terizes the nation from which they are descended. They supply almost the only batteaux-men who navigate the St. Lawrence. Moreover, they form, I believe without exception, the only hunters for the North West Company-au employment for which they are admirably adapted. They not only have a great inclination for a roving life, but when out on these hunting expeditions, which often last several years, they agree better with the Indians, than any other set of men; and are happy and contented upon much coarser fare, than would be agreeable to an Englishman, or the descendants of an Englishman.

After remaining a day or two at Montreal, I crossed the St. Lawrence, and bargained with a man, who possessed a small house on the bank, to drive me in his Char, as far as the village of La Prairie. My conductor was one of the most lively and lighthearted fellows I ever met. He entertained me during the drive, with an account of himself, his parish, and the great proprietors in it. A Curé, who lived somewhere in his neighbourhood, seemed however to engross most of his thoughts. After telling me the number of bushels of grain this curé received, and which he appeared to think very prodigious, he held up the two forefingers of one of his hands, and exclaimed: "You may call the longer one the King, and the shorter one the curé; for there will soon be no greater difference between the wealth of these two personages."

On leaving La Prairie I bade adieu to the St. Lawrence, which is by far the most beautiful river I have ever seen. I had previously thought that nothing could surpass the Ohio; but that river is much inferior to the St. Lawrence in picturesque beauty. Parts of the Rhine, the most beautiful river I have seen in Europe, might, if on a larger scale, be compared to it; but the immense size of the great Canadian river adds an air of grandeur to its beauty, that places it above all comparison.

An old lumbering vehicle, dignified with the name of a stage, brought us from La Prairie to St. John's, through a flat and uninteresting country, which however is tolerably well cultivated, and affords numerous specimens of the farm-houses of the French Canadians. For several miles, we passed through a low birch wood, every leaf and green twig of which had been destroyed by caterpillars, of which thousands were still clinging to the boughs of every tree. Indeed, these caterpillars were sometimes congregated in such numbers, and so close together, that until I got out of the stage and examined them, I could not but believe that the trees were diseased. I never before had seen such devastation committed by the insect tribe. The driver told me, that the people in the neighbourhood intended to assemble and try to set fire to the wood, as the only means by which the caterpillars could be destroyed.

At the little town of St. John's, situated on the

river which connects Lake Champlain with the St. Lawrence, I embarked on board one of the superb steam-boats which ply upon the Lake. The entrance to Lake Champlain is narrow, and through a flat country thickly covered with copse wood. Ten miles below St. John's is "Isle Aux Noix," a most important station, on which the British are erecting some strong fortifications. At no great distance from this, is a large and beautiful fort, built by the Americans, and which commands the upper part of the Lake. The commissioners, who were appointed to ascertain the boundary line between the United States and Canada (settled by treaty to run in Latitude 45°, from the State of Maine to the St. Lawrence), found out, by an astronomical survey, that this fort was a few poles on the British side of the line. They made, however, another discovery, not quite so favourable to the British, as the only navigable channel of the Long Sault rapid was found to be in the territory of the United States. It is said that this will give the Republicans a strong argument in support of their right to the free navigation of the St. Lawrence; for if this be refused, they will cut off the water communication between Upper and Lower Canada. But it appears all will be amicably arranged, for the fort above-mentioned has not been taken possession of, nor has any dispute originated about Canadian boats descending the Long Sault.

We touched at Plattsburg, a place that excites

recollections of rather an unpleasant kind in the mind of an Englishman, as it was here that our flotilla was captured, and that the army under Sir George Prevost retreated disgracefully, I may indeed observe with regard to the first of these occurrences, that the flotilla was certainly not within cannon shot of the shore, and that even had Sir George been successful, he could not, as has been reported, have altered the fate of the Naval action. But of our second disaster there is but one opinion on both sides, viz. that had Sir George attacked the Americans boldly, he must have taken the place, and destroyed their troops, since he had so very much the advantage in point of numbers. I have conversed with several Americans, who were engaged in the trifling skirmish, that took place pre vious to the retreat of the British forces, and they all assured me that they were quite astonished, at finding Sir George's Army had actually retreated. Never, perhaps, was there exhibited a greater instance of military incapacity and mismanagement, than in this expedition.

Landing at Burlington, a pretty little town situated in the State of Vermont, I remarked at once the cleanliness and cheerful appearance that distinguishes the villages of the New England States. Each house, with its large windows, and prettily painted Venetian Blinds, stands in the middle of a small garden, containing some flowering shrubs, and surrounded by a neat fence.

Lake Champlain forms a beautiful prospect from Burlington, and very much resembles the Lake of Geneva, as seen from Lausanne. Indeed, as is the case with the Alps, the fine and picturesque chain of the Alleghanies increases in size towards the upper extremity of the Lake, and decreases towards the lower extremity. I shall, however, destroy the sublimity of this Alpine comparison, if I remark, that on looking up Lake Champlain there is an island, which from its small size and conical shape has the appearance of a floating hay-cock.

The road leading from Burlington to Royalton, runs for about ten miles through an undulating and cultivated country. It then enters the lofty mountains of Vermont, which, with the exception of spots that have here and there been cleared, are covered with a thick forest of pine. In one place, the road passes through a most remarkable fissure in the mountains, called "the Gulf," which is so narrow, that we had but just room enough to pass, the trees, that have fixed themselves in the crevices of the rocks, brushing the top of the stage.

Montpelier, the capital of the state of Vermont, is a very thriving town, pleasantly situated at the bottom of a deep valley. The fences to the fields, throughout all this part of the country, are made of the stumps of large trees placed close together with their roots outwards. Formerly, when a settler cleared a piece of land, he was obliged, after cutting down the trees, to leave the stumps to rot