68 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



(d) Talbot's political meeting at St. Thomas on St. George's Day^ 



1832, to counteract the effect of the agitation carried on 

 throughout the province under the leadership of Egerton 

 Jiyerson and Wm. Lyon Mackenzie respectively, for the 

 reform of grievances. 



(e) Letters to Hon. Peter Eobinson, Commissioner of Crown Lands, 



and correspondence with Hon. William Allan, alwunding 

 in interesting personal details, as well as giving Talbot's 

 views as to roads, settlers, political riots and other sub- 

 jects. The game of politics was a rough one in 1833 and 

 1849, and Talbot boasted of (the | achieve nents of his 

 henelimen^ his " Loyal Guards,"' in breaking up the meet- 

 ings and breaking the heads of the Reformers of the day. 

 " Lord Elgin has been prowling through the West," he 

 writes after the London riots in October, 1849, and there 

 is a triumphant note in his account of the destruction of 

 the arches erected in lionour of the Governor-General. Two 

 months later, his triumphant tone was altered. He was 

 " dismayed with the frightful state of the country." 

 " Little did I think when T first arrived with Governor 

 Simcoe in 1792, that T sliouhl live to see the present times.'^ 

 It is thus he writes his old friend Chief Justice Eobinson, 

 adding: "I believe that our friend Allan (the Honor- 

 able AVilliam Allan) and rnvFelf are tlie only two left to 

 witness the works of the Devil.'" Evidently Lord Elgin 

 and the new ways were not to his mind. In earlier let- 

 ters, he shows the kindlier side of his nature, interesting 

 himself on behalf of settlers wlio were unfortunate, and 

 endeavoui'ing to have their grievances redressed bv the 

 government. It is these human touches and such as these,, 

 that give life to the documents, and help us to see the 

 lonely old man as he was, with his likes and dislikes, his 

 tastes and his foibles^ his achievements and his failures, 

 his good qualities and those idiosyncrasies of character, 

 which, while they created nuiny enemies, did not often 

 succeed in alienating his friends. 

 Attention is called to th-,' list of mrita at the end of the Table of 



Contents. 



An a]phal)etical index has been jnldcd. whiih v,ill it i? ho]-»(-«i] be 



found reasonably eoiii])lcte. 



In bindijig together Parts I and II. it will be w.'ll to place the ac- 



coni]ianying Titln P;ige and Table of Contents at i:ie heginnin-:-. 



