We rode out of the mine at top speed. Upon reaching the surface, the air of the chilly foggy day felt positively hot, while the sunlight seemed almost unreal after the dampness below. [Illustration: Halifax has a fine natural harbour well protected by islands and with sufficient deep water anchorage for great fleets. The port is handicapped, however, by the long rail haul from such centres of population as Montreal and Toronto.] [Illustration: Cape Breton Island has a French name, but it is really the land of the Scotch, where village pastors often preach in Gaelic, and the names in their flocks sound like a gathering of the clans.] CHAPTER VI THE MARITIME PROVINCES I have come into Canada through the Maritime Provinces, which lie on the Atlantic Coast between our own state of Maine and the mouth of the St. Lawrence. The Provinces are Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. Their area is almost equal to that of our six New England states, and in climate and scenery they are much the same. Their population, however, is only about one million, or little more than one fourth as many as the number of people living in Massachusetts. These provinces were the first British possessions in Canada, and like New England they have seen the centre of population and progress move ever westward. Nova Scotia is the easternmost province of the Dominion of Canada. Its capital and chief city is Halifax, situated on the Atlantic on one of the world’s best natural harbours. This is a deep water inlet ten miles in length, which is open all the year round. Montreal and Quebec are closed to navigation during the winter months on account of the freezing of the St. Lawrence. Halifax is six hundred miles closer to Europe than is New York, and nearer Rio de Janeiro than is New Orleans. As the eastern terminus of the Canadian National Railways, it has direct connections with all Canada. With these advantages, the city hopes to become one of the great shipping centres on the North Atlantic. Halifax has long been noted as the most English city in Canada. It was once the military, naval, and political centre of British North America, and gay with the social life of British officers and their ladies. Now, both the warships and the soldiers are gone, and the city is devoting itself to commercial activities.