said to endure the heat better than those made at Carron. Scarcely any other kind is used in Canada ; and many of them find their way to the other provinces. Stoves, pots, and potash kettles are the principal articles cast here. The forges are worked night and day; charcoal only is used; the workmen are chiefly Canadians. Englishmen only are employed in making models. The River St. Maurice is a large deep river, winding over an extensive territory, only known to the Indian fur traders, and broken by rapids and cataracts. The soil in many places is fertile; but the country is generally rugged. This river, which is one of three great outlets from the northern region of Canada, has several branches flowing from large lakes. At La Tuque, about 120 miles up, there is a king's trading post. Near it the Hudson's Bay Company have also a trading post. About eight miles above Three Rivers we enter Lake St. Peter, which is an expansion of the St. Lawrence over flats for about twenty-five miles in length, and five to ten in breadth. Passing over this lake, particularly on a hot calm day, is exceedingly tame and uninteresting. The water is shallow, and the channel, which is very intricate, requires to be marked with beacons, usually small fir poles stuck in the mud, with part of the green tuft left on their tops. Captain Bayfield, R. N., has lately surveyed this lake; and from his report there is no doubt of the practicability of deepening the channel; but it is doubtful whether it could be kept so afterwards, except at an expense which must be supported by the province. The lands are so low on each side, that the shores are scarcely seen; and we cannot help feeling an impatient anxiety to get rid of the tame scene, especially when we recollect that the post roads along this lake pass through a populous and beautiful though flat country.* As we approach the head of the lake, innumerable green islands and villages, rising on each side the river, re-animate our progress. These islands are evidently formed of alluvial deposits, as are also most of the low lands we pass until we reach Montreal. The country along the north bank of the St. Lawrence, from the St. Maurice to Repentigny, at one of the mouths of the Ottawa, unfolds thickly-settled parishes; the principal road resembling one continued village, and the parish churches, houses, and the inhabitants, nearly in every respect similar to those I have already described below Quebec: but the features of the scenery are different, as the country between Three Rivers and Montreal is low, and a great portion of it alluvial. There are many parishes in the interior, in the back concessions. Berthier, half-way between Three Rivers and Montreal, is the principal village. It has granaries, storehouses, a very handsome church, pretty dwelling-houses, and about 1000 inhabitants. Its situation on the banks of the St. Lawrence, in front of a rich flat agricultural country, although somewhat tame, is very advantageous; and, in summer, steamboats frequenting the Chenal de Berthier, ou du Nord, stop here for fuel, passengers, and goods. On the south, at the head of the delta of Lake 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. * My recollection of this lake may perhaps be biassed by my feelings; for, although two of the passengers were gentlemen of much information, we were all, under the influence of the extreme heat, quite averse to conversation until evening approached. 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 |