Chapter 35.
It is always an ordeal for a young bride to be first introduced to her husband’s relations and I was no exception to the rule. My heart beat fast as I drove up in the cab to the house in Queen’s Square where Jack’s sister and brother-in-law and their five children lived. He had no parents to show me off to; they had died long since, his father when he was only two years old and his mother when he was seven. It did not take long even in a cab to reach Queen’s Square and there, though little after 5 a.m., we found them all up and dressed. Mrs. Davidson was tall and very dignified. She was a beautiful woman and yet perhaps this very natural dignity kept me at a distance. Mr. Davidson was also tall but, unlike his wife who had black hair and dark eyes, he was fair and blue-eyed, full of jokes and geniality. It did not take long for me to be friends with him. Mary the eldest girl was like her father, a slight, fair girl of twelve. Willie was also fair and a shy lad who had little to say. Gertie of eight was round and fat with a little firmly set black head and large brown eyes. The two youngest were but babies, Alice a fair, curly-headed little pet of two and a half and Jack a bouncing boy of nine months, with the dark eyes his mother had so much wished for. I have rarely seen such a beautiful baby, from the dark curls clustered round his head to the chubby little feet he was just trying to stand upon.
We sat and talked, or Jack and his relations did and I studied the family. About seven o’clock breakfast was announced and then Mr. Davidson went off to the famous St. John market, Willie and Gertie accompanying him with their little cart to bring home the spoils. My sister-in-law then suggested we should go and have a rest, which we were nothing loath to do. It was nearly dinner time when I awoke and dressed and then the bell rang. Jack was still fast asleep and I could not bear to wake him, but it was very hard to go down alone. However, taking my courage in both hands I went down and found all my new relations pleasant and friendly.
On our first arrival we had found that Dr. Christopher Wolston and Mr. Alfred Mace were in St. John and having evangelistic meetings in a tent nearby. Dr. Wolston took tea with us that evening and was indeed surprised to find that the little bride he had been invited to meet was the old friend of Brantford days and a cousin of his wife. We spent three very happy weeks in St. John, everyone uniting to make it pleasant.
Jack and I explored the city, his birthplace and old home, and I was introduced to the steep streets, the floating wharves, the falls on the St. John River, which flow sometimes one way and sometimes another according to the tide, and many other places of interest. One evening we spent with the Howes, unique people but very delightful. But the great event was a trip Mr. Davidson took us, up the river to Fredricton. The river is exceedingly beautiful and we enjoyed every minute of the sail. We arrived about tea time and spent the night there, coming back the next day by train.
But our time was all too short and on Monday morning, September 21st we took the steamer for Portland. Shall I ever forget that miserable journey? Out on the broad Atlantic, a rough stormy sea, no place to lie down, I sat with my head on the rail of the deck nearly all day. At night Jack got me a cabin and there I threw myself down alone without even taking off my hat. It was all dark; I did not understand the electric light and was too sick to move. We were due in Portland at three o’clock but it was six or seven before we arrived and thankfully crawled on to land. After breakfasting on fare which did not do credit to Portland, we took a car and saw as much of the city as we could in our limited time. About ten o’clock we got the train and had a delightful trip through the White Mountains to Montreal. In spite of the smallpox we had decided to accept the invitation of a friend, Mr. Radford, and spent another pleasant week at his house. I recollect visiting McGill College during that time, little thinking how familiar I would become with it later on.
The Canadian Pacific Railway was now running between Montreal and Toronto, but it was a long tedious journey, running round by Ottawa and Carlton Junction. We left at an early hour and did not arrive home until after 11 p.m. I remember how stiff I was all day, having spent the previous afternoon playing tennis, for the first and I think the last time. The house at home had undergone many changes while we had been away, and hot water had been installed and a furnace, but all was finished when we arrived and we had a hearty welcome from those in the house and the many friends outside.