Close by the church, at the corner of Prince and Argyle Streets, is a house built of stone taken from the dismantled fortifications of Louisbourg. Originally it was the residence of the First Secretary of the Province and aide-de-camp to Governor Cornwallis, but it now houses the Carlton Hotel. Visitors will find interesting the sculptured chimney-piece of the dining-room, which is also a relic of days when France was mistress of Cape Breton.
A short walk down Prince Street to Hollis brings one to the Province Building which contains the Legislative Halls, the Library, and many historic treasures. Parliament House was completed in 1818 at a cost of £52,000. Somewhat under a hundred years old, it disseminates an air of even greater antiquity by reason of its smoke-softened walls and its high straight windows that seem to regard with severity the less conventional structures about it. A writer describes the building in 1839 as "the most splendid in all North America." Dickens, who witnessed the ceremony of the inauguration of parliament, gratified his hosts by remarking how closely it followed the forms observed on the commencement of a new session of the House in London. Now-a-days the citadel fires a salute as the Governor arrives, there is a military guard and a band.
The Legislative Councillors whose appointments are for life, sit in an ornate and gracious chamber
