by the
imperial parliament, was raised a few years since in St. Paul's, and a
view of it is said to have awakened in an astonished Indian more
surprise and admiration than any thing he witnessed in England.[111] In
consequence of an address[112] from the commons of Upper Canada to the
prince regent, a munificent grant of 12,000 acres of land in that
province was bestowed on the four surviving brothers of Sir Isaac Brock,
who, in addition, were allowed a pension of L200 a year for life, by a
vote of the imperial parliament. To "the hero of Upper Canada," as he is
still termed in that country, the provincial legislature erected a lofty
column[113] on Queenstown heights, to which his remains, and those of
his gallant aide-de-camp, were removed from Fort George in solemn
procession, on the 13th of October, 1824.[114] Although twelve years had
elapsed since the interment, the body of the general had undergone
little change, his features being nearly perfect and easily recognized,
while that of Lieut.-Colonel M'Donell was in a complete mass of
decomposition. One of his regimental companions, Colonel Fitzgibbon, in
transmitting a detail of the ceremonies of the day, thus pathetically
expressed himself: "Nothing, certainly, could exceed the interest
manifested by the people of the province upon the occasion; and numbers
from the neighbouring state of New York, by their presence and conduct,
proved how highly the Americans revere the memory of our lamented chief.
Of the thousands present not one had cause to feel so deeply as I, and I
felt as if alone, although surrounded by the multitude. He had been more
than a father to me in that regiment which he ruled like a father, and I
alone of his old friends in that regiment was present to embalm with a
tear his last honored retreat. What I witnessed on this day would have
fully confirmed me in the opinion, had confirmation been wanting, that
the public feeling in this province has been permanently improved and
elevated by Sir Isaac Brock's conduct and actions while governing its
inhabitants. These, together with his dying in their defence, have done
more towards cementing our union with the mother country than any event
or circumstance since the existence of the province. Of this our leading
men are aware, and are careful to seize every opportunity of preserving
recollections so productive of good effects." The height of the
column,[115] which commanded a view of the surrounding count