Time Travelling in Nova Scotia
The year is 1744, and I arrive at the gates of the fortified town of Louisbourg a little apprehensive – would the French sentry, dressed in his blue military uniform, and – a little more worryingly – holding a long rifle, let me, a Brit – the enemy – into the fortress?
I’d read that the garrison allowed local people in and out of the fort during daylight hours (with the gates sealed at night), but the guards were always on the lookout for British spies.
Their test, so I’d read, was simple: if you spoke French, then you were ok. If not, then you were a spy and imprisoned. Luckily, the sentries were also known for taking bribes, but what if I met one of those pesky rule-abiding ones?
Timeless Travels Magazine
Spring 2016
© Garry J Shaw
The walk to this point had been remarkably desolate. A simple path, with an expanse of grass to one side and the oceanfront on the other. In the distance, as I followed the path, keeping one eye on the approaching gateway and its potentially troublesome guard, the upper storeys of colonial houses – all grey rubble-stone and wood – peeked at me over the fort’s walls, revealing a taste of the hidden world beyond. Directly ahead stood the fort’s main entrance, the Dauphin Gate, surmounted and dominated by a coat of arms: a crown above three fleur-de-lis, arranged like two eyes and a mouth, an emotionless face, with the entire ensemble resting upon two startled stone fish.
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