and it was sometime before they could be persuaded of their safety, so as to retire again to their couches.

We remained at anchor till day light, when we again weighed anchor, and gaily and rapidly ascended the majestic St. Lawrence, from whence we soon obtained refreshing draughts of water. We soon hailed, and obtained a pilot, but the wind changing and operating against us, we could only progress when the tide was ascending, laying at anchor when it receded, during which seasons we were much enlivened by the appearance of the country, and by the converse of the passengers and crews of other ships. I should have been glad could we have seen more of the country as we passed it, when on the sail, but such was the tyranny of our officers, that we could not have this desirable privilege allowed us, as we were much of the time, hatched down in the ship's hold like convicts.

Before I proceed further, I will state an instance wherein may be seen the cruel tyranny and injustice of the commanding officer of the troops on board. At one time on our passage I had washed my clothes and hung them out on the rigging, and in the night they were stolen. In the morning, finding they were gone, I made immediate inquiry, and found them in possession of one of the soldiers. I took the proper measure to report him to the officer, to get satisfaction in the restoration of my articles; but he, far from showing me justice, bid me "be

gone," and threatened "that if he heard another word from me he would put me into confinement." Thus, after the clearest identification of my property, I was silenced, slave like, by a haughty tyrant. How applicable and true the proverb in this case. "When subjects are ill-treated by subaltern officers, and cannot make remonstrance to the prince, because the too great authority of the ministers of state deprives them of the means; their lot is like that of a man, who, half dead with thirst, approaches a river to drink, but, perceiving a crocodile, is obliged to perish for lack of water, or submit to be devoured."

But we soon arrived in full view of the city of Quebec, where we had a pleasant sight of its most elegant buildings and fortifications, which sight produced the greatest animation, from the consideration that we were near the place of destination, where we fondly hoped that our troubles would at least be mitigated, if they did not cease. My heart palpitated with joy as I heard our salute fired from the cannon on the battery; soon after, we cast anchor about half a mile from the shore in front of the city. We were soon attended with boats which came laded with provisions for the supply of our wants, upon which we feasted like men who had narrowly escaped starvation. It was seven weeks from the time we left Cowes, till we landed at Quebec. The day after our arrival, another ship, containing two hundred troops, arrived, which had made the voyage in four

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weeks only. The next day we were all put on board a steam boat, and taken to Montreal, in possession of good health and spirits. The officers of the regiment were waiting to board us, immediately on our arrival at the wharf, whose manner towards us, was affable, and kind they congratulated us upon our arrival, and without any appearance of harshness, paraded us on board the steam boat, and marched us up to the barracks, where we were kindly received by the old soldiers of the regiment, who willingly divided their provisions among us, to meet our wants. We were all retained in the barracks yard, until divided, and allotted to the different companies during which time I was visited by two English officers, who questioned me closely, concerning my parentage, history, &c. with evident symptoms of respect for my youth, which probably, first excited their curiosity. It was into their company that I was drafted, at which I was not a little pleased. We were, for a few days, treated with considerable kindness and lenity, during which time, many of us visited the ancient and antique buildings of the city, which to my mind, presented but a poor contrast to the splendid cities of England. I was not a little surprised, also, at the appearance of the regiment it was made up of almost every nation upon earth; in fact, there were English, Irish, Scotch, French, Germans, Portuguese, Spaniards, Italians, and Dutch; an assemblage which made no very pleasing impression upon my mind. Many of

them possessed the fierceness of Indian warriors, but exhibited, in the whole, the diversified peculiarities of the several nations to which they belonged. Some bore about with them the marks of distinguished zeal and piety; others were totally void of every feeling or sentiment, but that of superstition and vice; and had they been as active for God and religion, as they were for vice and impiety, they would have been good Christians; while others seemed to possess all the brutality and stupidity of brutes. Withal, I felt surprised that the British soldiers should so far imitate the semi-barbarians as to wear the beard long upon the upper lip, which was the case at that time, although it was discontinued shortly after. Our officers were mostly men of pliant dispositions, and by nation, were English, Irish, Scotch,and Germans; our commanding officer, Colonel Fitsgerald, was an Irishman by birth, a gentleman by education and property, and possessed a disposition that rendered him beloved by every soldier under his command.. His lady was a woman equally admired, possessing qualifications rarely discoverable in persons of her rank; her influence was great, and her manners pleasing; from her sympathy and efforts in behalf of poor delinquents, she was emphatically styled the "prisoner's advocate."

CHAPTER III.

An account of his trials and sufferings from the time he joined his Regiment, to his reprieve from death: containing some affecting occurrences.

We

By this time we were sufficiently rested to commence our military duties, and each company was placed under the care of an experienced sergeant, to be fitted by drill, as soon as possible to relieve the old soldiers from their extremely arduous and excessive toil. were accordingly taken to the field, and kept closely to our work, being allowed scarcely any time for rest, or recreation. During this period of my life I often thought of home and parents, and indeed, I wrote, until receiving no answers to any of my letters, my patience became exhausted, and I ceased writing for a considerable time.

In connection with our fatiguing drill, which was so irksome that we were glad to retire to bed as soon as the hour arrived, was the evil we experienced from being tormented half to death with bed bugs, which would come upon us in swarms, and bite us so severely in our sleeping hours, that we could not rest. My method in revenging myself upon these creatures, was this after I had retired to bed, to set a light near by, where I could readily grasp it, but hiding it so as to have no light discoverable, I would lay down my head, when, no

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