UNITED STATES AND CANADA 149 



with one exception, uneventful except for the usual 

 social festivities. The exception was Wednesday, 

 February 15, and though it happened to be Ash 

 Wednesday, it was by no means a day of " sack- 

 cloth and ashes " so far as we were concerned. It 

 was, in short, the red-letter day of our Mission, for 

 our official mandate came to an end by the signature 

 of a Treaty and two other documents, the practical 

 effect of which was to terminate the trouble over 

 the Canadian fisheries which had been a constant 

 source of friction for the best part of a century. To 

 this, however, I must devote a separate chapter. 

 The Times at that period had no special correspon- 

 dent of its own at Washington, but was repre- 

 sented, and very ably represented too, by Mr. Joel 

 Cook, whose headquarters were at Philadelphia. 

 Joel Cook, himself an American citizen, was the 

 author of a most interesting series of articles, entitled 

 A Visit to the States, which appeared in the Times 

 and were published in book form in 1887. It is the 

 most comprehensive vade mecum ever compiled, 

 and may with advantage be studied by anyone 

 contemplating a visit to the great Republic for the 

 first time. In response to an invitation from Mr. 

 Chamberlain, Joel Cook came from Philadelphia to 

 Washington the day after the signature of the 



