The west shore., June 01, 1881, Page 146, Image 5

THE WEST SHORE.
June, 1881
THE QUEEN CITV.
Nettled between a group of ever
green hill, and surrounded by scenery
at grand at (he environ ol Vcvay or
Zurich, stand Victoria, the mctropoli
of British Columbia, bearing the name
of her whom the whole enlightened
world revere a a model Christian
mother, a well a the just and merciful
queen. All about her !etoken the
abode ol men who live for comfort ami
with to enjoy tranquilly the reult of
tolUome and adventurout life on the
Sabbath Win echo the hcatt song of a
God-fcariug people.
And here you are at the dock. The
deep tone of the engineer' gong is
hushed, and the mate' cry of "All fast,
ir," tell you that your journey i end
ed. The wharf present the most spot
ted array of humanity that you ever be
held, llawliug hack-driver and hotel
solicitor, Klootchmen with their head
tied in g wdy bandanna, swarthy Las
car and Kanaka whaler, with a light
sprinkling of the honest miner from
Cassiar or Cariboo, all these elbow
The street and shops have a quiet
look and the bustle which characterize
Portland, Seattle and Walla-Walla is
most conspicuous by its absence. But
they live and they live well. No storea
(shops they are called there) open after
6 p. m., and no clerk can complain of
being worked at unusual hours holi
day come in pretty often, the Queen's
birthday, Coronation day and Domin
ion day, any one of them being more
observed than the Fourth of July on
this side, follow each other in rapid
succession, all inside of thirty days; in
tf r , t . jzy t r?i, -.,
i ! - C C C C mil im " 1 YiS
frontier. And they, the citienol Vic
toria, get more solid enjoyment and re
ceive fuller value for their money than
nt other people on the Pacific slope.
You rroM the Mormy ktraitt that War
the name of the fU-titiou Greek plot
and sweep grandly by the barren
shore of Trial Uland w ith it ghastly
legend of the gibtat. You whirl past
Ilesver Kock and it seenu a if you
were landlocked into a mountain lake.
On the graceful slope above you tower
the spire of the many churches of near
ly every religious denomination, whose
f'EjX:tTy IIAU AT VICTORIA.
their way to the front. Behind them
we see stout gentlemen in gray tweeds,
many of them retired tervant of the
1 1 imI ton' Hjy Company or ex-incum-'
bent of the political othce of the colo- j
ny. Why do they remain here after 1
being out of place, do you ask? Ile-j
cause children are born to them and .
home reared about them that have he-!
come endeared over the towers of
Westminster or the dome of St. Paul's.
And further, because they have been
the founJrr of a new civilisation and
do not care to lose sight of their politi
cal offspring.
addition, every Saturday is a half holi
day. On summer days one can hardly
go on any of the numerous romantic
drive about the city, but what here and
there in quiet little nooks he will see
ptrtic of from half a down to twenty
lunching,ingingor perhip playing at
blind man's buff children and gray.
haired grandfathers taking part in the
ame game, the latter actually romping,
shouting and having a good times as
if they were still young; at heart these
people never grow old and as a rule
live longer than residents of the United