A favorite recreation on summer evenings is to row or drift in the harbor, and listen to the music given by the bands of the flagships when naval squadrons are in port.
The Provincial Parliament Building contains many interesting historical portraits, and an excellent library that is strong in provincial, Acadian and early history, etc. The long oak table from the cabin of the Beaufort transport, around which sat the council when Cornwallis took the oath as Governor of Nova Scotia, is preserved in a room adjoining the Council Chamber. In the grounds may be seen the South African Memorial of the Nova Scotian soldiers who fell in the Boer War, and also the Statue of the many-sided Joseph Howe.
A memorial to the soldiers who fell in the Crimean War is erected near the gates of St. Paul’s Old Churchyard; and not far away is Government House, the residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province. City Hall stands in its own enclosure, and close by is the quaint old clock tower erected by the Duke of Kent near the foot of Citadel Hill. Punctual himself, he expected others to be equally so. In a nearby building will be found a Natural History Museum, open daily, and well worth seeing. St. Paul’s Church still includes as part of its structure much of the old portion erected soon after the founding of Halifax. American visitors will be interested in learning that the frame of the old building was imported from Massachusetts.
Point Pleasant Park is one of the chief attractions for all who visit the city. It is a park of great natural beauty, situated at the outer end of the peninsula that includes Halifax. Here by the rocky points, on the banks, or from seats under the trees, splendid views of the harbor approaches may be obtained. Far out in the offing is the open sea where white-sailed vessels from many parts are drawing nearer together as they make the harbor. Sea birds are circling and skimming the waves in easy flight, and the cool breeze blows landward, bringing with it that invigorating salty tang of old ocean, every breath of which seems like a draught from the fabled “Fountain of Youth.”
“Ah! what pleasant visions haunt me
As I gaze upon the sea!
All the old romantic legends,
All my dreams, come back to me.
Sails of silk and ropes of sendal,