WINSLOW PAPERS (1776-1826).
Winslow Papers (1776.1526j. Edited by the Rev. W. 0. Ray- mond. (New Brunswick Historical Society.)—Though these letters throw much light on the state of feeling in the maritime provinces, and reveal the tenacity of their loyalty at the time of the separation, they are to be appreciated more for their human aspect. Edward Winslow, Judge of the Supreme Court of New Brunswick, son of a man only less distinguished than himself, we must regard as a consummate letter-writer. The letters in this bulky volume are many of them well ex- pressed and interesting, but those of Winslow himself cover a wider scope while not neglecting any details of home-life. They are full of humour and sweetness, and display to us a free, frank, warm-hearted man of strong feelings, keen discernment of character, and strong judgment, incapable of rancour or vindictive feeling. That he should have pre. served his good nature and cheerfulness to the extent shown in these letters, while he suffered the losses which befell Loyalists and the more personal infliction of gout, only proves him to have been possessed of an admirable dispositIon. He could be almost savage—witness his sketch of the rise of Adams and Hancock, of Declaration fame—yet even then he was just But the prevailing note in his character was "charity." Perhaps the most beautiful letter in the volume is the more or less continuous one he wrote to his wife on the impending departure of young Winslow to school in England. The letters of Governour Wentworth, of Ward Chipman, and many others, including other members of the Winslow family, are good reading, especially those of Penelope Winslow, who records the fashions, the flirtations, and the follies of her society with the family keenness and humour. Many letters, such as brief acknowledgments, business letters, and others devoted to trifles of little interest at this distance of time, only encumber the volume. Ward Chipman, for instance, opens and makes free with a barrel of mackerel which ought to have been forwarded to Winslow. The penitential tear dropped on this occasion is nice and neighbourly, but to us who know that he was really a very decent fellow it seems not worth a whole letter. Perhaps the mackerel were very good. There are some interesting remarks in a letter of Winslow's to Governour Went- worth (1781) re,ative to British military ideas when they first campaigned in America. They adopted close formation at first, and naturally suffered ; but before long the flank corps get to know a new command "to tree." But all this apparently has to be relearnt in every war. We learn tactics and Kriegspiel never dreaming but that our enemy learns from the same text-book. If he uses his own native wit we are "done." The formation of the various loyalist corps will have much interest for those anxious to study the formation of defensive militia.
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