The Guards had been ordered out to Canada after the " Trent Aifair," as it was called, when Messrs. Slidell and Mason, two Confederate envoys who were on their way to Europe in the British mail packet Trent, were arrested and made prisoners by Captain Wilkes of the U.S. Federal warship San Jacinto. This incident nearly led to war between England and America, but was settled on January i, 1862, a week or so after the Guards left England. Happily their services were never required, and they remained quartered in Montreal, enjoying what seems to have been a very agreeable social life.
On the passage out ill-luck for the third time attended Frederick Stephenson's sea vo3'-ages. On the way to the Crimea the ship hardly avoided running on a rock off Cape Matapan; on the way to China the Transit was shipwrecked on the island of Banca. This time the s.s. Parana, after a good journey across the Atlantic, met with fogs, gales, and snowstorms as soon as she reached the banks of Newfoundland.
" On the I St Jan. (1862) we passed the Bird Rocks... and on the 3rd, Friday, we got as far as Point des Monts. The weather, which all this time had been so thick that we could never see the sun, was now so bad and the wind so strong that the captain determined to anchor till the weather improved. He made for Trinity Bay, but we were so out of our reckoning in consequence of the hazy weather and incessant snow that we unexpectedly found ourselves off the Manicouagan Peninsula, hard and fast upon a shoal, the wind blowing hard all the time, but luckily offshore, so that by getting some sails set we at last managed to get the ship off."
Shortlj'- after this they got into an icepack through which they tried to force their way but had to turn back and give up all hope of reaching Quebec by way of the St. Lawrence. They made for Cape Breton Island and thence went to Halifax, and it was only after thirty days that they finally reached St. John, New Brunswick. As usual, he speaks moderately and without exaggeration of their adventures, but as a matter of fact the Parana had a very narrow escape.
One hundred and thirty miles of the journey from St. John to Montreal was performed in sleighs and was very well managed, the men getting into good sleeping quarters after a hot meal every night, and all seem to have enjoyed it as a " pleasure trip." Great anxiety was felt by the officers " in consequence of the number of crimps along the whole line looking out for opportunities to induce our men to desert. The road runs nearly the whole way within six or seven miles of the American frontier, sometimes three or four, and for one stage of thirty-six miles it is literally on it. This, of course, offered immense facilities, and the enormous price the crimps offered was a great temptation. We got through, however, without the loss of a man; two we lost at St. John before leaving, but on the road none."
There is one point of interest in the letters from Canada which must not be left unnoticed. At first the references to the Americans (always called Yankees) are prejudiced and contemptuous, almost abusive; later on, after a tour made in the States, there is a remarkable change of tone. The comforts of the railway travelling and the excellence of hotels are dwelt on first; then the admirable arrangements of the State prison in New York, for which the Americans " are deservedly celebrated," are referred to; then the civility he meets with everywhere strikes him very much; and so on from one thing to another, till he winds up with: " In short, here I am back again \in Montreaf], a wiser man, I hope, than when I set out, with many prejudices dispelled, and replaced by useful information on many points."
Few of the Canadian letters have been preserved, and only short extracts are given, for, as has been said, the bulk of them possess no general interest.
Sleighing for mere pleasure he never took to, finding it difficult to keep warm (he had always since the China experiences been very susceptible to cold), and he preferred snow-shoeing or walking. There are some amusing references to the beauty of the ladies' skating, and to the graceful manner in which they contrived to fall — " not even an ankle was visible." Reading this in the light of present-day fashion (1914), one is forced to the conclusion that this would not now be a matter of much moment.
This graceful attitude was accomplished " in spite of crinoline, which is worn out here with the same reckless disregard to our feelings which is so unblushingly persisted in at home." A photograph taken at this date at the Falls of Niagara, when he visited them with several friends, certainly suggests the idea that the ladies' crinolines challenged the Falls in their amplitude.