Cape Breton's Magazine

clear the deck and clean the vessel. We passed some plaster-cliffs, which furnish material for many of the best ceilings in our cities, and add a striking feature to the scenery. 1884: At last a light-house appeared, perched on the brow of a lofty cliff. It seemed strange to see light-houses in a small lake, conveying the impression that it was a miniature sea. This idea was emphasized when another small light-house was discovered at the end of a wee bit of an islet which helps to form the quaint little hartDor of Baddeck; and there, too, lay Baddeck itself, a miniature sea-port in a miniature seal The effect was almost whimsical. Here is a capital city, compact and complete as cities abroad, with its light-houses, its ship-yard, its wharves, its custom-house, its bank, its court-house, its jail, its sub? urbs, its hotels, its old mansions, and what not besides, and yet num? bering only about a hundred houses and a population of five hundred! We arrived at Baddeck, the capital of Cape Breton, about three P.M., and immediately landed to get the letters we expected to find there. From the day we left Charlottetown we had not heard from home, nor for six weeks had an opportunity been offered us to send letters that would reach home sooner than if mailed by us at Cape Breton, so meager are postal communications in some of the places we had vis? ited, while, in several cases, the monthly boat had sailed the day be? fore we could reach it. It was Sunday afternoon, and, of course, the post-office would be closed. But we determined to make an effort to get a sight of our correspondence before another sun should set. The post-office was in the residence of the post-master, a pictu? resque cottage half concealed in shrubbery. That dignified official Medical Hall EST. 1906 • COMPUTERIZED PRESCRIPTION SERVICE • FILMS • SUNTAN LOTIONS • FIRST AID SUPPLIES 66 Commercial St. . 1 Commercial St."" DOMINION GLACE BAY 849-0200 I 849-6552 (it busy) 849-1030 PHARMASAVE ON THE ROAD TO BADDECK had been to church, and was at home reading the weekly newspaper and the latest monthly magazines from the United States. He re? ceived us politely, but blandly declined to desecrate the Sabbath by entering the office and giving us our letters, which, he kindly informed us, were there awaiting us and would be given to us on Monday. But he was willing to listen to reason, and, when we told him we had not had a word from home for two months, he saw the point, and gra? ciously relented. In a few minutes we had a pile of letters in our hands, and hastened to the hotel to read them. The situation of Baddeck is exceedingly beautiful, on the slope of a steep hill whose summit commands a superb view over the Bras d'Or lakes. One of the most interesting houses in Baddeck is the resi? dence of Mr. Campbell, who represents this district at Ottawa. A fine stone wall, bearing marks of age, and a venerable row of poplars give a certain air of decayed gentility to the place. The jail is a low, brown, black-roofed stone building adjoining the post-office. It is the oldest as well as the most interesting stmcture in the town. It stands directly on the street, without any inclosure, but the windows are se? cured by iron bars, which give a grim aspect to what might otherwise be taken to be a granary. No prisoners were confined In the jail at the time of our visit, nor was there evidence that any had been there for a long time. But the jailer's family occupied it; and it was not unusual to see two pretty faces gossiping idly behind the bars, and embroi- WANT The Inside Stort On 'EXTRA! EXTRA! Available right in Sydney" • Industrial Cape Breton facts & statistics. • Delicious recipes featuring Nova Scotia Products • Nova Scotia and how it looked in the 17th and 18th centuries through the Mapmaker's Eye. • A young sailor's account of the seafaring life in the mid-1800s. • Our common and more interesting land mammals and birds. • The history of making lumber in the sawmills of Nova Scotia • Struggles of the Loyalists to rebuild their shattered lives in the town of Shelburne. These and many more stories are under cover at Pages, The Downtown Bookstore, in Sydney. Come in and browse: we're located at 361 Charlotte Street, or phone us at 539-8551. A catalogue listing other government titles is available free upon request from the Nova Scotia Government Bookstore, P.O. Box 637, Halifax, N.S., B3J 2T3, or by phone toll free 1-424-7580. >C Information Service