upon Ahmerstburg, Bill Johnson's famous piratical raid, and other affairs of the kind followed, including the battle of the Windmill, an event with which this history has more particularly to deal.

The "Hunters" congregated in Ogdensburg early in November, 1838, and all along the St. Lawrence frontier, and especially at Prescott, which faces Ogdensburg from the Canadian side of the river, there was misgiving which rapidly grew to dreadful apprehension. The people had not long to wait, for on the 11th November upwards of 200 men fully armed crossed over in small boats, and, landing, took up their position in the windmill, a building strong enough to resist any ordinary assault. This little band of "sympathizers" was under the leadership of one Von Shoultz, a Pole, who had been impressed with the stories told him about the oppression of Canadians by the representatives of Britain, and for the love of freedom's cause alone, gave himself to the rescue. Von Shoultz expected to be joined by immense numbers of Canadians anxious to overthrow their oppressors. This was his own explanation of the case subsequently, and indeed his action in coming over with so small a force, and then making a stand in the place he did, is inexplicable upon any other theory. Of course he was disappointed. Even those who sympathized with the Rebellion. regarded the matter as a family quarrel, and resented the interference of outsiders. As soon as the alarm was given, the whole district sprang to arms. Volunteers poured into Prescott from all quarters, and not a single man turned out to help the deluded Pole and his followers. Too late Von Shoultz saw that he had been entrapped. He could not venture to attack the town, his force was too small; he could not retreat, for vessels patrolled the river on the Canadian side, ready to sink his boats and annihilate his band. There was nothing to do but to surrender or stand at bay and fight it out. He chose the latter course. The little band of invaders fortified themselves as well as they could within the windmill. On the 13th, two days after they landed, a large force of Canadians under Col. Young, advanced to the attack. The battle was a long one, for at first

arms.

only muskets were used, but afterwards the heaviest guns that were available were brought down, and cannonading was begun. The walls of the mill, though strong and thick, could not long resist this kind of thing. To remain was death to all, but by yielding the lives of some might be saved. Von Shoultz and his remaining men-about half his force had been killed or made prisoners-yielded to the inevitable and gave up their The Canadians in this engagement escaped with the loss of nine men. The fact that the lives of nine good and patriotic men had been sacrificed by this mad and causeless interference with the affairs of a people well able to take care of themselves, however, caused intense feeling against Von Shoultz and his men, and the demand was general that an example should be made of them which would deter others from following the same course. Von Shoultz and his accomplices were arraigned for trial by court martial sitting in Kingston. The unfortunate men must needs be represented by a man able to plead their case. The brilliant young lawyer, John A. Macdonald, was chosen. His opportunity had come.

The trial of Von Shoultz excited tremendous interest. He had no sympathizers and few friends, but of these even the most hopeful could not look forward to a favourable outcome of the trial. John A. Macdonald went to work upon the case conscientiously. But as he became acquainted with his client and learned how completely the Pole had been deluded, how earnestly he had believed that in this ill-starred expedition he was following the example of his many compatriots who had fought freedom's fight to the death, he became interested and even enthusiastic in the preparation of his defence. In court ha conducted his case ably; it is not too much to say that he did it brilliantly. The case was a desperate one, considering the offence, the character of the court and the state of public feeling, and it is not to be wondered at that the pitiless military law was not altered from its course. Von Shoultz was condemned

to death and he was executed, according to one historian who ought to be best informed of the facts, on December 8th, 1838. Before his death he expressed himself as satisfied with the

verdict he had allowed himself to be misled to the terrible injury of many innocent people, and it was but reasonable that he should suffer the penalty. He even wrote letters from the condemned cell to friends in the United States that the stories he had been told about the wrongs and sufferings of the Canadian people were wholly misleading, and that there was nothing in the fact of his death that ought to cause his friends to think of seeking vengeance or making reprisals. The effect of the trial was to acquaint the people at large with the character of this romantic leader of a lost cause, and to excite in his case a feeling which, by comparison with that with which other sympathizers were regarded might almost be called sympathy. If the people could not consent to the continuance of Von Shoultz' life, they could at least praise and honour the young man of only twenty-three years who had shown himself so well read, so clear-headed, and so able with his tongue in defence of the unfortunate man. In speaking of the case one of the Montreal newspapers said, editorially, that the young Kingston lawyer who had defended Von Shoultz would soon be known as one of the first men of the country. Prophecies are not always fulfilled, but this one was realized so much more completely than even the man who made it could have expected, that he might be far astray in some of his other predictions and still claim a very good average.

Soon after the trial a student was admitted to John A. Macdonald's office. He has since become known to fame as Sir Alexander Campbell, with a long and honourable political record leading up to the Lieutenant-Governorship of Ontario, which he now holds. But another student who was to become even more famous entered the office soon after. He, like the other two, was of Scottish stock; he had turned out as one of the defending volunteers when the cry of alarm was raised in 1837, and in his school and college career he had shown himself painstaking and splendidly persevering. He graduated from John A. Macdonald's law office to the political arena, afterwards to the bench, and subsequently to Premiership of Ontario, which position he holds to-day. To say this is to tell the

reader that the name of that young student was Oliver Mowat. It would be a curious study for some one to undertake, to learn how far the future of these men, whose training, while he himself was but a youth, John A. Macdonald had in charge, was moulded by his influence. If it was merely a coincidence that two great lawyers and statesmen graduated from the office of the greatest lawyer and statesman the country has ever known, surely no coincidence ever was more wonderful.

Business grew and flourished with John A. Macdonald. Many private clients were attracted by his talents and his personal magnetism. The Commercial Bank was founded by John S. Cartwright, and John A. Macdonald was appointed its solicitor. The Trust and Loan Company, since grown to one of the greatest institutions of its kind, was established, and this also placed its legal business in the hands of the rising young law

yer.

He had established himself in business. His opportunity to enlarge his sphere of action and usefulness was at hand.

PERHAPS

CHAPTER II.

POLITICAL UPHEAVALS.

it were well to pause here and take a backward glance at the causes which brought about the troublous times referred to in the foregoing chapter. Half a century before the British Parliament divided the Province of Canada into Canada Upper and Lower, each division corresponding with what is to-day Quebec and Ontario. By this partition it was hoped that each province would enjoy constitutional peace and bound forward in the paths of progress. Burke, indeed, who had been caught and flung back into the most abject toryism by the influence of the French Revolution, saw a golden peace in the future for the Canadas now, and regarded as guarantees for the abiding principle of the system the restrictions upon popular liberty placed in the Constitution. But many statesmen shook their heads, and Fox predicted that these vaunted safeguards of peace and an abiding constitution would prove the seeds of discord and disruption. And so it proved; though the evil laid in the marrow of the system did not break out into an active sore for many years afterwards. To each province was given a constitution supposed to reflect the virtues and the liberties of the constitution of the mother land. There was an elective chamber where the sturdy yeoman and simple habitant clad in their homespun came to legislate upon their allotted questions. There was an upper

House of Lords, the

chamber, supposed to a reflex of the members of which were appointed by the Crown for life. To these were given the prerogative of altering or rejecting bills which came up from the lower chamber. The councillors