Life in the Clearings versus the Bush

Mee

for ever b

waves ar

sparkle a

, long jou

.

s. Heaven is above us, and another heaven--more soft, and not less beautiful--lies mirrored beneath; and within that heaven are traced exquisite forms of earth--trees, and flowers, and verdant slopes, and bold hills, and barren rugged rocks. The scene is one of surpassing loveliness, and we open our hearts to receive its sweet influences, while our eyes rest upon it with in

heavens upon th

ose exulting f

armony, a

beauty, ere

, and stain'd wi

his God prono

s of houses. A little further on, the Salmon river discharges its waters into the bay, and on its shores the village of Shannonville has risen, as if by magic, within a very few years. Three schooners are just now anchored at its mouth, receiving cargoes of sawn lumber to carry over t

a few hundred pounds the site of a town which is now worth as many thousands. The steamboats do not touch at Shannonville, in their trips to and from Kingsto

ubs giving it very much the appearance of a park. Clumps of butternut, and hiccory trees, form picturesque groups; and herds of cattle, belonging to the settlers in the vicinity, roam at large over these plains that sweep down to the water's edge. This is a ver

and day to all goers and comers. A pulpit, formed of rough slabs of wood, was erected in a conveniently open space among the trees, and they took it by turns to read, exhort, and pray, to the dwellers in the wilderness. At right they kindled large fires, which served both for light and warmth, and

the rain. Most of these tents exhibited some extraordinary scene of fanaticism and religious enthusiasm; the noise and confusion were deafening. Men were preaching at the very top of their voice; women were shrieking and groaning, beating their breasts and tearing their hair, while others were uttering the most frantic outcries, which they called ejaculatory prayers. One

I have got it! I have got it! I have got it!' To which others responded--'Keep it! keep it! keep it!' I asked a bystander what she meant. He repl

k-looking ministers, in rusty black coats and very dirty-looking white chokers, were drumming upon her fat back with their fists, exclaiming--

dreadfully excited, and was about to fling herself down upon the wet grass, to show the depth of her humility and contrition, when she s

e, and throw themselves into the most unnatural positions. Few of them carried the religious zeal they manifested in such a strange way at that meeting, into their own homes. Before the party broke up it was forgotten, and they were laughing and chatting about their worldly affairs. The young lads were sparking the girls, and the gir

the benefit of a resident minister, but they still occur on the borders of c

is, I will tell you a story which a very beautiful young married lady told to me with mu

very pious and hospitable woman, and none knew it better than the travelling ministers, who were always well fed and well lodged a

k place. Having heard a great deal about their strange doings at these meetings, I begged very hard to be allowed to make one of

he said, 'she will turn it all into fun,

and the powerful influence produced by the example of the pious, might have a beneficial effect on my young mind, and lead to my conversion. Aunt

their meal would come to an end. They none wore whiskers, and their broad fat faces literally shone with high feeding. When I laughed at their being such excellent knife and fork men, aunt gravely reproved my levity, by saying, 'that the labourer was worthy of

ressed and accompanied my

e view of the St. Lawrence, rushing along in its strength, the distant murmur of the waves mingling with the sigh of the summer breeze, that swept the dense foliage of the f

tent connected with it by a flight of board steps. Here the preachers retired, after delivering their lectures, to rest and refresh themselves. Fronting the platform was a sort of amphitheatre of booths, constructed of branches of trees, and containing benches of boards supported at either

space was crowded with persons of all classes, but the poorer certainly predominated. Well dressed, respectable people, however, were not wanting; and though I came there to see and to be seen, to laugh and to

ing "God save the King," sung by the thousands of London on the proclamation of William IV. It was impossible to distinguish good or bad voices in such a mighty volume of sound, which rolled through the air like a peal of solemn thunder. It thrilled through my heart, and paled my cheek. It seemed to me the united voice of a

ves quite as much as I did. The preaching at length commenced with a long prayer, followed by an admonitor

t length became speechless from exhaustion, and stopping suddenly in the midst of his too eloquent harangue, he tied a red cotton handkerchief round his head, and hastily descended the steps, and disappeared in the tent provided for the accommodation of the ministers. H

o harden my heart, and make me resist any religious feeling that had been growing up in my breast. I began to tire of

ogs that supported it, that I perceived that the least motion given to it at my end would capsize it, and bring all th

at way, and apply my foot like a lever to the round trunk, on which the end of the bench had the slightest possible hold, and the contemplated downfall became a certainty. No sooner thought than done. The next moment old and young, fat and lean, women

to visit at my aunt's, as he crawled out of the h

g sinner, this is

time, watching, at a safe distance, the mad gesticulations of the preacher, who was capering up and down on the platform, and using the most violent and extravagant language,

ogs, and from torches composed of fat pine, and stuck in iron grates supported on poles in differ

ces, while the preacher standing above them, and thrown into strong relief, with his head held back and his hands raised towards heaven, looked like some inspired prophet of

I saw by the light of a solitary candle several men lying upon mattrasses fast asleep, their noses making anything but a musical response to the hymns and prayers without. While I was gazing upon these prostrate forms, thus soundly sleeping after the hubbub and exc

sp of a hand upon my shoulder. I turned with a shriek; it was my au

eepers. 'Do these men preach for their own honour and glory, or

aid my aunt, avoiding the answer I ex

camp-meeting again; yet, in spite of my bad conduct as a child, I believe they often

r fail to do so at the pretty town of Northport, on the othe

confusion. Barrels of flour are being rolled into the boat, and sheep and cattle are led off--men hurry on board with trunks and carpet-bags--and women, with children in their arms or led by the hand, hasten on board;--while our passengers, descending to the wharf, are shaking hands with mer

ead of which stands the beautiful town of Picton, I will give you a few reminiscences of No

re's peace to be f

s humble might h

ng persons of wealth and education, are hardly felt or recognised here. Every one is a neighbour in the strictest sense of the word and high and low mee

. loyalists; and its inhabitants are mainly composed of the descendants of Dutch and American families. They have among the

low, when compared with the rapid advance of other places that possessed fewer local advantages, it has gone on steadily p

ow him, whose wise head, and keen organs of observation, have rendered him a highly intelligent and intellectual man, without having received the benefit of a college education. His house is always o

rtable home with some good neighbour, and is treated with more consideration, and enjoys greater privileges, than if his own parents had lived. No difference is made between the adopted child and th

d the soul of hospitality, he entertains his guests like a prince. "Is he not a glorious old fellow?" said our beloved and excellent chief-justice Robinson; "Captain --- is a credit t

essed clergymen of the Establishment, and the travelling dispensers of gospel truths, with shabbier co

pitying eye. The manner in which they speak of his unhappy malady reminds me of what an old Quaker said to me regarding

have read with great pleasure some sweet lines by this rural Canadian bard; and were he now beside me, instead of "Big bay" lying so provokingly between, I would beg from hi

somewhat in the shape of a spencer. The inside lining formed one capacious pocket, into which the reverend gentleman could conveniently stow away newspapers, books, and sermons, and, on a pinch, a fat fowl, a bottle of wine, or a homebaked loaf of bread. On the present occas

e began to look very uncomfortable, and complained very much of being troubled with dyspepsy after his meals. He was a great teetotaller, or professed to be one, but certainly had forgotten

to guess at a glance the real character of his visitor; "but then

at would do me good," sai

l wine-glass of brandy ju

it would never do," with a

on earth so good f

serve me?" with a sudden twi

heartburn, and do away with that uncomfortable feeling you experience after eat

glass; "still I should be sorry to try an a

iend slyly, "which, I have been told by a medical

d that. I think for once I will try the effect of your f

returned to the table empty, a

of you to make that man break his

temptation to do that. The total abstinenc

ns into another. In some cases, the sleeping apartments all open into a common sitting-room occupi

pied on the first night by a clergyman, I had to wait for an hour, after my husband was up and down stairs rejoicing in the fresh air of a lovely summer mor

forced to go to bed when she did, or be obliged to pass through her chamber after brother Jonathan had retired for the night. This being by no means desirable, I left a very interesting argument, in which my husband, the Quaker, an

g very innocent remark to his wife,--"Truly, Hannah, I fear that I have used too many words tonight. M

t Jonathan, my husband, my friend, and the poet, must have been very guilty

d at once through the difficulty, the Quaker's nose giving unmistakeable notice that he was in the land of Nod. The pale sickly woman just

excellent breakfast, while my poor partner was sitting impatiently nursing his appetite at the foot of his bed, and wishing the pale Quakeress across the bay. The steamer was in

is primitive village, which may not be uninteresting to my Engli

ship; and as the Canadians delight in large funerals, he was foll

in the neighbourhood, who, to the honour of the country be it spoken, never refuse to act on these mournful occasions. These walking funerals are far more imposing and affecting spectacles than the hearse with its fun

gon, if in summer, spring, or autumn, and on a sleigh during the winter seaso

late a very affecting instance I witnessed at one of these funerals of the attachment of a

e grave. When the coffin was lifted by the stalwart sons of the deceased from the waggon, and the procession formed to carry it into the church, I observed a large, buff Flemish dog fall into the ranks of the mourners, and follow them into the sacred edifice, keeping as near the coffin as those about it would permit him. After the service in the

then endeavoured to disinter the body, by digging a large hole at one end of the grave; but finding that he could not effect his purpose, he stretched hims

the grave; but he rejected the food and their caresses. The creature appeared wasted and heartbroken with grief. Towards noon of the third day, the eldest son of his late master came in search of him; and the young man seemed deeply af

oor, and, as we term him, unreasoning brute, to his dead master? His grief made a

lities of the departed, his long residence among them, and described the trials and hardships he had encountered as a first settler in that district, while it was yet in the wilderness. He extolled his conduct as a good cit

he sons of the deceased rose and informed the persons present, that if

person present touched either the face, hands, or brow of the deceased; and after their curiosity had been fully satisfied, the procession followed the remains to their last resting-place. This part of the cere

the appearance of the corpse, his age, the disease of which he died, the probable division of his property, and the merits of the funeral discourse. This

and a large dish of hiccory nuts. The mourners dried their tears, and set seriously to work to discuss the nuts, and while deeply engaged with their mouse-like employment, forgot for awhile their sorrow for the dead, continuing to ke

"Mother is old and delicate; we can't expect her to last long," says one. "My brother's death has been looked for these several months past; you know he's in the consumption." My husband asked the son of a respectable farmer, for whom he entertained an esteem, how his father was, for he had not se

ed into the country to visit a very sick man, he was surprised on finding the wife of his patient sitting

far from that;

and yo

s so crowded with the neighbours, t

doctor. "I'll soon mak

orced his way to the bedside. He found his patient in a high fever, greatly augmented by the bustle, confusion, and heat, occasioned by so many people round him. With great difficulty he cleared the room of these int

at deal of money--a little fortune she termed it--on her grave-clothes. "Oh, my dear," she said, "it is a thousand pities that you did not go and see her before she was buried. She was dre

sixteen years older than the eldest of the twain, lamenting most pathetically that they could not go to a public ball, because they were in mourning for ma'! Oh, what a pit

m Tho

's gay heart t

h of health b

ul's rich

ocean, eart

onied cup

with menta

s sweet dream

red heart t

d with th

aims that

owl of car

chaplet Fa

ions pur

eart and fi

ealings

ving breast

n fond boso

ion's bon

joys of

to those smi

ow's sting th

ow cold we've l

krupt heart

hopes to che

liss by rea

that quickl

easured pa

augment

in itself

ns life's joy

th anxious dou

ly trusts to

grief, the pr

ark woe that

eath its inf

pe will burs

celestial s

o'er the t

spirit's d

ny paths to

oils of li

age are bo

ver more

pain the

s bless'd s

s all eart