An heirloom that we can best describe as a breathtakingly beautiful creation, and priceless, has found its way back to Bermuda where it was made, after more than a century.

It is a wedding dress that has been brought home from Nova Scotia, Canada by Mrs. Joan Eagles, a director of the Cole Harbour Rural Heritage Society. She presented it to Mrs. Joy Wilson Tucker, curator of the Heritage Museum in St. George's, where it will be kept. It will be publicly displayed once a suitable mannequin and showcase has been made, according to Mrs. Wilson Tucker.

Mrs. Eagles explained that the dress has been in possession of her museum for more than ten years.

"We were anxious to have it displayed properly in its home environment. Our museum situated a few miles east of Halifax is a farm museum, and would not be appropriate to display it; and also because it was a Bermudian dress we had no qualms about returning it.

"It was quite an effort to get it together to bring. It had been carefully packed away for 100 years in a box."

The dress belonged to Miriam Leila Steede, daughter of Benson and Julia (Roberts) Steede. She was born in Bermuda in 1862. Miriam, who was known to her family as Mileila, married Frank H. Bell of Halifax in 1896. Following their wedding the couple made their home in Halifax, and her treasured wedding dress went with her.

According to research provided by Mrs. Steede, the Bell family was prosperous. The Bermudian bride easily became part of the Halifax social scene. Her husband was prominent in all aspects of society there, and was Commodore of the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron from 1909 to 1912. Miriam, or Mileila, enthusiastically pursued her many interests, one of which was painting china at which she was quite skilled.

Painting of china was a popular hobby for women of her class, and some of her work is on display at the Settlers Museum in Mahone Bay, according to Mrs. Eagles.

Frank and Mileila had two children ¿ a daughter, Barbara, and a son, Hugh. In the 1940s daughter Barbara Bell began spending her summers in Cole Harbour and later purchased a pioneer home there; among other things she became a founder member of the Cole Harbour Rural Heritage Society. She never married but carefully preserved her mother's wedding dress.

When Barbara passed away in 1992 she left instructions in her will, along with a significant endowment for the establishment of the Bell Trust, to preserve her house and land for the benefit of the community. She had maintained strong contacts with her mother's birthplace, and made a bequest to the Bermuda High School for Girls in the form of a scholarship fund.

She left a number of artifacts, including her mother's dress, to the Farm Museum which is operated by the Heritage Society, which Barbara helped to launch.

Regarding the dress, Mrs. Eagles described it as "a beautiful creation of heavy satin which was originally white and has mellowed to deep champagne. It has large 'lego mutton' sleeves; is heavily beaded, ostrich feathers adorn the large bow in front of the dress."

She added: "Curator of our museum, Robin Cushnie, with the assistance of executive director Jennifer Reynolds meticulously prepared the dress for delivery to Bermuda. They unpacked it, put it on a padded hanger. Tape was attached to the seams to ensure there was no strain in anyway on the dress; a garment bag was made of muslin to protect it.

"I got some dry-cleaning film to put over it for protection from rain. I was naturally concerned about Customs, anticipating their question as to whether I was bringing anything from Canada that I would be leaving behind in Bermuda. I told Customs about the dress and presented the officer with a letter I had written to the Curator Joy Wilson Tucker showing we were happy to be returning the dress. I really did not have a problem getting through Customs.

"I had talked to Joy Wilson Tucker on the phone several times. She's lovely," added Mrs. Eagles.

So far as she could ascertain, Barbara has no kinfolk surviving in Canada. She had done a lot for young people throughout her lifetime, and was very supportive of those who needed help. "Some people were afraid about her and her welfare in her latter years, that there would be hangers-on, expecting something from her estate. So she got good advice about making out her will. She bequeathed her property to the community along with a trust for $300,000 to maintain the property."

Mrs. Eagles commented on how trade between Nova Scotia and Bermuda went back to the days of trading salt and cod for rum. The firm of Eagles & Radcliffe, originally a Cole Harbour firm, continues after 30 years, producing for Bermuda from its present location in Burnside.

Our pictures show the scene at the Heritage Museum in St. George's as Canadian visitor Mrs. Joan Eagles(top left) presented the fabulous, century-old wedding gown she brought from Nova Scotia for permanent custody of the museum. She displays the gown close up with museum curator Mrs. Joy Wilson Tucker. Below, they are joined by Halifax resident Mrs. Jill Alexander, a sister of the late Bermudian Dr. Jack Arnell, PhD, FCIC, who accompanied Mrs. Eagles, and former Mayor of Hamilton Lawson Mapp, a longstanding business associate and friend of Mrs. Eagles' late husband. Above right, the gown is displayed full length.