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CHAPTER III....concluded
According to the census, taken at the instance of the Bishop, the estimated value of the land cleared, with the stock, the produce, and the buildings, up to the fall of 1865, was 14,500l.--an immense sum, when it is remembered that up to May 1862 there had been but one family (Hugh M'Cann and his wife) in the settlement, and it was not until 1863 that the greater number of the residents had ventured into the forest. It was supposed that the estimate for 1866 would have reached 20,000l. And if such be the result of a few years--three or four at the very utmost--of patient industry, stimulated by the certainty of reward and the security of its possession, what may not be looked for ten years hence, when science and matured experience are brought to the aid of human toil and manly energy?
Early on the Sunday morning the roads presented an unusually animated appearance, as groups of settlers moved towards the little chapel in which the Bishop was to celebrate Mass at eight o'clock. Keen was the wind and sharp the air as the faithful appeared in view, issuing from the forest in various directions, some with horse and waggon, but the greater number sturdily completing a smart walk of five, six, and even ten miles. Bright and cheerful and happy they all appeared on this auspicious occasion, when they were to hear the voice of their pastor, and join in the most solemn act of Christian worship.
There was no tawdry finery among the women, no dressing beyond their condition with the men; both were decently and suitably clad, good strong homespun being rather common with the latter. That the ladies had not exhausted the wealth of their wardrobes, or brought out their best at so unfavourable an hour for legitimate display, I was impressively assured; and more than one of the sex--in each case a matron of mature years--volunteered an apology for alleged inelegance of costume, the result, as they urged in extenuation of their sins against Fashion, of the haste required in order 'to overtake Mass.' As a proof that there is no lack of sympathy between the occupant of the palace and the tenant of the wilderness, I may mention, as an interesting fact, that on the wall of the bedroom in which I enjoyed my first and last night's repose in the midst of an American forest, I observed a specimen of that intricate arrangement which is said to have had a royal origin, and is known to the world, admired or execrated, by the name of crinoline. This is given as an instance, not alone of the omnipotent rule and universal sway of Fashion, but of the progress of an Irish settlement in the path of modern civilisation.
Beneath the groined roof of lofty cathedral there never knelt a more devout congregation than that which bowed in lowly reverence before the rude altar of the little rustic chapel of Johnville. Here was no magnificence of architecture, no pomp of ceremonial, no pealing organ, no glorious work of the great masters of sacred song; here were no gorgeous pictures glowing from painted windows, no myriad lights on the altar and in the sanctuary, no priests in golden vestments, no robed attendants swinging silver thuribles filled with perfumed incense,--none of these; but a little structure of the simplest form, covered with shingle, and as free from ornament or decoration as the shanty of the settler--with an altar of boards clumsily put together, and covered with a clean but scanty linen cloth. But those who knelt there that morning felt no want, missed no accessory, sighed for no splendour; their piety required no aid to inflame or to sustain it. Exiles from a Catholic land, they were once more under a sacred roof, once more listening to the voice of their Church--once more assisting at the celebration of Mass. And when the Bishop addressed them in simple and impressive language, such as a father might fittingly address to his children, and promised that he was about to gratify the wish of their hearts by sending a priest to live amongst them, a deep murmur of delight evinced the joy and gratitude of the devoted people. These, indeed, were tidings of gladness, the fulfilment of their fondest hopes, wanting which, material comfort and worldly prosperity would be in vain.
Through one door the women passed out, through the other the men. By the latter sex I was at once surrounded, and I was soon satisfied that every province and most of the counties in Ireland had a representative in that congregation. For a good hour they talked and chatted outside the little church, though the air was keen and the morning still raw. They eagerly enquired after places as well as persons, priests or politicians, and 'how the old country was getting on,' and 'whether anything was really to be done for it?' One gave a case of oppression, another of hopeless struggle against rack rent or insecure tenure, as the reason of his flight from the land of his fathers. But of their new home not one had a desponding word to say. They spoke with pride of their hard work, and their steady progress, and the future which they confidently anticipated.
`Well, thank God, 'tis our own, any how, and nobody can take it from us,' said one of the settlers; to which there was a general chorus of 'amens,' and 'true for you.'
'Take care, Mick, you haven't the half-year's rent ready; so don't be crowing.'
This pleasant sally from a wag much tickled the audience, who, to do them justice, were willing to laugh at the smallest joke.
`'Tis true, Dan, boy; but there's nobody lookin' for it,' replied Mick, who added, in a voice of affected commiseration that was 'as good as a play,' and was rewarded with an approving shout-- 'but, faith, I'm thinking the agint has the mazles, or the rhumatiz, poor man! or he'd be here before now for it.'
'Jimmy'--to my friend of the day before--'is your gale to the fore?' asked a pleasant-looking Tipperary boy.
'Little we trouble ourselves with gales, or storms aither, in these parts,' replied Mr. M'Allister, whose innocent wit was rewarded with such vociferous applause that I dreaded the effect on his naturally abundant vanity.
'True for you, Jimmy, the misthress attends to the rint, and that kind of business. I hope she'll be sure and keep the resate,--'tis bad to lose the writin'--as I know, to my cost.'
'There's a boy,' said Mr. M'Allister, pointing to a vigorous young settler of some six feet in his vamps, `and I ask you, sir, this blessed morning, wasn't it a mortial sin to turn his father, and three boys as likely as himself, out of the ould country? Sheep they wanted, indeed! Christians wouldn't do 'em. Well, the Lord had a hand in it, after all, for here they are, all the boys, with their hundred acres apiece; and what do you think, sir--eh, Terrence, my buck! Faith, sir, he's looking out already.
Don't mind the boys laughing, Terry; you'll never do it younger. But, sir, there they are, them four fine lads, and every man of them the lord of his own estate. After all, there's nothing like being a man's own master.'
'He doesn't always be that same, Mr. M'Allister, when once he's married,' suggested one of the bystanders, with a sly twinkle in his eye.
Mr. M'Allister did not seem to have heard the observation; nevertheless he rapidly changed the conversation, and, plunging deep into the politics of Europe, appeared immensely interested in the intentions of the Emperor Napoleon towards the Court of Rome. Jimmy was in high spirits that sharp morning, influenced not a little by the knowledge that his excellent wife was then enjoying `a comfortable snooze in her best feather bed' at the safe distance of half a dozen miles from where her husband stood, the centre of an admiring circle. It was not the right occasion for ailing a grievance; and, indeed, his pet grievance--the want of the resident clergyman--had been so completely demolished by the assurance publicly given by the Bishop, that it was hopelessly past use. The temporary delay in establishing the second school in the settlement afforded him both a theme and a consolation; but even of this text for an occasional harangue he was soon to be deprived. Jimmy may now be in search of a grievance; and, when found, it is to be hoped it may not be a very serious one--barely sufficient to afford a gentle provocation to amicable discussion.
To my humble self, I must gratefully admit, Mr. M'Allister did the honours of the settlement in a manner at once affable and patronising.
When we took our departure, which was not achieved without vigorous and repeated hand-shakings, and prayers and blessings unnumbered, we were accompanied a couple of miles of the road by the Resident Magistrate of the settlement, who also combined in his own person the additional dignities of Captain of Militia and Councillor of the Parish. Mr. Cummins was himself one of the settlers, and he recounted with modest pride the story of his early efforts and his daily increasing prosperity.
On our return to St. John we met the Post-Master-General--a Scotchman--who had recently paid an official visit to the settlement; and he was loud in the expression of his astonishment at the progress which the people had made in so short a time, and at the unmistakable evidences of comfort he beheld in every direction.
The settlement of Johnville is but one of four which Dr. Sweeny established within a recent time. He has thus succeeded in establishing, as settlers, between 700 and 800 families, or, at an average of five persons to each family, between 3,500 and 4,000 individuals. The description given of Johnville would generally apply to the other settlements: the difference, whatever it might be, arising more from the quality of the land than any other cause.
END OF CHAPTER III.
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