cellency your
letter.

Your opinions of the Governor-General and of Sir Robert Peel
entirely agree with my own. But I regret to say that some of our
friends, and of our firm friends too, seem to me to forget what has
been accomplished because everything is not done at once, or,
because some things are done not exactly as they would have them.
This impatience is much to be regretted. If I were one whom it was
necessary to keep up to the mark, as it may be called, it might be
excusable, but they do not even profess to think that to be the
case as respects the points in question. Their display of
dissatisfaction, therefore, has only the effect of lessening the
weight of the party in Upper Canada in the eyes of both the Head of
the government here and the Imperial authorities at home. But I did
not mean to make this a letter of complaint; but the fact is, I am
just now smarting under an ebullition of violence on the part of
our friends in Toronto, on the subject of Mr. Stanton's appointment
to the Collectorship there, which almost involuntarily led me into
these remarks. You will, I hope, excuse me.

My dear father, I am happy to say, appears by his last letters to
be rather better. I fear much, however, that the improvement cannot
be considered of a permanent character. As the Governor-General
kept your letter till yesterday, I was only able to send it up to
him to-day. It will, I am sure, afford him much gratification.

I hope you will excuse the length of this epistle, and rebuke me by
the shortness of your reply, which need contain no more than six
words, to wit: "I will ride the circuit." I believe "ride" is the
professional term; at least used to be so, though it may belong to
the era of Mr. Justice Twisden, if not a still more remote one,
rather than at present.... You see how inclined I am to run on, so
that lest I should transgress beyond endurance, I will conclude at
once, with the assurance of my warm and continued regard. Ever your
affectionate friend,

R. B.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

1844.

Events Preceding the Defence of Lord Metcalfe.

The defence of Lord Metcalfe, the Governor-General of Canada, who
succeeded Sir Charles Bagot in 1843, was unquestionably the most
memorable act of Dr. Ryer