t capital, although the most foreign in speech and custom of
all places in British North America, remained steadfast under the
temptation to swerve from her allegiance. Franklin, indeed, added
nothing to his reputation by his general relations with the
settlements on the St. Lawrence. For twenty-four years he had held the
position of Deputy-Postmaster General for the English colonies, Quebec
being regarded as in some sense within his jurisdiction; and the
unsatisfactory monthly service between Quebec and Montreal as well as
the absence of intermediate post-offices, had made him unpopular along
the Canadian river. It is not surprising, therefore, that he failed to
arouse the enthusiasm of the French, especially for a cause which
their strong monarchical principles failed to approve.

[Illustration: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
(One of the four American Commissioners to Canada in 1776)]

It is estimated that more than twenty-five thousand United Empire
Loyalists crossed the border at the end of the American Revolutionary
War to live under the British flag. These, for the most part, went to
Upper Canada, the settlements along Lake Ontario and the Bay of
Quinte, being centres of vigorous life and progress; while not a few
settled in Quebec, adding to the sound character of its sturdy
population.

A further accession, moreover, was made by the arrival of two
regiments of Hessians and Brunswickers, who came out to garrison the
citadel. Many of these presently obtained their discharge in order to
marry and settle down in Quebec. The current directory discloses many
names of German origin, names now high up in the roll of citizenship,
but once in the books of the Hanoverian regiments of George III.

A memorable figure passes across the stage of Quebec history just at
this time. In 1782 the frigate _Albemarle_, twenty-eight guns, lay in
the harbour, and her brilliant, handsome commander was Horatio Nelson.
This paragon of fortune had entered His Majesty's Navy as a child of
twelve; at fourteen he was captain's coxswain on the expedition of the
_Carcass_ to the North Pole; and now, with an astonishing experience
crowded into a life of twenty-four years, he dropped anchor before the
rock of Quebec.

[Illustration: CHARLES CARROLL OF CARROLLTON
(One of the four American Commissioners to Canada in 1776)]

The sober Haldimand was Governor, and the _Sturm und Drang_ of the
American Revolution had cast a cloud upon the social life of Canad