His spirit with the thought of boundless power
And inaccessible majesty.”
ST. JOHN RIVER, above Fredericton
As is meet and proper, we do not plunge into the hurly-burly of modern life in Fredericton, the capital city of the province. Instead, we reach a peaceful, tree-embowered and altogether delightful forest city. Here is refinement of life and civilization enough to meet all reasonable demands, yet back of all there still reigns the too-quickly-vanishing spirit of rest, the absence of haste, the old-time simplicity. How delightful if all towns and cities were no larger than charming Fredericton, with its modest 8000 inhabitants. No trusts! No cold storage! No horrid skyscrapers! No cars! It sounds too good to be true. And yet at Fredericton no cars are needed; and, as a result, all who visit the homelike capital will know more of it than they possibly do of their own city. Here it is a delight to walk and ramble; and, of course, driving is a great joy with such woodland surroundings and fine river scenery. An inhabitant of Fredericton once actually expressed a desire to live in New York! Incredible! Impossible! you cry. And so say all of well-balanced mind. But mortals do not always know when they are well off; and a fit of temporary insanity sometimes gains a flitting lodgment in the brightest mind.
Few cities are better or as well situated as Fredericton. It stands on the noble St. John, which here is nearly three quarters of a mile wide. The five older streets and the two newer ones all run parallel with the river. There are shady trees on pleasant streets wherever you go. In the heart of the city you are still in the country. Nature everywhere is so profuse and abundant that it almost shuts out the view of Cathedral Church and Parliament Buildings, and enwraps fountain, statue and river-bank-seat with its wealth of foliage; while in many a shady street the tree branches knock at the house windows for admittance, and place smiling clusters of bloom in the hands of those who throw open the casement in response to the call.
Queen Street is the principal thoroughfare. At its west end is the substantial building known as Government House, the official residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick. Between Queen Street and the river, in a central situation, are the large barracks that were formerly the headquarters of the British army in this province. At the lower end of the street is the handsome Parliament Building, where a small but choice library may be consulted, and from the dome of which building an extensive view may be enjoyed.
Christ Church Cathedral, the recent fire damage to which has been repaired, is patterned after that delightful type of old English church seen in many a quaint parish of the distant motherland. It has a graceful spire and pretty interior, with a beautiful stained glass chancel window presented by the Episcopal Church in the United States.