In one of
the latter - a large old-fashioned house, with antique furniture - three
sisters reside, who possess the quiet dignity and manner of the old
school; and here one would feel as if visiting at one's grandfather's,
and be made pleasantly "at home".
We are surprised to find that this old town has generally such modern
and New Englandish aspect; and are told that it has twice been nearly
destroyed by fire, even in modern times; therefore but few of the quaint
buildings remain. Some of these are picturesque and interesting, the one
combining jail and court house being a feature of the main street. The
window of one of the cells faces the street; and the prisoner's friends
sit on the steps without, whiling away the tedium of incarceration with
their converse.
The oldest dwelling in the town stands on St. George's Street, nearly
opposite the old-fashioned inn known as the Foster House. Its walls were
originally made of mud from the flats, held together by the wiry marsh
grass, which, being dried, was mixed in the sticky substance as hair is
in plaster; but as these walls gave way from the effects of time the
seams and cracks were plastered up, and by degrees boarded over, until
now the original shows only in one part of the interior.
The houses throughout this region are almost invariably without blinds
or outside shutters, and consequently look oddly to us, who are inclined
to screen ourselves too much from "the blessed sunshine". Bay windows
are popular.
We saw one small house with four double and two single ones, giving it
an air of impertinent curiosity, as the dwellers therein could look out
from every possible direction. The ancient dormer windows on the roofs
have given place to these queer bulging ones, which, in Halifax
especially, are set three in a row on the gray shingles, and bear
ludicrous resemblance to gigantic bee-hives.
In some of the shops, at the post office and railroad station, our money
is taken at a small discount; but in many of the shops they allow us
full value for it. In one the proprietor tells us of the sensation
caused here once by the failure of a Canadian bank, and the surprise of
the town's-people - whose faith seemed shaken in all such institutions -
when he continued to take United States bank bills. He says: "I told 'em
the United States Government hadn't failed, that I believed in it yet,
would take all their money I could get, and be glad to have it, too!"
To continue the impression of being in a foreign land, we must attend
service at the five or six different churches, and hear the prayers for
the Queen and Royal Family. In the first place of worship, where the
Octave augments the congregation, Victoria and many of her family are
mentioned by full name and title, in sonorous and measured tones; in the
next the pastor speaks of "Our Sovereign, and those under her and over
us;" in another "Our Queen" is simply referred to; and some ministers
who are suspected of being tinctured with republicanism sometimes
forget to make any special allusion to her Majesty.
In our walks up the main street, which is not remarkably bustling or
busy, we see long rows of great old hawthorn bushes bordering the road,
and giving quite an English touch to the scene; and everywhere gigantic
apple trees, which would delight an artist, so deliciously gnarled and
crooked are they.
I am not aware that astronomy is a favorite study with the inhabitants,
but have no doubt that cidereal observations are popular at certain
seasons, - as this country is a famous apple growing district, and that
fruit, is sent from here to England and the States in vast quantities.
Octavius says, "If you would know what ann-apol-is, you should come
here in the fall," but is at once frowned down by the other seven for
this atrocity.
The valleys of Annapolis and Cornwallis yield an average crop of two
hundred thousand barrels of apples. Dealers in Bangor who paid 87 per
barrel in Boston for this fruit, have afterwards been chagrined on
discovering that it came from Annapolis originally, and that they could
have procured the same from that place direct at $2.25 to $3 per barrel.
Very lovely is the view from a hill outside the village, and there also
is the Wishing Rock, - one of the most noted objects of interest, as a
guide book would term it. "They say" that if one can run to the top
without assistance, or touching the rock with the hands, then whatever
one wishes will "come true". This feat it is almost impossible to
accomplish, as the stone has been worn smooth by countless feet before
ours; still the youthful and frisky members of our party must attempt
the ascent, with a run, a rush, and a shout, while the elders look on,
smiling benignly.
The dikes of L'Équille form a peculiar but pleasant promenade; and along
that narrow, circuitous path we frequently wander at sunset. These
embankments remain, in great part, as originally built by the Acadians,
and are formed of rubbish, brush, and river mud, over which sods are
closely packed, and for most of the season they are covered with tall
waving grass. This primitive sea wall is six or eight feet in width at
the base, and only about one foot wide at the top, so it is necessary
for him "who standeth" to "take heed lest he fall"; otherwise his
enthusiasm over the beauties of the prospect may receive a damper from
a sudden plunge into the water below.
