General Brock was most anxious to go to England, but had almost given up the thought. Several events of a disturbing nature had occurred in the upper country, and it was agreed that he should be sent there, whether temporarily or permanently it was not decided. If a senior brigadier should come out he would certainly himself be fixed in Upper Canada. With a little bitterness, not often noticed in his correspondence, he writes: "Since all my efforts to get more actively employed have failed; since fate decrees that the best portion of my life is to be wasted in inaction in the Canadas, I am rather pleased with the prospect of removing upwards." He writes in his letter of July 10th that three hundred vessels have already arrived in Quebec. A Guernsey vessel had come, bringing, much to his delight, letters from his brother Savery, who, after Sir John Moore's death, had returned home. The May fleet which had arrived from Portsmouth in thirty days (a very quick passage) had brought nothing for him—"not the scrape of a pen." His brother Irving was then in London, writing political pamphlets, which seem to have pleased his brother very much. He writes: "You have taken a very proper view of the political discussions which at this moment disgrace England.... Those to whom I have allowed a perusal, and who are infinitely better judges than I can be, speak of the purity of the language in terms of high approbation. I am all anxiety for your literary fame."

Quebec seems to have been particularly gay at this time, in spite of wrangles with the governor on the part of some of the inhabitants. Two frigates were at anchor in the harbour, and the arrival of Lieutenant-Governor Gore and his wife from the Upper Province had given a zest to the gaiety. There were races and country and water parties, a continual round of festivity. Brock remarks: "Such stimulus is necessary to keep our spirits afloat. I wish I could boast a little more patience." We read that General Brock contributed to the festivities by giving a grand dinner in honour of Mrs. Gore, at which Sir James Craig was present; and also a ball to a "vast assemblage" of the beau monde of the place.

In the midst of the gaiety he received his orders to depart for the Upper Province, to remain there if another brigadier should arrive in Quebec. He was puzzled what to do with his possessions. If he left them behind he would be miserably off, as he wrote: "Nothing but eatables can be obtained there, and the expense will be ruinous if I move everything and then am ordered back. But I must submit to all without repining, and since I cannot get to Europe I care little where I am placed. I leave the most delightful garden imaginable, with abundance of melons and other good things."

He found time before he left to do an act of kindness to one of the soldiers of the 49th, an act so natural in him to those who served under him. He writes: "I have prevailed upon Sir James to appoint Sergeant Robinson, master of the band, to a situation in the commissariat at Sorel, worth three and sixpence a day, with subaltern lodging, money and other allowances. He married a Jersey lass, whose relations may enquire for him."

He tells his sister that he means to procure in the autumn handsome skins to make muffs for his two young nieces, Maria and Zelia Potenger. He wants "the two dear little girls" to write to him, and bids them appreciate the advantages they are receiving as to education, so different "from this colony, where the means for education for both sexes are very limited."

Brock at Fort George

By September, 1810, Brigadier-General Brock is settled at Fort George, and a chatty letter from the Adjutant-General, Colonel Baynes, tells him what is happening in Quebec—how Baron de Rottenburg had arrived, and although a year older than Sir James Craig (who was sixty), looked a much younger man; how his wife, Madame de Rottenburg, had made a complete conquest of all hearts. She was remarkably handsome both in face and figure, and her manners were pleasing, graceful and affable. She was much younger than her husband, and they both spoke English very well, with but a slight foreign accent. Sir James Craig was reported as being very well, and his sixtieth birthday had just been celebrated at a very pleasant party at Powell Place. Colonel Baynes told Brock that there had just been a court-martial on some deserters. Two, one of them a Canadian, had been sentenced to be shot; the others, a dozen in number, were to be sentenced to be transported to serve for life in Africa.

Brock writes to his brother in September, from Fort George, a very homesick letter. He says: "At present, Vincent, Glegg, and Williams enliven this lonesome place. They are here on a court-martial, but will soon depart, and I will be left to my own reflections. I hope to obtain leave after Christmas. The arrival of Baron de Rottenburg has, I think, diminished my prospect of advancement in this country. I should stand, evidently, in my own light if I did not court fortune elsewhere."

He had taken a trip to Detroit which he thought had most delightful surroundings, far exceeding anything he had seen on the continent. "As to the manners of the American people, I do not admire them at all. I have met with some whose society was everything one could desire, and at Boston and New York such characters are, I believe, numerous, but these are the exceptions." He had not had a letter from Europe since May. He continues, "I wish you would write to me by way of New York. I avail myself of an unexpected passenger to scribble this in presence of many of the court, who tell me it is time to resume our labours, therefore, my beloved brother, adieu."

Life at Niagara