disturb the balance of the canoe, and we were requested to sit perfectly still. Our passage was to be nearly three miles obliquely up stream, and a part of the way against some powerful rapids.

'Between us and Montreal, considerably up the stream, lay the brilliant island of St. Helena. It is elevated, commands a fine view of the city, is strongly marked by entrenchments, is fertile, and covered in part with fine timber. It is a domain, and we were much struck with the beautiful situa tion of the house on the south side of the island, belonging to the baroness Lonqueil. With the island and river, it would form a fine subject for a picture.

'Our boatmen conveyed us, without much difficulty, to the southern point of this island, between which, and the city, owing to the compression of the river by the island, a powerful rapid rushes along, with much agitation, and a current, which it is very difficult to stem. At the point of the island, particularly, a branch of the river, confined by rocks, dashes along, almost with the rapidity of water, bursting from a flood gate. Through this strait, it was necessary to pass, and, for some time, the boat went back, and even after landing us on the island, the canoe was coming around, broadside to the current, when we were apprehensive that our baggage must be thrown into the river; but, by main strength, they pushed the boat through this torrent, and along the shore of the island, till the rapid became so moderate, that they ventured again to take us in, and push for the city. It took these poor fellows a toilsome hour to convey us over, and they demanded but a pittance for their services.

'We mounted a steep slippery bank, from the river, and found ourselves in one of the principal streets of the city. It required no powerful effort of the imagination, to conceive that we were arrived in Europe. A town, compactly built of stone, without wood or brick, indicating permanency, and

even a degree of antiquity, presenting some handsome public and private buildings, an active and numerous population, saluting the ear with two languages, but principally with the French-every thing seems foreign, and we easily feel that we are a great way from home.

'The mighty outlet of the most magnificent collection of inland waters in the world, the North American lakes-individually, like seas-collectively, covering the area of an empire; already enlivened by the sales of commerce, and recently awed by the thunder of contending navies; bordered by thriving villages and settlements, and hereafter to be surrounded by populous towns and cities, and countries; associated as this river is with such realities, and with such anticipations, it is impossible to approach the St. Lawrence, with ordinary feelings, or to view it as merely a river of primary magnitude.

Already, the two great cities of Canada are erected on its borders; Europe sends her fleets to Quebec, and even to Montreal; nearly two hundred miles of intervening water, are now daily passed between the cities, by steam boats, some of which are as large in tonnage as Indiamen, or sloops of war. It is now, no very difficult task, to be wafted on the St. Lawrence from lake Ontario to the Ocean, a distance of nearly seven hundred miles, or from Niagara, which differs little from one thousand, and the entire range from lake Superior, is two thousand.

In that part of the St. Lawrence, which, within a week, we have now twice passed, there are fewer observations to be made than on many routes much less extensive, and on many rivers of inuch inferior magnitude. This arises from the great sameness, which prevails along the banks. They appear to be very generally alluvial; extensively they are so low that they seem, in many places, hardly to form an adequate barrier against the occasional swelling and overflow of the great river, which they limit; indeed, it is difficult always

to convince ones self, that they are not, here and there, actually lower than the river; of rocks, till we come within a few miles of Quebec, there are hardly any to be seen, and yet it is obvious that there are rocks in the vicinity, because the houses are often constructed of stone; for many miles from Montreal, on the way to Quebec, the banks are little else than damp meadows, resembling Holland extremely; sometimes the shores recede in natural terraces, and retiring platforms, placed, one above another, till the last visible one forms a high ridge; at other times, precipitous banks, cut down as it were by art, exhibit strata of gravel and clay and sand-forming distinct and often variously coloured layers; the forests are usually removed from the immediate margin of the river, and the verdure is in most places rich and lively.

'The average width of the river, between Montreal and Quebec, appears to be about two miles; but it is extremely irregular; sometimes it does not exceed half a mile, or three fourths of a mile, but this is true only near Quebec and at a few other places; at other times, it becomes two, three, or more miles wide. I have already mentioned, that in the lake of St. Peter, as it is called, a few miles above the town of Three Rivers, an expansion of the river takes place, so that for more than twenty miles, its breadth is nine or ten miles.

'The current is considerable-probably three miles an hour, generally, but in some places it has apparently, double that force, and the river, instead of flowing, as it commonly does, with an unruffled surface, becomes perturbed, and hurries along with murmurs and eddies, and in a few places, with foam and breakers.

'This is particularly the case at the Richelieu rapids, fifty miles above Quebec, where the river is compressed within half a mile, and the navigable part within much less; numerous rocks, which appear to be principally large rolled masses, form, when the water is low, as it was when we passed,

a terrific reef, and when the river is up, a dangerous concealed enemy. Through these rapids, (as was mentioned on the passage down,) the steam boats dare not go in the night, and the instance in which it is said to have been done, was to carry to Quebec, the news of the duke of Richmond's death. The speed of the steam boat had, however, been surpassed by that of the land messenger, who had already arrived with the gloomy news. At the lower end of the town of Montreal, the stream, compressed by the island of St. Helena, is so impetuous, that the steam boats, which every where else can stem the current, are here obliged to anchor, and procure the aid of oxen; four yoke were employed, with a drag rope, to draw the Malsham-the boat in which we came up to Montreal, through this pass; it is however, not half a mile, that the river is so rapid; for after passing this place, steam carries the boats on again to their moorings, at the upper end of the town. It requires a very strong wind to carry vessels with sails against this current. I saw some vessels here which enjoyed this advantage, and for one hour, I could not perceive that they made any head way.

'The population on the river is very considerable, nearly all the way between the two cities, so that on both sides, houses or villages are almost constantly in view. There are, however, but two towns of any magnitude, both of which have been mentioned-Sorel, at the mouth of the river of the same name, and which connects lake Champlain with the St. Lawrence, forty-five miles below Montreal, and the Trois Rivieres or Three Rivers, half way between Quebec and Montreal. This large town derives its whimsical name, from the fact that the river St. Maurice, which empties here, is divided at its mouth, by little islands, into three parts, so that there seem to be three rivers instead of one.

'Most of the houses on both banks of the St. Lawrence, as well as in the vicinity of Quebec, are white, roof and all; the roofs of houses in Canada, being, frequently protected

from fire, as well as beautified, by a white wash of salt and lime or of lime only, which is renewed every year.

'There are many villages on the river, some are large and populous, and most of them are furnished with pretty, and a few with grand churches; they have from one spire to three, and having generally a brilliant covering of tin, both on the roofs and spires, they blaze in the sun, and even at the distance of miles, dazzle the eyes of the beholder. Some other public buildings, and the best private houses on the banks, are occasionally covered in the same manner. Most of the cottages are only one story high, and are small; but, large and good houses, appearing like the residences of the seigneurs and other country gentlemen, are hardly ever out of sight. The banks of the St. Lawrence, thus verdant and beautiful from cultivation, and decked every where with brilliant white houses, and pretty villages, impress a traveller very pleasantly, although he finds but little variety in the views. I have omitted to mention, that from the rapids of Richelieu, going down the river, the banks almost immediately become considerably more elevated.'

'On leaving the city, this morning, we passed again to Longueil, but not in so frail a bark, as before. We were conveyed in a horse boat, worked by ten horses, and which, when we entered, had just discharged sixteen carts and calashes, besides people and cattle, other than those belonging to these vehicles. We crossed lower down, and in deeper water, than we had passed in the canoe.

'The view of the town, when we were receding, as well as when we were advancing, was very fine. It stretches about two miles along the St. Lawrence, and it scarcely equals half a mile in breadth. The bank of the river is considerably elevated, and the ground, although not very uneven, rises gradually from the water, into a moderate ridge -then sinks into a hollow, and then rises again, with more rapidity, till it finishes, less than a mile and a half from the