ud on the horizon
could not occupy our hero's attention to the exclusion of other demands
upon his time. Canada's growing importance was attracting many
travellers from over-seas. Notable among these was Thomas Moore, the
brilliant Irish poet, who was our hero's guest at Fort George for two
weeks in the summer of 1803. Every attraction that the peninsula
presented was taxed for his entertainment. Of these diversions the one
which probably left the most lasting impression on the versatile son of
Erin was a gathering of the Tuscarora warriors, under Chief Brant, at
the Indian encampment on the Grand River.

"Here," wrote Moore, in one of his celebrated epistles, "the Mohawks
received us in all their ancient costumes. The young men ran races for
our amusement, and gave an exhibition game of ball, while the old men
and the women sat in groups under the surrounding forest trees. The
scene altogether was as beautiful as it was new to me. To Colonel Brock,
in command of the fort, I am particularly indebted for his many
kindnesses during the fortnight I remained with him."

It was while Moore was paddling down the St. Lawrence with his
Caughnawaga voyageurs, after leaving Niagara--where he saw the fountains
of the great deep broken up--that he composed his celebrated boat-song:

"Faintly as tolls the evening chime,
Our voices keep tune and our oars keep time.
Soon as the woods on shore look dim,
We'll sing at St. Ann's our parting hymn.
Row, brothers, row! the stream runs fast,
The rapids are near, and the daylight's past!"

In the fall of 1805 our hero was gazetted full colonel, and returned to
England on leave. While he had lost none of the buoyancy of his youth,
he was daily realizing the fullness of his responsibilities.

For the better defence of Canada, he submitted to the Duke of York, the
Commander-in-Chief, a suggestion for the forming of a veteran battalion.
He quoted the case of the U.E. Loyalists, who after the Revolutionary
war, had been granted small tracts in Upper Canada; contrasting their
perfect conduct with the practices of some of the settlers ten years
later, whose loyalty, from his own observation, would not stand the
test. Our hero, who was warmly thanked by the Duke for his zeal, was now
regarded as a person to be reckoned with. His abilities and charm of
manner had won him a reputation at the Horse Guards.

He returned to Guernsey to receive the congratulations of th