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should stand upon the Table Rock.

There "Præsentiorem conspiciet Deum," there the tremendous roar will stun his ear the mingled masses of waters and of foam will bewilder his eye-his mind will be overwhelmed by contending feelings of elevation and depression - and, unless he be colder than the very rock on which he stands, the thoughts that press upon his brain, will be high, pure, and enthusiastic, and his hot brow will welcome the cool light spray that is ever falling around that holy spot.

Let him whose spirit delights in the awful sublimity of nature, who loves the war of elements, and the secret and mysterious paths of darkness, descend from the Table Rock, and, undeterred by the wind and spray that will appear to oppose his entrance, - let him walk along a narrow ledge that extends about one hundred feet under the great Horse-shoe Fall, and there, with his back to the huge beetling rock, above him the canopy of rushing waters, before him and all around a tempestuous whirlwind of foam, and beneath his feet a raging and boiling unfathomed abyss, let him meditate on the littleness of man, and on the attributes of Him who metes out those waters in the hollow of his hand!

There is no object in nature, in which the reflecting, the poetic, or the pious mind, will not trace the hand of its Divine Author, as well in the "wee modest crimson-tipped" daisy, or the love

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torch of the glowworm, as in the ocean, or the starlit sky; but here the dullest spirit must be stirred, the most thoughtless and careless be arrested, the most haughty and daring humbled; he feels like Moses, that "he should put the shoes from off his feet;" he feels as if admitted to a secret abode and dwelling-place of the Deity, who speaks to him there in a terrible whisper.

When I followed the guide into this stormy recess, there was a strong breeze of wind, and the spray was dashed against our faces with such unusual violence as to render it almost impossible, upon first entering, to keep the eyes open, or to respire I was so excited, that I feel some degree of shame in owning I neglected the usual paraphernalia of oilskin coat, trousers, &c. and throwing off my walking-jacket, I braved the water-monarch in his den with no other armour than a stout broad-brimmed hat. However, by slouching this civic helmet over my eyes and holding my breath, I followed the guide without difficulty to the interior of the rocky chambers where the spray and whirlwind are less violent, and where the faculties of seeing, hearing, and feeling are restored.

Upon arriving here I became aware that two young American travellers whom I had met in my rambles, and who, accoutred in a panoply of oilskin, had accompanied me to the entrance below the Falls, were missing. Upon informing the guide of the circumstance, he was alarmed for their

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safety, and returned to see what had become of them. Thus left alone, I pursued the little path or ledge to its farthest extremity, at a point called Termination Rock; and, reseating myself, regardless of the "pelting of the pitiless storm," I revelled in the glorious and terrible scene before me.

To describe it further I will not attempt, neither can I relate the thoughts that crowded upon me during the few minutes that I spent in that awful spot-they were too mingled and confused to be defined, or interesting to any one. The faculties of reason were absorbed, and the powers of imagination and memory held for a time divided empire. The Atlantic and the thousand miles that divided me from home were forgotten, and well-known forms and beloved images were mingled in my wild waking dream with the thundering rush of waters.

I know not how long the rêverie continued, from which I was roused by the return of the guide, who informed me that he could not persuade the other two travellers to enter the cavern. I went back and used every argument to induce them to prosecute the undertaking in which there was no real danger, but in vain; in their first attempt one had lost his balance, and the other his breath, and they went away, as the old Greek tragedians say, άπρακτοι. *

Many travellers, after leaving Niagara, have said

* Unsuccessful."

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that, although deeply impressed with its unrivalled magnificence, they felt no anxiety to revisit it. Such is not the case with me, and if ever Fate permit me again to stand upon the Table Rock, the charms of novelty and surprise may be wanting, but I shall

"Hail in each crag a friend's familiar face,

And clasp the torrent in my mind's embrace."

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TORONTO.

CHAPTER VI.

Embark on Lake Ontario.-Toronto.-Reception by the Governor.-Lake of The Thousand Islands.-The Cholera at Montreal and Quebec.-Journey towards Lake Champlain. -Gloomy Road.-Burlington.-Students in the College of that Town.-An Obliging Landlord.-Road to Montpelier.— The Camel's Hump.-American Liberality.-Accommodations at the Taverns.-John Bull a bad Traveller.-Hanover.— Concord.-A Criminal Trial in this Town.-Amoskeag.Exchange of Steeds.-Lowell-its Lucrative Trade.-Approach to Boston-Arrival in that Town.-The Tremont House. Mr. Webster.-Tone of Conversation in Boston.

ON leaving the Falls, I drove my waggon and horse down to Niagara town, and embarked with them in the Great Britain; a magnificent steamboat, which plies on Lake Ontario. We arrived in the evening at Toronto, late York, the capital of Upper Canada. This is a flourishing town, though it has been severely visited by the cholera, it contains about ten thousand inhabitants; but as the steam-boat only stayed two hours, and during those it was dark, I cannot speak much either of its defects or beauties.

I spent an hour in conversation with the governor Sir J. C to whom I had a letter of introduction, and from whom I met with a most