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disposition to candour and impartiality. Without any predilection for the Americans nationally or individually, he is anxious to awaken his countrymen to a due sense of the growing importance of a state which possesses so vast and fertile a territory, and the population of which increases with a rapidity unknown in the long settled countries of Europe. In adverting to the distinctive character of the Canadians and the inhabitants of the United States, he points out that the distance from British habits is much greater in the former: because, although for nearly sixty years they have been subject to our sway, they retain with very little diminution the language and habits of Frenchmen; while in the United States, notwithstanding a separation during a period somewhat longer than philosophical calculators allow to a generation of our species, and in spite of a very miscellaneous intercourse with the rest of the world, a decided predominance of British manners and customs still exists.

On arriving at Quebec, Mr. L. was highly delighted with the beauty and magnificence of its landscape. The view of that city, and of the surrounding country, presents to the approaching voyager an assemblage of almost every thing that is grand and picturesque. In front, is seen an immense projecting rock, covered with buildings rising gradually one above another, in the form of an amphitheatre; on the left, is Point Levi; on the right, the island of Orleans; and, farther on, the majestic chasm of Montmorency, with its snow-white-falls, is seen in an opening on the lofty shores of Beauport. The beauty of nature, however, is but indifferently seconded by the labour of art; and, on entering the town, the spectator experiences a disappointment somewhat similar to that of a traveller who is set down in the lanes of Constantinople, after he has approached that city by the canal of the Bosphorus. The streets of Quebec are, in general, so narrow and rugged, as scarcely to deserve the name; and this account applies unluckily to both the Upper and the Lower town, though the former is the less exceptionable of the two. The Lower town is built by the water-side along the base of the mountain; the Upper stands on the summit of a stupendous rock, and is approached by a street which winds in a serpentine direction up the ascent, but is so steep as to require no small exertion to traverse it, particularly as only a part of it is paved. A more direct communication takes place by a long flight of steps, which, however, in winter, are very hazardous, and have consequently obtained the significant name of Breakneck-stairs :

The markets of Quebec are well supplied with every thing the country affords. In summer the following articles are brought to

market

market by the Habitans, and generally sold at the prices affixed to them.

Meat.

• Sterling money.

Beef per lb. 1 d. to 4d.

Mutton per lb. 4d. to 6d.; per sheep 8s. to 10s.
Lamb per quarter 3s. 6d. to 4s. 6d.
Veal 6d. to 7d. per lb.

Pork 5d. to 6d. per lb.

[Turkeys per couple 3s. 6d. to 5s.

Fowls

do.

IS.

3d. to 25.

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7d. to 10d.

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2s. 6d. to 4s. 6d.
10d. to 15d.

Pigeons per doz.
Hares each

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As soon as the river between Quebec and the island of Orleans is frozen over, a large supply of provisions is received from that island. The Canadians at the commencement of winter kill the greatest part of their stock, which they carry to market in a frozen state. The inhabitants of the towns then supply themselves with a sufficient quantity of poultry and vegetables till spring, and keep them in garrets or cellars. As long as they remain frozen, they preserve their goodness, but they will not keep long after they have thawed. I have eaten turkeys in April which have been kept in this manner all the winter, and found them remarkably good. Before the frozen provisions are dressed, they are always laid for some hours in cold water, which extracts the ice; otherwise, by a sudden immersion in hot water, they would be spoiled.

The articles of life are certainly very reasonable in Canada; but the high price of house-rent and European goods, together with the high wages of servants, more than counterbalances that advantage.'

The export of corn forms a regular branch of business in Canada, but varies in course according to the currency of the British market:

The following statement will exhibit the fluctuating demand for wheat, biscuit, and flour, from 1796 to 1808:

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The most flourishing of all periods of the Canada trade was the interval of three or four years between the stoppage of the navigation of the United States by the Embargo Act, and their declaration of war against us in June 1812. This, however, being necessarily temporary, the attention of the inquirer

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should

should be fixed, in preference, on the fur-trade, which seems to be the great or permanent occupation of mercantile capital in this part of America. It fell into the hands of English merchants immediately after the conquest and cession of the province, and was for several years prosecuted by individuals on their separate account: but, about thirty years ago, an association was formed, which, under the name of the North-west Company, has pursued this difficult traffic to a much greater extent than it could have been carried by unconnected merchants. The Company having no exclusive privilege, a second association took place, and was conducted separately for a considerable time: but, in late years, their capitals have been united, and the number of persons interested in the concern is said to exceed forty; while their clerks, travellers, and Indian servants, amount to upwards of three thousand. The capital employed is unavoidably large, on account of the slowness of the returns:

The trade is now pushed to the very extremity of the continent; from the coast of Labrador to the Pacific Ocean, extending to the northward beyond the arctic circle. The goods sent up annually from Montreal, for the barter of furs from the Indians, are upwards of four years before they produce a return. The dangers and difficulties attending the transportation of these aticles so many thousand miles across rivers, lakes, and portages, have been so well described by Sir Alexander McKenzie, in his history of the fur trade, that it is unnecessary for me to detail them here it is sufficient to say that they surpass any thing that can be formed in idea, by persons who never explored the vast expanse of waters, the gloomy and interminable forests, which cover the extensive dominions of British North America.

There is another association established within these few years, called the The South-west or Michillimakinak Company: some of the partners in this association have also shares in the North-west Company, but the general concern is totally separate. The South-west merchants pursue their trade across the lakes Ontario and Erie, and down the rivers Illinois, Ohio, and Mississippi, in the territory of the United States.'

I shall perhaps be hardly credited, when I say that manufactured furs can be obtained considerably cheaper in England than in Canada; that muffs, tippets, caps, and hats, are all much inferior, in their appearance, to those articles in London, and above a third higher in price. The Canadian furriers do not yet possess the art of turning their furs to the most advantage; their muffs and caps are heavy and cumbersome; and I hazard little in saying that a London furrier would make three muffs out of the quantity which a Canadian puts into one.'

Our settlements in the East and West Indies subject those of our countrymen who emigrate to so complete a change of climate, that it becomes very doubtful whether any acquisition of property can compensate, in a general view, for the loss REV. JULY, 1814. sustained

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sustained by the national population. From this serious objection, our North American colonies are in a great measure exempt; the climate of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, being seldom fatal to persons who have sound lungs. The chief disadvantage of the North American climate consists in the extreme degree to which heat and cold predominate in their respective seasons. While in our own country a rise in the thermometer to 80° is deemed unusual and oppressive, in Canada it is commonly found, in the heat of summer, at 90°, 100°, and even 103°. In winter, the fall below the medium cold of England is still more remarkable; the mean of the winter-months being about o, while a fall to 20° or 30° below o is far from unprecedented in the depth of the season:

The greatest degree of cold experienced during the winter I remained at Quebec, was on the 15th February, when the thermometer fell 30 degrees below o. The preceding month it had been several times as low as 15 and 18, and at one time 26 degrees below o. The greatest degree of cold which I have heard of in Canada was 36 below o. On the coldest days I have walked through the town, and with the wind at my back suffered very little inconvenience; but when I turned about, I found, as the keen air blew on my face, that my cheeks became numbed and insensible, and would most likely have been frost-bitten, had I not rubbed them briskly with my hands, and restored the circulation of the blood. It is not uncommon on those severe days for people to have their cheeks, nose, or ears, frost-bitten; and often before they are aware of it. It is then dangerous to approach the fire hastily. The frost-bitten parts must be rubbed with snow until the blood circulates, otherwise mortification would in all probability ensue.

The winter from Christmas to Lady-day is almost always remarkable for a fine, clear, azure sky seldom obscured by fogs or clouds; and the dry frosty weather is rarely interrupted by falls of snow, sleet, or rain. These advantages render a Canadian winter so agreeable and pleasant, that the inhabitants are never under the necessity of changing their dress, from any sudden alteration of the weather, unless it is to discard their great coats and fur caps, which is rendered necessary sometimes by the powerful warmth of the sun, whose beams are scarcely ever intercepted by a single cloud. The aurora borealis is common in Canada, and frequently illuminates the winter evening with its playful light.'

The Canadians feel the cold more than Europeans on their first arrival. The constant use of stoves renders them very little better than hot-house plants during winter, and in summer they are exposed to a burning sun. These things do not affect the European constitu tion for the first two or three years, but afterwards it becomes as sensible to the heat and cold as that of the Canadians. It may astonish those who have heard such dreadful accounts of a Canadian winter, when I assert it as a fact, that the people of Great Britain suffer more from the cold than the people of Canada; or at least they are more

exposed

exposed to it; for they seldom make any material alteration in their dress, either summer or winter.'

The months of March and April are in general very hot, and the sun then begins to have great power, which is considerably heightened by the reflection of the snow and ice. The inhabitants are more tanned by the reflection of the snow in these months than they are at any other season of the year by the sun. It is likewise so very hurtful to the eyes, that they are obliged to wear shades of green gauze fastened to their hats.

The snow begins to melt early in April, and by the second or third week it is generally all gone. During this period it is dreadful walking in town, and as bad travelling in the country. The streets of Quebec are inundated with snow-water, and the kennels have the appearance and sound of so many little rapids. The ice in the river is seldom totally gone before the first week in May. The breaking up of the ice in the vicinity of Quebec is not attended with any remarkable noise or appearance; but at Montreal, and the upper parts of the river, where it is frozen quite across, I am told it has a grand appear. ance, and breaks up with loud reports. The lake ice comes down in prodigious quantities for several days, bringing with it the roots and branches of trees which it tears from the islands and shores in its progress. Until these have passed, none of the river-vessels can leave Quebec for Montreal.'

Travelling in Canada, as it may be expected in a country'so imperfectly cultivated, is attended with many inconveniences. The Post-Calashes are very ill adapted for a long journey; affording no shelter from the rain, the sun, or the heavy dews of the night. Water-conveyance by the St. Lawrence is eligible only in coming down the river'; and the Canadians have not yet imitated their American neighbours in resorting to the use of the steam-boat. The chief compensation for the tedium of a river-passage is in the beauty of the surrounding landscape :

The river St. Lawrence, all the way up on both sides, affords a variety of the most beautiful prospects. As far as the rapids of Richlieu, the shores are steep, rugged, and lofty; in some places projecting into the river in the form of small capes and promontories; and in others, receding into innumerable coves and bays, which in many parts expand the river to a considerable breadth, The banks are covered with trees and shrubs of various kinds, except in a few places where the black lime-slate, or lime-stone rock, shivers in thin pieces or moulders into dust. On the summit of the shores, the white farm-houses, and neat churches, placed at almost regular distances, appear at intervals between clumps of trees and rich meadows, In other parts the shores are seen sloping into cultivated valleys covered with a beautiful rich verdure, and adorned with small neat villages, in which the church, the houses of the curé and the seignior, are gene rally the most conspicuous. Thick umbrageous forests, and distant mountains whose summits mingle with the clouds, complete the charm. ing scenery, which is viewed to great advantage during a voyage up

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the

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