alents and address, and
professed love of British institutions, he ingratiated himself in the
good graces of the principal persons at Montreal, and commenced his
studies at law there, with a view of qualifying himself for a seat on
the judicial bench of _Upper Canada_, to which he was vain and ambitious
enough to aspire. He at length got access to the Governor-General, Sir
James Craig, into whose confidence he so wormed himself as to obtain a
letter of recognition and recommendation to visit Massachusetts and
other eastern States to ascertain and report upon the state of feeling
there in regard to the sympathy of those States with England in case of
war with England; but neither the British Government nor even Sir James
Craig's Canadian Executive Council had the slightest knowledge of this
confidential epistolary intrigue between his Excellency and the renegade
American militia captain, who professed to be familiar with the politics
and parties of the New England States, where there was vehement
opposition to the democratic and war government of President Madison,
and supposed to cherish a strong leaning to England. While this
unprincipled "Captain Henry" was sauntering in the public-houses and
brothels of Boston, he wrote from time to time letters to Sir James
Craig and other principal persons in Quebec; but the Governor and others
who received his ostentatious and pretentious letters--though amused by
them--derived no more information from his epistles than from the public
newspapers of the day. Henry, however, estimated his own worthless
services of the greatest importance; and failing to get from Sir James
Craig the amount of his demands, he appealed for compensation to the
Government in England. He addressed a memorial to the Earl of Liverpool,
Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, stating his services, and
suggesting that the appointment of Judge Advocate General of Lower
Canada, with the salary of L500 per annum, or a consulate in the United
States, _sine cura_, would be considered by him as a fair discharge of
the obligation of the Government to him for his services. Lord Liverpool
was not disposed to prostitute such favours upon a mercenary and
intriguing vagrant, and referred him to the Government of Lower Canada,
then in charge of Sir George Prevost, who had succeeded Sir James Craig.
Henry knew the little estimate that was placed upon his services in
Canada; he therefore betook himself back to the Uni