Dear Mother,
It has been quite a while hasn't it? It seems as if it's been a century since Chuck and I departed from London for Liverpool in search of a new life. Well, Mother, I can say with the up most happiness and confidence that we have found it here in Canada.
Canada, you may ask? Yes, Mother, Canada. We originally had never planned to leave England at all, simply only entertaining the idea of emigrating, but with the current state we found it best to start afresh. You know what it's like. The children sleeping in the gutters, the immense poverty, the stench on the streets of London, the complete and total inability to own one's own property without being Lord of Norfolk or something along those lines; it's not for us Mother, we want to start a new life of our own. In addition, it's not like Chuck would ever want to live on a piece of land he didn't own and I couldn't agree more. We want to be independent, away from the stifling constraints of London.
It was a sudden decision. We were riding through downtown in our carriage, looking for a place for Chuck to set up his office as we had planned, when we heard a few people talking about immigrating to Canada, how they had received letters from friends and family about how wonderful it was in the new country, how much better it was. I stepped out of the carriage and asked them about it and, oh Mother, the stories they told! They spoke of the vast, sweeping lands, the green landscape, the fertile land, the railroad that stretches across the country for travel, the factories making cities and creating employment, the excellent general economy. I then thought of Serena and Nate and how they had already settled in Toronto and decided then and there that my mind was made up; you know how I am once I set my mind to something. Well, after a very short discussion (well not even a discussion really; it was more of me telling Chuck that we were moving if I'm honest), we decided to board the next ship that was available and set off to Canada. We bought our first class tickets for the steamer and our train tickets to get us from Halifax to Toronto, and went to pack our belongings, for the next Allan Line steamer was set to sail the following day. Naturally I wrote a letter to Serena straight away and explained what we were doing and asked she and Nate to meet us at the central station in Toronto in on the 21st of May, the day of our planned arrival, informing her I would write and send with a speedy messenger if anything were to change.
And so, the following day, we boarded the large steamer and said good-bye to England and welcomed the nine and a half day journey to Halifax, Canada; it was the 8th of May, 1901. The steamer was wonderful, Mother, oh how you should have seen it! The cabins were beautiful, lavishly decorated with a sitting room in addition to the bedroom and the lavatory. There were fantastic dinners and dances every night and there were games such as crocket and cricket for us on deck. It was a splendid journey, much better than travelling by automobiles, being able to stroll around the deck at one's leisure. The few complaints I have are that the cabins were a bit tiny (but frankly what can you expect with pubic transportation), and the help wasn't exactly… well no one is better than Dorota.
Something quite unexpected happened on the voyage however; I'm not quite sure how you will take this, Mother. In any event, here is the story. It was the fourth day of travel and the previous night there had been a storm. I had heard rumours of the lower decks that some of the women had heard from the cabin maids (the ones that should not be paid for the state of the cleanliness in those cabins!) that there had been some deaths on the third class decks; some had caught a fever and a few had not survived the turbulent night. Well, I was taking a walk on the deck while Chuck went back to the cabin to look over a few papers for his new business plan, when I noticed a little girl, dressed in rags, peering from behind the wooden door that led to the lower decks. To the best of my knowledge, the lower classes were not allowed on the upper decks, but this little girl looked so frail, her eyes so wide with fear and curiosity, that I swiftly glided over to her before anyone could notice she was not where she should be. As I neared her, she looked at me and her eyes widened further in fear, but I held her arm before she could turn and run. Her name is Audrey, isn't it lovely! To summarize, her parents had been killed by the fever and Charles and I took her in. Oh, Mother, she was all alone and so young. I could never let her start over in a new country all by herself; she was only three years old! She looks so much like me it's uncanny. She even has that feistiness that I have and is beginning to develop Charles' smirk.
When we left the ship, Audrey stayed with us. We bought her a train ticket as well and we brought her to Toronto with us. You will now be proud to know that you have a grand-daughter! We made it official at the orphanage when we arrived. Nate and Serena have taken to her wonderfully, proud to have a niece to spoil! But I am getting off topic.
When the ship docked, we disembarked and took a carriage to the train station. The dock was very crowded, Mother, and I was very grateful that we were allowed off first. The amount of people setting off with nothing but rucksacks on their backs, sometimes nothing, was unfathomable. The poverty in England is insane, Mother, and I am certain we have made the correct decision in moving away from the impoverished country to the new prosperous country.
It was three days by train to Toronto from Halifax. We travelled in an upper-class car on the trains but had a stopover in Montreal and had to spend the night in a hotel. It was a very luxurious however, and Audrey was so amazed by it all. She told me of the conditions she was living in before and on the steam liner, of why her parents left England, everything about herself. Chuck and I greatly enjoyed her company and she felt like our own almost instantly. But Mother, she was living on the streets. Her father had gotten evicted from their land after the poor harvest and they were hoping to make a better life on the rich fields of the prairies. My heart went out to her because I know what it's like to have nothing; remember when Daddy went bankrupt for those few months all those years ago, before Grandfather saved Nate, you and I? Well I am certain that I will never forget them and I understood her completely. That is also part of the reason why we decided to keep her. You'd never be able to tell, but Chuck is an excellent father. He bought her a slew of new dresses and play things in Montreal, holding her hand as we walked down the streets. He is surprisingly wonderful with her. She has him wrapped around her little finger, as I do as well. I suppose he simply cannot resist doe-eyed, brunette women with feisty tempers and great fashion sense!
When we finally slowed at Toronto's main station and unloaded onto the platform, Serena and Nate were waiting to greet us with open arms and Serena ran forward and threw her arms around us all. She led us through the grand station and out into the waiting cab, an automobile if you can imagine, to their home twenty minutes outside the main city.
You must be proud of your son; he has done marvellous for himself and his wife in the new country as a lawyer. The house, in which we are all now living, is enormous. A more appropriate title would be a manor. As you know, they had it constructed shortly after their arrival, after Nate opened his practise and Serena has done and excellent job with the décor, done in all the latest styles of course. She has employed all new immigrants to care for the stables, the fields and the main house; the maid and her four children are staying in the guesthouse while her husband is out west working in the fields (I don't 100 agree with her but I can live with it if she really wants to help the woman). The help is comparable to that at home (much better than that on the liner, ugh) and with my own personal touches and a few minor expansions, we are all settling in very nicely, like one big happy family.
Charles has obtained commercial property downtown and has become partners with Nathaniel in a new business, selling automobiles. The market here is incredible! The road-ways were built much wider here and they accommodate them much better than in the narrow London side-streets. The city is the largest in the country and the shopping is excellent. They even bring in all the latest designs from Europe in addition to the American designs. Of course the European designs cost a little bit extra but that is never a problem for us.
We are prospering in Canada, Mother. This was the best possible option for us and I am overjoyed that we are here. We have Audrey now and being here with Nate and Serena is amazing. Perhaps we will one day make the journey back to see you in England.
Your daughter,
Blair