^f % ^^ ^ . ^^ ^ ^^^0^ " .^G 5> % •. ^^0^ 6 Q, ex *y ^-.^'^^ ^^^'j^^% ^^^!^;^^V ^^^^^;^^% " ^ h' /. % CANADA: DEFENCES, CONDITION, AND RESOURCES. A SECOND AND CONCLUDING VOLUME OF "MY DIARY, NORTH AND SOUTH." wrH. '^•jou W/^OWARD RUSSELL, LL.D. SECOND EDITION. * 'i ^ '< ' %^ ;\\ i ■ ^" •-^i'>H;viv BOSTON: T. O. H. P. BURNHAM. NEW YORK: 0. S. FELT. 1865. RIVERSIDE, CAMBRIDGE: STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BT H. 0. HOUGHTON AND COMPANY. U,B.Nav,Int,Off, .%'9* -'c '":*c «' t € « —.,'' ,i°°\ ^V'^"" ■^=? ^^/ PREFACE. I BEGAN to write this book by way of sequel to " My Diary North and South," with the intention of describing Canada as I saw it at the close of my visit to North America, but the subject grew upon me as I went on, and at last I discarded much per- sonal detail, and set to work with the view of calling attention to the capabilities of the vast regions be- longing to the British Crown on the American Con- tinent, and of pointing out the magnificent heritage which is open to our redundant population. But the subject was too great for the compass of one volume, because connected with it, too intimately to be over- looked, were the questions of the defence and of the future of countries, which the establishment of a monarchical principle on an imperfect basis, and their dependence on the Crown, exposed to the hos- tility of a great republic. I was therefore obliged to contract my own experiences, small as they were, and to omit many topics included in the original scope of my writing. The book was nearly finished when suddenly, as it seemed, the whole of the Prov- inces, yielding to a common sentiment of danger, sent their delegates to consider the policy and possi- Vi PREFACE. bility of a great Confederation, which had been strongly recommended in the pages ah'eady written. The idea of such a Confederation was an old one ; but the prompt resolve to carry it into practical effect, and the words spoken and acts done in consequence, rendered it necessary to cancel the work of many hours, as much of what I had written would have been anticipated by what has been printed. There are many dangers inherent in the nature of the proposed Confederation ; there are many obstacles to its harmonious and successful working ; but on the whole some such scheme appears to be the only practical mode of saving the British Provinces from the aggression of the North American Repub- licans. What is to become of the existing Governments of Provinces ? How regulate the contentions wliich may arise between Provincial Parliaments and Pro- vincial Ministers and Provincial Governors by the action of the Federal Parliament and of the repre- sentative of the Crown at the seat of Government ? The difficulties we foresee may never come to pass, and others far greater, of which we have no foresight, may arise ; but for all this the Confederation presents the only means now available, as far as we can per- ceive, for securing to the Provinces present indepen- dence and a future political life distinct from the turbulent existence of the United States. A glance at the map will reveal the extent of the Empire which rests upon the Lakes with one arm on the Atlantic and the other on the Pacific, whilst its face is wrapped in a mantle of eternal snow; but it tells us no more. No reasoning man can maintain that PREFACE. Vli the people whom a few years will behold as numer- ous as the inhabitants of these islands, will be con- tent to live permanently under the system of the Colonial Office. That system is probably the only one our Constitution permits us to adopt ; but it is nevertheless the policy, if not the duty, of this State to foster the youth and early life of the colonies we have founded, and to protect them, as far as may be, from the evils which shall come upon them in conse- quence of their present connection with great Britain. Despised, neglected, and abandoned, the Provinces would feel less irritation against their conquerors than against their betrayers, and England might re- gret with unavailing sorrow the indifference which left her without a foot of land or a friend in the New World. Generosity not inconsistent with justice may yet lay the foundations of an enduring alliance where once there was only cold fealty and un sympa- thizing command. A powerful State may arise whose greatest citizens shall be proud to receive such honors as the Monarch of England can bestow, whose people shall vie with us in the friendly con- tests of commerce, and stand side by side with us in battle. And when the inevitable hour of separation comes, the parting will not then be in anger. A Constitutional Republic, in which Monarchy would have been possible but for the prudence of the mother- country, may exist without any hatred of Monarchy or of England ; and the people, born with equal rights to pursue liberty and happiness, would love the land from which flowed the sources of so many substantial blessings. I hope that my apprehensions may prove ill- Viu PREFACE. founded, and that the dangers to which our North American possessions now, and England herself and the peace of the world hereafter, are in my opinion exposed, may be forever averted. WILLIAM HOWARD RUSSELL. Temple, January, 18&5 CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE Introductory. — Canada and the Mason and Slidell Case. — Threats of Annexation. — Defence of Canada. — Reasons for Visiting the British Provinces. — Illness at New York. — Hostility displayed there. — Monotony of New York. — Hotel Life. — " Birds of a Feather." — Nationality absorbed. — Start for Canada. — Rail- way Companions. — Public Credulity. — A Victory in the Papers. History of "A Big Fight." — General Pumpkin and Jefferson Brick . 1 CHAPTER n. To the Station. — Stars and Stripes. — Crowd at Station. — Train im- peded by Snow. — Classic Ground. — " Manhattan." — " Yonkers." Fellow-Travellers and their Ways. — " Beauties of the Hudson." West Point: their Education, &c. — Large Towns on the Banks of the Hudson. — Arrive at East Albany. — Delavan House. — Beds at a Premium. — Aspect of Albany not impressive. — Sights. The Legislature 15 CHAPTER HI. Unpleasant Journey to Niagara. — Mr. Seward. — The Union and its Dangers. — Pass Buffalo. — Arrival at Niagara. — A " Touter." Bad Weather. — The Road. — Climate compared. — Desolate Ap- pearance of Houses. — The St. Lawrence viewed from above. — One Hundred Years ago. — Canada the great Object of the Amer- icans. — The Welland Canal. — Effect of the Falls from a Distance. Gradual Approach. — Less Volume of Water in Winter. — Differ- ent Effect and Dangers in Winter. — Icicles. — Behind the Cata- ract. — Photographs and Bazaar. — Visit the " Lions " generally. Brock. — American and Canadian Sides contrasted. — Goat Island. A Whisper heard. — Afills and Manufactories .... 25 CHAPTER IV. Leave Niagara. — Suspension Bridge. — In British Territory. — Ham- ilton City. — Buildings. — Proceed Eastward. — Toronto. — Dine at Mess. — Pay Visits. — Public Edifices. — Sleighs. — Amusement of the Boys. — Camaraderie in the Army. — Kindly Feeling dis- 1* CONTENTS. played. — Journey resumed towards Quebec. — Intense Cold. — Snow Landscape". — Morning in the Train. — Hunger and lesser Troubles. — Kingston, its Rise and military Position; Harbor, Dockyards ; Its Connection with the Prince of "Wales's Tour. — The Upper St. Lawrence. — Canada as to Defence .... 47 CHAPTER V. Arrive at Cornwall. —The St. Lawrence. — Gossip on India. — As- pect of the Country. — Montreal. — The St. Lawrence Hall Hotel. Story of a Guardsman. — Bumside. — Dinner. — Refuse a Ban- quet. — Flags. — Climate. — Salon-a-mangei'. — Contrast of Amer- icans and English. — Sleighs. — The " Driving Club." — The Vic- toria Bridge. — Uneasy Feeling. — Monument to Irish Emigrants. Irish Character. — Montreal and New York. — The Rink. — Sir F. Williams. — Influence of the Northerners 62 CHAPTER VI. Visit the "Lions" of Montreal. — The 47th Regiment. — The City open to Attack. — Quays, Public Buildings. — French Coloniza- tion. — Rise of Montreal. — Stone. — A French- Anglicized City. Loyalty of Canadians. — Arrival of Troops. — Facings. — British and American Army compared. — Experience needed by Latter. — Slavery 76 CHAPTER Vn. First View of Quebec. — Passage of the St. Lawrence. — Novel and rather alarming Situation. — Russell's Hotel. — The Falls of Mont- morenci, and the " Cone." — Aspect of the Cit}'. — The Point. — " Tarboggining." — Description of the " Cone." — Audacity of one of my Companions. — A Canadian Dinner. — Call on the Governor. Visit the Citadel. — Its Position. — Capabilities for Defence. — View from Parapet. — The Armory. — Old Muskets. — Red-tape Thoughtfulness. — French and English Occupation of Quebec. — Strength of Quebec 88 CHAPTER VHI. Lower Canada and Ancient France. — Soldiers in Garrison at Que- bec. — Canadian Volunteers. — The Governor-General Viscount Monck. — Uniform in the United States. — A Sleighing Party. — Dinner and Calico Ball 107 CHAPTER IX. Canadian View of the American Struggle. — English Officers in the States. — My own Position in the States and in Canada. — The Ursulines in Quebec. — General Montcalm. — French Canadians. Imperial Honors. — Celts and Saxons. — Salmon Fishing. — Early Government of Canada. — Past and Future 113 CONTENTS. XI CHAPTER X. PAGE Canadian Hospitality. — Muffins. — Departure for the States. — Deser- tions. — Montreal again. — Southerners in Montreal. — Drill and Snow-Shoes. — Winter Campaigning. — Snow-Drifts. — Military Discontent 131 CHAPTER XI. Extent of Canada. — The Lakes. — Canadian Wealth. — Early His- tory. — Jacques Cartier. — English and French Colonists. — Colo- nial and Acadian Troubles. — La Salle. — Border Conflicts. — Early Expeditions. — Invasions from New England. — Louisburg and Ticonderoga. — The Colonial Lisurrection. — Partition of Canada. Progress of Upper Canada. — France and Canada. — The Ameri- can Invasion. — Winter Campaign. — New Orleans and Plattsburg. Peace of Ghent. — Political Controversies. — Winter Communica- tion. — Sentiments of Hon. Joseph Howe. — General View of Im- perial and Colonial Relations 140 CHAPTER XII. The Militia. — American Intentions. — Instability of the Volunteer Principle. — The Drilling of Militia. — The Commission of 1862. — The Duke of Newcastle's Views. — Militia Schemes. — Volunteer Force. — Apathy of the French Canadians. — The First Summons 177 CHAPTER XIII. Possible Dangers. — The Future Danger. — Open to Attack. — Canals and Railways. — Probable Lines of Invasion. — Lines of Attack and Defence. — London. — Toronto. — Defences of Kingston. — Defences of Quebec. 197 CHAPTER XIV. Rapid Increase of Population. — Mineral Wealth. — Cereals. — Imports and Exports. — Climate. — Agriculture. — A Settler's Life . . 213 CHAPTER XV. Reciprocal Rights. — American Ideas of Reciprocity. — The Ad Valo- rem System. — Commercial Improvements. — Trade with Amer- ica. — "^The Ottawa Route. — The Saskatchewan. — Fertility of the Country. — Water Communication. — The Maritime Provinces. — Area and Population 229 CHAPTER XVI. The "Ashburton Capitulation." — Boundaries of Quebec. — Arbitra- tion in 1831. — Lord Ashburton's Mission. — The Questions in Dis- pute. — " The Sea " v. " The Atlantic." — American Diplomatists. Franklin's Red Line. — Compromise. — The Maps. — Maine. — Xll CONTENTS. PAGifi Damage to Canada. — Mr. Webster's Defence. — His Opinion of the Road. — Value of the Heights. — Our Share of Equivalents.* — Value of Rouse's Point. — Vermont. — New Hampshire . . 250 CHAPTER XVII. The Acadian Confederation. — Union is Strength. — The Provinces. New Brunswick. — The Temperature. — Trade of St. John. — Cli- mate and Agriculture of Nova Scotia. — Prince Edward Island. — Newfoundland. — The Red River District. — Assiniboia. — The Red River Valley. — Minnesota and the West. — The Hudson's Bay Company — Their Territory. — The Northwest Regions. — Climate of Winnipeg Basin — Its Area. — Finances of the Confed- eration. — Imports, Exports, and Tonnage. — Proposed Federal Constitution. — Lessons from the American Struggle. . . 274 CANADA: ITS DEFENCES, CONDITION, AND RESOURCES. CHAPTER I. Introductory. — Canada and the Mason and Slidell Case. — Threats of Annexation. — Defence of Canada. — Reasons for Visiting the British Provinces. — Illness at New York. — Hostility displayed there. — Mo- notony of New York. — Hotel Life. — " Birds of a Feather." — National- ity absorbed. — Start for Canada. — Railway Companions. — Public Credulity. —A Victory in the Papers. — History of " A Big Fight." — General Pumpkin and Jefferson Brick. I DO not pretend to offer any new observations on the climate, soil, or capabilities of Canada, nor can I venture to call these pages a " work " on that great province. I have nothing novel to advance in the hope of attracting an immigration to its wide-spread territories, and any statistical facts and figm-es I may use are accessible to all interested in the commerce or in the past, present, and future of the land. Nor do 1 write with any particular theory in view, or with any crotchet on the subject of colonies, out- lying provinces, and dependencies, and their value or detriment to the dominant commercial and imperial power. My actual acquaintance with the country and the people is only such as I acquired in a few weeks' travelling in the depth of winter; and such sort of knowledge as I gathered would certainly afford no great excuse in itself for intruding my remarks or opinions on^he public when so many excellent books on Canada already exist. 2 CANADA. But it happened that my visit took place at a very- remarkable period of Canadian and American his- tory, and at a time, too, when certain doctrines, broached not for the first time, but urged with more than usual ability, as to the relations between what for convenience I call the mother-country and her colonies, were exciting great attention across the Atlantic. When I left Washington in the winter, a great crisis had been peacefully but not willingly averted by a concession on the part of the Federal Govern- ment to what the sentiment of the American people considered an exhibition of brute force. The first year of the war had closed over the Federals in gloom. Their arms were not wielded with credit at home, — if credit ever can attach to arms wielded in a civil war, — and the foreign power which it had been their wont to treat with something as near akin to disrespect as diplomatic decency would per- mit, aroused by an act which outraged the laws of nations and provoked the censure of every European power with business on the waters, had made prep- arations which could only imply that she would have recourse to hostility if her demands for satis- faction were refused. It was under these circumstances that England obtained the reparation for which she sought, and in the eyes of Americans filched a triumph over their flag and took an insolent advantage over their weak- ened power " to do as they pleased." General Mc- Clellan, playing the part of Fabius, perhaps because he knew not how to play any other part, had fallen sick and was nigh at death's door in the malarious winter at Washington. The great Union army, like a hybernating eel in the mud, lay motionless, between the Potomac and the clever imposture of the Con- federate lines and wooden batteries at Manassas. But haughty and hopeful as ever, in tone if not in heart, the Americans raved about vengeance foi RIDICULE OF THE AMERICAN PRESS. 3 their own just concessions. They boasted that the seizure of Canada would be one of the measures of retaliation to which they intended promptly to resort, as the indemnity to their injured vanity and as com- pensation for the surrender of Messrs. Mason and Slidell. Meanwhile the small force of British troops sta- tioned in Canada was reinforced by the speedy dis- patch of some picked regiments from England, which did not raise it much beyond its regular strength, and tardy steps were taken to organize an efficient militia in the province. The volunteer movement had extended its influence across the ocean, and a commendable activity all over the British Colonies and Canada falsified the complacent statements of the American papers that the people were not loyal to the Crown nor careful of the connection, which, it was alleged, they would gladly substitute for the protection of the standard of the Northern Republic. All these necessary precautions against the conse- quences of the refusal of the American Government to yield the passengers taken from under our flag, were watched angrily and jealously in the States. The British reinforcements were ridiculed ; their tedi- ous passages, their cheerless marches, were jeeringly chronicled. Whole ships were reported to have gone down with living cargoes. Those who landed were represented as being borne on sleighs by sufferance routes, which would be impracticable in war. The Canadians were abused — and so were the Provin- cialists. The volunteers were assailed with the weapons which the American press knows so well how to use. But that was false policy. It gave a stimulus to the loyal feeling of the subjects of the Crown. The Canadian press retorted, and, exulting in the triumph of the Home Government over the Republican Ad- ministration, uttered the taunts which Americans least brook to hear. 4 CANADA. It was assumed that the task of vengeance and conquest would be light. I received letters in which it was maintained that Canada could not be de- fended, and that she was not worth defending; others merely urged that if the Canadians would not take a prominent part in aid of imperial measures for their protection, they must be handed over to the invading Arnericans ; that their country cost more than it was worth, and that it was a mistake to keep any connection with the wrong side of the ledger, no matter what the results of rupturing it might be. Americans told me " General Scott declares the Canadian frontier is not capable of defence." True, Americans had told me some months ago that Gen- eral Scott, now 7nis en retraite in New York, after a hasty return from Europe, — not, as was asserted, with diplomatic authority or with the view of invad- ing Canada, but to save his pension in case of for- eign war, — would be in Richmond about July 22d or 24th, 1861. I heard some views of the same kind from our own officers, who expressed doubts respect- ing the possibility of a successful resistance to Amer- ican invasion. Now if that were so, it struck me that the troops we had in the country could prove but of little use, and that at the same time the relative condition of strength between the United States and Great Brit- ain had undergone a vital change in face of the very agencies which ought to have established more solidly the results obtained in the last trial of force and re- sources between them on Canadian ground. It was worth while trying to ascertain the truth and to re- solve these questions. The United States, dreading a foreign war which might interfere with their invasion of the Southern States, had ungraciously made a concession, in re- venge for making which their press declared they would on the first convenient occasion make war on the Power they had offended, in a country which FORTIFYING THE FRONTIER. 5 they had invaded with all their united power — when Great Britain, steamless and remote, was engaged in European conflicts and destitute of maritime allies — onl}^ to meet with defeat, or with success of a nature to prove their incompetency to conquer. Was the power of this distracted republic, con- tending furiously with rebellious members, then, be- come so great ? If so, with what motive was Great Britain hurrying across the sea the elite of her troops — too few to save these vast domains, too many to lose, and far too many to return as paroled pris- oners ? Why try to defend on such terms what was worthless and indefensible ? Canada, if not suscep- tible of defence, would be certainly unsuitable as a base for offensive operations against the States. Obviously the matter stood thus : that the military question depended on the temper and spirit of the people themselves. The whole force of the Canadians, sustained by Great Britain, might, apparently, defy all the offen- sive power of the United States ; and I desired to ascertain in what condition were their temper and defences. At this time British officers were endeavoring to prepare the possessions of the Crown against threat- ened invasion. The Americans on their side were busy fortifying some important points on the lakes. General Totten, an officer of the United States Engineers, well known for his ability, was under- stood to be engaged on a very elaborate plan of works along the frontier. Colonel Gordon, whose name will be forever associated with the left attack at the siege of Sebastopol, aided by an experienced staff, was employed on our side, studying the capa- bilities of the frontier, and maturing a plan for the consideration of the government in case of an Amer- ican war. There were reasons, too, of a personal character for my visiting Canada. I had a fever, which wa§ 6 CANADA. contracted at Washington and laid me prostrate at New York. It was of the low typhoid type, which proved fatal to so many in the Federal army at the same time, and its effects made me weaker for the time than I ever remember to have been. There was no promise whatever of military operations, and I read every day of the arrival of friends and ac- quaintances in Canada, whose faces it would be pleasant to see, after the endurance of so many hos- tile glances and such public exhibition of ill-will. I do not wish to dwell on private annoyances, but as an instance of the feeling displayed towards me in New York I may mention one circumstance. On my arrival in 1861 I was elected an honorary member of the club which derives its name from the state or city, and was indebted to its members for many acts of courtesy and for more than one entertainment. Returning to the city from Washington early this year, I was invited to dine at the same club by one or two of my friends. Certain members, as I after- wards heard, took umbrage at my presence, and fast- ened a quarrel on my entertainers. A day or two subsequently the people of New York were called on, by the notorious journalist who had honored me with his animosity ever since I refused the dishonor of his acquaintance, to express their indignation at the conduct of the club ; and the members received a characteristic reprimand for their presumption in letting me into the club, from which they had kept their censor and his clientelle carefully out. My offence was rank ; and public opinion — or what is called so — perhaps was in favor of the ostracism at that moment ; for, as far as I know, the people must have believed I was the sole cause of the Federal defeat and flight at Bull Run. There was some novelty in the idea of starting for Canada in the midst of the bitter winter wind and the dazzling snow : but I would have gone to Nova Zembla at the time to have escaped the mo- NEW YORK DEMOCRATS. 1 notony of New York, which the effects of recent ill- ness rendered more irksome. New York is among cities, what one of the lower order of molluscous animals, with a single intestinal canal, is to a creature of a higher development, with various organs, and full of veins and arteries. Up and down the Broadway passes the stream of life to and from the heart in Wall Street. In the narrow space from water to water on either side of this dry canal there is comparatively little anima- tion, and nothing at all to reward the researches of a stranger. Johnson's remark about Fleet Street would apply with truth to the gawky thoroughfare of the Atlantic Tyi'e. In the Broadway or its " west-end " exten- sions are to be found all the hotels, which are the ganglia of the feverish nervous system so 'incessantly agitated by the operations of the journalistic insects living in secret cysts nigh at hand. All day the great tideway is rolling in, headed by a noisy crest of little boys, with extras under their arms, and her- alded by a confused surfy murmur of voices tdling "lies" for cents, and enunciating "Another Great Union Victory I " in one great bore ; or it is rushing out again with a dismal leaden current, laden with doubts and fears, as the news of some disaster breaks through the locks of government reservoirs and floods the press. In my hotel, where I was fain to seclude myself in my illness, and to follow the very un-American prac- tice of living in a suite of private rooms, there was but little conflict of opinion on any great event, real or fictitious, which turned up from day to day. The guests and visitors were wellnigh all of one way of thinking. They were of the old conservative party, so oddly denominated Democrats, who believed in States Rights : in the right of states to create and maintain their domestic institutions — to secede, if they pleased, from the Union — to resist the attempts 8 CANADA. of the General Government of the other states to coerce them by force of arms. Some of these gentlemen were satisfied the South would not be coerced ; some hoped the South would resist successfully. None, I fear, were " loyal " to President Lincoln and Mr. Seward, and I am sure none would have said so much for either of them or their friends as I would. The majority principle forces people who hold sim- ilar views to meet together, and to select the same hotels to live in. This is unfortunate for a stranger who desires to hear the views of both sides. In the " New York," from the highly artistic and skilful oper- ator who flashed out cocktails at the bar, up to the highest authority, there was no man who would like to say that he was on good terms with Mr. Sumner, or that he did not think Mr. Seward the representa- tive of evil principles. The rule was proved by the exceptions : two I suspect there were — stout Irish waiters, who did not approve of the attempts to destroy " our glorious Union," but who did not find the atmosphere of the place quite favorable to the free expression of the opinion they mildly hinted at to myself. The sameness of ideas, of expressions, of faces, became unbearable. I could tell quite well by the look of men's faces what news they had heard, and what they were saying or going to say about it. Here were crafty politicals and practical men of busi- ness, and persons of a philosophical and reflective temperament, as well as the foolish, the mere pleas- ure-hunters, and the unthinking mass of an hotel world, all looking forward to a near to-morrow to ^nd the woes of the state, always waiting for a ' decisive " battle or " an indignant uprising of the people " to drive the Republicans out of power and office. Not one of them could or would see that the con- test, when terminated, would give birth to others — AMERICAN CONTEMPT FOR CANADA. 9 that the vast bodies of divers interests, prejudices, hatreds, and wrongs set in motion by war over so enormous a surface, where they had been kept sus- pended and inert by the powers of compromise, could never be reconsolidated and restored to the same state as before, and that it would be the work of time, the labor of many years, ere they could settle to rest in any shape whatever. I am told respectable Americans do not use the word " Britisher," but I am bound to say I heard Americans who looked very respectable using the word at the time of which I speak, when there was still irritation on both sides in consequence of the sur- render of Mason and Slidell : in the minds of the friends of the South, because they were balked in their anticipation of a foreign war ; in the Federal mind, because, after much threatening and menaces, they had seen the captives surrendered to the British by the President, or, more properly speaking, by Mr. Seward. Hence it was, perhaps, that Canada was always mentioned, in such a tone of contempt, as though the speakers sought to relieve their feelings by abuse of a British dependency. " Goin' to Canada ! " exclaimed the faithful Mi- lesian who had been my attendant — in fact, my sub- stitute for a nurse. " Lord help us ! That^s a poor place, anyhow. I thought you 'd be contint wid the snow we've got here. It's plinty, anyhow. But Canada ! " The man had never been there in his life, but he spoke as if it were beyond the bounds of civilization. He had served in a British reg- iment for many years ; many of his brothers had been, I think he told me, in the service, but now they were all in the States, and to his notion thriving like himself. In no country on earth is an old nationality so soon absorbed as in America. I am inclined to think the regard professed for England by American liter- 10 CANADA. ary men is sentimental, and is produced by education and study rather than by any feeling transmitted in families or by society. The emigrant, it is remarked, speedily forgets — in the hurry of his new life the ways of the old slip out of his memory. One day I said to my man, as * a regiment of volunteers was marching down Broad- way, " Those fellows are not quite as well set up as the 41st, Pat."— "Well, indeed, and that's thrue ; but they 'd fight as well, I b'lieve, and better maybe, if they 'd the officers, poor craychures I Anyhow," continued he with great gravity, " they can't be flogged for nothin' or for anything." — " Were you ever flogged? " — " No, sirir — not a lash ever touched my back, but I 've known fine sogers spiled by it." It is likely enough that he had never thought on the subject till he came to the States — a short time be- fore and he would have resented deeply the idea that any regiment on earth could stand before Her Maj- esty's 41st. It was now near the end of January, and as a gleam of fine weather might thaw the glorious Union army of the Potomac, and induce them to advance on tlie inglorious army of the Confederacy, I resolved to make the best of my way northwards forthwith. My companions were a young British officer, dis- tinguished in the Crimea, in India, and in China, who represented a borough in Parliament, and had come out to see the great contest which was raging in the United States ; and an English gentleman, who happened to be at New York, and was anxious to have a look at Niagara, even in its winter dress. On the 27th January we were all packed to start by the 5.30 p. m train by Albany to Niagara, and thence to Toronto. The landlord made me up a small assortment of provisions, as in snow-time trains are not always certain of anything but irregularity. I was regarded as one who was about to make my- self needlessly miserable when he might continue in A "UNION VICTORY." 11 much happiness. " You had better stay, sir, for a few days. I have certain intelligence, let me whisper you, that the Abolitionists will be whipped at the end of this week, and old Abe driven out of Wash- ington." The little boys still shout out, " Another great Union Victory." The last, by the bye, was of Gen- eral Thomas, at Somerset, which has gradually sub- limed to uncertainty, though be handled his men well, and is not bad at a despatch. The credulity of the American mind is beyond be- lief. Populus vult decipi — and certainly its wishes are complied with to the fullest extent. The process of a Union victory, from its birth in the first telegram down to its dissolution in the last despatch, is curious enough. Out comes an extra of the " New York Herald " — " Glorious Union Victory off Little Bear Creek, Mo. ! — Five Thousand Rebels Disposed of ! — Grand Skedaddle! — General Pumpkin's Brilliant Charge! — He Out-Murats Murat ! — Sanguinary Encoun- ters ! — Cassius Mudd's Invincibles ! — Doom of the Confederacy ! —Jeff. Davis gone to Texas ! " and so on, with a display of large type, in double-headed lines, and a profusion of notes of admiration. There is excitement in the bar-rooms. The Dem- ocrats look down-hearted. The War Christians are jubilant. Fiery eyes devour the columns, which con- tain but an elaboration of the heading — swelled perhaps with a biographical sketch of Brigadier- General Cyrus Washington Pumpkin, " who was educated at West Point, where he graduated with Generals Beauregard and McDowell, and eventually subsided into pork-packing at Cincinnati, where he was captain of a fine company till the war broke out, when he tendered his sword," &c. Cassius Mudd's biography is of course reprinted for the twentieth time, and there is a list of the names of all the officers in the regiments near the presumed scene of action. 12 CANADA. Then comes the action : — "An intelligent gentle- man has just arrived at Chicago, and has seen Dr. Bray, to whom he has given full particulars of the fight. It was commenced by Lieutenant Epaminon- das Bellows," (son of our respected fellow-citizen, the President of the Bellowstown and Bellona Rail- way ; — here follows a biography of Bellows,) " who was out scouting with ten more of our boys when they fell into an ambuscade, which opened on them with masked batteries, uttering unearthly yells. With Spartan courage the little band returned the fire, and kept the Seceshers, who were at least 500 strong, at bay till their ammunition was exhausted. Bellows, his form dilated with patriotism, his mellow tones ringing above the storm of battle, was urged to fly by a tempter, whose name we suppress. The heroic youth struck the cowardly traitor to the earth, and indignantly invited the enemy to come on. They did so at last. The lieutenant, resisting desperately, then fell, and our men carried his body to the camp, to the skirts of which they were followed by the Secesh cavalry and four guns. Our loss was only two more — the enemy are calculated to have lost 85. The farmers at Munchausen say they were busy all day carrying away their dead in carts. " On reaching the camp, General Pumpkin thought it right to drive back the dastardly polluters of our country's flag. He disposed his troops in platoons, according to the celebrated disposition made by Mil- tiades at Marathon, covering his wings with squad- rons of artillery in columns of sub-divisions, with a reserve of cavalry in echelon ; but he improved upon the idea by adding the combination of solid squares and skirmishers in the third line, by which Alexander the Great decided the Battle of Granicus. " In this order, then, the Union troops advanced till they came to Little Bear Creek. Here, to their great astonishment, they found the enemy under General Jefferson Brick in person (Brick will be remembered THE BATTLE OF LITTLE BEAR CREEK. 13 by many here as the intelligent clerk in our advertise- ment department, but he was deeply tainted with Secesh sentiments, and on the unfurling of our flag manifested them in such a manner that we were obliged to dispense with his services). The infamous destroyer of his country's happiness had posted his men so that we could not see them. They were at least three to one — mustering some 7000, with guns, caissons, baggage-wagons, and standards in propor- tion — and were arranged in an obtuse angle, of which the smaller end was composed of a mass of vet- erans, in the order adopted by Napoleon with the Old Guard at Waterloo : the larger, consisting of the Whoop-owl Bushwhackers and the Squash River Legion in potence, threatened us with destruction if we advanced on the other wing, whilst we were equally exposed to danger if we remained where we were. " General Pumpkin's conduct is, at this most crit- ical moment, generally described as being worthy of the best days of Roman story. He simply gave the word ' Charge ! ' — ' What, General ? ' exclaimed our informant. ' Charge ! Sir,' said the general, with a sternness which permitted no further question. With a yell our gallant fellows dashed at the 'enemy, but the water was too deep in the creek, and they retired with terrific loss. The enemy then dashed at them in turn. They drove our right for three miles ; we drove their left for three and a quarter miles. Their centre drove our left, and our right drove their centre again. They took five of our guns; we took six of theirs and a bread-cart. " Night put an end to this dreadful struggle, in which American troops set an example to the war- seamed soldiers of antiquity. Next morning General Pumpkin pushed across to Pugstown, and occupied it in force. Union sentiment is rife all through Mis- souri. We demand that General Pumpkin be at once placed at the head of the Army of the Potomac." 14 CANADA. Now all this — in no degree exaggerated — and the like of which I have read over and over again, affords infinite comfort or causes great depression to New York for an hour or so, coupled with an " editorial," in which the energy and enterprise of the Scarron are duly eulogized, old Greeley's hat and breeches and umbrella handled with charming wit and eloquence, and the inevitable flight of the Richmond Govern- ment to Texas clearly demonstrated. Next day some little doubt is expressed as to the exact locality of the fight — " Pumpkin's force was at Big Bear, 180 miles west of the place indicated. We doubt not, howo/er, the account is substantially correct, and that the Sccesh forces have been pret<^y badly whipped." Next day the casualties are reduced from 200 killed and 310 wounded to 96 killed and none wounded ; and scrutinizing eyes notice a statement, in small type, that the " father of Lieutenant Bellows has written to us to state his son was not ens^ao^ed on the occasion in question, but was at home on furlough." And by the time " Another Great Union Victory ! " is ready, the fact oozes out, but is by no means con- sidered worth a thought, that General Pumpkin has had an encounter with the Confederates in which he suffered a defeat, and that he has gone into winter quarters. I do not suppose for a moment that these deceitful agencies are exercised only in the North, but am per- suaded, from what I know, that the Southern people are at least as anxious for news, and as liable to be led away by suppressions of truth or distorted nar- ratives, as those of the Free States. If we had had a telegraphic system and a newspaper press during the Wars of the Roses, or the struggle of 1645, it is prob- able our partisans, on both sides, would have been as open to imposture ; but I do not think they would have continued long in the faith that the ever-detected impostor was still worthy of credence. THE STARS AND STRIPES. 15 CHAPTER II. To the Station.— Stars and Stripes. — Crowd at Station. — Train im- peded bv Snow. —Classic Ground. — " iNIanhattan." — " Yonkers." — Fellow-Travellers and their Ways. —" Beauties of the Hudson." — West Point: their Education, &c. — I.arixe Towns on the Banks of the Hudson. — Arrive at East Al!)any. — Delav-an House. — Beds at a Pre- mium. — Aspect of Albany not impressive. — Sights. — The Legislature. As we drove over the execrable snow-heaps to the station, the streets seemed to me unusually dreary. The vast Union flags which flapped in the cold air, now dulled and dim, showed but their great bars of blood, and the stars had faded out into darkness. Apropos of the Stripes and Stars, I may say I never could meet any one in the States able to account for the insignia, though it has been suggested that they are an amplification of the heraldic bearing of George Washington. Strange indeed if the family blazon of an English squire should have become the flaunt- ing flag of the Great Republic, which with all its faults has done so much for the world, and may yet, purged of its vanity, arrogance, and aggressive ten- dency, do so much more for mankind ! Not except- ing our own, it is the most widely spread flag on the seas ; for whilst it floats by the side of the British ensign in every haunt of our commerce, it has almost undisputed possession of vast tracts of sea in the Pacific and South Atlantic. At last we got to the end of our very unpleasant journey, and approached the York and Albany Ter- minus, over an alpine concrete of snow-heaps, snow- holes, and street-rails. At the station my coach- driver affectionately seized my hand, and bade me good-by with a cordiality which might have arisen 16 CANADA. from the sensitiveness of touch in his pahn as much as from personal affection. The terminus was crowded with citizens (eating apples, lemon-drops, and gingerbread-nuts, and reading newspapers) and a few men in soldier's uniform, going north — only one or two of what one calls in Europe gentlemen or ladies, but all well dressed and well behaved, if they would only spare the hissing stoves and the feelings of prejudiced foreigners. The train, with more punctuality than we usually observe in such matters, started to the minute, but only went ten yards or so, and then halted for nearly half an hour — no one knew why, and no one seemed to care, except a gentleman who was going, he said, to get his friend, "the Honorable Something Ray- mond, to do something for him at Albany," and was rather in a hurry. When the engine renewed the active exercise of its powers, the pace was slow and the motion was jerking and uneven, owing to snow on the rails, and the obstacles increased as the train left the shelter of the low long-stretching suburb which clings to it, and is dragged, as it were, out of the city with it along the bank of the Hudson. But even 181st and 182d streets abandoned their attempts to keep up with the rail; and all that could be seen of civilization were sundry chimneys and walls and uncouth dark masses of wood or brick rising above the snow. The lights in the wooden stations shone out frostily through the dimmed windows as we struggled on. We were passing through at night what is to Americans classic ground, in spite of odd names : for here is " Manhattan " (associated in my mind for- ever with a man who, unfortunately for himself and me, had a wooden leg, as he planted the iron ferule of that insensible member on the only weak point of my weaker foot) — and next is " Yonkers," where a lady once lived with whom Washington was once in love, and several " fights " took place all around, in CLASSIC GROUND. 17 which the Americans were more often beaten than victorious ; — " Dobb's Ferry," " Tarrytown " (poor Andre ! let those who wish to know all that can be known of the " spy" read Mr. Sargent's life of him, j3ublished in Philadelphia), which is " nigh on toe Sleepy Hollow," where Mr. Diedrich Knickerbocker had such a remarkable interview with the ancient Hollander; — " Sing Sing," where many gentlemen, not so well known to fame, have interviews of a less agreeable character with modern American author- ities. We are passing, too, by Sunnyside, where Washinsfton Trvins: lived. I would rather have seen him than all the remarkable politicians in the States — old Faneuil, or Bunker's Hill, or all the wonders of the great nation ; though I am told he was unbear- ably prosy and sleepy of late days. Cold and colder it becomes as we creep on, and slower creaks the train with its motley freight. The men round the stoves " fire up " till the iron glows and gives out the heated air to those who can stand it, and an unsavory odor, as of baked second-hand clothing, and a hissing noise to those beyond the tor- rid circle. The slamming of the door never ceases. Sometimes it is a conductor, sometimes it is not. But no matter who makes the disturbance, he has a right to do so. No one can sleep on account of that abominable noise, even if he could court slumber in a seat which is provided with a rim to hurt his back if he reclines, and a ridge to smite his face if he leans forward. Apples and water and somebody's lemon- drops are in demand ; and vendors of vegetable ivory furtively deposit specimens of ingenious manufacture but inscrutable purpose in the lap of the unoffending stranger, who in his sleepy state often falls a victim to these artifices, and finds himself called on to pay several dollars for quaint products of the carver, which he has unduly detained in his unconscious- ness. The train arrives at Poughkeepsie, seventy-five 18 . CANADA. miles from New York, .an horn- and a half late. We hear that, instead of reaching Albany at 10.30 or 11 p. M., we shall not be in till 1 or 1.30 a. m., and will "lose communications;" therefore we eat in desperation at refreshment-rooms large oysters boiled in milk out of small basins. In the night once more. We have passed West Point long since, and an enthusiastic child of nature, who has been pointing out to me the " beauties of the Hudson," which is flowing down under its mail of ice close to our left, has gone to sleep among the fire-worshippers at the stove. Now, the fact is, that scenery under snow is, I may safely affirm, very like beauty under a mask, or a fine figure in a waterproof blanket. The hills were mere snow-mounds, and the lines of all objects were fluffy and indistinct ; and I was glad my eulo- gistic friend slept at last. West Point I longed to see ; for though its success in turning out great gen- erals has as yet not been very remarkable, I had met too many excellent specimens of its handiwork in making good officers and pleasant gentlemen not to feel a desire to have purview of the institution. Had I not heard a live general sing " Benny Haven, ho ! " — had I not seen Mordecai sitting at the gate of Pelissier in vain, and McCiellan and Delafield en- gaged in a geological inquiry on the remains of the siege of Sebastopol ? Above all, does not West Point promise to become something like a military academy, in a country such as America is likely to be after the war ? It is a mistake rather common in England, and in Europe, to suppose that a majority, or even a minor- ity, of the American generals are civilians. With very few exceptions indeed, they have either been some time at West Point, or have graduated there. In a country which has no established lines to mark the difference of classes, which nevertheless exists there as elsewhere, there is a positive social elevation AMERICAN OFFIERS. 19 acquired by any man who has graduated at West Point ; and if he has taken a high degree, he is re- garded in his State as a man of mark, whose services must be secured for the military organization and public service in the militia or volunteers. There is no country in the world where so many civilians have received their education in military academies without any view to a military ca- reer. There are of course many " generals " and " colonels " of States troops who have had no pro- fessional training, but not nearly so many as might be imagined. But the great defect under which American offi- cers labored until this unhappy war broke out, was the purely empirical and theoretical state of their knowledge. They had no practical experience. The best of them had only such knowledge as they could have gleaned in the Mexican war. A man whose head was full of Jomini was sent off to command a detachment in a frontier fort, and to watch maraud- ing Indians, for long years of his life, and never saw a regiment in the field. As to working the three arms together creditably in the field, I doubt if there is an officer in the whole army who could do it any- thing like so well as the Duke of Cambridge, or as an Aldershot or Curragh brigadier. It would be hard for any Englishman to be indif- ferent to the advantages of military training in a country where every village around could have told tales of the helpless, hopeless blundering which char- acterized the operations of the British generals here- abouts in the War of Independence. Reflecting thus, too, I felt less inclined to wonder at the mis- takes made by the Federals, and by the Confederates. Had the British generals proved more lucky and skil- ful, should we now have been passing the towns which cluster on the banks of the Hudson, or would " monarchy " have impeded the march of life, com- merce, and civilization out here ? 20 CANADA. Towns of 5000, 10,000, 20,000, and even of 30,000 inhabitants rise on the margin of the fine river, which in summer presents, I am assured, a scene of charming variety and animation, and in autumn is fringed by the most beautiful of all beau- tiful American landscapes, surcharged with the glo- rious colors of that lovely season. Through the dark- ness by the bright starlight we could see the steam- boats locked fast in the ice, like knights in proof, awaiting the signal to set them free for the charge. But, ah me ! how weary it was ! — how horrible the stoves ! At last and at last the train stopped, and finally deposited us at three o'clock in the morning on the left bank of the Hudson, at East Albany. The city proper lies on the opposite shore of the river; and I got, as I was directed, into a long low box called the omnibus, which was soon crowded with passengers. In a few minutes we were off. Then I was made aware that the 'bus was a sleigh, and that it was on runners, and Just at that moment the machine made a headlong plunge, like a ship going down by the bows at sea, and in an in- stant more had pierced the depths of darkness, and with a crashing', scrunching bump touched the bot- tom. " We 're on the river now, I guess," quoth one. And so it was. We had shot down the bank, which must be higher than one would like to leap, even on snow, and were now rolling, squeaking, and jerking over the frozen river, amid the groans and shrieks and grumbling protests of the ice, which seemed in some places to give way as if it were go- ing to let us down bodily, and in others to rise up in strong ridges to baffle the horses' efforts. Then, after a most disagreeable drive, which seemed half-an-hour long, — and about thrice as long as it really v/as, I suppose, — a prodigious effort of horse-muscle and whipping, and of manual labor, accomplished the ascent of the other bank, and the vehicle passed through the deserted streets of Albany — the capital THE DELAYAN HOUSE. 21 of the great State of New York — to the Delavan House, which \Yas open to receive but not to enter- tain us. A rush of citizens was made to " the office " of the hotel. More citizens followed out of fast- arriving vehicles from the train, — -for there was no means of getting on till the forenoon, — and all went perforce to the Delavan House. The hotel office consisted of a counter with a raised desk, enclosing a man with a gold chain, a diamond stuck in the front of a dress shirt — not as pin to a scarf or as a stud, but as a diamond per se, after the fashion of those people and of railway con- ductors in the land — his hat cocked over one eye, a toothpick even at that hour in his mouth, a black dress suit of clothes, a dyed moustache and beard a la Rowdy Americain, and an air of sovereign con- tempt for his customers. The crowd pressed around and hurled volleys of questions, — " Can wq have beds, sir ? " &c. But the man of Delavan House re- plied not. To all their entreaties he returned not a word. Bat he did take out a great book and spread it on the counter, and putting a pen in the ink he handed it to the citizen nearest, who signed himself and his State, and asked meekly " if he could have a bed at once, as he was so " &c. To him the man of Delavan House deigned no reply. The pen was handed to another, who signed, and so on — the arbiter of our destinies watching each inscription with the air of an attorney's clerk who takes signa- tures to an attestation. There were at least fifty people to sign before me, and I heard from a waiter there were only ten beds — which on the most ample allowance would only accommodate some thirty people — vacant. Were the Britishers to be beaten ? Never ! Leaving our luggage, we dashed out into the snow. And lo ! a house nigh at hand, with lights and open doors. A black waiter sallied out at the tramp of feet in the hall. He told us, " De rooms all tuk, sar." He was 2* 22 CANADA. told to be less indiscreet in his assertions, and all the time of colloquy the invading Celts and Saxons pushed onwards and upwards to the first landing. Here were doors standing open. We entered one. Three small rooms — beds empty ! no luggage ! This will do. " Massa, dis room 's all " " You be quiet ! " And the luggage was dragged over by our own right hands, eventually aided by the Ethiop. I had the satisfaction, as 1 was gliding away with my hat'box, to hear the man of Delavan House read- ing the book of fate, and selecting his victims at his grim pleasure. In fact, the house on which we had stumbled was a sort of succursal to the hotel ; and the proprietor, afraid of offending so mighty a poten- tate, Avas shocked at the idea of letting in any one without his leave. What became of the victims I know not, but I do know that the beds — though we went to them supperless — of the humble hostelry were very grateful. I went to bed about 4 a. m., with the fixed inten- tion of getting up early and visiting the capitol, when I could have seen with these eyes the glories of the Hon. Raymond as Speaker in the State Hall, and have heard something more of the interesting proceedings against a New York alderman, who accused senators and representatives of being acces- sible as Danae to the golden shower, and even to greenbacks. No man can see the real merits of a city in snow. I shall repeat the remark no more ; therefore if I say I don't like a place, let the snow bear the blame ; but Albany did not impress me when I did get up, and the sight of the State Capitol at the top of a steep street was so utterly depressing, that I abandoned my resolve, and sought less classic ground. What have not these Greeks to answer for in this new land ? There was a comforting contrast to the hideous domes and mock porticos, and generally to the ugli- THE LEGISLATURE. 23 ness of the public buildings, in the solid unpreten- tious look of the old Dutch-built houses of private citizens. Though there is an aspect of decadence about Albany, it seems more, far more respectable and gentlemanly than its smug, smirking, meretri- cious but overwhelming rival, New York. I was informed by an American that it was called after the second name in the title of James the Sec- ond, before he ascended the throne. " Bad as the Stuarts were to you, they were a great deal better for the colonies," said he, " than your Hanover House, and perhaps if you had n't changed them you might not have lost us." It was curious to hear an American saying a good word for the luckless house, though 1 am by no means of the opinion that England could ever have ruled colonies which were saturated with the principles of self-government. It was too cold at such a season as this for philo- sophical research in a sleigh, and too slippery for sauntering; and we were whirled out of the State capital without seeing much of it, except church steeples, and some decent streets, and the ice-bound river studded with hard-set steamers. There are, however, in summer time, as I hear, and can well imagine, many fine sights to be seen. There is the Fall of Cohoes, where the Mohawk River, a stream of greater body than the Thames at Rich- mond, leaps full seventy feet down into a gulf, whence it collects itself to pursue its course to the Hudson. There are Shaker settlements, and many communi- ties of "isms" and astounding congregations of " ists ; " and there are clean Dutch streets, and Dutch tenures and customs to this day. With the tenures, however, the rule of the majority has made rough work ; and the lords in capite, or padroons, have suffered pauperization by the simple process of non- payment of their rents. The Legislature is now in solemn conclave. They are investigating charges impliea in the speech of a 24 CANADA. New York alderman, who declared he could get any measure passed he liked, by paying the members — of course extra-officially, because the payment, per se, could only be an agreeable addition to their in- come. The Speaker is Mr. Raymond, of the " New York Times," who, in spite of or perhaps in conse- quence of the opposition of the " Caledonian Cleon," his rival, was elected to that high office. It was in course of conversation with an American gentleman respecting the election, that I learned there was no more certain way of succeeding in any contest in the State, than to obtain the abuse of the organ under that person's control. Be it senator, mayor, or com- mon-councilman, the candidate he favors is lost, for all respectable people instinctively vote against him. MR. SEWARD. 25 CHAPTER III. Unpleasant Journey to Niagara. — Mr. Seward. — The Union and its Dan- gers. — Pass Buffalo. — Arrival at Niagara. — A "' Touter." — Bad Weather. — The Road. — Climate compared. — Desolate Appearance of Houses. — The St. Lawrence viewed from above. — One Hundred Years ago. — Canada the great Object of the Americans. — The Weltend Ca- nal. — Effect of the F:ills from a Distance. — Gradual approach, — Less Volume of Water in Winter. — Different Effect and Dangers in Winter. Icicles. — Behind the Cataract. — Photographs and Bazaar. — Visit the "Lions" generally. — Brock. — American and Canadian Sides con- trasted. — Goat Island. — A Whisper heard. — Mills and Manufactories. It was past noon ere the train once more began its contest with the snow — now conquering, now stubbornly resisted, and brought to a standstill, — the pace exceedingly slow, the scenery that of undu- lating white table-cloths, the society dull. The journey to Niagara was as unpleasant as very bad travelling and absence of anything to see could make it. The train contained many soldiers or volun- teers going back to their people, who discussed the conduct of the war with earnestness and acuteness ; but though we were so far north, I could not hear any of them very anxious about the negro. Well-dressed men and women got in and out at all the stations, nor did I see persons in the whole line of the cars who seemed to have rubbed elbows with adversity. Shenectady ! Utica! Syracuse! Au- burn ! Here be comminglings ! — the Indian, the Phceno - Numidian, the Greek - Sicilian, the Anglo- Irish, all reviving here in fair towns, full of wealth, commerce, and life. The last-named is, I believe, the birthplace, and is certainly what auctioneers call the residential abode, of Mr. Seward. I remember his Excellency relating how, after the Battle of Bull Run, — when he was threatened by certain people from Baltimore with 26 CANADA. hanging, as the reward of his misdeeds in plunging the country into civil war, — he resolved to visit his fellow-citizens and neighbors, to ascertain whether there was any change of feeling arnongst them. He was received with every demonstration of kindness and respect, and then, said he, " I felt my head was quite safe on my shoulders." It is but just to say, Mr. Seward altogether disclaims the intention of seiz- ing on Canada, which has been attributed to him in England ; although he certainly is of opinion, that the province cannot continue long to be a dependency of the English Crown. How long does he think California will be content to receive orders from a government at Washington ? The danger which menaces the Union will become far greater after the success of the Unionists than it was during the war, because the extinction of the principle of States Rights will naturally tend to cen- tralize the power of the Federal Government. They cannot restore that which they have pulled down. In virtue of their own principles, they must maintain a strict watch and supreme control over the State Governments and Legislatures. Endless disputes and jealousies will arise. The Democrats, at once the wealthiest and the ablest party in each State, will take every opportunity of opposing the central- ized Government ; and although the Republicans may raise armies to fight for the Union, they will not be able .to prevent the stow and certain action of the State Legislatures, which will tend to detach the States more and more from any federation in which their interests are not engaged, and to form them into groups, bound together by community of com- merce, manufacture, feeling, and destiny. Canada must of course accept its fate with the rest ; but Englishmen, at least, will not yield it to the menaces or violence of the Northern Americans, as long as the people of the province prefer being our fellow-subjects to an incorporation in the Great A NIAGARA TOUTER. 27 Republic, or any section of it that may be desirous of the abstraction. I fear we mostly look at Mr. Seward's conduct and language from a point which causes erroneous inferences. It should be remembered that he is an American minister — that he has not only the inter- ests but the passions and prejudices of the American people to consult, and that, like Lord Palmerston, he is not the minister of any country but his own. His son, the Under-secretary of State, is the proprietor and editor of a journal here, which is conducted with the moderation and tact to be expected from the amiable character of the gentleman alluded to. There was little to be seen of the towns at which we halted, and our journey was continued from one to the other monotonously enough. The weary creep- ing of the train, the foul atmosphere, the delays, how- ever inevitable and unavoidable, rather spoiled one's interest in the black smoky-looking cities on the white plains through which we passed ; and night found us still " scrooging on," and occasionally stop- ping and digging out. Thus we passed by Rochester and the Genesee Falls, which seem extensively used up in mill-working, and arrived at Buffalo (278 miles) a little before midnight. There we branched off to Niagara, which is 22 miles further on. Up to this time we had been minded to go to the Clifton House, which is on the Canadian side of the river, though it is kept by Americans, and of which we had agreeable memories in the summer, when it was the headquarters of many pleasant Southerners. There were only three or four men in our car, one of whom was, even under such hopeless circumstances, doing a little touting for an hotel at the American side. After a while he threw a fly over us and landed the whole basket. All the large hotels, he said, Vv^ere shut up on both sides of the Falls, but he could take us to a very nice quiet and comfortable place, where we would meet with every attention, 28 CANADA. and it was the only house we would find open. This exposition left us no choice. We surrendered oui selves therefore to the tout, who was a very different being from the type of his class in England, — a tall, pleasant-faced man, with a keen eye and bronzed face, ending in an American Vandyke beard, a fur collar round his neck, a heavy travelling-coat, — from which peered out the ruffles of a white shirt and a glittering watch-chain, — rings on his fingers, and unexceptionable shoeing. He smoked his cigar with an air, and talked as if he were conferring a favor. " And I tell you what ! I '11 show you all over the Falls to-morrow. Yes, sir!" Why, we were under eternal obligations to such a guide, and internally thanking our stars for the treasure-trove, at once accepted him. At the gloomy deserted station we were now shot out, on a sheet of slippery deep snow, an hour after midnight. We followed our guide to an hostelry of the humbler sort, where the attention was not at first very marked or the comfort at all decided. The night was very dark, and a thaw had set in under the influence of a warm rain. The thunder of the Falls could not be heard through the thick air, but when we were in the house a quiet little quivering rattle of the window-panes spoke of its influence. The bar-room was closed — in the tawdry foul- odored eating-room swung a feeble lamp : it was quite unreasonable to suppose any one could be hungry at such an hour, and we went to bed with the nourishment supplied by an anticipation of feast- ing on scenery. All through the night the door and window-frames kept up the drum-like roll to the grand music far away. We woke up early. What evil fortune ! E-ain ! fog! thaw ! — the snow melting fast in the dark air. But were we not "bound" to see the Falls? So after breakfast, and ample supplies of coarse food, we started in a vehicle driven by the trapper of the THE NEGROES AND THE IRISH. 29 night before. He turned out to be a very intelligent, shrewd American, who had knocked about a good deal in the States, and knew men and manners in a larger field than Ulysses ever wandered over. The aspect of the American city in winter-time is decidedly quite the reverse of attractive, but there was a far larger fixed population than we expected to have seen, and the fame of our arrival had gone abroad, so that there was a small assemblage round the stove in the bar-room and in the passage to see us start. I don't mean to see us in particular, but to stare at any three strangers who turned up so sus- piciously and unexpectedly at this season. The walls of the room in the hotel were covered with placards, offering large bounties and liberal induce- ments to recruits for the local regiment of volun- teers ; and I was told that a great number of men had gone for the war after the season had concluded — but Abolition is by no means popular in Niagara. It was resolved that we should drive round to the British side by the Suspension Bridge, a couple of miles below, as the best way of inducting my com- panions into the wonders of the Falls ; and I pre- q)ared myself for a great surprise in the difference between the character of the scene in winter and in summer. For some time the road runs on a low level below the river-bank, and does not permit of a sight of the cataract. The wooden huts of the Irish squatters looked more squalid and miserable than they were when I saw them last year — wonderful combina- tions of old plank, tarpaulin, tin-plate, and stove- pipes. " It's wonderful the settlement does n't catch fire !" — " But it does catch fire. It's burned down often enough. Nobody cares ; and the Irish grin, and build it up again, and beat a few of the niggers, whom they accuse of having blazed 'em up. They 've a purty hard time of it now, I think." There are too many free negroes and too manj 30 CANADA. Irish located in the immediate neighborhood of the American town, to cause the docti'ines of the Aboli- tionists to be received with much favor by the Ameri- can population ; and the Irish of course are opposed to free negroes, where they are attracted by paper- mills, hotel service, bricklaying, plastering, house- building, and the like — the Americans monopoliz- ing the higher branches of labor and money-making, inclnding the guide business. At a bend in the road we caught a glimpse of the Falls, and I was concerned to observe they appeared diminished in form, in beauty, and in effect. The cataract appeared of an ochreish hue, like bog-water, as patches of it came into sight through breaks in the thick screen of trees which line the banks. The effect was partly due to the rain, perhaps, but was certainly developed by the white setting of snow through which it rushed. The expression on my friends' faces indicated that they considered Niagara an imposition. " The Falls are like one of our great statesmen," quoth the guide, " just now. There 's nothing particular about them when you first catch a view of them ; but when you get close and know them better, then the power comes out, and you feel- small as potatoes." As we splashed on through the snow, I began to consider the disadvantages to which the poor emi- grant who chooses a land exposed to the rigors of a six-months' winter, must be exposed; and I won- dered in myself that the early settlers did not fly, if they had a chance, when they first experienced the effects of bitter cold. But I recollected how much better were soil, climate, and communications than they are in the sunny South, where, for seven months, the heat is far more intolerable than the cold of Canada — where the fever revels, where noxious reptiles and insects vex human life, and the blood is poisoned by malaria, and where wheat refuses to grow, and bread is a foreign product. THE ST. LAWRENCE. 31 Even in Illinois the winter is, as a rule, as severe as it is in Canada, the heat as great in summer — water is scarce, roads bad. It is better to be a dweller on the banks of the St. Lawrence than a resident in the Valley of the Mississippi, even if a tithe of its fabled future should ever come to pass. There is no reason why the Canadas should be regarded with less favor than the Western States, although the winters are long enough : in the prairie there is a want of wholesome water in summer, and a scarcity of fuel for cold weather, which tend to restore the balance in favor of the provinces. ' The country, which I remembered so riant and rich, now was cold and desolate. At the station, near the beautiful Suspension Bridge, — which one cannot praise too much, and which I hope may last forever, though it does not look like it, — the houses had closed windows, and half of them seemed empty, but the German proprietors no doubt could have been found in the lager-beer saloons and billiard- rooms. The toll-takers and revenue officers on the bridge showed the usual apathy of their genus. No novelty moves them. Had the King of Oude ap- peared with all his court on elephants, they would have merely been puzzled how to assess the animals. They were not in the least disconcerted at a group of travellers visiting the St. Lawrence in winter- time. The sight of the St. Lawrence as we crossed over, roaring and foaming more than a hundred feet below us, and rushing between the precipitous banks on which the bridge rests, gave one a sort of ^'frisson : " it looked like some stream of the Inferno — the waters, black and cold, lashed into pyramids of white foam, and seeming by their very violence to impede their own escape. Some distance below the bridge, indeed, they rise up in a visible ridge, crested with high plumes of tossing spray ; but it is related as a fact that the steamer " Maid of the Mist," which 32 CANADA. was wont to ply as a ferry-boat below the Falls, was let down this awful sluice by a daring captain, who sought to save her from the grip of certain legal functionaries, and that she got through with the loss of her chimney, after a fierce contest with the waters, in which she was whirled round and buffeted almost to foundering. At that moment the men on board would no doubt have surrendered to the feeblest of bailiffs for the chance of smooth water. About one hundred years ago, the spot where we now stood was the scene of continual struggles be- tween the Red man, still strong enough to strike a blow for his heritage, and the British. It was on the 14th September, 1764, that the Indians routed a de- tachment at Niagara, and killed and wounded up- wards of two hundred men ; and their organization seemed so formidable that Amherst was glad to make a treaty with the tribes through the instrumentality of Sir W. Johnston. The colonists then left on us the main burden of any difliculty arising from their great cupidity and indifference to the rights of the natives. In ten years afterwards they were engaged in preparing for the grand revolt which gave birth to the United States and to the greatest development of self-government ever seen in the world. As they were setting about the work of wresting the New World from the grasp of the monarchical system. Cook was exploring the shores of the other vast continent in the Southern Sea, where the spirit of British institutions, with the widest extension of constitutional liberty, may yet successfully vindicate the attachment of a great Anglo-Saxon race to the Crown. There are many in America who think the colonies would never have revolted if the French had retained possession of Canada, and, indeed, it is likely enough the Anglo-Saxons would have held to the connection if the Latin race had been sitting upon them north- wards ; but the political accidents and the military OUR COLONIES. 33 results which expelled the flenr-de-lis from Canada, doubtless created an unnatural bond of union between the absolutist Court of St. Germains and the precur- sors of Anacharsis Clootz in the colonies. To the seer there might have been something ominous in the coalition. The men who were battling for the divine right of kings in Europe could scarce fight for the divine right of man in America without danger. The kiss which was imprinted at Versailles on Franklin's cheek, by the lips of a royal lady, must have had the smack of the guillotine in it. Anyway, we must allow, the French Canadians, who stood by us shoulder to shoulder and beat back the American battalions, whose power to invade was mainly derived from foreign support, showed they had a surprising instinct for true liberty. No doubt they would have fought at least as stoutly, had the arro- gant colonists been aided by red-coats, for the sake of the white banner and the fleur-de-lis j but in the time of trouble and danger they stood loyally by the Crown and connection of England, and their services in that day should not be lightly forgotten. It is above all things noteworthy, perhaps, that the Americans in all their wars with the mother-country have sought to strike swift hard blows in Canada, and that hitherto, with every advantage and after con- siderable successes, they have been driven, weather- beaten back, and bootless home. It was actually on the land shaken by the roar of these falling floods that battles have been fought, and that the air has listened in doubt to the voice of cannon mingling with the eternal chorus of the cataract. There are here two points at which Canada lies open to the invader. The first lies above the Rapids — the latter is below them, where the St. Lawrence flows into the lake. Three considerable actions and various small engagements have taken place on the Canadian side of the river, all of which were charac- 34 CANADA. terized by great obstinacy and much bloodshed. Let us consider them, and see what can or ought to be done in order to guard the tempting bank Vv^hich oflfers such an excellent base of operations for future hos- tile occupation. An inspection of the map will show the Welland Canal, running from Port Maitland, Dunnville, and Port Colborne, on Lake Erie, to Lake Ontario at Port Dalhousie. The command of this canal would be of the very greatest importance to an invading army, as it would establish a communication inside the Falls of Niagara ; but it would be very difficult to obtain such a command so as to prevent the de- struction of the canal in case of necessity. It is ob- vious, however, that the line of it should be defended, and that gamsons should be stationed to hold points inside the line, such as Erie and Chippewa, to render it unsafe for the enemy to move down inside them. At Fort Erie there is a very insignificant work; but, with that exception, the line of the Welland Canal may be considered as perfectly open and defenceless — not by any means as utterly indefensible. The river is not broad enough to prevent the dwell- ers on the banks from indulging in hostilities if they pleased ; but no practical advantage would be gained in a campaign by any operation which did not settle the fate of the Welland Canal. The locks will per- mit vessels 142 feet long, with 26 feet beam, and drawing 10 feet of water, to pass between Erie and Ontario ; and from the latter lake to the sea, or, vice versa, they can pass by the St. Lawrence Canal, drawing one foot less water. It would be above all things important to prevent an enemy getting pos- session of this Welland Canal. It would not suriice for us to destroy it by injuring a lock or the like, as such an act vrould militate against our own lines of communication, — more important to us, who have an inferior power of transport on the lakes, than it would be to the Americans. THE CLOUD OVER THE FALLS. 35 In addition to a well-devised system of field-works, it is desirable that permanent fortifications should be constructed to cover the termini of the canal and the feeder above Port Maitland. At present, the defen- sive means of Fort Erie, at the entrance of the river above the Rapids, are very poor, and quite inadequate to resist modern artillery. However, this subject will be best discussed when I come to speak of the general defence of Canada. This yawning gap is barrier enough between the two countries should they ever, unhappily, become belligerent, but the banks can be commanded by either ; and in case of war the bridge would no doubt be sacrificed by one or other, as well as the grander structure at Montreal would be, without some special covenant. When still a mile and a half away, a whirling pil- lar of a leaden gray color, with wreaths of a lighter silvery hue playing round it, which rose to the height of several hundred feet in the air, indicated the posi- tion of the Falls. The vapor was more solid and gloomy-looking than the cloudlike mantle which shrouds the cataract oftentimes in the summer. I doubt if there is a very satisfactory solution of its existence at all. Of course the cloud is caused by particles of water thrown up into the atmosphere by the violent impact of the water on the surface, and by the spray thrown oft in the descent of the torrent; but why those particles remain floating about, in- stead of falling at once like rain, is beyond my poor comprehension. Sure enough, a certain portion does descend like a thick Scotch mist : why not all ? As one of my companions, with much gravity and an air of profound wisdom, remarked last summer, "It's probable electricity has something to do with it I" Can any one say more ? Assuredly, this ever-rolling mighty cloud draping and overhanging the Falls adds much to their weird and wonderful beauty. Its variety of form is infinite, 36 CANADA. changing with every current of air, and altering from day to day in height and volume ; but I never looked at it without fancying I could trace in the outlines the indistinct shape of a woman, with flowing hair and drooping arms, veiled in drapery — now crouch- ing on the very surface of the flood, again towering aloft and tossing up her hands to heaven, or sinking down and bending low to the edge of the cataract, as though to drink its waters. With the aid of an active fancy, one might deem it to be the guardian spirit of the wondrous place. The wind was unfavorable, and the noise of the cataract was not heard in all its majestic violence ; but as we came nearer, we looked at each other and said nothing. It grew on us like the tumult of an approaching battle. There is this in the noise of the Falls : produced by a monotonous and invariable cause, it nevertheless varies incessantly in tone and expression. As you listen, the thunder peals loudly, then dies away into a hoarse grumble, rolls on again as if swelled by minor storms, clangs in the ear, and after a while^ like a river of sound welling over and irrepressible, drowns the sense in one vast rush of inexpressible grandeur — then melts away till you are almost startled at the silence and look up to see the Falls, like a green mountain-side streaked with fresh snow- drifts, slide and shimmer over the precipice. It may well be conceived with what awe and su- perstitious dread honest Jesuit Hennepin, following his Indian guides through the gloom of the forest primeval, gazed on the dreadful flood, which had then no garniture of trimmed banks, cleared fields, snug hotels, and cockney gazabos to alleviate the natural terror with which man must gaze on a spec- tacle which conjures up such solemn images of death, time, and eternity. No words can describe the Falls ; and Church's picture, very truthful and wonderful as to form, can- AT THE FALLS. 37 not convey an idea of the life of the scene — of the motion and noise and shifting color which abound there in sky and water. I doubt, indeed, if any man can describe his o\vn sensations very accurately, for they undergo constant change ; and for my own part I would say that the effect increases daily, and that one leaves the scene with more vivid impressions of its grandeur and beauty than is produced by the first coup'd^ceil. A gradual approach does not at all diminish the power of the cataract, and the mind is rather unduly excited by the aspect of the Styx-like flood — black, foara-crested, and of great volume, with every indi- cation of profound depth — which hurries on so swiftly and so furiously below the road on which you are travelling, between banks cut down through grim, dark rock, so sheer that the tops of the upper trees which take root in the strata can be nearly touched by the traveller's stick. The idea that the whole of the great river beneath you has just leaped over a barrier of rock prepares one's conception for the greatness of the cataract itself. In summer time there were wild ducks flying about, and terns darted up and down the stream. Now it was deserted and desolate, looking of more inky hue in contrast with the snow. Close to the boiling cat- aract the fishermen's tiny barks might then be seen rocking up and down, or the angler sought the bass which loves those turbulent depths ; but no such signs of human life and industry are visible in winter. Before Niagara was, odd creatures enough lived about here, which can now be detected fossilized in the magnesian limestone. How many myriads of years it has been eating away its dear heart and gnawing the rock, let Sir Charles Lyell or Sir Roder- ick Murchison calculate ; but I am persuaded that since I saw it some months ago there has been a change in the aspect of the Horseshoe Fall, and that it has become more deeply curved. The residents, 3 38 CANADA. however, though admitting the occurrence of changes, say they are very slow, and that no very rapid al- teration has taken place since the fall of a great part of Table Kock some years ago ; but masses of stone may be washed away every day without their know- ing it. One very natural consequence of a visit in the winter was undeniable — that the Falls were visibly less : they did not extend so far, and they rolled with diminished volume. The water did not look so pure, and incredible icicles and hanging glaciers obscured the outlines of the rocks, and even intruded on the watercourse ; whilst the trees above, laden with snow, stood up like inverted icicles again, and rendered it difficult to define the boundary between earth, air, and water. A noiseless drive brought us to the village. Clif- ton House was deserted — the windows closed, the doors fastened. No gay groups disported on the promenade ; but the bird-stufFer's, the Jew's museum, the photographer's shed, the Prince's triumphal arch, were still extant ; and the bazaars, where they sell views, sea-shells, Indian beadwork and feathers, moc- casons, stuffed birds, and the like, were open and anxious for customers. Our party was a godsend; but the worthy Israelite, who has collected such an odd museum here, — one, under all the circumstances, most creditable to his industry and perseverance as well as liberality, — said that travellers came pretty often in fine winter weather to look at the cataract. We walked in our moccasons to the Table Rock, and thence to the verge of the Falls, and gazed in silence on the struggling fury of the terrible Rapids, which seem as if they wrestled with each other like strong men contending against death, and fighting to the last till the fatal leap must be made. The hateful little wooden staircases, which like black slugs crawl up the precipice from the foot of the Falls, caught the eyes of my companions ; and INSIDE THE FALLS. 39 when they were informed that they could go down in safety and get some way behind the Fall itself, the place was invested with a new charm, and ice, rheumatism, and the like, were set at defiance. I kncAV what it was in summer, and the winter journey did not seem very tempting ; but there was no alter- native, and the party returned to the museum to pre- pare for the descent. Whilst we were waiting for our water-proof dresses to go under the Falls, we had an opportunity of sur- veying the changes produced by winter, and I was the more persuaded that the effect is not so favorable as that of summer. The islands are covered with snow — that which divides the sweep of the cataract looking unusually large ; the volume of water, dimin- ished in the front, is also deprived of much of its impressive force by a decrease in the sound produced by its fall. The edges of the bank, covered with glistening slabs of ice, were not tempting to the foot, and could not be approached with the confidence with which they are trod by one of steady nerves when the actual brink is visible. There were some peculiarities, however, worthy of note ; and in a brighter day, possibly the effect of the light on the vast ranges of icicles, and on the fan- tastic shapes into which the snow is cut on the rocks at the margin of the waters, might be very beautiful. These rocks now looked like a flock of polar bears, twined in fantastic attitudes, or extended singly and in groups by the brink as if watching for their prey. Above them rose the bank, now smooth and pol- ished, with a fringe of icicles — some large as church- steeples ; above them, again, the lines of the pine- trees, draped in white, and looking like church- steeples too. At one side, near Table Rock, the icicles were enormous, and now and then one fell with a hissing noise, and was dashed on the rock into a thousand gliding ice arrows, or plunged into the gulf. 40 CANADA. By this time our toilette-room was ready, and each man, taldng off his overcoat, was encased in a tar- paulin suit with a sou'wester. In this guise we descended the spiral staircase, which is carried in a perpendicular wooden column down the face of the bank near Table Rock, or what remains of it, to the rugged margin, formed of boulders now more slippery than glass. Our guide, a strapping specimen of negro or mu- latto, in thick solid ungainly boots, planted his splay feet on them with certainty, and led us by the treach- erous path down towards the verge of the torrent, which now seemed as though it were rushing from the very heavens. On our left boiled the dreadful caldron from which the gushing bubbles, as if over- joyed to escape, leaped up, and with glad efferves- cence rushed from the abyss which plummet never sounded. On our right towered the sheer precipice of rock, now overhanging us, and garnished with rows of giant teeth-like icicles. After a slow cautious advance along this doubtful path, we perceived that the thin edge of the cataract towards which we were advancing shot out from the rock, and left a space between its inner surface and a black shining wall which it was quite possible to enter. There was no wind, the day was dull and raw, but the downright rush of the water created a whirling current of air close to it which almost whisked away the breath ; and a vapor of snow, fine sleet, and watery particles careered round the en- 'trance to the recess, which no water kelpie would be venturesome or lonesome enough to select, except in the height of the season. On we thus went, more and more slowly and cautiously, over the polished ice and rock, till at last we had fairly got behind the cataract, and enjoyed the pleasure of seeing the sohd wall of water failing, falling, falling, with the grand monotony of eternity, so nigh that one fancied he could almost touch it PHOTOGRAPHS AND BAZAAR. 41 with his hand. When last I was here, it was pos- sible to have got as far as a ledge called Termination Rock ; but tlie ice had accumulated to such an ex- tent that the guide declared the attempt to do so would be impracticable or dangerous, and indeed where we stood was not particularly safe at the mo- ment. As I was in the cave, gazing at the down- poured ruin of waters with a sense of security as great as that of a trout in a mill-race, an icicle from the cliff above cracked on the rocks outside, and threw its fragments inside the passage. I own the desire I had to get on still further and pierce in be- hind the cataract, where its volume was denser, was greater than the gratification I derived from getting so far. But we had reached our ultima thule, and, with many a lingering look, retraced our steps — now and then halting to contend the better with the gusts from the falls, which threaten to sweep one from the ledge. If the foot once slipped, I cannot conceive a death more rapid : life would die out with the thought, " I am in the abyss ! " ere a cry could es- cape. Whilst returning, another icicle fell near at hand ; therefore it is my humble opinion that going to Ter- mination Rock in winter is not safe except in hard frost, the safer plan being not to go at all. And yet no one has ever been swept or has slipped in, I be- lieve, and so there is a new sensation to be had very easily. The path on our return seemed worse than it w^as on our going — a very small slippery ridge indeed between us and the gulf; but danger there can be but little. As we emerged from the Avooden pillar, we submitted to a photographer for our por- traits in water-proof. Poor man I In summer he has a harvest, perhaps ; in winter he gleans his corn with toil and sorrow, making scenes for stereoscopes. I am not aware that we omitted anything proper to be done ; for we pur- chased feather fans — the griffs did — and bead work 42 CANADA. and other " mementos of the Falls," which are cer- tainly not selected for any apposite quality. As if the Falls needed a bunch of feathers and beads to keep them in remembrance! Well, many a time has a lock of hair, a withered flower, the feeblest little atom of substantial matter, been given as memento ere now, and done its office well. As I passed by Clifton House on my return to the American side, I observed a solitary figure in a blue overcoat and brass buttons, pacing rapidly up and down under cover of the veranda. Who on earth could it be ? It can't be — yes it is — it is, indeed, our excellent guardian of British cus- toms rights and revenues — good Mr. . The kindly old Scotchman stares in surprise when he hears his name from an unknown passer-by, but in a moment he remembers our brief acquaintance in summer time. Every one who .knows him would, I am sure, be glad, with me, to hear that some better post were got for Mr. in his old age than that of watching smugglers on the waters of the St. Lawrence, belovx^ Niagara. After a brief interview, we proceeded on our way, and continued our explorations. Due honor was paid to the Eapids, Bath Island, Goat Island, the Cave of the Winds, Prospect Tower, and all the water lions of the place, though rain and sleet fell at intervals all the time when there was no snow. When the Prince was here he laid the last stone of the obelisk which marks the place where Brock was killed, in the successful action against the Americans at Queenstown in 1812. The present monument to that general is certainly in as good taste as most British designs of the sort, and seems but little open to the censure I have heard directed against it. Its predecessor was so atrociously bad, that some gentleman of fine feelings in art, who was probably an American and a Canadian patriot as well, blew it up some years ago. AMERICAN SIDE OF THE FALLS. 43 There are not wanting at the present time many- men in Canada of the same stuff as Brock and his men. It is astonishing to find the easy and univer- sal conviction prevailing in the minds of Americans, contrary to their experience, that the conquest of Canada would be one of the most natural and facile feats in the world.