Item

Beacon

July 2/1891

St. Andrews, New Brunswick

(Taken from the C. P. R. 'Summer Tours':

Search the leagues of coast around,

Fairer spot cannot be found—

From the phalanxes of pine

Sweeps a healing breath divine,

Changing with the fitful breeze

To the salt strength of the seas,

Bearing health with pleasure blent

To the weary and the spent.

Bring forth laurels fresh and green

For the crowning of the queen;

Bring forth brush and pen, and they

Who can best her charms portray

Bring the scourges of disease

'Till she snap them on her knees;

Hail! the wondrous witchery

Of St. Andrews by the sea.

The author of the above lines evidently thoroughly understood the peculiar natural advantages possessed by this charmingly beautiful and dreamily restful Atlantic resort. Long ago St. Andrews was an important shipping point, and bid fair to increase steadily, but commercial enterprises were diverted into other channels, and the place, which is in reality one of the gems of the coast, sank for a period into obscurity. But its day was coming, and in due time pleasure-seekers realized that this "Peaceful hamlet brooding in a restful reverie o'er its fragment of the sea" was the beau ideal of a resort for the spending of a pleasant holiday, and at present it is beginning to attract the attention it deserves.

Lo! a triumph and a crown

Wait the long neglected town;

Rank and fashion know at last

The gem they long had careless passed;

And their mandate swift obeyed,

Bright in gala-dress arrayed,

Cinderella of the shore

By her lonely hearth no more.

Messrs. Hanson and Grady have made some very neat uniforms for the Algonquin bellboys. They are of dark blue material, with trimmings of gold braid. The word "Algonquin" is worked in gold letters on the sleeves of each coat.

Algonquin staff:

Albert Miller, Manager; George W. Gage, Clerk; Miss Blanchard, housekeeper; Ernest Wiehl, chef; George Vollbrecht, second cook; Edward Schmitz, pastry cook; Isaac Walden, Steward; Edward H. Carey, Engineer; George A. Lambert, barber and pool room. Euterpe orchestra of Boston, Miss Munroe, Miss Edlefsen and Miss McKim.

Beacon

July 9/1891

The work of placing a barrier across the mouth of Katy's Cove, in order to adapt the Cove for a bathing resort, is proceeding but the task is no easy one, as the force of the tides on either side is tremendous.

The CPR railway has issued a very handy book, entitled "Fishing and Shooting," in which is minutely described the best game points along this line of railway. The letter press is well arranged, and the book is quite readable. Every sportsman and tourist should secure a copy of it.

The management of the Algonquin Hotel have been very fortunate in securing the services of the Euterpe orchestra for the season. The three young ladies who compose this orchestra—Miss Munroe, Miss Edlefsen, and Miss McKim—are not only pretty but they are as modest as they are pretty, and the provide most delightful music. Cornet, violin and piano are the instruments used.

The tennis ground at the Algonquin has been enlarged this season, making room for two courts, instead of one. The tennis court of the Argyll is in good shape.

Lieut-Governor Tilley was a passenger to St. Andrews on Saturday's train. Lady Tilley and Miss Tilley preceded him several days. They will occupy their residence here this summer.

Mrs. J. Emory Hoar, of Brookline, Mass., is now occupying her summer residence. Mr. Hoar came several weeks ago.

Charles S. Philips, travelling passenger agent of the CPR, spent the holiday at the Algonquin with Mrs. Philips.

Excursionists from Upriver:

The Whitlock excursion party—or "exertion party" as one perspiring individual who had walked from the steamboat landing to the hotel facetiously termed it—reached St. Andrews on Wednesday night last about six o'clock. They came by the Rose Standish and were landed at the steamboat wharf instead of at the Market Wharf as the programme provided for. Coaches were in waiting when they arrived, and it was not many minutes before the excursionists were climbing up the Algonquin steps and spreading themselves through the hall-ways of the hotel. Manager Miller was on hand to extend a cordial welcome to the visitors, after which the dining hall doors were thrown open. The immense banqueting room was soon filled, and then the work of feeding the multitude began. . . . While the banquet was in progress, the Euterpe orchestra discoursed most enchantingly music. Everybody wanted to dance, and there were a few who did, but as the boat had to be off at 9 o'clock the time for dancing was necessarily limited.

W. C. Van Horne, General Manager of the Canadian Pacific Railway, accompanied by Supt. Timmerman and Messrs. Grant and Woodcock, arrived in St. Andrews by Tuesday's train. Mr. Van Horne viewed his purchase on Minister's Island, before leaving town. He was greatly pleased with it. He chose sites for his summer residence and for Sir Donald Smith's residence. Work on the approaches will be at once begun. Mr. Van Horne talks of bridging the bar, so as to bring the island in constant communication with the mainland.

Beacon

July 16/1891

The Deep-Water Wharf

The Finance Minister of Canada has refused to make an appropriation for the purpose of aiding in the construction of a deep-water wharf at this port, although the subject was strongly pressed upon him by our County representative. The alleged reasons for so doing are set forth in a letter which was addressed to Mr. Gillmor by Hon. George E. Foster, and which we publish below.

            Prior to sending this letter to Mr. Gillmore the Minister placed himself in communication with some of his party friends here. Whether he was influenced in his decision by the replies he received we are not in position to say, but we should hope not.

            Ottawa, July 8, 1891

            Dear Mr. Gillmor.—In pursuance of your interview with time with reference to a petition from the inhabitants of St. Andrews asking aid for a wharf and warehouse accommodation needed by that town, I beg to say that the Federal government does not undertake the construction of wharves and warehouses except in connexion with its own lines of railway and for the purposes of its traffic thereon.

            In the case of some cities improvements in these respects have been made by the people themselves through a commission appointed in pursuance of an Act of Parliament obtaining money at a lower rate of interest than possible otherwise. The government does assist when possible, in the improvement of harbours in the way of dredging, removing obstructions and protecting from the drift and current of the waters; but apparently this is not what is desired by the petitioner. Wharves and warehouses in ports and harbours are special and local improvements which have not hitherto been considered as coming within the range of Dominion expenditure, but to belong to local, municipal and private enterprise.

            Yours, truly,

            George F. Foster

            A. H. Gillmor, Esq., M. P. of House of Commons

It will be noted in Mr. Foster's letter to Mr. Gillmore that he says, "the Federal government does not undertake the construction of wharves and warehouses except in connection with its own lines of railway and for the purposes of its traffic thereon." If the Minister had read the petition carefully, he would have seen that the people of St. Andrews did not ask the government to undertake the construction of the wharf. They simply asked that aid, similar to that granted by the provincial government, be granted by the Dominion Parliament. And we have no hesitation in saying, that if such aid had been granted the Minister would have found it a very easy matter to justify his course, and if necessary, could have fortified it by numerous precedents. Mr., Foster further remarks that "the government does assist, when possible, in the improvement of harbours in the way of dredging." If such be the case, we would like to ask the Minister why the petition which was sent to the Government two or three years ago from St. Andrews asking that the harbour and its approaches be dredged, was not complied with? Was it not among the possibilities? If not, why not?

Raymond party (of 50) having good time at Algonquin, doing things or simply lingering about the hotel, "drinking in deep draughts of the balmy air for which St. Andrews is so celebrated"

Beacon

July 16/1891

Octave Thanet writes of her Vacation Trip to Old St. Andrews by the sea.

St. Andrews by the Sea, July 1/1891

It is not such a simple thing as it seems to decide where one shall spend the summer. We decided, on the strength of a friends' letter, to come to St. Andrews, New Brunswick. To reach this place you may take the railway or a line of "palatial steamers." They may be palatial for anything we know; my seamanship is so low and degraded that I never try to make it keep company with anything palatial on the water; therefore, we chose the cars. Palatial is not the appropriate adjective for them! It is interesting to a traveller to watch the career of cars; to meet with the old friends of his youth, long since departed out of his accustomed ways of travel, in the byways of iron North and South.

            Myself, I almost shed tears of recognition, when after so many years my eyes again fell on the once-admired dark red plush cushions and gilded black walnut and narrow berths. "It is!" I exclaimed to my friend who was gazing about her with emotion, visibly indicated with a frowning brow and a curling lip, "It is the long-lost sleeping car of my childhood! I know in the toilet room are the towels about the size of one's hand and the lock that will not turn to lock the door in the first place and will not unlock it in the second, so you feel like a prisoner of Chillon for a quarter of an hour at a time.

            "We do wrong, West," I mused in a sentimental Stern's' Yorick's vein," we do wrong to abandon the old friends that have worked for us as soon as more comfortable cars are invented. You see J—-, they cling to the old fashions; indeed, from the appearance of those seats, I should judge that whole families, with liberal lunch baskets, clung to them; they are contented with modest accommodations. I feel myself back in a primitive, frugal Spartan time when we saved our money and four people occupied a section. I almost am emboldened to offer the porter the unostentatious ante-bellum quarter of the of the usual dollars."

            J—- merely remarked that she wouldn't, and on reflection I didn't. Too much depends on the porter's opinion to experiment on it. Of course, on these cars, they burn oil lamps of extraordinary heat-giving power; and of course there are no screens or brakes, but then the window fastenings have something the matter that prevents raising them, so it really does not matter.

            We are so Philistine and material in the West, where I live, that we grumble about such trifles and demand electricity and screens and "breakers," and vestibules and ventilation to any extent; but East, a cultured, Christian population seems to accept them without a murmur.

            At Bangor the Boston express stops for breakfast. Bangor is a pretty town. I will not allude to the breakfast. There are days when in hostelries, as in private families, everything goes wrong; when the coffee is poor and the potatoes greasy, and mistakes have been made about the date of the spring chicken's death (supposed I am sure, to be more recent than anyone who ventured to eat the chicken could imagine.) It was our misfortune to reach Bangor on such a day.

            One waits an hour or so at a sufficiently dismal little border town where the customs officer fumbles in the upper tray of one of our boxes. He is good-natured, elderly customs officer, and we wonder if he has children at home, and if his salary supports them (for it is a frayed coat sleeve that hovers about J—-'s dainty trifles) and we wish him well, and would tip him if we dared—but we don't. After the change of cars (to a day coach still smaller, still shabbier, still dingier than the sleeper) we skirt the lakes and roll through the valleys of St. Andrews.

            Everyone carries away a souvenir of St. Andrews from here. The souvenir that one should bring away is an Indian basket. Where a little park slips into the bay, in a grove of pines, are set the Indian tents, and there some families of Indians weave baskets out of the sweet grasses and stained withes. Daintier or queerer baskets one cannot find in Montreal or Quebec.

            It is pleasant prowling about the stores because the shopkeepers are so invariably courteous and do not seem grasping, after the manner of their kind in pleasure resorts generally. They actually appear to have only one price for their goods, whether you are a citizen or a stranger. Now, in St. Augustine, (to which our minds instantly turn when the pillage of travellers is discussed), one tradesman frankly told us that they had three prices: one for the dwellers in the town, one for the cottagers and one for the "rank stranger," each price climbing a little higher on the golden stair. If there be pillage in St. Andrews it is so delicate, so slight that it shrinks out of observation.

            St. Andrews is an old town—that is, there were settlers on the peninsula as early as the seventeenth century; and one of the forays of Massachusetts reprisal was against the Frenchmen and their Indian allies on Passamaquoddy Bay.

            Do you recall Church's narrative? He commanded the Massachusetts troops. A very successful foray it was. Church landed on either Moose Island (now Eastport) or Indians Island; it makes it more thrilling for one when at St. Andrews to suppose that it was Indian Island, therefore we take the latter version. Thence he sailed, across to St. Andrews, completely surprised the Indians, and besides taking many prisoners, captured all their store of fish, carrying off what they could and destroying the rest. "Whereon," said Church, grimly, "the enemy seeing what our forces were about, that their stock of fish was destroyed, and that the season was over for catching any more, set up a hideous cry and so ran away all into the woods."

            This was the first Massachusetts invasion.

            At the close of the same century, came another company of New England loyalists who fled from the States after the colonies were declared independent. They converted the fort and trading posts into a town. Staunch old Parson Andrews bearing with him the royal arms that he had taken from his Connecticut church, affixed them above his new pulpit, and the faithful of his flock gathered about him under the Union Jack. So many years have passed that even the descendant of a Revolutionary parson and the descendant of a Puritan solider may admire their unconquerable fidelity to their consciences. They were honest souls. We are glad that they prospered, that they built them mansions that were spacious, even luxuriant, in their day, and that the town became the seaport of the coast. But we do not believe the gorgeous tradition that one could walk two miles stepping from the deck of one vessel to another, along the wharves.

            Then there came the last Yankee invasion. This time they came in peaceful guise. They bought thousands of acres. They called themselves the St. Andrews Land Company, and it is question whether they captured St. Andrews or St. Andrews captured them. To us it seemed the latter aspect of the case is the truer. They have a Canadian president, Sir Leonard Tilley, the Governor of New Brunswick, and have several Canadians on the Board of Directors, but the vice-president and secretary is a Boston man, Robert S. Gardiner, and the treasurer is Mr. Eugene F. Fay of Boston, while well-known Boston, Maine and New York names are on the Board of Directors.

            Happily, these gentlemen have guarded the old associations of the town, making their improvements along the old lines. So, in an utterly un-American spirit of repose, we may walk the old streets with their unfamiliar names—King Street, Prince of Wales Street, Royal street, Queen street and then through all the royal family of His Majesty George III, Harriet, Elizabeth, Patrick, Sophia, Frederic—surely the old loyalists branded their principles into the very ground.

            Of course, in such a town there are divers objects of interest. Every stranger is expected to visit the Indian camp and the Blockhouse, Fort Tipperary and the Scotch Kirk. The Kirk is a white building with a bell tower and the picture of a green, green oak displayed on the façade. Here the Scotch Presbyterians, of whom there is a goodly number in St. Andrews, worship and receive the Word from an unconscionably high pulpit.

            Tradition has a pretty story about the church. It was built early in the century by a generous but opinionated Scotchman. He wanted a church that suited him within and without; as the shortest, peaceable route to his own will and way he built and furnished and kept the church, giving the use of it to the parish on condition that they paid the taxes. How grateful the congregation was, one cannot decide; perhaps they grumbled and criticized John Scott's taste, and wondered why when he was about it, "a man of his means," he couldn't pay the taxes; it is certain, anyhow, that they did not pay the taxes themselves. Then the giver rose up in his wrath and the following Sunday, when they assembled, they found the doors locked and John Scott ready with a fiery discourse on their sins of omission.

            Somehow, peace must have been patched up, for the church was left to them at his death, with this queer proviso—as if John Scott will push his finger into their affairs even from the grave! —every year the picture of an oak tree was to have a fresh coat of paint. Punctually, every year it has had the legal coat, until it is glossy bas relief.

            There are dozens of interesting traditions afloat in St. Andrews and more than dozens of interesting characters. A placid old gentleman whose pretty cottage on the hill we noticed the first day, is the father of Canadian journalism, and a perfect mine of information. (A. W. Smith no doubt) Generally sometime in the day one will see, either in the hotel or on the streets, a handsome, elderly man to whom everybody bows. Sometimes he is in a pony carriage driven by a dark eyed young man or by a sweet faced and Titian haired lady. This is Sir Leonard Tilley, the Governor, the young man is his son, the charming woman his wife. They are all greatly loved in St. Andrews. And any old inhabitant would like nothing better than to tell stories of Sir Leonard's eloquence when he was the member for Saint John. Lady Tilley entertains delightfully, and many a wanderer from the States carried back grateful memories of her home and her cook—and J—- wished me to add—her Jersey cows.

            In this respect, the hospitality of Saint Andrews, there is so much to say! Canon Ketchum, Mrs. Ketchum, and Miss Ketchum, Sir Charles Tupper and a score of other kind hosts and hostesses, have captured more American hearts than Church's men took captives. Canon Ketchum has some rare old books in his library that are worth a long journey to see.

            St. Andrews is gradually acquiring a pleasant company of cottagers. In the meanwhile, it has three hotels, all warmly praised by their guests. One of those we could commend to all our friends, but I am not writing an advertisement. The architect of that house has been happy in his fireplaces. They typify a kind of homelike comfort which I have never encountered in any other hotel. It is our opinion, too, that hay fever attacks the most genial, sweet tempered, witty and personally attractive people; until we ran into the hay fever sufferers here this interesting fact in neurology had escaped us entirely; also, the equally interesting fact in therapeutics, that St. Andrews air is a specific for hay fever.

            Possibly one reason is the extraordinary dryness of the atmosphere, which is more like mountain than sea air, yet has the quality of sea air in its salt refreshment; possibly another is that the pine woods are an absorbent. Be the reason what it may, hay fever sufferers can ride, drive, walk, fish in wet clothes or keep flowers in their rooms and never feel a twinge.

            J—- and I are no fisherwomen; this is a pity, since the fishing privileges of St. Andrews are large, both in the bay for salt-water fish and in the lakes and streams for salmon trout. A day's journey will give one an opportunity to gambol with the sportive salmon and to add a new page to one's knowledge of the Indian question. The Indians are guides. I know nothing regarding them, but friends tell me that, except that they are greedy beyond imagining and liars from the cradle to the grave; they are very good fellows.

            The sailing is fine, and they are to have a kind of pond for bathers in Katy's Cove this year. The water, it seems to us, however, is too cold for real pleasure. However, I do not know by experience. Without the bathing there are enough attractions at St. Andrews to draw us to the "sleeping beauty by the sea." Beyond any resting place that I know its very air distils rest.

—Octave Thanet

Something new in the carriage line has been introduced by Messrs. Burton and Murphy, livery-stable keepers. It is a three-seated Surrey wagon of very handsome proportions. The seats are upholstered in leather, with spring cushions in the seat and in the back, which is very high. The carriage is beautifully finished, and ought to be very popular with driving parties. A handsome two-seated carriage, with canopy top has also been added by this firm. Their enterprise is commendable. Mr. B. R. DeWolfe, of St. Stephen made both carriages. (see their ad this issue)

A bridegroom and bride, who came to the Algonquin a few days ago to spend their honeymoon, and who thought nobody could detect their new relations towards each other, were just a little chagrined when, on entering the dining hall for their first meal, the bright young ladies who compose the orchestra began playing Mendelssohn's Wedding March. As the familiar strains fell upon their ears, they both blushed, and then burst into a hearty laugh. They evidently appreciated the joke.

Mrs. Robert Meighen and Miss Meighen, of Montreal, who were guests at the Algonquin last season, are again there. (Mrs. Hosmer at Algonquin)

Beacon

July 23/1891

W. D. MacKay, photographer, may be found at his old rooms, King Street, every day except Sunday and Monday.

St. Andrews the Seaport for Aroostook County

"B" writing to the Aroostook Times, has this to say regarding St. Andrews: "Whether we stand on the wharf at St. Andrews, or pace up and down the fine piazza of the hotel, and look over the beautiful bay toward the great and wide sea, and then turn the thought to the line of glistening steel which makes the airline of rail to our country, we come to realize what a fine piece of property this old N. B. and CPR is to its owners and how completely it has come to be the key and controlling factor in all railway combination, and plans, north and east of Bangor. At the price which this line cost the present owners it pays a constant and secure dividend and must so remain. Be the mutations what they may, be the new schemes ever so plausible, and finely set forth, the rate from Portland and Boston to Houlton via St. Andrews will control all questions of Aroostook transportation. For our town this unalterable position, at the head of the airline to the sea, at the shortest possible point of contact, is of untold significance. But statistics aside, to enjoy the exquisite panorama of sky and sea, of rounded hill and mountain, softened in the haze of distance, of rippling wave on the pebbly shore, go to St. Andrews, put dull care behind, and as the gifted speaker said, "be simply human." rest the body, delight the mind with the charming variety, and be thankful.

The Houlton colony of summer visitors on St. Andrews Island is being rapidly augmented. It is now composed of J. N. Clarke and son, Harrison Huzzy, wife and child, Dr. Siphers and wife, Henry Wilson, "Dr. Hanson wife, and Chief of Police Kay and wife.

The belles of Bar Harbour have taken to whistling this summer. Thought to be occasioned by a scarcity of men.

Beacon

July 30/1891

Nice ads for W. E. Mallory and Burton and Murphy

Better Cars Needed

Summer visitors to St. Andrews complain—and with good reason too—at the miserable class of cars which they are obliged to occupy in travelling over the St. Andrews branch. In previous years, the summer train running in and out of St. Andrews was the handsomest on the road, but the opposite is the case this year. If the management of the railway are really interested in the development of St. Andrews as s summer resort, and we think they are, they should at once remove the miserable coaches which now run on this end of the road and put better ones on in their stead.

The railroad wharf is a busy place just now, two or three vessels being moored there discharging coal and plaster. Repairs to the railroad wharf are about completed and the wharf is now in excellent shape to do business. It was largely through the efforts of Mr. W. D Forster that the work was so successfully performed.

An inmate of the Alms House, named McCann, let fall a spark from his pipe the other day and set fire to his bedclothes. The fire was noticed before it had done any serious damage. Steps have been taken by the Commissioners to prevent the recurrence of such an accident.

The Tyn-y-coed has more guests than usual this season. There was some talk of opening the Owen, but it did not meet with favor and the idea has been abandoned, we hear.

The boating season has commenced nearly everywhere, and wherever there are rivers, or seaside rowing, girls will be to the fore, with canoes, punts, or boats. Rowing is one of those exercises which are a little doubtfully good for girls, because they are so very apt to strain themselves.

Guests enjoy fishing, boating, walking, driving, tennis-playing, bicycle riding, indoor music, occasional dance, card parties.

"A row of nice bathing houses has been erected on the beach near Katy's Cove and just below the Algonquin Hotel."

Beacon

Aug 6/1891

Mr. E. L. Andrews has begun to get the stone for Mr. Van Horne's summer residence on Minister's Island. It will be built of red field granite with red sandstone trimmings.

Picnics are everyday occurrences nowadays. On Monday, there was a basket picnic on St. Andrews Island, at which a number of the young people enjoyed themselves. On Tuesday, the Presbyterians, of St. Stephen, came down with a tug and two barges and landed at Minister's Island, where they spent several hours very pleasantly. The same day the members of St. Andrews Division, S. and T., and a number of invited friends, picnicked on St. Andrews Island. They had a delightful time.

Hay Fever

The person afflicted with hay fever did not always enjoy the privileges and immunities that he does today. There was a time—not so very long ago either—when the unfortunate hay feverite had to do all his sneezing and wheezing at home, suffering such tortures as only the hay fever victim does suffer. Materia medica had nothing that could alleviate his sufferings; the skill of the most skillful physicians was set completely at naught. Then came the blessed news of the discovery of exempt localities, and ever since then the hay fever patient has breathed more deeply and sneezed less often. These localities are more numerous now, but there are few of them where absolute exemption can be obtained. Among the few is the town of St. Andrews. The conditions here seem to be peculiarly favorable for resisting the disease, as no well-defined case of hay fever has ever been known to exist in St. Andrews. Sufferers from the disease have come here, with its fangs deeply rooted in their systems, but within twenty-four hours after the arrival, they had almost forgotten that such a disease had existed. During the past few years there have been many doubting Thomases, whose doubts have been completely set at rest after spending a season here. Last season some of the very worst cases of hay fever visited St. Andrews and in not a single instance did any evidence of the disease remain after the first or second day. Testimonials to this effect from most reliable people have been given, and the glad tidings have been wafted wherever a hay fever patient was known to exist. This summer there has been much enquiry among hay fever people respecting St. Andrews, and there is little doubt that they will come here in large numbers. To those who do come we can promise them to be well taken care of; and we can give them the further assurance of absolute exemption from the disease. This is strong language, but in face of all the facts it is none too strong.

As Others See Us

Review of St. Andrews in Boston Courier by Kate Prescott Ward.

            For nearly three years the charming town of St. Andrews has been the Mecca toward which the weary student, the votaries of fashion and pleasure, the seekers of rest, amusement or recreation have turned their faces with anticipation, and from which they depart with regret. It is a delightful place, and among its attractions are not a few rare features. It is English in aspect, and the British coat of arms, emblazoned in gold and pale green on the courthouse façade, would be enough in itself to announce to the indifferent visitor the fact of its nationality were there naught beside. The difference in currency and turning to the left in driving are among the other signs of the British province. Greatest credit is justly accorded to the syndicate, comprising the St. Andrews Land Company, composed of well-known business and professional men of Boston and elsewhere, and to Mr. Albert Miller for the success of their undertaking in making a most charming and fashionable resort of this attractive place. Among all the watering places accessible to Bostonians and others, not one exceeds St. Andrews in point of beauty, health-giving properties, in comfort or entertainment.

            It amply repays one for the four hundred miles of travel by land or water, and our methods of travelling have now been reduced to nearly a fine art as well as a science that little, if any, inconvenience is experienced by even those most delicately constituted. The pleasant trip by the International Steamship Line to Eastport is too familiar to the public to require description or comment, while the hour's sail across Passamaquoddy Bay is fascinating in the extreme. The water is generally as smooth as a mirror and as clear, giving a two-fold pleasure in studying the play of light and shade on the many little wooded islands by their clearly outlined reflection in the placid surface.

            The fact that the principal hotel being on an elevation of one hundred and fifty feet above sea level might suggest the idea of a "climb" to those of weak or weary feet. But the house is not perched on a pinnacle, for the land on all sides makes a smooth, gradual slope to the town level.

            Among the business interests of St. Andrews is that of sardine fishing. This is in reality the catching of small herring; shipping them to Eastport where they are packed, labelled with French or Italian labels as the case requires, and sent to various markets, the greatest demand being from the far West. One of the shops contains as fine an assortment of the beautiful Jasper and Wedgwood ware as we often see in the largest establishments of our principal cities, and at much lower prices, from the fact that the duties are much less. There were also some fine specimens of the English terra cotta, which might stand as a substitute for the beautiful Copenhagen ware were it not that the latter is of much finer finish and the designs classical instead of Mexican.                   

            The land here is well cultivated and the vegetable gardens very attractive, even while we looked in vain for the waving plumes of the cornfields. The fact that one hundred thousand dollar's worth of turnips were shipped from here to Boston last year is ample evidence that the quiet villagers are neither dead nor sleeping, though their industry be of so quiet a kind.

            The first railroad in all British North America was built here, the object being to connect with Quebec and make St. Andrews the winter port of Upper Canada. But after the completion of a few hundred miles, the work was relinquished for lack of funds; the enthusiasm and energy of the projectors declined and finally the plan was abandoned. Through this fruitless scheme (in 1835) many families were impoverished [really?] and at present only one of the directors, Dr. S. Gove, is living.  

            Among our many agreeable visitors at present are the Hon. John Bigelow, ex-minister to France and one of the most elegant, distinguished looking men of the day. His manner and conversation fully comport with his appearance and it was music to the favored ears to hear his reasonable, just and charitable comments on the famous baccarat case in London, which has excited such various criticism in the four quarters of the globe. He, Miss Grace Bigelow and her sister, Mrs. Harding, are enthusiastic over this place, and when asked if she would not leave it with regret, Miss Bigelow replied: "Indeed, I will, for I would like to spend the rest of my days here." This is high praise, though well merited, in view of the fact that Mr. Bigelow and family have experienced so much of the sunny side of life and seen so many of the worlds' most attractive pleasure resorts and famous watering places.

            Others here are Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bonaparte, of Baltimore. The latter has been here with her friend, Miss Haycock, of Philadelphia, for a month or more and she anticipates passing the rest of the season at St. Andrews. Boston was honoured when Mr. Charles S. Bonaparte and his brother, Jerome Bonaparte, chose their wives from among its fair women. The latter was Miss Appleton and the former Miss Ellen Channing Day, both most attractive women, though quite different in coloring and style.

            It may naturally be supposed that Mr. Charles J. Bonaparte rarely, if ever, comes in contact with strangers without a consciousness that he is subject to a scrutiny, be it ever so delicate, in tracing a likeness in face or figure to his illustrious relative. At this moment we uncover our own head, apologetically, for so doing. . . .

            No visitor to St. Andrews can fail to appreciate the courteous hospitality of the permanent residents. Sir Leonard and Lady Tilley, who have a winter home at Saint John, spend their summers in this lovely place, and interest themselves in all matters that concern the town or the townspeople. They entertain delightfully and seem to have won the affection as well as the admiration of the residents. . . .

            One feature by which we are deeply impressed, is the correct, distinct pronunciation of the residents of St. Andrews, even of the working classes. Their voices are low-keyed and pleasant; their replies and manner are invariably courteous, and quite in contrast to the "Yep" with the evident indifference to the amenities of life as an adjunct, which we so often meet with among the same class in New England.

            A word before closing of some of the advantages of this place. First of all, there has never been a case of hay fever, malaria or nervous prostration that originated, or that could be self-sustaining in St. Andrews. The air seems absolutely pure, coming to us from the surrounding waters of the long-named bay, the broad St. Croix or the Bay of Fundy, or else from the pine groves on the strip of land extending inland. There is "water, water everywhere—"but we cannot finish the quotation for there is plenty of water to drink. So pure and so light that, when first sipped, one is inclined to drink a quart instead of the dainty glassful. The drives in every direction are delightful whether by the shore or through the woods; if taken through the woods one finds a double pleasure in the various shades of vivid green; and in the delicious fragrance of the pines, fir balsam and cedar, and of the quantities of swamp pinks, azaleas, honey-suckles and roses. One drive particularly pleasant took us by a rose hedge on which there must have been thousands of buds and blossoms. Then the quiet of the woods is very restful, with only the tuneful notes of the thrush, the wren, the robin and the others; and in the early twilight the birds-notes are hushed and the silence for some moments is unbroken by even an insects' hum. The trees are mostly evergreens, which are very beautiful in their vivid coloring. Besides these there is not an infinite variety and we fear that Mr. Beecher, who said and wrote so much of the individual tones of the trees, might miss some of the tones in the musical gamut of the forest. But he would enjoy the low, sweet murmuring of the pines, the sighing of the cedars, the whispering chattering of the birches, and the rustling of the maples and chestnuts, with the soft sweet music of the elm tree branches. And when emerging from the woods into a full view of placid Chamcook Lake, any true lover of nature would feel a glow of enthusiasm. Beyond the lake is the range of Chamcook hills, which, from every part of St. Andrews, makes a charming variety in the scenery with the cultivated fields, the woods, and sea and sky. As to amusements, boating and fishing are in the daily routine; tennis comes in for its share, and dancing and card playing with other games may be indulged in at pleasure.

            The half has not been told, but the few to whom this spot may yet be terra incognita may learn the rest by a visit to the charming, interesting, old town.

—-K. P. W.

The Bar Harbor people want some new excitement and Mr. W. A. Milliken has determined to give it to them. His plan is to shipwreck a vessel during the prevalence of a heavy sea, somewhere on the Mount Desert coast, near Schooner Head or Otter Creek. He means to get up a good looking vessel, put a crew on board, and then when the right kind of weather comes, advertise for crowd of spectators whom he will admit to the scene at a given price, to behold the spectacle, and when all is ready run his vessel into the breakers where she is expected to go to pieces. He will have a life-saving crew on the spot with the necessary apparatus to save life and property.

Beacon

Aug 13/1891

Reminiscence of a Duck Shooting Trip to Chamcook Narrows

. . . .

This is no fancy sketch, but a simple recital of a shooting trip to the Chamcook narrows in which the names are altered with the exception of Finlay's, who at that time lived in a little shanty on the northern end of Minister's Island. Both the men, though not very young now, would I dare say, give a good deal to have just such another trip.

            —-R. Melville Jack.

The coal vessels continue to arrive and are being promptly discharged by steam and horsepower. Up to the present time 5,070 tons have been unloaded. The last schooners to arrive have been the E. Merriam, Leonard B., Lizzie and Roland.

Trout and lots of them have been stored in the Algonquin cold air chamber the past week. Mr. D. B. Claflin made a big haul of Digdeguash waters, some of them running up to two pounds. This is pretty big for brook trout, but then Digdeguash trout are famed for their princely proportions. Messrs. F. W. Cram, F. J. Lewis, Charles Gibson and R. S. Gardiner, who were on the upper waters of the Miramichi, came back to the Algonquin on Saturday with an immense lot of handsome fish, principally trout, and a large addition to their stock of fishy yarns. Their catch was away up in three figures—something like 800 we are told.

Beacon

Aug 20/1891

The grain crop in the prairie province will be the largest that has ever been garnered. The CPR are building new cars at the rate of ten a day in order to carry it to the seaboard for shipment.

For the twelfth time the Picnic club, of St. Andrews, held their annual picnic at Mowatt's Grove on Friday last. President Snodgrass was to the fore and he had behind him an able corps of assistants. The weather left nothing to be desired, and the crowds of people who visited the grounds during the afternoon spent the time very pleasantly. About 300 excursionists from St. Stephen and Calais, together with the Calais band, came down in the forenoon, and after having partaken of lunch, re-embarked and were conveyed to the picnic grounds. These, with the townspeople, made the Grove a very lively place. The amusements were many and various, and embraced dancing on the green, foot racing, archery and other sports. Mrs. Bignall [black?] and partner danced a "breakdown," to the intense amusement of the crowd. She had an excellent partner who was grotesquely decorated for the occasion. A sailor's hornpipe danced by a young woman attracted a good deal of attention. The snake contortionist also has many admirers. In the three-mile race, Andrew Hunt was the winner. An excellent string band provided music for dancing, and scores of young people enjoyed themselves in this manner until the night was well advanced.

W. C. Van Horne has returned from England, bringing with him many beautiful works of art to ornament his new mansion in Sherbrooke St., Montreal.

An especially good year for the hotels on Campobello.

Beacon

Aug. 27/1891

Lola, the winged Indian runner, of St. Andrews, is getting himself in trim for a half-mile race in St. Stephen park, with D. W. Sprague, of Fredericton, for a $50 aside. The race will come off in about a week.

Howells in one of his novels, says that a "woman is a natural born smuggler." Perhaps that is the reason why a little store in St. Andrews, where Wedgwood ware is sold has such an attraction for American lady visitors. —Eastport Sentinel

Hay fever conquests continue to be made. A Georgian came to the Algonquin the other day, with a well-developed attack, by the following morning every symptom of the disease had fled.

Beacon

Sept 3/1891

The President's Vacation. His Travels, Pleasure and Adventures. Pittsfield, Mass., Sun.

A most charming old town is St. Andrews, New Brunswick. We go down from Calais by the "Rose Standish," a sail of about three hours, the boat stopping at one or two points en route to take on freight and passengers. There are a great many holiday people like ourselves. The freight includes the usual variety of merchandise and in addition huge blocks of red granite, much like that from Mr. Allen's quarries in Missouri. The "Rose Standish" is not a "fast girl" and her timetable allows a leisurely pace which we greatly enjoy. River and bay are in a smiling humor, and we sit in the shade of the upper deck and watch the panorama of the shore slide by. It is ten o'clock when we climb to the wharf and pass up the quiet street.

            The town occupies the west slope of the long peninsula, on one side the wide St. Croix River with its beautiful scenery and spreading away to the south and east the bay whose charm has but one equal in the world, it is said, the famous bay of Naples. "Sad, isn't it?" said the President, "that so charming a picture should have for its name "the Pesaka." I give it up but it is spelled "Pesakadamiakkanti." The title means in Indian, "Leads up to open places." It is simplified (?) in the modern guidebooks and geographies to Passamaquoddy. Some say the latter word means in the Indian tongue the "Place of the pollock" and that the bay was so named because of the abundance of this kind of fish in its waters. The President would name it "Holiday Haven."

            Quaint little houses border the streets, shingled mostly from ground to ridge board, weather-beaten and old. There was formerly a great business done here in shipping, lumbering, boating and fishing, and these odd little houses are the former domiciles of woodmen, mechanics and sailors. The business seems to have largely died away, but the cottages are here and most of them have windows filled with flowerpots and little door yards with old-fashioned flowers and tangles of wild rose. Shops are not many— simply the country stores to supply the practical wants of the population but every summer an art crockery store is opened to sell souvenirs to tourists. The shop is well filled by exquisite things from French, English and Irish potteries and as there is no duty the prices are very tempting. The shell-like Belleek Ware, the Worcester, Devonshire, Wedgwood and other fancy wares are not above half Boston prices. Wedgwood is the favorite with buyers. Pittsfield people will see some good examples of it at Mr. Mills' store on North Street, and the President is so captivated with its beautiful blue color and its cameo like carvings of mythological gods and goddesses that he defies the law and buys an armful. Old Josiah Wedgwood, who invented this ware in 1600, and made fame and fortune with his bowls and cups and vases and pitchers with their profiles of kings and statesmen and actresses upon them, would have smiled out loud if he could have seen the President guarding his treasures from the inquisitive eyes of the customs men. It transpired that the revenue guards knew all about it, but at their discretion let slip the little samples and presents the tourists buy. His teacup and bowl, wreathed with exquisite carvings telling a tale he will have to look up in the Iliad or the wanderings of Ulysses were perfectly safe, and he need not have carried them so furtively and secretly in his high Derby hat.

            . . .

            It is quite half a mile, and a sunny, warm half mile at that, from the wharf to the Algonquin, a grand summer hotel which crowns a knoll overlooking the town and the waters round about. Stages run but we preferred to walk along the streets and up the winding road, stopping to "take in" many beautiful views of bay and island and ship. By our side, as we stroll up the slope, walks one native here, and in a kindly way he gives us the various points in view—Joe's Point, running away cut into the St. Croix, and far beyond, in the same direction the woody crown of the "Devil's Head." The Maine highlands with Kendall's Head, Point Pleasant with its Indian village, remnant of the Etchemins who were the lords of the land, before the white man's advent; Deer island, Minister's Island, Big Latete, Little Latete, the pretty harbor of Chamcook, and near by the town, Navy Island. This a very tame in print, perhaps, but to view on this clear July day, with a brilliant sky and sea, the flitting of white sails, the beach stretching its long yellow line fringed with foam, the blossom-bedecked cottages, the quaint old houses, the sleepy haze that lies far down the bay, the quiet streets—with all these and more allurements that we can describe, it was an half hour's walk that left an indelible picture on our memories and that stroll up the slope of St. Andrews was one of the most delightful incidents of the vacation.

            The "Algonquin" is a vast structure built for the summer boarder business, and it is first-class in all its appointments. It stands 150 feet above high water, and commands the whole circumference of view, shoreward and to sea. The parlors are spacious and handsome, an elevator, baths and all sorts of comforts are provided, the rooms are large and beautifully furnished, and the dining hall is an apartment of fine proportions with an outlook over the town and the bay. The hotel will accommodate 150 guests. We found nearly a hundred although the season is hardly in its height until August. Landlord Albert Miller is a Franklin County man, from Athol, I believe, and has ample experience in hotel management. He receives us with most courteous hospitality and makes us a present of the house, so to speak, and when, an hour later we sit down to a luncheon fit even for royal palates, the President is (so) glad he accepts the gift. After the lunch come cigars on the piazza. Big easy chairs are here by the score, and we take two of them where the breeze and shade are best and sit listening to the orchestra, three bright young women with cornet, violin and piano in the parlor just behind us. How perfectly happy the president looks! The blue smoke blows from his cigar in a fragrant cloud. He rocks gently in the big chair to the time of the waltz the musicians are playing; his eyes are bright with the beauty of the picture before him and he says softly, "No wonder that, when He looked upon the land and the sea He had made, He said it was good."

            We sit here till well into the afternoon. Guests all about us are enjoying the luxury of peace and rest "far from the madding crowd." The music rises and falls; there are long halts in the program, the alternate union Jacks and Stars and Stripes which decorate the columns of the piazza flutter lazily; there is an irresistible drowsiness falling upon all of us and in his sleepy hollow chair the President nods—and snores! "The boat is coming," someone says, and far down the bay is a cloud of smoke, the flash of roam from sidewheels and bow of a steamer. It is the "Rose Standish" on the return trip, and we must go. Very reluctantly, we leave, and with many backward glances at the wide sweep of lawn with its gorgeous flower beds and its neat walks; at the groups of guests her and there, the women in pleasant summer costumes chatting an gossiping and laughing in contentment and delight, and at the fair landscape all about.

            "A very good dinner indeed," said the President to Capt. Ryan, as he talked with him about the Algonquin. "I should say so," remarked the captain, "and if you will be kind enough to sit in the middle of the boat, she will not be so apt to run on one wheel." The President had indeed "filled well," but he rather resented the imputation that he had weighted himself to such an extent that he could be used as ballast for a big ship.

"I can remember," said Mr. Marshall Andrews of Minister's Island, to the Beacon on Friday last, "when the mails to Saint John were carried on a man's back the whole way. Michael Farrell was the name of the mail carrier, and he usually spent a week on the journey. There was no road through the County at that time, although St. Andrews was quite a large shipping port. This was probably seventy years ago." Verily, the world do move. (1821?)

The National Policy! The National Policy! Eh. What has it done for us? Asked a Fairhaven man of the Beacon on Monday. "Under reciprocity we erected a number of houses at Fairhaven, but under the National Policy the owners of them were compelled to go to the United States for a living. Under reciprocity we had two bankers employing from fifteen to twenty men, at the Haven. We have none now. Under reciprocity we put up every year from 5,000 to 10,000 boxes of smoked herring; we don't put up any now. Under reciprocity we put up from 2000 to 5000 barrels of herring a year; none are barrelled now. I have reared five sons, and four of them have become naturalized citizens of the United States, because they could not get a living at home. That's what the National policy has done for Fairhaven; that's what it has done for me."

Beacon

Sept 10/1891

Lessons from the Census

Public attention, which has so long been centered on the revelations of rascality at Ottawa, [Tarte affair, much in news in previous issues last month or two] has turned from this subject to consider one of equally great import, viz the decline in our population, as shown by the recent census. . . .

            Confederation has never proved a benefit to the Maritime Provinces. We have had all the burdens to bear and have received no corresponding returns. We have been taxed to develop the great North-West, without the slightest shadow of a return to us. We have been taxed to build a transcontinental railway, only to see the traffic which it should have brought to our ports carried to ports in the United States. This has disheartened thousands of people in these Maritime Provinces and has driven hundreds of them away. Everybody knows how the wool has been pulled over the eyes of the people of these Maritime Provinces in the matter of the Short Line railway. Time and time again have we been assured by political spouters that when the CPR was completed, wealth like a river would flow into our ports. Saint John was to become the Liverpool of North America. St. Andrews, nearer to the North-West by forty miles than Saint John, and a port equal, if not superior to it, was also to become a second Liverpool. We paid our money towards this end willingly and waited for the golden era to dawn. The great national highway has been completed from ocean to ocean, and still we are waiting. The golden era, like an ignis fatuus, still eludes our grasp. The immense cargoes of grain from the North-West, which were to people our Maritime Province ports with the shipping of the world, are being carried to United States ports to enrich them, and we are left poorer than ever. This is one cause of the decline of our Maritime Province population.

            Another cause, and perhaps it has been the most potent one, has been the governmental policy. The policy of exclusion which we have been practising for the past twelve years or so has proved most disastrous to this young Dominion. It has hampered its progress and dwarfed its growth. It has shut us out from trading with our neighbors, and has debarred them from trading with us. Every day that we live the evil effects of this suicidal policy are being enforced up our attention.

"The Brass Cannon of Campobello," by Kate Gannett Wells. Story.

Beacon

Sept 17/1891

The Eastport Board of Trade has again taken up the question of establishing steamboat connection with the neighboring islands and with the CPR at St. Andrews. Eastport is asked to furnish $1500 in capital, and already over $500 has been raised. This would seem to be a very small sum for the projected service, but doubtless the Eastport businessmen have been assured of aid from other sources. Since the matter was first broached in Eastport the railway wharf at St. Andrews has been placed in excellent shape, so that the excuse cannot be made that facilities are lacking here. We hope the energetic men of Eastport will push this mater through to a conclusion as rapidly as possible.

Up to the present 9270 tons of coal have been landed here for the railway. Some of this coal has been yarded at Woodstock, Aroostook Junction and other points, but the greater part of it is piled up on the railway grounds here.

Best summer season yet. Hotels surpassed all previous records. Railways and steamboat business up. "While other resorts to the westward have been waning, the star of St. Andrews has been gradually ascending." "Hay fever sufferers in larger number than every have visited us, and in not a single case have they failed to experience almost immediate relief. Many of this class of people still remain to bless the pure air of St. Andrews. It is to be regretted that a little more activity has not been shown in the erection of summer homes by those who have purchased property here, but there is good reason to look for a boom in this line next season. On the whole the prospect is quite encouraging for those who are desirous of seeing the town advance as a summer resort."

One of the most prosperous seasons yet for Tyn-y-coed. A Mr. Gorham Hubbard of Boston has purchased a lot next to the Tyn-y-coed and proposes erecting a $10,000 cottage.

Beacon

Sept 24, 1891

Saint John has reason to be proud of many things, but she has particular reason to be proud of her new opera house, and of those energetic spirits who have labored so persistently to accomplish its erection. It is now some years since the project was first mooted. It was received very coldly, but the promoters of the enterprise were not men to be discouraged at trifles, and they kept plodding on, winning one point after another, until now they are enjoying a full and complete triumph. Much of the success of the undertaking rests with Mr. A. O. Skinner, president of the company, who has worked night and day to secure the fruition of his hopes and desires. The new opera house is a stately brick edifice, located in the business portion of Union Street. Its interior arrangements are very complete. The auditorium is a magnificent room, with sitting accommodation for 1150 persons in its. There are two balconies, both of which are comfortably seated. The stage space is most ample, and all of the accessories are up to the necessities of modern times. The building is lighted by electricity. The opening on Monday night was a most brilliant affair.

Beacon

Oct 1/1891

Digby, NS is to have a hotel that will cost $35,000.

Beacon

Oct 22/1891

Our Western Heritage

Towns Booming, Farmers busy, Dakota Settlers Seeking Peace and Plenty

Mr. Henry Osburn, who recently returned from a visit to Vancouver, is greatly impressed with the extent and resources of the Canadian North-West.

            He describes Winnipeg as being a large and growing city, and all the towns large and small, between it and the foothills, are active and booming. Vancouver is moving along with rapid steps. It has grown very fast during the past few years and houses are now going up everywhere. Land which was in woods a few short months ago is now occupied by neat and commodious dwellings. The harbor is deep, but wharf facilities are lacking. These will be supplied. Vancouver, he thinks has a great future before it. Victoria is prettily situated, but the harbor entrance being narrow, large steamers do not care to go in. To obviate this, jetties are being erected outside the harbor entrance at tremendous cost.

            The soil of the North-West appears to closely resemble black peat. It is very fertile, and enormous crops of grain have been raised this season. The Canadian North-West he declares could easily provide wheat for the whole of Europe. Harvesting can be carried on so easily there that he cannot see how it is possible for the English farmer, with the rents, and tithes, and taxes, and the many other burdens, such as keeping the hedges in order and allowing this property to be hunted over, which he has to bear) to complete with the grain producers of Canada. The only circumstance in favor of the English farmer is the expensive freights across the Atlantic. But these are being reduced, and the English farmer must find it hard in the near future to make both ends meet. During Mr. Osburn's visit, he met an agent of the British Government, Mr. Plunkett, who was sent out to report up the North-West as a field for immigration. Mr. Plunkett was more than pleased with what he saw. Many Dakota settlers are drifting into the Canadian North-West, too; they did not find Dakota lands riches as they had expected, and hearing of the fertility of Canadian soil they are coming over in large numbers.

            The CPR Mr. Osburn says, is doing a large traffic business, and it is constantly on the increase.

Junction House at McAdam still open. Railway boarding house being finished up.

Katy's Cove will not stay dammed, notwithstanding all the damming that has been done to it. A month ago, and the dam builder thought he had the waters secure, but today the water flows in and out with as much ease . . . as it did before the dam was erected. The tide of Wednesday night did the business very effectually. It did not tear away the dam; it could not do that very well, but it tore out a new and deeper channel to the west. Thousands of tons of gravel and sand were swept away as if they had been so many chips. . . . The new channel is probably thirty feet deep and fifty feet broad, and it appears to be growing broader and deeper every tide. It is out of the question to attempt to close up the channel this season. It will probably be left as it is until next summer.

Beacon

Oct 29, 1891

The Winter Port, where is It?

And now the announcement is made that in consequence of the small mail subsidy offered by the Canadian government, the boats of the Allan Line will not touch at Halifax this winter but will continue on to Portland, Maine. Is Portland to become the winter port for Canada after all? Halifax may be a dangerous port to enter in the winter months, but Halifax is not the only port that Canada owns. St. Andrews is far and away ahead of it as a port, besides being nearer the centre of population in Canada by several hundreds of miles. The government of the Dominion knows this. It is only a few months since the fact was brought prominently before their eyes. Yet they refused to do anything towards its development and offered reasons which they themselves have since ignored. The result of such an unpatriotic course is that business which might and should be done in Canadian ports and by Canadian people is being done by Americans. Is this right?

Railroad Reminiscences

An Incident of the St. Andrews and Quebec Railroad Recalled

Aroostook Times

Details.

A handsome silver medal which was won in the recent story competition of the Montreal Witness has been sent to Mr. George H. Wiseley of St. Andrews. The inner circle of the medal is a representation of the penny mentioned in Scripture, the outer circle bearing the Witness inscription. It is very cleverly devised. The medal is attached to a printed diploma. It will be prized very highly by Mr. Wiseley, who is to be congratulated upon his success in competition with so many.

Judge Stevens Pleased with Court-House Improvements. Details. Poor commissioners of St. David's parish on Trial for having neglected property. Nov. 25. Poor Commissioners of St. David's Honorably Acquitted. Details.

Mr. W. C. Van Horne, general manager of the CPR, is daily expected to arrive in St. Andrews. He has given instructions to have a road laid out on his property on Minister's Island. The stone of his contemplated summer residence is already on the ground.

Beacon

Nov 5/1891

Not Guilty

The Poor Commissioners of St. David's Honorably Acquitted

The two Poor Commissioners of the parish of St. David's who were on trial last week in the county Court for willfully neglecting to care for two paupers in their charge, are not the monsters their enemies would have the people of Charlotte believe, for, after a patient hearing of the evidence on both sides the jury promptly returned a verdict of not guilty. The first witness in the case was John Webber, whose description of the dilapidated state of the Poor House, and of the filth which he alleges he found there, was briefly given in last week's paper. [details follow]

Mr. W. C. Van Horne, General Manager of the CPR, accompanied by Supt. Timmerman and two or three other gentlemen, reached St. Andrews by special train on Friday. The party drove to Minister's Island, where Mr. Van Horne, decided upon a number of arrangements with respect to his new house. He told the Beacon that he would probably begin the work of erection at once. The party were favored with charming weather and enjoyed the drive very much. They went to Saint John the same afternoon.

Beacon

Nov 12/1891

Let Us Give Thanks

. . . We should be thankful for the rich harvest with which Canada has been blessed from end to end of Canada, and the joyful tidings of a bountiful yield of the fruits of the earth. In Manitoba and the North-West territory, the grain crop has been unprecedentedly large, and nearer home we have had similar comforting experiences. Surely this is cause for the giving of thanks. And our fisherman, the toilers of the sea, have also reason for thanksgiving in having such large catches of fish as they have had.

Railway Business Increasing

That St. Andrews as a railway point is not losing ground is apparent from the fact that the revenue receipts of the CPR from St. Andrews station, during the month of October, were 93 percent in excess of the receipts of October, 1890, which month showed a marked increase over the same month in 1889. In making up this statement the coal business of the railway is not taken into account—only that freight which yields an actual revenue to the road. This state of things should be as satisfactory to the people of St. Andrews as it is to the railway authorities, and should serve to impress the latter with the capabilities of St. Andrews if increased wharfage facilities were provided.

St. Andrews as a Port

General Manger Van Horne, alive as he is to the interests of his road, must see that it would be of immense advantage to the CPR if St. Andrews was developed as a freight port. The satisfactory manner in which the coal business has been handled ought to be sufficient proof to him that if increased facilities were provided there would be no limit to the amount of business that could be done here. If coal can be handled here cheaper than in Saint John (and this has been demonstrated), there is no reason in the world why sugar and other kinds of freight cannot also be handled as cheaply. St. Andrews is a port that is easy to be reached at all times of tide and at all times of year by vessels of any size; it is a cheap port for vessels, and if the CPR would make the same effort to develop it that they have made to develop Vancouver, we think they would be well repaid for their trouble and expenditure. With such a handy and well-protected port as St. Andrews (provided there were proper wharf facilities) there would be no excuse for the steamers of the Allan Line running to Portland in the winter months. Their passenger and freight for Canada could be landed here just as well as at Portland, and both could be forwarded from this port quite as direct and expeditiously. We would invite Mr. Van Horne's attention to this subject, and we would also invite the attention of the Canadian government, so that when mail tenders are being asked for, the port of St. Andrews may be included with the other Canadian ports.

The construction of Mr. W. C. Van Horne's summer residence on Minister's Island will be entered upon immediately. The building, which Mr. Van Horne proposes erecting, will be rather a striking one. It will be two stories in height, with a broad verandah in front. The lower floor will contain one large room 40 x 40, and at either end of it there will be four rooms, 16 x 16. The second floor will be utilized for sleeping rooms. The site selected is an excellent one, commanding a splendid view of Passamaquoddy Bay and the surrounding islands and shores. The building will front to the south. It will be of wood, with a ten-inch wall of field granite outside. The wooden work and the inside finish will probably be completed this winter, and as soon as spring comes the outside wall will be erected. The house will be ready for occupation the coming season.

A windmill tank, of 40,000 gallons capacity, is being erected at St. Andrews station.

Beacon

Nov /1891

Scott Act sustained by vote. Much in Beacon preceding issues. Actually St. Andrews, St. Croix, Welshpool and Lepreaux voted against the Act; in other parishes the Act was approved by large majorities. See Nov. 26, 1891.

The people of Halifax and Saint John are greatly disturbed, and with good reason, over the withdrawal of the Allan Line boats from Canadian winter ports. A delegation from the two cities mentioned waited on Premier Abbott last week and indulged in some "straight talk" on the subject of a fast Atlantic service to Canadian ports. A good deal of difference of opinion, we are told, existed as to the amount of subsidy that such a service required.

The good citizens of Saint John are indignant because Portland is to be the terminal point of the Allan and Dominion lines. The Board of Trade of Saint John has adopted resolutions asking these lines to reconsider their action and retain Saint John, but they won't accede to the demands of our Canadian friends. In the meantime, the granaries and elevators here are bursting with wheat, corn and coats all ready for the steamers that will begin to arrive soon. The number of US inspectors will be increased to meet the demands made by the increased passenger traffic and a second Castle Garden is to be built and a quarantine is also to be established. —Portland, Maine, despatch to Bangor News.

The Winter Port

Montreal, Nov. 14

Premier Abbott, Hon. G. E. Foster, Hon. J. A. Ouimet and Sir John Thompson were in town yesterday, and had a conference with Messrs. C. N. Skinner and J. D. Hazen, MPs, and Mr. W. H. Thorpe, of Saint John, Mr. J. F. Stairs, MP for Halifax, Messrs. Andrews Allan, Montague Allan and Torrance, representing the shipping interest, and W. C Van Horne, CPR, and J. L. Sergeant, Grand Trunk, representing the railway interest.

            The object of the conference was to afford the ministers an opportunity of having an informal conversation with practical representatives of the carrying interest both by land and sea and with representatives of the business interests from Saint John and Halifax and the Maritime ports interested in a fast Atlantic service. One of the gentlemen present said to your correspondent today that the last chance for Saint John or Halifax ever being recognized as a winter port had departed at yesterday's conference. He was convinced that the government had no intention of recognizing their claims and he ventured to say that the parliamentary representatives present from down below were equally convinced.—Globe.

Scott Act sustained in Charlotte by large majority. (but not in St. Andrews itself, nor Welchpool, nor Lepreaux.

The general belief is that the Act will be rigidly enforced. It is stated that some of the leading hotels will close their doors in consequence. The proprietor of Kennedy's hotel says he will sell out and move his family to Montreal. (Armstrong that it "may do some harm" to the town as a summer resort, but is generally favorable)

Beacon

Nov 26/1891

St. Andrews as a Winter Port

It does not appear from the few published reports that have been sent out with regard to the doings of the recent conference at Montreal on the question of a fast Atlantic steam service that any allusion was made to the port of St. Andrews. Yet it is evident from the tenor of the remarks that St. Andrews is just the kind of port that is needed. What is wanted is a port convenient and central enough to discharge and receive not only mails and passengers but also freight thereat. The chief objection to Halifax is that it is too far away for the discharge of freight, rail carriage being expensive, and that the mail subsidy is not sufficiently large to make it an inducement to the steamboat companies to run into that port, and brave the dangers of its narrow entrance, simply for the purpose of landing mails and passengers. Against Saint John it is urged that the channels by which the port are entered are narrow and shallow, that it cannot be entered at all times of tide, that there are no deep-water berths for large steamers to lie at, that there are dangerous currents therein, that the port is an expensive one, etc. In the eyes of steamboat people, these seem to be very forcible objections. But none of these objections can be urge against St. Andrews. (details)

The 15,000 ton coal contract for the CPR was finished a week ago, and another contract has been entered upon. It is said the second contract is for 10,000 tons. On Sunday three coal vessels arrived, bringing 1200 tons. Others are expected daily. Coal trains are going out of St. Andrews almost daily.

We shall be sorry if the effect of the vote will be to deprive St. Andrews of a single citizen. At the same time we are not among those who think the town is going to go to the dogs, simply because two or three people are not allowed to sell liquor. If the life or death of a community depends upon the existence of two or three liquor shops, the sooner such a community is allowed to die out the better. But St. Andrews small and weak as it is, is not such a place, and we venture to predict that the town will exist quite as well without barrooms as with them.

All hotels still open, in spite of the prognostications of doom.

The Scott Act is being vigorously enforced. The reputed dealers in St. Andrews have put on their shutters, and it is stated will go into other business. One victim has arrived at the Jail from SG, and others are expected from the same locality. Some of the island dealers had better close up their bars, if they do not wish to be behind jail bars, as the Scott Act people are on their trail.

Hubbard cottage on Campobello nearing completion. Details.

The Hubbard cottage at Campobello, which is rapidly nearing completion, is to be the largest and finest cottage on the island, says the Sentinel. It is a three-story building containing sixteen rooms, eight of which will contain elaborate fireplaces. Its massive chimneys are something wonderful, the largest ever built at Campobello; some eighteen or nineteen thousand bricks will be used in their construction. Mr. E. L. Mosely, who has charge of the mason work, expects to complete his contract about the middle of January. The cottage is situated on the Tyn-y-coed road, near Friar's head, and will cost, it is said, when completed, a cool $10,000. Mr. Hubbard, the owners is connected with the famous Jordan, Marsh and Co., establishment at Boston, and is reported a millionaire. W. C. Newcomb of Eastport is master builder.

Beacon

Dec 10/1891

The CPR is making arrangements for laying a double track all the way from Lake Superior to Winnipeg. It is also in contemplation to double that section of the main line from Carleton to Sudbury junction. The Montreal correspondent of the Empire says that "the moving spirits of the CPR are determined that the great bulk of our western grain crop should find its way to the seaboard over Canadian territory and to the profit of Canadian people." Yet Portland, Maine, is the winter port for Canada!

St. Andrews hotel debentures, which were issued in 1871 on account of the Argyll hotel, mature on the 1st of January, 1892. The last assessment on this account was made this year.

Beacon

Dec 17/1891

CPR said to have completed plans for a mammoth hotel in Quebec City

Reciprocity in Summer Homes.

The recent purchase of real estate in St. Andrews, for the location of summer houses, by a number of well-known Canadian and American gentlemen, among whom are Sir Donald A. Smith, president of the Bank of Montreal and president of the Hudson Bay Co., President W. C. Van Horne of the Canadian pacific; Thomas G. Shaughnessy, vice president of the same company, and James Burnett, the banker and broker, gives evidence of the present estimation in which St. Andrews is held as a healthful and naturally beautiful place and conveys in some degree the importance of its future.

            Mr. Van Horne has begun the erection, on Minister's Island, of a two story house, mainly to be built of stone boulders, covering a ground area of 40x80 feet, with verandahs 10 feet wide on three sides and, from the fact that he has acquired for this purpose of 150 acres of land in one of the most sightly and romantic locations on the whole Atlantic coast, it may safely be assumed that no expense will be spared to create an establishment rivalling many of Bar Harbour's "cottage" estates. The house is to be ready for occupancy at the opening of the summer season of 1892.

            On another beautiful location, known as Hume's Hill, within a mile of the Algonquin Hotel, Sir Donald Smith has purchased five acres of land, from any part of which panoramic views of St. Andrews, Passamaquoddy bay, with its spatter of islands, and the ocean beyond, are had. Here he will erect a summer "cottage" worthy of the location and in accord with the wealth and surroundings of the owner.

            Within 500 yards of the Algonquin, 150 feet above salt water and overlooking it on every side, Mr. Shaughnessy has bought a moderate sized piece of land upon which he will locate a unique, comfortable summer home. Directly opposite Mr. Shaughnessy's property is that of James Burnett, and further along on the same crest, Boston gentlemen have purchased locations and well-known residents of other American cities are considering the purchase of property, with the view of building.

            The syndicate formed some three years ago, with Sir Leonard Tilley the lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick at its head, with a strong sprinkling of American representative men associated with him, for the purpose of advancing the interests of St. Andrews as a summer resort, has never deviated from its original policy, which was to place the attractions of St. Andrews before the public by the construction and conduct of a first-class hotel, that persons of position and means might learn for themselves the incomparable beauty and healthfulness of St. Andrews, and thus create a demand for property upon which to build, rather than follow the unwholesome example of "booming" the place, or by giving away alternate pieces of land to attract purchasers.

Beacon

Dec 17/1891

Mr. Van Horne at Home. In Montreal. Details of what home life was like for Van Horne.

"Gad" in the Toronto News, writes as follows about Mr. W. C. Van Horne and his home life.

He has a beautiful home in Dorchester Street and there he unbends. Surrounded by every evidence of refinement and good taste and those costly things which are treasured for their rarity and are within reach only of the opulent, he leads a comparatively simple life and whoever has the entrée there meets an easy-paced, informal and interesting gentleman from whose conversation something can always be learned. An elegant home, truly. Here cabinets of rare China, there collections of Satsuma ware, which Japanese officials have come to admire and regret that it is so far from home, vases of delicate and long-forgotten glazes, relics of fluxes the secret of which has been lost to those who once employed them. Here a real peachblow bowl worth a small fortune, there ox-blood turns before which collectors would linger in admiration. The cabinet, which contains a priceless possession in fragile, porcelains, was once a Buddhist shrine, before which the barefooted heathen erstwhile fell prostrate. Here a Rembrandt revealed itself in that deft mingling of light and shade, the secret of which has perished and the truth gone, there a Gainesboro, different but almost as desirable. Picked up abroad, probably, as were the works of Dutch and French masters, which made the walls beautiful. Pictures everywhere and vested in once who evidently understands their artistic value and their material worth.

            "Here's where I go when I want to forget the railway and leave all that business behind me," he said one Saturday night as he led the way to the top of the house where his "den" is.

            It was a man's room, the one place where this busy one allowed disorder to prevail, for disorder in places of this kind is agreeable to the masculine mind. A green-clad table where plebeian and aristocratic pipes mingled in the most democratic way beside tobacco boxes, waiting to transmit their calming influences to any troubled nerve center requiring their solacing touch, called for attention and met with ready response. Here he does his painting, and round about on easel and floor were pictures in all stages of advancement. Books everywhere, maps, drawings and mathematical instruments, but perhaps most interestingly of all, a cabinet containing a collection of Japanese sword guards, collected at different times in Japan and presented to him. Each one of them has a history and each one shows exquisite workmanship in bronze and inlaid silver and gold, over a hundred of them, and nothing of the kind like them in America, maybe. Innocent amusements, this collecting, for a man's leisure hours, but there must be means withal or they can't be got.

            The talk lasted far into the night. He has a peculiar lisp which lends a certain charm to his conversation. He compared cities as places of residence, and remarked that in the quietude of declining years if he had his choice he would prefer Haarlem, where the tulips grow and the Dutch bulbs, and where quiet, cleanliness and simplicity of life prevails. A drowsy place with nothing to jar one in its somnolent attributes. A matter under discussion was the preparation of a work on the resources of British Columbia, and to show his knowledge of the theme he produced all the books and pamphlets on the subject which he could secure on this side and in England, some of them going back a hundred years and more. His bibliophism took this form, the collection of Canadian books, especially those relating to British Columbia and the far West. During the talk he expressed the opinion that the best book work so far as printing is concerned is done in Scotland. He can speak the Chinook, that jargon or conglomeration of linguistic terms or sounds which serves the purpose of a language in intercourse with the Indians of the western slope, the Siwashes and others, and he gave samples of its absurd and laughable derivations. He seemed to interest himself in astronomy. He had a powerful binocular glass which a young gentleman present manipulated so far as to observe Jupiter and his satellites. If the earth's atmosphere is subject to planetary influences, those might be valuable observations upon which to base conjecture as to the conditions of the Manitoba crops as contrasted with the climatic differentiation in the banana belt of Dakota. Such was suggested and he laughed a merry, boyish laugh. Indeed, when he puts off the official demeanour of the manager of a great railway he is like a boy in his way and in his pleasures. That is best. May the heart of all of us ever be young. Then it will be truer, more confiding, and not warped as in those who hurry themselves to be old.

The Railway Wharf Company have reduced the size of their warehouse thus enabling them to lay a track down to the end of the wharf on either side.

For three weeks the workmen on Manager Van Horne's cottage waited for lumber to arrive from Saint John. It had been billed from Saint John for St. Andrews in proper time, and it was a mystery to a great many why it did not get to its destination. Finally, engineer Brewer came down to look after it, and he found the lumber piled up in the St. Andrews railway yard, where it had been for over a fortnight, waiting for the owner to claim it. The wrong man's name had been placed on the shipping bill, hence the trouble.

President Van Horne claims that the CPR has beaten the world's record for speed on the rails. Some weeks ago a special train made the run between Smith's Falls and Montreal, a distance of 127 miles, in 120 minutes. Nearly forty miles of the journey were traversed at a rate of 70 miles an hour. England's highest record for a run of this length is 55.4 miles an hour, and that of the US 58. Canada's record is now more than a mile a minute, and Mr. Van Horne says he has locomotives that can do better than that.

The young folks have enjoyed themselves immensely the past week skating on the pond in Indian Park. They should extend a vote of thanks to the Land Company for having provided them with such an excellent rink.

Beacon

Dec 31/1891

Attacked by a Rat

Mrs. Robert Cockburn Falls in a Faint and is Seriously Injured

Mrs. Robert Cockburn, mother of Judge Cockburn and Mr. E. A. Cockburn, met with a painful experience on Saturday night last, in which a huge rat played a prominent role. About eleven o'clock, in company with her daughter in law, Mrs. M. N. Cockburn, she had occasion to enter a shed attached to the house. Just as she opened the door a large rat leaped from the rafters on her head and began tearing at her. The sudden and vicious attack of the animal frightened the old lady so badly that she fell to the floor in a faint, and in the fall fractured one of her hips. As she fell the rat took refuge under her clothing. When she was carried into the house, and consciousness returned, she told those about her that the rat was still in her clothing. Her skirts were shaken, and sure enough the rat fell from them and scampered off. Dr. Wade was called in and rendered surgical aid. The injured woman is well advanced in years, so that her case is quite a serious one.

Work on Mr. Van Horne's summer cottage on Minister's Island, has been proceeding rapidly lately. All the cellar walls have been constructed, and in a few weeks the contract for the superstructure will be entered upon. The cottage will be a credit to Mr. Van Horne and to St. Andrews.

The Strange Story of a Mine (Bradford Quicksilver Mine, sold by Treadwell; details)

Mr. Angus Kennedy, hotel proprietor, intends applying to the County Council at its next session for a wholesale liquor licence. It is probably that the application will be opposed. (Charlotte was already under the Scott Act, and merely decided to continue it, it seems)