The Fenians, it was said, were raising a fleet to bombard Halifax. The other ports received the same attention and were ready to receive these men and their fleet, but they did not come. In the summer of 1864 the two regiments exchanged quarters, the 16th moving from the Citadel to Wellington Barracks, and the 17th from Wellington to the Citadel. The anniversary of the tercentenary of Shakespeare was to be celebrated in this city on St. George's day. The St. George's Society prepared a public meeting in the afternoon, when an oration was given in honor of the great writer. A committee prepared a programme to be rendered by our society on the evening of the 23rd. We obtained permission from the general, and we did our best to head the list of the military contributions towards the monumental fund in London, England. The theatre being too small for this undertaking, we leased the Temperance Hall, largest in the city, and built our own stage. The programme was soon ready and contained the following, which was purely Shakespearean. An orchestra of thirty pieces played the overture and accompanied the several numbers. The Rialto, Bargain, and Trial scenes from the Merchant of Venice, four glees, a reading, and Locke's music to Macbeth's witches in character. Sergeant-Instructor Smith and his brother conducted the programme. No ladies took part. The characters were all male, John Smith taking the part of Portia, and his brother that of Shylock. Schoolmaster Ward made a good Antonio, Color-Sergeant Pix made a splendid Duke, while the writer took the part of Salarino. All the parts were well taken, being thoroughly rehearsed. A dancing master in the city loaned us all the costumes necessary. The oration of the St. George's Society was given at noon. Our entertainment was under the patronage of the lieutenant-governor and the general, who, with their respective staffs, were all present the night of the performance. The hall, which was a very large one, was filled to the doors. The performance commenced and continued to the end without a hitch. So well did it turn out we were obliged, by special request, to repeat it the following night, which was again a decided success. It was most gratifying to us that we headed the list of the military subscriptions. We found, after all expenses had been paid, five hundred dollars ($500) was available for the fund, which was immediately remitted to the secretary, and acknowledged by him through the London Times.
It goes without saying that after our grand success in playing before the public such a programme that required the talent of old actors, we felt that we were a regiment of intelligence and culture, and we also considered that we had acquired a high state of proficiency in every department, that we were an important unit in H.M. vast army.
I cannot proceed further without telling the reader that Colonel McKinstry and officers appreciated all we did and helped us in every possible way. The general was so much interested that he presented the sergeants with his likeness, with the inscription, "From your friend and general," and it was hung in a conspicuous place in the mess-room. I hope it is still to be seen in the sergeants' mess of the dear old regiment. It now fell to the lot of Sergeant-Instructor Smith to be honored. He was clever and took great pains, and was always delighted to have our social gatherings of the highest standard, and no doubt he took notice of the beauties of nature in this, to us, new country, and watched the coming forth and maturing of Nova Scotia's idol, the mayflower. He wrote a poem on this pretty little flower, and it was set to music by Drum-Major Gurney, and a quartette sang it before a large audience, who expressed themselves delighted with it. I can only remember two verses, which are as follows:
"Ere rude winter's crust of rime
Milder spring can soften;
Ere to greet the blither time
Robins warble often;
O'er the undulating wild,
Rising like a hardy child,
There the Mayflower sweet, unseen,