A chain-bridge, at the cost probably of not more than £ 10,000, might be suspended across the river at the Falls. The breadth is not more than four hundred feet, and the precipices on each side sufficiently high; there are also more than one rock in the centre, on which abutments might be built; but these would not, I think, be found necessary. The prairie, lying between the town and the height of land that separates the former from the present channel, is considered by the speculative as the ancient bed of the river. I admit this conjecture to be quite within the bounds of probability; but, on examining the features of both places, I could observe no reasonable ground to conclude that any other than the one over which this great river now rolls, was at any former period its channel. Above the Falls, the river widens, and forms a bay of some magnitude, surrounded by high and rugged woodlands. At the lower part of this bay, there is a small village called Indian Town, about a mile and a half, by a good road, from the city. From this village the steam-boat for Fredericton starts. Passing up the bay, we are struck with the extraordinary wildness and desolation of the country, although within a few miles of St. John. Huge calcareous rocks, bursting through stern dark fir forests, stretching up the sides of lofty hills and promontories, which frown over the dark waters, impart a most savage and menacing character to the scenery. miserable hovel, in a mere speck of cleared land, occasionally opens to view; and the inhabitants derive little more benefit from the soil, than the lime which the rocks afford, and the fuel which the A forest supplies, for both of which they find a market at St. John. Proceeding up the river, and entering Grand Bay, scenery of much the same character prevails. From this extensive bay, Kennebecacis Bay and River bends off to the eastward for nearly forty miles; twenty of which are navigable for large vessels. The shores of the Kennebecacis are generally abrupt and rocky; but, near the head, we arrive at a beautiful tract of country, called Sussex Vale, populously settled, and allowed to be one of the most fertile districts of the province. Leading roads, but not in very good condition, lead through it from St. John to the River Petit Coudiac, and to the settlements on the River St. John. The banks of the Kennebecacis abound in limestone, gypsum, coal, and salt springs. The inhabitants manufacture great quantities of maple sugar. Fatal accidents frequently happen to the raftsmen in passing down Grand Bay; and few years occur without some of them being drowned. A small arm, named South Bay, branches off to the south; and, as we proceed up the river, the country begins to assume less forbidding features. On the left, we pass a beautiful and picturesque spot, called Alwington Manor *, near which, on receiving the Neripis from the west, the river bends rather abruptly, and forms a beautiful vista of eighteen miles, called the Long Reach; along which the cultivation of the soil appears to be attended to, but carrying firewood to St. John is said to occupy the chief attention of the settlers. The lands are stony, but, when subjected to cultivation, very productive. * Alwington Manor once belonged to General Coffin. He cleared and cultivated it; but I was told on passing it, that, like the American backwoodsmen, he had then removed several miles back into the forest, to subdue a fresh tract of the wilderness. At the head of the Long Reach, the lands on each side the river, and the pretty islands which divide it into several streams, present beautiful and rich features. Belle Isle Bay, a fine sheet of water, receiving several rivers, branches off here, for upwards of twenty miles, to the eastward. The River St. John then winds to the north, from the head of the Long Reach to Fredericton, receiving the waters of the Washedemoak and Grand Lake from the east, and the Oromucto from the west. No part of America can exhibit greater beauty, or more luxuriant fertility, than the lands on each side, and the islands that we pass, in this distance. I can only compare it to the St. Lawrence, from Fort William Henry to Montreal; and those who have had the opportunity of observing both, will readily agree with me in considering the banks of the River St. John to be naturally quite as beautiful and fertile as those of the St. Lawrence. The parishes of Maugerville and Sheffield, on the right; Gage Town and Oromucto, on the left; and Long Island, with its neat church, are truly imposing. A This part of the province, including the lands around the Grand Lake, and along the Washedemoak *, must become a very populous and rich country. great proportion of the soil is intervale or alluvial, and excellent coal is found in great plenty, near the Grand Lake, where a mine has lately been opened. * The folly of many of those who occupy some of the fine cleared farms in this part of the province, in neglecting their cultivation, has been attended by the usual consequence. Their farms are, I am informed, in most instances, heavily mortgaged. CHAP. IV. FREDERICTON. BRUNSWICK COLLEGE, ETC. FREDERICTON, although yet but little more than a village, is the seat of government; and situated on a pretty point of land formed by a bend in the river, nearly ninety miles above St. John, and in front of as richly wooded hills as ever eye beheld: - for soft picturesque scenery it is not surpassed by any part of the province. In front, the River St. John, something more than half a mile in width, flows past, sometimes smoothly, but often in rapid overflowing grandeur; and immediately opposite, it receives the Nashwaak, a rapid stream, which winds from the west thirty miles through fertile lands, settlements, and forests. The magnificent view from the College, lately built on the brow of a hill above the town, embraces, during summer and autumn, much of what poets and romance-writers tell us about Fairyland. Before us we have the neat white buildings of the town, with their pretty gardens, and the verdant foliage of their trees; then the River St. John, with the débouché of the Nashwaak, and an extensively ascending forest country, stretching far to the north. Downwards, we have a commanding prospect of several windings, for many miles, of the river; the banks and headlands of which are beautifully adorned with clumps of trees, interspersed among the cultivated uplands, or intermingled with the rich fringes of alluvial soil, which its waters have created. Upwards, our eyes and imagination feast on a splendid view of luxuriant islands, water, cultivated farms, farm-houses, blue distant hills, wooded to their summits; with the presence of human industry-herds of cattle on the farms and islands, one or more sloops on the river, timber-rafts, bateaux, and the white canoe of the savage - to lend animation to the whole. The plan of the town is regular, the streets crossing at right angles, and in appearance much like Charlotte Town, in Prince Edward Island. The building-lots contain each a quantity of an acre, eighteen of which form a square. The public buildings are, a provincial hall - a mean-looking building, in which the courts are held, and in which the Legislative Assembly sit-a jail, and a building which answers the double purpose of a market and county court-house. There are also an Episcopal church, of very humble appearance, but standing in a sweet spot, near the river, and three chapels, one each for the Catholics, Presbyterians, and Baptists. The barracks are handsome and commodious. Detachments of troops are always stationed here. Here also are the offices of the surveyor-general and commissioner of crown lands, the registry office, and the legislative records. The new stone building, erected for the residence of the governor, stands at the west end of the town, in a charming situation. It is rather a large house, the front and elevation striking, but not elegant; and |