The day was brilliantly sunny, but intensely
cold, and it continued bitterly cold till we reached Halifax on Thursday
night. The Boston steamers always touch at that place, and the liability
to detention by fogs in making the harbour, renders this passage often a
disagreeable one in the foggy season; but when the weather is as cold as
now, it is invariably clear, and we steered up the beautiful harbour of
Halifax with no interruption but that caused by the closing in of the
day, rendering it necessary to slacken our speed as we neared the town.
It was dark when we arrived, but having two hours to spare, we took a
walk, and after passing through the town-gate, saw what we could of the
place, respecting which I felt great interest, from my father having
been Chief-justice there many years; his picture by West, of which we
have a copy in D. P. H. by West himself, is at the Court House; but of
course we could not see it so late at night; and, in fact, could only go
to one or two shops to make some purchases as memorials of the place. It
began to snow hard before we returned on board, and the cold was so
intense, though less so since the snow began, that the upper part of
the harbour above where we stopped was frozen over.
We took Sir Fenwick Williams, of Kars, and a great many other officers,
on board at Halifax, and sailed again at midnight.
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