Hitherto we have had a very boisterous passage.  On the 13th we had a hurricane, and were obliged to lie to—­a rare occurrence with these vessels.  It was almost impossible to be on deck, but I crept out of a hole for a short time, to behold the sea, which was truly grand in its wrath; the waves rolling mountains high, and the wind sweeping the foam off their crests, and driving it, together with the snow and sleet, almost horizontally over the ocean.  We lay thus for some hours, our masts covered with snow, pitching and tossing, now in the trough of the sea, and now on the summit of the billows, without anxiety or alarm, so gallantly did our craft bear itself through these perils.

The ship is very full, with half a million of specie, and a motley group of passengers:  a Bishop, an ex-secretary of Legation and an ex-consul, both of the United States; a batch of Germans and of Frenchmen; a host of Yankees, the greater part being bearded, which is, I understand, characteristic of young America, particularly when it travels; some specimens of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Canada, and the Rocky Mountains, not to mention English and Scotch.  Every now and then, at the most serious moments, sounds of uproarious mirth proceed from a party of Irish, who are playing antics in some corner of the ship.  Considering that we are all hemmed in within the space of a few feet, and that it is the amusement of the great restless ocean to pitch us constantly into each other’s arms, it is hard indeed if we do not pick up something new in the scramble.

[Sidenote:  First impressions.]

On the 25th of January he landed at Boston, and proceeding next day by railway and sleigh, reached Montreal on the 29th.  On the 31st he wrote from Monklands, the suburban residence of the governor, to Lady Elgin:—­

Yesterday was my great day.  I agreed to make my entrance to Montreal, for the purpose of being inaugurated.  The morning was unpropitious.  There had been a tremendous storm during the night, and the snow had drifted so much that it seemed doubtful whether a sleigh could go from hence to town (about four miles).  I said that I had no notion of being deterred by weather.  Accordingly, I got into a one-horse sleigh, with very small runners, which conveyed me to the entrance of the town, where I was met by the Mayor and Corporation with an address.  I then got into Lord Cathcart’s carriage, accompanied by the Mayor, and a long procession of carriages was formed.  We drove slowly to the Government House (in the town), through a dense mass of people—­all the societies, trades, &c., with their banners.  Nothing could be more gratifying.  After the swearing in, at which the public were present, the Mayor read another address from the inhabitants.  To this I delivered a reply, which produced, I think, a considerable effect, and no little astonishment on some gentlemen who intended that I should say