change in my position. Lord Dorchester in announcing to me his intention of soliciting his recall, had certainly the intention of facilitating my chances as his successor if I should find it to my advantage to apply for the post, for he has certainly given me the first intelligence, the proof of which is indubitable, as neither the Duke of York, who is now Commander in Chief of the English Army, in the place of Lord Amherst, nor the Adjutant General Faucet, knew anything of it, before my letter. I believe I may say in consequence, that I will be either recalled or named Commander in Chief instead of My Lord, but I say to you frankly, that the last appears to me. most probable.

As to who will be Civil Governor, it is impossible for me to form an opinion, but I shall only say, that it is a post which I do not think at present of seeking, but which I shall strive to fill with honor, if His Majesty shall be pleased to give it me, of his own free will. I have not hitherto been accustomed to transact any but military affairs, but nevertheless should it be found necessary to conjoin the civil and military functions, I believe that with patience and zeal I shall be found competent to discharge the duties. Having made use of the word "seeking," it is necessary, lest you should form a false idea of the steps which I have taken, to let you know what they are. I have reason to see that I may be only recalled by His Majesty, as I am the senior general serving in America, and in consequence, if it should be thought well to prolong my stay in this part of the globe, I hope that another will not be sent to take the command which comes to me of right. You can now see fully what I judge to be my duty, or wish it to be, but as to anything else which may happen, it will be altogether from the good will of His Majesty, for which I will be under obligation.

be

As for yourself, be fully persuaded, that as soon as My Lord shall gone, whatever my position may be, I shall not rest content till I have found you something better than you have got. I will have very great pleasure in having in my own hands, the means of rendering you independent of all future hardships on the part of fortune, and I confess I do not regard this as impossible. In the meantime, let us take things as we find them, for of my own will I have not the power, and it is to quiet your anxiety on that head, that I have reiterated my decided intention, not to rest till I have obtained for you such an appointment as you desire.

Many thanks for the warmth with which you and Madame express the hope that we may return to Quebec. Be persuaded this hope will be realized, and that we will have the real pleasure of expressing face to face, those sentiments of sincere attachment which I now describe.

The Lieutenancy of our young protégé is fully confirmed, but I much fear General Christie will not move very quickly, still I assure

you he has got a step in advance, and I am so perfectly convinced of this, that I shall now endeavor to get him appointed Lieutenant of my own, the 60th Regt., as the change I believe will be for his good.

The ships which have lately come from the West Indies, do not bring any news from Tobago, so I have none to give you at present, but you may depend that the instant we receive any I will communicate it to you. I will conclude at present by offering to Madame de Salaberry many assurances of my attachment. I embrace with my whole heart little Amelia and my godson, not forgetting to subscribe myself, with every sentiment of sincere esteem, my dear de Salaberry,

Your sincere and devoted friend,

EDWARD,

Commanding in Nova Scotia and its Dep'y.

HALIFAX, 26th May, 1795.

MY DEAR MR. DE SALABERRY,-Although occupied beyond expression, as the packet is to leave for London to-morrow, I am unwilling to let the mail depart to-day, without writing a few lines to acknowledge the receipt of your obliging letter of 25th April.

I rejoice at your promotion, by which you have, for the time, got the addition of one hundred and eighty pounds to your small revenue, for I consider it certain that before five days passed after the date of your letter, you will have completed your number of forty, and that in consequence you will have obtained your post, pay, and commission.

I augur, after this. commencement, that the change for the better in your fortune, which Madame and I predicted, has at length taken place. I will not say more, but that you may find a little of that comfort, et que cela aie lieu bien avant que votre attente soit devenue trop longue.

The April packet has not yet arrived, but is expected every hour, and it is to be presumed it will decide my fate, if not, the next one most certainly will. You will be sure that I will have great pleasure in informing you one of the first, of the result. In the meantime, not having anything to communicate that would interest you, I will finish my letter, commending myself especially to the remembrance of Madame de Salaberry and presenting a thousand remembrances to you and the children.

I subscribe myself, &c.,

EDWARD.

HALIFAX, 16th July, 1795.

MY DEAR MR. DE SALABERRY,-Eight days ago I received by mail your obliging letter of the 12th June. The English mails

་

for the months of May and June arrived here more than fifteen days ago, but I am not yet in possession of anything decisive as to my fate, except that I may not expect to return to Europe this year.

It is said that Lord Mulgrave who is one of the new Lieut.Generals and Colonel of an Infantry regiment, has been named Lieut.-Governor of Lower Canada, in place of General Clarke, who has gone to the East Indies. If this is true, I think he will arrive immediately at Quebec, and that My Lord will leave as soon as he arrives, and in consequence the military command in chief will devolve on me, without adding a single farthing to my pay, but with all the great labor attached to it. I believe this will be the case, because the ministry will thereby avoid the extraordinary expense for a pension for My Lord, who being in England on leave, will enjoy the whole of the revenue (likely till the peace) the same as if he were present. In which case I shall undoubtedly remain here, for unless. a positive order from His Majesty shall oblige the Commander of the Forces to reside at Quebec, Halifax is without dispute the place where for every reason Headquarters should be.

By the September mail I expect to see the order arrive for placing your son in my regiment. I have at length definitely arranged that his name will immediately appear in the Gazette, and an order shall be made for him to repair hither, and if he shall have the good fortune to find an opportunity when the order reaches him, I believe that he may be here before Christmas. I believe it is not necessary for me to say, that I shall regard the moment when I can announce to you his arrival here in good health, as most agreeable to me, un account of the satifaction which I conceive you and your worthy wife will feel.

Pray convey to Madame de Salaberry, to little Amelia, to my godson, and the other children, my special remembrances. Madame St. Laurent is well, and sends a thousand compliments, but being absolutely without any news, she does not write on this occasion, but reserves that pleasure for some days hence, when she flatters herself, she will have received news on a subject interesting to ourselves, and all our friends.

As for me, not having anything more to say, I shall finish my letter by subscribing, &c.,

EDWARD,

Commanding in Nova Scotia, &c.

HALIFAX, 31st August, 1795.

MY DEAR MR. DE SALA BERRY,-Though I am terribly busy, having sc reely one moment's leisure, I cannot permit the mail to leave without addressing a few lines to you, to acknowledge the

receipt of your obliging letter of 7th August. I received at the same time one from the Marquis du Barrail, in whose favor I immediately wrote to the Duke of Portland, by the packet which left the next day for Falmouth. I have written the Marquis by this mail, and have taken the liberty to forward the letter to your care, and will thank you to have the kindness to give it to him on receipt.

Madame St. Laurent will have explained to you that the extraordinary promotion of your son, will be the greatest possible hindrance to his joining my regiment as Lieutenant, since he would come in of necessity, as one of a great number, His Majesty having given orders that the rank of officers will be by Regiment and not by Battalion, as I thought, when I supposed that he would enter my regiment at the head of all the Lieutenants of the second Battalion; but you may depend that the moment I find I shall have it in my power to enter him as Captain, I will strive to accomplish it. I am well pleased with the extract from his letter, and I earnestly beg you to let him know when you write him, how much pleasure the reading of it has given me, for you know how much pride I have in seeing him rise.

As for M. de Hertel, I regret that it is not in my power at present to comply with your wish in regard to him, for ever since the month of June, the recommendations for all the Lieutenancies, in accordance with promises made, have been transmitted to London, and I expect by next packet to receive the commissions signed by the King.

We expect by every packet, the orders which will decide whether My Lord will remain on leave, but at present we know nothing more than I have communicated to you month by month.

Pray give a thousand compliments from me to Madame de Salaberry, and to all your children, but specially to Amelia and my little godson, and now permit me to repeat to yourself, all those sentiments of esteem and consideration with which

His Royal Highness having lost, as we have seen, his baggage on Lake Champlain, it became necessary on his return from the West Indies, and assumption of the command at Halifax, to order an outfit for his establishment, at a cost of £2,000 stg., which was shipped in 1794 on board the Antelope, unfortunately captured by the French fleet. 1795, another outfit, the fifth since his start in life at Gibraltar, was ordered, but it also fell a prey to the enemy, with the Tankerville, in which it had been shipped.

In

CHAPTER IV.

Halifax-Lieutenant General-Garrison Intemperance-Parade-French FleetChain boom-Prince's Lodge.

1795 AND 1796.

HALIFAX, 2nd November, 1795.

MY DEAR MR. DE SALABERRY,-I have put off till to-day to thank you for your last kind letter, but I have been too much engaged in preparing my despatches for England, to find a moment's leisure to give you the news.

My fate is at last decided, and I am to remain at my present post till the close of the war. My Lord is succeeded by General Prescott, who is perhaps with you already, at least my letters lead me to think so. He is a brave soldier, and a man, firm, unchangeable and without ceremony. The moment that I shall have ascertained for certain that he has arrived, I will without ceremony write him in your behalf, and I hope he will take the first opportunity to better your position. I know him slightly, having served with him in the West Indies, and I flatter myself he will not refuse the first favor which I have asked of him, and I repeat that I will put it to him with all my force.

As to your son, he has been appointed Lieutenant in my regiment, according to my first recommendation in his favor, but I have taken it upon myself to refuse the Lieutenancy for him, for being aware that he is at the head of the list in his own Battalion, I would be doing him manifest injury, by permitting him to change his present position. Colonel Wetherall who goes to the West Indies by the first opportunity, to join his regiment, will convey a letter from me to Sir Ralph Abercromby, the Commander-in-Chief, from which you will be convinced that your son will not be forgotten, and I hope that at the end of the campaign, I shall have it in my power to congratulate you on his promotion to the rank of Captain. I assure you that according to my information I look upon this as certain. If you wish during the current winter to send a letter to your son, I will take care that it shall reach him. I know that opportunities are very rare at Quebec at this season of the year, and it is on that account that I make you this offer. I have little news to add except to announce the arrival of my second Battalion, which is in fact so miserably composed, that one half the men are so execrable that I