ad, of which mention has been made heretofore.

Now we have seen something of the clannish propensities of the people of
the colonies, and the contractors knew what sort of material they had to
deal with. And, inasmuch as there was a pretty large group of
five-shilling Highlandmen, grading, levelling, and filling in one end of a
section of the road, the gang of Irishmen was placed at the opposite end,
as far from them as possible, which no doubt would have preserved peaceful
relations between the two, but for the fact, that as the work progressed
the hostile forces naturally approached each other. It was towards the
close of a summer evening, that the ground was broken by the gentlemen of
the shamrock, within sight of the shanties decorated with the honorable
order of the thistle. A lovely evening in the month of June! Not with
spumy cannon and prickly bayonets, but with peaceful spade and mattock,
advanced the sons of St. Patrick towards the children of a sister isle.
Then did Roderick Dhu step forth from his shanty, and inquire, in choice
Gaelic, if a person named Brian Borheime was in the ranks of the
approaching forces. Then then did Brian Borheime advance, spade in hand,
and with a single spat of his implement level Roderick, as though he had
been a piece of turf. Then was Brian flattened out by the spade of Vich
Ian Vohr; and Vich Ian Vohr, by the spade of Captain Rock. Then fell
Captain Rock by the spade of Rob Roy; and Rob Roy smelt the earth under
the spade of Handy Andy. In a word, the fight became general--the bagpipe
blew to arms--Celt joined Celt, there was the tug of war; but the sun set
upon the lowered standard of the thistle, and victory proclaimed Shamrock
the conqueror. Several of the natives were left for dead upon the field of
battle, the triumphant Irish ran away, to a man, to avoid the
consequences, and I blush to say it, as I do to record any act of
heartless ingratitude, handbills were speedily posted up by the order of
government, offering a reward of ten pounds apiece for the capture of
certain members of the Foreign Legion, who had been the ringleaders in the
riot, which handbill was not only signed by that seducer of soldiers, Sir
John Gaspard le Marchant, but also ornamented with the horn of the unicorn
and the claws of the British lion.

But there is a Nemesis even in Nova Scotia, for this riot produced
effects, unwonted and unlooked for. One of the prominent leaders in the
Nova Scotia Par