From the appearance of different speakers the house seems to be out of order.

From playful remarks followed an interesting and varied stock of earnest political conversation, in which Lady Douglas joined with apparent ease.  From agriculture the question led to education, one in which His Excellency had spent much time and labor.

It is to Sir Howard that the present university owes its first existence, its various stages of progress and final success.  It was he who procured the first charter granting the privileges of a university.  Few can realize the difficulties that Sir Howard met before accomplishing this great boon, and fewer still could see the way for raising the means necessary for the support of this institution.  But an endowment was raised by grants from the revenue arising from the sale of unoccupied lands, and equal grants from the House of Assembly.

The next barrier presented by the colonists, for the suppression of the Thirty-nine Articles and the admission of Dissenters, was in itself a formidable array of difficulty, notwithstanding the next uprising of Episcopalian remonstrance.  A sea of troubles!  But reason, the true pilot, never deserted Sir Howard.  The greatness of the cause was sufficient motive.

As the story progresses we hope to give a few facts which will prove what success awaited him.  In the administration of this distinguished military ruler, New Brunswick found a warm and true-hearted friend and adviser—­one whose memory is yet cherished within the hearts of those who had once seen his benignant and happy smile.  Such is a faint picture of the domestic and political bearing of the gifted and distinguished Sir Howard.

CHAPTER VIII.

Bereford castle.

In a beautifully remote district, between the celebrated towns of Hastings and Brighton, may be found the quaint old structure known as Bereford Castle.  From the style of architecture it may be dated to the time of Edward the Third, bearing a striking resemblance to the castle re-erected in that monarch’s reign by the Earl of Warwick.  The castle of this period had degenerated or become more modernized.  The closed fortress was rapidly assuming a mixture of the castle and mansion.  Instead of the old Norman pile, with its two massive towers and arched gateway, thick walls, oilets and portcullis, Bereford Castle comprised stately and magnificent halls, banqueting rooms, galleries, and chambers.  The keep was detached from the building, a stronghold in itself, surrounded by smaller towers and the important and necessary moat.  During the civil wars it had stood many sieges, but, after repeated attacks, in the course of time it fell into decay.  Much labor had been spent in repairing the part occupied as a residence until, at the present time, it was in good condition.  The fine old park contained a valuable growth of trees—­fir, spruce, pine, birch, elm, and the stately oak—­which grew in luxuriant profusion.  The north side of the castle commanded an extensive view of the surrounding hills, valley, and the winding river, with its numerous small inlets and tributaries.