Clifton House, September 18th.—Papa got into a melancholy mood at the International Hotel yesterday evening, on account of the hotel being an enormous one, and like a huge barrack; half of it we suspect is shut up, for they gave us small roomau second, though they acknowledged they made up four hundred beds, and had only one hundred guests in the house. The dining room was about one hundred and fifty feet long, and the hotel was half in darkness from the lateness of the hour, and had no view of the Falls; so papa got more and more miserable, and I could only comfort him by reminding him we could be off to this hotel early in the morning; for as it is the fashion to try first one side for the view, and then the other, there was no offence in going from the United States to our own English possessions. On this he cheered up and we went out, and the first sight we got of this glorious river was at about eleven o'clock, when he insisted upon mypassing over the bridge to Goat Island. It was the most lovely moonlight night conceivable, and the beams lit up the crests of the foaming waves as they came boiling over the rapids. It was a glorious sight, though I was rather frightened, not knowing what perils might be in store for us.
To-day we made out our move to the Canada side, and are most comfortably lodged. Before coming to this hotel, we took a long drive down the river, on the American side. We got out of the carriage to see the Devil's Hole, a deep ravine, often full of water, but now dry. We stood on a high precipice, and had a grand view of the river. Theriveris generally passed over in silence in all descriptions of Niagara, and yet it is one of the most lovely parts of the scene. Its colour after it has left the Falls, and proceeds on its rapid way, full of life and animation, to Lake Ontario, is a most tender sea green. We drove on about six miles, and then crossed a slight suspension bridge (thesuspension bridge being a ponderous structure for the railroad trains to pass over); but the one by which we crossed looked like a spider's-web; and the view midway, whether we looked up or down, was the finest specimen of river scenery I ever beheld. We then turned up the stream, and came by the English side to a mostwonderful whirlpool, formed by the river making a rapid bend, and proceeding in a course at right angles to the one it had been previously pursuing; but the violence of the stream had caused it to proceed a long way first in the original direction; and it was evidently not till it had scooped, or hollowed out, a large basin, that it was forced to yield to the barrier that was opposed to it. This is the sort of bend it takes.
Diagram of Whirlpool
After dinner we went to deliver a letter which papa had brought for Mr. Street, who has a house above the Falls. He was not at home; but we went through the grounds and over a suspension bridge he has built to connect a large island, also his property, with the mainland. There are, in fact, not one but many islands, into which one large one has probably, in the course of time, become divided by the raging torrent. It is just above the Horse-Shoe Fall, in the midst of the most boisterous part of the rapids; and it was quite sublime on looking up the river to see the horizon formed at a considerable level above our heads by the mass of foaming water. But now for the Falls!
You must fill up this blank with your imagination,for no words can convey any idea of the scene. They far surpass anything we could have believed of them. This, however, I write after a thorough study of them from various points of view; for when we first caught a glimpse, in our drive to-day, of the Fall on the American side, it disappointed us; but from the verandah of this hotel, on which our bed-room windows open, we had the first astounding view of the two Falls, with Goat Island dividing them; and that sight baffles all description. The Horse-Shoe Fall is magnificent. The curve is so graceful and beautiful; and the mist so mysterious, rising, as it does, from the depths below, and presenting the appearance of a moving veil as it glides past, whether yielding to every breath of wind, or, as now, when driven quickly by a gale; then the height of the clouds of light white mist rising above the trees; and, above all, the delicate emerald green where the curve itself takes place: all these elements of beauty combined, fill the mind with wonder, when contemplating so glorious a work of God's hand; so simple, and yet so striking and magnificent. We can gaze at the whole all day and all night, if we please, from our own windows. The moon being nearly full, is agreataddition to the beauty of the scene. I have frequently risenfrom my seat while writing this, to look first at the rapids above the American Fall, lit up and shining like the brightest silver; then at the moon on the mist, illuminating first one part of it and then another. I must proceed with my description of our doings (if I can) on Monday, before leaving this for Toronto, which we are to do on Monday afternoon; but this must be posted here, and I should like to finish my description of Niagara in this letter. We met a real Indian to-day. He had somewhat of a Chinese cast of countenance. Perhaps we shall see more of them. It is said that some of the black waiters in this hotel are escaped slaves, having come to English ground for safety.
September 19th.—This being Sunday, we went to a chapel in a village of native Indians of the Tuscarrara tribe. The chapel was about half filled with these poor Indians and half with visitors like ourselves. They have had a missionary among them for about fifty years, and it is to be hoped that former missionaries talked more sense to them, and taught them better truths, than the one we heard to-day. His sermon was both long and tedious, and was interpreted into the Tuscarrara language sentence by sentence as the preacher, who was a Presbyterian, delivered it. The burden of it was their ingratitude, not to God, but to the Government of the United States, which had devoted an untold number of dollars for their conversion; and he ended by a threat that this generosity on their part would be withdrawn if they did not alter their wicked course of life. As we were there for half an hour before the service began, we had an opportunity of conversing with many of these poor people, who seemed little to deserve this severe censure, for many of them had evidently come from a distance, having brought their food with them, and the people seemed of a quiet and harmless disposition. Few of them seemed to understand English, and these only the men, as the women professed, at least, not to understand papa when he tried to talk to them. They had all of them remarkably piercing and intelligent black eyes, but were not otherwise good looking. There were two little babies in their mothers' arms, one in a bright yellow dress. The women wore handkerchiefs tied over their heads, except one or two who wore round hats and feathers. Some in hoops and crinolines! All wore bead necklaces. They are the makers of the well-known mohair and bark and beadwork. In the churchyard were many tombstones with English inscriptions. The following is the copy we made of one:—
In the 61st year of his age.
The memory of his many virtues will be embalmed in the hearts ofhis people, and posterity will speak of his praise.
He was a good man, and a just.
He held the office of Grand Sachem 30 years, and wasMissionary Interpreter 29 years."
After chapel we returned to the American side of the Fall, where thetable d'hôtedinner was later than at the Clifton Hotel, which we had missed. While waiting for dinner, we went again to Goat Island, and had some splendid views of the Falls, the day being magnificent beyond all description. Papa and William afterwards took a long walk to get a new view of the whirlpool. Papa has made me dreadfully anxious all day by going too close to the edges of the precipices; and as the rock is very brittle and easily crumbles off, and as his feet often trip in walking, you may suppose the agonies I have been in; at last I began to wish myself and him safe in the streets of Toronto. I was not the least frightened for myself, but it was trying to see him always looking over, and about to lean against old crazy wooden balustrades that William said must havegiven way from sheer rottenness with any weight upon them. This issucha night, not a single cloud; the clearest possible sky and the moon shining brightly, as it did over the two Falls the first night we were here. Papa calls me every minute—"Oh come, do come, this minute; I do not believe you have ever yet seen the Falls!!!" To-morrow we have one remaining expedition,—to go in a small steamer called the "Maid of the Mist," which pokes her nose into the two Falls about six times a day. The passengers are put into waterproof dresses. This I hope to describe to you to-morrow, and shall despatch my letter before starting for Toronto.
FOOTNOTES:[2]My English maid.[3]The Erie Canal is one of the three great means of communication which existed previous to the introduction of railways between the Eastern States and those that lie to the west of the Alleghanies; the other two being the Pennsylvania and the Baltimore and Ohio Canals. Sections of these great works are shown on the map.
[2]My English maid.
[2]My English maid.
[3]The Erie Canal is one of the three great means of communication which existed previous to the introduction of railways between the Eastern States and those that lie to the west of the Alleghanies; the other two being the Pennsylvania and the Baltimore and Ohio Canals. Sections of these great works are shown on the map.
[3]The Erie Canal is one of the three great means of communication which existed previous to the introduction of railways between the Eastern States and those that lie to the west of the Alleghanies; the other two being the Pennsylvania and the Baltimore and Ohio Canals. Sections of these great works are shown on the map.
NIAGARA.— MAID OF THE MIST.— ARRIVAL AT TORONTO.— TORONTO.— THOUSAND ISLANDS.— RAPIDS OF THE ST. LAWRENCE.— MONTREAL.— VICTORIA BRIDGE.
NIAGARA.— MAID OF THE MIST.— ARRIVAL AT TORONTO.— TORONTO.— THOUSAND ISLANDS.— RAPIDS OF THE ST. LAWRENCE.— MONTREAL.— VICTORIA BRIDGE.
Clifton Hotel, Falls of Niagara,Sept. 20th, 1858.
I intended to have wound up the description of Niagara in the letter I despatched to you two hours ago, but we returned home from our expedition this morning only five minutes before the post hour for England, so that our packet had to be hastily closed.
We had rather a chapter of accidents this morning, but all has ended well. We went out immediately after breakfast, the weather being splendid, though there was a high wind, and finding the mist driving very hard, we decided on going over to the opposite shore across the suspension bridge, rather than be ferried over to the steamer in a small open boat, which can never, I imagine, be very pleasant in such a near neighbourhood to the two Falls. William, however, remained on this side, preferring the ferry, and we were to meet on the opposite bank and taketo the little steamer; but though our drive took half-an-hour and his row five minutes, he was not at the place of rendezvous when, we arrived, nor did he appear after we had waited for him some time. Papa then went in a sort of open car down an inclined plane, contrived to save the fatigue of a long stair. On getting to the bottom he saw nothing of William, and in walking on the wet planks he slipped down and fell on his side, and cut his face and bruised his eye; he says his eye was within a hair's breadth of being put out by the sharp corner of a rock. He walked up the long stair, being too giddy after his fall to attempt the car, and he felt very headachy and unwell in consequence all the morning. At last William made his appearance. There had been no ferryman for a long time, and when he came he knew so little how to manage the boat, that had not William rowed they would have been down the river and over the rapids! At last we all four (Thrower included), started down the inclined plane to the steamer, and were warned by papa's tumble to take care of our footing. It might easily be made a more pleasant landing-place than it is by means of their everlasting wood. We got on to the "Maid of the Mist," and were made to take off our bonnets and hats, and put on a sort of waterproof capuchin cloakand hood, and up we went on deck. In one moment we were drenched; the deck was a running sea, and the mist drove upon us much harder than pouring rain. I went there with a cold, and if it gets no worse, shall think fresh water is as innocuous as salt. It was quite a question whether the thing was worth doing: the day was probably unfavourable, as the mist drove on us instead of the other way, but some parts were very fine. We returned to the same landing-place, as they most stupidly have none on this side; so up we went again in the open cars, and on landing we had our photographs done twice with views of the Falls as a background. They were very well and rapidly done. We then drove William towards the Cave of the Winds, which is a passage behind what looks from these windows a mere thread of a waterfall, but is really a very considerable one. Ladies, however, perform this feat as well as gentlemen, but they have entirely to change their dress—it is like walking through a great shower-bath to acul de sacin the rock. Circular rainbows are seen here, and William saw two; he seemed to be standing on one which made a perfect circle round him. A certificate was given him of his having accomplished this feat. While he was doing this we bought a few things made by theIndians and the Shakers, and then met William, and hurried home in time only to sign and despatch our letters to England. We then dined, and I am now obliged suddenly to stop short in writing, as my despatch-box must be packed, for we leave this at half-past four for Toronto.
Rossin House, Toronto, Sept. 21st.—Our journey here yesterday was not through as pretty a country as usual, and this part of Canada strikes us as much tamer than anything we have yet seen in America. We changed trains at Hamilton and remained there nearly an hour. Sir Allan McNab has a country house in the neighbourhood, said to be a very pretty one, and we shall probably go in the train to-morrow to see him. The railroad, for some time towards the end of our journey yesterday, ran along the shore of Lake Ontario. The sky was pure and clear, with the moon shining brightly on the waters of the quiet lake. It was difficult to believe that the immense expanse of water was not salt. It looked so like the sea, especially when within a few miles of Toronto we saw tiny waves and minute pebbles and sand, which gave it an appearance of a miniature sea beach. Had I not been on a railway when I saw these small pebbles, I should have picked up some for you, and I think you would have valuedthem as much as your cornelians at Cromer. I searched for them later, and never came up with such a pretty pebbly beach again.
Montreal, Sept. 25th.—Unhappily this sheet has been packed up by mistake for some days, and I have not been able to go on with my journal, but I resume it this evening, for it must be despatched to you the day after to-morrow.
We passed the 22nd and 23rd at Toronto, and had much pleasure there in seeing a great deal of the Alfred O.'s, and their very nice children, and it was quite touching to see the pleasure our visit gave them. We had the sorrow, however, of parting from William, who left us on the morning of the 23rd for the Far West. He went with Mr. Latham and Mr. Kilburn, and it was a very great comfort to us that he had such pleasant companions, instead of travelling such a distance alone. We had an early visit at Toronto from Mr. and Mrs. W., friends of the O.'s: they begged us so earnestly to remain over the 23rd to dine with them, that we consented to do so. Toronto is a most melancholy-looking place. It has suffered in the "crisis," and the consequence is that wide streets seem to have been begun but never finished, giving the town a very disastrous look. There is one wide handsome street with goodshops, and our hotel was an enormous one; but when this is said, there is little more to add about it, for it looks otherwise very forlorn, and altogether the town is the least inviting one we have yet seen in our travels.
In the course of our drive we had an opportunity of seeing the interiors of some of the houses, many of which display considerable wealth; the rooms being large, and filled with ornaments of every sort. The ladies dress magnificently; a handsome coral brooch is often worn, and is almost an infallible sign, both here and in the United States, of a tour to Italy having been accomplished; indeed I can feel nearly as certain that the wearer has travelled so far, by seeing her collar fastened with it, as if she told me the fact, and many such journeys must have been performed, judging by the number of coral brooches we see.
We did little the first day but drive about the streets. We drank tea at the A. O.'s, and the next day they took us to see one very beautiful sight; the New University, which is in course of building, and is the most beautiful structure we have seen in America. Indeed it is the only one which makes the least attempt at Mediæval architecture, and is a very correct specimen of the twelfth century. Thefunds for building this university arise out of the misappropriation (by secularising them) of the clergy reserves; the lands appropriated to the college giving them possession of funds to the amount of about three hundred thousand pounds. Of this the building, it is supposed, will absorb about one hundred and twenty thousand pounds, and they propose to lay out a large sum to increase an already very good library, which is rich in works on natural history and English topography. Dr. McCaul, who is the president of the college, is a brother of the preacher in London.
We dined at the W.'s on the evening of the 23rd. Their house is very large, having been lately added to, and the town being very busy, preparing for an Agricultural Meeting, the upholsterer had not time to put down the carpets or put up the curtains, and the night being cold, we felt a little twinge of what a Canadian winter is; but the drawing-rooms were exceedingly pretty,—the walls being very light stucco, with ornaments in relief, and they were brilliantly lighted. We were eighteen at dinner, the party including the O.'s, the Mayor, Dr. and Mrs. McCaul, and Sir Allan McNab, who had come from his country-place to meet us. The dinner was as well appointed, in all respects, as if it hadtaken place in London. In the evening Mrs. W. sang "Where the bee sucks" most beautifully. Papa encored it, and was quite delighted at hearing so favourite a song so well sung. The mayoress also sang, and so did another lady. The furniture of the rooms was of American oak and black walnut, which are favourite woods; but we did not much admire them. When we were leaving, Mrs. W. showed us her bed-room, which was really splendid,—so spacious, and so beautifully furnished; there was a bath-room near it, and other bed-rooms also of large dimensions. We drove back to our hotel in the moonlight, so bright and clear that it was difficult not to suppose it daylight, except that the planets were so brilliant.
We took leave that night of the O.'s, as we had to make an early start next day, and were very sorry to part from them. On the 24th, we were off at eight in the morning by train to Kingston, arriving there early in the afternoon. It is the best sleeping-place between Toronto and Montreal. The road was uninteresting, though at times we came upon the broad waters of the lake, which varied the scenery. We had an excellent dinner at the station, and I ought to mention, that as we were travelling on the Grand Trunk Railway, and on English soil, we hadfirst class carriages; there being both first and second class on this line, but varying only in the softness of the seats. There was no other difference from other lines.
Kingston is a prosperous little town on the borders of the lake, and the hotel quite a small country inn. We drove out to see the Penitentiary, or prison, for the whole of the Two Canadas,—a most massive stone structure. I never was within prison-walls before, so that I cannot compare it with others; but, though papa had much admired the prison at Boston, he preferred the principle of giving the prisoners work in public (which is the case at Kingston), to the solitary system at Boston. We saw the men hard at work making furniture, and in the blacksmith's forge, and making an enormous quantity of boots; they work ten hours a day in total silence, and all had a subdued look; but we were glad to think they had employment, and could see each other. Their food is excellent,—a good meat diet, and the best bread. The sleeping-places seemed to us dreadful little solitary dens, though the man who showed us over them said they were better than they would have had on board ship. There were sixty female prisoners employed in making the men's clothes, but these we were not allowed to see. One lady is permitted to visit them, in order to give them religious instruction, but they do not otherwise see the visitors to the prison. There are prisoners of all religious denominations, a good many being Roman Catholics; and there are chaplains to suit their creeds, and morning and evening prayers.
We walked back to Kingston, and on the walls observed notices of a meeting to be held in the town that evening, to remonstrate against the work done by the prisoners, which is said to injure trade; but, as we were to make a very early start in the morning, we did not go to it.
We were called at half-past four to be ready for the boat which started at six for Montreal. It was a rainy morning, and I awoke in a rather depressed state of mind, with the prospect before me of having to descend the rapids of the St. Lawrence in the steamer; and as the captain of our vessel in crossing the Atlantic had said, he was not a little nervous at going down them, I thought I might be so too. We had first, however, to go through the Thousand Islands, which sounds very romantic, but turned out rather a failure. There are in reality about 1,400 of these islands, where the river St. Lawrence issues from Lake Ontario. The morning was unpropitious, it being very rainy, and this, no doubt,helped to give them a dismal appearance. They are of all forms and sizes, some three miles long, and some hardly appearing above the water. The disappointment to us was their flatness, and their all being alike in their general aspect, being covered with light wood. When this is lit up by the sun, they are probably very pretty, as we experienced later in the day, which turned out to be a most brilliant one. The islands are generally uninhabited, except by wild ducks, deer, foxes, raccoons, squirrels, musk-rats, and minxes, and also by partridges in abundance. We have tasted the wild duck, which is very good.
About one o'clock in the day we lost sight of the islands, except a few, which occasionally are scattered along the river; we had no longer however to thread our way among them, as we had done earlier in the day. Dinner was at two, but we were not much disposed to go down, for we had just passed one rapid, and were coming to the finest of all, the Cedars; but they turned out to be by no means alarming to an unpractised eye. The water is much disturbed, and full of small crests of waves. There were four men at the wheel, besides four at the tiller, and they had no doubt to keep a sharp look out; we stood on deck, and received a good sea in our faces, and were much excited by the scene.The longest rapid occupied us about twenty minutes, being nine miles long. It is called the Long Sault. The banks on either side continued flat; we stopped occasionally at pretty little villages to take in passengers or wood, but these stoppages told much against our progress, and the days now being short, we were informed that the vessel could not reach Montreal that night. There is a rapid a few miles above Montreal, which is the most dangerous of them all, and cannot be passed in the dark. The boat, therefore, stopped at La Chine for the night, and we had our choice of sleeping on board or landing and taking the train for eight miles to Montreal; and as we had seen all the rest of the rapids, and did not feel much disposed for the pleasure of a night in a small cabin, we decided on landing. We had tea first, with plenty of cold meat on the table, and the fare was excellent on board, with no extra charge for it.
Before landing we had a most magnificent sunset. The sun sank at the stern of the vessel; and the sky remained for an hour after in the most exquisite shades of colouring, from clear blue, shading to a pale green, and then to a most glorious golden colour. The water was of the deepest blue, and the great width of the noble river added to thegrandeur of the scene. The Canadian evenings and nights are surpassingly beautiful. The atmosphere is so light, and the colouring of the sunset and the bright light of the moon are beyond all description. We made acquaintance with a couple of Yankees on board, who amused us much. They were a young couple, travelling, they said, for pleasure. They looked of the middle class, and were an amusing specimen of Yankee vulgarity. The lady's expression for admiration was "ullegant:" the dinner was "ullegant," the sunset was "ullegant," and so was the moonrise, and so were the corn-cakes and corn-popsfixedby herself or her mother. She was delighted with the bead bracelet I was making, and I gave her a pattern of the beads. She was astonished to find that the English made the electric cable. She and her husband mean to go to England and Scotland in two years. I was obliged to prepare her for bad hotels and thick atmosphere, at both of which she seemed astonished. She was also much surprised that she would not find Negro waiters in London. They remained on board for the night; and on meeting her in the street yesterday, she assured us the last rapid was "ullegant," and that we had missed much in not seeing it.
We arrived at Montreal at eight o'clock on the evening of the 24th, and walked a little about the town. The moon was so bright that colours could be clearly distinguished. We yesterday spent many hours on the Victoria bridge which is building here across the river in connection with the Grand Trunk Railway. It is a most wonderful work, and I must refer you to an interesting article in the lastEdinburgh Reviewfor a full account of it. Papa had letters to the chief officials of the railway, which procured us the advantage of being shown the work in every detail by Mr. Hodges (an Englishman), who has undertaken the superintendence of it—the plans having been given him by Stephenson. The expense will be enormous—about a million and a quarter sterling; almost all raised in England. The great difficulties to be contended with are:—the width of the river—it being two miles wide at this point; its rapidity—the current running at the rate of seven miles an hour; and the enormous masses of ice which accumulate in the river in the winter; rising as high sometimes as the houses on either side, and then bursting their bounds and covering the road. The stone piers are built with a view to resist as much as possible this pressure; and a great number of them are finished, and havenever yet received a scratch from the ice, which is satisfactory. Their profile is of this form. And this knife-like edge cuts the ice through as it passes down the river, enabling the blocks to divide at the piers and pass under the bridge on each side. The piers are built of limestone, in blocks varying from eight to ten feet high: but in sinking a foundation for them, springs are frequently met with under some large boulders in the bed of the river, and this causes great delay, as the water has to be pumped out before the building can proceed. The bridge will be an iron tubular one; the tubes come out from Birkenhead in pieces, and are riveted together here. We first rowed across the river with Mr. Hodges in a six-oared boat; and the day being warm and very fine, we enjoyed it much. This gave us some idea of the breadth of the river and of the length of the bridge, of which it is impossible to judge when seen fore-shortened from the shore.
Profile of bridge pier
We then mounted the bridge and were astonished at the magnitude of the work. There is an immense forest of woodwork underneath most of it at present, but they are glad to clear this away as fast as the progress of the upper work admits, as if left tillwinter the force of the ice cuts through these enormous beams as if they were straw. We could only proceed across two piers at the end furthest from the town, but here we had a very fine view of Montreal, lying at the foot of the hill from which it takes its name. It has many large churches, the largest being the Roman Catholic cathedral, and the tin roofs of the houses and churches glittered in the sun and gave a brilliant effect. We returned to the boat and rowed again across the river below the bridge, and here, owing to the strength of the current our boat had to pursue a most zig-zag path, pulling up under the eddy of each buttress, but our boatmen knew well what they were about, as they are in the habit of taking Mr. Hodges daily to the bridge and it was very pretty to hear the warning ofdoucement! doucement!from the helmsman as we approached any peril. Mr. H. said that without the familiarity they had with the river, the boat would in an instant be carried down the stream and out of all control. The French language is much more spoken than the English, there being a large body of French Roman Catholic Canadians here and at Quebec. I say this to account for thedoucement; but must now leave this wonderful bridge, and tell you that after seeing it we drove to the Bishop of Montreal's.We found him and Mrs. Fulford at home, and sat some time with them, and they asked us to drink tea with them, which we did. There was no one there but ourselves, and we passed an agreeable evening with them, and came home by moonlight with the comet also beaming on us.
September 27th.—We went yesterday morning to a small church in the suburbs where the bishop preached. We found Lord and Lady Radstock in the hotel, and papa walked with him in the afternoon, and endeavoured to learn something of the Christian Young Men's Association here. They found the secretary at home, and from him learnt that the revivals of religion here have lately been of a satisfactory nature, and that there is a great deal of religious feeling at work among the middle classes. I forgot to mention that on Saturday we met a long procession of nuns going to the church of Notre Dame, which gave the place a very foreign look. We went into the church for a few minutes. It was very large, part of it was well filled, and a French sermon going on. There are a good many convents here, and I shall try to visit one. The Jesuits are said to be very busy. We hear French constantly spoken in the streets. We went to church againyesterday evening, when the bishop preached on the text, "Demas hath forsaken me."
To-day we took Lord and Lady Radstock to Mr. Hodges, who promised to show them over the bridge, and since that papa and I have had a pleasant drive round the mountain. From one part we had a good view of the Ottawa river, celebrated by Moore, who wrote his Canadian boat song in a canoe on the rapids of that river. The town of Ottawa has been named by the Queen as the seat of Government; but after consulting her on the subject, the inhabitants seem disinclined to take her advice. The views were very pretty, and the day warm and pleasant. As we drove we frequently saw on the walls, large placards with a single text in French or English, an evidence of the work of the revival going on here. We wound up our visit to Montreal by buying some furs, this being the best place to get them: they are to be shipped from here in a sailing vessel, and therefore will not reach London for some time, but notice will be sent of their coming; so be on the look out for them some day. We are off this afternoon for Quebec, where we hope to find some good news from you all. So adieu, my dear child.
JOURNEY FROM MONTREAL TO QUEBEC.— QUEBEC.— FALLS OF MONTMORENCY.— ISLAND POND.— WHITE MOUNTAINS.— PORTLAND.— RETURN TO BOSTON.— HARVARD UNIVERSITY.— NEWHAVEN.— YALE UNIVERSITY.— RETURN TO NEW YORK.
JOURNEY FROM MONTREAL TO QUEBEC.— QUEBEC.— FALLS OF MONTMORENCY.— ISLAND POND.— WHITE MOUNTAINS.— PORTLAND.— RETURN TO BOSTON.— HARVARD UNIVERSITY.— NEWHAVEN.— YALE UNIVERSITY.— RETURN TO NEW YORK.
Portland Maine, Sept. 29th, 1858.
I closed my last letter to you at Montreal, since which we have been travelling so much that I have had no time for writing till to-night. I must now, therefore, endeavour to resume the thread of my narrative, though it is a little perplexing to do so after going over so much ground as we have done lately in a short space of time.
We left Montreal early in the afternoon of the 27th, in company with Mr. and Mrs. Bailey. He is one of the managers of the Grand Trunk Railway, and came with us as far as Quebec, as a sort of guard of honour or escort, papa having been specially commended to the care of theemployéson this line. Both he and his wife are English. We crossed the St.Lawrence in a steam-ferry to join the railway, and as long as it was light we had a most delightful journey through a highly cultivated country, covered with small farms, which came in quick succession on both sides of the road. These farms are all the property of French Canadians, and on each one there is a wooden dwelling-house, with barns and out-houses attached to it, and the land runs down from the front of the tenement to the railroad. There is no hedge to be seen anywhere, and these long strips of fields looked very like allotment lands in England, though on a larger scale. These proprietors have been possessors of the soil from the time of the first settlement of the French in Canada, and the farms have suffered from the subdivision of property consequent on the French law of succession. They are so close together that, when seen at a distance, the houses look like a continuous line of street as far as the eye can reach, but we soon lost sight of them in the obscurity occasioned by forests and the approach of night. We passed many log huts, which, though very rude, do not seem uncomfortable dwellings.
We saw little of the country as we approached Quebec, and were conscious only of crossing the Chaudière river and of going along its banks for some way, and afterwards along those of the St. Lawrence, till we reached Point Levi, opposite Quebec. Here we got into a steamer to cross the river, and from the steamer we had a grand view of the citadel and town of Quebec, the tin spires shining jointly with the moon and the comet; for we beg to say we do not require telescopes of high power, as we see by the papers you do in England, to detect the latter luminary, which really does look here almost as if it added to the light of the night. Papa and I differ greatly as to the length of its tail. I say it looks two yards long, but papa says it is difficult to tell this, but that it is really about a degree and a half in length, or about six diameters of the moon. The nucleus is larger and brighter than any star in the Great Bear, and these are all bright here to a degree of which you can form no idea. The planets look as large as fourpenny-pieces. Papa has made me reduce them to this estimate, as I originally said as large as sixpences; but he questions altogether my appreciation of the size of the heavenly bodies, which do all seem wonderfully large to my eyes.
On reaching the north side of the river, on which Quebec stands, we got into an omnibus and drove up streets of a most tremendous ascent; it was really quite alarming, as the pavement was in themost dreadful state, and the omnibus, which was very rickety, was crammed with passengers. Next morning we got up very early, and papa went out before breakfast to inquire for the letters which we expected to receive from England, but which had not yet arrived.
After an early breakfast we went in an open carriage to the Falls of Montmorency, and I think I never had a more lovely drive. We passed through several most prosperous-looking villages, and between farm houses so closely adjoining each other as to give the appearance of a long suburb to the city. At Beauport, about half-way between Quebec and Montmorency, there is a splendid Roman Catholic church, which would do credit to any country. The inhabitants here and at Quebec generally are entirely French Canadians, and the driver here, as at Montreal, was quite in the Coharé[4]style for intelligence and respectable appearance. The falls of Montmorency are a little way off the road, and the approach to the top of the fall down a flight of wooden stairs is very easy. The river here descends in one great fall of 250 feet, and as the river is 60 feet wide, the proportion between the height and the breadthof the fall seems nearly perfect. It falls almost into the St. Lawrence, as it tumbles over the very bank of the latter river, and the view up and down the glorious St. Lawrence is here very beautiful. We were elevated so far above the bottom of the chasm that the spray apparently rose up only a short way, but it really does rise upwards of 150 feet, and in winter it freezes and forms a cone of ice exceeding 100 feet in height, which is said to present a most wonderful appearance.
Returning to Quebec we had a splendid view of the town. The fortress on Cape Diamond seemed to jut out into the river, along the banks of which, and rising to a great height above it, the town lay in all its glory. The tops of the houses and the spires of the churches are covered with tin, and from the dryness of the atmosphere it looks as fresh and polished as if just put up. The sun was shining splendidly, and the effect was almost dazzling. This and the richness of the intervening country produced an impression which it would be difficult to efface from the memory. The citadel, I should think, is hardly as high as the castles of Edinburgh or Stirling, but in this country everything (even to the heavenly bodies!!!) is on such a scale that it is not easy to draw comparisons. The guide book, however, says that the rock rises 350 feet perpendicularly from the river, so that by looking at some of your books of reference, you may find out which is the highest. The approach is from the town behind, by a zig-zag road, and the fortifications seem very formidable and considerable, though papa says greatly inferior to Gibraltar, or to Malta, which it more strongly resembles as a work of art.
Mr. Baily procured us an order for admission, so that we went to the highest point, and the view up and down the river was truly magnificent. A little below the town it is divided by an island of considerable size, and as the river takes a bend here, it is rather difficult to make out its exact course. The town is situated at the junction of the St. Lawrence and the St. Charles, and as the latter forms a large bay or estuary at the confluence, the whole has a very lake-like appearance.
We left the citadel at the gate opposite the one at which we entered, and getting out upon the plains of Abraham, saw the monument erected on the spot where Wolfe fell; close to it is an old well from which water was brought to him to relieve his thirst after he had received his mortal wound. Another monument is erected within the citadel, inwhat is called the Governor's Garden. This is raised to the joint memories of Wolfe and the French general, Montcalm, who was also mortally wounded in the same action. From the plains of Abraham there is a beautiful view up the river, and here, as on the other side of the town, the country at a distance is studded with farm houses. In a circuit we made of two or three miles in the vicinity of the town, we passed a number of really splendid villas belonging to English residents, but with this exception all seemed much more French than English, excepting that inla vieille Francewe never saw such order, cleanliness, and comfort, nor could these be well surpassed in any country.
The small farmers here live entirely upon the produce of their farms; they knit their own stockings, and weave their own grey coarse cloth. We looked into several of their houses, and the extreme cleanliness of every little corner of their dwellings was wonderful. The children seem very healthy and robust-looking. The whole population talk French. The crosses by the roadside proclaim them to be Roman Catholics, and the extensive convents in the town tend doubtless to the promotion of the temporal comforts of the poorer inhabitants. The principal church was richly decorated with gilding upto the roof, and the gold, from the dryness of the climate, was as bright as if newly laid on.
The extreme clearness of the air of Canada contributed, no doubt, greatly to the beauty of everything we saw, though we found the cold that accompanied it rather sharper than we liked. Mrs. Baily told me that it is a curious sight to see the market in the winter, everything being sold in a frozen state. The vegetables are dug up in the beginning of winter, and are kept in cellars and from thence brought to market. A month's consumption can be bought at a time, without the provisions spoiling, as all remains frozen till it is cooked. The sheep and pigs are seen standing, as if alive, but in a thoroughly frozen state. The winter lasts from November till April. Sleighing is the universal and only mode of travelling. The sleighs, which are very gay, are covered with bells, and the travellers in them are usually clothed in expensive furs. Pic-nics are carried on in the winter, to arrange which committees are formed, each member inviting his friends till the parties often number 100. They then hire a large room for dancing, and the guests dress themselves in their ball dresses, and then envelope themselves in their furs, and start at six in the evening for their ball, frequently driving in their sleighs for several milesby moonlight to the place of rendezvous. Open sleighs are almost always used for evening parties, and apparently without any risk, although the evening dress is put on before starting. There is great danger without care of being frost-bitten during a Canadian winter, but it must be a very gay and pretty sight to see sleighs everywhere, and all seem to enjoy the winter much, though the cold is very intense.
We left Quebec early in the afternoon of the 28th, having called at the post-office on our way to the train, and got our English letters. We now passed during the day what we missed seeing the night before, on our approach to Quebec. In crossing the Chaudière we could see the place where this large river plunges over a perpendicular rock 130 feet high, and the river being here very broad, the falls must be very fine, but though we passed close above them, we could only distinguish the difference of level between the top and the bottom, and see the cloud of spray rising above the whole. The road till night-fall passed chiefly through forest lands. The stations were good, though sometimes very small, and at one of the smallest the station-master was the son of an English clergyman.
At Richmond we parted company with the Bailysand got on to Island Pond, where we slept at a large and most comfortable hotel. From Richmond the road passes through a very pretty country, but its beauties were lost upon us, as the night was very dark and there was no moon. This also caused us to miss seeing the beauties of Island Pond on our arrival there, but we were fully repaid by the sight which greeted our eyes in the morning, when we looked out of our window. The Americans certainly have grand notions of things, this Island Pond being a lake of considerable dimensions studded with beautiful islands, and surrounded on all sides by finely wooded hills, up which the heavy mist rose half way, presenting the appearance we have so often seen in Switzerland, of hills apparently rising out of a frozen ocean. The mist too, covering the surface of the water, gave it a snow-like look, and altogether the sight was very lovely. The road from this to Gorham was most interesting, being down the course of the Androscoggan river through a very wide valley, with high hills on both sides.
We left the train at the Alpine House at Gorham, to take a peep at the White Mountains. We were kept waiting some little time at Gorham, while the wheels of thebuggy, that was to take us to the foot of Mount Washington, were being examined. Thisvehicle was a sort of double-bodied pony chair, of a very rickety description, the front seat being contrived to turn over, so as to make more room for those at the back to get in and out, the consequence was that it was always disposed, even with papa's weight upon it, to turn over, and throw him upon the horses' tails. Thrower and I sat behind, and papa and the driver in the front, and I held on tightly by the back, which had the double advantage of keeping me in, and of preventing his tumbling out. We had two capital horses, and were driven for eight miles by the side of a mountain torrent called by the unromantic name of the Peabody River. The woods through which we passed were extremely pretty, and the torrent was our companion throughout the drive. The road was of the roughest possible description, over large boulders and up and down hills. The only wonder was, that we were not tossed out of our carriage and into the torrent. The leaves were beginning to turn, and some of the foliage was extremely beautiful, particularly that of the moosewood, the large leaf of which turns to a rich mulberry colour. We picked several of them to dry.
On reaching the Glen House, we found ourselves in front of a very large hotel, standing in an amphitheatre of mountains. These are called by the names of the presidents, Washington, Monroe, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison. Washington is 6500 feet high, and seven others, which form a continuous line of peaks, are higher than Ben Nevis. Although snow has fallen this year, they seem free from snow just now, but they all have a white appearance from the greyish stone of which they are formed, and hence the name of the White Mountains. We went a short way up the ascent to Mount Washington, and judging from this beginning, the road up the mountain must be very beautiful. For two-thirds of the height they are covered with splendid forest trees. When, at this season, the leaves are changing in places to a deep crimson, the effect is very fine. The upper part of these mountains seems to consist of barren rocks. We returned and dined at the Alpine House. Both papa and I were seriously frightened in our walks, especially at the Glen House, by encountering three savage-looking bears. Luckily before we had shouted for help, we discovered they were chained, but the first being exactly in a path we were trying to walk along, really alarmed us.
We left Gorham for Portland at about four o'clock. The road the greater part of the way is perfectlybeautiful. It continued along the course of the Androscoggan, with the White Mountains on one side, and with a range, which to our eyes appeared quite as high, on the other. When we left the river, the road was diversified by passing several large lakes, one of which, called Bryant's Pond, resembled Island Pond in beauty.
October 1st.—We got up betimes yesterday to see Portland, which it was too late to do to any purpose on the evening of our arrival. Papa delivered his letter to Mr. Miller, the agent here of the Grand Trunk Railway, and he accompanied us on the heights, from which we were able to look down upon the town and its noble harbour—the finest in the United States. As it is here that the Leviathan is destined to come if she ever does cross the Atlantic, they have, at a great expense, made a wharf to receive her. The harbour is entirely land-locked and studded with islands. The day was very fine, but not so clear as the day before, or we should have seen the White Mountains, which are clearly visible from this, although sixty miles distant in a right line. The city is very beautiful, and, like all the New England towns, most clean and well conditioned. Each street is embellished by avenues of elm treesof a larger size than we have yet seen in America, with the exception of those in the park of Boston.
We had here an opportunity of witnessing a very pretty sight, which was the exercising of the Fire Companies, of which there are nine in this town. Each Company had an engine as clean and bright as if it had just come out of the maker's hands, and the firemen attached to them were dressed in uniforms, each of a different colour. Long ropes were fastened to these engines, by which the men drew them along. To each engine there was also attached a brigade of men, wearing helmets, and fire-proof dresses. They seemed altogether a fine body of men. We did not wait to see the result of the trial, as to which engine could pump furthest, which, with a reward of $100 to be given to the successful engine, was the object of their practising. These Fire Companies seem to be a great "Institution" everywhere in the United States, the troop at New York having figured greatly in the Cable rejoicings. The companies of different towns are in the habit of paying visits to each other, when great fêtes take place, and much good-fellowship is shown. Fires are very frequent in the great towns, but the means of extinguishing them must be great in proportion, judging from what we have seen here. These companiesare said to be very well organised, and as they act as a police also, very little pilfering takes place. Mr. Miller afterwards took us to a part of the suburbs to show us some very pretty villas, with gardens more cared for than any we have yet seen.
We left Portland in the afternoon. There are two railways from Portland to Boston, and we selected the lower or sea-coast road. The country was not very pretty, the shore being flat, but as we approached the seaports of Portsmouth, Newburyport, and Salem, the views improved, especially in the neighbourhood of Portsmouth, which stands on a neck of land jutting far into the sea. There was a great deal of hay standing on meadows which were flooded by the sea water; to protect the stacks, they were built upon platforms supported by stone pillars, which had a curious effect. The crops seemed very abundant, for the stacks were large and close together and spread over a wide area. The quality of this salted hay is said to be good, and the animals like it very much.
We got to Boston late last night, and to-day papa paid a long visit to Judge Curtis, and we went afterwards on a railway, drawn by horses, to see the famous Harvard University, in the town of Cambridge, which lies about four miles to the west of Boston.When Mr. Jared Sparkes, the late president, was in England, papa, at Mr. Morgan's request, gave him letters to Cambridge, and upon the strength of this we called on him and were most graciously received by Mrs. Sparkes, who entertained us till Mr. Sparkes returned from Boston. He is a very pleasing and intelligent man; before parting they gave us letters to Professor Silliman, of the sister University of Yale, at New Haven. We met here too Mr. and Mrs. Stevens, who accompanied us back to Boston, and loaded us with introductions to the same place.
The town of Cambridge occupies a good deal of ground, for the so-called streets are avenues of beautiful trees, with villas interspersed between them. In an open space in the centre of the town, there is a most magnificent tree, called the Washington Elm, noted, not only for its size, but for its being historically connected with Washington. There is a large library belonging to the college; and the college is in every way very flourishing; but as we mean to return here again, we did not think it worth while now to see it in detail.[5]
October 2nd.—Papa went last night to a meeting, which is held every night for prayer, at the YoungMen's Christian Association, and was extremely pleased with what he saw and heard. He was there for half an hour before the prayers began. These lasted from nine till ten. Papa was placed in the seat of honour, in a chair beside the President, and was asked by him to address the meeting; but he got out of it by saying that he came to listen and not to speak, and added only a few words on the great interest with which these revivals in America were looked upon in England. He was very much interested with the whole of the proceedings, which were conducted with extreme moderation and right feeling.
To-day we made an early start, and at first went over the ground which we travelled when we left Boston for Niagara; but instead of leaving the Connecticut river at Springfield, as we did on that occasion, we followed its course to Hartford, and finally came on to New Haven, from which place I am now writing.
We arrived at two o'clock, and, after getting some food, called on Professor Silliman, who took us over the University, and showed us the museum, where there are some wonderful foot-prints on slabs of rock, which have been found in this country. There is also here one of the largest meteoric stones that is known. In the library there are many books whichwere given to it by Bishop Berkeley, whose memory seems as much respected here as it is at Newport.
October 3rd.—Professor Silliman called on us this morning at ten o'clock, and brought with him Mr. Sheffield, an influential person in this neighbourhood, and a great patron of the University. As Mr. Sheffield was an Episcopalian, he took us to his church, where we heard a most striking sermon, and afterwards received the Communion. The number of communicants was very large. We are very much struck at seeing how well Sunday is observed in America. There are about thirty churches in New Haven, and they are all, we are told, well filled. These churches are of various denominations; but there seems a total want of anything like a parochial system.
Papa went afterwards to the College chapel, or rather church, where the young men attached to the University were assembled in the body of the building. Papa was in the gallery, which is appropriated to the Professors and their families. There are no less than forty-one Professors at Yale, including those of theology, law, and medicine, which are all studied here.
The sciences take greatly the lead over the classics. When we remarked to Professor Sillimanhow great the proportion of scientific Professors seemed to be, he said the practical education which was given in this country, rendered this more necessary than in England, where men have more time and leisure for literary pursuits. This is no doubt the case, and in this country the devotion of every one's time and talents to money-making is much to be regretted, for it is the non-existence of a highly educated class that tends to keep down the general tone of society here, by not affording any standard to look up to. It is curious what a depressing effect is caused in our minds by the equality we see every where around us; it is very similar to what we lately felt when on the shores of their vast lakes,—tideless, and therefore lifeless, when compared to the sea with its ever-varying heights. If I may carry this idea further, I might say there is another point of resemblance between the physical and moral features of the country, inasmuch as when the waters of these lakes of theirs are stirred up and agitated by storms, they are both more noisy and more dangerous than those of the real ocean.
New Haven is considered to be the most beautiful town in America, and it is marvellously beautiful. The elm is a very fine tree on this continent. It is of a peculiar kind, rising to a great heightbefore any branches shoot out, thus producing large overhanging branches like a candelabrum. It is common in all American towns, but this is called by pre-eminence the City of Elms. There are broad avenues in every direction, the branches of the trees meeting across and forming shady walks on the hottest day.
The shops, relatively to the size of the town, are as good as any we have seen in the larger cities. Next to the booksellers' shops, or book stores as they call them, the most striking, if they are not the most striking of all, are the chemists' shops, which abound here as elsewhere. They are of enormous size, and are kept in perfect order, though the marvel is lessened when the variety of their contents is considered, this being of a very miscellaneous description, chiefly perfumery, at all events not restricted to drugs. Hat stores and boot stores are very numerous, and labels of "Misses' Hats" and "Gents' Pants fixed to patterns," are put up in the windows.
In the afternoon Professor Silliman took papa a long walk in the country, and geologised him among basaltic rocks of great beauty; and in passing through the woods, they made a grand collection of red leaves. I had, during this walk, been deposited with Mrs. Silliman, and we remained anddrank tea with them. The professor's father, also Professor Silliman, a most energetic gentleman, upwards of eighty years old, came to meet us, as did Professor Dana and one or two others, including the gentleman who preached to the boys. I cannot get papa to tell me how he preached, and must draw my own conclusion from his silence. He will only admit that the pew was very comfortable and the cushion soft, and as he was kept awake all last night by mosquitoes, the inference to be drawn is not difficult. I have since been employed in arranging my leaves in a blotting-book, which I got at Boston for that purpose, and as it is late must close this for to-night.
New York, October 4th.—We left New Haven this morning and arrived here this afternoon. The intermediate country along the northern shore of Long Island Sound is very interesting. We crossed a great many rivers which in England would be deemed large ones, at the mouths of which were pretty villages, but we passed so rapidly that we had scarcely time to do more than catch a glimpse of them. As the mail leaves to-morrow, I must conclude this.