as an encouragement to him to buffet the waves of adverse fortune, till he could thus provide for my brother and me. But his expectations, at the return of peace, were all blasted. Almost every avenue of honourable competition, in other professions, was then pre-occupied ; and they soon became still more crowded, when many young men, who were obliged to retire from the service, sought out new sources of advancement, with higher claims upon that coun-. try for whose honour several of them had fought and bled, than could even be assumed by the most respectable person in private life. Gloomy and lowering at that time were the prospects of our family. When my father perceived, that the door of military preferment was, through inevitable circumstances, closed against his sons,and that scarcely a chance remained of our success in other quarters, or of being able to escape -The whips and scorns of time, The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The insolence of office, or the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes ; he directed his attention to emigration, as the only means of providing for his numerous family, and of avoiding those painful feelings which must necessarily arise in the breast of any man, who, through the effects of youthful indiscretion or other disasters, cannot prevent his children from retrograding in the scale of society. Whatever portion of pride may enter into the composition of such wounded feelings, they will at least command sympathy from those whose sensibilities are alive to the condition of an affectionate parent, doomed to spend the evening of his days, in comparative poverty, near the place of his birth, and contiguous to the very possessions which had for ages been the abode of his family. - Thousands of the unfortunate sons and daughters of Ireland were at this time contemplating a removal to the United States of America. The popular prejudices, in favour of settling there, were then in their full force, though many of them have since been dissipated by the painful experience of such as too readily believed the glowing descriptions which had been given, or deceived themselves with unreasonable anticipations. The amazing variety and extent of territory in the Republic,-the ample choice of climate and soil which it offers to agriculturists, the successful enterprise of the first settlers, -and the rising importance of some recent establishments, all conspired to recommend that portion of the New World to the notice of adventurers. But there was another consideration, which, in my father's mind, preponderated over all these seducing advantages: To become the subject of a country avowedly hostile to that in which his family had, for many centuries, flourished in the sunshine of British protection,-to separate himself for ever from British institutions and British laws, and to be compelled to teach his little children the political creed of a Republic, for which he could himself never feel a sentiment of attachment, were thoughts which neither he, nor such of his children as were capable of judging for themselves, could ever be induced to entertain. -- These were the chief considerations which decided us in giving a preference to the unexplored wilds of Upper Canada, and made us neglect what was generally denominated "the Elysian scenery" of the United States. With this choice, although originally made from political motives, we have had no reason to be dissatisfied. On the contrary, after a trial of nearly six years, we felicitate ourselves on the determination to which we then came. But as the reasons of our self-gratulation will be fully developed in the subjoined narrative, it is unnecessary in this place to anticipate the subject. Our choice of country having been maturely formed, my father applied to Earl) Bathurst, his Majesty's (Secretary of State for the Colonial Department, for a grant of land in the Canadas! This application was accompanied with the following letter from a highly respectable Irish nobleman : "MY LORD, "BIRR CASTLE, 31st Dec., 1817. "MR. RICHARD TALBOT, who lives in this neighbourhood, and who has some intention of settling in Upper Canada, has requested from me a letter of recommendation to your Lordship. "I have known Mr. Talbot, and all his family, for many years. They are all very loyal, worthy, and highly respectable people; and, I am certain, they will always discharge, with the strictest fidelity, any trust which his Majesty's Government may repose in him; and, I am confident, that he will be found by the Government of Canada, should he go there, a most zealous, attached, and active subject of his Majesty's, as he has always been in this country: And I beg leave to add, if you will permit me so to do, that any mark of attention, with which you may be pleased to honour him on this occasion, will be esteemed by me a most particular favour. "I have the honour to be, my Dear Lord, (Signed) "Your very faithful and obedient Servant, "To Earl Bathurst," &c, &c. "ROSSE." 1 In a short time the Earl of Rosse received, and forwarded to my father, the subjoined reply: 66 Downing-Street, July 27th, 1818. "MY DEAR LORD, "I have had the honour of receiving your letter of the 29th ult., recommending to my favourable consideration a memorial of Mr. Richard Talbot. I have only deferred the acknowledgment of it so long, in order that I might have it in my power to communicate to your Lordship the extent of encouragement which his Majesty's Government were prepared to give to persons desirous of receiving grants of land in Canada. I cannot better explain their decision upon this point, than by inclosing, for your information, a copy of the letter which I have directed to be addressed to all persons making similar applications, and which contains a full statement of the conditions under which alone extensive grants of land can be made to any individuals. "I have the honour to be, my Dear Lord, (Signed) "Your very faithful, humble Servant, "To the Earl of Rosse." The following is the circular to which Earl Bathurst alludes: "Colonial Department, Downing-Street, "MAY 16, 1818.. "SIR, "I am directed by Lord Bathurst to acquaint you, in reply to your letter of the 29th of December, 1817, that his Majesty's Government have ceased to give any encouragement to indi-` viduals desirous of proceeding as Settlers to his Majesty's Colonies abroad, beyond a grant of twenty-five acres of land, in the Colony which |