The British government itself had encouraged emigration from the United Kingdom when the House of Commons appointed a select committee for this purpose in 1826. Five years later Britain established the Government Commission on Emigration to collect and disseminate information to its citizens about the United States .34 In addition, Methodists surely would have resented having to support the Anglican Church with tithes. In January of 1832, British Parliament passed a law mandating that citizens dying with insufficient property to pay for burial expenses would not receive governmental assistance. Instead, surgeons and medical schools would receive the body for dissection and anatomy studies. This mandatory claim on one's remains ran counter to the funerary practices and sensibilities of the time. These last two government policies influenced Markerly's decision to emigrate as reflected in her poetry prior to leaving England.
There no upstart tyrant shall rise to oppress me
Nor priest made by law, e'er attempt to delude
There no evil game laws exist to distress me
The bounties of nature, from man to exclude
Without dread of a poorhouse or fear of a jail
Nor at Death the disgusting decree be awardedO England poor England thy sun's set forever
Thy laws are defective, thy people oppressed
But revenge for their wrongs will not slumber forever
Indignant humanity will be redressed
Then I'll fly thy dark borders; but still I must leave thee
Thou land of my birth and my ancestors me
To flee from oppression and trust the salt waves35
Although she had moved from salt to fresh water, she still felt oppressed on Grosse Island. She compared herself to Napoleon Bonaparte, confined to a large craggy rock, and one would think that after over five weeks of ocean travel with its attendant seasickness that she would take the opportunity to relax and savor the solid ground beneath her feet. Her memoir reflected an obvious impatience to leave the quarantine area after only two days and again board the HMS Westmoreland. She also expressed supreme confidence in the ability of the Captain and crew who had scrubbed and whitewashed the vessel before she returned to the ship, eager to continue her journey.36
As they sailed up the St. Lawrence on May 23, Markerly commented that the scenery along the river was grand beyond description. On that day, they dropped anchor at the dock in Quebec, Canada, and she described the ancient ramparts that rose 360 steps above the water's edge. She observed that the fortress appeared impregnable then wryly recalled how British forces had taken the citadel. The city's industry and bustling economy impressed her, but she was less than pleased with the customhouse officers who delayed their transfer from the HMS Westmoreland to the steamboat, Canadian Eagle, which would take them to Montreal. During that portion of the journey, she compared the numerous farms along the river to hers in Lincolnshire as it appeared fifty years ago. This may have been a momentary feeling of homesickness, but she still seemed eager to reach Montreal.37
From a distance, Markerly considered Montreal to be a beautiful city as they pulled up to docks, but her opinion changed radically the next day. After strolling through the town she observed,
I was never so disappointed by first appearances in my life for I found it the nastiest, dirtiest place my eyes ever beheld—the streets are an abomination—manure and dead animals are thrown into the middle of them and there left to putrefy—last year the cholera did carry off hundreds of the inhabitants and my only wonder is that any escaped with life.38
That Sunday evening a passenger's child fell overboard at dockside and the crew failed to recover her body. The next day she disembarked from the steamship and hired wagons to transport their luggage to another steamship, which would carry them across the river. On the opposite shore, she hired four wagons to take the family to St. John, eighteen miles away. She commented that the roads were the muddiest she had ever seen and that the horses would lose their footing as the wagons became repeatedly mired. They did not arrive until 9 o'clock that evening and stayed at a tavern kept by an Irishman. Markerly assigned family members to take turns watching the luggage through the evening. Her journal entry reflected the stress of this part of the journey, stating, “I never was among such a set of cannibals in my life, and I believe the Canadians are so in general.”39 This English woman's critical assessment of Canadians revealed her reaction to frontier infrastructure. Furthermore, it was common during travel for expenses often to run over budget.
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