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ACADIENSIS

how continuously his early practice of using the pen was followed through life. Among the papers now in possession of the Whitman family in Nova Scotia are some fragments of history of Nova Scotia from which the extracts that follow are taken.[1]

It appears from statements in several of Mr. Bailey's letters that his manuscript history was written between Christmas, 1783, and the following March. It was undertaken at the instance of Rev. Samuel Peters, D.D., who, in conjunction with Brook Watson, was interested in the preparation of a sketch of the Province of Nova Scotia. Speaking of what he had written, Mr. Bailey observes: "I have spared neither the American rebels nor the curtailers of the British empire."

In a letter to Rev. Dr. Peters, May 7, 1784, he writes:

After I had finished the concise account of Nova Scotia which I transmitted to you, I was persuaded by some gentlemen to enter more largely into the subject. I have already swelled it to the size of our octavo volume. * * I was advised to publish it by subscription, but as I knew you were engaged in an history of this province, I could not consent without being guilty of unpardonable baseness.

It is not improbable that an anonymous pamphlet of 157 pages, printed at Edinburgh in 1786 for well-known London publishers, entitled "An Account of the Present State of Nova Scotia," may be none other than the History of Nova Scotia compiled by Dr. Peters. The pamphlet is dedicated to the Right Honorable Lord John Sheffield. Mr. Bailey in his letter to Rev. Edward Bass,[2] July 28th, 1784, writes:

Mr. Peters, formerly of Hebron in Connecticut, is made rector of a church in London; he is much caressed at home. His importance is chiefly owing to his singularity and his drollery upon both the rebels and the court. He has written and published a queer
  1. ↑ For the opportunity of examining this manuscript and many others, the writer is greatly indebted to the Honorable Judge Savary of Annapolis Royal.
  2. ↑ Afterwards Bishop of Massachusetts.
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