Canada -- Description and travel; Canada -- Emigration and immigration
Have not done anything about money yet for want of advice. It's no
use sending letters to Roland Stanley, he's too far away from
Montreal. He must wait till we get more settled. Please remember me
to everybody, particularly the Miss Bruces.
60, Aylmer Street,
Montreal,
_September 9th_, 1884.
My Dear Mother,
This letter is following pretty close on the heels of the other one.
and for this reason: I can't find any letter of introduction to Dr.
A. Howel or to Mrs. A. Howel, or any instructions as to calling
without an introduction in the epitome of my letters which father
gave me. I can't have lost it. You put them all up in a bundle, and
I never saw them till I opened my portmanteau at Sherbrooke.
Certainly I gave them to Henry to look over while I was writing as
he sat beside me, but he was so almost immoderately careful that I
do not think he can possibly have mislaid any of them. Anyhow it's
not here. If I am obliged to leave Montreal before I hear from you I
shall call on him and make my own explanations. But I don't know how
I could do that either, for I don't know if he was father's friend
or whether we got the introduction from someone else. Well, I shall
hang on as long as I can, and then go and beard him in his den as a
last resource. Now that's all the business I have to mention; it's
a bad job, but it can't be helped. Perhaps, after all, I never had
an introduction, and ought just to have called and mentioned the
father. I know he gave me a lot of directions when he read the list
over, but I can't remember them all, and only against one has he
made a note that no introduction is necessary. Yet there are about
half-a-dozen to whom I have not got letters, but whose names occur
the same as Roland Stanley. We've been hunting round, kicking up no
end of a dust, and called on and badgered scores of people. I have
already been twice to see a man called Van Haughton. He is some sort
of a boss on the Canadian Pacific Railway, and I am going again
to-morrow, though they don't want any men--at least not ordinary
men--but I am going to try and convince them that I am something
extraordinary. The ten pounds loose cash we brought out will only
last us another fortnight, but I have great hopes that Henry will
not need to draw more. Roland Stanley very kindly took him to a farm
to-day, a few miles from here, to see a man he knew, but the chap
wanted £50 per annum, so we declined. I was not able to go as I had
an appointment, but I don't think it made any difference, though
they didn't do any bargaining, only just asked him if he would take
him, and he said he would for the above-named sum. Some of the
introductions we brought out have been very useful--that to the
Darwins particularly. George, the elder son (I think) is a jewel. I
believe he would pop his Sunday coat if he thought it would do us
any good. He is strongly of opinion that Henry should advertise for
a job. He says he is certain that he would get lots of answers. But
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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