattle and some 8,000 sheep. Within its limits a lake, Loch Brockadale, is still the haunt of the otter, which is hunted by the aid of the famous terriers of the island; a mountain stream abounds with salmon and trout; while the heather and bracken of the slopes shelter grouse and other game.

Whittaker, in his History of Whalley, quoted by Hallam in his Middle Ages, describes the aspect which, as he supposes, a certain portion of England presented to the eye, as seen from the top of Pendle Hill, in Yorkshire, in the Saxon times. The picture which he draws we in Canada can realize with great perfectness. "Could a curious observer of the present day," he says, "carry himself nine or ten centuries back, and ranging the summit of Pendle, survey the forked vale of Calder on one side and the bolder margins of Ribble and Hodder on the other, instead of populous towns and villages, the castles, the old tower-built house, the elegant modern mansion, the artificial plantation, the enclosed park and pleasure-ground, instead of uninterrupted enclosures which have driven sterility almost to the summit of the fells, how great then must have been the contrast when, ranging either at a distance or immediately beneath, his eye must have caught vast tracts of forest-ground, stagnating with bog or darkened by native woods, where the wild ox, the roe, the stag and the wolf, had scarcely learned the supremacy of man, when, directing his view to the intermediate spaces, to the widening of the valleys, or expanse of plains beneath, he could only have distinguished a few insulated patches of culture, each encircling a village of wretched cabins, among which would still be remarked one rude mansion of wood, scarcely equal in comfort to a modern cottage, yet there rising proudly eminent above the rest, where the Saxon lord, surrounded by his faithful cotarii, enjoyed a rude and solitary independence, having no superior but his sovereign."

This writer asks us to carry ourselves nine or ten centuries back, to realize the picture which he has conceived. From the upland here in the vicinity of Drynoch, less than half a century ago, gazing southwards over the expanse thence to be commanded, we should have beheld a scene closely resembling that which, as he supposed, was seen from the summit of Pendle in the Saxon days; while at the present day we see everywhere, throughout the same expanse, an approximation to the old mother-lands, England, Ireland, and Scotland, in condition and appearance: in its style of agriculture, and the character of its towns, villages, hamlets, farm-houses, and country villas.

We now entered a region once occupied by a number of French military refugees. During the revolution in France, at the close of the last century, many of the devotees of the royalist cause passed over into England, where, as elsewhere, they were known and spoken of as emigres. Amongst them were numerous officers of the regular army, all of them, of course, of the noblesse order, or else, as the inherited rule was, no commission in the King's service could have been theirs. When now the royal cause became desperate, and they had suffered the loss of all their worldly goods, the British Government of the day, in its sympathy for the monarchical cause in France, offered them grants of land in the newly organized province of Upper Canada.

Some of them availed themselves of the generosity of the British Crown. Having been comrades in arms they desired to occupy a block of contiguous lots. Whilst there was yet almost all western Canada to choose from, by some chance these Oak Ridges, especially difficult to bring under cultivation and somewhat sterile when subdued, were preferred, partly perhaps through the influence of sentiment; they may have discovered some resemblance to regions familiar to themselves in their native land. Or in a mood inspired and made fashionable by Rousseau they may have longed for a lodge in some vast wilderness, where the "mortal coil" which had descended upon the old society of Europe should no longer harass them. When twitted by the passing wayfarer who had selected land in a more propitious situation, they would point to the gigantic boles of the surrounding pines in proof of the intrinsic excellence of the soil below, which must be good, they said, to nourish such a vegetation.

After all, however, this particular locality may have been selected rather for them than by them. On the early map of 1798 a range of nine lots on each side of Yonge Street, just here in the Ridges, is bracketed and marked, "French Royalists: by order of his Honor," i.e., the President, Peter Russell. A postscript to the Gazetteer of 1799 gives the reader the information that "lands have been appropriated in the year of York as a refuge for some French Royalists, and their settlement has commenced."

On the Vaughan side, No. 56 was occupied conjointly by Michel Saigeon and Francis Reneoux; No. 57 by Julien le Bugle; No. 58 by Rene Aug. Comte de Chalus, Amboise de Farcy and Quetton St. George conjointly; No. 59 by Quetton St. George; No. 60 by Jean Louis Vicomte de Chalus. In King, No. 61 by Rene Aug. Comte de Chalus and Augustin Boiton conjointly. On the Markham side: No. 52 is occupied by the Comte de Puisaye; No. 53 by Rene Aug. Comte de Chalus; No. 54 by Jean Louis Vicomte de Chalus and Rene Aug. Comte de Chalus conjointly;--No. 55 by Jean Louis Vicomte de Chalus; No. 66 by le Chevalier de Marseuil and Michael Fauchard conjointly; No. 57 by the Chev. de Marseuil; No. 58 by Rene Letourneaux, Augustin Boiton and J. L. Vicomte de Chalus conjointly; No. 59 by Quetton St. George and Jean Furon conjointly; No. 60 by Amboise de Farcy. In Whitchurch, No. 61 by Michel Saigeon.

After felling the trees in a few acres of their respective allotments, some of these emigres withdrew from the country. Hence in the Ridges was to be seen here and there the rather unusual sight of abandoned clearings returning to a state of nature.

The officers styled Comte and Vicomte de Chalus derived their title from the veritable domain and castle of Chalus in Normandy, associated in the minds of young readers of English History with the death of Richard Coeur de Lion. Jean Louis de Chalus, whose name appears on numbers 54 and in 55 Markham and on other lots, was a Major-General in the Royal Army of Brittany. At the balls given by the Governor and others at York, the jewels of Madame la Comtesse created a great sensation, wholly surpassing everything of the kind that had hitherto been seen by the ladies of Upper Canada. Amboise de Farcy, of No. 58 in Vaughan and No. 60 in Markham, had also the rank of General. Augustin Boiton, of No. 48 in Markham and No. 61 in Vaughan, was a Lieutenant-Colonel.

The Comte de Puisaye, of No. 52 in Markham, figures conspicuously in the contemporary accounts of the royalist struggle against the Convention. He himself published in London in 1803 five octavo volumes of Memoirs, justificatory of his proceedings in that contest. Carlyle in his "French Revolution" speaks of de Puisaye's work, and, referring to the so-called Calvados war, says that those who are curious in such matters may read therein "how our Girondin National forces, i.e., the Moderates, marching off with plenty of wind music, were drawn out about the old chateau of Brecourt, in the wood-country near Vernon (in Brittany), to meet the Mountain National forces (the Communist) advancing from Paris. How on the fifteenth afternoon of July, 1793, they did meet:--and, as it were, shrieked mutually, and took mutually to flight, without loss. How Puisaye thereafter,--for the Mountain Nationals fled first, and we thought ourselves the victors,--was roused from his warm bed in the Castle of Brecourt and had to gallop without boots; our Nationals in the night watches having fallen unexpectedly into sauve qui peut."

Carlyle alludes again to this misadventure, when approaching the subject of the Quiberon expedition, two years later, towards the close of La Vendee war. Affecting for the moment a prophetic tone, in his peculiar way Carlyle proceeds thus, introducing at the close of his sketch de Puisaye once more, who was in command of the invading force spoken of, although not undividedly so. "In the month of July, 1795, English ships," he says, "will ride in Quiberon roads. There will be debarkation of chivalrous ci-devants, (i.e. ex-noblesse), of volunteer prisoners of war--eager to desert; of fire-arms, proclamations, clothes chests, royalists, and specie. Whereupon also, on the Republican side, there will be rapid stand-to arms; with ambuscade-marchings by Quiberon beach at midnight; storming of Fort Penthievre; war-thunder mingling with the roar of the mighty main; and such a morning light as has seldom dawned; debarkation hurled back into its boats, or into the devouring billows, with wreck and wail;--in one word, a ci-devant Puisaye as totally ineffectual here as he was at Calvados, when he rode from Vernon Castle without boots."

The impression which Carlyle gives of M. de Puisaye is not greatly bettered by what M. de Lamartine says of him in the History of the Girondists, when speaking of him in connexion with the affair near the Chateau of Brecourt. He is there ranked with adventurers rather than heroes. "This man," de Lamartine says, "was at once an orator, a diplomatist, and a soldier,--a character eminently adapted for civil war, which produces more adventurers than heroes." De Lamartine describes how, prior to the repulse at Chateau Brecourt, "M. de Puisaye had passed a whole year concealed in a cavern in the midst of the forests of Brittany, where, by his manoeuvres and correspondence he kindled the fire of revolt against the republic." He professed to act in the interest of the moderates, believing that, through his influence, they would at last be induced to espouse heartily the cause of constitutional royalty.

Thiers, in his "History of the French Revolution," vii. 146, speaks in respectful terms of Puisaye. He says that "with great intelligence and extraordinary skill in uniting the elements of a party, he combined extreme activity of body and mind, and vast ambition:" and even after Quiberon, Thiers says "it was certain that Puisaye had done all that lay in his power." De Puisaye ended his days in England, in the neighbourhood of London, in 1827.--In one of the letters of Mr. Surveyor Jones we observe some of the improvements of the Oak Ridges spoken of as "Puisaye's Town."

It is possibly to the settlement, then only in contemplation, of emigres here in the Oak Ridges of Yonge Street, that Burke alludes, when in his Reflections on the French Revolution he says: "I hear that there are considerable emigrations from France, and that many, quitting that voluptuous climate and that seductive Circean liberty, have taken refuge in the frozen regions, and under the British despotism, of Canada."

"The frozen regions of Canada," the great rhetorician's expression in this place, has become a stereotyped phrase with declaimers. The reports of the first settlers at Tadousac and Quebec made an indelible impression on the European mind. To this day in transatlantic communities, it is realized only to a limited extent that Canada has a spring, summer and autumn as well as a winter, and that her skies wear an aspect not always gloomy and inhospitable. "British despotism" is, of course, ironically said, and means, in reality, British constitutional freedom. (In some instances these Royalist officers appear to have accepted commissions from the British Crown, and so to have become nominally entitled to grants of land.)

There are some representatives of the original emigres still to be met with in the neighbourhood of the Oak Ridges; but they have not in every instance continued to be seised of the lands granted in 1798. The Comte de Chalus, son of Rene Augustin, retains property here; but he resides in Montreal.

An estate, however, at the distance of one lot eastward from Yonge Street, in Whitchurch, is yet in the actual occupation of a direct descendant of one of the first settlers in this region. Mr. Henry Quetton St. George here engages with energy in the various operations of a practical farmer, on land inherited immediately from his father, the Chevalier de St. George, at the same time dispensing to his many friends a refined hospitality. If at Glenlonely the circular turrets and pointed roofs of the old French chateau are not to be seen,--what is of greater importance, the amenities and gentle life of the old French chateau are to be found. Moreover, by another successful enterprise added to agriculture, the present proprietor of Glenlonely has brought it to pass that the name of St. George is no longer suggestive, as in the first instance it was, of wars in La Vendee and fightings on the Garonne and Dordogne, but redolent in Canada, far and wide, only of vineyards in Languedoc and of pleasant wines from across the Pyrenees.

A large group of superior farm buildings, formerly seen on the right just after the turn which leads to Glenlonely, bore the graceful name of Larchmere,--an appellation glancing at the mere or little lake within view of the windows of the house: a sheet of water more generally known as Lake Willcocks--so called from an early owner of the spot, Col. Willcocks, of whom we have spoken in another section. Larchmere was for some time the home of his great grandson, William Willcocks Baldwin. The house has since been destroyed by fire.

Just beneath the surface of the soil on the borders of the lakelets of the Ridges, was early noticed a plentiful deposit of white shell-marl, resembling the substance brought up from the oozy floor of the Atlantic in the soundings preparatory to laying the telegraph-cable. It was, in fact, incipient chalk. It used to be employed in the composition of a whitewash for walls and fences. It may since have been found of value as a manure. In these quarters, as elsewhere in Canada, fine specimens of the antlers of the Wapiti, or great American stag, were occasionally dug up.

The summit level of the Ridges was now reached, the most elevated land in this part of the basin of the St. Lawrence; a height, however, after all, of only about eight hundred feet above the level of the sea. The attention of the wayfarer was hereabout always directed to a small stream, which the road crossed, flowing out of Lake Willcocks: and then a short distance further on, he was desired to notice a slight swale or shallow morass on the left. The stream in question, he was told, was the infant Humber, just starting south for Lake Ontario; while the swale or morass, he was assured, was a feeder of the east branch of the Holland River, flowing north into Lake Simcoe.

Notwithstanding the comparative nearness to each other of the waters of the Holland and the Humber, thus made visible to the eye, the earliest project of a canal in these parts was, as has once before been observed, for the connection, not of the Holland river and the Humber, but of the Holland river and the Rouge or Nen. The Mississaga Indians attached great importance to the Rouge and its valley as a link in one of their ancient trails between Huron and Ontario; and they seem to have imparted to the first white men their own notions on the subject. "It apparently rises," says the Gazetteer of 1799, speaking of the Rouge or Nen, "in the vicinity of one of the branches of Holland's river, with which it will probably, at some future period, be connected by a canal." A "proposed canal" is accordingly here marked on one of the first manuscript maps of Upper Canada.

Father St. Lawrence and Father Mississippi pour their streams--so travellers assure us--from urns situated at no great distance apart. Lake Itaska and its vicinity, just west of Lake Superior, possess a charm for this reason. In like manner, to compare small things with great, the particular quarter of the Ridges where the waters of the Humber and the Holland used to be seen in near proximity to each other, had always with ourselves a special interest. Two small lakes, called respectively Lake Sproxton and Lake Simon, important feeders of the Rouge, a little to the east of the Glenlonely property, are situated very close to the streams that pass into the east branch of the Holland river; so that the conjecture of the author of the Gazetteer was a good one. He says, "apparently the sources of the Rouge and Holland lie near each other."

After passing the notable locality of the Ridges just spoken of, the land began perceptibly to decline; and soon emerging from the confused glens and hillocks and woods that had long on every side been hedging in the view, we suddenly came out upon a brow where a wide prospect was obtained, stretching far to the north, and far to the east and west. From such an elevation the acres here and there denuded of their woods by the solitary axemen could not be distinguished; accordingly, the panorama presented here for many a year continued to be exactly that which met the eyes of the first exploring party from York in 1793.

As we used to see it, it seemed in effect to be an unbroken forest; in the foreground bold and billowy and of every variety of green; in the middle distance assuming neutral, indistinct tints, as it dipped down into what looked like a wide vale; then apparently rising by successive gentle stages, coloured now deep violet, now a tender blue, up to the line of the sky. In a depression in the far horizon, immediately in front, was seen the silvery sheen of water. This, of course, was the lake known since 1793 as Lake Simcoe; but previously spoken of by the French sometimes as Lake Sinion or Sheniong; sometimes as Lake Ouentironk, Ouentaron, and Toronto--the very name which is so familiar to us now, as appertaining to a locality thirty miles southward of this lake.

The French also in their own tongue sometimes designated it, perhaps for some reason connected with fishing operations, Lac aux Claies, Hurdle Lake. Thus in the Gazetteer of 1799 we have "Simcoe Lake: formerly Lake aux Claies, Ouentironk, Sheniong, situated between York and Gloucester upon Lake Huron: it has a few small islands and several good harbours." And again on another page of the same Gazetteer, we have the article: "Toronto Lake (or Toronto): lake le Clie [i. e. Lac aux Claies] was formerly so called by some: (others," the same article proceeds to say, "called the chain of lakes from the vicinity of Matchedash towards the head of the Bay of Quinte, the Toronto lakes and the communication from the one to the other was called the Toronto river:" whilst in another place in the Gazetteer we have the information given us that the Humber was also styled the Toronto river, thus: "Toronto river, called by some St. John's; now called the Humber.")

The region of which we here obtained a kind of Pisgah view, where

"The bursting prospect spreads immense around"

on the northern brow of the Ridges, is a classic one, renowned in the history of the Wyandots or Hurons, and in the early French missionary annals.

It did not chance to enter into the poet Longfellow's plan to lay the scene of any portion of his song of Hiawatha so far to the eastward; and the legends gathered by him

From the great lakes of the Northland, From the mountains, moors and fenlands, Where the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, Feeds among the reeds and rushes--

tell of an era just anterior to the period when this district becomes invested with interest for us. Francis Parkman, however, in an agreeably written work, entitled "The Jesuits in North America in the Seventeenth Century," has dwelt somewhat at length on the history of this locality, which is the well-peopled Toronto region, lieu ou il y a beaucoup de gens, of which we have formerly spoken. (p. 74.)

In the early Reports of the Jesuit fathers themselves, too, this area figures largely. They, in fact, constructed a map, which must have led the central mission-board of their association, at Rome, to believe that this portion of Western Canada was as thickly strewn with villages and towns as a district of equal area in old France. In the "Chorographia Regionis Huronum," attached to Father du Creux's Map of New France, of the date 1660, given in Bressani's Abridgment of "the Relations," we have the following places conspicuously marked as stations or sub-missions in the peninsula bounded by Notawasaga bay, Matchedash or Sturgeon bay, the river Severn, Lake Couchichin, and Lake Simcoe, implying population in and round each of them:--St. Xavier, St. Charles, St. Louis, St. Ignatius, St. Denis, St. Joachim, St. Athanasius, St. Elizabeth, St. John the Baptist, St. Joseph, St. Mary, St. Michael, La Conception, St. Mary Magdalene, and others.

(In Schoolcraft's American Indians, p. 130, ed. 1851, the scene of the story of Aingodon and Naywadaha is laid at Toronto, by which a spot near Lake Simcoe seems to be meant, and not the trading-post of Toronto on Lake Ontario.)

But we must push on. The end of our journey is in sight. The impediments to our advance have been innumerable, but unavoidable. In spite of appearances, "Semper ad eventum festina," has all along been secretly goading us forward.

The farmhouses and their surroundings in the Quaker settlement through which, after descending from the Ridges on the northern side, we passed, came to be notable at an early date for a characteristic neatness, completeness, and visible judiciousness; and for an air of enviable general comfort and prosperity. The farmers here were emigrants chiefly from Pennsylvania. Coming from a quarter where large tracts had been rapidly transformed by human toil from a state of nature to a condition of high cultivation, they brought with them an inherited experience in regard to such matters; and on planting themselves down in the midst of an unbroken wild, they regarded the situation with more intelligence perhaps than the ordinary emigrant from the British Islands and interior of Germany, and so, unretarded by blunders and by doubts as to the issue, were enabled very speedily to turn their industry to profitable account.

The old Gazetteer of 1799 speaks in an exalted sentimental strain of an emigration then going on from the United States into Canada. "The loyal peasant," it says, "sighing after the government he lost by the late revolution, travels from Pennsylvania in search of his former laws and protection; and having his expectations fulfilled by new marks of favour from the Crown in a grant of lands, he turns his plough at once into these fertile plains [the immediate reference is to the neighbourhood of Woodhouse on Lake Erie], and an abundant crop reminds him of his gratitude to his God and to his king."

We do not know for certain whether the Quaker settlers of the region north of the Ridges came into Canada under the influence of feelings exactly such as those described by the Gazetteer of 1799. In 1806, however, we find them coming forward in a body to congratulate a new Lieutenant-Governor on his arrival in Upper Canada. In the Gazette of Oct. 4, 1806, we read: "On Tuesday, the 30th September (1806), the following address from the Quakers residing on Yonge Street was presented to his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor: "The Society of the people called Quakers, to Francis Gore, Governor of Upper Canada, sendeth greeting. Notwithstanding we are a people who hold forth to the world a principle which in many respects differs from the greater part of mankind, yet we believe it our reasonable duty, as saith the Apostle, 'Submit yourselves unto every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be the king as supreme, or unto governors as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well:' in this we hope to be his humble and peaceful subjects. Although we cannot for conscience sake join with many of our fellow-mortals in complimentary customs of man, neither in taking up the sword in order to shed human blood--for the Scripture saith that 'it is righteousness that exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people'--we feel concerned for thy welfare and the prosperity of the province, hoping thy administration may be such as to be a terror to the evil-minded and a pleasure to them that do well: then will the province flourish and prosper under thy direction; which is the earnest desire and prayer of thy sincere friends.--Read and approved in Yonge Street monthly meeting, held the 18th day of the ninth month, 1806. Timothy Rogers and Amos Armitage are appointed to attend on the Governor therewith." Signed by order of the said meeting, Nathaniel Pearson, clerk."

To this address, characteristic alike in the peculiar syntax of its sentences and in the well-meant platitudes to which it gives expression, his Excellency was pleased to return the following answer: "I return you my thanks for your dutiful address and for your good wishes for my welfare and prosperity of this province. I have no doubt of your proving peaceful and good subjects to his Majesty, as well as industrious and respectable members of society. I shall at all times be happy to afford to such persons my countenance and support. Francis Gore, Lieut.-Governor. Government House, York, Upper Canada, 30th Sept., 1806."

The Timothy Rogers here named bore a leading part in the first establishment of the Quaker settlement. He and Jacob Lundy were the two original managers of its affairs. On the arrival of Governor Peter Hunter, predecessor to Gov. Gore, Timothy Rogers and Jacob Lundy with a deputation from the settlement, came into town to complain to him of the delay which they and their co-religionists had experienced in obtaining the patents for their lands.

Governor Hunter, who was also Commander-in-Chief and a Lieut.-General in the army, received them in the garrison, and after hearing how on coming to York on former occasions they had been sent about from one office to another for a reply to their inquiries about the patents, he requested them to come to him again the next day at noon. Orders were at the same instant despatched to Mr. D. W. Smith, the Surveyor-General, to Mr. Small, Clerk of the Executive Council, to Mr. Burns, Clerk of the Crown, and to Mr. Jarvis, Secretary and Registrar of the Province (all of whom it appeared at one time or another had failed to reply satisfactorily to the Quakers), to wait at the same hour on the Lieut.-Governor, bringing with them, each respectively, such papers and memoranda as might be in their possession, having relation to patents for lands in Whitchurch and King.

Governor Hunter had a reputation for considerable severity of character; and all functionaries, from the judge on the bench to the humblest employe, held office in those days very literally during pleasure.

"These gentlemen complain,"--the personages above enumerated having duly appeared, together with the deputation from Yonge Street--"These gentlemen complain," the Governor said, pointing to the Quakers, "that they cannot get their patents."

Each of the official personages present offered in succession some indistinct observations; expressive it would seem of a degree of regret, and hinting exculpatory reasons, so far as he individually was concerned.

On closer interrogation, one thing however came out very clear, that the order for the patents was more than twelve months old.

At length the onus of blame seemed to settle down on the head of the Secretary and Registrar, Mr. Jarvis, who could only say that really the pressure of business in his office was so great that he had been absolutely unable, up to the present moment, to get ready the particular patents referred to.

"Sir!" was the Governor's immediate rejoinder, "if they are not forthcoming, every one of them, and placed in the hands of these gentlemen here in my presence at noon on Thursday next (it was now Tuesday), by George! I'll un-Jarvis you!"--implying, as we suppose, a summary conge as Secretary and Registrar.

It is needless to say that Mr. Rogers and his colleagues of the deputation carried back with them to Whitchurch lively accounts of the vigour and rigour of the new Governor--as well as their patents.

General Hunter was very peremptory in his dismissals occasionally. In a Gazette of July 16, 1803, is to be seen an ominous announcement that the Governor is going to be very strict with the Government clerks in regard to hours: "Lieut.-Governor's office, 21st June, 1803. Notice is hereby given that regular attendance for the transaction of the public business of the Province will in future be given at the office of the Secretary of the Province, the Executive Council office, and the Surveyor-General's office, every day in the year (Sundays, Good Friday, and Christmas day only excepted) from ten o'clock in the morning until three in the afternoon, and from five o'clock in the afternoon until seven in the evening. By order of the Lieutenant-Governor, Jas. Green, Secretary."

Soon after the appearance of this notice, it happened one forenoon that young Alexander Macnab, a clerk in one of the public offices, was innocently watching the Governor's debarkation from a boat, preparatory to his being conveyed up to the Council-chamber in a sedan-chair which was in waiting for him. The youth suddenly caught his Excellency's eye, and was asked--"What business he had to be there? Did he not belong to the Surveyor-General's office? Sir! your services are no longer required!"

For this same young Macnab, thus summarily dismissed, Governor Hunter, we have been told, procured subsequently a commission. He attained the rank of captain and met a soldier's fate on the field of Waterloo, the only Upper Canadian known to have been engaged or to have fallen in that famous battle. (We have before mentioned that so late as 1868, Captain Macnab's Waterloo medal was presented, by the Duke of Cambridge personally, to the Rev. Dr. Macnab, of Bowmanville, nephew of the deceased officer.)

Two stray characteristic items relating to Governor Hunter may here be subjoined. The following was his brief reply to the Address of the Inhabitants of York on his arrival there in 1799:--"Gentlemen, nothing that is in my power shall be wanting to contribute to the happiness and welfare of this colony." (Gazette, Aug. 24, 1799)--At Niagara, an Address from "the mechanics and husbandmen" was refused by him, on the ground that an address professedly from the inhabitants generally had been presented already. On this, the Constellation of Sep. 10 (1799), prints the following "anecdote," which is a hit at Gov. Hunter. "Anecdote.--When Governor Simcoe arrived at Kingston on his way here to take upon him the government of the Province, the magistrates and gentlemen of that town presented him with a very polite address. It was politely and verbally answered. The inhabitants of the country and town, who move not in the upper circles, presented theirs. And this also his Excellency very politely answered, and the answer being in writing, is carefully preserved to this day."

Among the patents carried home by Mr. Timothy Rogers, above named, were at least seven in which he was more or less personally interested. His own lot was 95 on the west or King side of Yonge Street. Immediately in front of him on the Whitchurch or east side, on lots 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, and 96, all in a row, were enjoyed by sons or near relatives of his, bearing the names respectively of Rufus Rogers, Asa Rogers, Isaac Rogers, Wing Rogers, James Rogers, and Obadiah Rogers.

Mr. Lundy's name does not appear among those of the original patentees; but lots or portions of lot in the "Quaker Settlement" are marked at an earlier period with the names of Shadrach Lundy, Oliver Lundy, Jacob Lundy, Reuben Lundy, and perhaps more.

In the region just beyond the Ridges there were farmers also of the community known as Mennonists or Tunkers. Long beards, when such appendages were rarities, dangling hair, antique-shaped, buttonless, home-spun coats, and wide-brimmed low-crowned hats, made these persons conspicuous in the street. On the seat of a loaded country-waggon, or on the back of a solitary rustic nag, would now and then be seen a man of this community, who might pass for John Huss or John a Lasco, as represented in the pictures. It was always curious to gaze upon these waifs and strays from old Holland, perpetuating, or at least trying to perpetuate, on a new continent, customs and notions originating in the peculiar circumstances of obscure localities in another hemisphere three hundred years ago.

Simon Menno, the founder and prophet of the Mennonists, was a native of Friesland in 1496. He advocated the utmost rigour of life. Although there are, as we are informed, modernized Mennonists now in Holland, at Amsterdam, for example, who are distinguished for luxury in their tables, their equipages and their country seats, yet a sub-section of the community known as Uke-Wallists, from one Uke Walles, adhere to the primitive strictness enjoined by Menno. Their apparel, we are told, is mean beyond expression, and they avoid everything that has the most distant appearance of elegance or ornament. They let their beards grow to an enormous length; their hair, uncombed, lies in a disorderly manner on their shoulders; their countenances are marked with the strongest lines of dejection and melancholy; and their habitations and household furniture are such as are only fitted to answer the demands of mere necessity. "We shall not enlarge," Mosheim adds, "upon the circumstances of their ritual, but only observe that they prevent all attempts to alter or modify their religious discipline, by preserving their people from everything that bears the remotest aspect of learning and science; from whatever, in a word, that may have a tendency to enlighten their devout ignorance."

The sympathies of our primitive Tunkers beyond the Ridges, were, as we may suppose, with this section of the fatherland Mennonists.

Thus, to get the clue to social phenomena which we see around us here in Canada, we have to concern ourselves occasionally with uninviting pages, not only of Irish, Scottish and English religious history, but of German and Netherlandish religious history likewise. Pity 'tis, in some respects, that on a new continent our immigrants could not have made a tabula rasa of the past, and taken a start de novo on another level--a higher one; on a new gauge--a widened one.

Though only a minute fraction of our population, an exception was early made by the local parliament in favour of the Mennonists or Tunkers, allowing them to make affirmations in the Courts, like the Quakers, and to compound for military service.--Like Lollard, Quaker and some other similar terms, Tunker, i. e. Dipper, was probably at first used in a spirit of ridicule.

Digression to Newmarket and Sharon.

When Newmarket came in view off to the right, a large portion of the traffic of the street turned aside for a certain distance out of the straight route to the north, in that direction.

About this point the ancient dwellers at York used to take note of signs that they had passed into a higher latitude. Half a degree to the south of their homes--at Niagara, for example--they were in the land, if not of the citron and myrtle, certainly of the tulip-tree and pawpaw--where the edible chestnut grew plentifully in the natural woods, and the peach luxuriantly flourished.

Now, half a degree the other way, in the tramontane region north of the Ridges, they found themselves in the presence of a vegetation that spoke of an advance, however minute, towards the pole. Here, all along the wayside, beautiful specimens of the spruce-pine and balsam-fir, strangers in the forest about York, were encountered. Sweeping the sward with their drooping branches and sending up their dark green spires high in the air, these trees were always regarded with interest, and desired as graceful objects worthy to be transferred to the lawn or ornamental shrubbery.

A little way off the road, on the left, just before the turn leading to Newmarket, was the great Quaker meeting-house of this region--the "Friends' Meeting-house"--a building of the usual plain cast, generally seen with its solid shutters closed up. This was the successor of the first Quaker meeting-house in Upper Canada. Here Mr. Joseph John Gurney, the eminent English Quaker, who travelled on this continent in 1837-40, delivered several addresses, with a view especially to the re-uniting, if possible, of the Orthodox and the Hicksites.

Gourlay, in his "Statistical Account of Upper Canada," took note that this Quaker meeting-house and a wooden chapel at Hogg's Hollow, belonging to the Church of England, were the only two places of public worship to be seen on Yonge Street between York and the Holland Landing--a distance, he says, of nearly forty miles. This was in 1817.

Following now the wheel-marks of clearly the majority of vehicles travelling on the street, we turn aside to Newmarket.

Newmarket had for its germ or nucleus the mills and stores of Mr. Elisha Beaman, who emigrated hither from the State of New York in 1806. Here also, on the branch of the Holland river, mills at an early date were established by Mr. Mordecai Millard, and tanneries by Mr. Joseph Hill. Mr. Beaman's mills became subsequently the property of Mr. Peter Robinson, who was Commissioner of Crown Lands in 1827, and one of the representatives of the united counties of York and Simcoe; and afterwards, the property of his brother, Mr. W. B. Robinson, who for a time resided here, and for a number of years represented the County of Simcoe in the provincial parliament. Most gentlemen travelling north or to the north-west brought with them, from friends in York, a note of commendation to Mr. Robinson, whose friendly and hospitable disposition were well known:

"Fast by the road his ever-open door Oblig'd the wealthy and reliev'd the poor."

Governors, Commodores, and Commanders-in-chief, on their tours of pleasure or duty, were glad to find a momentary resting-place at a refined domestic fireside. Here Sir John Franklin was entertained for some days in 1835: and at other periods, Sir John Ross and Capt. Back, when on their way to the Arctic regions.

In 1847, Mr. W. B. Robinson was Commissioner of Public Works; and, at a later period, one of the Chief Commissioners of the Canada Company. Mr. Peter Robinson was instrumental in settling the region in which our Canadian Peterborough is situated, and from him that town has its name.

At Newmarket was long engaged in prosperous business Mr. John Cawthra, a member of the millionaire family of that name. Mr. John Cawthra was the first representative in the Provincial Parliament of the County of Simcoe, after the separation from the County of York. In 1812, Mr. John Cawthra and his brother Jonathan were among the volunteers who offered themselves for the defence of the country. Though by nature inclined to peace, they were impelled to this by a sincere sense of duty. At Detroit, John assisted in conveying across the river in scows the heavy guns which were expected to be wanted in the attack on the Fort. On the slopes at Queenston, Jonathan had a hair-breadth escape. At the direction of his officer, he moved from the rear to the front of his company, giving place to a comrade, who the following instant had a portion of his leg carried away by a shot from Fort Gray, on the opposite side of the river. Also at Queenston, John, after personally cautioning Col. Macdonell against rashly exposing himself, as he seemed to be doing, was called on a few minutes afterwards, to aid in carrying that officer to the rear, mortally wounded.

With Newmarket too is associated the name of Mr. William Roe, a merchant there since 1814, engaged at one time largely in the fur-trade. It was Mr. Roe who saved from capture a considerable portion of the public funds, when York fell into the hands of General Dearborn and Commodore Chauncey in 1813. Mr. Roe was at the time an employe in the office of the Receiver General, Prideaux Selby; and by the order of General Sheaffe and the Executive Council he conveyed three bags of gold and a large sum in army-bills to the farm of Chief Justice Robinson, on the Kingston road east of the Don bridge, and there buried them.

The army-bills were afterwards delivered up to the enemy; but the gold remained secreted until the departure of the invaders, and was handed over to the authorities in Dr. Strachan's parlour by Mr. Roe. The Receiver General's iron chest was also removed by Mr. Roe and deposited in the premises of Mr. Donald McLean, Clerk of the House of Assembly. Mr. McLean was killed while bravely opposing the landing of the Americans, and his house was plundered; the strong chest was broken open and about one thousand silver dollars were taken therefrom.

The name of Mr. Roe's partner at Newmarket, Mr. Andrew Borland, is likewise associated with the taking of York in 1813. He was made prisoner in the fight, and in the actual struggle against capture he received six severe rifle wounds, from the effects of which he never wholly recovered. He had also been engaged at Queenston and Detroit.

In the Report of the Loyal and Patriotic Society of Upper Canada, we have an entry made of a donation of sixty dollars to Mr. Andrew Borland on the 11th June, 1813, with the note appended: "The committee of the Loyal and Patriotic Society voted this sum to Mr. Borland for his patriotic and eminent services at Detroit, Queenston and York, at which latter place he was severely wounded."

We also learn from the Report that Mr. D'Arcy Boulton had presented a petition to the Society in favour of Mr. Borland. The members of committee present at the meeting held June 11th, 1813, were Rev. Dr. Strachan, chairman, Wm. Chewett, Esq., Wm. Allan, Esq., John Small, Esq., and Alex. Wood, Esq., secretary: and the minutes state that "The petition of D'Arcy Boulton, Esq., a member of the Society, in favour of Andrew Borland, was taken into consideration, and the sum of Sixty Dollars was voted to him, on account of his patriotic and eminent services at Detroit, Queenston and York, at which latter place he was most severely wounded." Mr. Borland had been a clerk in Mr. Boulton's store. In the order to pay the money, signed by Alexander Wood, Mr. Borland is styled "a volunteer in the York Militia." He afterwards had a pension of Twenty Pounds a year.

In 1838 his patriotic ardour was not quenched. During the troubles of that period he undertook the command of 200 Indians who had volunteered to fight in defence of the rights of the Crown of England, if there should be need. They were stationed for a time at the Holland Landing, but their services were happily not required.

Spotted a typo or a problem in this chapter? Tell us