of October of that year he died; on the 18th October, 1865, he was
followed by his friend, staunch and true, Lord Palmerston, who left his
work and the world, with equal suddenness, on that day.

But from that 17th July, 1861, I regarded myself as the Duke's
unofficial, unpaid, never-tiring agent in these great enterprises, and,
undoubtedly, in these three years, ending by his retirement and death,
the seeds were sown.




CHAPTER VI.

_Port Moody--Victoria--San Francisco to Chicago_.


At "Port Moody," and even at the new "Vancouver City," I felt some
disappointment that the original idea of crossing amongst the islands
to the north-east of Vancouver's Island, traversing that island, and
making the Grand Pacific terminus at the fine harbour of Esquimalt, had
not been realized. Halifax to Esquimalt was our old, well-worn plan.
The "Tete Jaune" was our favoured pass. This plan, I believe, met the
views both of Sir James Douglas and the Honorable Mr. Trutch. But I
consoled myself with the reflection, that if we had not gained the
best, we had secured the next best, grand scheme--a scheme which, as
time goes on, will be extended and improved, as the original Pacific
Railways of the United States have been.

The sea service between "Port Moody" and "Victoria," Vancouver's