St. Peter, the St. Lawrence receives the River Richelieu, or Sorell, or Chambly; for by all these names is it known. On the east bank, and on the site of the fortress erected by M. de Tracy, stands the town of Sorell, or, as it is now called, Fort William Henry. This little town (1500 inhabitants) is prettily situated, but its appearance, being little more than a collection of humble wooden houses, with a Catholic and a Protestant church, has little that is attractive. During war, it has always been a post of some consequence, and the shadow of a garrison is still kept up. It was principally settled with loyalists, after 1785. The steamers stop here to land or receive passengers, and to take on board fuel, of which, being wood, vast quantities are used. The Richelieu issues from Lake Champlain, and flows, for about seventy miles, through a fertile and well-settled country, and passes close by several villages, or small towns, the principal of which are Champlain and Lacolle, in the United States; and in Canada, Isle aux Noix, St. Jean, Chambly, St. Joseph, Belœil or Rouville, St. Charles, St. Denis, and St. Ours, before it mixes with the St. Lawrence at Fort William Henry. It differs from most rivers in its being only 250 yards wide at its embouchure, while it increases gradually upwards to more than four times that breadth. The scenery of the Richelieu, in some parts, is not surpassed for picturesque beauty in Canada; and let tourists, who delight in rich and magnificent views, ascend the Pin du Sucre of the mountain of Belœil, view the beautiful lake, midway in its height, and the surrounding country, and they will be fully gratified. About a mile and a half from Fort William Henry stands the simple but pretty Canadian-fashioned cottage, which is the temporary summer residence of the Governor-general of Canada. Lord Dalhousie introduced the Scottish system of agriculture on the farm he cultivated here; and on this charming spot he probably spent the happiest portion of his residence in Canada. The village of Chambly, about forty miles up the Richelieu, faces a beautiful basin formed by an expansion of the river; between it and the village of the Canton stands Fort Chambly, one of the old French garrisons, formerly erected to prevent the incursions of the Iroquois. It is a stone-built fortification, and during the late war it became a post of great consequence, as the head-quarters of from 6000 to 7000 troops. Eight miles above Fort Chambly stands the town of St. Jean, where there is a customhouse, at which all goods passing into or out of Canada, by Lake Champlain, are, or at least should be, entered. From this place to the flourishing village of La Prairie, opposite Montreal, the road was horribly bad when I travelled along it, the ground over which it passes being low; but a rail-road is contemplated to be constructed by a company, in virtue of an act of the Provincial Parliament: from the line of incessant intercourse which this road forms, few projects would answer better. St. Jean lies in the route by the way of Lake Champlain to the United States: steam-boats in summer arrive and depart regularly; and thousands of sledges, principally American, pass through it in winter. About twelve miles farther on, we come to the British naval station and garrison on Isle aux Noix, which completely commands the river. Here are three forts, with a deep ditch and glacis, blockhouses and barracks; and here the hulks of the ships of war that were not taken or destroyed by the Americans, and several gun-boats, are now rotting. At Rouse's Point, where Lake Champlain, one of the most picturesque of the inland waters of America, opens, are the deserted huge stone fortress and outworks, erected by the Americans during the late war, when they considered this position within their boundary. It is discovered, however, to be within the British line, and completely commands the pass of Lake Champlain, between Canada and the United States. The country, nearly in the shape of a triangle (see the map), bounded by the Richelieu, the St. Lawrence, and the United States, is generally fertile, and populously inhabited. Many of the farms which are now the most productive, were reclaimed with great labour by an extensive course of draining, nearly similar to what we observe in Yorkshire and the Lincolnshire fens. Returning from this diversion up the Richelieu, and leaving Fort William Henry for Montreal, we pass numerous islands, all evidently of alluvial formation; the lands on each side are also alluvial, and the country flat, but, being well-drained, produce luxuriant crops. This part of Canada is populous; and the parishes exhibit the pretty features of a continued village, with the spires of decent churches arising now and then on each side. At length Montreal, with its glittering tin roofs and spires, the magnificent wooded mountain from which it takes its name, together with the broad sheet of water between it and La Prairie, the fortified island of St. Helena, and the ships, steamers, and small craft, two hundred and seventy miles above salt water, and more than five hundred from the sea, all open into view, and exhibit a grand, varied, and most interesting picture. CHAP. XIX. MONTREAL. - GENERAL APPEARANCE. - ST. PAUL'S AND NOTRE SOCIETY. - MECHANICS' INSTITUTION. - HOSPITAL. PUBLIC -THEATRE AND CIRCUS. - ENVIRONS OF MONTREAL. - THE MOUNTAIN SCENERY. - OUTLETS OF MONTREAL. - LA CHINE, ETC. THE island, on the south side of which the city of Montreal stands, is about thirty-two miles long, and from five to ten broad. On the north, the Rivière de Prairie separates it from Isle Jesus, which is also a seigniory, and about twenty-one miles long, and from Isle Bizarre, which is four miles long. Some miles above, "Utawa's tide" divides into two branches; the lesser, winding betwixt these islands and the main continent, joins the St. Lawrence on the east at Repentigny; and the greater, rushing among a cluster of islets and rocks, lying in the channel between the pretty wooded island of Perrault, and a sweet little village, Moore's "St. Anne," mingles its waters on the west with those of Lake St. Louis. At the lower end of this lake, the St. Lawrence |