whole tribe, than the fishermen or hunters of a nation which employs the great majority of its people in the arts of civil society, are to be considered as a sample of the people of such nation.

We received from them all their fish; they would not take money in return, but seemed highly pleased when we gave them in exchange, a bottle of brandy, and some salted pork. They got into their feeble bark, and paddled off, singing for joy.Limited, indeed, are the wants of these poor creatures, when such a trifling circumstance could gladden their hearts.

As we proceeded farther up the river, the country assumed a more favourable aspeet; the number of habitations increased, and we began to observe marks of cultivation. We passed the Island of Bique, where vessels bound for Quebec and Montreal usually take pilots; for the navigation of the river now becomes more intricate, from the number of islands, banks, and shoals, which abound. At Bique there is good anchorage; and the frigates which come to convoy the Canada ships home, do not in general go higher: it is

the usual place of rendezvous. The vessels from Quebec proceed down to Bique to receive their sailing instructions. It is distant from Quebec about 150 miles, and from Montreal near 350.

After passing Bique, several beautiful islands make their appearance; Green Island, Hare Island, the islands of Kaumouraska, and a variety of others, all covered with wood. Some of them are inhabited, and in a state of cultivation; no more wood being left than is necessary for fuel and other domestic purposes. This, in the course of time, will be the case with almost all of them, as the soil of many is very good.

The magnitude of the river now strikes one very forcibly, for though it is about twenty miles broad, I found, on tasting some of the water at half ebb tide, that it was perfectly fresh. I really do believe that there is more fresh water thrown into the ocean from this river, than from all the rivers in Europe put together. I have seen many of the largest of them. A dozen Danubes, Rhines, Rhones, Taguses, and Thameses, would be nothing to twenty

miles of fresh water in breadth, from ten to forty fathoms in depth.

The mountains on both sides are very high, and often terminate in capes or bold headlands, which have a very fine effect. In general, I perceive that there is, on both sides of the river, a tract of land comparatively level, between high-water mark and the first range of mountains, particularly on the south side; and we see parish churches, villages, and a general appearance of cultivation. Yet still the strip of cultivated ground, viewed from the river, is so small, compared with the high woodcovered mountains in the back ground of the picture, that it is scarcely enough to take off the appearance of complete savage wildness. The sombre hue of the pine forest is a strong contrast to the lively verdure of the corn-fields. I perceive that the spring is very late in this part of the country: in many places the rising grain is not sufficiently advanced to cover the ground, and the forest trees are not yet in leaf. Vegetation, in general, is very little advanced, although we are now at the end of May.

One cannot help being struck with this tardy appearance of spring in a latitude so far south. We are now in latitude 48, which is not only to the south of the most southerly part of England, but even considerably to the south of Paris, where summer heat is now oppressive. If we compare the commencement of vegetation in the old and new world, we shall perceive a striking difference even where both situations may feel the influence of the sea air. In Norfolk (on the coast), which is at nearly an equal distance from the north and south extremes of England, vegetation was last year very generally observed, both in the field and in the forest, about the middle of March, although upwards of five degrees to the north of our present situation.

We anchored, during the night, at the foot of the traverse, a well known part of the St. Lawrence, where we first had an opportunity of observing the great rapidity of the tides, and where, from shoals and islands, the navigation, to strangers, becomes somewhat difficult, and even dan

gerous; but with a good pilot and a fair wind there is little or no risk.

This morning we have a fine breeze, and we approach Quebec fast. We are now opposite the Island of Orleans, one of the largest in the river, and one of the most beautiful. It is about thirty miles in length, by about ten in breadth. Looking at this island one might fancy one's self in some part of Britain. The greatest part of it appears cultivated; and villages and cottages every where present themselves to the eye.

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Quebec just begins to open to our view in very fine style: the scenery on both sides of the river is charming. On the left we see Point Levi, with its romantic church and scattered cottages; on the right is the upper point of the Island of Orleans; beyond it the main land opens view, and you are struck with the magnificent Falls of Montmorency. A river, called The Montmorency, of very considerable magnitude (as large as the Thames at Richmond), is seen precipitating itself in a body over a perpendicular precipice of 246 feet. It is allowed to be one of the