| Title: | From Mrs. Wm. Raddiff, Upper Canada, to the |
|---|---|
| ID | 4547 |
| Collection | Authentic Letters from Upper Canada [Rev. Thomas Radcliff] |
| File | radcliff/5 |
| Year | 1832 |
| Sender | Radcliff, Rebecca |
| Sender Gender | female |
| Sender Occupation | unknown |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | York, Upper Canada |
| Destination | Dublin, Ireland |
| Recipient | Rev. Thomas Radcliff |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | daughter-in-law - father-in-law |
| Source | |
| Archive | |
| Doc. No. | |
| Date | |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | |
| Log | unknown |
| Word Count | 2645 |
| Genre | account of passage |
| Note | |
| Transcript | Rev. Thomas Raddiff, Dublin. York, July 27th, 1832. My dear Mr. R., I have not been able to continue my diary since I closed my letter at Quebec.—I was fortunate in being able to send it by a gentleman sailing for Ireland the following On the 17th of July, we embarked in the St. Lawrence steam boat for Montreal; Captain Armstrong commanding— a Canadian gentleman, exceedingly polite and accommodating. The transition was almost miraculous from the intense cold we suffered at Goose Island, to regular West Indian heat, on board the St. Lawrence. The charge for the passage to Montreal, 184 miles, (performed from 24 to 30 hours.) every thing found except drinkables: For each grown person . . . . £10 0 For children . . . . 0 10 0 For servants 0 18 9 Deck Passengers Grown persons . . . . 0 7 6 Children from 7 to 12 years . . . . 0 3 9 Ditto under 7 years . . . . 0 2 6 We were two nights on board; the attendance was admirable, and the fare excellent. The men servants, French Canadians. The ladies' maid, a remarkably nice person, was from the north of Ireland; she recollected your son Stephen and his family there, and paid us, in consequence, the greatest attention. The passengers, it might be said, dined four times a day: for they had fish, meat, and sweet-meats, at every meal. The tea and coffee peculiarly good—the latter better made than any we have yet had. The French always excelled in the art, and the French Canadians inherit it. We arrived at Montreal at a very early hour in the morning. From my fatigue, and William's having been very ill in the night, we were obliged to make use of the only carriage in waiting to bring us to the hotel. This was termed a calash; and resembles an old gig, with a cushion for the driver in the place usually occupied by the knee boot. It would have been luxury to us, but for the miserable road we had to traverse. How surprising that, where comfort, convenience, and accommodation are carefully attended to in the chief towns, a suitable approach, the most obvious feature of civilization, should be altogether neglected. So dreadful is that from the wharf to the hotel in Montreal, that I really thought I should go distracted before we arrived; but I thank God we did arrive, without having broken down or been upset; I was, however, sadly shaken. and poor William very ill—whether from the water of the St. Lawrence, the fogs of Newfoundland, or the general change of climate, I cannot say; his immediate recovery is anticipated by Dr. Phillips, who is now our regular family physician—the kindest of the kind, quite like a brother to our gentlemen, and determined to settle wherever they do. This will be of great advantage to us, and to the neighbourhood around us, as his professional skill is equal to his goodness of heart. The proprietor of the hotel at Montreal is an Italian. my sister recollected him at Lord Lorton's, as butler. His wife is an Irish woman, whom Dr. Phillips had known. From both we received more than common civility. We are fortunate in meeting so many that know who we are, and are the more disposed to show us attention. It is very agreeable, in a foreign land, to meet even with those whom we have known merely as acquaintances; what, then, would be the delight at again seeing those dear, dear friends we have left so far away? There is a pleasure in the anticipation, however improbable, that J can never abandon, nor consent to part with the cheering hope that it will yet be realized. At this excellent hotel we were entertained for a dollar a day, each; beds and every thing included, except wine— an article, generally speaking, of very inferior quality, in steam boats and at hotels. We remained but one day at Montreal, and proceeded, at five o'clock in the morning, for La Chine, (9 miles,) by the public coaches; our party filled two. They are of the most extraordinary construction—not unlike the lord mayor's state carriage, except that in lieu of its profusion of glass, are substituted curtains which are occasionally looped up to admit the air. The new coaches are very showy, and by no means ugly in their appearance. There are three rows of scats in each; the centre seat moves on a pivot so as to clear the doorway, and allow of free ingress and egress, for those who occupy the other two; for this a broad strap of leather, well stuffed, is contrived to hook on, so that the mid-passengers may have something to lean against. Each seat holds four moderate persons, but, three Raddiffs. I, in my ignorance, suffered myself to be placed on the back seat, which in the course of the nine mile stage fatigued me most dreadfully; profiting by experience, I have latterly chosen that in the front, which is remarkably easy, with an agreeable swinging motion. We were drawn by six noble horses, that excited our admiration. You, my dear Mr. R., taught me to observe something about horses, in the many pleasant drives we have had together. If our harness here be sufficient, yours is profuse; for of the six horses, except the pair next the carriage, (and they were without pads,) the remaining four had but collars and traces, and yet there was really no deficiency. The coachman drove the six in hand and turned into lanes but little wider than the carriage, with wonderful dexterity. The horses are particularly well trained, and answer to their names. At the end of the stage it was agreed by all that they had never seen so good horses, or coachmanship, before. The country was most beautiful all the way; not a single point of view that did not afford rich and varied scenery to the admirer of the picturesque. At La Chine we deserted our land conveyance, and with the appetite of morning travellers enjoyed a good breakfast on board the steam boat under way for the cascades —a distance of twenty-three miles—there we took coach again for a village called Coteau de lac, (sixteen miles,) and there embarked in another steamer, which brought us (36 miles,) to the town of Cornwall. How you would be delighted, dear Mr. R., with the exquisite beauty of that scenery. This branch of the St. Lawrence, I believe, is called the lake St. Francis. The Ottawa comes in there, but their waters don't unite. I was called on deck to observe this wonder; you never saw any thing more perfect than the line of distinction, marked by the colour of the respective currents; that of the Ottawa being of a deep brown, and the St. Lawrence a decided green. I have read that some great rivers of South America rush into the sea, for many leagues, without losing their freshness by any admixture with the ocean, and it may be that the same principle of currents in a minor degree may account for this apparent phenomenon. All the rivers and lakes abound in islands of every size and shape—some wooded and wild—others cleared and inhabited. So brilliant is the effect of the fire flies at night that the country is for miles like a scene of enchantment, still more imposing from the fires of the Indian settlements, on islands perfectly illuminated. The hotel at Cornwall is a wretched place; bad attendance, worse rooms, ill furnished;—vile beds, and no rest; —not a very good preparation for a long day's journey by land to Prescott, (50 miles,) commenced, however, before five o'clock, with a great delight at quitting our uncomfortable station; and, as our gentlemen would say, we set off at the rate of a hunt. Our carriages were drawn by four horses each, and very briskly, notwithstanding the heaviness of the roads. A thick and sudden mist, however, obliged us to slacken our pace. The road here was merely a green field, stripped of its grassy surface, cut up by various ruts and mud holes, and crossed by swamps and hollow channels, impassable, except by means of loose planks and timbers, which hopped and bounded under the wheels, without the security of rail or battlement, making the least nervous of the party glad to close their eyes and curtains, against the danger. Except on occasions of risk and alarm, we kept both open to the most lovely scenery that can be conceived; and were charmed with the native richness of the flowers, and the brilliant plumage of the feathered tribe. Here the Kingfisher frequents the banks, along which we were conveyed, its plumage different from those of our clime, of more vivid colours, and with tufted crest. I forget what faithful lover was converted into this attractive bird; but if possessed of any personal vanity, the metamorphosis must have been highly gratifying. We passed many pretty houses and comfortable settlements This upper province is much more like dear home, than the lower; which, being chiefly inhabited by French, (who have imitated their own country in their buildings, &c.,) presents to the English eye a foreign and characteristic aspect. Notwithstanding all our delays and difficulties, we completed our fifty miles, if not with expedition, fortunately without accident, and reached Prescott at a very late hour on the 21st of July. At all the poorest taverns along the line of road, they set out a plentiful dinner, not of the best quality of meat, excepting veal, which is very good; the cooking but middling. Pies and puddings abound, and uniformly a dessert succeeds, of raisins, almonds, biscuits and wild fruits. The red currants are large, but sour; the strawberries and cherries scarcely eatable. The raspberries are better, and served up in milk, with sugar. To the exorbitant consumption of sweetmeats and fruit by the Canadians, is attributed the early failure of their teeth, particularly with the fair sex, who, from this sad deficiency, appear like old women at the age of thirty. Our luggage, which was very heavy indeed, was forwarded from Montreal, by Bateaux, which are open boats. They are towed up the rivers part of the way by steamboats; partly pulled on by horses, and sometimes having sails to act occasionally, they, are wafted forwards by a favouring wind. It is altogether a most tedious method of proceeding, but the least expensive for heavy baggage. The faithful Pat Mee went supercargo, and three of our gentlemen most kindly assisted in the charge. Prescott is the first town we have entered in the Canadas where any attempt has been made at a flag-way in the streets. The improvement is most striking;—but we had no time to avail ourselves of it, farther than in proceeding to the steam-boat for York, the morning after our arrival. At this time, from the dread of cholera, all the steamers have medical men on board. Ours was a Canadian, a very elegant young man, of Irish extraction, his parents from the north of Ireland; his father an officer, and settled in the town of Brockville.—He is most anxious to pay a visit to the Emerald Isle. We arrived at York on Monday, the 23d July; were well accommodated at the British coffee-house; good cookery, very middling ale, and vile table beer. They are obliged to use such a quantity of hops, to prevent it from souring, that it is extremely disagreeable. The following day, we were fortunate enough to procure the only private lodging in York!—furnished, and comfortable, for one pound a week. Our hostess, Mrs. Hall, an English lady, and widow of a Captain Hall, is exceedingly kind and attentive. Our friends and Dr. Phillips have board and lodging, with an officer, a very respectable man. Our gentlemen, as a matter of course, waited upon the Government Secretary, and you may conceive their surprise, when they were presented to Colonel Rowan; who, without their having heard of his appointment, now fills that official situation. In consequence of this recognition, and with every expression of kindness on the Colonel's part, they were introduced by him to the Governor, Sir John Colborne, without the necessity of producing the letters of recommendation they had brought from home. By both gentlemen they were treated with the most polite and friendly attention, and a settlement pointed out to them for their inspection, of the richest quality of land. To this they go forward without delay, to approve, and to purchase. Mrs. Rowan has been most kind, in visiting my sister and me. They left Liverpool but a fortnight before we sailed from Dublin, and arrived here more than a month sooner than we did. Mrs. Rowan considered the voyage a party of pleasure, so agreeably and elegantly were they entertained. She assures me that the accommodation on board the Liner in which she sailed from Liverpool to New York, was not only comfortable, but luxurious.-— Drawing-room, eating-room, private cabins, good dinners, variety of wines, male and female attendants, musical instruments, books, &c. Charge for each passenger, . . . . £35 0 0 Charge for servants, each, . . . . 17 10 0 Warn any friends that mean to follow us, to come by New York. It may appear more expensive; but I believe, in the end, when the cost, and great waste of private provisions, is taken into consideration, the difference of expenditure will be but trifling, that of comfort and health excessive. William has not been well enough to go on the journey of inspection, and indeed is unwilling to leave me, till I am better able to travel. His brother is gone, and till he returns, we can say nothing as to our future destination. But we are told that land is high, in great demand, and increasing in value every month. The numbers of respectable people coming out would astonish you; and the wildest situation we may fix on, will, in all probability, be fully settled within the year. Indeed, from our own large party, and the friends we expect will follow us, we shall be sure of having an agreeable society. Physicians are very much wanting here, and apothecaries still more. Ignorant persons act in that capacity, who scarcely know the names of the drugs they sell. At Niagara that most necessary branch is solely conducted by a female, who compounds medicines and puddings, with equal confidence, but not with equal skill. Any young man who should come out, in that capacity, with even a moderate knowledge of his business, would make a fortune. Nurse-tenders are in great demand. They might make their own terms. A gentleman, going immediately to New York, will be the bearer of this.—I must close it forthwith. A few last words: — I am collecting garden seeds for you, and am promised those of some very curious flowers. There is but little music in Canada; but wherever it occurs, it is highly prized. I have as yet scarcely seen anything of York. We get excellent Teneriffe at . . . 5s. Od. pr. gal. The best . . . . 7 6 do. Fine lump sugar . . . . 0 7h do. Brown sugar . . . . 0 4 do. all Canada currency, which is 15 per cent, as I am told, in our favour. Clothing and furniture are dear. No letter has reached us yet from home. Do write, My dear Mr. R. Believe me your Attached Daughter. R. RADCLIFF. Tell of us to all our friends, and assure them of our cordial remembrance. |
