CHAPTER IV
HALIFAX AND ITS ENVIRONS
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One of the first tourists to arrive at the Nova Scotian capital by the newly established Cunard Line was Charles Dickens who, having sailed in January, 1842, on the steam packet Britannia from Liverpool for Boston, disembarked en route for a few hours' survey of Halifax. His description of the city's aspect tallies very well with the impression gained to-day fromi the deck of an arriving steamer—"a town built on the side of a hill, the highest point being commanded by a strong fortress. . . . Several streets of good breadth and appearance extend from its summit to the water-side, and are intersected by cross streets running parallel with the river."
For Dickens' "river" one must of course read bay—the lordly harbour called by the Indians chebookt, "mighty haven."
At the portals of the harbour are McNab's and George's Islands which, like strategic crests on both shores, are fortified for the defence of Halifax, grey "warden of the honour of the North." The city mounts a ladder whose lowest rung is the
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