The rebel victory in the Revolutionary War assured Halifax's long, firm future as a military base. Having been deprived of more southerly ports on the Atlantic coast, Britain was obliged to concentrate its strength at Halifax. The strategic importance of the Nova Scotian capital was amply demonstrated after hostilities erupted with revolutionary France in 1793. Men and supplies flooded into Halifax and command of these resources was assigned to the King's fourth son, Edward, subsequently named Duke of Kent.
Edward disliked Halifax, describing it as a "dreary and distant spot." To make his stay tolerable he brought with him his French mistress, ThΘrΦse-Bernadine de MontgenΩt, alias Julie, Madame de St. Laurent. The two of them presided over Halifax society during the 1790s, giving an aura of cosmopolitan grace to this garrison community. They had a town house but preferred to live at an estate on the shores of Bedford Basin where Edward could carry out his romantically inspired landscaping projects. In the formal gardens surrounding the main residence lay a heart-shaped lake. "Behind the lake, miles of woodland paths twisted . . . little wooden branches were set in clearings . . . latticed summer houses, rocky grottos and tiny Chinese temples tinkling with bells dotted the estate. It has been said that the walks through the woods were laid out to spell the name Julie." This estate declined into ruins after 1800 but a small round music house survived to remind Haligonians of the glories it knew during "the Duke's time."
Courtesy: Nova Scotia Legislative Library and Archives nationales du Quebec
