The Canadian Brothers, or the Prophecy Fulfilled a Tale of the Late American War — Complete

John Richardson

Informations

• Publié par: isso
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 35
• Langue: English

Extrait

Project Gutenberg's The Canadian Brothers, by
John Richardson #5 in our series by John
Richardson
Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be
sure to check the copyright laws for your country
before downloading or redistributing this or any
other Project Gutenberg eBook.
This header should be the first thing seen when
viewing this Project Gutenberg file. Please do not
remove it. Do not change or edit the header
without written permission.
Please read the "legal small print," and other
information about the eBook and Project
Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is
important information about your specific rights and
restrictions in how the file may be used. You can
also find out about how to make a donation to
Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved.
**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla
Electronic Texts**
**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By
Computers, Since 1971**
*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands
of Volunteers!*****
Title: The Canadian Brothers or The ProphecyFulfilled
Author: John Richardson
Release Date: February, 2004 [EBook #5108]
[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of
schedule] [This file was first posted on April 28,
2002]
Edition: 10
Language: English
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG
EBOOK THE CANADIAN BROTHERS ***
This etext was produced by Gardner Buchanan
with help from Charles Franks and Distributed
Proofers.
The Canadian Brothers; or, The Prophecy Fulfilled.
A tale of the late American war.
By Major Richardson,
Knight of the military order of Saint Ferdinand,
author of "Ecarte," "Wacousta," &c. &c.In Two Volumes.
VOLUME I.INSCRIPTION.
To His Excellency Major General Sir John Harvey,
K.C.B.: K.C.H. Lieutenant Governor of New
Brunswick who bore a conspicuous part in the war
of 1812, and who contributed so essentially to the
success of the British arms during the campaigns
of 1813 and 1814, and particularly at Stoney Creek
in Upper Canada, on the night of the 5th June
1813, when, entrusted with the execution of his
own daring plan, he, at the head of sever hundred
and twenty men of the 8th and 49th Regiments,
(The former the Author's Corps,) surprised and
completely routed at the point of the bayonet, a
division of the American army, (under generals
Winder and Chandler,) three thousand five
hundred strong, capturing their leaders, with many
other inferior prisoners, and several pieces of
cannon; the Canadian edition of this historical talk
is inscribed, with sentiments of high public and
personal esteem, by his faithful and obedient
servant,
The Author.PREFACE.
Windsor Castle, October 29, 1832.
DEAR SIR,—I have received your letter of the 27th
instant, and beg to reply that there cannot be the
least objection to your sending a copy of your
work, with the autograph addition; and that if you
will send it to me, I will present it to His Majesty.
I do not presume you wish to apply for permission
to dedicate the work to His Majesty, which is not
usually given for work of fiction.
I remain, Dear Sir, your faithful Servant,
(Signed,) H. TAYLOR
Lieut. RICHARDSON, &c. &c. &c.
H. P. 92nd Regt.
BRIGHTON, December 18, 1832.
DEAR Sir,—I beg to acknowledge the receipt of
your letter of the 14th instant, and of the copy of
your work, WACOUSTA, for the King, which I have
had the honor of presenting to His Majesty, who
received it very graciously.
I remain, Dear Sir, your faithful Servant,(Signed,) H. TAYLOR
Lieut. RICHARDSON, &c. &c. &c.
H. P. 92nd Regt.
WINDSOR CASTLE, August 7, 1833.
DEAR SIR,—I have to acknowledge your letter of
the 1st instant, together with its enclosure, and beg
to express the deep gratification I have felt in the
perusal of that chapter of your new work which
treats of the policy of employing the Indians in any
future war we may have with the United States.
Should you be desirous of dedicating it to His
Majesty I can foresee no difficulty.
Permit me to avail myself of this opportunity of
assuring you of the deep interest with which your
WACOUSTA has been read by the whole Court.
I remain, Dear Sir, your faithful Servant,
(Signed,) H. TAYLOR.
Lieut. RICHARDSON, &c. &c. &c.
H. P. 92nd Regt.
WINDSOR CASTLE, August 12, 1833.
DEAR SIR,—I beg to acknowledge the receipt of
your letter of the 9th, and to acquaint you that His
Majesty acquiesces in your wish to be permitted todedicate your new work to him.
I remain, Dear Sir, your faithful Servant,
(Signed,) H. TAYLOR.
Lieut. RICHARDSON, &c, &c. &c.
H. P. 92nd Regt.
By the above letters, two material points are
established. The first is that, although works of
fiction are not usually dedicated to the Sovereign,
an exception was made in favour of the following
tale, which is now for the first time submitted to the
public, and which, from its historical character, was
deemed of sufficient importance not to be
confounded with mere works of fiction. The
exception was grounded on a chapter of the book,
which the seeker after incident alone will dismiss
hastily, but over which the more serious reader
may be induced to pause.
The second, and not least important, point
disposed of, is one which the manner in which the
principal American characters have been disposed
of, renders in some degree imperative.
The Author has no hesitation in stating, that had it
not been for the very strong interest taken in their
appearance, by a portion of the American public in
the first instance, these volumes never would have
been submitted to the press of this country. Hence,
to a corresponding feeling might, under othercircumstances, have been ascribed the favorable
light under which the American character has been
portrayed. From the dates of the above letters
from the principal Aid-de-Camp and Private
Secretary to His late Majesty, it will, however, be
seen, that the work was written in England, and
therefore before there could have existed the
slightest inducement to any undue partiality.
That this is the case, the Author has reason to
rejoice; since in eschewing the ungenerous desire
of most English writers on America, to convey a
debasing impression of her people, and seeking,
on the contrary, to do justice to their character, as
far as the limited field afforded by a work, pre-
eminently of fiction, will admit, no interested motive
can be ascribed to him. Should these pages prove
a means of dissipating the slightest portion of that
irritation which has—and naturally—been
engendered in every American heart, by the
perverted and prejudiced statements of
disappointed tourists, whose acerbity of stricture,
not even a recollection of much hospitality could
repress; and of renewing that healthy tone of
feeling which it has been endeavoured to show had
existed during the earlier years of the present
century, the Author will indeed feel that he has not
written in vain.
One observation in regard to the tale itself. There
is a necessary anachronism in the book, of too
palpable a nature not to be detected at a glance by
the reader. It will. however, be perceived, that such
anachronism does not in any way interfere withhistorical fact, while it has at the same time
facilitated the introduction of events, which were
necessary to the action of the story, and which
have been brought on the scene before that which
constitutes the anachronism, as indispensable
precursors to it. We will not here mar the reader's
interest in the story, by anticipating, but allow him
to discover and judge of the propriety of the
transposition himself.
Tecumseh, moreover, is introduced somewhat
earlier than the strict record of facts will justify; but
as his presence does not interfere with the general
accuracy of the detail, we trust the matter of fact
reader, who cannot, at least, be both to make early
acquaintance with this interesting Chieftain, will not
refuse us the exercise of our privilege as a
novelist, in disposing of characters, in the manner
most pleasing to the eye.
We cannot conclude without apology for the
imperfect Scotch, which we have (to use a homely
phrase,) put into the mouth of one of our
characters, our apology for which is that we were
unaware of the error, until the work had been so
far printed as not to admit of our remedying it. We
are consoled, however, by the reflection that we
have given the person in question so much of the
national character that he can well afford to lose
something in a minor particular.
THE AUTHOR.